Agents of the Republic of China

The dinner of the Ministry of Finance and the Bureau of Commerce was arranged on Yihe Road in the former mansion area, where there is a clubhouse originally set up by the British, which is fairly well preserved.

When Lin Xiaotang and Ma Qixiang arrived, there was already a lot of traffic in front of the clubhouse. The cars and carriages of guests from all walks of life blocked the originally narrow road.

There was no other way, Lin Xiaotang and Ma Qixiang had no choice but to get out of the car, and the two rushed to the clubhouse on foot.

Lin Xiaotang and the two struggled to overcome many obstacles and were walking forward when Ma Qixiang suddenly exclaimed, "Brother!"

Lin Xiaotang turned his head and looked, a middle-aged man was helping an old man about 60 years old squatting on the side of the road. The old man seemed to have sprained his feet and his face showed pain, but he was clearly dressed well. It seems that they are also VIPs who came to the dinner and reception.

The middle-aged man obviously did not expect to meet Ma Qixiang here, "Xiangzi, why are you here?"

Ma Qixiang smiled, "It seems that we all went to that place in front."

The middle-aged man's face was full of anxiety, "Let's talk later. Today's banquet is too chaotic. Mr. Zhuang accidentally twisted his foot and got stuck here, in a dilemma!"

Lin Xiaotang looked at the old man's ankle in the light of the setting sun that had not completely disappeared, and it was already swollen.Lin Xiaotang looked back, his car was parked at the spot just now, unable to move at all.

"Wait a minute, I have medicine in the car!" Lin Xiaotang immediately shouted to Guo Zhui who was in the car.

Lin Xiaotang benefited from the ghost's all-encompassing knowledge, and he also dabbled a lot in the field of wound medicine, including some unique prescriptions that the ghost came from later generations, such as some of the bruises.Lin Xiaotang borrowed the concept of the ghost's so-called "sealing needle", and researched some plasters and potions. Although the effect may not be as obvious as the sealing needle, it should be more than enough to treat this kind of mild sprain.

Lin Xiaotang remembered the medicine that Guo chased, squatted down, took off the old man's shoes, and took a closer look. The problem was not serious. Lin Xiaotang helped the old man gently knead the injured ankle. After a while, the old man felt pain Lightened up a lot.

After the massage, Lin Xiaotang smeared some liquid medicine on the wound, waited for the liquid to penetrate, and then gently pasted the plaster on the affected area. He let out a long breath, "Okay, get up and take a few steps to see!"

The old man stood up slowly with the support of the middle-aged man and Lin Xiaotang in doubt, and took a tentative step, but found that the wound was so cool that he didn't feel the pain at all. He tried to walk two steps, and there was no problem at all. .

The middle-aged man and the old man thanked each other repeatedly, and all of them walked towards the clubhouse together.

The middle-aged man helped the old man to walk ahead, while Ma Qixiang secretly pulled Lin Xiaotang's sleeve, pointed at the middle-aged man's back, "Do you know who he is?"

Lin Xiaotang shook his head.

Ma Qixiang chuckled, "Didn't you always say that you want to meet the other members of the Thirteen Taibao? He is the boss of the Thirteen Taibao—the instructor Zong Fei!"

The venue of the dinner was lively and chaotic. Under the leadership of the mayor Zhou Xuechang, the top figures of the Nanjing puppet government led Zhou Fohai, the puppet finance minister, and Mei Siping, the puppet industry minister, to the rostrum to deliver speeches.

Lin Xiaotang narrowed his eyes and listened for a while.It is undeniable that although Zhou Fohai and Mei Siping are hard-core traitors under Wang Jingwei's subordinates, their demeanor and speech are still commendable, but the content of the speech made Lin Xiaotang's heart tense.

It turned out that after the current war situation fell into a stalemate, the Japanese side planned to adjust the political and economic policies of the occupied area. They returned most of the Chinese factories they had previously controlled to the puppet government, and also handed over the control of materials in the occupied area to the puppet government. It is managed by the puppet government, which makes the puppet government, which has been struggling so far, overjoyed.In order to show its loyalty, the puppet government will set up a department called "National Commercial Control Association" (Note [-]) in Shanghai after Wang Jingwei takes office, which will consist of five control committees for cotton industry, rice grain, flour wheat, oil and grain, and daily necessities , and set up branches in Nanjing, Wuhan and other places to fully implement the wartime economic system in the occupied areas and implement material control, that is, purchase, distribution, material control, material exchange, operation, military material procurement, etc., to serve Japan's war of aggression.

