Shanghai: The First Warlord of the Republic of China

In the next few days, Ye Yunfei basically dealt with Longmen's affairs.

Three days later, at Shanghai Railway Station, a group of soldiers surrounded the train station. Then, a young man in military uniform walked down from the train station.

This young man was none other than the commander of the Northeast Army, Zhang Hanqing.

Ye Yunfei had been waiting at the train station for a long time. When he saw Zhang Hanqing getting off the train, he smiled and greeted him, saying, "Young Marshal Zhang, long time no see. Welcome to Shanghai."

Zhang Hanqing said, "Brother Ye, I am really sorry for bothering you to come to the station to pick me up in person."

"I am truly flattered that the King of Shanghai can personally come to pick me up in his busy schedule."

Ye Yunfei smiled and said, "Young Marshal Zhang is too polite. If it were anyone else, they certainly wouldn't be qualified."

"But it's different for the young marshal. No matter how busy he is, he has to make time to pick you up. Otherwise, I, the master of Shanghai, would be too rude."

Zhang Hanqing laughed and said, "Brother Ye is too polite. Let's go and talk while we walk."

Ye Yunfei said: "Okay, I have already booked a table for a banquet in the restaurant, let's go over now."

"Ah."

Zhang Hanqing nodded.

The two chatted and went to the restaurant.

After sitting down in the restaurant's private room, Zhang Hanqing said, "Brother Ye, I heard that you made a fortune recently. I'd like to congratulate you in advance."

Ye Yunfei said: "I am so poor that I have to beg for food, how can I get rich? Han Qing, please stop joking with me."

Zhang Hanqing said: "I am not kidding you. Your Longmen destroyed Li Chong and Zhao Mingfei, and occupied the two provinces of Jiangnan and Jiangbei."

"Jiangnan and Jiangbei are two very large provinces in the Republic of China, and their geographical locations are also very critical. Now that these two provinces are in your hands, aren't you considered rich?"

"I guess countless people in the Republic of China would be jealous."

Ye Yunfei said: "So this is what you are talking about. To be honest, Jiangnan and Jiangbei are not what I want to take."

"It was mainly Li Chong and Zhao Mingfei who were reckless and wanted to cause trouble for me. They also teamed up with Wu Fatian to surround Shanghai."

"I had no choice but to destroy them."

"Since we have eliminated them, we can also take over their territories. Otherwise, Jiangnan and Jiangbei will become ownerless and will be occupied by other warlords sooner or later. It is better for me to occupy them first, so that outsiders will not get the advantage. Don't you agree, Han Qing?"

Zhang Hanqing smiled and said, "Of course, these two good places must not fall into the hands of others."

"You made the right choice by taking over Jiangnan and Jiangbei. Not only did you eliminate two powerful enemies, but you also gained two large areas."

"In the Republic of China, territory is the most important thing. The larger the territory you occupy, the stronger your power will be."

"Now that you, Brother Ye, have occupied Shanghai and Jiangnan and Jiangbei, it is equivalent to occupying three provinces. Such power ranks among the top among all the warlords in the Republic of China."

"It's really enviable."

Ye Yunfei picked up the wine on the table, drank a glass and said: "Han Qing, I'm afraid no one will believe what you said. The Northeast that you occupy ranks among the top three among all the warlords in the Republic of China in terms of strength and territory."

"You are the real big shot. Compared to you, my little territory is nothing."

Zhang Hanqing said: "Brother Ye, I really don't know how to explain what you said."

"We in the Northeast Army do have some territory, but you have to know that it took my father and I decades to conquer these territories."

"During this period, I don't know how many troubles we encountered. My father even lost his life because of it. You can imagine how difficult it was for our Northeast Army to obtain these territories."

"And you, Brother Ye, have easily taken over Shanghai, Jiangnan and Jiangbei provinces in just over two years."

"Although the current territory is not as large as our Northeast Army, the speed of its growth is far greater than ours."

"Our Northeast Army's development over several decades is not as good as your development over two or three years."

There was a hint of helplessness in Zhang Hanqing's words.

And in fact, it is true.

The Northeast Army has gone through several generations of development, especially his father, Marshal Zhang, who even lost his life in the Northeast, which led to the current situation of the Northeast Army.

It was definitely not easy for the Northeast Army to develop to its current state.

Ye Yunfei took two or three years to develop Longmen to its current state and control three provinces.

If this happened to any other warlord, they would not even dare to think about it.

Therefore, although the power of the Northeast Army is now greater than that of Longmen.

However, in terms of the difficulty of development and future development prospects, Longmen is stronger than the Northeast Army.

This is also the most helpless thing for Ding Zhang Hanqing.

"All right."

Ye Yunfei waved his hand and said, "Let's not talk about these bad things. Whether it's Longmen or the Northeast Army, we have always been partners, so no matter who is stronger, it's a good thing."

Zhang Hanqing nodded and said, "Yes, we are partners. No matter which of us is stronger, it will be good for both of us."

"If both of us are strong, then the future of the Republic of China will be decided by us."

Ye Yunfei smiled and nodded.

The two of them ate and chatted.

After a while, Ye Yunfei said, "Han Qing, you came to Shanghai this time for something, right?"

Zhang Hanqing said, "There are indeed two things. The first thing is that we have reached an alliance. So, in order to facilitate our communication and to help each other in case of trouble, I plan to build a train from the northeast to Shanghai."

"This train can go directly to Shanghai and the Northeast. You can travel from beginning to end in two days."

"In this way, no matter what happens between us in the future, the other party can send troops to help in time. What do you think, Brother Ye?"

Ye Yunfei nodded and said, "This is indeed a good suggestion. The Northeast is too far away from Shanghai. Although there is a railway in between, it has to go around several large circles. It takes at least a week to travel there."

"If we can build a railway from the northeast to Shanghai, it will be a good thing for both of us."

Zhang Hanqing said excitedly: "So you agreed."

Ye Yunfei smiled and said, "This is a good thing. Of course I should agree to such a good thing. Why not?"

Zhang Hanqing nodded: "Okay, then it's decided. We will build a railway from Northeast China to Shanghai. Let's discuss a time and start construction immediately."

"No problem. Moreover, we can build it from both the northeast and Shanghai ends at the same time. This way, it can be opened to traffic in the shortest possible time."

Zhang Hanqing smiled and said, "Great minds think alike. I think so too."

"Then the matter of the train is settled."

Ye Yunfei nodded: "Well, it's settled. I wonder what the second thing you said is, Han Qing."