20 years of the Republic of China

Chapter 579 A letter from home is worth ten thousand dollars

American Concession, inside the telegraph office hall.

According to the new calendar, the New Year is almost here, and the weather is naturally getting colder.

Chuanghu curled up in the corner of the bench, looking around like a thief.

Looking around, there were merchants and citizens everywhere queuing up to send telegrams, bustling with people.

Fortunately, Chuanghu arrived early enough and processed the matter expedited, so the family letter that Jiang Lianheng entrusted to him had already been sent to Fengtian in advance.

The Jiang family had many acquaintances in the telegraph office, and civilian telegrams were in clear text, so the news should be received quickly. Chuanghu did not leave, but simply waited in the hall for a reply.

However, no matter how fast the telegram travels, it is not instant communication.

Chuanghu waited from early morning to afternoon, had a meal nearby, but when he came back he still hadn't received a call back.

During this period, there was one thing that puzzled him greatly.

It is normal for citizens to talk about it a lot as several vicious cases occurred in the French Concession and the Old Town last night.

The strange thing was that, as he rushed all the way to the American Concession, apart from hearing a few peddlers occasionally discussing last night's case, almost all the intellectuals, respectable people, businessmen, and students did not take the matter to heart.

Although newspapers reported on it, most of the reports were squeezed into the corners of the pages, together with advertisements about hidden diseases.

At first, Chuanghu thought that the authorities were deliberately blocking the news.

But today's newspapers are extremely popular. No matter how many newspapers the little newsboy brings out, they will be sold out immediately after just one round on the street. All newspaper offices have to print more copies urgently.

After listening carefully to the cries of the little newspaper boy, Chuanghu finally realized: there was more important news attracting people's attention.

"Extra, Extra, the Washington Conference has officially started negotiations on the ownership of Jiaodong!"

"Three copper coins, three copper coins and you can see the latest progress of the negotiations!"

"This newspaper has exclusive insider information: the Liang cabinet is selling out the country and fawning on foreign powers, and is preparing to borrow money from the Japanese!"

"The latest telegram from the Zhili clique exposes the collusion between the Fengtian clique and the Communications clique in selling out the country. The evidence is irrefutable. Come and take a look!"

"Mr. Wu is scolding Marshal Zhang again. You can find out what he is scolding with two copper coins!"

"Zhang responded with a telegram, denouncing Zhiwu's 'military intervention in politics' and calling for peace talks between the North and the South!"

"Sun Dapao declares himself president, Governor Lu calls for 'federal autonomy', Zhang Laonuda responds positively, more insider information is available!"

The waves of urgent hawking caused a stir in the city and made people panic.

Many literate cultural celebrities, especially those passionate and generous young students, believed everything they heard. Without knowing the full picture of the situation, they felt that they had seen through the dark secrets based on just a few words in the newspaper. They immediately ran around the streets to tell others and gave angry speeches, as if they were about to burst into protest at any time.

Every piece of news is a major event concerning the survival of the country and the fate of the nation.

In comparison, what are the disputes, grudges, and personal ups and downs?
It's just a topic of conversation for people to entertain themselves after dinner.

Chuanghu listened in a daze, and had a vague premonition that after the foreign meeting was over, there would probably be another wave of protests in various places.

He waited in the telegraph hall for another hour or so. When he got up to ask, the Jiang family in Fengtian had already sent an urgent reply.

After receiving the telegram, Chuanghu naturally did not dare to delay and immediately took the tram back to the French Concession.

When they arrived at the Jiang family’s base, the brothers were busy preparing dinner.

Chuanghu walked into the main house in a hurry and handed the telegram in his hand to Jiang Lianheng.

The telegram sent originally stated Chen Ming's current situation and sought further support from his family or provincial government spies, but the reply seemed a little puzzling.

Jiang Lianheng took it and glanced at it quickly, and couldn't help but frowned.

When Zhao Guoyan and others saw this, they hurried forward to ask, "Boss, what did the sister-in-law say?"

"Hiss—" Jiang Lianheng muttered to himself, "She told me to read the newspaper more and pay attention to the current situation."

Before he finished speaking, Chuanghu took out a thick stack of newspapers from his arms, placed them on the table, and said, "Boss, I've prepared everything for you."

"What's the meaning of asking us to read more newspapers?" Li Zhengxi asked with a frown.

Jiang Lianheng shook his head and said, "It may not be convenient to say it clearly."

"Nothing else, then?"

"Yes, your sister-in-law said that she sent someone to ask Shu Ning, and it seemed that a lot of people from Guangdong Province came to the house a few days ago."

Hearing this, Li Zhengxi's face suddenly changed, and he said anxiously: "It can't be that serious, the people from the Yue Gang went directly to our house?"

