Shanghai in 1938 was called an "isolated island", which is a very apt metaphor. Shanghai was the seventh largest city in the world at the time, after Berlin, London, Moscow, New York, Paris and Tokyo in terms of population.In the defense battle at the end of 1937, the city was devastated and severely damaged. American historian Frederic Wakeman concluded in his book "Shanghai Bad Soil" that "Shanghai was the first city to be destroyed in World War II." The metropolis of the world." According to the "Declaration Yearbook", at that time, 4,998 factories and workshops were destroyed, and Shanghai lost 70% of its industrial capacity.A large number of refugees flooded into the public concession and the French concession, which was only 10 square miles, causing the population to soar from 1.5 million to 4 million. Tens of thousands of homeless people lived on the streets. In the coldest winter, 10,100 dead bodies were found on the streets of Shanghai .

Since the outbreak of the war, the Yangshupu, Zhabei, Huxi, and Nanshi areas were all occupied by the Japanese army, but the public concessions and the French concessions along the Huangpu River were surrounded but not yet occupied, and the power of municipal administration was still in the hands of the Ministry of Industry in the concessions. .In this area, external traffic continues to be smooth, internal commerce is gradually restored, imports and exports are completely free, and all transactions form a free commercial market, thus forming a special "isolated island", which extends from the Huangpu River in the east to France in the west. Hua Road (now Xinhua Road), Daxi Road (now Yan'an West Road), Suzhou Creek in the north and Zhaojiabang Road in the south.Tao Juyin, a well-known reporter from the Republic of China, recorded, “Suzhou Creek is separated by water. On one side is the sound of cannons, and on the other side is the sound of singing and dancing. The flames united into one piece, reflecting half the sky red." This situation lasted for four years.

In this way, all people are trapped on an "isolated island". The area of ​​the "island" is only as large as the range of a machine gun bullet, but the crisis is as vast and terrifying as the East China Sea.The daily life in the entire Shanghai city is in an extremely decadent state. Even the group of people who temporarily hold power will feel that life is boring and not worth looking forward to.All ideals seem so vain, only despair is real. In such a weird world full of a sense of doomsday, everyone—including entrepreneurs—has to start their careers. Contrary to many people's guesses, Shanghai's industrial and commercial economy during the isolated island period was not devastated, but had an unprecedented period of deformed prosperity.

Just before the smoke of the gunfire had cleared, the ghost of prosperity revived quickly on the ruins and corpses.By the end of 1938, the total number of resumed production and newly built factories in the concession reached more than 4,700, more than twice that of before the war. In 1939, 1,705 new factories were established.Among them, the traditional textile industry recovered most rapidly. According to the survey by the Cloth Factory Industry Association, by 1939, 823 new weaving, dyeing and hand-weaving factories had been established in the concession, with 23,200 cloth machines, which could produce cotton cloth every month in day and night operation. 1.42 million horses, while factory profits were two to three times what they were before the war.

This is mainly due to the following reasons: first, the population surges, the demand for living materials increases, and the consumer goods market expands accordingly; second, the concentration of population provides sufficient cheap labor for the industries in the concession, which is conducive to the resumption of industry Production, and the expansion of production scale, in turn stimulates the raw material market.Third, and the most special point, the concession is the only "non-war zone" along the southeast coast of China, where the flow of people and business naturally gathers here, which arouses a different kind of excitement.

The concession was a tiny place, all the raw materials produced had to be imported, and all the finished goods had to be exported, so its prosperity was completely dependent on changes in the political situation in Asia and even the world. First look at the attitude of the national government.After the fall of Shanghai, the Nationalist Government immediately promulgated the "Regulations on Embargoed Items Contributing to the Enemy", which declared that the export of goods from the occupied areas should be regarded as enemy goods, and also imposed strict restrictions on the transportation of materials from the Kuomintang-controlled areas to Shanghai.However, this policy quickly changed, because the economy in the rear area needed the support of industrial and commercial operations in the concession. First, this was the only legal channel for the import of industrial raw materials and equipment. The industry is very weak. According to Zhang Saiqun's research in the book "Shanghai "Island" Trade Research", by around 1941, the population in the rear had increased from 180 million before the war to 230 million, and the required cotton yarn required 1.6 million spindles Production started, but the number of spindles in actual operation was only 175,000 at most. The annual shortage of cotton yarn and cotton cloth was 120,000 pieces and 4 million pieces respectively. Most of these materials depended on the supply from Shanghai.Therefore, the Nationalist Government soon explained that any products in the occupied areas that were not used or controlled by the Japanese side, such as products produced by factories in various countries in the Shanghai Concession area, could not be regarded as Japanese products, and should still be allowed to be sold to various places.After moving to Chongqing, the Nationalist Government still set up a domestic product transportation management office in Shanghai to preside over trade matters, and continued to supply foreign exchange to the concession and maintain foreign exchange transactions in "isolated islands". Importing scarce supplies for profit.

