1928: The Rise of Giants

After the third son of the third generation of the Ye family was born, the principal and his wife were the first military and political leaders to send their blessings.

The principal's wife even suggested adopting the little boy as her godson, but later she gave up the idea considering that he was born to a concubine and the son of the movie star Ruan Lingyu.

She has already adopted Ye Zhuohua as her godson because, firstly, Ye Zhuohua is the eldest son, and secondly, Xiao Aqiao is at least the second concubine, and is even declared to be the co-wife to the outside world.

Otherwise, as the principal's wife, if she wants to adopt a godson or goddaughter, the other party can only be Bai Xiuzhu's offspring.

Just when a bunch of people came to congratulate Ye Luo, on March 3, Rehe was completely occupied by the crazy Japanese.

The people across the country were outraged and condemned the principal and Zhang Hanqing for losing power and humiliating the country and being unworthy of being warlord leaders.

Zhang Hanqing was determined to fight the Japanese invaders to the end this time, but ended up with such a result. He was a little disheartened. Faced with the bad public opinion and situation, Zhang Hanqing called the Nanjing National Government on the day Rehe fell, saying that he would resign, and then announced his resignation.

Of course, this resignation was fake, just like the principal's last resignation.

The power of the army was still in the hands of Zhang Hanqing's confidants. After he returned from his study trip to Europe, everything was back to normal.

His resignation this time was mainly to quell public anger and also to give the principal a way out.

It is impossible for the principal to leave the Nanjing National Government now.

If he steps down again, no one will be able to take over that position.

During the last Battle of Shanghai, the principal had already proved with his strength that both Wang and Sun Ke were useless, and only he could still lead the Kuomintang.

Since he couldn't step down, Zhang Hanqing had to take the scapegoat.

After all, it was him who was responsible for the Mukden Incident, and it is him who is responsible for the fall of Rehe now. Zhang Hanqing can never escape the stigma of ruining the three northern provinces.

Due to Zhang Hanqing's sudden resignation, the political situation in Peiping was in chaos for several days. Wang Zhuoran took the opportunity to act in the chaos and released all the members of the underground organization imprisoned in several prisons without attracting anyone's attention.

The transition period between 1932 and 1933 was an especially long time for the people in the three occupied northern provinces.

The warlords and the rich could leave quietly through various channels, but the poor people could only stay where they were, stretching their necks and waiting to die.

In this environment, various small anti-Japanese groups continued to emerge. No one could withstand the double oppression of the Japanese puppet regime and the Kwantung Army. Although their momentum was broken as soon as it emerged, they continued to appear in an endless stream.

The commander of the Kwantung Army, Nobuyoshi Mutō, personally deployed a large-scale encirclement and suppression campaign, and at the same time ordered the puppet army to carry out some propaganda work in the areas under attack.

The so-called propaganda and appeasement means confiscating weapons from the civilian population and distributing leaflets to appeal to the people, telling them not to resist and not to harbor small anti-Japanese groups.

The puppet soldiers were not good at fighting, but they were very good at dealing with the people. When they arrived at the village, they burned, killed, looted, and committed all kinds of evil. They were like a swarm of locusts, causing unrest everywhere.

The transport convoy of the Ye Charity Foundation encountered puppet troops and the Kwantung Army several times in the north. At first, due to the reputation of Ye's investment, the small groups of puppet troops did not dare to take action, while the Kwantung Army, relying on its firepower and advantages, attempted several looting attempts.

The most serious incident was when a small convoy of five vehicles and more than ten people were taken away and killed, and all the supplies were looted.

This time, the Kwantung Army completely angered Ye Luo.

The core of Ye Luo's business is, if you don't make a move, I won't make a move either. We compete in business ability, capital, connections, and technology, but if you use knives and guns, I'm not a vegetarian. Although most of Ye's Sports and Ye's Security have evacuated from the north, many employees remain in the local area, and some industries invested by Ye are still rooted in the north.

Even in the areas ruled by the Kwantung Army, people's livelihood and economy could not be completely ignored. After Chinese businessmen were constantly exploited, only Ye's investment could continue to survive.

At this point, Ye Investment announced a complete withdrawal from the north, with factories and shops closed, workers on strike, and funds transferred.

At the same time, Ye’s convoy gathered a new group of people. Even Liu Fangwu, who was training troops every day in Qing City, sent a battalion of elite troops there.

The most terrifying thing is the Jiacheng Tax Inspection Team.

Ye Luo equipped them with the best weapons and equipment, the best food, and the most elite soldiers. He bought and distributed anything that could be bought, including planes, cannons, tanks, and rocket launchers.

During the Battle of Shanghai, the General Tax Police Corps gave the Japanese invaders a warning, letting them know that as long as their equipment was not outdated, the Chinese army might not be able to defeat them.

Of course, Ye Luo would not be stupid enough to start a war. On the one hand, he publicly accused the Kwantung Army of its unscrupulous behavior, and on the other hand, he cracked down on Japanese spies and businessmen in the south.

No matter how awesome you are, you still need to eat, drink water and sleep.

After the economy of the southern business community was blockaded, even though the Japanese Consulate General interceded, places like the Shilipu Wharf would not allow any Japanese merchants to enter.

Ye Luo has a lot of people who go to your consulate and shops to cause trouble every day. You have to be careful if you are alone with the Japanese. If they suddenly disappear, you won’t be able to find them even if you go to the consular court.

Ye Luo also ran some consortium business in Japan, allowing Ye's investments to go on strike occasionally. He did everything, which directly caused the Kwantung Army a headache.

Although the Army Department is fanatical, it is not stupid. It is really stupid to cause economic obstruction and a sharp decline in business in China just for the sake of a dozen lives.

Even if they have already made an invasion plan, it doesn't mean that they have to destroy everything.

The Japanese puppet regime and the Kwantung Army began to promote education in the north, to be close to the people, and even set up primary schools to teach Japanese and carry out cultural invasion. However, once Ye's investment opposed it, none of their "people-friendly" measures worked.

The power of Ye Luo and Ye’s investment is much greater than they imagined.

After much discussion, the Kwantung Army actually sent the Japanese and puppet troops to return the looted vehicles and supplies intact to Ye's Investment. Of course, the soldiers who killed people would not be handed over, but in order to give Ye Luo an explanation, they lied that it was the puppet army who did it.

The puppet army took the blame and sent out more than a dozen Japanese and puppet elements, who were all beaten to death on the same day.

As a result, Ye's investment slowed down a bit and stopped making use of the matter.

Although Ye Luo's original intention was to completely destroy their economy and business, the north was already under their control after all, and many things could not be operated. This was the limit of what he could do.

However, this incident still aroused high praise from the majority of anti-Japanese people, and Ye Luo was pushed to the position of the first industrialist who saved the country in the Republic of China, which was in stark contrast to the reputation of Kong Xiangxi and others.

Who said that businessmen in the Republic of China cannot save the country?

Ye Luo was quietly eroding everything with subtle means, and was also trying his best to assist the anti-Japanese groups in resisting the Kwantung Army.

It was a shot in the arm for the people after the fall of Rehe. (End of this chapter)