20 years of the Republic of China

Chapter 557 The Second Gunshot

Dusk evening.

The Jiang family's gang scattered throughout the foreign concessions were divided into several small teams under the instructions of the artillery chief Zhao Guoyan, and gathered together like a swarm of bees returning to their nest.

After many days, Jiang Lianheng finally appeared in Shanghai again.

However, their whereabouts were extremely low-key and cautious: after leaving the German merchant's mansion, they first headed west to the edge of the American Concession, made a long circle around the city, and then sneaked into the French Concession from the outskirts of the Chinese county.

The small courtyard that Li Guodong left vacant became the Jiang family's base in Shanghai.

This old courtyard is not big. It is located in the southwest corner of the French Concession. It is in a remote area and did not originally belong to the concession. It was only because the French crossed the border to build roads that it came under the jurisdiction of foreigners. The courtyard has always been vacant but not sold. It is also for this reason that it is waiting for the appreciation of the value after being demolished.

The courtyard was quite shabby and dilapidated, with the floor in a mess and covered in dust. There was no electricity or telephone, not even a decent bed.

The brothers worked hard for two days to arrange the place until it looked habitable.

Immediately, everyone set up water incense, posted secret sentries, and surveyed the surrounding areas. After everything was ready, they invited the boss Jiang Lianheng to come over for inspection.

The small courtyard is located on the edge of the concession. If you go out of the door and run south for 180 steps, you will reach the outskirts of the Chinese county. It takes half a day to walk east to reach the prosperous area of ​​the French Concession. There is no village in front and no shop behind. It is gloomy and eerie at night, like a haunted house.

Jiang Lianheng was quite satisfied with this. When he approached the courtyard, he looked around and said bluntly:
"A haunted house is the right choice. It fits the style of Shanghai."

Zhao Guoyan followed closely behind, nodded and said: "It's just that the conditions are a bit poor, living in a crowded place, and it's not convenient to do anything."

"Who said I'm going to live here?" Jiang Lianheng asked back.

Zhao Guoyan was stunned and asked hurriedly: "Boss, you don't live here?"

"No, I live here." Jiang Lianheng smiled and said, "I am here and I am not here."

Zhao Guoyan understood this time.

A cunning rabbit has three burrows! This group of outsiders, no matter where they are in the Green Gang’s territory, is not absolutely safe, and Li Guodong’s small courtyard can only serve as one of the Jiang family’s strongholds.

As they were talking, several people walked through the gate of the courtyard and slowly came to the front of the yard. The brothers immediately came out to greet them and bowed respectfully.

With the greetings of "Boss", Jiang Lianheng saw several familiar faces one after another; and with the greetings of "Boss Jiang", he recognized several bandits he had met before, but for a moment he was unable to call out each person's name accurately.

Zhao Guoyan was introducing them one by one, who was the brother of "Chuanshan Haozi", who was the subordinate of "Lao Hezi", who was the arm of "Yanwang Li", and of course, Jiang family's Xiangzi was all mentioned in passing.

Jiang Lianheng met the Hu bandits one by one and exchanged a few words with each other. One said "it's hard work" and the other said "it's your duty".

After years of online friendship, the bandits didn't exchange many pleasantries. They just said, "If Boss Jiang wants to get in the way of someone, just tell us and it's over."

Jiang Lianheng just told everyone to stay calm. The brothers had come from afar, so if they didn't move, it would be fine. But if they moved, they had to fight with bayonets to avoid alerting the enemy.

Afterwards, accompanied by Zhao Guoyan and others, he counted the bureau's belongings and checked the guns and ammunition.

After a brief moment of sorting out all the odds and ends, I didn't realize how much time had passed before the sky outside the window gradually darkened.

At this moment, Yang Lazi suddenly walked in from outside the courtyard and whispered, "Boss, Wang Laojiu from the Axe Gang is here."

"How many people are here?" Jiang Lianheng asked.

"Three, including Wang Laojiu."

Jiang Lianheng nodded, then told Zhao Guoyan and others to put away their weapons, and told the bandits to go back to their houses. Then he said to Yang Lazi, "Please invite Jiu Ye and the others in, and be polite."

Yang Lazi retreated in response.

Since the Zhabei assassination case, Jiang Lianheng finally decided to meet with Wang Laojiu again and re-united with the Axe Gang. The reason why he had delayed it until now was to wait and see the reaction of the Axe Gang.

It was not until he heard about the fight at the Sanyouhui Restaurant and the turmoil at the Shilipu Wharf that he became convinced that, at least, Wang Laojiu himself was unaware of the assassination.

After a simple tidying up of things, Jiang Lianheng and his companions came to the center of the courtyard to greet them.

