Chapter 561
August 14th.
On the second day of the August 13th Battle of Shanghai, the Zhang residence on Huageng Road in the French Concession was decorated with lanterns and streamers, as if something happy was about to happen.
Suddenly, a gunshot was heard.
The entire Zhang residence suddenly became a mess, in a state of panic.
The owner of the mansion, Zhang Xiaolin, one of the three major bosses of the Green Gang, was assassinated by his close bodyguard Lin Huibei, and he died on the spot.
Lin Huibei was taken control of by the other bodyguards in the mansion.
Then a call was made to the police, but this call was not made to the French police station, but to the Japanese military police headquarters.
However, before a few minutes had passed, the French police station rushed into the Zhang mansion and took away the murderer Lin Huibei in a strong manner.
The Zhang family had no way to intervene. This was the French Concession, and even though Japan was now an ally of France, the Public Security Bureau did not recognize the current puppet government of the Restoration.
Therefore, once someone was taken away by the French police, it would be difficult to get them back.
The news of Zhang Xiaolin’s assassination sent shockwaves through Shanghai, and all the major newspapers scrambled to publish extra editions.
The Qing gang was in turmoil.
Huang Jinrong had retired, Du Yuesheng had fled, and now only Zhang Xiaolin, a traitor, was left of the three major gangsters. Could the Qing gang in Shanghai still rally behind someone? Who could take on this great responsibility?
Gu Zhuxuan? No, he had a gang, but it represented the Jiangbei gang and was not respected.
The others either lack the necessary experience or are not very capable. Gao Xinbao, one of the minor gangsters, is content with his own territory and does not want to get involved.
Besides, he knows that he is at best a talented general, and he lacks the necessary skills to lead a group.
After Zhang Xiaolin’s death, the forces under his command will inevitably fall apart, and his wealth will inevitably be divided up and eaten up by others.
Anyone without the ability to get involved will be crushed.
Moreover, although Huang Jinrong has stepped down, his apprentices are still under his command. He has only retreated, he has not left, and he is not dead.
However, Huang Jinrong does not want to step forward. He seems to understand that no one is good forever, and no flower can bloom forever. It is already the best outcome for someone like him to be able to retire with dignity and live a peaceful life in his later years. If he still wants to stir up trouble at the end,
I’m afraid that by then, he will be crushed to ashes.
At seventy years old, what is there for him to get involved in? …
On the third day after Lin Huabu’s arrest, at the French Concession Police Station, under the leadership of Xue Rugeng, the Chief Inspector of the Political Department, Cheng Mo, the Chief Inspector of the Political Unit of the Public Concession, met Lin Huabu.
After leaving the meeting room,
“Cheng Mo, don’t worry, I will fully cooperate with you from now on,鈥� Xue Rugeng shook Cheng Mo’s hand solemnly.
鈥淭hank you, Brother Xue, with our unity, we can definitely create a new situation,鈥� Cheng Mo nodded.
Xue Rugeng, the chief inspector of the French Concession, officially joined the 鈥淐hange the Sky鈥� plan and became one of the key executors.
With Xue Rugeng’s care, Lin Huaibu would not suffer much in the French Concession Detention Center.
Later, with the information provided by Lin Huai’s confession, Cheng Mo successfully solved the Zhang Xiaolin assassination case and captured dozens of people from the Second Action Brigade of the First District of the Shanghai Military Region, including the team leader Chen Mo. During the arrest, there was resistance, and many people were injured and killed. This news shocked Shanghai.
Cheng Mo suddenly became the most dazzling star in the concession, but not the kind praised by everyone, but the kind half-despised and half-praised.
The Wangwei government wanted to extradite Chen Mo and the others to the Japanese military police for trial, but Cheng Mo refused. He could not possibly hand these people over to the Japanese, let alone to No. 76.
These people were his future team, how could he possibly give them to the Japanese and No. 76? Dai Yunong had given these people to him in this way. On the one hand, it was so that he could earn merit in the eyes of the Japanese, and on the other, it was also to give him talented people.
As long as he absorbed and transformed them,
With credit and the support of the Japanese behind him, and the British on his side, willing to create opportunities for him, Cheng Mo’s promotion was like riding a rocket.
Soon, Cheng Mo was promoted from Chief Inspector of the Chinese Inspectorate and Head of the Chinese Unit to the position of Assistant Commissioner of Police.
As Assistant Commissioner, he directly oversaw the Political Unit, and even became Pride’s superior.
The British didn’t care about this. Their posting in the concession was just a way to get a bit of gold-plating. Usually they would leave after two years, or at most three, and go back to their old jobs with a promotion and a pay rise. But due to the current situation in Europe and the UK, Pride, who could have left earlier, continued to serve in the concession, because it seemed safer to stay in Shanghai than to go back to the UK. It was more apologetic to live here, and you could still make money.
In October, the Japanese secretely contacted the Chinese side in Hong Kong, indicating a willingness to negotiate. Cheng Mo knew that this was the result of the KMT’s manipulation, and that the KMT was trying to delay the negotiations and create friction.
In early December, Cheng Mo received insider information from the mermaid that No. 76 wanted to take action against Wan Molin.
Cheng Mo then played along with the plan and kidnapped Wan Molin before No. 76 could send someone to arrest him in secret.
The charge was simple.
It was suspected that Wan Molin had introduced Lin Huaibu to Zhang Xiaolin, and the police in the concession suspected that he had participated in the murder of Zhang Xiaolin. Although he was not the mastermind, he must have known about it, and he was required to explain the situation, otherwise he would be brought to justice.
It had been several months since the murder of Zhang Xiaolin, and all the suspects had been arrested. Although Lin Huaibu was the one who committed the murder, he was not the main culprit. He confessed to the crime and was sentenced to 15 years in prison for personal grudges and not being satisfied with the murder charge.
The Japanese wanted to extradite him, but the request was directly rejected by the French judicial authorities.
As for the masterminds, Chen Mo and the others, because they belonged to the military intelligence, after their arrest they signed a confession and became operatives of the Special Investigation Section of the Public Concession Police Department.
They got away with it and were free to move around. This was a great irony.
Anyway, the kidnapping of Wan Molin was the beginning of the feud between Cheng Mo and No. 76.
Lin Shiqun went to Yingzuo to complain, saying that Cheng Mo had overstepped his authority. How could he, from the Public Concession, interfere with the affairs of the French Concession? Cheng Mo did not indulge him either. Although the French Concession and the Public Concession had different jurisdictions, they had signed an agreement, and there was nothing legally wrong with what he had done.
So the war of words began.
No. 76 wanted people, but Cheng Mo of course refused to give them. In terms of background, Lin Shiqun had Mei Jiguan, Ying Zuo and Qing Qi Qingyin, while Cheng Mo not only had the intelligence agency of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but also the intelligence office of the Commander of the Japanese Expeditionary Army, directly in charge of Colonel Takeshiro Takeda.
What’s more, he has even hooked up with the Japanese military attach茅 in Shanghai, and the Japanese navy doesn’t even intercept drugs imported from the United States.
These drugs are also needed by the Japanese navy. If you block the import, they won’t be able to use them either. Anyway, things that are beneficial to both sides are just ignored.