Chapter 571 Far East 3 - Rectifying the Concession Gang Forces
"Brother Zhu, Miss Miao and Miss Lin, in recent years, the order in Shanghai has been out of control, and various gangs are rampant. In order to ensure the stability of the empire's commercial interests, you are specially transferred here to assist Director Wu and Captain Huang to integrate the underground gang forces and escort the empire's commercial trade in Shanghai.
These two are Director Wu and Captain Huang. "
Liang Xing, the chief of the Military Intelligence Department who came all the way from Lan Fang, sat at the top seat and introduced.
"Meet Director Wu and Captain Huang."
The three of them saluted in unison.
"Okay, now that we're all acquainted, let's not waste any more time on small talk. Director Wu, please introduce the current situation of the Shanghai Stock Exchange and future plans to everyone."
"Yes, Chief Liang."
Wu Diaoqing replied, introducing: "Since 1895, Britain, France and Germany have intensified their efforts to penetrate Shanghai. Britain and France have successively forced the Qing court to sign treaties to expand the area of the two countries' concessions and obtain economic and political privileges in the Shanghai area.
Affected by the expansion of power in various countries and the weakening of the Qing court's control, the social order in Shanghai tended to be out of control. Various secret societies such as the Hongmen, Qingbang, and Caobang rushed to enter the Shanghai area and vigorously expanded their membership. Various illegal activities became increasingly rampant, which had seriously affected the import and trade of the empire's domestic industrial and commercial products.
To this end, at the request of the imperial government, the Military Intelligence Department will work with the Taiping Society to integrate and control the gang forces in Shanghai and Jiangsu and Zhejiang. Gang forces that are willing to obey the management policies formulated by the empire, have no blood debts on their hands, and actively cooperate can be absorbed as peripheral forces, while gang forces that engage in illegal activities, act as accomplices to evil, rely on foreigners, and oppress the people will be severely cracked down.
Brother Zhu, Miss Miao, Miss Lin. This is the information on various secret societies collected by the Taiping Society and the Military Intelligence Department. You can take a look at it first to understand the situation. "
After Wu Tiaoqing finished speaking, he ordered his servants to place several documents on the table in front of the three people.
"The British are behind Desheng Hall, the head of Ruian Hall has a close relationship with the American director of the International Settlement, Chong'an Hall obeys the orders of the French Concession, and the head of Basheng Hall, Zhou Baorui, is the sworn brother of Wang Hanxiang, the detective chief of the French Concession."
Zhu Zhankui glanced over the documents and said, "Director Wu, what is the background of Zhou Baorui, the leader of Basheng Hall? He has only been in Shanghai for four years, but he has managed to seize several plots of land from other gangs. His gang has grown to thousands of members in just a few years, and he has even gotten involved in the opium business that is tightly controlled by foreigners."
"Just based on the sworn brotherhood of the French Concession Inspector, no matter how powerful Zhou Baorui is, he can't expand his influence to such an extent."
Wu Diaoqing explained: "Zhou Baorui is a vicious and cruel person who will do anything to achieve his goals. He has a group of desperate criminals who came from Jiangbei under his command. In addition, he is known as the leader of the Qing Gang. That's why he was able to gain a foothold in Shanghai."
"There is another reason. The Green Gang is preparing to expand its sphere of influence in the Shanghai area and compete with the Hongmen and Caobang for territory. Therefore, Zhou Baorui can get continuous support from the Green Gang, and his power will expand to the current level."
Huang Ping, head of the Shanghai branch of the Tai Ping Association, added.
"Chief Liang, Chief Wu, and Captain Huang, please follow your duties.
The Bashengtang are the most arrogant and brutal. We can use them as a breakthrough point. By defeating them, we can serve as a warning to other gangs.”
"Okay, Brother Zhu, do you have any specific ideas?"
Liang Xing asked.
"I plan to invite all the gangs to a meeting in a private capacity, and then find a reason to rectify them."
"It's a good idea to paralyze the various gangs by using your identity as the leader of Yongxing Hall. Brother Zhu, just go ahead and do it. If there's anything you need our cooperation for, just let us know."
Liang Xing agreed.
"To deal with the local gangs in Shanghai, it is better to use new faces. Miss Lin, Miss Miao and I brought 600 good fighters from Jiaozhou, and then selected to brothers who are familiar with the various gangs in Shanghai. That will be enough."
