20 years of the Republic of China

Chapter 541: Mutual Benefit between China and the West
"Dang——dang——dang——"

The next day, it was early morning again.

In the suburbs of Fengtian's outer city, Nanguan Catholic Church stands among a group of cold kiln tiles.

The bells on the tower echoed for a long time, the choir was praising God, and the ethereal gospel spread far and wide. Chinese and foreign believers in the provincial capital followed the music and came from all directions to worship.

On the east side of the church is a row of ancillary buildings, including study rooms, reading rooms, chapels, orphanages, canteens, dormitories, etc.

On weekdays, the clergy live and preach here.

At this time, several Jiang family "gang" brothers were gathering not far away to gossip, and from time to time they whistled at the young nun to tease her.

Wang Zhengnan left the brothers behind, walked around the slogan "God loves the world", and hurriedly walked towards the buildings on the east side of the church.

As soon as I arrived at the door, I saw an old missionary in his seventies walking down the steps and coming towards me with a smile.

His name is Su Peiris. He is a clergyman of the Society of Foreign Missions in Paris, France, and the second vicar apostolic of the South Manchuria Diocese. However, he just retired last year and is currently busy handing over work to his successor bishop.

Su Peiris lived in the Far East for thirty or forty years.

He began to preach outside the Great Wall during the Qing Dynasty. He witnessed the burning of the Nanguan Cathedral by the "Big Brother" in the Gengzi Year, and was later responsible for rebuilding the church. Therefore, he enjoyed a very high reputation in the "Foreign Mission Society" in the Far East.

In fact, it is difficult to find a missionary with more seniority than him in all the dioceses in the Far East.

As soon as he saw Nanfeng coming, Su Peilis immediately waved and greeted him in fluent Chinese.

"Good morning, Wang."

The two of them are close friends regardless of age difference, for no other reason than that the Jiang family usually donates a lot of money.

Wang Zhengnan had been hanging out with foreigners for a long time. Although he didn't understand French and German, he could speak a few words of the most common English.

He could not tell the difference between Catholicism and Protestantism, and had only a vague understanding of the hierarchy of clergy. In short, whenever he met a missionary, he called them all "Father". Unfortunately, his pronunciation was not standard, and he pronounced "Father" as "Fader", which inevitably sounded a bit like an insult.

The two exchanged a few words at the door.

Immediately, Su Peilis turned sideways and raised his hand to invite, "King, please come in. I will introduce you to the new bishop of the South Manchuria Diocese."

"Oh, thank you so much, thank you for your hard work." Wang Zhengnan said politely, "Please, please, please go first."

As they were talking, the two pushed open the door, walked through the corridor, and came into a seemingly simple reception room.

There was only a long table and a few chairs in the room, which looked extremely monotonous, but the tea sets on the shelf in the corner were quite exquisite and expensive.

At this time, there was only a missionary in his prime in the reception room. He was wearing a black Taoist robe with a little white on his collar. He was bald and had a beard. When he saw someone coming in, he immediately stood up to greet them.

"Wang, let me introduce him to you." Su Peilisi stood between the two of them, his tone particularly enthusiastic, "This is the third vicar apostolic of the South Manchuria Diocese, his Chinese name is Wei Zhongfan."

"Fader, hello, hello." Wang Zhengnan quickly extended his hand.

Su Peiris then introduced him to his church colleagues: "This is Mr. Wang, whom I often mentioned to you. In the past few years, Mr. Wang has made great contributions to the development of our church in South Manchuria and donated a lot of money. Your future work in Fengtian will depend on his support!"

Upon hearing this, Wei Zhongfan also extended his hand solemnly and said with a smile: "Thank you, Mr. Wang, for your generous support to the church. May the Lord be with you."

"No, no, no, Fader, you are too polite. These are just small matters, not worth mentioning!"

Wang Zhengnan quickly declined, saying, "We are all lost lambs. God is the shepherd. It is only natural for a shepherd to gather some wool from the sheep. Haha!"

Su Peilis and Wei Zhongfan looked at each other and both felt that this set of rhetoric was a bit awkward.

Wang Zhengnan also felt that his choice of words was a bit inappropriate, so he quickly changed his words and said, "What I meant was that my donations were actually guided by God. I have to donate, and I will not feel at ease if I don't donate."

Only then did the two missionaries feel relieved and immediately invited Nanfeng to sit down and discuss the matter.

Today's meeting was both Nanfeng's initiative and an invitation from the Nanman Diocese.

Both parties came with different purposes, so without any polite words, they quickly got down to business.

