Shanghai: The First Warlord of the Republic of China

Xu Wenqiang said: "Brother Fei, didn't you ask us to vigorously develop Longmen's power recently? It has been a while, so we came to report to you."

Ye Yunfei nodded and said, "Go ahead, I'm listening."

Xu Wenqiang said: "There are now a total of more than 42,000 disciples in Longmen, of which there are about 18,000 core elites. These people are the absolute elites of Longmen. Each of them is a warrior who has experienced hundreds of battles. They can be said to be the core of Longmen."

"The other 20,000 people have just joined Longmen. Although they are now Longmen members, their combat effectiveness is slightly weaker than the previous 18,000 people."

"But after Ali's training over this period of time, they have made some progress. They just don't have the experience of fighting now. I think if I take them to fight, they will be much better."

After listening to Xu Wenqiang, Ye Yunfei nodded and said, "It doesn't matter. Strength develops step by step. Since they are already members of Longmen, give them time to develop."

"The 18,000 elite soldiers you mentioned were just ordinary Longmen disciples at the beginning. It was only after fighting one battle after another that they developed to what they are now."

"So, give them enough time and they will grow up."

Xu Wenqiang nodded: "Yes, I think so too."

"Anyway, there are more than 42,000 disciples in Longmen now."

"In addition, there is funding. Because Longmen has a large population, there are places where money is needed everywhere. Therefore, Longmen is still relatively short of funds now."

Ye Yunfei frowned when he heard this and said, "Didn't I give Ding Li one million dollars to develop Longmen? How come the one million dollars has been used up?"

Ding Li nodded awkwardly and said, "It's all used up, Brother Fei. The one million dollars was used up in less than half a month. Moreover, I used it very sparingly, but before I knew it, the one million dollars was gone. I don't know what happened."

Xu Wenqiang said: "This is also very normal. You know, there are more than 40,000 people in Longmen now."

"To manage a gang of more than 40,000 people, the expenses are quite high. Just the food, accommodation and lodging costs are a huge sum."

"One million dollars may be a huge sum of money in other places, but in a gang of tens of thousands of people, it is nothing."

"Even if you average it out, it's only about twenty-five dollars per person."

"Moreover, the current Longmen is no different from the army. If you want to support an army, the military expenditure is an astronomical figure."

"So, a million dollars is not a lot for Longmen. It's normal to spend it all in more than half a month."

Xu Wenqiang explained the current situation of Longmen.

After listening to him, Ye Yunfei nodded and said, "It seems that having so many people is not a good thing."

"If there isn't enough money, there's really no way to support so many people."

Although Longmen also spent money before, there were not many people in Longmen at that time. Even though it cost money, he could still accept the money spent.

But now, the amount is often hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars, and just hearing the numbers makes him feel scared.

If the number of people in Longmen continues to grow, the expenses alone will probably be an astronomical figure.

I really don’t know how those warlords manage to support so many troops.

Xu Wenqiang said: "Those warlords basically control a large area of ​​territory. They rely on the people in the territory to collect taxes and monopolize some businesses to obtain a large amount of funds to support the army."

"However, the current Longmen is different. Longmen is just a gang, not a warlord. Although Longmen controls four districts, it only collects protection fees from these four districts, and does not collect other taxes or anything like that."

"Besides, there is the Shanghai Municipal Government above Longmen. With them here, we definitely cannot collect taxes. We can only collect a little protection fee."

"However, relying solely on protection fees is not enough to meet Longmen's huge expenses."

After listening to Xu Wenqiang's words, Ye Yunfei said: "I understand what you mean. If a gang wants to grow and become stronger, it must transform into a warlord."

"The gangs transformed into warlords, and then controlled a piece of territory. All matters in the territory were managed by the warlords."

"Relying on collecting taxes and stuff to maintain the army, right?"

Xu Wenqiang nodded and said, "That's it. Otherwise, there will be no future for development."

"We at Longmen must also change accordingly, otherwise, we won't be able to sustain it for long."

Ye Yunfei said: "Okay, let's do it in this direction first. However, this kind of thing may not be completed in a short period of time, so we should do it step by step."

"Anyway, it all comes down to one thing: becoming stronger. As long as you become strong enough, no one will dare to mess with you, no matter if it's a gang or a warlord."

Xu Wenqiang nodded.

Ding Li said, "Brother Fei, you said before that you would take action against the three tycoons at the end of the month, right?"

Ye Yunfei said: "Of course, Wen Qiang has already said that the four districts we control now are not enough to support so many people."

"Of course we have to occupy more territories and take over the territories of the three tycoons first."

Ding Li said excitedly, "Great, I haven't led anyone to fight for a long time. If I really fight the three tycoons this time, I must kill a few more people and have a good time."

Ye Yunfei glanced at Ding Li and said, "You are the boss of Longmen now. You can't be the first to rush to the front in everything. What if you get injured or killed by others?"

"It's better to let your subordinates do the fighting. You don't have to do it yourself unless it's absolutely necessary."

It is true that Ding Li is capable of fighting and killing, but now he has few capable people under his command.

Ding Li is a core figure of Longmen. If he is really hacked to death, it would be equivalent to losing an arm.

Therefore, I still have to remind him that he should not be too impulsive in this situation.

Ding Li touched his head and said, "I know, Brother Fei, but sometimes I just can't control myself and want to kill someone."

"Don't worry, Brother Fei, I will keep myself safe and nothing will happen."

Hearing this, Ye Yunfei waved his hand helplessly and said, "Forget it, I don't care. You can do whatever you want. Anyway, it's best not to hurt yourself."

"Ah."

Ding Li nodded.

Ye Yunfei looked at Xu Wenqiang again and said, "Wenqiang, I have another question for you."

"If we attack the three tycoons now, we at Longmen have a slim chance of winning."

Hearing Ye Yunfei's question, Xu Wenqiang frowned.