Chapter 20 Section 20 Winning over Politicians and Warlords

When Du Yuesheng was like a fish in water in Shanghai, and his reputation was growing, it coincided with the melee of the Beiyang warlords.The warlords of the Zhili, Anhui, and Fengli factions, I will contact you today, and you will beat me tomorrow, causing a lot of trouble.The president and the cabinet are switching in Beijing like a revolving lantern.Due to its special status in politics, economy and diplomacy, Shanghai is inevitably placed in this huge whirlpool.People with lofty ideals, politicians and warlords all left their footprints in Shanghai. In this turbulent political situation, Du Yuesheng was more dexterous and fickle than others. He was able to curry favor with the upstarts who came to power and appease the old ones who went down the field with ease.Although the backstage has been changed repeatedly, he has not lost a single hair, but has greatly expanded his power.

Shanghai was originally the sphere of influence of the Anhui warlord Lu Yongxiang.Du Yuesheng established a relationship with Lu Yongxiang through He Fenglin.However, Qi Xieyuan, a Zhili warlord and Jiangsu governor, has long been worried about Lu Yongxiang's monopoly on Shanghai. In 1924, as Lu Yongxiang's attitude against Zhili became increasingly explicit, the Qilu War finally broke out. Du Yuesheng was caught in the confrontation between the two armies, and fully used the means of being exquisite and cunning.He first tried to support Lu Yongxiang to win in order to keep the established situation in Shanghai.The first battle of the Qilu War took place on the front line of Liuhe. Ji Rutong, the commander of Qi Xieyuan's subordinates, led the army to break through the Lu army's defense line in Taicang.Du Yuesheng mobilized Huang Jinrong, Zhang Xiaolin, etc. to run separately, contact with many parties, and gathered most of the trucks in the French Concession to connect end to end, and drove to Longhua like a long queue for Lu Yongxiang to send troops to Taicang urgently, so that Liuhe frontline Turn the corner.

But soon, Sun Chuanfang, another Zhili warlord and Fujian governor, took the opportunity to attack Zhejiang at the request of Qi Xieyuan.Immediately, Du Yuesheng sent a lot of glances to Sun Chuanfang, accepted Sun's commission order, and served as the supervisory office for consultation.At the same time, Du Yuesheng was still disconnected from Lu Yongxiang. After Sun Chuanfang arrived in Shanghai, Du Yuesheng also quietly hid Lu Xiaojia, Lu Yongxiang's son, at home for refuge. As early as after the defeat of the Anhui Clique, Duan Qirui sent a telegram to go to the field. Xu Shichang, then president, ordered the arrest of the culprit, accusing Xu Shuzheng of "calling the army and assisting the Jifu, causing harm to Luyan", and strictly ordered the military and police all over the country to arrest and arrest him.

Xu Shuzheng first hid in the Japanese military camp in Dongjiaomin Lane, Beiping, where he stayed for 70 days.However, because the ministers of Britain, the United States and France helped Zhili and advocated "expelling the culprit", he had to hide in a wicker box. With the help of Onodera, the commander of the Japanese garrison in Tianjin, he was "transported" to Tianjin and fled to Shanghai. . After arriving in Shanghai, he lived on Maigen Road in the British Concession, and borrowed the house of Chen Leshan, a division commander under Lu Yongxiang, the former Zhejiang Warlord General Lu Yongxiang, and soon moved to No. 9 Nanyang Road in the British Concession.Later, he traveled to Guangzhou, from Guangzhou to Guilin, and met with Mr. Sun Yat-sen.We talked very well.Afterwards, he went to Yanping, Fujian Province, joined his old brigade commander Wang Yongquan, electrified to establish the Jianguo military government system, and appointed himself as the general. Mr. Sun Yat-sen was led by Duan Qirui; however, Wang Yongquan soon drove him away, and Xu Shuzheng returned to Shanghai. Spin to Japan. On September 21, 1923, he returned to Shanghai and still lived on Nanyang Road.His vigorous scene in Fujian was of great help to the National Revolutionary Army's elimination of Chen Jiongming and the subsequent completion of the Northern Expedition.