Japan's relaxation of the concession economy is also out of its own needs.On the one hand, when China and Japan went to war, the Second World War had not yet broken out, and Japan still maintained diplomatic relations with Britain and the United States, so it did not dare to openly attack the concession. On the other hand, the Japanese economy also needed the support of the "isolated island" of Shanghai. Japan is a country that is basically not self-sufficient in war resources. Its heavy industries rely on imports of oil, iron ore, copper, etc., even industrial raw materials such as cotton, wood pulp, and sulfuric acid also need to be imported.Under such circumstances, the "isolated island" of Shanghai became a transit market for Japan to obtain and transship strategic materials and obtain foreign exchange.The Japanese army imposed a "peaceful blockade" on the concession, that is, only Chinese ships were prohibited from maritime transportation. Although ships from third countries were blocked from time to time, they were not completely prohibited from entering and leaving.Before the outbreak of the Pacific War, nearly 60% of the tonnage of ships entering and leaving Shanghai Port belonged to third countries other than China and Japan. Of course, the Japanese also knew that a considerable part of them were Chinese ships flying foreign flags.

The "isolated island" also became a commodity trading center for European and American countries in the Far East.After entering the mid-1930s, with the tense situation in Europe, all countries implemented a control policy on import and export trade to some extent, and economic wars were launched between hostile countries.Especially after the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, Germany destroyed the British sea transportation line everywhere, and imposed a severe blockade on neutral ships to the British Isles.Correspondingly, the Anglo-French bloc and the Nordic countries also imposed a trade blockade or restriction on Germany.In this game, the UK regards Shanghai as a market source for raw materials and animal products.And Germany also used the Siberian Railway to transport pigments, medicines, hardware machinery, chemical products and other commodities to Shanghai in exchange for urgently needed supplies.

It is because of these subtle and unique karmas that "islands" are tolerated.At the end of 1937 after the war between China and Japan, European and American ships had resumed shipping on the North-South Ocean and Yangtze River routes. By June of the following year, direct liners from Shanghai to London, Marseille and other European cities were reopened. returned to pre-war levels.Its domestic routes have also been reopened one after another.Shanghai quickly regained its status as a national trade center. According to the "Economic History of the Republic of China" edited by Zhu Sihuang, in terms of imports, the total value of imports in 1937 was 508 million yuan, which fell to 376 million yuan in 1938 due to the war. It quickly rebounded sharply, reaching 1.4 billion yuan, 2.976 billion yuan, and 3.41 billion yuan in the next three years. The export figure was also similar. It was 404 million yuan in 1937, and fell to 222 million yuan in 1938. 392 million yuan, 1.367 billion yuan and 1.929 billion yuan.The proportion of its exports in the country has been higher than before the war.Before 1942, the investment of Britain and the United States in the Shanghai concession area accounted for 72.6% and 64.9% of their total investment in China.

The recovery of the island economy has been astonishing.In January 1938, there were 31,900 employees in the factories in the concession, which increased to 130,700 by April, and to 230,000 by the end of the year.Large and small knitting factories and flour mills worked overtime day and night, but still could not meet the demand of the market, and their profits were frighteningly high.Taking the knitting industry as an example, the profit of thread hosiery is 37.2%, that of silk stockings is 43.4%, that of wool socks is 62.6%, that of sanitary shirts is 79.2%, and that of sweaters is 54%.This high industrial profit has brought a large amount of surplus to various enterprises.Take the Rong family as an example. In the concession, there are two textile mills, Shenxin No. 2 and No. 9, and three flour mills, Fuxin No. 2, No. 7, and No. 8. Their profits far exceed those before the war. The profit was as high as 10 million yuan, and the Rong family paid off all the huge debts before the war in one fell swoop. Rong Desheng also initiated the Guangxin Bank Company in 1939 and invested in the banking business, becoming a veritable rich man in Shanghai.A survey at that time showed that due to the increase in new factories in various industries during the "isolated island" period, the number of machines required was considerable.Coupled with the sharp shrinkage of foreign exchange, the price of foreign machines is too high, and the factories can't afford it. Therefore, the companies that originally imported machines from abroad have all switched to domestic machines.The production of each machine factory is limited, but the demand is increasing day by day, resulting in a situation in which the supply exceeds demand. In addition, the prices of steel and machines are skyrocketing step by step, so the profits of each factory are all tripled, the business is prosperous, and the profit is also high. Another "golden age" in history.

