Chapter 638 Zhang Xiaolin
This incident did not ferment too much. The senior officials of the French Concession Municipal Council found the British and American senior officials of the International Settlement Municipal Council and held a negotiation meeting with the senior officials of the Japanese Consulate that afternoon.
This was certainly a wise choice. After all, the Japanese's wolfish ambitions were somewhat scary. They were not the Chinese who fought for the past, but the Chinese disguised by the Japanese, and the highest one had already sat in the position of inspector. Such a situation could not exist only in the French Concession. The systems on both sides were basically the same, except that the Municipal Council in the French Concession was more centralized and much stronger than the International Settlement. The International Settlement also had a large number of Chinese police officers, relying on these Chinese to maintain their rule.
Combining the situation in the French Concession and Yoshimura Kenji's confession, there is no doubt that the International Settlement must have the same situation. Counting the lurking Japanese, the bribed Chinese, and various foreign devils, the upper and lower levels were basically infiltrated.
So the French had no burden to tell them about this scandal. Everyone was in the same situation, so no one should laugh at anyone else. Moreover, they have several concessions in China. Is this kind of thing only happening in Shanghai? Is it only happening in China? There are so many colonies in Southeast Asia, and all of them are Asians. So there is no Japanese infiltration? Of course it is impossible. So the French pulled in Britain and the United States. Together, the three of them put more pressure on the Japanese and strive for greater benefits.
The Japanese did feel a huge pressure. This time, it was not the previous seizure of goods, but they were really digging the roots of Britain, France and the United States. After the Shanghai incident came to an end, there would inevitably be a storm of anti-Japanese special forces in other concessions and colonies, which was indeed a big trouble for Japan.
But really speaking, this can be a problem or not. Although it still has to be counted on Wang Yan's head, if it is all counted, then Wang Yan is really wronged. Because it has always been a tacit understanding between countries to send agents to infiltrate each other. The counterintelligence departments of various countries have been working actively and fighting each other. It's just that this incident has put all these on the table.
In the four-party negotiations, although the Japanese were very tough, this time Britain, France and the United States unified their attitudes and became even tougher, so the Japanese were tough for a while and then softened. The most intuitive manifestation is that Japan withdrew the spies who were frantically active in the International Settlement and the French Concession, and no longer continued to test the bottom line of Britain, France and the United States. In addition, the Japanese are not allowed to block, inspect or arbitrarily detain cargo ships passing through overseas. Goods leaving the customs are not allowed to be maliciously blocked. And the taxes and fees must be further reduced on the basis of the agreement in the last cargo detention incident.
In this way, Britain, France and the United States can restore the commercial tax to the level before the war, or even higher. After all, because of the war, prices are soaring at this time, and the same batch of goods is much more valuable than before. These people are all China's war money. They are plundering China's wealth together with those traitors.
Of course, negotiations between countries are not so simple, and there are other messy terms. However, if these things are useful, they are really useful. If they are useless, they are just waste paper. The main thing is whether both parties abide by them. This is the most important thing.
During the negotiations, Britain, France and the United States also asked Japan to provide a list and withdraw the hidden agents and spies, but obviously, the Japanese would not do so. Since they were not caught, then they did not exist. This was just an excuse for the negotiations.
In addition to the official negotiations, the top leaders of Britain, France and the United States also received generous gifts from the Japanese, which was a happy ending for everyone. As I said before, the International Settlement and the French Concession were for making money. It was a small matter to plant agents and subvert personnel and be caught in the act. If you can make more money through this matter, you can give an account to the superiors and benefit yourself. That is a perfect solution.
Obviously, it is perfect now. The talks were finished that afternoon and everyone was very satisfied.
Mitchell's level is not low, but such things are obviously not something he can directly participate in. So Mitchell was also concerned about the results, and he asked around. Finally, he got the news and revealed it to Wang Yan, the person involved.
