Chapter 47: Foreign Aid

  It was already the 28th of December in the 27th year of the Republic, and inside the concession area, there was a festive atmosphere for the New Year. Every household was busy sweeping the floor, grinding rice flour, making glutinous rice balls, and the streets were filled with the sound of firecrackers going off one after another.

  But just under this joyful and festive atmosphere of welcoming spring, Zhang Xiaolin made his move.

  Zhang Xiaolin's men were initially preparing to smash the Hero Nightclub, but when they arrived, they found that the nightclub had already been smashed beyond recognition and there was nothing left to do. Instead, they ended up engaging in a fierce battle with Shen Baozi and Ma Qixiang's men.

  Next was Lin Xiaotang's Ke Hua Hotel. Earlier, Lin Xiaotang had recruited twenty retired National Army soldiers who were wandering in Shanghai through connections. Lin Xiaotang personally tested their skills and they all had good qualities. They were handed over to Huo Yan for unified training. Originally, they were intended to be used as security personnel at the hotel, but unexpectedly, they were put to use just a few days after starting work.

  Twenty veterans surprisingly beat up fifty or sixty thugs, making them cry out for their parents and search for their teeth all over the floor. It was as if they were sweeping away withered leaves, without even breaking a sweat. This made Lin Xiaotang extremely delighted, and he immediately ordered Huo Yan to go find more veterans like this, after all, he now had plenty of money on hand. The wealth that Duan Baohu had accumulated, added up to over two million US dollars, and when taking over from Ke Hua, Wan Mulin had also given him a large sum of gift money. All of this was enough for him to hold out for a while longer. Plus, with the negotiations currently underway with the upper echelons of Military Unity, Lin Xiaotang was very confident that he could dig up substantial support from Wang Tianmu and Dai Li. And what about Yuan Gong, who was far away in Chongqing - would he be able to come up with some ideas as well?

  Huoyan, considering safety, selected two of the most outstanding soldiers from the old army, one named Guo Zhu and the other Lin Huai, as Lin Xiaotang's personal bodyguards. Both were members of the original National Army 72nd Special Operations Brigade. After Nanjing fell, the troops were dispersed, and the two drifted to Shanghai, living a life of uncertainty. This time, they were recruited by Lin Xiaotang, with guaranteed salary and food, so they worked with great enthusiasm. Lin Xiaotang also purchased a batch of military equipment through Shen Baozi. Although it was not the latest model or the most powerful, it was sufficient for self-defense.

  But Zhang Aoling this time was determined to eliminate Shen Pangzi and Lin Xiaotang from Shanghai, every day, in addition to constantly sending people to harass the scene of several people, also sent out killers to ambush Lin Xiaotang three people. Within two days, several people had been assassinated more than twice, fortunately, everyone added caution, and it was fortunate that there were no major incidents, only a few subordinates were injured.

  Wan Mulin was also at a loss in the face of this situation, and had to seek help from Du Yuesheng in Hong Kong while arranging for Shen Pangzi, Lin Xiaotang and others to hide quietly and wait for an opportunity to strike. Lin Xiaotang was also very aware of the current situation, Zhang Aoling had been operating in Shanghai for over 20 years, his strength was far beyond that of this newcomer who had just come out of the woods, a head-on confrontation would be absolutely unwise, and he could only temporarily avoid the limelight and look for opportunities to counterattack.

  At that time, the concession was in an uproar, and various forces were watching the development of the situation. However, secretly, there were already rumors circulating that Shanghai was going to change its sky, and the concession would have a new master. Zhang Aoling did not avoid this point at all, and openly began to issue orders as the number one person in the Shanghai gang. Shen Pangzi and Ma Qixiang had special identities, and he did not dare to provoke them, fearing that they would anger Du Yuesheng. Therefore, he issued a Jianghu killing order against Lin Xiaotang. Wan Mulin's efforts to dissuade him were ineffective, and he could only retreat to Wuxi in dismay. This move further solidified the rumors that Zhang Aoling was going to replace Huang Jinrong and Du Yuesheng.

  Lin Xiaotang had originally planned to take advantage of this opportunity to temporarily stabilize the situation in Nanjing, and also use this chance to implement his own grand plan. However, after considering it, he decided to postpone his trip to Nanjing. The reason was that Shanghai's concession area was essentially his great rear base, and all the power and foundation he had just cultivated were here. If things couldn't be settled peacefully here, then he would find it even harder to take a single step in Nanjing, because Nanjing was the old nest of the Japanese, and also within the sphere of influence of Li Shiqun and Zhang Suolin's powers. Supposing that the matter in Shanghai couldn't be resolved satisfactorily, it would inevitably affect his development in Nanjing - this was beyond doubt.

  Shen Pangzi and Ma Qixiang had dispersed most of their subordinates, leaving only a small number of absolutely reliable ones by their side. Lin Xiaotang, on the other hand, did not have anyone leave his side. His subordinates were all veteran soldiers with no family ties, and they were all brave warriors who had crawled out of piles of dead bodies. Facing this challenge, they naturally had high morale and were willing to follow him. Lin Xiaotang simply scattered all his men, using the secret contact method taught by the Ghost Sect to keep in touch with them at regular intervals every day, gathering information about the outside world.

  Shandu, Hero and Ke Hua's business all came to a halt, entrusted to Wan Mulin and Da Tou for the time being. Just this one item alone made everyone lose a large portion of their income, so each person had a burning fire in their heart, wishing they could face Zhang Xiaolin and fight it out once and for all, to quickly resolve the matter. Fortunately, Lin Xiaotang managed to talk them down.

