1932: Playing with the Japanese Communist Party with a doll

".."

Du Yuesheng was startled.

Have the Japanese figured themselves out so well?

It seems like he's been eyeing his money for a long time...

Sure enough, those bastards who applied for the job of guard at home a while ago were actually Japanese scouts. They couldn't steal, so they came to rob, right?

Brother Huang, Brother Huang, I guess you will be in trouble too.

Du Yuesheng secretly resented it, but dared not say anything, intending to fool the audience: "No, no... Ouch!"

"Stop lying to me! I'm going to make a direct offer: $80. If you can't give it, we'll just have to send Boss Du to his death." "Huh?"

Du Yuesheng was shocked:

"Good man, you sold me out and it didn't work...Pfft!!"

This time, the person who kicked him was the tall woman next to him.

This kick was much heavier than the previous one. Du Yuesheng felt as if his internal organs were shattered. It took him a long time to come back to his senses. Then he was grabbed by the clothes and lifted up. "Listen carefully, Boss Du, I don't care what means you use. Before 5 o'clock today, I must see $80 or something of equal value that is easy to carry. If you can't do it,

I will kill your whole family."

No matter how much some Apple fans in later generations praised Du Yuesheng, in the eyes of Mark and his agent, he was just a piece of trash mixed up in the underworld.

Donating 120 military aircraft to the country... That's bullshit!

Among the aircraft exported by the United States to the Nationalist government, there were no models like the ones touted in the marketing articles! However, it is definitely true that Du Yuesheng was rich.

At this time, another "man" shouted:

"Boss, I found these things in his house!"

Everyone turned around and saw a masked man walking over with some small gadgets, making tinkling sounds.

".."

Du Yuesheng felt a chill in his heart. There must be a traitor in the family.

Otherwise, how could the 50 large yellow croakers, $10 USD and some cash he had hidden be found? The masked man chuckled and said:

"Boss Du, I'll count to three."

Not long after, a black luxury car drove out of the Du Mansion, carrying Du Yuesheng's fourth concubine and knocked on the door of every familiar bank manager in Shanghai.

After one or two people died, through various means such as borrowing, mortgaging, and guaranteeing, Boss Du finally raised $80 before dawn, and then he was knocked unconscious again. At the same time, cars drove out of a three-story British-style mansion at No. 181 Fuxu Road in Shanghai and the "Huang Family Garden" worth 350 million yuan, which was not yet fully completed.

Did the same thing.

Money, money, or damn, money.

That night, all the major banks were speculating. What had happened to these "three tycoons"?

At the same time, frantically collect funds in one night?

They even mortgaged their own homes? Is this some kind of big move?

Around nine or ten in the morning, the subordinates of the three families found that there was no movement in the house. They shouted many times but received no response. They rushed in and found something was wrong.

Huang Jinrong and his family of more than 20 people, whose hands and feet were bound, their mouths gagged, and one leg was broken;

Du Yuesheng's family, who had obviously been beaten but were still in good physical and mental condition; and Zhang Xiaolin, whose property was looted and his entire family was killed.

From then on, of the "Three Big Tycoons of Shanghai", one was gone, one was left, and one remained.

This shocking news immediately detonated the entire Shanghai and even the entire Chinese public opinion circle.

Not only did this derail subsequent events, it even significantly reduced the attention paid to the ongoing Shanghai Anti-Japanese War. Everyone speculated about what had happened, but Huang Jinrong and Du Yuesheng remained silent. However, one thing was clear.

Du Yuesheng, who had no good feelings towards the Japanese, later expressed his resolute attitude of resisting Japan on many occasions in public, and donated a lot of supplies to the 19th Route Army; Huang Jinrong, who had a neutral impression of the Japanese, also clearly expressed his opposition to Japanese aggression and stated that he would never work for the Japanese.

While they continued to traffic in opium, force women into prostitution, and perpetrate gambling schemes, they were at least united in their commitment to resisting the Japanese. This was especially true after a short story titled "The Mighty and Invincible Female Officers of the Great Japanese Empire" suddenly appeared in a Shanghai-based Japanese newspaper. The story vividly depicted how a group of Japanese female officers, led by a distinguished male samurai, punished local tyrants and robbed the rich to help the poor. The writing was excellent, the plot captivating, the plot thrilling, and the structure novel...

Not to mention the Japanese, even many ordinary Chinese people love to watch it;

However, just like the author surnamed Zhou who stopped writing mid-novel to save China, this novel's author also wrote one or two short stories and then stopped, sparking public outrage and demands for updates. For unknown reasons, after reading the newspaper, Mr. Huang suffered a heart attack and was bedridden for several days, while the Du family lost a large number of valuable furniture and appliances.

Later, some fragmentary news came out.

It is said that on that night, the three tycoons Huang, Du, and Zhang were robbed and extorted of at least $300 million worth of goods by a group of robbers who were suspected to be Japanese.