Wang Yan was not surprised by such a result. After all, it was impossible for Britain, France and the United States to make things impossible to end. They were surrounded by the Japanese. The reinforcements from their motherland were too far away and the cost was too high, so both sides knew to stop when they had enough.
The matter over there ended perfectly, and Wang Yan himself could not escape the trouble that was coming.
The weather was still bright during the day, but it suddenly became cloudy near the evening. The slanting rain fell on the ground, washing away the sins of Shanghai. Rickshaws on the street were one after another, and people walked quickly on the road with umbrellas. Those without umbrellas took advantage of the light rain and used newspapers, bags or other things on their heads and ran quickly, fearing that the heavy rain would prevent them from returning home, or that they would catch a cold and affect their work. The homeless and beggars also ran in disappointment because they might go hungry tonight. Moreover, it was rainy and humid and they could not sleep. It was another difficult night.
This is a restaurant located in the International Settlement. It has a very grand name, Sifanglou. The building style is not Western style, but Jiangnan style. In fact, even in the International Settlement and the French Concession, not all buildings are Western style. There are always old buildings, and Sifanglou is one of them. This is a restaurant specializing in Huaiyang cuisine, with a very high standard, and it is quite famous in Shanghai.
A restaurant like this should have been very lively during dinner time in the evening, but tonight, it was different from the past. There were only a few people sitting on the first floor of the hotel, except for a few people in suits and leather shoes, wearing a combination of Chinese and Western styles. , basically all dressed in silk shorts, some wearing top hats, some wearing nylon hats, these people are all smokers, some smoke foreign cigarettes, some roll dry cigarettes, and some smoke pipes, creating a smoky atmosphere in the hotel . The way these people behave, they look like Youth Gang gangsters.
The waiter carefully endured the messy environment, shuttled around to bring tea and water to the gangsters, and served them carefully.
At this moment, a car stopped in front of the hotel. Qi Si stopped the car and turned off the engine. He turned his head and looked at the situation in the store: "Brother Yan, do you want Brother Shi to bring someone over?"
"Why are you bringing people here? Standing outside on a rainy day and being doused? There's no way we can start a fight. This is someone trying to intimidate me. Boy, are you afraid?"
"Am I afraid of them?" Seeing that someone had already come to open the door for Wang Yan, Qi Si snorted disdainfully, opened the door and got out of the car.
Wang Yan shook his head and smiled, and got out of the car along the door that had been opened by others. Immediately, two people, one on the left and one on the right, held an umbrella over his head. The two people holding the umbrella for him were basically exposed. , letting a lot of rain pour down on my head.
Glancing at them, Wang Yan ducked his feet, stepped on the ground with his big leather shoes, straightened his trousers and gown that were wrinkled due to his sitting posture, and straightened his collar, then slowly followed behind him, wearing his own clothes. They took the umbrella and gloated at the sight of others drowned in the soup. They all entered the hotel.
In the hotel, a somewhat elegant young man in a suit and glasses came forward: "Mr. Wang, my uncle is waiting for you upstairs."
Wang Yan hummed, and led by the young man, he walked upstairs.
"What do you mean?"
Just at this moment, there were dissatisfied voices from behind, as well as the sound of bodies colliding.
When Wang Yan heard the sound, he paused and looked back. Only then did he realize that it was Qi Si who was holding an umbrella and wanted to follow him upstairs. The two tall and thick men at the stairs, who looked like they were not easy to mess with, stretched out their hands to stop Qi Si. Qi Si was dissatisfied with the opponent's move. He raised his hand and violently brushed away the blocking arm, and pointed the iron tip of the umbrella at the neck of one of the strong men.
Qi Si was only sixteen years old, and his body had not yet opened up. He had practiced martial arts for many years and had become lean and muscular. He was only 1.7 meters tall. He looked particularly thin against the background of two big and round men. But Qi Si's aura was not bad at all, and his fierce eyes showed that he was ready to fight for his life at any time. There was no cowardice in the slightest because of the difference in physique.