In the Battle of Qilu in 1924, Lu Yongyang was defeated. Three days later, Fang Li, a policeman in the British Concession, put Xu Shuzheng under house arrest. After that, he was forced to board the Dadalus freighter and sent to Liverpool, England, and he was not allowed to disembark along the way.Not long after Xu Shuzheng left the country, the political situation in the north changed again, and the direct line collapsed. Duan Qirui took over as interim ruler and immediately gave Xu the title of "special envoy to investigate Europe, America and Japan". Du Yuesheng's friendship was not in vain. At the end of 1924, with the support of the Feng Faction warlords, Lu Yongxiang's forces made a comeback.The Feng army took Zhang Zongchang, the commander of the first army of the Xuanfu Army, as the vanguard, and went south to Jiangsu to expel Qi Xieyuan and Sun Chuanfang.Zhang Zongchang led the army as the vanguard, pointed directly at Beijing and Shanghai, and collected the ordnance of Qi Xieyuan's defeated soldiers along the way. Sun Chuanfang's troops from Zhejiang to aid the Soviet Union also retreated to Xinlonghua.

Zhang Zongchang is from Ye County, Shandong Province. He is tall and big; his arms are thick and his legs are long, so he is nicknamed "Zhang Changlegs". The staring Pai Gow, northerners call gambling on Pai Gow "eating dog meat", so he has another nickname of "Dog Meat General".During the Revolution of 1911, he joined the Shanghai Restoration Army.Now that he is making a comeback, it can be regarded as revisiting the old place.There are many old friends, scrambling to be the first to clean up the dust for him, spending time and money, spending a lot of money, adding the last brilliant color to the people on Huangpu Beach, who are full of lust and wealth, just like the sunset.

Zhang Xiaolin's nickname is also "Dashuai Zhang". Seeing the majestic and majestic Dashuai Zhang arrive in Shanghai, he is more happy than anyone else, while urging Du Yuesheng to give a grand and warm welcome. Intend. Beforehand, Du Yuesheng and Zhang Zongchang's representative in Shanghai, Mr. Shan, had frequent contacts. They are friends of Long, so what should be done for this reception.Mr. Shan analyzed Zhang Zongchang's temperament and preferences clearly with Du Yuesheng. On January 29, 1925, Zhang Zongchang led more than 10,000 Fengjun soldiers into the Chinese circles of Shanghai. His subordinates included the White Russian Army, Shandong Dahan, and red beards adapted from the three eastern provinces. , they wear fur caps and gray cotton military uniforms. They are tall and bloated. When they see people, they raise their eyebrows and open their mouths. After this group of red-browed, green-eyed characters, Hu Bing raped, burned, and killed the residents of the Chinese territory, terrified, and rushed to move to the concession like fleeing long-haired thieves.

However, several wealthy mansions and luxury restaurants in Shanghai are busy arranging lanterns, treasures from mountains and seas, porridge women, Pai Gow mahjong, and a grand and warm welcome for Marshal Zhang. Zhang Zongchang used to be Li Zhengwu's subordinate, and now Li Zhengwu is the boss of Shanghai Business Daily, with a high prestige and status. The old subordinate led "one hundred thousand soldiers" to Shanghai, and the old boss happily wanted to get ahead Talk about the friendship of the landlord.On this day, because Du Yuesheng sent someone to express politely, Li Weiwu prepared an invitation card and asked Du Yuesheng and Zhang Xiaolin to accompany him at the meeting.

This time the banquet was extravagant and grand, Du Yuesheng could already see that Zhang Zongchang, who had no city power and was rude and uneducated, was not interested in those red tape.He remembered the information provided to him by Mr. Shan, Zhang Dashuai just likes to play, what to play?Playing cards and playing with women. So, when it was his turn to be the host, he secretly decided on his way of entertaining.The next day, he simply invited Zhang Zongchang to have dinner in Fuchun Building, the son of Changsantang. At this time, there were many famous prostitutes in Shanghai who were popularized by Du Yuesheng, but the most beautiful one among them should be the so-called "President of Huaguo", the sixth son of Fuchunlou.The sixth child in Fuchunlou is Wang Haige, a beauty from Gusu, with a long body and a glamorous radiance. She likes to wear a horizontal Aisi (S) bun, speaks Wu Nong's soft language, expresses affection with her eyes, bright eyes and white teeth, and a graceful demeanor. Very charming.Because she gained ten times her prestige once she entered Dumen, she specially set up her boudoir on Shantou Road, where all the dignitaries and businessmen in Shanghai dismounted and parked in front of the gate.

