Chapter 50: They Can’t Sit Still Anymore
Liao Ruyuan spoke with great confidence, and of course, he had reason to be confident.
Shanghai’s hooligans were nothing like these veterans who had come down from the battlefield.
Hooligans were ruthless at most, but these veterans were ruthless and fearless of death.
Back then, when the Japanese devils’ tanks charged toward the position, these men charged forward with satchel charges without a moment’s hesitation.
How could such men fear a few hooligans?
Shanghai, Jiangnan Wharf, the night was pitch black, fierce winds swirling old newspapers across the wharf’s bluestone slabs, occasionally making rustling sounds.
The gas lamp at the alley mouth flickered on and off, casting the mottled brick walls like ghostly faces.
In the distance came the cough of a rickshaw puller, soon swallowed by the wind.
Under the night sky, the cargo ships moored at Jiangnan Wharf were like countless giant beasts lurking in the darkness, revealing only vague outlines.
In one corner of the wharf, several men in short jackets squatted under a kerosene lamp whispering, the firelight flickering, illuminating the weapons at their waists…
“A Dong, the wharf hasn’t been peaceful these past few days. Have the brothers keep extra watch at night.”
“Elder Brother and Second Brother have both been arrested by the Gendarmerie. Until they get out, nothing can happen at the wharf.”
The man named A Dong drew the small axe from his waist upon hearing this and said confidently: “Third Brother, don’t worry. Even without Elder Brother and Second Brother, with our strength, others won’t find it so easy to step in.”
“A Dong, don’t let your guard down.” Liang Sansheng said worriedly: “This time the Japanese don’t know what’s gotten into them; they’ve targeted all the large and small wharves in Chinese Territory.”
“From the looks of it, it’s not like before, just simply demanding some benefits from us or coping with some policy from above.”
“I feel like they want to help someone take control of all the wharves in Chinese Territory.”
A Dong’s expression tightened slightly, and he said softly: “Third Brother, why do you think that?”
Liang Sansheng sighed and said: “Isn’t it simple? In just three days, from Wusong Commercial Port to Jiangnan Wharf, all the large and small wharves in Chinese Territory have been cleared by the Japanese.”
“The leaders of several wharves have been locked up. Right now, the wharves in Chinese Territory are like scattered sand. If someone takes advantage and steps in, I’m afraid we really won’t be able to hold them off for a while.”
As if responding to Liang Sansheng’s words, two gunshots suddenly rang out in the night.
Everyone’s hearts tightened abruptly, and they all stood up to look outside. Suddenly, a figure staggered toward their position, but halfway there, he seemed to lose all his strength in an instant and tumbled to the ground.
The men all drew their weapons from their waists and walked forward. When they got close, Liang Sansheng saw the man’s face clearly under the wharf’s faint lights, and his expression changed drastically: “Xiao Ningbo, what happened to you? Who did this?”
Xiao Ningbo clutched his chest, blood continually surging from his mouth, and weakly waved at them: “Go, get out of here quick.”
“They, they have guns.”
Have guns? Before anyone could decide, rapid footsteps sounded, and a group of men in black short jackets ran toward them holding rifles.
The next day, Shanghai, Director of the Economic Department’s Office at City Hall.
Early in the morning, Chen Yang received a call from Lin Xueyi.
They had raided all the wharves in Chinese Territory overnight.
In just one night, all the wharves were taken by them. In all of Shanghai, aside from the British and American international commercial wharves in the International Settlement, all wharves were now under Chen Yang’s control.
And this was only forty-seven days since he returned from studying in Japan.
In other words, Chen Yang had taken control of all of Shanghai’s outbound shipping in less than fifty days.
It seemed simple, but in fact every step was the result of his careful calculation.
Knock knock knock, a knock sounded, and Chen Yang pretended to open a few documents and place them in front of him before saying: “Come in.”
The office door opened, and Deputy Director Feng of the Tongji Office came in with a fawning smile, striding to the desk and saying: “Officer Chen, this is the transportation dispatch order from the Dispatch Center. See if there’s any problem.”
Chen Yang took the report, flipped through it, picked up a steel pen to change a few numbers, then handed the report back to Feng Jian and said: “Director Feng, go to the Dispatch Center yourself and confirm with Konan about our request to add one more freight train.”
“Zhejiang Province Pacification Headquarters has started levying taxes, and our warehouse isn’t ready yet; it can’t store so many materials.”
“We can only add one more trip to get the materials to Nanjing as soon as possible.”
Feng Jian took the report with both hands, saluted respectfully, and said: “Yes, Officer Chen, I’ll go handle it right away.”
Feng Jian had just left when another knock sounded, and Secretary Li Ningyu pushed open the office door and walked in.
“Officer Chen, we just received a telegram from the Nanjing Military and Political Department.”
“The Military and Political Department’s rural pacification plan will begin implementation on April 3.”
“They need sufficient materials for a deep encirclement and suppression of the anti-Japanese armed forces around Taihu Lake.”
“Minister Chen has urgently transported a batch of materials from the Peaceful National Construction Army Logistics Department. Commander Qi hopes we can prioritize sending this batch of materials over.”
Chen Yang took the report and looked it over.
Shanghai’s Peaceful National Construction Army was established in September last year.
This troops was stationed on Yi Ding Pan Road, formed on the basis of the Thirteenth Army, absorbing three local Security Regiments in Shanghai, as a puppet troops.
This troops’ combat effectiveness was nothing to boast about, but their weapons were fairly complete, mostly provided by the Japanese.
To put it bluntly, they were dogs raised by the Japanese, the kind that only barked and didn’t bite.
Initially, Japan’s purpose in forming this troops was simply to use Chinese troops to eliminate some anti-Japanese guerrilla teams and other armed forces active in the Shanghai vicinity.
Who knew their combat effectiveness would be unimaginably poor.
A battalion of hundreds went to encircle and suppress a guerrilla team of a few dozen, and before entering combat, at the sound of the enemy’s gunfire, they began to retreat.
To prove they had resisted, they fired into the sky while retreating.
The Japanese officers sent to supervise the battle had no method upon seeing this.
After several times, this troops was even spared bandit suppression missions and now only retained security duties, assisting the Gendarmerie Headquarters in setting up controls in Shanghai.
That is, checking documents and such at major roads.
Chen Yang picked up the steel pen, wrote a slip, stamped it with the Economic Department’s seal, and handed it to Li Ningyu: “Have someone from General Affairs Section take the slip and make a run. Get the materials to the warehouse by tomorrow afternoon; I’ll arrange a train to transport them tomorrow night.”
Li Ningyu took the slip but didn’t leave; instead, she pulled a gold-embossed invitation from a folder.
“Officer Chen, this was just received this morning. Someone named Jin Dayou wants to invite you to dinner.”
“Oh,” Chen Yang took the invitation, glanced at the signature at the bottom, and the corner of his mouth couldn’t help but curl up slightly.
They finally couldn’t sit still.
