Chapter 51: 51, Republic Of China Bureaucrats, Northeast Eight Great Families Pay A Visit
Telegram sent.
Yan Bangfu spoke up: “I had them send it as an urgent official letter. They’ll dispatch someone to deliver the telegram directly, but it probably won’t get a reply today. Stay at my house tonight and come back tomorrow.”
Although there was no reply yet, Yan Bangfu had already adopted the posture of a successful cooperation.
Fang Wen saw through it. The previous pretenses were just acting. This was a shrewd guy, no wonder he could eat from all sides as the White Gloves for the behind-the-scenes big shot.
He exchanged a glance with Shopkeeper Liu and didn’t refuse either.
So the group went downstairs and left in two cars.
The car traveled through the bustling Guangzhou City and stopped at an official residence.
Yan Bangfu introduced with some pride: “This was the mansion of the first prefect of Guangzhou during the Qing Government period. It changed hands several times and was finally bought by me. But I won’t be living here much longer either. In a few months, I’ll have to move to Nanjing too.”
Fang Wen said nothing. Shopkeeper Liu chimed in with praise for the mansion. The group followed Yan Bangfu into the courtyard.
It wasn’t very large, probably the outer residence of the Qing Dynasty prefect, with rockery and pond, houses with carved beams and painted rafters, a typical ancient Chinese-style courtyard.
But the rooms inside had been renovated by Yan Bangfu, with carpet, fireplace, Western paintings, and even a piano.
The perfectly good Chinese style had been turned into something neither here nor there, and even less practical.
Who would use a fireplace thing in Guangzhou City.
They passed through the living room and went upstairs to the second floor.
Several madams were playing mahjong, engrossed in it, and didn’t even acknowledge Yan Bangfu when he came upstairs.
Entering the study on the second floor, Yan Bangfu spoke: “The one in white clothes is my wife. She’ll be going to Nanjing with these official’s wives in a few days. It’ll be perfect for her to go ahead and make arrangements.”
Shopkeeper Liu followed up: “We’ve come from the Northeast to Shanghai and don’t know much about the Southern China situation. Why did a perfectly good government disband?”
Yan Bangfu looked at Fang Wen: “Didn’t Mr. Fang tell you?”
Fang Wen shook his head: “I’ve been in the military for the past two months and don’t know.”
“Perfect, since we’re idle, let’s chat privately among ourselves, just casual talk.”
Yan Bangfu got into the mood and shared some secrets of the National Government that ordinary people didn’t know.
Shopkeeper Liu really didn’t know and listened with great interest.
Although Fang Wen had some knowledge of history, it wasn’t that detailed. He actually gained more information from Yan Bangfu.
Before Republic of China year 21, there were actually several National Governments on the land of China.
Republic of China year 19, that is, May 1930.
At that time, Fang Wen passed the assessment and went to China Airlines in Shanghai to start his job.
At the same time, the Central Plains War broke out in Northern China.
Chiang fought against Yan, Feng, and Li’s factions in Henan, Shandong, and Anhui.
During that time, Wang established the “National Government” in Beiping, with Yan as the Commander-in-Chief of the Republic of China Army, Navy, and Air Force.
But this National Government lasted only a little over two months before disbanding.
In Republic of China year 20, Wang, unwilling to accept political failure, went south again and incited a group of people in Guangzhou to emulate the Xinhai Revolution and establish the Guangzhou National Government.
Later, after the September 18th Incident, Chiang was forced to step down, and this group from the Guangzhou National Government smoothly took over Nanjing.
This led to the current situation where the Guangzhou National Government disbanded and everyone moved to Nanjing.
Yan Bangfu spoke with spittle flying, looking like the patriarch was about to rise to power and he would soar with him.
By saying this, he also wanted to show off the resources he currently had, so Fang Wen and Shopkeeper Liu would take note.
Shopkeeper Liu kept nodding and agreeing profusely, completely taken in by what Yan Bangfu said.
But not Fang Wen.
He knew Wang’s eventual fate.
Chiang’s stepping down was only temporary. He would probably make a comeback soon. This group had clearly bet on the wrong side.
In the future, it would depend on whether they could switch allegiances in time. If they didn’t follow the right person, everything they said now was empty talk.
To be precise, it wouldn’t be that simple. Fang Wen suddenly realized.
The other side thought so highly of the Revival Society. The Revival Society was formed by Chiang’s confidants, with most members from the Whampoa system.