When they first met, Wei Zhongfan seemed quite reserved and said shyly, "Mr. Wang, I will take over Bishop Su Peiris' work in Fengtian from now on. I hope you can continue to support the development of the church as before."

"I support you. I must support you!" Wang Zhengnan nodded repeatedly. "Fader, if you have any requests, just let me know."

Su Peilisi took over the conversation and said frankly: "It is like this, Bishop Wei Zhongfan wants to open a clinic near the church to provide free medical care for our believers and the people of Fengtian."

"Benefiting the country and the people, accumulating good deeds, this is a good thing, you must take me with you!" Wang Zhengnan patted his chest and promised, "When the time comes to donate, I will definitely take the lead in donating, who can make me guilty!"

Wei Zhongfan was very happy and nodded in approval: "Mr. Wang is indeed a role model for Chinese Christians!"

"Hey, Fader, don't rush to praise me. If you want to open a clinic, I promise I can help you raise money, but I have to make it clear that I have been donating to the church on behalf of the Jiang family in the past few years. You should also remember this favor to my boss."

"Mr. Wang, there is no need to be so modest. We know that you have been lobbying the Jiang family to support the church."

"Hey, no matter how much I lobby, isn't the money paid by my employer?"

"I understand. In that case, I will pray for Mr. Jiang. May the Lord bless him."

Wang Zhengnan moved his chair forward and said, "Praying is of course better, but I hope more that you, Fader, can formally acknowledge that my brother, Jiang Lianheng, is a member of your Foreign Mission Society and enjoys the church's protection?"

Su Peilisi and Wei Zhongfan looked at each other and said in confusion, "This is not a difficult matter. If Mr. Jiang is willing to convert, we are willing to accept him. But Mr. Jiang seems to have never been here."

"Well, it's mainly because my boss is too busy with work and has no time. In fact, he already has God in his heart."

"This……"

Wei Zhongfan hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Has Mr. Jiang been baptized?"

Wang Zhengnan shook his head: "Not yet."

"Does he renounce Satan?"

"Reject him. He and Satan are sworn enemies!"

Wei Zhongfan turned to look at Su Peilis, and suddenly muttered something in French, as if he was arguing whether such an arrangement was legal.

After a moment, it seemed that the old missionary had the upper hand.

Su Peiris nodded and said, "Considering Mr. Jiang's influence in Fengtian and his support for the church over the years, I think we can make an exception and recognize his status as a believer first, and then hold a conversion ceremony in the future." Wei Zhongfan also expressed his opinion, "The premise is that Mr. Jiang will continue to support our church and the clinic project..."

"Don't worry! As long as Fader recognizes my identity as the owner, let alone a clinic, even if you build a hospital, the Jiang family will fully support you!"

Both parties got what they needed, so the negotiation process was naturally quite pleasant.

Although Wang Zhengnan did not fully understand the status of the church among Western countries, one thing was very clear to him: these missionaries were far more powerful than they appeared.

The French Concession was a powerful force in its own right with two territories and three administrations. The bishops of various dioceses in the Far East also had many connections with each other.

Therefore, Wang Zhengnan specially came to meet with the new vicar apostolic of the South Manchuria Diocese, trying to provide an identity insurance for his brother who was thousands of miles away. Although he was not sure whether it would work, it was better than being unprepared.

As the newly appointed bishop of the diocese, Wei Zhongfan also needs the support of local gentry to successfully take over the mantle of Su Peiris.

The two parties felt mutually beneficial and hit it off immediately.

……

……

After leaving the Nanguan Catholic Church, Wang Zhengnan, escorted by his brothers, traveled to various foreign companies in Fengtian and the residences of foreign journalists, making connections and trying his best to provide invisible network support for Jiang Lianheng and others who were far away in Shanghai.

After working all day, I was already exhausted.

When it was dusk, I passed Xiaoxiguan and was just arriving at the gate of Zongheng Insurance Company when I happened to meet Yasipson again.

The two chatted for a while, and Wang Zhengnan asked, "It's almost dark, why are you here?"

Yasipsen said with emotion: "Mr. Wang, I have to go back to Liaonan to reopen Demao Foreign Trade Co., Mr. Zhao just came to see me, and I also came to say goodbye to Fangyan."

Wang Zhengnan had finished a whole day's work. After hearing this, he simply went into the insurance company building with the German and headed towards the top floor office.

"What does Lao Zhao want to talk to you about?" Nanfeng asked as they walked.

Jaspersen lowered his voice and explained, "We want to discuss an arms deal."

