20 years of the Republic of China

Chapter 582 Lobbyist
The next morning, Zhang Xiaolin, despite his injuries not yet healed, got up early in the morning, called two trusted followers, and drove to Longhua Town.

After arriving at the Songhu-Songhu Military Governorate, they explained their purpose and presented a gift of 200,000 ocean dollars. They were then arranged to stay in a reception room near the gate of the courtyard to wait for an audience.

At this time, Zhang Xiaolin had already begun to think about giving up, but he still held on to a glimmer of hope.

Given his personality, he would rather kowtow to General He and admit his mistake than bow his head and apologize to Jiang Lianheng.

Is it worth spending two hundred thousand dollars to buy face? Different people have different opinions.

Zhang Xiaolin’s idea was very simple. At worst he would get scolded, or even slapped twice. No matter what, he had to give it a try.

The result was ridiculous.

Zhang Xiaolin waited in the reception room for two full hours, but in the end, he didn't even see General He. In the end, no one paid any attention to him. There wasn't even a bowl of tea on the table. Anyway, he was left aside.

This is more painful than slapping them in the face.

Zhang Xiaolin waited and waited, but seeing that no one came in to deliver the message, he inevitably felt anxious and discouraged for a moment.

After thinking for a while, he finally stood up, walked slowly over, pushed open the door, and looked into the yard. He saw officers of all ranks coming and going in a hurry in the courtyard of the Guards' Office. It seemed that they were very busy, but he didn't know what they were busy with.

Zhang Xiaolin smiled and raised his hand to greet the two officers, but was treated coldly.

Just when I was feeling hopeless, I suddenly glanced out of the corner of my eye and saw a familiar figure passing by.

Looking closely, I found that it was an old classmate I met in the Military Academy.

Zhang Xiaolin seemed to have grasped a life-saving straw, and quickly waved and called out, "Lao Chen, Lao Chen!"

The officer stopped and looked back, he was stunned for a moment.

"Xiao Lin, why are you still here?"

"Well, I was just about to ask you, should I go or not?"

Zhang Xiaolin hurriedly dragged Officer Chen into the reception room. Although they were classmates, he could not help but flatter him. After the officer sat down, he asked, "Old Chen, is General He busy today?"

"Tsk, look at you, you are asking too many unnecessary questions!" Officer Chen frowned and said, "If the general wants to see you, he will see you no matter how busy he is; if he doesn't want to see you, he won't see you even if he is dozing off in the office. Don't you understand what I mean? Hurry up and leave."

"No...are you sending me away just like that?"

"Well, this is the Guards' Office. If it weren't for your acquaintance with the general, I would have kicked you out long ago."

Zhang Xiaolin was stunned. After a long pause, he stammered, "Then, my matter..."

Officer Chen seemed to have known his intentions long ago, so he immediately waved his hand and interrupted, "There's nothing to talk about. Just do what the general says. It's nothing more than asking you to take a step back. Is that so difficult? You don't need that little business at the dock."

"Yes, yes, I understand." Zhang Xiaolin nodded repeatedly. "General He wants me to take a step back. Of course I dare not disobey him, but the problem is... In this dispute between the martial arts world, everyone suffers losses. I will retreat, and there is no need for me to apologize again. Look, I still have a gun on me!"

"Tsk, what's the point of telling me this?"

"Haha, what I mean is that I actually have my own difficulties."

Zhang Xiaolin rubbed his hands and said hesitantly, "Old Chen, look, my place was robbed, my brother was killed, and now I am asked to apologize to him. If this gets out... what will happen to my reputation as Marshal Zhang?"

At this point, Officer Chen finally became a little impatient. He slammed the table and glared, asking in a stern voice: "You are Marshal Zhang, how many divisions do you have? There is only one Marshal Zhang in the world, and he is in Fengtian. Are you worthy of calling him Marshal?"

Zhang Xiaolin's eyes suddenly turned when he heard this, and he asked hurriedly: "Brother, this... this Jiang Lianheng, could he be a relative of Marshal Zhang in Fengtian?"

"How would I know!" Officer Chen stood up and muttered to himself, "It shouldn't be. If it is, why not just say it directly?"

"If it's not..."

"Don't worry about it!"