Soon, Wang Laojiu led Chen Lixian and Zhang Luan into the courtyard in a hurry.

The two sides met again, asked each other about their well-being, and inquired about the ins and outs of the past few days. All these things came naturally to mind.

Jiang Lianheng only said that when the boat was halfway through the journey that night, they suddenly encountered a few Qing Gang disciples setting up a checkpoint, so they hurriedly abandoned the boat and hid secretly.

Wang Laojiu knew that Jiang Lianheng suspected that there was a traitor in the Axe Gang, but he did not show any dissatisfaction. After all, human lives were at stake. If the two parties had switched identities, he would probably become suspicious. Besides, he himself was a casual person, so he just laughed it off and the matter was over.

Several people found an empty room in the yard with a table but no chairs. They sat down and discussed countermeasures together.

As soon as Wang Laojiu sat down, he said, "By the way, Brother Jiang, your subordinate named Wen is still in the American Concession Hospital. My people have been keeping watch nearby. Now that you are still here, do you want to find a way to bring him over as well?"

Jiang Lianheng thought for a moment, then waved his hand: "Forget it for now. He might be safer in the hospital. It may not be the same once he comes out."

"That's true." Wang Laojiu looked around a few times, "However, this small courtyard is quite remote, Zhang Xiaolin and the others can't find this place."

Jiang Lianheng shook his head and said, "That's because I haven't moved yet. Once I start moving, no matter how remote this place is, it won't be safe. And..." He hesitated a little, "I'm not afraid of Zhang Xiaolin sending someone to look for me, but someone going to sue me."

"Brother, don't worry this time. Including me, there are only five people involved in the matter of borrowing Li Guodong's house. In addition to Li Xian and the others, there are only Wen Jinhua and Huang Xiansheng. They are all my most trusted brothers. If there is any trouble again, I will clean up the mess myself."

As Wang Laojiu spoke, he looked at Chen Lixian and Zhang Luan beside him.

The two men immediately straightened their backs and swore in front of everyone that they would never reveal any information.

Jiang Lianheng added casually: "And Li Guodong."

"Yes, yes, yes, how could I forget the landlord!" Wang Laojiu smiled and patted his head. "But you don't have to worry about Li Guodong. His seat on the board of directors of China Merchants Group still depends on the support of the workers under me. If he sells me out, it's like selling himself out."

Jiang Lianheng nodded silently and did not argue anymore.

After all, with so many people, it is impossible to completely hide the truth as long as they are wandering around in the city, unless they hide in the mountains. They can only try their best to narrow the scope of those who know about it.

Wang Laojiu continued, "Besides, it was my fault for being careless last time. Brother Jiang doesn't need to do anything this time. You just need to rest here and leave the revenge to me. I have already sent people to investigate. The ones who did it at the train station were all Zhang Xiaolin's disciples."

However, Jiang Lianheng shook his head firmly: "Brother Jiu, I can't stand idly by when it comes to revenge. Otherwise, when I die, I won't be able to go down to Yansheng to reminisce about the past."

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Zhengxi immediately stated: "Brother, I don't care about others, but you let me kill Lao Liu and his men."

Jiang Lianheng nodded in response, and then said: "Brother Jiu, I know that your Axe Gang has many people and strong forces, but when a real fight breaks out, how many of them dare to risk their lives? My words may not sound good, but this is the truth. Huang Ma Pi claims to have three thousand disciples, but how many of them do you think can really fight?" Wang Laojiu was silent. In the fights in the martial arts world, there would be hundreds of people involved, and when it came to the real battle, most of them would probably be fence-sitters.

After all, gang disputes are not clan fights. Without blood ties, it is easy for them to disperse.

Jiang Lianheng hesitated for a moment before saying, "Brother Jiu, I think...it's time to separate the Axe Gang from the hometown association. Otherwise, there are too many members and they are too diverse. Who knows, someone might leak the news."

"To be honest, I have reorganized the Axe Gang after the Zhabei assassination. If there is any action, only a few leaders will be informed."

"That would be best. When a real fight breaks out, the worst thing to do is to have trouble in your own nest."

At this point, Wang Laojiu asked, "Brother, from what you said, do you have any plans?"

Jiang Lianheng nodded and said, "Brother Jiu, you have led people in revolution before, so you should know the principle of 'uniting with the right and winning with the unexpected', right?"

"Hey, Brother Jiang also knows the art of war?"

"My father used to be a soldier. When he has free time, he likes to tell me about the war." Jiang Lianheng's expression suddenly dimmed, and then he waved his hand, "Let's get back to the point. I don't have that many people in Shanghai. When the news comes, I have to rely on Brother Jiu's people to block it head-on. As for the assassination, leave it to me."