Hearing this, Lin Xiaotang couldn't help sneering.What this means is that the Japanese will tie the puppet government and the general public in the occupied areas to their aggression chariots. Such a policy is tantamount to an economic aggression.It is conceivable that once the "National Business Control Association" starts to operate, all kinds of materials in the occupied areas will flow to the Japanese army through this department, which will become a boost for its military operations.Also, based on Lin Xiaotang's understanding of the Wang puppet government, the traitor officials and speculators in this government will spare no effort to increase the search for the people in the occupied areas. At that time, these economic policies will become their best way to make money. tool.Financial markets, securities markets, and circulation areas will face an immeasurable disaster.

After Zhou Fohai and Mei Siping finished talking, except for the puppet government, whose faces were flushed with excitement, and their eyes were shining, they clapped desperately. There were very few people from the business community who responded, and everyone's face showed serious worry.

The old man who just twisted his foot turned his head to look at Lin Xiaotang, "What, do you have something on your mind?"

Lin Xiaotang sighed, "National enterprises and ordinary people are the ones who suffer!"

The old man nodded in sympathy, and then made a silent expression, "Just understand it in your heart, don't pay too much attention to it."

Lin Xiaotang just realized that he hadn't asked the old man's name, which seemed a little impolite, so he said apologetically, "I'm sorry, I haven't asked Mr. how to call him?"

Zong Fei took a step forward, "This is Mr. Zhuang Chongxian, deputy director of the Nanjing Military Intelligence Department and director of the Shanghai Navy Intelligence Department."

Lin Xiaotang was taken aback for a moment, and secretly scolded himself for being confused.When I was with Ma Qixiang and Fatty Shen before, I heard about Zong Fei, and knew that he was the right-hand man of Zhuang Chongxian, the leader of the Military Intelligence Department.I heard that this Zhuang Chong was first an old courtier of Wang Jingwei, followed him everywhere, was a student studying in Japan, and also participated in the Revolution of [-], and has been helping Wang deal with some things that cannot be brought to the fore.It was only later that he gradually lost favor because of criticisms of Wang Jingwei's defection to the Japanese. Coupled with the rapid rise of Li Shiqun, Ding Mocun and others, Zhuang Chongxian was gradually marginalized, and the Military Intelligence Department became a well-known cold office of the Nanjing puppet government.

But Zong Fei followed Zhuang Chongxian purely out of gratitude. In the early years, Zhuang Chongxian accidentally saved Zong Fei's life when he was in Guangzhou. , Yongquan Xiangbao" beautiful talk.

After the three of them met again, they exchanged a few pleasantries.Zhuang Chongxian suddenly sincerely apologized to Lin Xiaotang, which surprised Lin Xiaotang very much.

Zhuang Chongxian was calm, and said apologetically: "Boss Lin, don't be surprised, this is what it should mean. I have heard about the things in Shanghai before. The conflict between Boss Lin and No. 76, in the final analysis, is still because of me. A useless subordinate Yuan Jianfeng rose up. I have already severely admonished him. I hope Boss Lin will bypass him this time for my sake. After all, he is the nephew of an old friend of mine. Boss, don't mind."

Lin Xiaotang suddenly realized, hurriedly said a few polite words, and explained to Zhuang Chongxian that Yuan Jianfeng was also his classmate, and he did such a thing only because of a moment of confusion.Instead, he asked Zhuang Chong to look at his thin face first, and take care of Yuan Jianfeng if he had a chance.

It was not without purpose that Lin Xiaotang said such words.He is very clear about Yuan Jianfeng's personality.It's just that he had heard about the struggle between the Military Intelligence Department and No. 76, and he was currently alone in Nanjing. Maybe the Military Intelligence Department behind Zhuang Chongxian could become the object of his cooperation. The premise was that there was a common enemy like No. 76.As for Yuan Jianfeng, a small person, Lin Xiaotang didn't take it to heart at all.The reason why he said those words was nothing more than to give Zhuang Chong first a face.