Later, at a fundraising meeting for the Anti-Japanese War and National Salvation Campaign, Huang Jinrong, then in his sixties, limped on one leg and angrily shouted to reporters at home and abroad: "...We must resist the Japanese at all times! We cannot help but resist!"

"Just imagine, you're at home with your wife, playing mahjong and singing, and suddenly you're robbed by the Japanese!" "How tragic!"

"So, the days without the Japanese are good days!"

071 The Soviet Area was stunned by the money

"...Comrades, I'm telling you, the matter involving the three tycoons has nothing to do with you, right?"

Having been notified to come and receive the "aid," Pan Hannian looked at the truck piled high with dollars, yen, pounds, francs, gold, and silver, and, remembering the news in the newspaper, he whispered, "What's going on with the three tycoons?"

"Uh... nothing, nothing..." Pan Hannian immediately shut up.

He didn't care where the money came from, as long as the aid to the Chinese Communist Party was in place. Deep down, Pan Hannian hoped that the so-called "three tycoons" would suffer misfortune.

Before and after the "April 12 Incident," these "three tycoons" acted as Chiang Kai-shek's bayonets, frantically slaughtering many CCP comrades and democratic figures who sympathized with the CCP. Humph, they're just extorting some money from you, which is a bargain for you!

Pan Hannian also fully understood why the "World Reform Party" did not directly mobilize the money in the "World Reform Party" bank account to assist them but chose to rob them.

It’s easy to figure out!

How could it be so easy to mobilize hundreds of thousands of dollars in just a few days?

Besides, how can the ones you take from home be as good as the ones you steal from outside?

Huh?

etc?

The World Revolutionary Party was able to seize the throne, so why can't we, the CCP, seize the throne?

Anyway, they are all reactionary forces that hinder social progress and the victory of the revolution. Instead of letting them use the money to live a life of luxury, harm the people, and sell opium, why don't we use it to help the revolutionary struggle? Yes, this is not robbery, this is "robbing the rich to help the poor", this is "rational allocation of resources", this is "a necessary means of revolutionary finance"!

Something extraordinary emerged in Pan Hannian's heart.

He quickly realized he had completely underestimated the SRP's resource allocation capabilities. After careful accounting, he discovered the "aid" amount was a staggering $250 million! That translates to at least $600 million in cash!

How terrifying is this number?

Compare it with the income of the Soviet area for the whole year of 1931.

Even taking into account "exploiters' funds" (i.e. confiscation of landlords' and gentry's property, fines, levies, apportionments, war spoils), normal taxes, loans from the public, and revenue from state-owned industries and businesses, there was only a "mere" 60 silver dollars! With this little money, in addition to supplying the administrative and military departments of the entire Soviet area, a portion had to be used to support their Shanghai Central Committee, which was of course very stretched.

In the middle of last year, due to the Kuomintang's encirclement and suppression campaign, the war was tense and the economy was in dire straits. The Ministry of Finance was forced to issue 3 yuan in "poor people's banknotes" to address temporary financial difficulties and support the war. To put it bluntly, because there was no general equivalent to support the credit, it was a bit like getting something for nothing.

This incident embarrassed the leaders of the Central Soviet Area. After the encirclement and suppression campaign ended, they immediately issued 40,000 yuan in banknotes, using a 200,000 yuan deposit to stabilize the currency value and compensate the people who used these banknotes. In other words, the S.R.P.'s support effectively guaranteed the Soviet Area's fiscal revenue for the next ten years!

(Note: Although the teacher sent his brother to southern Jiangxi to investigate and prepare for tungsten mining in early 1932, the actual production of tungsten ore did not begin until the end of the first quarter of 1932.) Most importantly, a large part of this money was extremely valuable foreign exchange, which could be used to purchase various scarce materials urgently needed in the Soviet area at "low prices" through channels in Guangdong or Hong Kong! This level of support...

Pan Hannian gasped, immediately closed the car door, and solemnly said to the "member of the World Revolutionary Party" who came to contact him: "I need to send a telegram to the Central Committee immediately to inform them of this!"

UMP45's light brown eyes seemed to be smiling:

"Why are you in such a hurry to send the letter? You could have just kept some of it! It's such a huge sum of money..."

"...Comrade! Even if you're joking, you can't make such a joke!!"

Pan Hannian's tone was filled with undisguised anger, and UMP45 curled her lips and said perfunctorily, "...Okay, okay, sorry, sorry... Send it. The communication protection is still in place today."

Humans are such complex and interesting creatures.

Some humans, apparently wealthy enough to rival a nation, covet even their own soldiers' pensions; others, apparently so impoverished, remain unmoved by six million dollars. It's fascinating, no wonder the commander asked me to go along and see.

Soon, the Central Soviet Area received the telegram.

“600 million…600 million…”

Wu Hao muttered this number, his eyes blank, clearly stunned by the shocking news. The others weren't much better.