This is extremely normal. Qi Si has been on the streets since he was a child and has practiced martial arts for so many years. He protects a bunch of homeless beggars under his command from being bullied. Over the years, he has killed many people of his own age, or They are much older tramps and little hooligans. To be honest, those two strong men looked more fierce. In terms of killing people, they were not as experienced as Qi Si. He was a serious veteran.
Wang Yan looked at the two strong men with suppressed anger and wanted to take action with a smile, then looked back at the young man leading the way: "What do you mean?"
The young man said with a smile: "Mr. Wang, there are only my uncle and two other gang members upstairs, as well as a few serving brothers, and no one else. To be on the safe side, this little brother stays downstairs. Well, don’t worry, you know that he has been blessed by being with you for eight lifetimes, and you won’t treat him badly. I have already assigned the kitchen to make a separate table for this little brother.”
"Be my master?" Wang Yan smiled and looked at the young man who kept saying "dare not" and laughed with him: "Who do you think you are? Ah Si, give me a reward for each person."
Qi Si responded, without saying a word, he opened his arms, slapped twice, and threw the two big mouths into the faces of the two strong men who were gritting their teeth but not daring to make any move, and then took two steps forward and walked towards Wang Yan. In front of him, he looked at the gentle young man with an ugly face. He bared his small white teeth and pumped his big mouth with all his strength.
The young man's glasses flew up and fell to the ground, blood overflowed from the corner of his mouth, and the area from the corner of his mouth to the base of his ears was red. He had no other reaction. He lowered his head and quickly picked up his glasses from the ground and put them on. He wiped the corners of his mouth with his thumb, looked at the blood on them, showed a gentle smile to Qi Si, and then looked at Wang Yan: "I'm sorry, Mr. Wang, It’s me, Meng Lang, please!”
Qi Si curled his lips and shook his numb palms, feeling sorry for not being able to pull out the pretty boy's teeth. He didn't like people who pretended to be like this. Damn it, he's become a gangster, pretending to be a gentleman, acting like a foreign devil, it's disgusting, he pushed him aside.
Wang Yan glanced at the young man, and then at the hooligans on the first floor who had different looks but were very quiet. He turned around and walked up the stairs first: "Bring up the food prepared for him."
The gentle young man responded, let out a sigh of relief, and instead of going upstairs, went to find the shop owner to explain. Of course, I couldn't help cursing Wang Yan in my heart, but that was all. The gap was too big and he didn't have the right to speak...
When he got upstairs, Wang Yan saw at a glance that there was a round table in the center, some distance away from the window. The other tables had been moved away, leaving a special area. There were three old men sitting at the table. The ones on the left and right were all miscellaneous fish, except for the one in the middle.
He was a little thin because he was old, his skin was sagging, wrinkles were everywhere, there were a few age spots on his face, and his hair was completely white. He has sparse eyebrows, high cheekbones, a broad mouth and a hooked nose, and a pair of triangular eyes. Even at his dying age, he still does not look kind-hearted, but makes people feel sinister.
This ruthless old boy is none other than Zhang Xiaolin, who is the leader of the Qinggang Gang and has hired people and money to join the Japanese. He is extremely powerful and famous in Shanghai. Huang Jinrong was old and retired to live in retirement. Du Yong ran away to Hong Kong Island because he cooperated with the Kuomintang and even participated in the establishment of the Loyalty and National Salvation Army. As one of the three famous tycoons in Shanghai, Zhang Xiaolin, who was originally ranked last, has risen to the top.
He waved his hand and asked Qi Si to find a place to stay by himself. Wang Yan laughed and moved his hands forward: "Uncle Zhang, we are busy with the house arrest business. This junior came a little late, so you have been waiting for a long time."
Zhang Xiaolin seemed to be smiling affectionately: "I know you are working hard. It is in the prime of life. Those who are able work harder. Unlike us old guys who are almost buried, we are very leisurely and have nothing to do sooner or later." Sit down, sit down and say.”
