20 years of the Republic of China

Chapter 572: A War Without Kindness and Justice (Part )
The Cantonese gang came with great force and in the blink of an eye they were approaching the riverside road.

The Axe Gang had just experienced a fight, and although the casualties were not great, they were still a little tired. Seeing the gang coming towards them, they found it difficult to resist.

Zhang Luan and his men picked up their weapons and were ready for a bloody battle, but they saw Wang Huaimeng, the "Making Trouble in Heaven", rushing over with a broadsword in his hand. He kicked Zhang Luan in the abdomen, then swung the broadsword in the face, directly cutting off half of Zhang Luan's face.

Upon seeing this, Wen Jinhua immediately drew his gun.

Just as he was about to fight back, Lai Chunbao fired a shot not far away, knocking him down on the spot.

"boom!"

This gunshot marked the beginning of the fight.

The two sides immediately engaged in a melee. Since the Guangdong Gang came by water, the people on both sides were very close to each other. In just a moment, they were in close combat.

In the dark night, the Axe Gang and the Cantonese Gang were fighting each other, with each other involved in the fight. The fight was difficult to separate and chaotic.

As a result, Li Zhengxi and others standing at the door of the shop were unable to shoot.

Otherwise, after this volley of bullets, it would be hard to tell whether the dead were enemies or friends.

The Axe Gang had no intention of continuing the fight, so they had to fight and retreat towards the urban area.

Li Zhengxi originally planned to go to support Zhao Guoyan, but the Guangdong Gang refused to let him go and rushed over to chase him relentlessly, not giving him a moment to breathe.

Seeing this, several bandits hurriedly urged, "Third Master, let's go first!"

Someone nearby turned off the large-scope speed machine and fired two shots, knocking down a Cantonese gang member who was approaching. He immediately echoed, "In this situation, going to support Lao Zhao is equivalent to leading people to their side!"

Li Zhengxi clenched his machete, nodded and said, "Retreat to the city first!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he heard Chen Lixian and Huang Xiansheng loudly commanding the gang brothers not far away.

"Retreat to the guild hall. There are still people there!"

The crowd obeyed the order and dispersed immediately, each heading towards the entrance of the alley.

Li Zhengxi and others had no choice but to gather together and follow the Axe Gang members to retreat first.

For a while, near the Shiliupu area, at the intersection of the French Concession and the Old Town, waves of soul-stirring shouts and cries of killing were heard one after another...

…………

On the other side, Zhang Mansion in the French Concession.

The hustle and bustle and fighting in Shiliupu did not affect the peaceful atmosphere of this wealthy area.

Outside the gate of Zhang Mansion, there were many bodyguards standing as usual to protect the house. The lights in the whole mansion were dim, and the atmosphere was lazy.

Inside the Du Mansion, which was only separated by a wall, the lights were off and there was no sound except for a few bodyguards walking back and forth outside the door.

In the corner of the courtyard wall, there are piles of dead branches and leaves. The autumn insects have long died, and the night is becoming more desolate and silent.

In the alleyway over a hundred steps away, diagonally opposite the two mansions, there seemed to be a gathering of figures.

Zhao Guoyan leaned against the wall, quietly leaned his head, and looked towards the entrance of Zhang and Du's mansion. Then he quickly turned around and looked down at his watch in the dim light of the street lamp, revealing a worried look.

A bandit beside him frowned and asked quietly, "Why is there no movement?"

"Is there something wrong with the Third Master?" Another Jiang family member echoed, "No one has been transferred away, how can the kiln be destroyed?"

Zhao Guoyan looked gloomy and thoughtful, and said sullenly: "There is still some time, let's wait a little longer!"

According to the information obtained by Dai Qiu Sheng and others, Zhang and Du both have appointments tonight.

Zhang Xiaolin went to the Shanghai Garrison Office and met with his old classmates from the Military Academy to discuss the armed escort of the Sanjin Company's next batch of local products, and also paid the money he was supposed to pay.

Du Yong met with the senior officials of the French Concession Municipal Council to discuss the local products business and to pay dues to the foreigners.

These are the routine "official business" of Sanjin Company every month.

The so-called "Three Tycoons" of Shanghai are actually nothing more than the henchmen of those big shots.

This is also one of the few opportunities when Zhang and Du are not at home at the same time.

However, neither the garrison office nor the Concession Municipal Council was obviously the best location for the assassination.

The safest way is naturally to ambush along the way.

But since both of them were traveling by car, there were bound to be unexpected changes in the process. It would be better to block them at the door and take action when they got off the car.

A safer way is to send away as many bodyguards as possible before that.

After all, Zhao Guoyan didn't bring many people with him this time. Together with a few good guys from the Axe Gang, there were only a dozen people.

There can't be any more. If there are more, we might alert the enemy before we even take action.

However, time passed quietly, and there was still nothing unusual in Zhang Mansion.