Wang Laojiu frowned, but said, "If you want to assassinate someone, you must first have intelligence, and the intelligence must be accurate."

"Yes, so I have to understand the details, relationships and whereabouts of their leaders. I'm afraid that the workers on the docks alone may not be able to find out all the details of this matter."

After hearing what Jiang Lianheng said, Wang Laojiu was suddenly in a dilemma.

Most of the Axe Gang members come from the lower classes. They are good at spying, but when it comes to their understanding of other gangs, they are not so good.

Besides, Wang Laojiu himself had just arrived in Shanghai this year. Although he had been here before, it had been too long and he didn’t know much about many things.

As he was talking, Zhang Luan beside him suddenly said cautiously: "Uh... Master Jiu, Boss Jiang, I do know a guy who knows everything about Shanghai. That guy has been in the foreign land for many years and knows everything about the gangs. He also admires Master Jiu very much, but he is not from our hometown."

"Can you trust him?" Jiang Lianheng and Wang Laojiu asked in unison.

Zhang Luan scratched his head and said with some embarrassment: "I don't know whether he is reliable or not, but this person is very well-informed. If you are at ease, I will go find him and come to our guild hall to take a look?"

Wang Laojiu immediately reminded him: "If you want to join, there is no turning back. You have to make it clear to him."

Zhang Luan nodded quickly.

Jiang Lianheng looked doubtful and did not rush to express his opinion.

Several people gathered in the empty house, talking to each other. In late autumn, the days were short and the nights were long. Before they knew it, it was still early, but the sky was gradually getting dark.

…………

At the same time, in the Bund Concession, there was the China Merchants Steam Navigation Company.

The board meeting finally came to a close amid deafening arguments.

Li Guodong withstood the pressure and tried his best to ensure that the Anhui Provincial Association continued to take over the Jinyuan Wharf during the meeting.

Over the past few days, thanks to his efforts in running around and mediating, the turmoil at Shilipu Wharf has gradually subsided, and Lou Jingyuan's plan to join forces with Lao Chai to make things difficult for the Axe Gang seems to have failed.

Although the board members did not want to offend the Green Gang, they were also worried that the dock workers would call for a break again, so they had to swallow their anger and put the dispute aside for the time being.

After the meeting, Li Guodong stood up and left, went down the stairs to the first floor lobby, where he happened to meet Xu Huaimin.

The two said hello.

Xu Huaimin asked worriedly, "Director Li, are you really going to protect the Axe Gang to the death?"

"What else?" Li Guodong frowned and said, "Let the Axe Gang take charge of the dock. At least I can have a say with them. If the Green Gang comes, we will have to obey them completely."

"Well, that's not wrong, but... Shanghai is the territory of the Green Gang after all, and you are so blatantly going against them..."

"What are you saying? We have clearly agreed before that Shiliupu will be under the jurisdiction of the Anhui Province Association, but now they are changing their minds after only a few days. If this continues, the Merchants' Association will be under the control of the Green Gang in the future."

Li Guodong waved his hand nonchalantly and walked out of the China Merchants Building.

After walking down the stone steps, he walked towards a Ford car parked not far from the roadside. Two bodyguards opened the car door and were standing there waiting for him.

The two bodyguards have been following Li Guodong for many years. Initially, they were responsible for guarding the house. But recently, because he was busy representing the Axe Gang, Li Guodong said that he didn't care, but he was often nervous in his heart. So in the past two days, he let the bodyguards follow him everywhere.

"Is there nothing going on around here?" Li Guodong asked as they walked.

The two bodyguards shook their heads in response.

Li Guodong then felt relieved and bent down, lowering his head to get into the car. As soon as he sat down, he told the driver to get on the road quickly.

The driver responded and quickly turned the key, and the engine suddenly roared.

Unexpectedly, at this moment, two bodyguards suddenly walked to the car door, pulled out their pistols, pointed them at Li Guodong's head, and pulled the trigger without saying a word.

"Bang bang bang-"

After three gunshots, before Li Guodong could react, he groaned and fell into the back seat of the car.

When the pedestrians on the street heard the noise, they immediately cried out in surprise.

"Killing! Killing!"

The two bodyguards were not in a hurry. They first threw their guns on the seat, then slammed the door and patted the roof.

The driver glanced in the rearview mirror, then immediately stepped on the accelerator, and the car sped away in a cloud of dust.

Li Guodong's two bodyguards also turned around and ran towards the French Concession.

After running for a while, the two figures turned into the alley and disappeared without a trace.

At the gate of the China Merchants Steam Navigation Company, onlookers immediately gathered, but apart from a few screams, not even a drop of blood was found on the ground.

(End of this chapter)