"Okay, the mainland has sent over a batch of new weapons and equipment, mainly pistols, grenades, and crossbows. Brother Zhu, the meeting is over. You, Miss Lin, and Miss Miao will go to the secret base in Zhabei to receive the weapons and equipment and replace the weapons you are currently using. Get familiar with the new weapons first, and then start implementing the plan after you are used to using them."
"Thank you, Chief Liang."
Zhu Zhankui said happily that he didn't expect that after coming to Shanghai, he could use the new weapons and equipment produced locally.
"Director Wu, you are responsible for the business affairs. I will not interfere too much. However, according to the instructions of the imperial government, Western countries are rapidly strengthening their control over the Far East. The competition between the empire and other countries in the industrial and commercial fields is also becoming increasingly fierce. How to stabilize and expand the economic market in the Far East is a major issue. I hope Director Wu will take more care of it."
"Don't worry, Director Liang. The Far East is the most important overseas economic market of the empire. Nothing will go wrong. I plan to apply to the mainland to first establish a bank in the concession area to absorb funds from wealthy households, officials, and local powerful groups in the Far East.
Secondly, we should call together representatives of major businessmen and governors-general to deepen the cooperative relationship with them and hand over a part of the downstream industries of light industry to them for management, while the machines, equipment and raw materials will be uniformly controlled by local people.
Finally, it was promised that some people would be granted overseas nationality, allowing them to transfer funds and industries to Songkhla, Lan Fang, Iju Islands and other places. When their personal safety was threatened, they could also seek intervention and protection from the empire.
I believe that with these conditions, those businessmen and local officials would also be happy to have an extra way out and an extra security guarantee. "
"The Shanghai Stock Exchange is a mixed market of Chinese and foreigners, and various forces are too deeply involved. If the bank absorbs too much money in the future, it is recommended to move the bank's headquarters to Songkhla or Lan Fang to ensure the safety of funds."
Liang Xing nodded in agreement, and then put forward his own additional views.
In the French Concession in Shanghai, from a dilapidated house, intermittent screams and rough gasps were heard. The house had poor sound insulation, and the sounds of the man's violence and the woman's torture and painful screams continued to spread outward, but the nearby residents all closed their doors and windows and dared not make a sound.
After a long time, the screams became weaker and weaker. After a period of silence, a violent roar from a man was heard.
The door opened and a man with a naked upper body and a ferocious face walked out. The man glanced at the men standing at the door, looked at them coldly for a moment, and then walked away.
Several men did not dare to look at the man and walked into the room tremblingly. What they saw was a female corpse with scars all over her body, a messy face, bulging eyes, and a terrified expression on her face.
It was obvious that the woman suffered inhuman abuse and torture before her death.
Although several of his men were also engaged in illegal gang activities, they were still ordinary people. When they saw the tragic death of the woman, they still felt a complex emotion of fear, disgust, and dissatisfaction. However, the man's powerful gang background, strength, and brutal methods were deeply engraved in their hearts, so that even if they were dissatisfied, they dared not show it.
After hastily disposing of the woman's body, several of his men followed the man. One of them, who looked like a master, said carefully, "Master, a group of new faces have recently arrived from Jiaozhou, led by Zhu Zhankui, the master of Yongxing Hall. They have occupied territory in Zhabei, and Zhu Zhankui has sent out invitations. He has invited the bosses of various gangs to have a dinner at Defeng Building in the public concession. They have also sent you an invitation."
"What is the background of Yongxing Hall?"
"It has not been investigated yet. They were previously developing in Jiaozhou and the Qilu region, and their influence was huge, with more than 10,000 formal members and peripheral followers. They also had close relations with the government in the Qilu region, and Zhu Zhankui often went in and out of the local government."
"Keep investigating and report back after you have found out everything."
"Should we accept the invitation?"
"Go, I want to see who is so bold as to come to Shanghai to grab territory."
The man said expressionlessly.
"Master, Inspector Wang has sent a message that two dock workers have tipped off Huang Ping, the director of Shunhe Trading Company, and said bad things about you. Inspector Wang has sent someone to remind you that you should be more cautious recently and wait until this storm is over. There are many women out there, so you don't need to be targeted by the Taiping Society at this critical moment."
The man's expression changed slightly. Huang Ping was the director of Shunhe Trading Company, but in fact he was the head of the Shanghai area of Taiping Society. Although Huang Ping was usually low-key and kind, once he got angry, few gangs could withstand his attack.
Behind Huang Ping stood the Taiping Society, and behind the Taiping Society stood the Military Intelligence Department and the Han army.