Du Yuesheng borrowed the boudoir of the sixth son of Fuchun Building to host a banquet to welcome Marshal Zhang, he was finally in favor of him, he knew Zhang Zongchang's temper, and invited the ten beauties from Jihua Country to accompany him on his behalf. That night, due to the hospitality of the host and the mercy of the beauties, Zhang Dashuai danced and danced happily.During the dinner, Wang Haige made a joke. She looked forward with beautiful eyes and said in a voice: "Oh, now we have two Marshal Zhang here." Zhang Zongchang hurriedly asked why.When Mr. Shan mentioned Zhang Xiaolin's nickname as "Dashuai Zhang", Zhang Zongchang laughed out loud, and he had a rather pleasant humor. He said:

"You are Zhang Dashuai, I am Zhang Xiaoshuai." Zhang Xiaolin was embarrassed, and said with a flushed face: "Don't be joking, handsome." "Really!" Zhang Zongchang yelled, "If you don't believe me, ask me, my name is Xiao Kun, and everyone under my command calls me "Xiao Shuai". You people in Shanghai say "Xiao Shuai", but don't you mean "Xiao Shuai" ?" So, all the seats roared.However, Du Yuesheng talked about this after returning home the next day, and he said: "Don't look at Zhang Zongchang's appearance as a rough man, his belly is not simple." The feast lasted until 10 o'clock, Zhang Zongchang was very excited about gambling, the mahjong room had already prepared the gambling equipment, and the tycoon and high-roller accompanied Zhang Zongchang, who was leaning against the red and nestling in the green, to the next door. "How do you play?" Zhang Xiaolin asked. "Naturally push Pai Gow." Wang Haige said with a smile. "I'm not familiar with the Shanghainese who play big Pai Gow separately, showing cards before and after, and how to push several pairs in turn." "Then let's play mahjong!" Du Yuesheng hurriedly said. Therefore, Du Yuesheng and the others played mahjong with Zhang Dashuai all night. Zhang Zongchang lived in Shanghai for half a month. On February 14, in the name of going north to discuss military affairs, he led the brigade to withdraw amidst the curses of Shanghai residents.However, he still left a tail and sent a supplementary brigade in Shanghai to "assist in clearing the countryside". After sending Zhang Zongchang away, Du Yuesheng welcomed Xu Shuzheng again soon. In November 1925, Xu Shuzheng returned to Shanghai from abroad. Because Duan was in power, Zhang Zuolin and Feng Yuxiang held the power, and any ambitious warlord would not want Duan and Xu to work together, which in turn led to the formation of the National Revolutionary Army and the Anfu faction. North-South echoes.So when Xu Shuzheng returned, there were murderous intentions hidden everywhere. Xu Shuzheng traveled around the world. He came back from Japan by Dayang Maru. Before the ship arrived, a mysterious person came to Du Mansion. He and Du Yuesheng were old acquaintances. one. He frankly made a request to Du Yuesheng that Xu Shuzheng's visit to Shanghai this time had a great relationship, and he hoped that Du Yuesheng could publicly protect it. This task is very arduous and dangerous, and it is extremely delicate considering the current political situation—because when Xu Shuzheng was in Italy, he had reached an agreement with Mussolini to support Duan and Xu and provide a large amount of arms. If Xu Shuzheng can return to Duan Qirui's side, Duan Qirui will soon regain military power from a puppet. This is extremely important for the warlords who are fighting for power and fighting for land every year. Therefore, most people think that Xu Shuzheng may be assassinated at any time when he returns to China this time.How easy is it to protect such a political figure? Du Yuesheng, Huang Jinrong, and Zhang Xiaolin were discussing secret business, but both Huang and Zhang disagreed.Huang Jinrong said: "Xu Shuzheng's mansion is on the border of Great Britain, and with the force of the French Concession as the protection work, it's just nowhere near the itch, and it's inevitable that he can't do it." As for Marshal Zhang, he was getting close to the Feng faction warlord at this time, and he said fiercely: "The Anhui faction has long been in name and has no strength. I am 100% opposed to doing things for the Anhui faction whose leader has publicly shown his face." However, Du Yuesheng held his own dissent. He pointed out the objection reasons raised by Huang Jinrong and Zhang Xiaolin: "Governor Lu and He Fenglin have had a good relationship with us for many years. In times of trouble, they sent someone to ask for help. This is because they think highly of us. From a human point of view, it