The busyness of industry naturally drives the prosperity of commerce and finance.Due to the continuous war in the surrounding areas, merchants, landlords and bankers in Jiangsu and Zhejiang relocated their companies and businesses to the concession. Throughout 1938, 491 new firms and more than 160 banking institutions were added. Year-end settlements, all banks and banks in the city except one In addition, it was all profitable. Due to the unimpeded sea transportation between the concession and foreign countries, and the recovery of transportation with the mainland, rich and wealthy households from all over the country came to Shanghai with a large amount of money to avoid disasters, and lived a parasitic life of extravagance and lust, which created a false prosperity scene for the market.The owners of department stores in Shanghai not only supply medium and low-end commodities suitable for the daily needs of the general public, but also high-end luxury goods suitable for the needs of "rich refugees". Therefore, the entire retail business is booming unprecedentedly.The small department store industry was originally concentrated in Nanjing East Road, Guangdong Road, and Jinling East Road. road), etc.The number of haberdasheries in these areas doubled or even tripled before the war.It is estimated that in 1939, there were more than a thousand retailers in the same industry, about double the number before the war. There were many new stores in the commercial streets in the concession, and there were many signboards. Among them, there were 277 shops on Jinling Road, 242 shops on Xizang Road, There are 378 shops on Jing'an Temple Road (now Nanjing West Road).In the retail small department store market, almost every morning and evening, there are a lot of customers and a flood of people. At that time, the six major department stores in Shanghai were thriving in business unprecedentedly, and in order to further attract customers, the merchants redecorated their facades extensively.The Little Luzon Department Store on Jinling East Road has completely refurbished the floor of the mall, using thick glass with built-in electric lights, which are brightly lit every night, and entering the store is like stepping into a crystal palace.The well-known Yongan Company had an average daily turnover of more than one million yuan around 1939.According to the memories of the old store workers, Tiantian’s business was booming at that time. “Every day from opening to closing, there was a constant stream of customers, and it was even more crowded in the afternoon. There are 50 to 60 customers, and they are so busy that they don’t even have time to eat. They often have to work overtime.”The turnover of Yongan Company in 1941 increased by five and a half times compared with that in 1938, and the profit increased by more than eleven times. According to Wakeman's records, "By the beginning of 1941, there was a strange prosperity in Shanghai. It was almost impossible to book a room. Even if you want to watch a weekend movie, you have to book in advance, and there are row upon row of nightclubs."A traveler named Vanya Oakes described the life of foreigners in the concession at that time, "The life of the Americans and the British seems to be exactly the same as before 1937, and their meals, dancing and drinking More times than before. Most people are employed by big companies and their salaries are settled in dollars or pounds, so with the devaluation of the Chinese currency, their good life came back, at least at the time." , the writer went on to write, "However, the people of Shanghai have been secretly suffering from the poisonous gas that is spreading continuously, just as a sick person in a family heralds the chaos of the whole family." Oakes was right in his observation that all the prosperity that took place on the island was monstrous and erosive, even hopeless.Wealth is only related to a very few people, and the rest are lambs to be slaughtered.During the isolated island period, prices rose for a long time and speculation was rampant. Around 1939, although production resumed rapidly and the benefits were better than before the war, many factories still used various reasons to pay workers wages at 70%-80% of the pre-war wages, and the situation of the working class actually tended to deteriorate. (This situation existed in the Japanese-occupied area and the Kuomintang-controlled area at the same time. According to Zhang Gongquan's "History of Chinese Inflation", in 1944, the real wages of cigarette and glass manufacturing workers in Chongqing were about 57% of pre-war wages, while public utilities , machinery and equipment manufacturing and printing industry are still less than 40%.) According to the Japanese scholar Kazuhiro Iwama’s book "Living Conditions of the Staff Class in Shanghai Around 1940", before the war, among the living expenses of Shanghai workers, food and rent They accounted for 53.2% and 8.3% respectively, and by 1940, due to high prices and stagnant real income, food and housing expenditures accounted for more than 82% of total expenditures.If the cost of living index for workers in Shanghai was 100 in 1936, then by March 1941, food prices were 774, rent was 385, fuel was 636, and groceries were 599.Oakes said, "I used to spend 100 yuan to buy items, but now I have to spend 365 yuan. Compared with