In the blink of an eye, it was already the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month in the 27th year of the Republic of China, and the concession was already filled with a New Year atmosphere. Every household was busy cleaning, grinding rice noodles, and making glutinous rice balls, and the streets and alleys were filled with the sound of firecrackers.

But in this festive atmosphere of joyful Spring Festival, Zhang Xiaolin took action.

Zhang Xiaolin's men first prepared to smash up the Hero Nightclub. When they arrived, they discovered that the nightclub had been smashed into a state of disgrace and they had no way of starting. Instead, they had a fierce battle with Fatty Shen and Ma Qixiang's men.

Next is Lin Xiaotang's Kehua Hotel. Previously, Lin Xiaotang recruited twenty National Army veterans who were living in Shanghai through connections. Lin Xiaotang personally tested their skills. It should be said that all of them are of good quality, so they were handed over to Huoyan.

The training was originally intended to use them as hotel security personnel, but unexpectedly they came in handy just a few days after starting work.

Twenty veterans actually beat fifty or sixty local gangsters until they were crying for their parents and their teeth were scattered all over the ground. They were so devastated without any effort. This surprised Lin Xiaotang, and he immediately ordered Huoyan to find more veterans like this.

Come here, anyway, he has a lot of money in his hands now. Duan Baihu's belongings are worth more than two million US dollars in total. When he took over Ke Hua, Wan Molin also gave him a large gift, which is enough to support him.

It has been a while, and with the current bargaining with the upper echelons of the military command, Lin Xiaotang is very confident that he can get a considerable amount of support from Wang Tianmu and Dai Li, and Yun Gong, who is far away in Chongqing, can he also do something about it?

Where is the brain?

For safety reasons, Huoyan selected two veterans with outstanding skills and marksmanship, one named Guo Zhui and the other named Lin Huaibu, as Lin Xiaotang's personal bodyguards. Both were members of the former 72nd Army Special Agent Regiment in Nanjing.

After the fall, the army was dispersed, and the two people fled to Shanghai, wandering around the rivers and lakes, living a life of hunger and hunger. This time they were recruited by Lin Xiaotang, and their salary and food were guaranteed, so they were naturally very motivated. Lin Xiaotang also

A batch of arms was purchased through Fatty Shen. Although they were not the latest and most powerful, they were more than enough for self-protection.

But this time Zhang Xiaolin was determined to eradicate Fatty Shen, Lin Xiaotang and others from Shanghai. In addition to sending people to harass a few people every day, he also sent killers to snipe Lin Xiaotang and the others. In just two days,

, several people were assassinated more than twice. Fortunately, everyone was more careful and finally escaped with no danger, only injuring a few men.

Faced with this situation, Wan Molin was helpless. He had to ask Du Yuesheng for help in Hong Kong, while arranging for Fatty Shen, Lin Xiaotang and others to hide quietly and wait for opportunities. Lin Xiaotang was also very aware of the current situation. Zhang Xiaolin was operating in Shanghai.

After more than twenty years, its strength is far beyond what a fledgling newcomer like myself can compare with. It is absolutely unwise to confront him head-on. He can only avoid the edge temporarily and find opportunities to counterattack.

For a time, there was a tremor in the concession, and various forces were watching the development of the situation. However, there were already rumors in private that things were going to change in Shanghai and that the concession would have a new owner. Regarding this, Zhang Xiaolin did not shy away from anything.

, he began to issue orders openly as the leader of the Shanghai gang. Fatty Shen and Ma Qixiang had special status. He did not dare to make any mistakes for fear of angering Du Yuesheng, so he issued a murder order for Lin Xiaotang, but Wan Molin's efforts to persuade him failed.

, had no choice but to escape to Wuxi sadly, which further confirmed the rumors that Zhang Xiaolin would replace Huang Jinrong and Du Yuesheng.

Lin Xiaotang originally planned to take this opportunity to go to Nanjing to gain some limelight and implement his big plan, but after thinking about it, he decided to postpone his plan to go to Nanjing. The reason is that the Shanghai Concession is now his rear area, and he has just cultivated The power and family wealth that have risen are all here. If there is no peace here, it will be even more difficult for him to move in Nanjing, because Nanjing is the home base of the Japanese and is also within the influence of Li Shiqun and Zhang Xiaolin. Suppose that things in Shanghai cannot be completed. There is no doubt that the solution will inevitably affect his development in Nanjing.

Fatty Shen and Ma Qixiang have dismissed most of their men, leaving only a few who are absolutely reliable around them. Lin Xiaotang's side, but no one has left at all. All of his men are veterans and have no family to worry about. In addition, they all come from Faced with such a challenge, the brave men who crawled out from the dead naturally had high morale, so they would rather stay with him. Lin Xiaotang simply sent them all away, relying on the secret communication method taught to him by the ghost, and communicated with him every day. Contact regularly to learn about external news.

The businesses of Santos, Yingxiong and Ke Hua were all temporarily stopped, and all were entrusted to Wan Molin and Datou to take care of them temporarily. This alone caused everyone to lose most of their income. Therefore, everyone's heart was on fire. , I wanted to fight Zhang Xiaolin face to face and resolve the matter as soon as possible, but Lin Xiaotang persuaded me to stop.

On the first day of the new year, the situation outside was finally a little calmer due to the arrival of the Spring Festival. Although everyone was angry, under Lin Xiaotang's persuasion, they bought some wine and food and prepared for a simple New Year celebration.