Although he looks fierce, time is indeed a good thing, because it covers up so much. Zhang Xiaolin is sixty-one this year, and his wrinkled face due to time, coupled with his gentle smile, makes his triangular eyes look much more pleasing to the eye, and the whole person does not look so aggressive.
Wang Yan nodded, sat down opposite Zhang Xiaolin, and let the little gangster who was waiting beside him help him pour the tea. He took a sip of tea and said, "Uncle Zhang, there is such a big battle today. You always don't know. Che When we stopped outside, I was still thinking about running away. There were so many people and I only had a half-year-old boy, so I felt really guilty."
"Hey, among the younger generation, you, Wang Yan, are the boldest. Didn't you see bigger scenes when you were running outside before? What does this little battle mean?"
"You also said, that was in the past. Now the whole of Shanghai knows that I, Mr. Wang, are most afraid of life. There is no way. In the past, I dared to risk my life with a kitchen knife, and I had nothing. Now I have the power to have If you don’t have money, you won’t dare to die.”
Zhang Xiaolin let out a long sigh, nodded in agreement, and continued following Wang Yan's words: "Yes, the older this person gets, the more useless he becomes, and the more afraid of death he becomes. Don't worry too much. I'm not asking so many people to come here. What are you trying to do to show off your power? I want to guard against someone else's assassination. You also know that the Nationalist Party and the Red Party hate me to death. The military commander has already assassinated me once. It's better to be careful. I'm an old man and I want to live for a few more years. How can you be cool and unrestrained, working as a detective in the French Concession, doing boss business with the two parties, and not offending the Japanese, with such a young man by your side? Even if you dare to go, I’m not as good as you.”
"Uncle Zhang is promoting the younger generation. I am just making a small fuss, and I can't compare with your glory. You used to be a brother-in-law with Chiang Kai-shek. Who in Shanghai doesn't know your majesty. You have won the trust of the Japanese again. With a heavy responsibility, your Uncle Zhang is the one in Shanghai now.”
As he spoke, Wang Yan gave a thumbs up, and continued with a smile: "You are well-informed, so don't make fun of the younger generation. Didn't this just offend the Japanese? It caused a lot of trouble and made it very embarrassing."
Zhang Xiaolin nodded with a smile. Of course he already knew what happened and the outcome. Otherwise, why would he take the initiative to ask a junior like Wang Yan out tonight?
"You are used to being cautious and making a fuss out of a molehill. Isn't something wrong?"
"Uncle Zhang, let me tell you the truth. Even if nothing happened today, I would find a reason to kill him in a while. Otherwise, how could I hold real power? A detective who doesn't keep his words is not a detective. That's a joke. You have experienced so many storms and understand this truth better than anyone else.”
Hearing that the topic had reached this point, Zhang Xiaolin shook his head and smiled, mocking Wang Yan for being a young man after all, and the city government was still not interested. Isn't that why he brought two of his closest men to accompany him? If we talk about normal circumstances, we should deal with it until we have eaten and drank, wearing out each other's patience, until whoever can't help it can speak first. This is taking the lead and not talking about anything. Well, I have already won a hand first.
He said: "Now that we are talking about this matter... I heard that you arrested Gao Yunchang's whole family?"
Of course Wang Yan knew what Zhang Xiaolin meant. He just didn't want to argue too much with this old guy. If the game really started, it wouldn't be over in two or three hours. There would be few serious words and a lot of bullshit. With that kind of time, even if he decides to keep a low profile now and doesn't plan to go to the dance hall to find girls to have fun, it would be great to go back home and read and write comfortably.
"Yes, isn't Gao Yunchang the old man whom my captain worships? He threatened me with Gao Yunchang. You should also know that I like to cut grass and roots. In order to avoid trouble in the future, I had to strike first. I'm sorry, Uncle Zhang. I know he is yours and has always been very supportive of you. He didn't say hello to you before taking action. The main reason was that he was pressed for time and didn't have time to tell you. It's my fault, I hope you understand. "
"Understood. If it were you, I would make the same choice as you."
