Agents of the Republic of China

The door of the church was roughly kicked open, and a group of Japanese soldiers with live ammunition rushed in. The singing of the hymn stopped abruptly, and there was no more sound. People looked at these soldiers in horror, and their fear forced them to huddle together. Like a herd of lambs waiting to be slaughtered.

Lin Xiaotang and Pan Zhongqi looked at each other with calm eyes, and the two stopped talking tacitly, and became strangers to each other.

Fortunately, the Japanese soldiers ignored the panicked people. Instead, they came directly to the statue and grabbed the priest who was praying. Two Japanese soldiers grabbed his arms, one on the left and one on the right.

The priest shouted loudly. Although he spoke English, it was not a problem for Lin Xiaotang. He shouted: "What are you doing, I protest, this is a church!"

A Japanese military officer walked over slowly, looked at the priest coldly and with a smile, looked up at the statue, and said contemptuously: "What? Does your God not welcome us?"

After he finished speaking, he waved his hand, and the soldiers immediately entered the room behind the statue and searched the room.

After a while, several soldiers came out carrying a tall white man. The eyes of the white man were bruised, and it seemed that he had just resisted before being subdued.

Lin Xiaotang's heart skipped a beat. That white man was none other than his old acquaintance David.

The Japanese officer smiled triumphantly, "Mr. David, you made it easy for us to find. The Haiyan has been silent, and you are an officer on board. We have already noticed you. The articles you wrote are full of criticisms of the Great Japanese Empire. As well as the dissatisfaction of our allies, we suspect that you are a member of an underground resistance organization, so you are now officially arrested!"

The priest looked at David helplessly, "I'm sorry, child, I failed to protect you well!"

David looked at the priest full of guilt, "No, priest, I underestimated the shamelessness and arrogance of these beasts. I didn't expect them to come to the church to arrest people. I'm the one who got you involved!"

With a wave of his hand, the Japanese officer led the team to take David and the priest out of the church.

When the two walked past Lin Xiaotang, Lin Xiaotang could clearly feel David's eyes looking at him, he suddenly smiled, full of relief and relaxation, he moved his lips lightly, but Lin Xiaotang instantly understood his words . "Give me liberty or give me death!" (Note [-])

After the Japanese soldiers left, Pan Qiqi quietly asked Lin Xiaotang, "Do you know him?"

Lin Xiaotang nodded, "An Englishman who wants to save his motherland!"

……

After sending Pan Zhongzhong away, Lin Xiaotang was always immersed in the frustration of witnessing David's arrest. It is true that David was just a radical nationalist, but for the sake of his motherland, he did not hesitate to kill people and fight to the last moment. It proves that he is still a man full of passion, and one can imagine his result. Thinking of this, Lin Xiaotang felt very depressed.

On the street outside the church, still thinking about the harsh sirens, the sporadic gunshots mixed with the low sobs inside the church, Lin Xiaotang stared at the statue in front of him, took off his hat, and crossed himself on his chest, " God, war is coming to Shanghai again. Please open your eyes and look at this world. Hunger, betrayal and killing are all over the world. Would you just watch this place turn into hell? I just want to ask you, in the end When will all this end?"

……

The streets outside the church were already crowded with people, most of whom were foreigners.They all had one goal, which was the wharf, but Lin Xiaotang and they knew very well that at this time, the Japanese army had completely controlled it, and it was undoubtedly a dream to leave Shanghai. How many lucky ones could there be?But for that illusory hope, people still go there firmly.

Just as Lin Xiaotang was about to get in the car, he found Jiao Da standing there stunned. He was about to scold him, but he found that on the Bund not far away, a group of Japanese soldiers were brandishing various tools and beating the golden Statue of Liberty recklessly. Like, it didn't take long for the statue of the goddess to collapse, drowning in a cloud of dust, while the Japanese soldiers cheered.People exclaimed, and many shed tears, while Japanese soldiers were busy loading the fragments of the statue into the car.

When he first arrived in Shanghai, Lin Xiaotang made a special trip to the Bund to see the Statue of Liberty, which is famous all over Asia.The left hand of the god is stroking a child who lost his mother in the war so that he will not be hurt again; the right hand is about to be placed on the head of a mother who lost her child to soothe the deep wound in her heart.This lifelike and compassionate shape made people from all over the world who came to pay their respects spontaneously presented flowers. At that time, there was almost a sea of ​​flowers in front of the statue.

But now, the bronze statue has become a trophy under the feet of the Japanese. Lin Xiaotang is very clear about the purpose of the Japanese to demolish it. At that time, because of its material, the bronze statue was demolished and then melted into murderous bullets and shells. This is really a kind of Great irony!

Teams of heavily armed Japanese soldiers rushed into the public concession, and the streets were littered with the bodies of some British and American soldiers and police officers, but no one cared about them. They were all trembling in the rhythmic footsteps of the Japanese.

As the car moved forward, Lin Xiaotang could see through the car window that Japanese soldiers broke into commercial banks, banks, shops, and newspaper offices in various countries in the International Settlement, and batch after batch of foreigners were tied up and pushed onto the Japanese There is no domineering sense of superiority on their faces, and there is only an unknown but doomed tragic fate waiting for them.

……

After Lin Xiaotang returned to Ke Hua, Shang Zhensheng and Shang Zhi came to find him. During these days, Lin Xiaotang has been busy with An Yiming's affairs, and all business has been put on Shang Zhensheng and Shang Zhi. Seeing them With the exhaustion on his face, Lin Xiaotang couldn't help but feel ashamed.