the increase in prices, the increase in wages is extremely small." A kite with a broken string seems to have become a celestial being, soaring up from the ground. Workers of public utilities have repeatedly struck, and trams and cars can only hope to be full like theaters and hotels. All copper coins and silver coins have been looted, and postage stamps have a new use and are temporarily used as tokens It's a pity that people can't send it as a letter, otherwise the difficulty of being crowded can be avoided. The competition for survival gradually takes off its decorations and masks, revealing its original viciousness. Shame is not shame, and many people can't afford to maintain it..." Because it is the only "peaceful zone" and lacks proper control, the speculation in the concession has reached an almost crazy level.From 1939 onwards, Shanghai's stock market was out of control, with speculators pumping up war concept stocks to impossibly high prices, and currency exchange rates jumping up and down with every rumor.There is a catchphrase popular in Shanghai: "Business is not as good as business, and business is not as good as hoarding." In September 1939, Nazi Germany brazenly attacked Poland, and the Second World War broke out. In May 1940, Germany comprehensively attacked the Netherlands, Belgium and France. The current situation was shaken, Shanghai speculators bought a large amount of cotton at a price of 1,000 yuan per bale, and stored it in warehouses, which blocked the domestic market and foreign trading companies who were trying to ship cotton to Europe. At the end of the month, the price rose Up to 2,000 yuan for a large package.However, speculators did not expect the war between Germany and France to end so soon, and they still held on to their positions. On June 25, France was forced to sign an armistice agreement with Germany, and Japan quickly forced the French Vichy authorities to close ports to Chinese ships. The artificially inflated cotton market collapsed, more than 50 import and export companies went bankrupt overnight, and the stock market plummeted. A few days ago, the businessman who was toasting and carnival in the roof garden of the Bund now committed suicide by jumping from the building. Oakes commented with emotion, "Scam! Big, small, and giant, just like the cotton yarn incident, deprived people of their necessities and endangered the life of the entire city." The left-wing writer Xia Yan's description was even crueler. It seems that the situation in Shanghai is "there are 48 floors of hell under the 24-story building." Next, let's talk about the political and business grievances on the "isolated island", which is another more exciting and bloody noir movie. After Japan invaded China, it established two puppet governments in Beijing and Shanghai. In December 1938, Wang Jingwei, the No. 2 leader of the Kuomintang, left Chongqing and publicly surrendered to the enemy by publishing a "colorful telegram". Then he established the "Reformation Government" in Nanjing.Since then, Chiang Kai-shek's government in Chongqing, Wang Jingwei's government in Nanjing, and the Communist Party in Northwest China have become the three major political forces in China.The seemingly neutral Shanghai Concession became the main battlefield for various political forces to compete for power - the Japanese, the Chongqing Kuomintang, the Communists, the Wang Jingwei regime, and European and American countries mixed together, and the situation was intertwined and complicated, like a "spy park".On the largest adventure field in the Far East, entrepreneurs are a vacillating and vague group.In the next 10 years - from 1938 to 1949 - the fact that will happen proves a simple truth: under the premise of unstable state power, the continuous accumulation of wealth is impossible, and the industrial and commercial economy has become a passive As a sexual tool, entrepreneurs will become "invisible" as a group that is no longer important and lacks the ability to speak. During the isolated island period, the vast majority of entrepreneurs adopted a passive and indifferent non-cooperative attitude towards the Japanese occupiers, and they were willing to risk their property and lives for this.Mu Yi is the general manager of Xingzhong Machinery Shipyard, a medium-sized shipbuilding enterprise in Shanghai. He graduated from the ship engineering department of Tokyo Imperial University. Anti-Japanese Salvation Association, and one of the executive committee members.After the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, Japan occupied the Jiangnan Shipyard. It wanted to invite Mu Yi, who was outstanding in technology, to be the director, but he refused.Shigemitsu, Mu Yi's university senior and director of the Japan Shipbuilding Bureau, personally came to persuade him. He asked very puzzled, "Why do Chinese students who have studied in Japan always want to resist Japan after returning to China? You see, among the members of the Anti-Japanese Salvation Congress, except One of them is not studying in the UK, and the rest are graduates of Japanese imperial universities." Mu Yi replied seriously, "Japanese spiritual education always centers on loyalty to the emperor and patriotism. The Chinese people still exist, and the country still exists. You are a university professor. Students must be loyal to the emperor and