Compared with the Taiping Society, all the gang forces in Shanghai combined are not enough, the two are not opponents of the same level at all.
"Deal with the bodies properly and don't leave any trouble. Send another 200 people from Jiangbei to Shanghai. If the uncles ask, just say that we have taken over two new territories and need manpower to maintain them."
"Yes, Hall Master."
The master nodded and observed the man's expression carefully, and continued, "The day after tomorrow, Zhenhua Textile Factory will officially open for production, but their shopkeeper did not send an invitation to Bashengtang to attend. I guess it may be that their shopkeeper has just arrived and is not familiar with the situation in Shanghai, so he forgot to send an invitation. Master, do you think we should send someone to their factory to remind them?"
"What is the background of Zhenhua Textile Factory? Is it related to some official or some foreign comprador?"
The man showed an impatient expression on his face as things continued to go wrong.
"The background of Zhenhua Textile Factory has been investigated. They are just a group of ordinary Jiangnan businessmen. They have no official background in Shanghai, and they are not compradors of foreigners. Zhao Deyuan, the major shareholder of Zhenhua Textile Factory, originally built several textile factories in southern Jiangsu. The factory area was once sealed by the local county magistrate.
Chen Delin, the owner of Zhenhua, was even more of a minor character. He was born a beggar and worked as an apprentice in a dyeing factory in the Qilu region. Later, he got lucky and married the daughter of the dyeing factory owner. He had a little wealth, and then Zhao Deyuan and Chen Delin invested in a joint venture to build the Zhenhua Textile Factory in Shanghai.
"What are you waiting for? When you get to Shanghai, you don't burn incense or worship at the temple. Go, bring dozens of people with you. Burn down their textile factory at night. A local rich man who runs a dyeing factory has no idea of his own limitations."
"Master, should we send someone to warn them first? Perhaps they haven't heard of Basheng Hall yet."
"It's hard to say for sure about Chen Delin, but Zhao Deyuan is doing business in southern Jiangsu, so it's impossible that he hasn't heard of Bashengtang. Sending people to warn them is too easy. Burning down the textile factory will let them know that in Shanghai, no one can do business without Bashengtang's permission."
"Yes, Hall Master."
The lawyer didn't dare to offend the man and agreed respectfully.
"Brother Zhu, Miss Miao and Miss Lin, in recent years, the order in Shanghai has been out of control, and various gangs are rampant. In order to ensure the stability of the empire's commercial interests, you are specially transferred here to assist Director Wu and Captain Huang to integrate the underground gang forces and escort the empire's commercial trade in Shanghai.
These two are Director Wu and Captain Huang. "
Liang Xing, the chief of the Military Intelligence Department who came all the way from Lan Fang, sat at the top seat and introduced.
"Meet Director Wu and Captain Huang."
The three of them saluted in unison.
"Okay, now that we're all acquainted, let's not waste any more time on small talk. Director Wu, please introduce the current situation of the Shanghai Stock Exchange and future plans to everyone."
"Yes, Chief Liang."
Wu Diaoqing replied, introducing: "Since 1895, Britain, France and Germany have intensified their efforts to penetrate Shanghai. Britain and France have successively forced the Qing court to sign treaties to expand the area of the two countries' concessions and obtain economic and political privileges in the Shanghai area.
Affected by the expansion of power in various countries and the weakening of the Qing court's control, the social order in Shanghai tended to be out of control. Various secret societies such as the Hongmen, Qingbang, and Caobang rushed to enter the Shanghai area and vigorously expanded their membership. Various illegal activities became increasingly rampant, which had seriously affected the import and trade of the empire's domestic industrial and commercial products.
To this end, at the request of the imperial government, the Military Intelligence Department will work with the Taiping Society to integrate and control the gang forces in Shanghai and Jiangsu and Zhejiang. Gang forces that are willing to obey the management policies formulated by the empire, have no blood debts on their hands, and actively cooperate can be absorbed as peripheral forces, while gang forces that engage in illegal activities, act as accomplices to evil, rely on foreigners, and oppress the people will be severely cracked down.
Brother Zhu, Miss Miao, Miss Lin. This is the information on various secret societies collected by the Taiping Society and the Military Intelligence Department. You can take a look at it first to understand the situation. "
After Wu Tiaoqing finished speaking, he ordered his servants to place several documents on the table in front of the three people.
