Empire of Blood: The Fall of the Godfather of Crime and the Green Gang

The Underworld Podcast · Jul 28, 2026 · 47m

When his Green Gang goons killed thousands of leftists in 1927’s Shanghai Massacre, Du Yuesheng was welcomed into the political scene of China’s nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek. ‘Big Ears Du’ would then take over the country’s biggest city wholesale — running transport, water, electrical grids and even a major bank. All the while Du’s profits from narcotics and vice soared, making him one of the richest organized criminals in world history. But events in Asia were spiraling beyond Du’s control. China’s communists regrouped after the Green Gang had almost wiped them off the map. And Japan…