  On the first day of the Lunar New Year, the situation outside had stabilized somewhat with the arrival of the Spring Festival. Although everyone was still seething with anger in their hearts, under Lin Xiaotang's persuasion, they prepared some wine and dishes to celebrate the new year simply.

  At this time, Huo Yan, who had been inquiring about news outside, brought an unexpected guest.

  Lin Xiaotang saw the person coming and was taken aback: "Mr. Hong?"

  Hong Chaowei saw Lin Xiaotang, took off his hat and wiped the sweat from his forehead: "Mr. Lin, it's really not easy to find you!"

  The courtyard where Lin Xiaotang and others lived was a private property of Wan Mulin, hidden in the common rental district of the civilian area, adjacent to the Jewish gathering area, so there were fewer people coming and going, and it was relatively safe. On the main street, the sound of firecrackers was endless, the sky gradually darkened, and fireworks occasionally broke through the dark sky, and the festive atmosphere finally dissipated the gloom of the past few days.

  Lin Xiaotang couldn't help but smile as she watched Hong Zhaowei frowning and savoring the tea: "Sorry, Mr. Hong, the conditions are really simple."

  Hong Chaowei drained the tea in one gulp, spitting out two unchewed tea leaves: "Time is pressing, I won't beat around the bush, Mr. Lin, I'll get straight to the point!"

  Lin Xiaotang was surprised, having met Hong Chaowei twice. The first time was in Nanjing, and the second time he saw him with British officer David together. His intuition told Lin Xiaotang that he must be doing some kind of secret work, perhaps as an American counterpart. He came to find himself, maybe it wasn't a bad thing after all.

  Lin Xiaotang put down her teacup and stretched out her hand to stop Hong Zhawei: "Let me guess, Mr. Hong's intention is not a cooperation?"

  This time, it was Hong Chawei's turn to be surprised. In fact, he could have contacted Lin Xiaotang in advance, but he chose this particular time to come over with the intention of "snowing charcoal". He deeply understood that Chinese people value loyalty and righteousness, so if he lent a helping hand to Lin Xiaotang at this time, it would undoubtedly be a great success. However, before he even opened his mouth, Lin Xiaotang had already guessed his intentions, which left Hong Chawei somewhat disappointed.

  Hong Chaowei was well-versed in the ways of Chinese society, and upon hearing Lin Xiaotang's words, he immediately changed his strategy and openly stated the purpose of his visit. Lin Xiaotang had guessed correctly - Hong Chaowei was indeed an intelligence officer on the American side, currently working at the US Consulate General in Shanghai, responsible for collecting intelligence on various aspects of the Sino-Japanese warfront. His intentions were simple: he wanted Lin Xiaotang to work for the Americans.

  Hong Chaowei's idea was influenced by the first meeting between the two. Lin Xiaotang's skill, cleverness and bravery left a deep impression on him, most importantly, he found in Lin Xiaotang a quality that an excellent agent must possess - calmness. ??Rebel Agent 47 of the Republic of China

  In addition to this struggle between Zhang and the 76th, the US side also understood that they did not want to intervene because the US did not want to conflict with Japan in Asia. The reason is that the focus of the whole world is now concentrated in Europe, and a war no less than the last World War is imminent. Britain, France and other countries also have such an idea.

  But when someone informed Hong Chaowei of the contents of the documents carried by Gao Tao, the British, American and French governments suddenly realized that they had been deceived by Japan. The two men were carrying a series of secret treaties signed between the puppet government of Wang Jingwei and Japan, which would have spelled disaster for Britain, America and France if implemented, as all their interests in China would be replaced by Japan overnight.

  For this reason, the Americans increased their intelligence gathering on Japan, and Hong Zhaowei was actually in charge of this work. After the Gao Tao incident, Hong Zhaowei made a keen discovery that the successful retreat was due to the presence of a key figure, and later Lin Xiaotang gradually emerged with the promotion of Wan Mulin, Hong Zhaowei was delighted to discover that the key figure was his old acquaintance and lifesaver.

  So when Zhang Xiaolin took revenge on Lin Xiaotang, Hong Zhaowei knew that his chance had come and he was eager to pull Lin Xiaotang over to his side.

  Lin Xiaotang carefully digested Hong Chaowei's words and quickly grasped what he wanted. Americans? This deal could be considered, after all, they have the strength to put it there, with the Japanese in front, his current interests are consistent with theirs, even if there are differences in the future, Lin Xiaotang thought that he would still have a firm grasp on the initiative, because the ghost's wealth was in his mind, which contained many weaknesses and vulnerabilities of Americans.

  "What does Mr. Hong plan to do to help me get through this difficult time? After all, I'm now a blacklisted person, and all the gangs in Shanghai and the running dogs of No. 76 want to kill me. A person who can't even guarantee his own safety for a single day is not very useful to you, is he?" Lin Xiaotang teased.

  Hong Chaowei smiled easily: "As for the current predicament, I believe that for Mr. Lin, it's just a temporary difficulty. As for how to help you, to be honest, I don't have a practical plan. However, I can guarantee that the resources we have can be provided to you at any time. Isn't that enough?"

  Lin Xiaotang disliked Hong Chaowei's American-style confidence, but had to admit that under the current circumstances, she urgently needed a powerful ally like him.

  Lin Xiaotang bowed her head in thought for a moment, stood up, and stretched out her hand to Hong Chawei: "Nice cooperation!"

  Two hours later, Hong Chawei left with a satisfied smile.

  Lin Xiaotang immediately called over Huo Yan, Guo Zhu and Lin Huaibu. "You three, help me with a few things right away!"