Chapter 486: Weaving the Web

The sky was beginning to turn pale, and the gunfire inside the Bamboo Garden had basically stopped.

The three warring parties all sensed that something seemed unusual outside. Was it too quiet?

It was abnormal.

Very abnormal.

Why was it so quiet outside?

'Baka!'

A Japanese soldier suddenly woke up.

He hurriedly sent someone out to look for them. However, the person who went out never returned.

'Baka!'

He suddenly understood.

Someone was waiting in ambush outside.

It was over.

The people who had been sent to try to return the goods must have been ambushed by the enemy.

All the goods had fallen into the hands of the enemy.

Baka! He was furious.

But who was the enemy? He had absolutely no idea!

When they arrived, they didn't even realise that there were other people in the vicinity waiting in ambush!

That ambush was perfect. The timing was perfect too.

'Bastards!'

'Bastards!'

Over there, Chepolov also sensed that something was wrong.

The people he had sent out had also gone silent. They were gone without a trace. No news.

Something had happened.

Someone out there was waiting for them with open jaws.

Damn it!

How come they didn't notice before?

Who is this guy? How could he be so cunning? Lurking in ambush outside?

Damn it. He didn't even enter the bamboo garden. Instead, he let a group of Japanese in, and they are now fighting each other.

This guy is really vicious.

If he catches the other guy, he will definitely pour a lot of red phosphorus on him.

In the end, the poison of the red phosphorus can be compared to the other guy's heart.

Although the White Russian is very strong as an individual fighter, facing two enemies at the same time is more than he can handle. He can only keep changing positions, fighting and retreating.

Fortunately, as the two groups of enemies fight, they suddenly start fighting each other. It ends up becoming a three-nation war. Three groups of people are fighting each other. The situation is chaotic.

Seeing the chaotic situation, Kyprov decisively sends someone to send away the looted goods.

He originally thought that he could make a fortune...

But no...

It's all at the bottom of the sea now.

The crucial thing is, he doesn't even know who the enemy is.

He has no target for revenge.

What's more, he dares not go out now. He's afraid of being ambushed. It would finish him off.

How many people are out there? Where are they ambushed?

He doesn't know.

Since he doesn't know, he definitely dares not go out.

Similarly, the other two groups are also like this. They dare not go out lightly either. In case they are ambushed.

So...

Gradually, they stopped fighting each other for the time being.

There was a more formidable enemy outside. They had to save their strength. Otherwise, they would all perish.

'The gunfire has stopped,'

Yan Ruzi said with a frown. She had been standing in front of the window watching.

Zhang Yong, on the other hand, had fallen asleep. He was sound asleep. However, he did not do anything to Yan Ruzi.

Although they were in the same room, they did not have any contact.

He was tired. He had no energy to waste.

So much has happened recently. And there is still so much to do.

So busy...

Busy for nothing...

Treading on the skin of a watermelon without a goal...

I was supposed to go save someone. As it turned out, I treading on the skin of a watermelon and slipped back to Zhuyuan.

I don't know what Lin Beiqiu is doing right now.

Maybe he is waiting for me to return at the Baiyang Hotel, staring at the window?

Sigh...

Keep sleeping!

A ceasefire is inevitable.

No one inside is stupid. I guess they will soon unite.

What can he do?

There's really not much he can do. Just fight back as best he can. Since the enemy has united, and the situation is not good, we should retreat.

After all, he has already obtained a portion of the wealth in Zhuyuan. The rest doesn't matter.

Yan Ruzi didn't sleep a wink that night. It was just seeing so much wealth. She was so excited. Alas, it turns out that she is also an unworldly woman!

Suddenly, the map prompted that a large number of small dots were approaching from the south.

Zhang Yong hurriedly got up. He arranged for a guard.

So many small dots were arriving, there were more than a hundred of them. That was a formidable force. Who would dare underestimate it?

Then he discovered that they were his own people.

It was Yu Lexing who had come up with reinforcements.

Not only had Yu Lexing woken up, Yang Shanfu had also arrived. He also brought a lot of people with him.

'Director Yang!'

Zhang Yong was very surprised.

Unexpectedly, Yang Shanfu would actually come too.

Oh...

The other party is here to transport the goods back to Jinling.

Well, Director Yang may have miscalculated this time. He needs to transport more than just Yuan Wenhui's goods. There's also Wang Zhulin's.

The goods amassed by these two traitors amount to at least a few million. Maybe even tens of millions. This is definitely not an easy escort.

No wonder the Director specified Chen Gongshu's participation. This is truly amazing.

Nothing stays secret forever. With all that wealth, it's impossible to hide it. The railway line is so long, someone will definitely try to do something. There are bound to be some big thieves.

Unless it's transported by air...

Air transport is absolutely safe.

However, there are no such arrangements at the moment.

If it's transported by air, at least half of it has to be given to the Air Force. The Director may not be willing to do that.

Of course, it's not completely impossible.

If the Director realises that the railway line is not safe, he may be willing to share it 50-50 with the Air Force.

After all, 50% is better than nothing.

The Air Force would certainly be happy with that.