The bodyguard at the door was still patrolling back and forth as usual, with no intention of leaving.

After about two cigarettes, the brothers inevitably began to become restless.

The bandits couldn't help but whispered, "Old Zhao, are we going to smash things tonight or not?"

Although several Jiang family "Xiangzi" did not say anything, there was some confusion in their eyes.

Zhao Guoyan pondered for a while, and finally nodded.

"Smash!"

His tone suddenly became firm, and he explained to everyone: "We have already seen the light. If we don't take action tonight, we will have no chance in the future. No matter what, we have to try tonight!"

The reason is also very simple.

The Jiang family's plan was originally a series of links, from the new stage to Guanghe Building, from kidnapping to assassination, from transferring Lao Chai from the law enforcement office to attracting the attention of the citizens. So many preparations were made in advance in order to gain the upper hand and set up a cover for the current kiln smashing.

If we don't take action tonight, Zhang and Du will become even more alert when the news spreads tomorrow morning.

By that time, not only would there be no more opportunities to smash the kiln, but they would also have to constantly guard against a counterattack from the Green Gang.

Zhao Guoyan was worried that everyone's will was not strong enough, so he turned around and encouraged everyone.

"What, are you scared?"

"afraid?"

Everyone snorted, sneered, and showed disdain.

Counting from the beginning, each of them is the type who “eats onions and garlic but not ginger”. It would be better not to ask. If you ask, there is no reason to be afraid, for fear of being laughed at by others.

The bandit from the "Old Box" at Diaobing Mountain patted the package in his arms, making a crisp "tapping" sound, and snorted coldly: "Afraid? I have this thing, what should I be afraid of?"

Zhao Guoyan nodded, then turned his gaze to his brothers.

Naturally, the "Xiangzi" had no intention of retreating at all.

"Okay then!" Zhao Guoyan whispered, "Lao Niu, take three people with you to get ready!"

Lao Niu responded, then called three young men and went ahead to retreat deeper into the alley.

Not long after they left, they heard rustling footsteps behind them.

Zhao Guoyan turned around and saw the bandit pretending to be "Shuixiang" trotting over to report the news.

"People are back?"

"came back!"

Shui Xiang nodded hastily and said, "It was Zhang Xiaolin's car. He came back first."

Zhao Guoyan couldn't help but frown.

Judging from the distance of the journey, Du Yong, who was in the French Concession, should have returned first.

There was no time to hesitate, so they could only improvise. When everyone heard the news from "Shui Xiang", they immediately took out their large mirrors, checked the bullets, and removed the safety. They were very quick and prepared.

Zhao Guoyan nodded, took a deep breath, and said, "Okay, brothers, let's make a quick decision and then have a celebratory drink later!"

Just as he finished speaking, he heard the roar of an engine coming from not far away on the street.

Two pale yellow beams of light suddenly appeared across the alley.

Zhao Guoyan leaned over and saw a black car, surrounded by seven or eight Qing Gang disciples, rumbling in from the main road and slowly moving towards Zhang Mansion...

…………

In the back seat of the car, although Zhang Xiaolin was drunk, he was conscious.

Outside the car window, many disciples were running. Although they couldn't see the night view outside the window clearly, they always felt that it was a little different from usual.

"Tsk, hiss—"

Zhang Xiaolin shouted to the driver, "Why is the street so quiet at this hour?"

"This... maybe it's a little late? Besides, it's almost winter, so everyone should have gone home, right?"

Obviously, the driver also noticed that there seemed to be fewer pedestrians on the street than usual.

"Late?" Zhang Xiaolin frowned and looked at his pocket watch. "It's not even eleven o'clock yet, how can it be considered late?"

Shanghai is known as the "city that never sleeps". Eleven o'clock at night is when many places are bustling. How can it be considered late?

Unless there is martial law, even in the late night, when there are no pedestrians on the street, you can always see Lao Chai patrolling.

But the fact is that the road is a lot quieter tonight than usual.

Zhang Xiaolin has always been famous for being a "good fighter". He has been involved in many street fights. Besides being ruthless by nature, he is naturally more alert. He couldn't help but become suspicious. When he thought about the fact that the Guangdong Gang was going to seek revenge on the Axe Gang tonight, he became even more frightened.

While he was hesitating, the car had already arrived at the door of the house.

When the bodyguard saw the "Marshal" coming back, he hurriedly pushed open the iron gate and let the car turn into the house.

However, at this moment, Zhang Xiaolin suddenly shouted.

"Wait!"

The driver hurriedly stepped on the foot brake, turned around and asked, "Master, are you going somewhere else?"

Zhang Xiaolin ignored him, moved his butt twice, rolled down the car window, looked around first, then glanced at his own mansion and the Du family's mansion, then raised his hand to call the gatekeeper to come closer.

"Where's Yan Chaosheng?"