"The British are behind Desheng Hall, the head of Ruian Hall has a close relationship with the American director of the International Settlement, Chong'an Hall obeys the orders of the French Concession, and the head of Basheng Hall, Zhou Baorui, is the sworn brother of Wang Hanxiang, the detective chief of the French Concession."
Zhu Zhankui glanced over the documents and said, "Director Wu, what is the background of Zhou Baorui, the leader of Basheng Hall? He has only been in Shanghai for four years, but he has managed to seize several plots of land from other gangs. His gang has grown to thousands of members in just a few years, and he has even gotten involved in the opium business that is tightly controlled by foreigners."
"Just based on the sworn brotherhood of the French Concession Inspector, no matter how powerful Zhou Baorui is, he can't expand his influence to such an extent."
Wu Diaoqing explained: "Zhou Baorui is a vicious and cruel person who will do anything to achieve his goals. He has a group of desperate criminals who came from Jiangbei under his command. In addition, he is known as the leader of the Qing Gang. That's why he was able to gain a foothold in Shanghai."
"There is another reason. The Green Gang is preparing to expand its sphere of influence in the Shanghai area and compete with the Hongmen and Caobang for territory. Therefore, Zhou Baorui can get continuous support from the Green Gang, and his power will expand to the current level."
Huang Ping, head of the Shanghai branch of the Tai Ping Association, added.
"Chief Liang, Chief Wu, and Captain Huang, please follow your duties.
The Bashengtang are the most arrogant and brutal. We can use them as a breakthrough point. By defeating them, we can serve as a warning to other gangs.”
"Okay, Brother Zhu, do you have any specific ideas?"
Liang Xing asked.
"I plan to invite all the gangs to a meeting in a private capacity, and then find a reason to rectify them."
"It's a good idea to paralyze the various gangs by using your identity as the leader of Yongxing Hall. Brother Zhu, just go ahead and do it. If there's anything you need our cooperation for, just let us know."
Liang Xing agreed.
"To deal with the local gangs in Shanghai, it is better to use new faces. Miss Lin, Miss Miao and I brought 600 good fighters from Jiaozhou, and then selected to brothers who are familiar with the various gangs in Shanghai. That will be enough."
"Okay, the mainland has sent over a batch of new weapons and equipment, mainly pistols, grenades, and crossbows. Brother Zhu, the meeting is over. You, Miss Lin, and Miss Miao will go to the secret base in Zhabei to receive the weapons and equipment and replace the weapons you are currently using. Get familiar with the new weapons first, and then start implementing the plan after you are used to using them."
"Thank you, Chief Liang."
Zhu Zhankui said happily that he didn't expect that after coming to Shanghai, he could use the new weapons and equipment produced locally.
"Director Wu, you are responsible for the business affairs. I will not interfere too much. However, according to the instructions of the imperial government, Western countries are rapidly strengthening their control over the Far East. The competition between the empire and other countries in the industrial and commercial fields is also becoming increasingly fierce. How to stabilize and expand the economic market in the Far East is a major issue. I hope Director Wu will take more care of it."
"Don't worry, Director Liang. The Far East is the most important overseas economic market of the empire. Nothing will go wrong. I plan to apply to the mainland to first establish a bank in the concession area to absorb funds from wealthy households, officials, and local powerful groups in the Far East.
Secondly, we should call together representatives of major businessmen and governors-general to deepen the cooperative relationship with them and hand over a part of the downstream industries of light industry to them for management, while the machines, equipment and raw materials will be uniformly controlled by local people.
Finally, it was promised that some people would be granted overseas nationality, allowing them to transfer funds and industries to Songkhla, Lan Fang, Iju Islands and other places. When their personal safety was threatened, they could also seek intervention and protection from the empire.
I believe that with these conditions, those businessmen and local officials would also be happy to have an extra way out and an extra security guarantee. "
"The Shanghai Stock Exchange is a mixed market of Chinese and foreigners, and various forces are too deeply involved. If the bank absorbs too much money in the future, it is recommended to move the bank's headquarters to Songkhla or Lan Fang to ensure the safety of funds."
Liang Xing nodded in agreement, and then put forward his own additional views.
In the French Concession in Shanghai, from a dilapidated house, intermittent screams and rough gasps were heard. The house had poor sound insulation, and the sounds of the man's violence and the woman's torture and painful screams continued to spread outward, but the nearby residents all closed their doors and windows and dared not make a sound.
After a long time, the screams became weaker and weaker. After a period of silence, a violent roar from a man was heard.