But it seems that the Air Force cannot land in Tianjin. There is no usable airport here.

The nearest safe airport to Tianjin is Nanyuan in Beiping. In other words, even if the Air Force sends a plane, it will have to transport the goods from Tianjin to Beiping first...

Well, digressing.

'Shaolong, I've just arrived, and I've caught a good time,' Yang Shanfang is rubbing his hands together, eager to get started.

'Good. You've come at the perfect time!' Zhang Yong is overjoyed, 'How many of you are here?'

'One hundred and thirty-five.'

'Good, excellent! Excellent!'

Zhang Yong is overcome with emotion.

With so many people, they can take everyone inside by surprise.

Looking around, he can't see Cao Mengqi. If this guy were here, he would be jumping for joy.

We must prepare for the attack. Cao Mengqi loves nothing more than attacking.

He immediately gave a brief explanation of the situation.

'Right now, there are three waves of people inside Zhuyuan.'

'The first wave are Wang Zhulin's men, hardcore traitors. There are also a few Japanese hiding inside. They are the backbone of the fight. They have not yet been eliminated.'

'The second wave is Chibirov, the one from the Shanghai Bund's International Nightclub. There may only be about ten of them now. But they're cunning. They're probably in hiding. They occupy the southwest corner.'

'The third wave is also a wave of Japanese invaders and traitors. They're mainly from the Kwantung Army. Intelligence says that it was organised by Hideki Tojo. There are quite a lot of them, about fifty. They're quite good fighters.'

Zhang Yong finished. Yu Lexi and Yang Shanfang were both silent.

The situation was a bit complicated!

There were so many enemies. Divided into three groups!

However, once they launched an attack, it was possible that the three groups of enemies would unite against the outside world again.

The key point was that Yang Shanfang was new here, and the people he had brought with him were not familiar with the previous agents. If they rushed in recklessly, it would be very easy to misunderstand.

The veterans of the 29th Army were also unfamiliar with the other agents of the Fuxing Society.

'Shaolong, I'm here!'

During the discussion, Ba Laohu also arrived. He brought all the veterans of the Northeast Army.

Uh. These veterans of the Northeast Army are also unfamiliar with the others. If they all rush inside Zhuyuan, they will definitely not be able to tell who the enemy is.

What should we do?

Tie white cloths on our arms like the rebels?

Actually, this is not a very good idea. White cloths on our arms are too conspicuous. We can be seen from afar.

The enemy is not stupid. They will soon react.

They would shoot at anything with white on it.

Or they could wrap themselves in a white cloth. That would make them look like they were on the same side. But that would be just as tragic.

'Actually...'

Zhang Yong hesitated.

Suddenly, some strange ideas came to mind.

At first, they seemed a bit ridiculous. But on second thought, they didn't seem so bad.

Ridiculous or not, they would work.

'Go on!'

'We'll seal off Zhuyuan. No need to attack.'

'Oh? How?'

'We seal off the bamboo garden. No one inside is allowed to come out. Then we gather all the news media in Tianjin and report live from here.'

'Well...'

Yu Lexing and Yang Shanfang looked at each other.

They understood what he meant literally. But what exactly was Zhang Yong going to do?

Was he going to let the people inside go?

'We surround the bamboo garden and report to the nearby Nationalist army that the bamboo garden has been attacked by a large group of bandits. The hostages inside are in grave danger. We request that the army be dispatched. Surround the bamboo garden.'

'What are you going to...'

'We report to the 34th Division. The 34th Division can deploy mortars.'

'Ah...'

The group finally understood.

They only had light weapons, such as pistols, rifles and grenades.

Zhang Yong had a grenade launcher there. But it was not very useful. After all, the power of a grenade launcher could not be compared to that of a mortar.

Only by mobilising regular troops could the people inside be rounded up.

No matter who you are, kill them all.

'The people inside can't get out. The people behind them will definitely be very anxious. They will come to us to negotiate.'

'Do you mean we should let the people inside go?'

'That's the point. We'll insist that the people inside are all bandits. It has nothing to do with the Japanese. It's up to the Japanese to decide what to do.'

Zhang Yong gave a slight sneer.

This is going to roast the Japanese on the fire!

If the Japanese don't admit that there are their own people inside, then forget it. Just let the army finish them off.

The Japanese invaders have no reason to intervene.

If the Japanese invaders admit that there are Japanese inside, then it will be even more exciting.

As long as Zhang Yong is willing to pay, the Tianjin media can still write some very interesting reports.

Not all journalists are afraid of the Japanese.

For example, someone like Katherine. With the support of the British, the Japanese dare not do anything to her.

If the Japanese go crazy and want to get rid of her, Zhang Yong will have work again. That is, investigating Katherine's death. Haha, he can fleece the British again. He will not lose anyway.

'The question is, can we surround them now?'

'Yes!'

Zhang Yong was confident.

If he had to storm the place, it might be a bit of a problem.

But to surround Chuk Yuen, he could definitely do it. The map radius is 350 metres...

Huh?

Now it seems to be 400 metres?

Yes. The map radius seems to have increased again.

Now it's 400 metres!

It completely surrounds the entire Chuk Yuen.