The integration of Lin Xiaotang's organization and Yugong's people went very smoothly. Through this process, intelligence points for cities and towns in the occupied areas began to be gradually established. At present, they have begun to take shape. After listening to Shang Zhensheng's report, Lin Xiaotang's chest has been squeezed The depression was only slightly resolved.

Under Shang Zhensheng's single-handed promotion and careful guidance, Shangzhi has made rapid progress, and now she has become Lin Xiaotang's confidential secretary. When Lin Xiaotang is away, she is always fully cooperating with Shang Zhensheng's work.

Lin Xiaotang smiled apologetically, "Xiaozhi, I'm really sorry, you missed your birthday again, and the gift you promised didn't come true, so you won't blame me!"

Shangzhi blinked slyly, "Then how can I make up for it?"

"For next year's birthday, I will definitely remember that I will give double gifts!" Lin Xiaotang said hastily.

Shangzhi burst out laughing, "Sister Jiayi remembers it very clearly, no, she even sent me a gift from Nanyang!"

"Really?" Lin Xiaotang blushed for a while.

Seeing the change in Lin Xiaotang's expression, Shangzhi hurriedly added: "Sister Jiayi also sent your birthday present, but you have been too busy recently, so I haven't bothered to give it to you. Jiayi's letter is still here. Said, if you can’t remember her birthday, then you don’t need to go to Thailand!” Shangzhi chuckled, with a gloating expression on his face.

Lin Xiaotang sighed, "I am not in charge of this!"

Shang Zhensheng patted Shang Zhi on the head, "Little girl, I think you are getting more and more courageous, and you even made fun of the boss."

Shangzhi stuck out her tongue playfully, turned around and left the office, saying she was going to prepare some dinner.

Only then did Shang Zhensheng and Lin Xiaotang light cigarettes tacitly. Originally, Lin Xiaotang's office was absolutely non-smoking, but since Dong Jiayi came, Lin Xiaotang's office was designated as a non-smoking area, which made Shang Zhensheng, Lin Xiaotang, Datou and others The old smoker was immediately at a loss, but not to mention, his work efficiency has improved a lot, just like the big head, every time he comes to report, he always trots all the way. firmly under control.

After Dong Jiayi returned to Nanyang, Shang Zhi was handed over the important task of banning smoking in the office. The little girl may look weak, but she was merciless in her execution. Even Lin Xiaotang was deeply jealous of the person who was lighting a cigarette in front of him, not for anything else, but because she acted on the orders of the proprietress Dong Jiayi.

Shang Zhensheng looked at Lin Xiaotang's frowning face, and immediately smiled, "Youzhong, don't worry, look at you, things over there have come to an end, why don't you take this time to go to Thailand and bring you and Jia Yi's matter is settled this morning, so that Mr. Dong over there will not be worried all the time. Besides, Jiayi is not such a narrow-minded person. Since she left, although she is not in Shanghai, you also know that there are people going up and down here. She has a lot of eyes and ears, and it's not like she doesn't know that you are busy with serious business. During this time, supplements and medicines have been sent in a lot, which made me also get a lot of credit."

Lin Xiaotang nodded full of understanding, "I also want to go to Thailand, but this big mess, and there are so many brothers, I can't just leave. The Japanese have declared war on Britain and the United States. Next, although the French Concession No Japanese troops have been stationed there, but No. 76 and the Gendarmerie have already begun to conduct public activities in the French Concession. It is conceivable that our work will be more difficult."

Shang Zhensheng nodded sympathetically.With the Japanese fully occupying Shanghai, the pressure on Lin Xiaotang on the 76th will become more and more severe. Li Shiqun has not returned yet, and Wu Sibao is still in custody, which gave Lin Xiaotang a rare chance to breathe. It also enables them to figure out how to cope with the difficult times ahead.

Now, Tang Shengming has gained a firm foothold in Nanjing, while his wife Xu Lai stays in Shanghai to host "Fenghua Film Company".Among them, Lin Xiaotang secretly gave Sasaki, Otani Kazuya, Zhuang Chongxian, and Tang Shengming each a dark stock. Fenghua also served as a protective umbrella for the smuggling business, and was able to promote the filming to every corner of the enemy-occupied area, ensuring the transportation of smuggled goods. .

Tang Shengming had already joined Zhou Fohai, but Zhou Fohai was still watching. After the fight between Li Shiqun and Ding Mocun subsided, both Ding and Li stayed in Nanjing. Zhou Fohai still did not accept Tang Shengming's suggestion. Even Wang Jingwei is afraid of him, and although Ding Mocun had a good time before, he has become a dog in the water. If he supports him with a big fanfare at this time, he will offend the Japanese, so he has been reluctant to express manner.

Because of this, news came back from Nanjing that Ding and Li were each beaten [-] times and placed under house arrest for two months, receiving study and training from the party headquarters of the puppet government.

Afterwards, with the support of Yingzuo Zhenzhao and others, Li Shiqun had won the throne of Minister of Police. It can be expected that his power will expand again, and it is only a matter of time before Wu Sibao is released from prison.

Note 1775: Give me liberty or give me death.The interpretation is that if you are not given freedom, it is better to die.Derived from a line delivered by Scottish-American Patrick Henry to the Colonial Virginia Assembly on March 3, 23.

Patrick Henry was a successful lawyer in the colonies of Virginia, a liberal during the American Revolutionary War, an outstanding politician and orator, known as the "Tongue of the American Revolution", and one of the only authors of the Declaration of Independence.