At this time, Huoyan, who had been outside asking for news, brought an uninvited guest.

Lin Xiaotang couldn't help but be startled when he saw the person coming, "Mr. Hong?"

When Hong Chawei saw Lin Xiaotang, he took off his hat and wiped the sweat from his forehead, "Mr. Lin, it's really hard to find you!"

The courtyard where Lin Xiaotang and the others are located is the private property of Wan Molin. It is hidden in the civilian area of ​​​​the public concession and is close to the Jewish gathering area. Therefore, few people usually come and it is relatively safe. The sound of firecrackers can be heard on the street, and the sky is getting dark. Fireworks pierced the dark sky from time to time, and the excitement of the festival finally diluted the gloom of the past few days.

Lin Xiaotang watched Hong Chawei frowning as he tasted the tea, and couldn't help but smile, "You're too lazy, Mr. Hong, the conditions are really simple."

Hong Chawei drank the tea in one gulp and spat out two unchewed tea leaves from his mouth. "Time is urgent, so I won't beat around the bush. Mr. Lin, I'll just tell you why I'm here!"

Lin Xiaotang was very surprised. He saw Hong Chawei twice, the first time in Nanjing, and the second time when he was with the British officer David. Lin Xiaotang intuitively told Lin Xiaotang that he must be engaged in some kind of secret work, maybe He is an American colleague. Maybe it is not a bad thing that he is looking for me.

Lin Xiaotang put down the tea cup and reached out to stop Hong Chawei, "Let me guess, is Mr. Hong's intention here to cooperate?"

This time it was Hong Chawei's turn to be shocked. In fact, he could have contacted Lin Xiaotang in advance. The reason why he came at this time was to "provide help in times of need". He knew very well that the Chinese people valued their integrity. For this reason, if he lends a helping hand to Lin Xiaotang and others at this time, it will undoubtedly get twice the result with half the effort. But unexpectedly, Lin Xiaotang guessed his purpose before he opened his mouth, which made Hong Chawei feel a little disappointed.

Hong Chawei is well versed in the Chinese way of life. When he heard Lin Xiaotang say these words, he immediately changed his strategy and stated the purpose of his trip straight to the point. Lin Xiaotang guessed right, Hong Chawei was indeed from the United States.

An intelligence officer, he currently works in the Attaché Division of the U.S. Consulate in Shanghai and is responsible for intelligence collection at all levels on the Sino-Japanese battlefield. His purpose is very simple. He wants Lin Xiaotang to work for the United States.

The reason why Hong Chawei had such an idea was due to the first meeting between the two. Lin Xiaotang's skill, wit and courage left a deep impression on him. The most important thing is that he discovered something in Lin Xiaotang.

A quality that a good agent must have - calmness.

In addition, the United States is also aware of this battle with Zhang Xiaolin and No. 76. The reason why it refuses to intervene is because the United States does not want to conflict with the Japanese in Asia. The reason is that the focus of the world is now focused on

In Europe, a war no less powerful than the last world war is imminent. The British and French countries also have such thoughts.

But when someone informed Hong Chawei of the contents of the documents Gao Tao was carrying, Britain, the United States and France suddenly realized that they had been tricked by the Japanese, because what the two men carried were a series of documents secretly signed between the Wang Puppet Government and Japan.

If the traitorous treaty is really implemented, it will be nothing less than a disaster for Britain, the United States and France, and all their interests in China will be legitimately replaced by the Japanese in an instant.

For this reason, the Americans increased their intelligence collection on Japan, and Hong Chawei was the actual person in charge of this work. After the Gaotao incident, Hong Chawei keenly discovered that the successful retreat was due to the existence of

A key figure, and then Lin Xiaotang gradually surfaced due to Wan Molin's promotion. Hong Chawei was happy to discover that this key figure turned out to be his old acquaintance and savior.

Therefore, when Zhang Xiaolin launched his revenge against Lin Xiaotang, Hong Chawei knew that his opportunity had come, and he couldn't wait to win Lin Xiaotang to his side.

Lin Xiaotang chewed Hong Chawei's words carefully, and soon found out what he wanted. Americans? This business can be considered. After all, where is their strength, and the Japanese are in front, and their own and their current interests.

It can be said that they are unanimous. Even if there are differences in the future, Lin Xiaotang thinks that he is sure to hold the initiative firmly in his own hands, because the ghost's wealth is in his mind, and there are a lot of American flaws and weaknesses in it.

.

"Then how does Mr. Hong plan to help me get through the current difficulties? After all, I am now a person on the blacklist. The gangs in Shanghai and the lackeys of No. 76 are trying to kill me. A person whose life is in danger, for

It’s not of much use value to you!” Lin Xiaotang joked.

Hong Chawei smiled easily, "As for the current predicament, I believe this is just a temporary difficulty for Mr. Lin. To be honest, I have no practical plan on how to help you. But I can assure you that we

The resources we have can be provided to you at any time, isn’t that enough?”

Although Lin Xiaotang hated Hong Chawei's American self-confidence, he had to admit that under the current circumstances, he urgently needed the joining of such a strong ally.

Lin Xiaotang lowered his head and thought for a moment, then stood up and extended his hand to Hong Chawei, "Happy cooperation!"

Two hours later, Hongchawi left with a satisfied smile.
Chapter completed!