Republic of China: My great warlord, many children, many blessings.

Wang Yufen came from a wealthy family and was skilled at everything from playing cards to lending money outside.

When someone becomes addicted to investing, they become increasingly daring, wanting to recoup their losses and then wanting to earn even more when they do make money.

Wang Yufen was no exception; she invested in a large company in Tianjin with very large capital operations.

The manager of that company was very wealthy.

Once he has money, all he needs to do is write a note and sign his name.

The person who receives this slip only needs to make a phone call to the bank to confirm with the manager, and the bank can release the loan within 23 days. This shows that the individual's credit has reached such a high level.

Therefore, Wang Yufen confidently invested all her savings of 50,000 silver dollars into this company, thus becoming a minority shareholder.

I heard a couple of days ago that this company was going through some turmoil. In this day and age, information is scarce, communication isn't so convenient, and we don't have cell phones yet.

Having a telephone is already a blessing; long-distance calls require transfers. Wang Yufen inquired everywhere but couldn't find any information.

At this moment, Jin Pengzhen, the third young master of the Jin family, asked her why she was in such a hurry.

Wang Yufen, being naive, mistakenly trusted Jin Pengzhen and honestly told him that she had invested 50,000 yuan in the company.

Jin Pengzhen immediately told Yu Fen that he had heard from insiders that Wanfa Company was going to go bankrupt.

Therefore, Wang Yufen quickly tried to find a way to get the money back.

The third young master, Jin Pengzhen, also agreed to go to Tianjin to see if the company was really going to go bankrupt.

Wang Yufen was so anxious at home that she was pacing back and forth, unable to sit still. Jin Pengzhen could have taken the 8 a.m. train to Tianjin, but he overslept and had to wait until the 11 a.m. train.

Jin Pengzhen always supported actors and had a good relationship with an actor named Hua Yuxian, so he said he would take him to Tianjin.

Hua Yuxian had a performance that evening, so Pengzhen waited until she finished her performance before setting off for Tianjin at midnight.

Wang Yufen was anxiously waiting at home, while Jin Pengzhen was not in a hurry at all and was only interested in having fun, thus missing the best time to collect the debt.

When they arrived in Tianjin, it was already one or two in the morning. They flirted and teased each other all night, and didn't get up until noon the next day.

Jin Pengzhen was reading the newspaper when he learned that Wanfa Company had gone bankrupt and that the manager had run away yesterday afternoon. Jin Pengzhen was dumbfounded.

In other words, even if Jin Pengzhen overslept yesterday, as long as he caught the 11 o'clock train, he would arrive in Tianjin around 1 or 2 o'clock. At that time, the manager would not have run away yet, and he would still have a good half-day to collect the debt. But he wasted all of that time.

Wang Yufen's younger brother told her that Wanfa Company had gone bankrupt and its people had run away. She was so angry that she was trembling all over and couldn't speak for a long time. The 50,000 silver dollars were gone.

Jin Pengzhen went to Tianjin in person, but the news didn't even reach his younger brother in Beijing as quickly.

She was so angry that she couldn't get up for a long time. When Bai Xiuzhu saw this, she took her to find Shen Hao, thinking that she might as well try anything.

After listening to Wang Yufen recount the whole story, Shen Hao couldn't help but sigh. No wonder the Jin family had fallen on hard times. What kind of children did Jin Quan have? They were good for nothing but eating, drinking, gambling, and whoring.

I never expected that there would still be shell companies like this these days.

With precision, they didn't act until they had caught Wang Yufen, a big fat sheep.

This reminded Shen Hao of telecommunications fraud in later generations, which specifically targeted women.

I have to say, it's really easy to make money off women; they have a mysterious kind of confidence.

People always have to pay the price for their perceptions.

Shen Hao thought for a moment and said, "Then didn't you go to your father-in-law to explain the situation?"

In Shen Hao's opinion, such a small matter could be resolved simply by Jin Quan issuing a statement.

Wang Yufen's eyes reddened as she said, "I've looked for help, and my father-in-law has also sent people, but unfortunately, it hasn't been effective."

So...so I can only turn to you, Commander Shen."

Clearly, Wang Yufen had no other choice.

Her father-in-law, Jin Quan, was the head of a state bureaucracy, but he was a civil official with few soldiers and couldn't even mobilize troops.

There was nothing I could do to help her, so I turned to Shen Hao.

After thinking it over, I realized that what Wang Yufen said was true. Although Jin Quan was the head of the department, many people below him didn't respect him.

Yuan Shikai allowed Jin Quan, the leader of the Progressive Party, to form a cabinet. Although Jin Quan held the position of Grand Secretary, his authority was limited to insignificant positions in the cabinet, such as education, judiciary, and industry and commerce.

Even the police don't have the authority to mobilize them; their power is nowhere near that of the previous chief, Zhao Bingjun.