patriotic, if you want me to be a traitor, it will be a disgrace to you." Shigemitsu was speechless for a moment. At the beginning of December 1937, the Japan-China Dispatch Army found an unknown Su Xiwen and established the "Shanghai Avenue Municipal Government" in Pudong.In addition, the Japanese army also found a group of businessmen and established the "Shanghai Citizens' Association" on the upper floor of the Zhengjin Bank on the Bund. The list of committee members included 21 well-known entrepreneurs who were stranded in Shanghai at that time, including textile tycoon Rong Zongjing, Nanshi Hydropower Co., Ltd. Lu Bohong, general manager of the company, Gu Xinyi, chairman of the Cereals Industry Association, Yao Mulian, general manager of Nanjing Water Supply Company, Shang Mujiang, a well-known businessman, etc.According to the "Damei Evening News Morning Magazine" report, on December 24, the first preparatory meeting of the Shanghai Citizens Association was held. After the meeting, the members "delivered their declaration and the association's charter to the Japanese Army and Navy authorities in Shanghai, asking for understanding." .” After this news was released, it immediately shocked Shanghai, and many people regarded it as an act of traitor.A reporter asked Rong Zongjing why the Citizens’ Association did not report to the Nationalist Government, but sent it to the Japanese military authorities. Rong replied, “If this matter is submitted to the Chinese government authorities, it will definitely not be established. We must go forward and do something to reduce the suffering of the people. Fear, as long as the purpose is pure, you don’t need to ask what the result will be.” Rong’s explanation was weak. After the establishment of the Civic Association, more than 20 organizations including the Shanghai Chamber of Commerce, Federation of Trade Unions, Education Associations, and Farmers’ Associations held a joint meeting and issued a statement. , declared the association an "illegal organization" and "advised all compatriots in the city not to cooperate with this organization. Advise the participants in the report that they must not be self-destructive and self-destructive." Immediately afterwards, more drastic punitive actions appeared. On December 30, when Lu Bohong went out from his apartment on Luban Road (now Chongqing South Road), he was shot and killed by a Kuomintang agent disguised as a fruit vendor. A grenade was thrown at Gu Xinyi's home, and Rong Zongjing was also shot After receiving death threats, he was forced to publicly announce his withdrawal from the Civic Association in the newspaper, and then avoided Hong Kong. On April 15, 1938, Su Xiwen, the "Mayor of Avenue", went out in a car, but was shot by a bomb, and five passers-by were killed. The assassination is still going on, but the traitors are still there. On October 16, 1938, Fu Zongyao, the former chairman of China Commercial Bank and the former chairman of the Shanghai General Chamber of Commerce, accepted the appointment of the Japanese as the mayor of "Shanghai Special City".If it is said that Gu Xinyi, Rong Zongjing and the others made compromises in order to preserve their own family business, then Fu's behavior is disgusting.As early as eleven years ago, he was wanted because he refused to lend money to Chiang Kai-shek. Later, he took refuge in Manchukuo controlled by the Japanese for a long time, and walked closely with the Japanese. He tried to grit his teeth and said, "My worth is 5,000 yuan. Ten thousand yuan, but I want to spend every dollar on opposing Chiang." At this time, he took refuge in "the enemy of the enemy" and was willing to be a traitor. Fu Zongyao was the adopted son of Sheng Xuanhuai, the "Father of Shang in the Late Qing Dynasty". Following his defection to the enemy, the children of the Sheng family also defected to the Japanese one after another.As early as January 1 of this year, the Japanese army appointed Sheng Xuanhuai's grandson, Shao Shijun, as the director of the "Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui General Taxation Bureau", and took over the Taxation Department of the Ministry of Finance of the Kuomintang and the Jiangsu Provincial Taxation Bureau.After Lu Bohong was killed and Rong Zongjing left, Sheng Xuanhuai's grandson-in-law Zhou Wenrui, a comprador of the Bank of Taiwan, became the head of the "Shanghai Citizens Association", and Zhou's in-law You Jusun was an active member of the association. As the most prominent business family in the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China, the Shengmen became a traitor, which became a hate that could never be redeemed.During the eight-year Anti-Japanese War, Shao Shijun became the richest man in Shanghai. According to the records of the time, "Shao Nishijun, in the puppet organization, was jointly headed by the Taxation Bureau and the Taxation Office. For the eight years before and after, the shortage was the most fertile and the longest. Therefore, he has the richest capital.” The only anti-Japanese fighter in Shengmen is Shao Xunmei, the younger brother of Shao Shijun, who is regarded as a “playboy”. Magazines "Liberty Tan" (Chinese) and "Fair Review" (English), he also secretly translated and published Mao Zedong's "On Prolonged War" ("Prolonged War"). Along with the children of the Sheng family, Zhang