Jiang Lianheng waved his hand and explained, "Don't be so surprised. The 'home' mentioned above is obviously not our home. It's Fengtian. To be more precise, it should be that many people from Guangdong Province came to Lao Zhang's home."

Zhao Guoyan took the telegram, glanced up and down, and said after a pause: "My sister-in-law also said...the neighbors next door are going to Jiangzuo to play recently. Before she left, she asked Nanfeng to tell them to take good care of us after they go to Jiangzuo...what does this mean?"

Jiang and Hu have their own tacit understanding.

Jiang Lianheng said immediately: "Isn't it obvious? The news was obtained from the military office. This is a civilian telegram, and she couldn't say it directly, so she had to write it like this."

As he said this, he picked up the newspaper on the table and tried to find clues in the newspaper while combining it with the call back from home.

"You guys go eat first. I'll stay here alone for a while."

Jiang Lianheng sent everyone away, lit the oil lamp, spat on the tips of his fingers, and then began to flip through the books quickly.

Most of the news in the newspapers was about the Washington Conference, which was international news and obviously had nothing to do with what was happening in Shanghai.

So he focused on reading some news about the Fengtian clique.

It is no longer a new thing for Zhang Laogeda and Wu Xiucai to curse each other in the air.

As the saying goes, when a scholar encounters a soldier, he cannot explain why.

But if a person is both a scholar and a general, that is a different matter.

Wu Xiucai cursed people without using any dirty words, and his ways were numerous. He was very good at inciting public opinion and attacking Zhang Laugeda frequently under the guise of public opinion. Although Zhang Laugeda had many literati and poets under his command to respond to him, they were always at a disadvantage.

However, Jiang Lianheng soon noticed something was wrong. No matter how fiercely Wu Xiucai scolded, he was the only one shouting. Zhang Laogeda was different. Whenever he made a proposal, Lu Dujun and Sun Dapao would often respond. Although they never directly stood on the side of Fengtian clique, they always sang the opposite tune of Zhili clique in secret.

Wu Xiucai criticized Feng and Zhang for manipulating the cabinet, colluding with the old and new transportation factions, embezzling state money and grain, strengthening the power of the Fengtian Army, and selling out the country for personal gain.

Governor Lu responded sarcastically: Traitors must be punished, but patriots must be shown in their own way. If we use the name of "eliminating traitors for the country" to create opportunities for cunning officials, the Chinese people have a clear conscience and will fight to the death.

No matter how you look at it, Feng, Anhui, and Yue, also known as Zhang, Lu, and Sun, all have the same tone of flirting and husband and wife following each other.

Combined with the letter from Fengtian, Jiang Lianheng frowned, a light bulb went off in his head, and he blurted out:

"Marshal Zhang, General Lu, and Sun Dapao...are these three secretly allied?"

…………

At the same time, south of Shanghai, in Lin'an City, Zhejiang Province.

Outside the gate of the Provincial Government's Military Governor's Office, several black cars slowly stopped by the roadside. A team of secret envoys consisting of five or six Fengtian clique officers got out of the cars and, led by the office's staff and others, quickly walked into the gate of the Military Governor's Office.

Everyone walked into a small meeting room, drew the curtains, turned on the lights, and took their seats.

But the man sitting at the first seat had broad shoulders, a strong body, wide arms and a round waist, and had two thick mustaches, a typical northern appearance.

This person was none other than the last pillar of the Anhui clique, the veritable "King of Jiangnan", Mr. Lu's father, and the governor of Zhejiang Province, Lu Zhenhe.

After a round of greetings and pleasantries, everyone gradually got into the topic of the talks - the secret anti-Zhi triangle alliance.

They discussed their respective military situations in a half-concealed manner for a while, and then began to discuss anti-Zhi strategies. From public opinion to federal autonomy, to preparations for the worst-case scenario of war, the talks between the two sides seemed to be going exceptionally smoothly.

The Fengtian envoy said: "In short, Marshal Zhang hopes that General Lu can put aside past grudges and join us in fighting against the Zhili clique. If there is a day of war in the future, we hope that General Lu can contain the Zhili clique's troops in the south."

When General Lu heard this, he waved his hands and laughed in his Shandong accent:

"Hey, opposing the Zhi will benefit everyone, so why talk about letting bygones be bygones? Let's forget about the past! Besides, Marshal Yu is kind and righteous, and he gave Old Duan enough face, which can be regarded as helping us. If we let that Wu Xiucai make all the decisions, the Anfu faction will be finished. The Feng and Wan families are now in the same boat!"

"The governor is indeed very righteous!"

The Fengtian secret envoys quickly praised him.

Governor Lu smiled and didn't take it seriously. He just followed the topic and asked, "Then...what is Sun Dapao's attitude in the south?"