Everyone knew that Jin Quan was just a transitional product, something Yuan Shikai used to impress outsiders.

Nobody listens to his orders.

After weighing the pros and cons, Shen Hao remained silent.

This greatly worried Wang Yufen and Bai Xiuzhu.

Because every minute of delay could allow Wanfa's manager to slip away.

Bai Xiuzhu clung to Shen Hao's arm, pouting and pleading, "Brother Hao, please, just help my cousin! I'll do whatever you ask from now on!"

These words amused Shen Hao.

"You said it yourself, that I can do whatever I want. I'm just giving you a heads-up, I can be really bad," Shen Hao teased.

"Hmph, I always keep my word."

"How bad can you be? I'm not afraid of you."

At this point, Bai Xiuzhu's cheeks flushed slightly.

Deep down, she still hoped that Shen Hao could really be a little bit bad.

Shen Hao composed himself and said calmly, "Since your cousin's company is located in Tianjin, we need to find the local bigwigs in Tianjin."

"Then who should I contact?" Bai Xiuzhu asked, looking confused.

Both Jin Quan and Bai Xiongqi were civil servants, who were at the pinnacle of power in peacetime, but in this era of warlordism, the status of civil servants was just so-so.

If I give you face, you're like a prime minister; if I don't, you're nothing.

Both men were promoted by Yuan Shikai, and had no military background whatsoever.

This is why they want to form an alliance with Shen Hao.

Without the support of the military, any rights are meaningless.

Shen Hao smiled slightly and said, "Of course we should look for Feng Guozhang. Although he is now the Governor of Jiangsu, he was previously the Governor-General of Zhili. The police in Tianjin are all under his jurisdiction, so it's not wrong to look for him."

Moreover, he was also from Xiaozhan Town.

Hearing Shen Hao say this, Bai Xiuzhu and Wang Yufen both calmed down.

For some reason, Shen Hao seemed to possess a kind of magic that made people believe in him.

Xiaozhan was arguably the most powerful place during the Beiyang period.

Located in Nankai District of Tianjin, between Dagu Coastal Defense and Tianjin City, it is adjacent to the Bohai Sea.

In the early years of the Republic of China, apart from Li Yuanhong and Zhang Zuolin, none of them had risen from humble beginnings.

Other figures, including the president, prime minister, chief of staff, and numerous military generals, all came from the Xiaozhan training ground, thus forming the "Beiyang clique" headed by Yuan Shikai.

Because Tianjin has no military, only police.

In 1901, the late Qing government, which had just signed the Boxer Protocol, was embarrassed to find that, according to the treaty, no troops could be stationed within twenty li of Tianjin city.

If this continues, Tianjin, as an important gateway to Beijing, will undoubtedly lose its ability to defend the capital.

This difficult problem was handed over to Yuan Shikai, who was training a new army for the Qing government.

Yuan Shikai selected 3000 new soldiers and handed them over to his capable subordinate Zhao Bingjun for a three-month short-term police training program.

Just like the Japanese Self-Defense Forces, they could have police even if they didn't have an army.

In 1901, Yuan Shikai entrusted Zhao Bingjun with the important task of establishing a police force, and early the following year, he appointed him as the director of the Baoding Police Bureau.

He led the newly formed army to reorganize into 1500 patrol officers stationed in Tianjin.

On the one hand, the patrol police undertook military security tasks, and on the other hand, they began to take charge of public affairs such as "patrol police, fire protection, household registration, construction and maintenance, and sanitation throughout the province".

Within six months, Tianjin transformed from a chaotic city into the province with the best public security in the country, with "no thefts for six consecutive months, which even impressed Westerners."

The establishment of the first patrol police force led foreigners to describe Tianjin as "the city with the best police system in the world."

The success of the Tianjin Police Headquarters strengthened Yuan Shikai's confidence in promoting the patrol police system.

The Beiyang Police Administration during the "New Policies" period was famous throughout the country.

In light of this, Empress Dowager Cixi issued an edict requiring all parts of the country to follow suit, thus gradually promoting the police system.

Having decided to find Feng Guozhang, Shen Hao didn't waste any more words.

Just call.

When Feng Guozhang heard Shen Hao's request, he agreed without hesitation.

"Don't worry, Brother Shen, I'll take care of this."

After hanging up the phone, Feng Guozhang immediately ordered a curfew to be imposed at all intersections in Tianjin and Hebei.

At the same time, he called his old classmate, the Chief of the Navy, and ordered a thorough inspection of the ships that had passed through Tianjin in the past few days.

Not only that, they also called the railway bureau, and began to strictly investigate Wanfa's manager on trains from Tianjin to various places.

Soon, martial law was imposed throughout Tianjin, Hebei, and Beijing.

Strict checks are being conducted at all intersections, ports, and train stations.