20 years of the Republic of China

Chapter 576 Deterrence
"Oh!"

Soon, the news of the corpse hidden in the suburban warehouse was reported back to the police station.

Upon hearing about the situation at the crime scene, Police Chief Salli pounded the table in anger, his beard trembling and his heart pounding. He started crying and cursing on the spot, spouting a long string of foreign words without even changing his tone.

The translator stood at the table with his hands hanging down, anxious and terribly worried, but helplessly unable to get a word in. He could only quietly wait for the foreigner to finish scolding him, and then summarize it himself. In the end, he only said one sentence:
"This is a provocation, a naked provocation!"

Facing the reprimand from the Chief of Police, the Chinese scouts looked gloomy and dejected.

"The murderer is openly provoking the French police station. You should feel ashamed!"

Sarli repeatedly emphasized the word "provocation" and hoped to use it to awaken the so-called sense of honor in his subordinates.

Unfortunately, apart from standing there obediently and taking the scolding, the scouts did not show the slightest hatred of evil.

In fact, since the clues about the warehouse have been found, the case should be solved soon by following the clues, but the actual situation is not always the case.

Just now, the detectives had just put the bodies in the warehouse. At this moment, they felt their stomachs churning and the broken limbs kept flashing in their minds.

Even now, some people still can't help but feel retching.

Obviously, the situation in the warehouse was typical of bandits.

The key is not the killing, but the method of killing, the purpose of which is to intimidate the French police.

So far, this move seems to be working very well.

Lao Chai from the police station is a mob that relies on the power of others to bully others. They have no ideology, no principles, and no ideals. Their way of survival is nothing more than "surviving in troubled times". On weekdays, they do not seek to make any achievements, but only to avoid mistakes.

Those young people on duty at the front line may still have some sense of mission, but the old hands in front of them have long lost the sharpness of their youth.

Asking them to fight to the death to maintain peace in a region is simply like looking for fish in a tree.

They are quite good at bullying the weak and flattering the strong, and colluding with gang members, but whenever they meet an unreasonable and tough guy, they will back down.

Recalling the tragic conditions in the warehouse, the mood of the detectives at this moment had already undergone some subtle changes.

Sarri ignored them and urged them on: "I will give you three days. You must finish these cases within three days, otherwise you will not have to work anymore."

Hearing this, everyone looked at each other and nodded silently without expressing any further opinions.

Since I can't refuse to work, I'll just have to slack off.

Since they are not working hard, the foreign boss would not dare to dismiss all the Chinese scouts at once.

Sarri continued, "The impact of the cases last night was too bad. I have already discussed with Officer Xu of the Songhu Patrol Office. If necessary, the police forces of both sides can cooperate appropriately. In short, we must give an explanation to the Municipal Council as soon as possible. Do you understand?"

"understand!"

"I understand, why don't you go now!"

The Chinese people looked around, straightened their uniforms, saluted the foreigner, said "yes", and then walked out of the office door one after another.

"Wait!" Salli shouted, and then ordered, "Tell Huang Jinyong that no matter what disease he has, he must come to see me before tonight!"

Everyone looked at each other, responded vaguely, and then hurriedly walked out of the director's office.

Walked through the corridor and down the stairs.

Everyone was in groups of three or five, whispering and talking among themselves as they went their separate ways.

"Hey, Ah Si, what do you think of last night's case?"

"What am I looking at? It's a case with no money, just a waste of time!"

Two Chinese prowlers walked slowly down the steps and left the police station, one was short and fat, the other was tall and thin.

The short, stout man was worried and asked, "That foreigner was really angry just now. I wonder if we will be punished for slacking off like this?"

The tall and thin man looked disdainful and snorted coldly, "Don't listen to his boasting. If the police didn't have us on duty, they wouldn't be able to solve a single case!"

Although this statement is a bit exaggerated, it is by no means arrogant.

Don't disbelieve it, in the French Concession, if there were no Chinese spies colluding with the major gangs to obtain intelligence clues, relying only on those French guys and Annam patrolmen, in a place like Shanghai with two boundaries and three jurisdictions, the French police would really not be able to solve many cases.

After all, the majority of citizens in the French Concession are still Chinese.

That's why the French value jute so much.