He can see clearly any movement of the enemy inside.

Especially the marked Chepelov No. 1. His position is clear as day. Clearer than a glow stick in the dark.

It's settled.

He has a lot of Yingqiqi rifles.

And some captured Type 44 rifles. He can aim from a distance.

As soon as the enemy inside rushes out, he'll shoot them dead. No one will get away.

Reloading ammunition.

There's some more ammunition in the space with him.

There are a few hundred rounds of Mauser rifle ammunition...

There are also hundreds of rounds of Mosin-Nagant bullets...

There are also hundreds of rounds of British 77 bullets...

There are also hundreds of rounds of Arisaka rifle bullets...

And there are also some other things like revolver bullets. All these add up. In fact, it's not much. But it's enough for sniping.

If it's a battle, where a lot of bullets are wasted, it definitely won't be enough. But if it's one shot per person, or three shots per person, a few thousand rounds of bullets can still kill a lot of people.

As for the specific deployment for the siege of Zhuyuan, Zhang Yong didn't need to deal with it personally.

There was Yu Lexing, Yang Shanfang, and also Ba Laohu. They all knew tactics. They each made their own arrangements, and the siege of Zhuyuan was completely sealed off.

The people inside were indeed afraid to come out. Because they couldn't figure out the situation outside.

'Pop!'

Suddenly, there was a crisp gunshot.

It was an enemy who had poked his head out to observe who was killed. It wasn't a Japanese invader. And it was also not known which side it belonged to.

Anyone who pokes his head out dies.

No one else dared to show their heads again.

Of course, no one dared to come out.

Zhang Yong then felt at ease and called the 34th Division.

Surprisingly, this time, Zhang Kexia answered the phone very quickly. Maybe there were no outsiders around?

"Shaolong, what's the matter?'

'Do you know Zhuyuan, Commander Zhang? It's the Zhuyuan of Wang Zhulin.'

'Yes, I know! What's wrong?'

'Right now, a group of bandits have broken into Zhu Yuan and are rampaging through it, killing, burning, and looting. I happened to be passing by. Seeing as how I couldn't stand by and do nothing, I drew my sword and helped. For the time being, I've managed to hold them off. But we're outnumbered and outgunned. So we sincerely request that the army be dispatched to eliminate the bandits and rescue the hostages inside. We want Tianjin to be peaceful again.'

'Bandits? Breaking into Zhu Yuan?'

'Yes!'

'I'll send someone to find out.'

'Good! I'll wait for you outside Zhuyuan.'

'Do you have a phone?'

'Nantian Hotel.'

'Good.'

Zhang Kexia hung up the phone.

Zhang Yong tapped the counter of the hotel in silence. Old Zhang is really cautious.

But there's nothing you can do. Tianjin is just so sensitive these days. Once the Japanese are involved. Even if they are backed by the Japanese, it's still very sensitive.

The commander of the 29th Army, Wang, is on the one hand wary of the Japanese's ambitions, but on the other hand does not want to seriously offend the Japanese.

Obviously, everyone knows that Wang is backed by the Japanese. So, Lao Zhang does not dare to make a decision lightly.

Moreover, he knows that Zhang Yong is definitely not telling the truth.

A bandit breaking into Zhuyuan?

You must be joking...

What kind of place is Zhuyuan?

It is Wang's lair!

Wang Zhulin was a bandit before, and he would let other bandits break into his lair?

And you, Zhang Yong, just happened to be passing by? And you happened to come to the rescue?

Soon afterwards, the hotel phone rang.

Zhang Yong picked up the receiver.

'What the hell is going on?' Zhang Kexia asked.

Apparently, he had switched to a secure phone. No need to worry about being bugged. Or about leaks.

The division's phone might be bugged. He had to be careful what he said.

'The situation is a bit complicated...'

Zhang Yong then told him the whole story.

Of course, he hid the fact that he was out there ambushing the looters.

'What do you mean?'

'On the surface, we'll make the Japanese invaders feel trapped. In secret, we'll confiscate Wang Zhulin's goods.'

'I can't make that decision.'

'I know. You can report to Beiping openly and ask for instructions.'

'What else are you going to do?'

'I have already sent someone to invite reporters from all over to cover the story live outside Zhuyuan.'

'Good!'

Zhang Kexia understood.

With this arrangement, he had nothing to fear.

Beiping could also seize the opportunity. To secretly give the Japanese a nail.

Otherwise, the Japanese would be too rampant if they got an inch.

'However, we will surround Zhuyuan for a maximum of 24 hours. If you still haven't come after 24 hours, we will have to withdraw.'

'That's enough. I'll consult my superiors immediately.'

Zhang Kexia hung up the phone. Then he returned to the division headquarters. He immediately sent a telegram to Beiping.

Zhang Yong took the receiver. He pondered for a moment. Then he called Yang Zhi.

He could not appear in public in this matter. Or rather, he could not be exposed to the spotlight. He could only ask Yang Zhi to do it for him.

What was he going to do?

Of course, he was going to hide in the shadows and wait for his prey to take the bait.

The spider's web had already been woven, and his prey was close.