"Your trading company hasn't even reopened yet, but you're already selling goods now?" Wang Zhengnan was a little surprised.

Yasipsen smiled in a cryptic way and said, "Mr. Wang, if we wait until the foreign company resumes business before looking for a source of goods, it will be too late."

"I understand this, but I heard from those foreign reporters that your country's weapons have all been destroyed, haven't they?"

"What was destroyed were all large equipment. There were still guns and bullets, especially Mauser pistols. Our soldiers didn't like to use them, but I didn't expect you to like them so much. A lot of stocks have long been smuggled to the Far East."

At this point, Jaspersen suddenly asked, "By the way, has Mr. Jiang not returned from Shanghai yet?"

Wang Zhengnan shook his head and sighed, "This is going to be a long story, let's talk about it slowly when we get into the office!"

As they were talking, the two of them arrived at the door of the top-floor office.

When I opened the door, I saw Zhao Guoyan sitting on the sofa receiving two unfamiliar guests.

Fangyan was standing by the desk, patiently sorting out many documents. When he saw Yasipson come in, he hurried over and called him "Sir" with a smile, just like he did more than ten years ago.

The two of them exchanged pleasantries.

Wang Zhengnan turned his gaze towards the sofa, and saw two burly men in padded jackets chatting and laughing there.

"Old Zhao, who are these two..." He walked forward and asked hesitantly.

Without waiting for Zhao Guoyan to reply, the two men tilted their heads and looked at Nanfeng. While playing with a cowboy hat in their hands, they sneered and asked, "What? Don't you recognize me?"

"These two are Li Zhengshan's brothers. They come here specially to help the family." Zhao Guoyan introduced.

"You're coming so quickly?" Wang Zhengnan was a little surprised.

"How can we not be quick!" the two bandits said carelessly, "Our boss heard that Boss Jiang was in trouble in the south, so he sent us here immediately. After all, we have been friends for more than ten years, so we should just consider it as a visit."

Wang Zhengnan then realized that just one day after Lao Niu, Lao Jie and Yang Lazi left, they had already started sending people to Fengtian one after another.

Why so fast?
The main reason lies in the South Manchuria Railway.

The Japanese had been cultivating the areas outside the Great Wall for nearly twenty years. In order to plunder resources outside the Great Wall efficiently, they built railways. Over a dozen years, railways crisscrossed Feng Province and southern Jilin Province like a spider web. The bandits could travel through the entire province by train in just one day and one night.

Zhao Guoyan looked up at Wang Zhengnan and said, "Nanfeng, it's a good thing that you are here. Please help arrange accommodation for these two brothers later."

Wang Zhengnan responded and quickly called the two bandits to go downstairs with him.

After all, an insurance company is a legitimate business on the surface, and you can't invite a bunch of bandits to discuss business here.

But the two bandits waved their hands and said, "There's no rush for accommodation. The main thing is that we came here empty-handed. We didn't bring any weapons. You should hurry up and prepare your guns!"

"Don't worry, we have the guns." Zhao Guoyan raised his hand and pointed at Yasipson, "My family has ordered twenty large mirror guns. Once the job is done, you can take the guns back directly."

The two bandits' eyes lit up and they said happily, "Free? That's for sure, don't let them get away with it later."

"That won't happen. Just don't be a coward when the time comes."

Hearing this, the two bandits immediately curled their lips and snorted, "Fuck, I've been fighting the Russians in the mountains all year. What's the matter? Are those bastards in Shanghai more powerful than the Russian soldiers?"

Just as he finished speaking, there was a knock on the office door.

"Come in!" Zhao Guoyan informed.

Then, a Jiang family member named Xiangzi poked his head in from outside the door and whispered, "Brother Yan, the gang from Dagu Mountain has sent people here, as well as people from Diaobing Mountain... Should we ask them all to come up?"

An arrow pierces the clouds, and thousands of troops come to meet you.

The Jiang family has had its business in Feng Province for ten years, relying on Zhang Laugeda as its backer. However, this is the first time that the Jiang family, as the leader, has called together the "horizontal gangs" on the line. In less than two days, several nearby gangs have responded to the call.

Even though these bandits are scattered everywhere and their numbers are small, we cannot let them run around the city. Otherwise, if they get into trouble, we will have to explain to the government.

Zhao Guoyan simply stood up and said loudly: "My sister-in-law has said that guests are welcome. Let the brothers go to the Club tonight for a banquet. We will set off on time tomorrow afternoon. Those who are late will not be waited for."

(End of this chapter)