There were more than ten people in the room, and for five minutes no one spoke, leaving only the sound of heavy breathing. Finally, someone murmured incredulously:

"No...Impossible?"

Although everyone knew it was bullshit, no one refuted it because they didn't dare to believe it.

It's only been a few days?

Is the World Revolutionary Party so powerful?!

Even so, because it was so shocking, after a while, some people couldn't help but question: "What on earth are they trying to do?"

...

Li Desheng was immediately furious. Just as he was about to lose his temper, Wu Hao came to his senses and quickly waved his hand to skip the topic: "Let's ask if the comrades of the World Revolutionary Party have any requests? If so, we will do our best to meet them!"

Human beings are always naturally skeptical of things that are beyond their imagination.

It's a survival instinct.

Having missed the chance to vent his anger and being stopped by Wu Hao, Li Desheng had no choice but to keep his mouth shut. Soon, the Central Special Branch replied:

"The request has been made before."

They are definitely true communist and internationalist fighters!

Now, no one in the Soviet zone raised the slightest objection to accepting the S.R.P.’s aid. No one even planned to tell the Soviets about it.

Including "pro-Soviet faction" and "pro-Soviet faction".

No matter how pro-Soviet you are, how much aid did the Soviets give you?

When you were studying in the Soviet Union, was your living expenses given by the Soviets, or did you earn it yourself by working and studying? The difference is obvious.

(Note: Life was really tough back then. Many leaders had to work and find ways to earn money for their stay in Moscow, especially before the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War.) Suppressing their excitement, the Central Committee of the Soviet Area began to discuss the allocation of this money and soon came up with a plan:

10,000 yuan in cash was left for comrades operating in Shanghai (because without the Shanghai Central Committee, their activities were significantly reduced and they no longer needed such funds), and the rest was shipped back to the Central Soviet Area to alleviate the strained economy. In December of the previous year, the Kuomintang's 26th Route Army revolted, declared its affiliation with the Red Army, and was reorganized into the Fifth Red Army Corps. While this added 17,000 troops to the Red Army, it also significantly increased the financial burden on the Soviet Area. Coupled with the Shanghai Central Committee's various requests for funds and the uncertainty surrounding Soviet support, the Soviet Area's finances were already in a state of near collapse.

This was one of the important reasons why many people in the Shanghai Central Committee and the Soviet Central Bureau insisted on attacking Ganzhou despite Li Desheng's strong opposition. If they took Ganzhou, they would have money!

Now that the Ganzhou Campaign had failed, there was no money to be made. Peng Dehuai's delayed retreat had also led to the rearguard being caught by Chen Cheng's army, resulting in the loss of over 500 men. Therefore, the Shih Chien Party's horrific aid was essentially a life-saving, blood transfusion.

Then, the Central Soviet Area began to worry.

How can 570 million oceans be transported into the Soviet area?

Although there was a route from Shanghai to Shantou to Chao'an to Dapu to western Fujian and then Ruijin, that route passed through many enemy-occupied areas. It was fine for transporting small amounts of money and supplies, but for such a large amount of money...

At this time, a new telegram came:

"Comrades from the Shih-Ren Party said they have a way to get the money safely into the Soviet area..." "Hmm?"

"They've already found out. As long as they give the Song family's transportation company 20,000 yuan, they can guarantee that any goods will be delivered directly to the Soviet area and exempt from all inspections along the way;" "Uh..."

"It only takes half a month at most to travel through Shanghai, Shantou, Pengyang River, Han River, Ting River, Changting..."

"Uh..."

"In addition, a soldier from the World Revolutionary Party will accompany us throughout the trip and provide protection."

After hesitating for less than a minute, all the leaders of the Soviet Central Bureau made the final decision:

干!

Fuck it!

Since the comrades of the World Revolutionary Party have said so, then what can't be done?

In just a few days, they had developed trust in a party whose political stance, headquarters location, scope of activities, and leadership were completely unknown to them.

"Other..."

Why is there still a telegram?

"Comrades from the World Revolutionary Party have informed us of the information regarding last year's gold theft case and requested an investigation and pursuit."

At the end of last year, the 120 taels of gold (ten large yellow croakers), or about 132 ounces, worth $2700, of aid that the Jiangxi Soviet Area gave to the Shanghai Central Committee completely disappeared with the seventh courier.

This incident became a source of anxiety for all leaders in the Soviet area who knew about it. Li Desheng and Wu Hao were unable to sleep for a whole day and night after hearing the news. They ordered intelligence stations along the way and the Central Special Branch to track down the case, but to no avail. Unexpectedly, the comrades of the Shih Chien Party had already...

The smiles on Wu Hao and others' faces gradually disappeared.

Could it be that the Shih KMT had already infiltrated our Party and even the Soviet areas? What exactly did they want to do?

Should we be on guard...