Zhang Xiaolin nodded repeatedly. He didn't understand anything, but now he was in Wang Yan's hands, and his life and death were completely controlled by Wang Yan. It was okay if he didn't understand. In fact, he feels quite sad now. Because before the Japanese came, the Green Gang was very powerful when the three tycoons were in charge. At that time, although Wang Yan was quite impressive and had already begun to make money for the French, and he was quite important, to him, it was just barely in his eyes, and they were not on equal terms.
But now that the Japanese have come, he has also surrendered to the Japanese, and instead wants to accommodate Wang Yan. Although Wang Yan greeted him with "uncle" and "you, you, sir", the relaxed look with his legs crossed and his body leaning on the back of the chair showed that Wang Yan did not take him seriously.
The main reason is that Wang Yan's status has risen too quickly in the past two years. He has power and rights. Due to the rapid expansion of the war, Yonghua Industrial gained the trust of the French and became more important to the French. In addition, although Wang Yan did not have that many men, he knew very well that there were still 1,800 people, and they were very important to Wang Yan. The words are all dead-set. There are also tens of thousands of workers working under Yonghua Industrial, which is actually a force that can be utilized. This point, in Shanghai, the Red Party has told the world more than once.
The most important thing is that Wang Yan has a good relationship with the French and has channels to smuggle weapons. With Wang Yan's strength, he can really arm an army of a thousand people. Although the combat effectiveness may be worse than that of the regular army, it is not comparable to the hooligans.
He can't touch Wang Yan. The attitude of the French is very important on the one hand. On the other hand, it lies in such hard power. If Wang Yan is really going to die, then Shi Changxing will take over as the head of the family. According to the rules, the successor must inherit the grudge, so they all want to avenge Wang Yan. Although there is no such thing as loyalty in this era, we have to consider our reputation externally and the opinions of our subordinates internally, so we have to do it.
Of course, it was only Wang Yan. He looked down upon the other detectives from the French Concession. But the presence of Wang Yan made him even more worried, because the same was true for Du Yong in the past. He started with a lower status than him, but later came up, not to mention Huang Jinrong, and became a real Green Gang boss. Now Wang Yan is even younger and is basically the number one person of the younger generation. Of course, this requires removing those who serve in the military and politics. If he can continue to live, he may not be able to become a new generation of Youth Gang boss in the future.
After all, the Youth Gang is not a monolithic entity with centralized power. It is a loose organization and a collective term. Except for the direct line, no one has to listen to anyone. Although he is now the leader of the Green Gang, he is only a part of it. After all, Wang Yan was also a member of the Qinggang. He was a serious member of the Wu family who worshiped Xiangtang, but he didn't listen to his orders and acted as a bastard for the Japanese.
With his mind spinning, Zhang Xiaolin continued: "But, this Gao Yunchang has been with me for so many years, and at this age, there are fewer and fewer people around him. I can't watch him suffer without helping. And this matter It has nothing to do with him, he has suffered an unreasonable disaster, Wang Yan, for my sake, let’s just forget about it..."
Wang Yan did not answer. He took a sip of tea and muttered: "Uncle Zhang, you are working for the Japanese. The Japanese are looking for me this afternoon. You should know that, right?"
"I know, one of them is the intelligence section chief of the Special High School, and the other one is the consul of the consulate, a senior official responsible for municipal government and people's livelihood. He can go to see you in person, which shows that the Japanese value you very much."
"Then do you know what it cost me to be able to sit here and drink tea with you now?"
Zhang Xiaolin frowned and said: "I've heard about you. When Lin Hongyuan was alive, he once came to you and introduced you to the Japanese, the section chief who came to find you. Later, there was a spying incident, which was very unfortunate. It looks good, and you haven’t revealed much useful information to them. It’s just a nominal cooperation relationship. I think this time, you may have to give them some key information in real terms, right?”