The short, fat man was still in shock, and continued, "The key is that these cases are too exaggerated. More than a dozen people died in Shiliupu, more than a dozen died in front of Zhang Mansion, plus the ones in the warehouse... Ah Si, there are quite a few officials in there!"

The tall and thin man nodded and said thoughtfully, "We have run into a tough guy. We must be careful. Even if we have clues, don't rush to report them. Make sure you are safe first. Anyway, I would rather be fired than be disemboweled. Why risk my life for a few coins?"

"That's right!" The short and fat man suddenly lowered his voice, "Ah Si, let me tell you something, and you are not allowed to laugh at me!"

"Stop nagging. Just say what you want to say!" The tall and thin man said with a little impatience.

"Uh... Actually, last night, no, maybe this morning, I heard from my wife that my family received a threatening letter... Hey, I just told you not to laugh at me!"

The short, stocky guy looked particularly worried, and his cowardice was mocked by his peers.

Unexpectedly, as soon as the words fell, the tall and thin man suddenly stopped, widened his eyes and asked: "What does it say?"

Seeing this, the short and fat man was stunned for a moment, and immediately asked back: "What's the matter, did you receive it too?"

The tall and thin man did not answer immediately. He just dragged her to a secluded corner of the street, and then explained in a low voice: "I didn't receive any threatening letters, but I received a phone call at home two days ago."

"Who hit me?"

"do not know."

"And what did he say?"

"He didn't say anything. He just kept repeating the names of my family members, from my mother to my wife, and then to my two children, over and over again. I felt creepy and hung up the phone."

"Then didn't you check at the telephone office?" "I checked, and it's a public phone at the telephone office."

Hearing this, a cold sweat immediately seeped out of the short and fat forehead, and he said hurriedly: "The letter I received was the same. It also wrote the names of the four people in my family, but there was an extra sentence at the end, telling me not to mind my business."

"hiss--"

The tall and thin man swallowed and muttered to himself, "If that's the case, then I guess all of us on duty should have received the news, but some arrived earlier and some later, some called, some sent threatening letters, the only difference is the form."

The short, fat man nodded quickly and agreed: "That's bad. To deal with this group of people, we have to catch them all at once, otherwise Allah will suffer as well."

"Catch them all in one fell swoop?" The tall and thin man snorted coldly, "It's easy for you to say that. Now we don't even know how many murderers there are. How can we catch them all in one fell swoop?"

The short and fat man replied, "Yeah, I think we should just delay it as long as possible, and not involve the whole family in solving the case."

"I'm just wondering how they know so much about my family's situation. Hey, my youngest son is not even a year old yet!"

"Could it be... that my sister-in-law accidentally told others about it?"

"Nonsense, in my line of work, everyone knows to keep their mouths shut. My wife tells others that I'm a freeloader, so as to avoid being targeted by my enemies."

"Yes, yes, that's what my wife said. Besides, she doesn't hang around the streets. She just plays mahjong with those gossipy women."

The tall and thin man frowned, shook his head, and muttered softly: "Could it be that there is a traitor on our side?"

"Hey, maybe there really is such a possibility!" The short and fat man said hurriedly, "If that's the case, then if we have any clues in the future, we must not easily tell them. What if... Tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk, I really don't dare to think about it!"

"Tell me, could it be the captain?"

"Oh my, this is really possible. Wasn't it him who transferred Ala away last night? It's better to believe it than not to believe it!"

"No, I have to go back home first and explain to my wife that I want them not to go out on the street for the next two days..."

"Okay, okay, I'll tell my family when we meet next time, otherwise my wife will go play mahjong again at night..."

As they were talking, the two old men hurriedly said goodbye to each other on the street and went their separate ways.

It is still unclear who the culprit of the murders last night is, but one thing is certain:
The tragic condition of the dead in the warehouse on the outskirts of the city has cast a shadow on the minds of many patrol officers; and those intimidating and threatening warnings have also created gaps and suspicions among the many Chinese detectives in the French police station.

As a result, the investigation of a major murder case that had already begun to show signs of being solved quickly, suddenly came to a standstill due to various unexplainable reasons...

…………

In the southwest corner of the French Concession, there is a small courtyard owned by Li Guodong.