is inconvenient for us to shirk this matter. Furthermore, although Xu Shuzheng lives in the British Concession, We can also protect him, and this is our chance to show our faces." After finishing speaking, he glanced at Zhang Xiaolin again and said, "Let others do the icing on the cake. We will come here a few more times to give charcoal when needed. This is the loyalty that is talked about in the world." Boss Huang nodded approvingly, Zhang Xiaolin was speechless, Du Yuesheng was very happy in his heart, he was afraid that Zhang Xiaolin would regret it temporarily, so he made an appointment first and said: "On the day the ship arrives, we will go up together to pick it up." Just as Zhang Xiaolin wrinkled his shoulders, Du Yuesheng took the lead and said: "This is a big event, the three of us must go together." On this day, Dayangwan arrived at Wusongkou. Huang Jinrong, Du Yuesheng and Zhang Xiaolin, the "three big tycoons" from Wei Township on the Huangpu Beach, took a small steamer with light fur coats. Before the official welcome person appeared, they had arrived First boarded the big ship and greeted Special Envoy Xu first, and Xu Shuzheng received them with a smile on his face. On the pier, shoulder to shoulder, crowds gathered, some were officials sent by the government to welcome Duan Qirui, some were newspaper reporters, some citizens came to watch the excitement, and the crowd arranged by Du Yuesheng in advance.Among them, many are gangsters from the Youth Gang sent by Du Yuesheng to protect them. Dayang Maru approached slowly, Envoy Xu, wearing a suit, appeared on the deck with a smile on his face, and the onlookers saw the "three big tycoons" in Shanghai, Boss Huang, Du Yuesheng, and Zhang Xiaolin, all dispatched to stand beside Envoy Xu, keeping close at every step Left and right, cheers erupted from the crowd. This is a grand scene that is extremely difficult to get. The "three tycoons" protect Xu Shuzheng. The combined strength of the three in Shanghai is like a hundred thousand soldiers! Huang, Du and Zhang escorted Xu Shuzheng all the way to Nanyang Road in the British Concession, and sent people to guard him in shifts day and night.At this time, after hearing the news, Sun Chuanfang, who had unified the southeast and claimed to be the joint commander of the five provinces, came "in a hurry" from Nanjing "a little later" to meet Special Envoy Xu.Therefore, on the second day, various public organizations in Shanghai held a meeting at the Municipal Chamber of Commerce to grandly welcome Special Envoy Xu and Sun Xinshuai——Xin Yuan, who is Sun Chuanfang's tuba. After staying for a day, Sun Chuanfang and Xu Shuzheng went to Nantong to visit Zhang Jian, the number one scholar in Nantong and China's first industrial director. This senior from the southeast was already over 70 years old at this time, and he was still an important political figure in the ruling and opposition parties. Zhang Jian and Xu Sun had several long conversations and invited them to visit Dong'ao Mountain Villa. However, he himself However, he did not accompany the two guests on the grounds of old age and frailty. He ordered a table of plain seats to be served. At the beginning of December, Xu Shuzheng returned to Shanghai from Nantong. He was going to Peiping to meet Duan Qirui.Duan Qirui sent a telegram to tell him to postpone his departure to avoid danger.He refused to listen, and left Shanghai on the 19th by Shuntian Ferry.Du Yuesheng has done everything from beginning to end, and the duty of protection has finally been fulfilled. On the 24th, Xu Shuzheng went to Peiping and met Duan Qirui. The two knelt down and cried facing each other.He stayed in Peiping for 5 days, urging Duan Qirui to order to fight against the enemy. On the 29th, he suddenly wanted to go south. Duan Qirui and other Anhui people advised him to wait for a while before leaving, but Xu Shuzheng ignored him. Finally, on the 30th, he was dragged off the train by Feng Yuxiang's subordinates at Langfang Station and shot. Du Yuesheng protected Xu Shuzheng and entertained Zhang Zongchang, and the Anhui and Feng factions all looked up to him.Sun Chuanfang, the most prosperous direct general, and his friendship are based on interests.In Sichuan, Fan Shaozeng, a teacher who is often active in the eastern Sichuan area, often has business contacts with him, and Du Yuesheng's tentacles are getting farther and farther. In 1925, Lu Chongpeng brought two letters of appointment from the Ministry of Finance of the Duan government from Beijing, and hired Du Yuesheng and Zhang Xiaolin as counselors of the Ministry of Finance.