1928: The Rise of Giants

"It's not that we want to avoid fighting, but our superiors don't allow us to fight." Cai Tingkai sighed. Facing the number one god of wealth in Shanghai, he couldn't help but tell the truth.

Jiang Guangnai, who had just been arguing with Chen Mingshu, also had a bitter look on his face. He nodded and said, "The superior called yesterday and believed that the Japanese action would 'occupy Nanjing and control the Yangtze River Basin', that the war would quickly spread to the whole country, and that 'important places in our country are also in serious danger at any time', so they warned us many times not to engage in direct conflict with the Japanese!"

"This is too weird, isn't it? We clearly feel that the Japanese are about to invade, so why do we continue to avoid fighting? If we hide like turtles, will they stop fighting us?"

Shi Jianqiao, who followed Ye Luo in, couldn't help but complain.

Several generals glanced at her and wanted to scold her, but when they thought that she was the second young master's personal bodyguard, they stopped talking.

Shi Jianqiao knew that she might have asked a stupid question, so she stuck out her tongue slightly and looked at Ye Luo, hoping that he could answer her question.

"Jianqiao doesn't understand politics, please don't be offended, officers." Ye Luo apologized on her behalf, and then smiled and answered her questions, "The Nanjing National Government believes that the country is in chaos due to warlord separatism, inconsistent military and political orders, and financial constraints. It is unable to go to war with Japan, so it tries its best to avoid conflict and advocates tolerance."

"Second Young Master is right. That's right." Chen Mingshu nodded in agreement. "Yesterday, the newly appointed Executive Yuan President Sun Ke sent an urgent telegram to Mayor Wu Tiecheng, saying, 'We should take the preservation of Shanghai's economic center as a prerequisite and adopt a conciliatory attitude towards Japan's demands. We should immediately convene all walks of life to explain tactfully. We must not allow conflicts to occur, which would lead to the violent seizure of the Shanghai Stock Exchange.'"

"Slave of a conquered nation," Shi Jianqiao muttered softly.

Not only did Sun Ke and others have this reaction, the new Minister of Military Affairs He Yingqin also ordered the 19th Route Army to withdraw from Shanghai and redeploy to the west of Nanxiang within five days.

There are many lobbyists like Ye Luo, but they all stand on the side of the Nanjing National Government, and none of them wants to take the initiative to fight against the Japanese invaders like he does.

Zhang Jingjiang, one of the elders of the Green Gang, specially invited Cai Tingkai to his home yesterday and advised him to command the 19th Route Army to withdraw its defense as soon as possible.

Just today, the four of them had a big argument over when and how to withdraw the defense.

Chen Mingshu and Dai Ji advocated solid defense, while Jiang Guangnai and Cai Tingkai, under pressure, wanted to withdraw their defenses.

"Second Young Master, we really cannot disobey the orders from our superiors." Cai Tingkai did not want to conflict with this God of Wealth. After all, he would have to continue to serve in the 19th Route Army, and his troops would be stationed in the Beijing-Shanghai area. If he had a conflict with the God of Wealth, he would forget about having a good meal.

"I understand. Military orders are hard to disobey, but please do not withdraw your defenses so quickly. You can hand over the troops slowly and warn the defense troops along the way not to underestimate the Japanese and think that they really dare not attack us."

Ye Luo nodded.

"If the troops have any needs, please feel free to ask Ye Investment. You're welcome."

"Thank you for your understanding, Second Young Master! Although we have to withdraw our defense, we can dispatch a reinforced company to protect the safety of Ye Mansion." Jiang Guangnai clasped his fists and smiled, "The principal specifically telegraphed me to protect Second Young Master."

Cai Tingkai was stunned for a moment, and regretted it deeply. Because he hesitated for a moment, this good guy was killed by Jiang Guangnai.

He had no choice but to say that he could also dispatch a reinforced company to assist Ye’s investment in withdrawing from the suburbs back to the concession.

Ye Luo thanked the two men for their kindness, saying that it would be a waste if they were given to him for free.

After everything was settled, Cai Tingkai was ready to set off for Suzhou City to convene an emergency meeting with senior generals of the troops stationed in the Soviet Union, including Shen Guanghan, to convey Ye Luo's intentions.

However, due to the order of the Nanjing National Government to compromise and avoid war, they could not do more and had to order the garrison stationed in Zhabei to exchange guard with the 29th Military Police Regiment on the morning of the 6th.

Dai Ji also ordered the security command to prevent the Japanese army from occupying Zhabei during the rotation of guard, and ordered all units to enter their positions and maintain strict vigilance.

The car slowly drove away from the security headquarters. Shi Jianqiao was about to complain to Ye Luo about the mess within the Kuomintang when she heard a loud bang, followed by a series of explosions.

She was so scared that she quickly shrank back and actually got into the back seat from the co-pilot seat, holding Ye Luo in her arms and bending over to be alert. "Xiao Fan, blow the horn and tell all the teams to stop!" Ye Luo's head was pressed into a soft spot, and he almost couldn't breathe, so he could only shout incoherently.

Cao Fan cleverly turned the steering wheel, pulled over, and then honked the horn for a long time, signaling the escort convoy to surround their car and be alert all around.

The team leader Heng San rushed out first, followed by Ma Yongzhen and Ding Li who jumped out of the car to check on Ye Luo.

Ye Luo was forced to throw himself into Shi Jianqiao's arms, his nose filled with the girl's body fragrance. He had to hold her soft waist tightly to prevent himself from sliding down.

"Second Young Master, don't move! Be careful of stray bullets!" Shi Jianqiao held his head with one hand, pulled out his service pistol with the other, and looked around alertly.

"I can't breathe!" Ye Luo didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Although he was not as skilled as Shi Jianqiao, he had practiced martial arts for many years, so fighting one against three was not a problem.

Shi Jianqiao protected him like a child, which made him speechless.

After he said that, Shi Jianqiao realized that she had used too much force, and her originally perky breasts were sunken deeply. Her face turned slightly red, and she quickly pushed Ye Luo away.

"Boom boom boom——"

There was a knock on the car window and a big face appeared. It was Ma Yongzhen who had completed the investigation.

"What's going on?" Ye Luo rolled down the car window and took a few deep breaths.

"Someone set fire to the nearby residence of Japanese Minister to China Shigemitsu Mamoru, and others threw incendiary bombs and grenades. There is no other danger for the time being."

Ma Yongzhen immediately replied,

"I have sent people to check. It seems that someone did it deliberately, but there are no casualties."

"These bastards are trying to frame us Chinese again!" Cao Fan was indignant.

Ye Luo nodded and said, "It's most likely the work of the Japanese secret service. They never get tired of this kind of slanderous trick."

"Second Young Master, can we wait a little longer?" Ma Yongzhen asked.

Ye Luo shook his head: "No need. If someone dares to brave the hail of bullets from dozens of us to assassinate me, I will make sure that he will not see the sun tomorrow."

"Yes. Then I will tell the convoy to keep moving forward." Ma Yongzhen also felt that the security measures were very tight. If they wanted to injure the Second Young Master from their hands, they would need strong firepower.

"Jianqiao, please do me a favor later." Ye Luo reached out and pinched Shi Jianqiao's palm.

Shi Jianqiao was still in her shy state, but when he pinched her, she immediately became alert and nodded, "Okay! Second Young Master, you decide!"

"I'll send a few words to Dai Li later." Ye Luo snorted coldly.

"What word?"

"Useless spies, only good at fighting among themselves." (End of this chapter)