These people were indeed technical bureaucrats skilled at currying favor. They had already started preparing for both sides.
It seemed he would have to deal with them for a long time. Fang Wen also smiled and nodded in agreement.
The atmosphere in the study was very harmonious.
The next day, in the morning, someone from the Telegraph Office proactively brought over the telegram.
The telegram content was brief.
【The society is undergoing restructuring, divided into Organization Department, Propaganda Department, Training Department, Special Operations Department. Because of the airport merit, I am now an officer in the Propaganda Department. The matter you mentioned has been approved by the higher-ups. The 10% dry shares will be received by me on behalf as supplemental funding for the Propaganda Department.】
The information revealed in this telegram made Yan Bangfu feel that Fang Wen seemed to have some connection with the Revival Society, and his attitude became even more enthusiastic.
Afterward, he kept making telephone calls, contacting various parties, and gave Fang Wen and Shopkeeper Liu a promise.
That after the ceasefire agreement was signed in Shanghai, the airline company could be established directly, and subsequent procedures and documents would be handled by them.
With this promise, Shopkeeper Liu sent a telegram overnight to the patriarchs in the Shanghai Concession to report the situation.
After obtaining approval from the patriarchs, the deal was finally settled.
Once the matter was settled, the Eight Great Families from the Northeast became proactive instead.
They urgently wanted to finalize and implement the airline company’s specific matters before the ceasefire agreement was signed, striving to get the company established and operational as soon as possible.
To this end, they sent a telegram proactively, arranging with Fang Wen to meet in Nanjing to discuss the details.
Fang Wen, who had originally planned to stay in Guangzhou for two days, had to bid farewell to Instructor Liu and prepare to fly back to Nanjing.
Afterward, Instructor Liu used his connections to fill the main and auxiliary fuel tanks of the Potez 25 with fuel.
Just before boarding and takeoff, Fang Wen hesitated, wanting to remind Instructor Liu, to whom he owed a debt of gratitude, but didn’t know how to bring it up.
Should he tell the other side not to randomly pick sides, or that Chiang would make a comeback in a short time?
These couldn’t be said carelessly. Better to find an opportunity later to talk privately with Instructor Liu alone.
Then, after a farewell, the airplane fully loaded with fuel took off from Dashatou Airport, heading to Nanjing.
After more than seven hours of flight range, the airplane landed at Nanjing Airport.
Once the airplane was parked, Fang Wen came down the boarding ladder and heard Fang Shouxin’s report.
“Young Master, people from the Northeast have arrived. They’ve rented a house outside the airport to stay in and are just waiting for you.”
Seeing how eager they were, Fang Wen couldn’t keep them waiting long. He immediately brought his small group: Howard, Fang Shouxin, Fang Shun, and Shopkeeper Liu Sun Debiao with him.
The large courtyard house they rented outside the airport turned out to be the one previously rented by the Japanese spy.
Last time there had been a gunfight in the courtyard, and fire attack with smoke had been used. The black smoke marks on the walls and bullet holes were still there.
But the people from the Eight Great Families from the Northeast didn’t mind these things. The ones sent were all decision-makers.
They received Fang Wen right on the open ground in the courtyard and proactively explained the situation.
“Japanese came to our door wanting us to invest in their trading firm. How could we possibly do that? We simply transferred our assets out of Shanghai in batches and hid them separately. But this can’t go on forever. Since you’ve settled things on your side, our eight families will go all in with you and partner to the end.”
So that’s how it was. It seemed the ceasefire agreement was about to be signed, and the Japanese wanted to make one last grab in Shanghai.
No wonder the Eight Great Families were so urgent. They were afraid the Japanese would seize their fortunes. Better to take a bold gamble.
Fang Wen smiled slightly and said: “Shunzi, bring out the topographic map. We’ll settle everything today.”
“Got it, Young Master.” Shunzi unrolled the large scroll from his back onto the ground.
It was an ink topographic map painted by an artist.
This judgment came not only from his historical memory but also had corroboration.
That was that Yue Jinping had told him the Revival Society hadn’t been affected by Chiang’s stepping down and was continuing normal work.
According to Yue Jinping, although the Revival Society hadn’t been publicly established yet, its organizational structure was already clear, divided into Organization Department, Propaganda Department, Training Department, Special Operations Department.
Because of the merit in capturing the Japanese spy at the airport, Yue Jinping had been assigned to the Propaganda Department as a civilian cadre.