Xiaolin, one of the "Big Three" of the underworld in Shanghai, also worked for the Japanese. After the fall of Shanghai, Huang Jinrong, the leader of the Green Gang, stayed behind closed doors and refused to work for the Japanese.Du Yuesheng was openly anti-Japanese. He showed bravery in "Madang Shipwreck". After he fled to Hong Kong, he served as the vice president of the Red Cross Society of China, the standing member of the Relief Committee and the chairman of the Shanghai Party and Government Unification Working Committee, engaged in gathering intelligence and planning assassinations Traitors and other activities. In 1940, with the support of the Chongqing Nationalist Government, he organized the People's Action Committee, which actually became the leader of the Chinese Gang. Among the "Big Three", only Zhang Xiaolin Meiri defected to the enemy.He hosted a "New Asia Peace Promotion Association" traitor organization and openly surrendered to Japan.He used the weapons and ammunition allocated by the Japanese to equip his disciples, and specially expropriated food, cotton, coal and other materials for the Japanese army.Relying on his many connections and familiarity with geography, he played a role that the Japanese could not play.The scope of his collection of materials is expanding day by day, and he even purchases coal from Annan (Vietnam), transports it to Shanghai, and then resells it in central China to make a profit. Taking refuge with the Japanese, the children of the Sheng family and Zhang Xiaolin got the greatest benefit from taking over Du Yuesheng's original opium business and gambling business.U.S. Treasury Representative Nicholson reported as early as the end of December 1938, "The Japanese have always demanded to ensure long-term cooperation with the underworld forces. They believe that this is the best way to guarantee control of the foreigner area in Shanghai, that is, the concession area." Good way, because once they can mobilize these underworld forces, they can create unrest, arrest anti-Japanese elements and representatives of the Chinese government, attack Chinese government banks, and destabilize the Chinese currency... and the Japanese guarantee the only way for the underworld to cooperate with them The weapons are opium and gambling." Su Xiwen’s first announcement after the establishment of the "Avenue City Government" was to publicly collect opium tax. Smokers must obtain a license.After Fu Zongyao became the mayor of the "Shanghai Special City", he still followed the same pattern.Shao Shijun’s father, Shao Yueru, partnered with Sheng Xuanhuai’s nephew, Sheng Wenyi, chairman of Sumin Bank, to form a "Hongji Shantang", whose duties were to control the import and distribution of opium in the Shanghai market, and strictly enforce the licenses of opium trade and smokers. Administers and is responsible for the collection of tobacco taxes. There are 58 opium shops under the direct jurisdiction of "Hongji Shantang" in the Shanghai area. Sheng Wenyi also openly purchased land in the suburbs of Nanjing to grow opium poppies.Shengmen and Zhang Xiaolin got the public support of the Japanese for their drug trafficking, and there were three Japanese in the "Hongji Shantang" as the top advisers, and a Japanese captain named Kitaoka even directly served as the director of a "No Smoking Sub-bureau". During the Anti-Japanese War, the production, sales and taxation of opium became the largest economic income in the Japanese-occupied areas.Japan established the "Asian Development Council" in Tokyo to unify and lead the drug trafficking business in Asia. The Japanese army established factories in Changchun, Fengtian (Shenyang), Lushun and Harbin in Manchuria to produce morphine, heroin and cocaine day and night. It also controlled There are two international drug trafficking channels, one is the land route from Turkey to Manchuria, and the other is the sea route from Japan to Dalian.In the entire drug trafficking system, the "isolated island" of Shanghai is the most important distribution center for consumption and trade. In 1939, a report submitted by the Chongqing Nationalist Government to the League of Nations recorded the prosperity of the drug industry in the Japanese-occupied areas: In Suzhou, the opium industry was the main source of tax revenue, and there were reportedly 500 opium dens.In Peiping, there were 314 officially recognized public opium dens.Hankou had 32 wholesale opium shops, 340 opium dens, and 120 opium hotels, selling 4,000 ounces of opium to 55,000 smokers every day.Throughout Nanjing, there are as many as 2,400 registered drug dealers, many of whom are police officers. They sell drugs to 60,000 adults and even children, which account for one-eighth of Nanjing's total population.In some areas of Guangdong, it is said that the ratio of rice dealers to drug dealers is 1:3 or 1:4.Wang Jingwei's government can collect 3 million yuan in taxes from opium sales in Anhui, Zhejiang, and Jiangsu every month, accounting for one-third of the total tax revenue, while the Japanese Gendarmerie and secret service agencies can also get 3 million yuan in sales.According to Wakeman’s calculations, “In 1938, opium sales in the Japanese-occupied areas accounted for 28% of the total budgetary revenue of the Japanese government, enough to pay for the entire army that invaded China.” Since