The door opened and a man with a naked upper body and a ferocious face walked out. The man glanced at the men standing at the door, looked at them coldly for a moment, and then walked away.
Several men did not dare to look at the man and walked into the room tremblingly. What they saw was a female corpse with scars all over her body, a messy face, bulging eyes, and a terrified expression on her face.
It was obvious that the woman suffered inhuman abuse and torture before her death.
Although several of his men were also engaged in illegal gang activities, they were still ordinary people. When they saw the tragic death of the woman, they still felt a complex emotion of fear, disgust, and dissatisfaction. However, the man's powerful gang background, strength, and brutal methods were deeply engraved in their hearts, so that even if they were dissatisfied, they dared not show it.
After hastily disposing of the woman's body, several of his men followed the man. One of them, who looked like a master, said carefully, "Master, a group of new faces have recently arrived from Jiaozhou, led by Zhu Zhankui, the master of Yongxing Hall. They have occupied territory in Zhabei, and Zhu Zhankui has sent out invitations. He has invited the bosses of various gangs to have a dinner at Defeng Building in the public concession. They have also sent you an invitation."
"What is the background of Yongxing Hall?"
"It has not been investigated yet. They were previously developing in Jiaozhou and the Qilu region, and their influence was huge, with more than 10,000 formal members and peripheral followers. They also had close relations with the government in the Qilu region, and Zhu Zhankui often went in and out of the local government."
"Keep investigating and report back after you have found out everything."
"Should we accept the invitation?"
"Go, I want to see who is so bold as to come to Shanghai to grab territory."
The man said expressionlessly.
"Master, Inspector Wang has sent a message that two dock workers have tipped off Huang Ping, the director of Shunhe Trading Company, and said bad things about you. Inspector Wang has sent someone to remind you that you should be more cautious recently and wait until this storm is over. There are many women out there, so you don't need to be targeted by the Taiping Society at this critical moment."
The man's expression changed slightly. Huang Ping was the director of Shunhe Trading Company, but in fact he was the head of the Shanghai area of Taiping Society. Although Huang Ping was usually low-key and kind, once he got angry, few gangs could withstand his attack.
Behind Huang Ping stood the Taiping Society, and behind the Taiping Society stood the Military Intelligence Department and the Han army.
Compared with the Taiping Society, all the gang forces in Shanghai combined are not enough, the two are not opponents of the same level at all.
"Deal with the bodies properly and don't leave any trouble. Send another 200 people from Jiangbei to Shanghai. If the uncles ask, just say that we have taken over two new territories and need manpower to maintain them."
"Yes, Hall Master."
The master nodded and observed the man's expression carefully, and continued, "The day after tomorrow, Zhenhua Textile Factory will officially open for production, but their shopkeeper did not send an invitation to Bashengtang to attend. I guess it may be that their shopkeeper has just arrived and is not familiar with the situation in Shanghai, so he forgot to send an invitation. Master, do you think we should send someone to their factory to remind them?"
"What is the background of Zhenhua Textile Factory? Is it related to some official or some foreign comprador?"
The man showed an impatient expression on his face as things continued to go wrong.
"The background of Zhenhua Textile Factory has been investigated. They are just a group of ordinary Jiangnan businessmen. They have no official background in Shanghai, and they are not compradors of foreigners. Zhao Deyuan, the major shareholder of Zhenhua Textile Factory, originally built several textile factories in southern Jiangsu. The factory area was once sealed by the local county magistrate.
Chen Delin, the owner of Zhenhua, was even more of a minor character. He was born a beggar and worked as an apprentice in a dyeing factory in the Qilu region. Later, he got lucky and married the daughter of the dyeing factory owner. He had a little wealth, and then Zhao Deyuan and Chen Delin invested in a joint venture to build the Zhenhua Textile Factory in Shanghai.
"What are you waiting for? When you get to Shanghai, you don't burn incense or worship at the temple. Go, bring dozens of people with you. Burn down their textile factory at night. A local rich man who runs a dyeing factory has no idea of his own limitations."
"Master, should we send someone to warn them first? Perhaps they haven't heard of Basheng Hall yet."
"It's hard to say for sure about Chen Delin, but Zhao Deyuan is doing business in southern Jiangsu, so it's impossible that he hasn't heard of Bashengtang. Sending people to warn them is too easy. Burning down the textile factory will let them know that in Shanghai, no one can do business without Bashengtang's permission."
"Yes, Hall Master."
The lawyer didn't dare to offend the man and agreed respectfully.