Jiang Lianheng and Wang Laojiu met in the main house to discuss the next countermeasures.

Li Zhengxi and Dai Qiu Sheng stood on the left and right, respectively, quietly. It would be more accurate to say that they were listening to Jiang Lianheng's judgment rather than the two people's discussion.

Most of the plans that had been made previously had been completed successfully, except for one thing - Zhang Xiaolin could not be shot on the spot.

Wang Laojiu was very disappointed by this. In comparison, Jiang Lianheng seemed exceptionally calm and even spoke out to comfort everyone several times.

"Brother Jiu, there's no need to be so depressed."

Jiang Lianheng said calmly, "If it's a plan, there will be changes. Man proposes, God disposes. This kind of thing is sometimes unavoidable. You will understand it after you have experienced it more. I have had the honor of learning from several predecessors in the past. They are more experienced and capable than me, but when they were destroying the kiln, they actually made mistakes."

Wang Laojiu nodded with a slightly helpless look, and then praised: "Although we still don't know whether Zhang Xiaolin is dead or not, but from the series of actions last night, I can see that - Brother Jiang, you are an expert in this field."

As soon as he finished speaking, Dai Qiu Sheng also gave a thumbs up and quickly flattered him, "Second Brother Jiang, I have to say that I have really broadened my horizons in the past few days with you. It's hard to believe that in just one night, the police from the police station and the old city were completely outwitted by us!"

Jiang Lianheng glanced at Dai Qiu Sheng and forced a smile as a response.

This young man is very studious. During the process of making plans, he always asks questions and seeks advice humbly.

Obviously, the various assassination plans previously formulated by Jiang Lianheng, from the early preparations to the mid-term execution and then to the later aftermath, were so meticulous that they had already won the respect of Wang Laojiu, and Dai Qiu Sheng was even more impressed.

Although Zhang Xiaolin's life or death is uncertain, the merits outweigh the flaws. It is extremely difficult for a stranger with no roots in Shanghai to achieve this level.

Of course, during this period, Wang Laojiu and Dai Qiu Sheng also did their best, made a lot of efforts, and helped a lot, especially in terms of intelligence.

However, in terms of experience in the underworld, these two people can only be regarded as juniors in front of Jiang Lianheng.

Although Wang Laojiu is brave and fearless, he is ultimately half-blind and lacks strategy.

Before this, although he always wanted to kill the enemy, he never had a plan. He inevitably took things for granted about how to assassinate and how to smash the kiln. Now, after spending a few days with Jiang Lianheng and watching how he planned, arranged and executed, he gradually found the way.

Dai Qiu Sheng was born to be a good intelligence expert, but he lacked experience and was often stuck in details. After Jiang Lianheng's advice, he gradually began to weigh what kind of intelligence was valuable and what was worthless.

But he studied more seriously than Wang Laojiu and always asked questions to get to the bottom of things. He not only wanted to know the arrangements, but also the intentions behind the arrangements.

However, all those who travel around the world have a bit of "secret" mentality, and Jiang Lianheng is no exception, so naturally he is unwilling to teach everything he knows.

The scriptures should not be passed on lightly!

Now, whether everyone is willing to accept it or not, the revenge assassination has come to an end for the time being.

In the remaining days, we should naturally be prepared to deal with Chinese and foreign officials.

While everyone was talking, there was suddenly a sound of hurried footsteps outside the door.

Jiang Lianheng looked up and saw Zhao Guoyan walking in hurriedly.

After crossing the threshold and greeting everyone, Zhao Guoyan continued, "Boss, I just got news that the French police are very likely to cooperate with the Songhu Patrol Office to investigate the case. The French guy just gave an order this morning to solve the case within three days."

"He's not in a hurry to solve the case, he's in a hurry to keep his official hat." Jiang Lianheng smiled and said, "However, with our Inspector Huang personally taking action, why would it take three days to close the case?"

Zhao Guoyan nodded, hesitated for a moment, and said: "I heard from the police station that the chief of police asked Huang Ma Pi to meet him today, otherwise he would remove his title of inspector. Then we..."

Jiang Lianheng waved his hand and stood up immediately.

"Then please invite our detective out right away!"

(End of this chapter)