the Lu Bohong incident, political assassination has always been a way of life and death on the "isolated island".Those were extremely dark years, and no one's tomorrow was sure to come. February 1939 was called the "Month of Terror". In just one month, 18 political murders occurred in the concession, 21 people were killed and 10 people were injured. On February 19th, the Lunar New Year’s Day, Wang Jingwei’s foreign minister, Chen Lu, was shot dead by military agents. Two days later, Li Hongzhang’s grandson, Li Guojie, the “richest man in Anhui” who once served as the chairman of China Merchants Steamship Co., Ltd., was also shot to death at his apartment on Xinzha Road. . In August 1940, Zhang Xiaolin, who had defected to the Japanese, was killed.On the 11th of this month, Zhang publicly accepted the letter of appointment for the governor of Zhejiang Province jointly issued by the Wang Jingwei regime and the Japanese secret service.Three days later, Zhang Xiaolin was receiving guests at the Zhang Mansion on Huagebian Road (now Ninghai West Road). When the conversation was very lively, there was suddenly a quarrel between the personal bodyguard Lin Huaibu and the driver in the yard. Zhang Xiaolin leaned out of the window and reprimanded: : "What are you arguing about! You are impatient to live!" At this moment, Lin Huaibu suddenly raised his hand and shot. The bullet went into Zhang's mouth and came out from the back of his head.After Lin Huaibu killed Zhang Xiaolin, he put the pistol aside, lit a cigarette and smoked, and sat calmly on a bench at the gate, waiting for the French police to arrest him. Two months after Zhang Xiaolin was killed, on the night of October 10, Fu Zongyao, the mayor of "Shanghai Special City", was decapitated with a kitchen knife while he was asleep. In the past few years, Fu has always been the first target of the Kuomintang agents, and Du Yuesheng is the one who presides over it.In order to protect Fu Zongyao, the Japanese military department specially set up a garden house in Hongkou as his official residence. There were many servants in the house, and 23 confidant bodyguards were hired. There were guards at every level, and the security was very strict.The one who killed Fu Zongyao was his most trusted "servant of two generations" Zhu Shengyuan. Zhu was Fu's full-time cook and had followed Fu's family for decades since his father.Du Yuesheng successfully instigated it. October 10 is the "Double Ten Day". Fu Zongyao set up a grand banquet in the "Six Three Garden" in Hongkou to entertain the Japanese military and political leaders stationed in Shanghai and officials of the puppet city government.Fu was very drunk, Zhu Shengyuan helped him back to the bedroom of the mansion, hacked him to death with a kitchen knife, then as usual, took the grocery basket, pushed the bicycle from the corridor, and walked out of the mansion slowly under the eyes of the sentry . (Both Lin Huaibu and Zhu Shengyuan, who assassinated the double traitors, had to survive. Lin was sentenced to 15 years in prison by the Concession Court. After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, the Kuomintang government rewarded him with 10,000 yuan. After the founding of New China, he worked in the Shanghai Housing Management Bureau. Retired at an old age. Zhu Shengyuan moved to Chongqing under the arrangement of the military reunification, where he received a bonus of 52,000 yuan.) If the assassination of Fu and Lin was a political shock to the traitor group, then the bank mutual murder that happened next was a kind of political terrorism that killed innocent people indiscriminately. After the fall of Shanghai, although the national government withdrew to Chongqing, it still had an office in Shanghai to manage Shanghai's industry, commerce, finance and other industries to the best of its ability. In 1938, Japanese businessmen, French and Italian businessmen all planned to set up a stock exchange in Shanghai in order to manipulate the market.The Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Ministry of Finance of the Nationalist Government sent telegrams to all trade associations in Shanghai, strictly prohibiting them from participating in the incident. At the same time, they sent a letter to the Shanghai Special Administrative Region Court, accusing this of being an illegal act. ] Under the intervention of the national government, all kinds of exchanges in Shanghai did not officially resume business during the entire "isolated island" period.The Chongqing Nationalist Government has never given up on financial control and infiltration of the Shanghai Concession. Bank of China, Bank of Communications, and Farmer’s Bank are sticking to Shanghai. Legal currency is the most important currency in circulation. On January 5, 1941, the Nanjing Wang Jingwei government established the "Central Reserve Bank" with the nature of a central bank, and issued banknotes called Central Reserve Bank.The Wang government ordered that residents of eight provinces, including Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai, must convert all legal tenders into central reserve certificates within three months, with a currency value of 2:1.This means that the legal currency was artificially devalued by half at once, and it was completely out of the game in the coastal provinces. On January 20, the Wang