"Da Pao has made it clear that if a war breaks out, he will immediately lead his troops to the north and attack Cao and Wu's armies from both the north and the south together with our two families."

"It's best not to trust Da Pao's words!" Governor Lu frowned and said, "I heard that he hasn't even settled his own situation in Guangdong and Guangxi. If Marshal Yu wants to support him, he must be very cautious!"

The secret envoy smiled and said, "That's true, but Da Pao is a man with a good reputation. No matter how good Mr. Wu is at speaking in plain language, as long as we can bring this Buddha out, we will be revolutionary, advanced, and correct, and we won't have to worry about any propaganda offensive by the Zhili clique."

These remarks won unanimous approval from the Anhui officers.

The Fengtian envoy went on to say, "Shanghai is an important trading center. Britain and the United States support Cao and Wu, and many military supplies must be shipped through Shanghai. According to Marshal Zhang, since our two countries have formed an alliance, we also hope to cooperate in intelligence."

"Of course!" Commander Lu nodded and said, "What war is about is intelligence and logistics. Since Old Duan has already discussed it with Marshal Yu, I will of course have no objection, but... the situation in Shanghai is more complicated. The military and political affairs are under my jurisdiction, but the Zhili clique is always interfering in the police affairs!"

"Is it the one with the surname Xu?"

"It's him. This guy has 7,000 patrolmen under his command. He always wants to interfere in Shanghai. The military and the police are always fighting. It's not easy to deal with!"

"Can't we just get rid of him?"

"I would like to, but there is no suitable candidate right now." Governor Lu pondered, "Also, Mr. Wu is too good at writing and always stirs up public opinion. I don't want to be easily criticized by him."

The Fengtian clique secret agents looked at each other and said, "General, the gangs in Shanghai are very powerful. Have you ever tried to use the Green Gang to deal with the Xu guy?"

"You mean Huang Ma Pi and the others?"

Commander Lu snorted twice, and said with disdain, "What kind of shit are these three? They are all spineless. When they see an official, they are more cowardly than ordinary people. It's okay to let them make some money and get some gossip, but they don't have the ability to kill the chief of the Songhu Patrol Office."

Many military officers who frequently traveled to Shanghai immediately echoed the words.

As we were talking, it was gradually time for dinner.

Governor Lu stood up and suggested that since it was an informal meeting, there was no need to be too restrained and it would be better to just eat and chat at the same time.

The Fengtian secret envoy naturally did not say a word and followed the host's arrangements.

Unexpectedly, when they were walking through the corridor, the leader of the delegation suddenly took the opportunity to approach Governor Lu and whispered:

"General, we just mentioned intelligence cooperation. If the Fengtian clique wants to establish a liaison station in Shanghai, what do you think?"

Governor Lu responded and said hurriedly, "That would be better, and it would also be convenient for communication. Shanghai is now full of intelligence bases, including liaison offices, hometown associations, business groups, and foreign companies in various provinces. They say they are doing business, but in fact they are all collecting intelligence. Come on, come on, please sit down!"

The foreign concessions in Shanghai were nominally the territory of the Anhui clique.

But in reality, Governor Lu could only barely control the Chinese area, and he also had to fight openly and secretly with the Songhu Patrol Office.

Now that Feng and Wan have formed an alliance, stable and reliable intelligence cooperation will naturally benefit both sides.

The leader of the secret envoys came to the table and said, "General, to be honest, I have a friend in Shanghai recently. He is also my good friend. I heard that he doesn't seem to get along well with the so-called "three tycoons" in the foreign land. Can you help to mediate between them?"

"Is this what you mean, just a wandering gang, doing some minor things?" Commander Lu smiled nonchalantly.

Yes, the so-called fighting in the rivers and lakes, in the eyes of these big men, is nothing more than a childish fight, not worth taking another look or asking one more question.

Unexpectedly, the leader of the secret envoys saw that Governor Lu didn't seem to care much, so he immediately added: "Governor, my good buddy is in Fengtian, and he is also trusted by our Marshal Zhang. Please take the trouble to help him."

Upon hearing this, Commander Lu immediately became serious. After thinking for a moment, he casually asked the man's name, then raised his hand to call his adjutant and whispered:

"Send a telegram to He Fenglin and tell him that there's a guy called... called... oh, called Jiang Lianheng in Shanghai. Take good care of him and tell Huang Ma Pi and the other two to stop getting ahead of themselves!"

The adjutant received the order and immediately withdrew and did it.

Unexpectedly, Governor Lu forgot Jiang Lianheng's name in such a short moment - they were all small characters, like ants, or at most ladybugs - the leader of the delegation had just made a request, and as the host, he just went along with it and did a favor.

It's just a matter of words!
Just a word...

(End of this chapter)