"Master is looking for Brother Chaosheng!"

The disciples helped to pass the message.

Soon, Yan Chaosheng rushed out of the mansion, leaned over the car window, and asked, "Marshal, did you call me?"

"Nothing happened at home just now, right?" Zhang Xiaolin asked for some unknown reason.

Yan Chaosheng was slightly stunned, but said: "No, nothing happened!"

"Nothing happened in the city?"

"Uh... I didn't hear anything happened..."

Zhang Xiaolin raised his hand and pointed at the Du Mansion, asking, "Is Ayong not back yet?"

"Probably not. I've been watching here."

"Did anyone call from home just now? Maoling and Jingyuan?"

“This… is not the case either…”

Of course Yan Chaosheng told everything he knew, and he didn't think he had done anything negligent. But facing the "Marshal's" repeated questioning, he couldn't help but feel more and more guilty, and felt a little confused.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Xiaolin also scratched his scalp and muttered to himself:
"Hiss—I'm overthinking?"

Yan Chaosheng hurriedly said, "Marshal, if you're worried, I'll call and ask when I get back."

"No need." Zhang Xiaolin waved his hand and said impatiently, "Get off the car. I'll ask myself later."

As soon as he finished speaking, the accompanying disciples and bodyguards at the door immediately rushed forward.

They opened the car door and stood on both sides like two rows of human walls, protecting Zhang Xiaolin as he got out of the car and walked towards the courtyard.

No one had expected that the moment he just got out of the car door, gunshots rang out without any warning not far in front of the car!
"Bang bang bang!"

"Da da da--"

Gunshots rang out, and chaos suddenly broke out in front of the gate of Zhang Mansion!
Yan Chaosheng was the first to draw his gun and shouted to his brothers: "It's bad, there's an assassin!"

Everyone was startled and looked hurriedly in the direction of the sound, only to see a dozen people rushing towards them about a hundred meters ahead!

The rapid sound of gunfire frightened everyone.

Fortunately, in this moment only, no Qing Gang disciples were injured or killed.

It turns out that although the box gun has a large mirror and is extremely powerful, it is just a pistol after all. If it does not have the assistance of a shoulder rest, and you want to shoot from a hundred steps away, not in place, and you want to run and shoot at the same time, let alone hit people, even if you want to hit a car, you have to rely on luck.

However, what the Qing Gang disciples never expected was that the person who came was actually equipped with a fancy machine gun.

"Da da da" half a magazine was fired. Although it failed to hit the target directly, the bullets refracted after passing through the wall and actually knocked down a bodyguard of the Zhang family.

"Marshal, run away!" Yan Chaosheng shouted quickly.

Unexpectedly, when he turned around, he saw Zhang Xiaolin had already entered the car, lying on the back seat, and shouted at the driver: "Turn around and drive out!"

While the car was still running, the driver immediately turned the steering wheel to the right and stepped on the accelerator. The car screamed, clanged, and forced its way around the wall, driving at high speed in the opposite direction.

"A few people, follow them quickly, and the rest of you, follow me and cover the rear!"

Yan Chaosheng roared loudly.

The Zhang family's disciples immediately split into two groups. One group stayed where they were, using the courtyard wall as cover to resist the incoming attack, while the other group closely chased Zhang Xiaolin's car.

The car had just started and was not going too fast. The bodyguards desperately chased it for more than ten meters, raising their hands and shouting:
"Master, wait a minute, Ala hasn't gotten in the car yet!"

When famous people in Shanghai ride in a car and encounter a potentially dangerous situation, there will often be four bodyguards standing on the pedals under the door and riding with them.

But the incident happened suddenly, and Zhang Xiaolin had no time to care about much. The driver was unwilling to stay for a moment, so he saw the car speeding towards the intersection.

However, just as Zhang Xiaolin's car was about to rush onto the main road, a violent friction sound of tires suddenly came from the alley diagonally in front of him.

"squeak--"

Suddenly, another black car riddled with bullet holes suddenly came rushing from the side.

The Zhang family driver was already terrified. When he saw a sudden flash of light on the left, he quickly turned right to try to avoid it.

But it was too late. There was a loud bang and the two cars collided head-on.

However, the Zhang family’s car was hit from the side and the body of the car immediately shifted to the right.

What was even more unexpected was that the other car not only did not slow down, but instead stepped on the accelerator, pushing the Zhang family's car all the way to the corner of the intersection. Smoke and dust suddenly filled the car, choking Zhang Xiaolin and the driver and causing them to cough violently.

The Qing Gang disciples saw this and had no reason to stop, so they immediately ran after him.

As I ran and looked, I suddenly realized that it was the old man's jute-skinned car!

However, before he could get close, the four doors of the car opened at the same time.

I saw Lao Niu holding a machine gun and three other Jiang family "bangers" walking quickly towards Zhang Xiaolin's car...

(End of this chapter)