Zhuang Chongxian was very satisfied with Lin Xiaotang's attitude, and then he proposed to have a deep talk with Lin Xiaotang on the sidelines. Lin Xiaotang's heart was clear, and he immediately agreed, saying that he would visit the door in person.

After chatting for a while, Zhuang Chongxian and Zong Fei went to meet senior government officials.Only then did Lin Xiaotang realize that Ma Qixiang had disappeared. After wandering around the venue for a while, he realized that this young master Xiang was hiding in a corner with someone chatting for some unknown reason.

Ma Qixiang hurriedly pulled Lin Xiaotang over and introduced him to the man who was chatting with him, "Brother, this is my boss, Lin Xiaotang, you can call him Youzhong or Xiaoqi."

The man in front of him was not a few years older than Ma Qixiang, and the two looked exactly alike, except that this man was less handsome than Ma Qixiang, but more calm.

After an introduction, Lin Xiaotang found out that this is Ma Qixiang's cousin Ma Qiwen who is a senior official in the Ministry of Finance, and is also recognized by the family as the next head of the family.

Ma Qiwen rolled a blank look at Ma Qixiang, but Ma Qixiang didn't take it seriously, he just stuck out his tongue quietly, it could be seen that he was still somewhat afraid of this cousin.

"He's such an old man, but he still doesn't have any sense of stability. Is this his attitude towards his boss? What do outsiders think when they see this? Also, about your marriage to Miss Qiao's family, the Qiao family is a big family in Nanyang. Our Ma family wants to marry the Qiao family, that is Gao Pan, people look down on you, you have to know how to work hard, since you have learned how to do business with Boss Lin, you have to look like a subordinate, don't act like you don't care every day, you know? "

Ma Qiwen taught Ma Qixiang a lesson, which made Lin Xiaotang burst into laughter. At the same time, he couldn't help but think highly of Ma Qiwen. A few nonsensical gossips not only beat Ma Qixiang, but also raised Lin Xiaotang. This person is indeed not simple!

Ma Qiwen pulled the two of them in again, looked around and saw that no one was paying attention, then lowered his voice and said, "Brother Youzhong, you also heard Minister Zhou and Minister Mei's speech just now, what do you think?"

Lin Xiaotang blinked, and decided to keep a low profile, "The situation is like this, the government has nothing to do!"

Ma Qiwen sneered, "Brother Youzhong, Ming people don't talk dark words. You and Xiaoxiang are close friends. I am his brother. Even if we don't talk about the relationship, outsiders will row us into the same boat." .Your company is playing the banner of participating in the construction of a new Nanjing. In fact, you and I know very well that the current situation is not a construction at all. Let me tell you the truth, do you want a piece of this plate?"

Looking at Ma Qiwen's aggressive eyes, Lin Xiaotang's heart skipped a beat, "What does Brother Wen mean?"

Ma Qiwen looked around again, "It's very simple, take what you need!"

Then, Ma Qiwen presented his thoughts and ideas.What he meant was that, taking advantage of the puppet government's wartime economic policy, on the one hand, Lin Xiaotang's Longsheng Company came forward to purchase a batch of factories in the occupied areas to produce and collect various military supplies needed by the Japanese army; on the other hand, Ma Qiwen Using their puppet government's relationship, through the official acquisition of these materials, to earn the difference in price.As for the banking and securities industries, we need to see clearly the trend of the situation, and then act accordingly.

Lin Xiaotang has not yet answered.The lights of the venue suddenly dimmed, and then the voice of the emcee of the meeting sounded, "Everyone, we are honored to invite Ms. Duan Yuran, a popular singer from Nanjing, to join the dinner party tonight. Please warmly applaud and welcome Ms. Duan to show off. Voice!"

A strong light shone on the simple stage of the venue. A young woman in a dark green cheongsam stood in the center of the stage, with a snow-white sable fur shawl around her neck and a delicate face carved with powder and jade. The guests below immediately applauded.

Lin Xiaotang saw the woman's face clearly, and his heart was shocked, "How could it be her?"