Officer Chen walked to the door, his expression suddenly became serious, pointed at Zhang Xiaolin's nose, and said:

"Xiao Lin, I don't know what the disagreement is between you two. Anyway, let me tell you one thing. No matter what the background of that Jiang guy is, no matter if he is a pet of Marshal Zhang or not, even if he is a bug on Marshal Zhang's body, it is not your turn to slap him to death."

The fake marshal met the real marshal.

Zhang Xiaolin looked ashen, and was in a trance and even a little speechless.

Then, Officer Chen reminded again: "Just keep your head down obediently, and don't worry about that Jiang guy causing trouble for you. General He said that he wants you to make peace, and he will never allow any more trouble. In addition--"

He suddenly lowered his voice and whispered, "I just heard that the man named Jiang seems to have been found. General He just sent a platoon to pick him up. If you have the time, you might as well go and prepare for the tea talk!"

After saying this, Officer Chen used the excuse of having military duties to attend to and immediately left the reception room.

Before leaving, he turned around and reminded Zhang Xiaolin that he could go back without worry because General He would not see him anymore.

In the end, it was all in vain.

Gangs fight each other back and forth, but at the last moment, it all comes down to the power and attitude of their respective backers.

Zhang Xiaolin suffered a crushing defeat and had no one to turn to for help, so he had to return home with regret. Naturally, his face was extremely embarrassed, and he was filled with anger, but had no place to vent it. After leaving the military governor's office, he could not help but scold his trusted followers who were traveling with him.

On the way home, I was always thinking about how I could end the life in a dignified manner.

…………

At the same time, in the southwest corner of the French Concession.

Around nine o'clock, near the small courtyard of the Jiang family's stronghold, the brothers were patrolling back and forth with guns and live ammunition, with vigilant expressions, and the atmosphere was somewhat tense.

Jiang Lianheng walked out of the main room, holding a piece of deerskin in his hand, and was oiling and maintaining the large mirror of the box gun.

According to the current situation, the small courtyard under the name of Li Guodong has probably been exposed, but Jiang Lianheng seems to be staying out of it, still wiping the muzzle, magazine bridge and trigger slowly and methodically.

A lot of "water incense" has been set up outside the courtyard. Two bandits are squatting on the roof, holding binoculars and looking around.

"Brother, the luggage is packed."

Li Zhengxi walked out of the side room, followed by Zhao Guoyan, but there was no sign of Chuanghu.

Jiang Lianheng nodded but did not reply.

Li Zhengxi was puzzled, so he stepped forward and asked in a low voice, "Brother, you asked us to pack our bags. Are we going to leave or run away?"

"There is no option of 'running'." Jiang Lianheng still lowered his head to wipe the gun, "Whether to run or not depends on who is coming later."

"What if the people who came were from the Green Gang?"

"Catch a turtle in a urn."

"What if the people who come are from the police station?"

"I'll go with them. You and Lao Zhao take a few people and leave early to meet up with Chuanghu at Remak's place." As soon as he finished speaking, Zhao Guoyan came over and said, "Boss, how about I go with them?"

Jiang Lianheng put away the deerskin and waved his hand, saying, "Don't waste time on this trivial matter. I'll stay in the kiln while you guys stay outside. This is the safest and most reliable way. You are worthless in Huang Ma Pi's eyes, and it would be dangerous if you go in."

Zhao Guoyan nodded, looking a little helpless.

I don’t have any acquaintances at the yamen, and I always feel a little uneasy.

Li Zhengxi also looked worried, and then asked, "Brother, what if someone comes from the Old City Police Department?"

Jiang Lianheng pushed the bullet into the gun and said calmly, "There's nothing we can do. Kill one and it's one. Kill two and it's a profit. Let's risk our lives!"

"Chirp—"

As they were talking, a sharp whistle suddenly sounded not far from the gate.

Everyone frowned, and then they heard a wall-E vibration on the roof of the east wing.

I saw a thirty-year-old bandit riding on the roof. He turned around, lowered his head, held a toothpick in his mouth, and shouted twice into the yard.

"Hey, guys, cheer up! Someone is coming from the east!"

"Click - click -"

As soon as he finished speaking, the sound of his son loading his gun was heard in the yard.

Jiang Lianheng raised his head in response and asked hurriedly, "How many people are here? Are they Lao Chai or online? Can you see clearly?"

Then, the bandit raised his binoculars and looked at the road in the distance.

In the field of vision, I saw a luxurious black car, driving slowly towards this side along the suburban road alone.

