1928: The Rise of Giants

A large number of Kuomintang secret service agents blocked the lobby of Ye Mansion. The leader, Dai Li, looked calm as he looked at the group of black-clad men wearing weapons and with equally hostile expressions. He said calmly, "Does the law prohibiting guns in the International Settlement have no effect on Ye Mansion?"

The group of spies behind him came in a menacing manner, but after seeing the heavy firepower of the security personnel in Ye Mansion, they all became cowards and hid behind Dai Li.

"Dai Li, don't talk nonsense to me. If you want to catch my father, just step over my dead body, do you understand?" Ye Hao is not afraid of these spies.

Over the past four years, with the financial support of Ye's investment, Ye's Security and Ye's Sports have expanded all over the country, selecting batches of new employees with clean backgrounds and both literary and martial skills from the grassroots and former gangs.

The outstanding ones will be sent to the Tax Inspection Corps for further training, and eventually they will either stay in the Corps as officers or come out to train new recruits.

In four years, the total number of employees in the two companies has exceeded 1. This is the number of elites accumulated by Ye Hao after he has been much more restrained and frequently eliminated unqualified employees.

In a one-on-one situation, the regular employees of the two companies are no less capable than the best fighters in the KMT’s army, and their weapons and equipment are more advanced and their organization is more orderly.

"Ye Hao, are you planning to openly disobey the orders of the party leader?" Dai Li responded to him coldly, his eyes moving around the living room again, "Believe it or not, I will arrest you for treason right away!"

"Just give it a try if you have the guts! If you can get my father out of the Ye Mansion today, I, Ye Hao, will take your last name!"

Ye Hao reached for the pistol at his waist. Seeing that a conflict was inevitable, the lazy voice of a plump mature woman suddenly came from the second floor.

"Hey, Director Dai, did you get a written approval or a handwritten order from your party leader to come to Ye Mansion so early in the morning to arrest my father?"

Supported by Bai Xiuzhu, the principal's wife, wearing a light gauze pajamas, walked down step by step to the second floor.

Behind her, Ye Yuqiao and Li Shuzhen also walked down slowly. Ye Yuqiao looked at Dai Li coldly and said calmly: "Director Dai, what crime have I committed that is worth you bringing so many people to arrest me personally?"

"Madam, why are you here too?" Dai Li showed just the right amount of panic on his face. Of course, he had known about this for a long time.

The principal's wife was invited to live in the Ye Mansion. This was approved by the principal himself. As the principal's number one confidant, he certainly knew it clearly.

The reason for arresting Ye Yuqiao was very simple. He was suspected of organizing and participating in the recent bombing that killed the commander-in-chief of the Japanese army in China. The riot also injured a group of Japanese senior officials including Shigemitsu Mamoru.

The incident happened in the Shanghai Concession, right under the nose of Dai Li. The Japanese were now arresting Peninsular people and the Chinese who were involved behind the scenes all over the city, causing an uproar in the city. Dai Li, who had lost face, had no choice but to get involved.

The Japanese Embassy has sternly requested the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to give a reply as soon as possible.

The new mayor Wu Tiecheng is in a dilemma. Under the pressure from all levels, he is the biggest scapegoat.

No wonder after the Battle of Shanghai, the principal did not rush to transfer back one of his confidants, Zhang Qun, but continued to let him hold this position. This was to wait until Zhang Qun was done taking the blame and then reinstate Zhang Qun to his original position!

However, although this matter is big, there is actually a relatively unified opinion within the Kuomintang, and everyone thinks it is a good thing.

Because Yoshinori Shirakawa and others were killed or injured in the bombing, and due to international pressure, the Japanese had to suspend their invasion of Shanghai and signed an armistice agreement.

Originally worried that the war would affect Nanjing, the principal led a group of Kuomintang senior officials to issue a declaration to move the capital to Los Angeles, and the capital relocation operation had already begun!
This time, in order to give the Japanese an open explanation and because he had lost face, Dai Li deliberately chose this time to arrest people. "Alright, alright, stop pretending. The people have come here and met Boss Ye. Do you still need them to tell you in person that this matter has nothing to do with him?" The principal's wife waved her hand and said impatiently.

She naturally knew that Dai Li came here to show off his power, and she also knew that she had to give him the opportunity.

Dai Li's meaning was very clear. Our secret service department knows very well that this was planned by you, but it's still a good thing, so I won't make things difficult for you.

But I would also like to remind you that every move in Shanghai cannot escape the eyes of the Secret Service. If there is anything that is really related to the underground organization, we can still come and arrest you.

In order to get people like us to leave, you need at least someone of the principal's wife's level to intercede for you!

Dai Li's little tricks and indirections are quite similar to those of the petty and thoughtful principal.

The principal tacitly allowed Dai Li to come and show off to the Ye family, and was also secretly expressing his dissatisfaction with Ye Luo going to Tianjin City alone to cause trouble.

His desire for control was terrifying, especially when Ye’s investment grew stronger year by year, he became even more wary of Ye Luo.

"Since Madam has said so, we will take our leave first." Dai Li smiled and clasped his fists, then turned back and smiled sinisterly at Ye Hao, "Young Master, I will report to the Municipal Council that you have been stockpiling a large amount of munitions and gathering people for military training in the International Settlement. I hope you can give me a reasonable explanation."

"Goodbye!" Ye Hao was too lazy to argue with him and simply extended his hand to let the guest go.

Dai Li was not angry. When Ye Luo was not around, there was only one and a half people in the Ye family who were worthy of his attention. One was Ye Yuqiao, and the other half was Bai Xiuzhu.

That's it.

A group of spies left Ye Mansion in a hurry, making a huge noise and making everyone know about it.

After they left, the principal's wife snorted coldly, touched Bai Xiuzhu's hand and said, "Sister Xiuzhu, don't worry, I will talk to Zhongzheng about this matter and ask him to give you a good explanation. What nonsense are you making? How can you come here to arrest people like this?"

"Thank you, sister~" Bai Xiuzhu pretended to be a little white rabbit in front of the principal's wife, pitiful and touching, as if she had turned back into the willful and capricious young lady she used to be.

The principal's wife liked this kind of thing. She liked Bai Xiuzhu more than Xiao Aqiao and Lin Ruxian, who were more worldly and had similar personalities to her.

As for the concubines like Meng Xiaodong, Hu Die, and Ruan Lingyu, she was too lazy to even look at them.

"Oh, when A Luo comes back, I will definitely teach him a lesson. He is away from home all day, and his wife has been pregnant for more than three years, and he is not anxious?" The principal's wife glanced at Bai Xiuzhu's flat belly and felt a sense of sympathy.

If it weren't for the fact that most of the other women were pregnant, she would have suspected that Ye Luo and the principal had similar problems.

But now seeing that Ye Zhuohua and the other four little ones are smart and cute, and obviously inherited his strong genes, the principal's wife is envious again.

I wish I could have a child like this! (End of this chapter)