Chapter 562
At the end of 1940, the Board of Directors of the Municipal Council was re-elected.
Cheng Mo was elected as the new Chinese director, but the convention that the Chinese director also served as a senior official in the Municipal Council’s Police Department had not yet passed, which was not important.
Because it was not issued correctly.
Cheng Mo was supported by Gu Zhushan, the Qing gang’s Jiangbei king, and Gao Xinbao, one of the Xiaobagu.
The Chinese director of the Municipal Council was also the assistant director of the Police Department.
The combination of these two positions basically established Cheng Mo’s status in the public concession, and even in the French concession, as being no less than any of the three tycoons at the time.
And it was even better than that.
Except for Huang Jinrong, who didn’t make a statement, the remaining Qing gangsters all made a statement, and Cheng Mo’s status was second only to Du Yuesheng.
Huang Jinrong didn’t dare oppose it either, because the Japanese supported Cheng Mo.
If Cheng Mo were not an official in the concession, he would probably have been elected as an alternate member of the Wang Jingwei government.
鈥淲hy didn’t you listen to my warning? Wasn’t my information accurate enough?鈥�
鈥淐omrade Cheng Mo, calm down. I’m also very saddened by the deaths of so many soldiers, but there are some things that neither you nor I can decide…鈥�
鈥淏ut even a little bit of preparation in advance wouldn’t have led to this, would it?鈥� Cheng Mo felt that his efforts had failed this time, and the psychological blow was great.
Because he tried to change a fixed trajectory, but it was history, and his personal strength was too small to shake it.
Of course, it wasn’t his fault, but he wanted to change it all and let more seeds survive.
“In fact, your reminder still played a role. Most of our comrades broke out in scattered groups. The army will be rebuilt. Don’t worry, after this ordeal, our army will definitely be reborn.鈥� Wen Qiu was also heartbroken, but there was nothing anyone could do about what had happened.
鈥淚 don’t want the Lone Soldier Battalion anymore. Give it all to them. The army needs seeds to rebuild.鈥�
鈥淎ren’t you keeping these people for yourself?鈥�
鈥淚f I keep them, I’m afraid even the Japanese will be suspicious and arrange for them to defect to us with their troops in subsequent battles. That would be the best place for them. They are soldiers and should be on the battlefield,鈥� Cheng Mo said.
鈥淪o what are you going to do next? Your subordinates, the Qing Gang and the Military Intelligence, occupy the vast majority of forces?鈥� Wen Qiu asked.
鈥滱s long as I’m still in this position, nothing can be done. Don’t worry, senior,鈥� Cheng Mo left Wen Qiu’s house with a hint of sadness.
The Spring Festival of 1941 was still a year of reunion, and the family had added two new members, which made it seem even more lively.
However, the atmosphere of the New Year in Shanghai was becoming more and more oppressive.
Chiyoko’s pregnancy was no longer a secret, and she didn’t care about other people’s stares anyway, so she just moved in.
She even became good friends with Su Mo’er, the kind of friends who tell each other everything.
Cheng Mo still slept alone, one with a baby and one with a pregnant wife.
He had been a monk for more than half a year. He devoted all his energy to his work.
The Wangwei Central Savings Bank wanted to introduce the Zhongchu Juan, but the Chinese banks in the concession collectively boycotted this shameless act of wealth plundering.
A bloody conflict broke out between the two sides.
The financial chaos triggered huge social unrest, and some people profited from it, causing chaos in the market.
Cheng Mo took this opportunity to join forces with some national capitalists and leaders in the insurance and financial industries in the concession to establish an industrial bank together.
Using this bank as the parent company, they bought shares in the Wang Wei’s Central Reserve Bank and then negotiated with the Chongqing-affiliated banks in the concession.
The United Industrial Bank was responsible for promoting the Central Reserve Bank of China in the concession, and the Chongqing-affiliated banks were not allowed to sabotage or obstruct it. The banks affiliated with the Central Reserve Bank of China withdrew from the operations of the public and French concessions.
This was a relatively independent kingdom.
This agreement did not last long, but at least it maintained the financial and price stability of the concession, and the people suffered less.
Of course, as a result, the United Bank became the largest bank in the concession and even in Shanghai, but that is a story for another time.
Cheng Mo was only a director and promoter of this Union Bank, with Jiangbei tycoon Gu Zhushan as chairman, the vice-chairman appointed by the Wang Jingwei government, and Japanese consultants hired to ensure that the interests of all were balanced.
The situation in Europe was becoming increasingly dangerous.
Japan had set up a special task force in the puppet state, and it was not clear whether this was a deliberate smokescreen to coincide with the German attack on the Soviet Union, or whether they were just planning to go ahead with the attack.
But all the intelligence shows that Japan is betting everything on the south, where it can get the strategic materials it needs: rubber, steel, and oil.
What’s the point of conquering Siberia if it’s buried under mountains of minerals that can’t be mined in a hurry and turned into war resources?
And the navy is so powerful, but the army has been getting all the glory.
The navy is definitely going to take the lead next.
In April of the following year, Chiyoko gave birth to a baby girl, whom Cheng Mo named Cheng Qianqian. Chiyoko gave the child a Japanese name, Kazuko Morita.
She hoped that China and Japan could cease fighting and achieve lasting peace as soon as possible.
Cheng Mo, Chiyoko, and their daughter took a family photo together and sent it to Japan along with a letter.
After returning to China, Morita Hideo was not in good health, and Chiyoko was pregnant, so she could not leave her child to go back to Japan.
It is hoped that Morita Hideo, who has become a grandfather, will be happy to see a picture of his granddaughter and get better.
In June.
Cheng Mo received secret instructions to import and stockpile as many medicines as possible from the United States.
Cheng Mo knew that this was because Japan was preparing to fight the Americans, and they were also stepping up their efforts to import scrap steel within their own country.
This was clearly preparing for war.
Cheng Mo directly arranged for his sister Cheng Hua to go to the United States. Apart from buying all kinds of strategic materials, the most important thing was to get the formula or production process for penicillin.
Of course, if possible, it would naturally be best to smuggle back a technical staff member.
In June, Germany launched a war of invasion into the Soviet Union. Even the Soviet army, which had received advance intelligence, was caught off guard and routed.
It was as if the wheel of history had been pushed by a giant hand, changing course without regard for human will.
The war had entered a new phase.
The Soviet Union was dragged into the war by Germany, which was beneficial from the perspective of the world’s anti-fascist efforts.
Especially on the Eastern front, the Chinese military and civilians gained a rare respite, as the Japanese were also emboldened by Germany’s ambitions and they wanted to take action against Southeast Asia and even the Americans.
The United States was now the world’s leading economic power, but it was also far away from the war. It was obviously not wise to drag such a country into the war.
However, if the Japanese wanted to find a breakthrough in East Asia, it seemed that they could only choose such an opponent to start with.
If they could scare the Americans, Japan would be able to gain a respite of five to ten years, and in that time, they could absorb the huge industrial resources of Southeast Asia and perhaps not be unable to divide the world with the Germans.
The Japanese wanted to take a strategic risk and try to achieve more with less.
But this time, they were doomed to fail.