government established the Shanghai Branch of the Reserve Bank of China at No. 15 on the Bund, the site of the former Central Bank of the Kuomintang. The appearance of China Reserve Bank coupons made Chongqing very angry. A banker named Xie Zhiting was rumored to be the president of the Shanghai Branch of China Reserve Bank. The military special agents immediately shot him dead in the lively metropolitan ballroom, creating a sensational murder.The Ministry of Finance of the Nationalist Government also set up a "Central Special Propaganda Office" in Shanghai to hold the "Publicity Week for Rejecting the Use of Central Reserve Certificates". The concession authorities also supported the National Government. Send to court for punishment.Of course, Wang Jingwei was not to be outdone. He sent people to the Bank of China to force deposits, and then negotiated forcefully with the concession.The central bank bonds gradually began to circulate in the market. At this time, Chongqing decided to adopt a more extreme approach. At 10:30 a.m. on February 20, six men wearing Chinese gowns walked into No. 15 on the Bund, and one of them went straight to the manager's office on the second floor.The men drew their pistols and fired indiscriminately, then threw four homemade bombs, two of which exploded, shattering a large piece of the glass in the hall.A guard who stood guard came to stop him and was shot dead on the spot.Shots were fired from both sides, from the hall to the door.In the afternoon, five Central Reserve Bank section chiefs and employees were killed one after another by military spies on the street and in the hospital.As a result, the staff of the Central Reserve Bank were too frightened to go to work, and the front door of No. 15 on the Bund was deserted. On March 21, another section chief of the Central Reserve Bank was beaten to death.Zhou Fohai, who served as the vice president of the Executive Yuan of the Wang regime and the president of the Central Reserve Bank, rushed from Nanjing to Shanghai angrily, and wrote a warrant: "China, China, Communications, and Agriculture (that is, the four major banks of China, the Central Bank, Communications, and Farmers), Always be shot." In the early hours of the 22nd, eight spies from the Wang family rushed to the staff dormitory of the Farmers Bank at No. 10, Lane 1412, Xiafei Road (now Huaihai Middle Road), knocked on the door and falsely claimed that it was a patrol room to check the household registration. They fired at the sleeping people, killed 7 people on the spot, seriously injured 5 people, and then walked away.Almost at the same time, another group of spies rushed into the dormitory area of ​​the Bank of China at No. 96 Jisfeier Road (now Wanhangdu Road). Kidnapped 70 people.After arriving at a place of detention, three people were drawn out by lottery and shot on the spot. On the 24th, Wang's spies kidnapped three employees of the Communications and Farmers Bank, and then bombed two offices of the Central Bank, killing 8 people and injuring 36 others.As a result, the four major banks had to announce the suspension of business. On April 22, Jiang's spies retaliated by sending three spies into the ward of Dahua Hospital and stabbing to death a business section chief of the Central Reserve Bank who was seeing a doctor there with a sharp knife.汪系当即报复，医院血案发生的一个半小时后，特务就再次到极司菲尔路抓走9人，枪杀其中三人（其中一人重伤未死），其控制的《中华日报》在第二天报纸的头版标出大字标题：“以三抵一，信守诺言。” 汪蒋双方如此滥杀无辜，沪上顿时风声鹤唳，3个月间，社会秩序大乱，银行不敢开门，职员不敢上班，富人争相转移财产，穷人疯抢粮米油盐，连花旗、大通等外资银行也停止开立美元支票存款户头，随时准备撤离上海。证券公债的行情更是剧烈动荡，狂跌狂涨，一日之间的高低价差之大前所未有。后来，在一些老银行家的居中斡旋下，上海总商会和上海银行公会分别上书重庆和南京政府，双方才勉强答应停火。 发生在1941年春天的银行互杀案，充满了末日的血腥气息。正是在这样的恐怖中，“孤岛”走进了它最后的时光。那是一连串的暗杀、绑架与抢劫的杂交曲。 自开年以后，不负责任的、荒唐的政治暗杀或经济犯罪就此起彼伏。春节那天，沪上最大的八家歌舞厅遭到炸弹袭击，其中5家是在夜间的一个小时内同时发生的。1月27日，10名劫匪公然登上闹市区的一辆公共汽车，强迫乘客们交出外套和节日礼服。在3月份，多名商人被绑架，其中包括上海金业交易所的副总裁、崇美化工厂总经理、义泰兴煤号老板以及华商纱厂联合会的一个负责人，“古怪和外国类型的恐怖活动成了本市的时尚。”在4月的最后一周，“歹徒暗杀了4个银行雇员，日本宪兵试图接管纳税人华人协会，警察向他们开枪，结果误杀了上海警察局局长的保镖，暴徒并向江苏高等法院的法官家里扔了炸弹……虹口'小东京'地区最大的两家戏院引爆了定时炸弹，伤了16个日本人。”5、6月，租界内发生三件轰动的暗杀案，一个名叫印占卿的华籍探长、上海年纪最大的法国籍律师达商男爵和名叫赤木亲之的日本警务处长被杀死。7月，两枚威力惊人的定时炸弹分别炸毁了沪宁线的铁轨和静安寺路上的《国报》报社。8月，又是一个恐怖的月份，汪精卫控制的《中央日报》大楼发生了爆炸和火灾，一名叫稽鲲生的银行家在一家夜总会门口被杀死，黄浦江渡轮“潮州丸”在外滩码头发生大爆炸，沪光大戏院和金城大戏院被炸，煤炭进口公司和中一信托公司的总经理分别在家门口被绑架，大舞台剧院的老板差点被刺客打死，日本三菱公司的一个仓库被烧毁。9月，《申报》图书馆的工人从书架上拿下一本书，却发现竟是一颗炸弹，它被黏在三本书的空心封面里，幸好打开的时候引爆电池已经没电了。 1941年的整个秋冬，上海仍然在绝望中沉沦，对于劳工者来说，自1927年抗战以来，物价已经上涨了10倍，生活象一个让人窒息的、空气日渐稀薄的死屋。连最起码的秩序也不存在了，乞丐和小偷肆无忌惮地从大街的货摊上盗窃食品，直至摊主无货可卖为止，警察却熟视无睹。瓦尼娅·奥克斯在游记中以厌倦的口吻写道，“上海是邪恶与暴力的城市，是富裕和令人难以置信的贫困并存的城市，是轮盘赌的轮子飞旋、枪声频频和乞讨声充斥各处的城市。它如今生活在永久性的恐慌和飘忽不定之中，爆炸和破坏、不正常的贸易、通货的混乱、日本狡猾的渗透、难民的涌入、物价无休止的上涨、欧洲战争的爆发以及它在静安寺路上的反响，上海已成了难民与歹徒的俗气之城。” 1941年12月8日，日军偷袭珍珠港美军基地，炸沉炸伤战舰40余艘，击毁飞机260架，美军死伤3600人。美国随即对日宣战，太平洋战争爆发。几乎同时，日军进击中国当时最重要的两个商业中心，上海与香港。是日凌晨，驻沪日本海军向黄浦江中仅剩的2艘英、美炮舰发出最后通牒，勒令它们在2小时内投降。美舰“韦克”号很快就挂出了白旗，英舰“彼得烈尔”号则在日机的轰炸中沉没。 破晓时分，日本陆军在细雨中从苏州河各桥开进公共租界，中午即占领整个租界。上海海关、英商汇丰、麦加利、沙逊、有利等6家银行和美商大通、花旗等5家银行及大批企业全被日军看管。英、美领事馆人员被迫集中于英国领事馆和华懋饭店（今和平饭店），几同囚禁。1942年1月6日，日人对租界的工部局董事会进行改组，由日本大使馆参事冈崎胜男任总董，汉奸袁履登为副总董。董事中只有两名欧洲人，其余不是日人就是汉奸。万国商团被解散，158名军官和1491名士兵全部自谋生路。就这样，开始于1845年的上海租界历史，十分讽刺性地在日本刺刀下终结了。日军在上海实行了严格的保甲制度，从此结束了混乱不堪的“孤岛”时期。 日后的“孤岛”研究者常常被这个命题所困扰：当日本军队冲进租界的时候，为什么没有引起人们的反抗？上海这座具有革命传统的中国最大城市，为什么如此“温顺”地接受了屈辱的统治？瓦尼娅·奥克斯也注意到了这个细节，她在1939年的报道中记录了上海人与侵略者决一死战的决心，但是当她于1941年底回到上海时，却感觉到了“中国精神的崩溃”。她疑惑地问中国朋友，为什么他们变得如此消极，竟接受了日本人的占领？ 部分的事实可能是，在过去的四年里，人们已经绝望于现有的境况，特别是恐怖活动的随意性和失控，导致了人们对于秩序的极度渴望——不管这种秩序以何时方式进行，以及来自何方。