"I never come into contact with those, so how can I know any key information, but I have to find a way in the future, otherwise it will be difficult to explain. But this time, I paid for it, a total of two hundred thousand US dollars." Wang Yan He looked sad and regretful: "My heart is dripping with blood even now. It was all my hard-earned hard-earned money, and I handed it over so easily..."
With that said, Zhang Xiaolin understood. Wang Yan is expressing his position. It is not that people cannot be let go, but this shortcoming must be made up for. Damn, so greedy.
Zhang Xiaolin said with a smile: "It's easy to say that Gao Yunchang also has a company, a casino, and a cigarette shop. He still has some foundation, but it shouldn't be too much. In this way, I make the decision, 250,000, and I will give you a check to advance him. Let's forget about it. Gao Yunchang is not young, and there are more than ten people in his family. If you let them go, you can be considered a good deed. "
"Now that you've said that, as a junior, what else can I say? It's up to you."
Wang Yan nodded happily and agreed to the price. Although the 250,000 yuan was much less than what he got directly from Gao Yunchang, Zhang Xiaolin had to give it to him if he wanted to save face.
As Zhang Xiaolin said, Gao Yunchang has been with him for many years and has always supported him, so he must be saved. Otherwise what do other people think? How to maintain prestige? How will you lead the next team?
Gao Yunchang, the old guy who was caught and wanted to kill his whole family without even showing his face, was also unlucky. It was indeed an unforeseen disaster. But this old guy isn't a good person either. If Zhang Xiaolin hadn't spoken, he would have smashed the old guy's bones, sucked out the marrow, and then thrown him into the river to feed the fish.
After the matter was settled, Zhang Xiaolin was very happy. He signed the check on the spot and handed it to Wang Yan: "Where is he? I will send someone to pick him up."
Wang Yan took the check and looked at it, drank all the tea in the cup, stood up and said: "Since the matter has been discussed, I will leave first. I don't need to trouble you about releasing him. I will go downstairs and make a phone call. They sent Gao Yunchang's family home. That's it. Uncle Zhang, I will leave first."
"Let's go after dinner. We haven't seen each other for a long time. How about sitting together and talking? Do you look down on my old bones?"
Looking at Zhang Xiaolin who seemed very unhappy, Wang Yan shook his head: "You just talked about being assassinated, which makes me feel a little nervous, so I won't have dinner with you. I'm afraid that the military commander will go crazy and come to you at this time. It was a surprise. Didn’t you take me along with you? Let’s forget it, Uncle Zhang, please take care of yourself.”
Seeing that Wang Yan's cautious look didn't look like he was cheating, Zhang Xiaolin shook his head, stretched out his hand, and said at a loss of whether to laugh or cry: "You, you are really... Okay, in this case, I won't force you to stay. When you have time, go Let’s talk at my house.”
Wang Yan cupped his hands and led Qi Si downstairs to leave. As for the three people who had been whipped earlier, although they gritted their teeth, they still bowed and sent Wang Yan and the others away. The person holding the umbrella still held the umbrella for Wang Yan.
Qi Si started the car and started on the road, and said, "I finally understand, Brother Yan, have you been thinking about exchanging money with Gao Yunchang for a long time?"
"Two hundred thousand dollars is not a small amount of money, and we just happened to catch a rich old man like Gao Yunchang. If we don't scrape a layer of skin from him, wouldn't it be in vain?"
"This is great. Not only did we not lose money, we also made a profit of 50,000 yuan. Gao Yunchang did a good job catching it."
Wang Yan said with a smile: "Let me ask you, if Gao Yunchang is not arrested this time, where will our money come from?"
Qi Si didn't even think about it: "Then find a reason to fight him. Not Gao Yunchang, but also Li Yunchang and Zhang Yunchang. No matter what, we definitely can't pay this money out of our own pockets."
"Yes, you can teach me. Boy, you are making progress." Wang Yan slapped Qi Si on the back of the head and knocked back what he wanted to say: "Go to that hot pot restaurant. It's raining today. Let's eat something." "It's hot."
"okay……"
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