Du Gao, the word Yuesheng, together with Zhang Xiaolin and Jin Jinrong, is known as the three tycoons of Shanghai, in the Republic of China, the image of the Shanghai tycoon that comes to mind by people living in Shanghai must be the "Shanghai Emperor" Du Yuesheng, who was the first person to call the gang in 300 years, he is a legendary figure in modern Chinese history.
A 15-year-old orphan from the countryside, through his own efforts to break into the beach, from a roadside gangster to a rogue tycoon on the beach, this must be a story. Coupled with what Du Yuesheng has done since his inception, it not only shows us the personal charm of a generation of influential people, but also adds a lot of talk to his story.
Du Yuesheng's life was full of contradictions, he was used by Chiang Kai-shek to do bad things, but he was also a patriot and did good things for the country and the nation. He started with drugs and gambling, his beginnings were naturally disgraceful, but in the end he became a senator of the Military Committee of the Nationalist Government, but also became the underground anti-war commander of Shanghai, he successfully washed himself away step by step, although he did all the bad things, but at least New China recognized his meritorious deeds for the country as a patriot, Gao Yang once commented on Du Yuesheng's work, "Du Yuesheng is against the grain, and finally achieves positive results." ”
During the anti-Japanese period, he refused to become a traitor, and supported thousands of gas masks of the Eighth Route Army, and at the same time took the initiative to mobilize mass forces to help the Kuomintang form a unit. In 1949, both the Kuomintang and the Communists were vying for Du Yuesheng's support, the Chinese Communist Party had sent people to contact Du Yuesheng secretly and invited him to stay in Shanghai, and the Kuomintang had also co-opted Du Yuesheng and wanted him to go to Taiwan with him, but Mr. Du refused, probably because of his disgraceful history.
Du Yuesheng during the April 12 counter-revolution
The right wing of the Kuomintang headed by Chiang Kai-shek staged a coup d'état in Shanghai and wantonly killed the left wing of the Kuomintang and members of the Communist Party, which was the April 12 counter-revolutionary coup.
Chiang Kai-shek had been planning this coup for a long time, first to win the support of the international and Western powers, and then to win over the underground forces in Shanghai and promise his high-ranking official Houlu. As one of the gang bosses in Shanghai at that time, Mr. Du vigorously supported Chiang Kai-shek's plot and wanted to take this as an opportunity to gain Chiang Kai-shek's trust and get rich. Therefore, Du Yuesheng killed Wang Shouhua and a series of other CCP members, resulting in the Communist Party being hit hard by the Kuomintang, and many Communists were killed by Chiang Kai-shek.
Du Yuesheng contributed a lot in the coup d'état, but he did not get much in the subsequent rewards for his merits, because Chiang Kai-shek only wanted to use him, not to give him too much power. It was also because of this incident that he did not dare to stay in Shanghai after the victory of the Chinese Communist Party.
Du Yuesheng, who is in a difficult state to make a fortune
As we all know, opium has caused great harm to the Chinese people, and opium has caused a large number of Chinese families to be torn apart, which every Chinese people cannot forget, and Du Yuesheng's fortune depends on selling opium.
At the beginning, Shanghai's opium business was divided into two camps, one of which was the "Golden Rong Group" and the other was the "Eight Major Stocks Party", and Du Yuesheng belonged to the Golden Rong Group, and at the beginning, as a small street gangster, Du Yuesheng drew together a large number of outlaws like him, and began to "eat black black" specifically for Jin Rong to rob the opium of another force, and then, relying on this batch of opium, Golden Rong, Du Yuesheng, and Zhang Xiaolin to establish the Sanxin Company.
At that time, the Nanjing government carried out a ban on smoking, requiring opium smokers to pay a smoking ban fee every year, and they had to buy opium in a special anti-smoking bureau. Because of Du Yuesheng's close relationship with Chiang Kai-shek, Chiang Kai-shek entrusted him with the task of selling opium, and Du Yuesheng thus monopolized the opium business in Shanghai.
Du Yuesheng, who oppressed the people
In addition to the above, Du Yuesheng also oppressed the people. During the Republic of China period, there were many prostitutes in Shanghai, many of whom were forced to come to Shanghai and suffer humiliation, and Du Yuesheng was the umbrella of these brothels, because to do this kind of business in Shanghai, it was necessary to pay protection fees to Du Yuesheng. It is no wonder that the Central Daily once classified Du Yuesheng as a local tycoon with bad crimes, such a person naturally did not dare to stay in Shanghai.