The bandit chewed a toothpick while carefully investigating, and said without turning his head: "Here it comes... It seems to be just one fucking car!"

"No one else?" Jiang Lianheng frowned, seeming a little surprised.

How many people can a car hold?
Even if the Jiang family suffers casualties, the existing manpower is enough to cope with it.

The field of view is limited to the lens barrel, which swings left and right at a very fast speed.

Near the outskirts of the city, apart from large and small factories and workshops, there are large tracts of wasteland waiting to be developed, and the view is unobstructed.

The bandit looked around for a long time and finally locked his sight on the car again.

"Boss Jiang, there is no one else, only this car has come... Hey, wait a minute, wait a minute!"

"What's wrong?" everyone asked hurriedly.

"The car stopped!"

The bandit looked at the distance intently, reporting in real time: "An old man came down, and another one... seems to be a bodyguard!"

"Could it be the owner of the small factory nearby?" someone asked.

"No...they are coming this way, almost there, they are heading towards us!"

As he spoke, the bandit suddenly pulled the bolt of the machine gun, lowered his head and asked, "Boss Jiang, what do you mean, is it going to go off?"

"I guess the one coming here is a flower tongue ..."

Jiang Lianheng frowned and thought for a moment before shouting to the rooftop, "Put down your guns, keep your eyes on the road, and let those two people pass."

As soon as these words were spoken, the bandits on the ridges of the houses on the east and west sides immediately made a "chi" sound and blew whistles at the same time.

Immediately, Jiang Lianheng winked at everyone around him.

"Guo Yan, Xi Feng, go out and take a look!"

Zhao Guoyan and Li Zhengxi responded, immediately stepped through the gate, and led three or five brothers to move forward a few steps.

Before I walked far, I saw two men, one old and one young, walking towards me quickly and bowing to each other from a distance.

The distance between the two sides is getting closer and closer.

It was not until this moment that Zhao Guoyan and Li Zhengxi realized that the man did not look that old. He was probably in his late forties or early fifties. It was just that his gait and demeanor seemed a little mature. From a distance, he looked like an old man.

This man was wearing a silk gown and a melon-shaped hat. He had a friendly face and restrained manners, and he always looked a little gloomy.

Based on experience, such people, even if they are not from a prominent family, are at least from a wealthy family.

Zhao Guoyan and Li Zhengxi stepped forward, raised their hands to stop him, raised their chins to the man without any courtesy, and asked, "Who are you?"

The visitor was neither anxious nor annoyed. He bowed politely and asked with a smile, "Thank you for your hard work, may I ask...are Jiang Lianheng and Boss Jiang here?"

"I'm asking who you are." Zhao Guoyan spoke word by word with an aggressive tone.

At this time, the bodyguard next to the visitor became anxious and snorted, "Hey, what's your attitude? Can you be more careful? This person is--"

Before he finished speaking, the older man raised his hand to stop him. Although he had a southern appearance, he spoke with a northern accent and introduced himself:

"My name is Li, my friends in Shanghai think highly of me and would do me the honor of calling me Master Li Wu."

"Master Li Wu?"

Zhao Guoyan frowned, as if he suddenly remembered something.

Just as I was thinking about it, I heard Uncle Li Wu continue to smile and say, "Well... I used to do business in Vladivostok outside the Great Wall, and I met an old friend there. It is said that he is very familiar with Boss Jiang. His name is Zhang Xiaokun."

He is the elder brother of the not-so-serious poet Zhang.

Zhao Guoyan nodded quickly and said, "Oh, I heard General Zhang mention you."

"Really? That's great!" Li Wuye said with a smile. "Just now I was worried that there might be misunderstandings after we met, so I parked the car a little further away. Now that Zhang Xiaokun has already told you about me, there's no need to be so reserved, right?"

However, Zhao Guoyan and Li Zhengxi were still very reserved.

Uncle Li Wu was inevitably a little embarrassed, and said, "Uh...you two, could you please go in and inform me? If possible, I would like to talk to Boss Jiang in person. This is a serious matter, and I hope you can make it convenient for me."

Zhao Guoyan did not take it lightly. He looked the visitor up and down and asked, "Who told you that Boss Jiang lives here?"

I thought that Master Li Wu might try to hide it a little, but I didn't expect him to be so frank and say:

"I was entrusted by the Qing Gang to come here to negotiate peace with Boss Jiang."

(End of this chapter)