Chapter 718: Huitian Hall

"Boss Miao?'

'That, that...'

'Third Young Master is not a stranger. What are you afraid of?'

'I...'

'Third Young Master has sent weapons and ammunition there before. What are you worried about?'

'Shaolong...'

Tang Shengming rolled his eyes.

You brat, don't mention the pot that doesn't boil.

That was all in the past. At this time, don't mention it in public!

'I know a little...' Boss Miao stammered.

'Then there's no problem. Sell it to them,' Zhang Yong said bluntly, 'and the price can be a bit cheaper.'

'This...' Boss Miao was worried that he was a bit out of his depth.

The main thing was that this little guy was so bold.

He didn't even try to hide it.

Third Master may not be a snitch, but you shouldn't be so arrogant!

Arrogance will get you into trouble!

In our line of work, one must be cautious at all times...

You're so careless. You're afraid the Party Affairs Investigation Office doesn't know.

'What are you afraid of?' Zhang Yong doesn't care, 'The Party Affairs Investigation Office, they don't dare mess with me right now. I'm looking for an opportunity to beat them up. Ye Wansheng is scared of me. They avoid me. If the Party Affairs Investigation Office follows you, you just tell them that you're under my protection. If you're not afraid of death, come.'

Without waiting for Boss Miao to speak, Zhang Yong added, 'Where is your pharmacy? I'll go back with you in a while. Get a number at your place. Let everyone know that your pharmacy is related to me. I'll see who dares to touch you!'

'Keep a low profile...' Boss Miao muttered weakly.

This little guy is so arrogant.

I'm really worried that someone will take him out one day. There's a saying that goes, 'When the sky is stormy, it's going to rain; when a person is arrogant, he'll get into trouble.' The ancients were right.

No wonder Shi Bingdao is so cautious every day, for fear that Zhang Yong will get into trouble.

As long as Zhang Yong is not in Shanghai, Shi Bingdao can eat and sleep peacefully. But as soon as Zhang Yong returns, Shi Bingdao can't sleep at night.

What a shock...

'It's not so bad,' Tang Shengming suddenly spoke up, "some things are safer when they're laid out for everyone to see.'

'Exactly!" Zhang Yong said with a smile, 'Mr. Miao, you probably don't know much about what goes on here. Let me put it this way: every section chief and team leader in our Special Services Department has their own business interests behind them. Some smuggle, some embezzle, some invest. There are so many ways to make money, you wouldn't believe it. Otherwise, who would want to be a section chief or team leader? It's all about the perks and the extra perks.'

Boss Miao: ...

Tang Shengming: ...

Look around. Okay. No one is here.

All the other guests have been driven away by Zhang Yong's men.

No wonder Zhang Yong dares to make such wild claims.

It turns out that this guy is reckless, but he hasn't made any elementary mistakes.

Okay, as long as no one is eavesdropping. For the time being, there is no risk of a leak.

Zhang Yong continued, 'The same goes for the Party Affairs Investigation Office. Everyone has something they'd rather not be found out about. Who doesn't have shit on their ass? If you dug it all up, you could execute them a hundred times over. It's only natural that I'm involved. Otherwise, people would think I'm a Red.'

Boss Miao: ...

Tang Shengming: ...

That's ridiculous. But it makes sense.

Especially Tang Shengming, who knew it only too well. They understood each other.

Zhang Yong picked up his teacup, took a sip, set it down, and continued, 'Look at you, you're so scared. When the medicine is delivered, I'll go back to the pharmacy with you. Just to show my face. Let's see if anyone's so blind as to mess with us. I'll just break his legs.'

Tang Shengming said slowly, "Shaolong, it's easy to avoid an open attack, but hard to defend against a hidden one.'

Zhang Yong nodded, as if he had learned his lesson, and then said, "I know. That's why I always go out with at least a group of people with me.'

'Yes, safety first,' Tang Shengming had actually noticed.

The little guy wasn't wrong.

Every time he saw Zhang Yong, he was accompanied by his subordinates.

This guy never acted alone. He always had a dozen people around him.

He's timid and afraid of death. In fact, that's a good thing.

The worst thing is to act alone. Thinking you're invincible. That would be tragic.

On the contrary, it's safe to have a large group of people.

For example, Zhang Yong is like this. He has more people with him than Tang Shengming. They are also fully equipped.

They are all heavily armed.

They all have Thompson submachine guns and rifles.

Well, this little guy even has a rifle with him. He is really careful!

With a dozen people protecting him, it is indeed not easy for others to ambush him. Unless they shoot from a distance. However, he believes that Zhang Yong has a way to deal with it.

The reason is very simple.

If Zhang Yong couldn't deal with snipers from afar, he would have died long ago.

He, Zhang Yong, is not Tang Shengming. Tang Shengming didn't have many enemies. No one wanted to recklessly put him to death.

But Zhang Yong is not like that.

Zhang Yong's enemies can be lined up from Shanghai to Jinling.

For the things Zhang Yong has done, not to mention other people, just the Japanese alone, there are countless people who want Zhang Yong dead.

The Japanese are ruthless, right?

And the Japanese are cunning, aren't they?

In the end, Zhang Yong is still alive and well.

Since he is alive, it means that he has a way to deal with assassinations. He can protect himself.

That is enough.

As long as he is alive, he has already won.

'How are the recent arrests of Japanese spies?' Tang Shengming changed the subject.

'Not good. There is no motivation,' Zhang Yong replied casually, 'the Japanese spies nowadays are getting poorer and poorer. There is no profit.'

'You have already squeezed them dry,'

'No. We haven't found any big fish. They've probably all escaped.'

'When are you coming back to the Military Affairs Committee? We haven't completely resolved things over there. Don't forget.'

'Let me go to Nanjing. Right now I have to deal with the Germans.'

'Oh, that so-called Thunderstorm Plan. I've heard about it too. It sounds pretty mysterious. Does such a plan really exist?'

'It exists. There's also a Rice-Threshing Plan. It's aimed at the National Army.'

'Oh? Tell me about it?'

'It's about attracting the National Army to besiege Hongkou, and then using the advantages of the navy and air force to kill a large number of National Army soldiers. The main guns of the Japanese navy battleships have a large caliber, long range, and great power. One shot can kill an entire platoon of us. There was also indiscriminate bombing by planes. This Hongkou may seem easy to occupy, but in reality it was a meat grinder. The more troops we sent in, the greater the losses.'

Zhang Yong told him everything.

Tang Shengming knew, which meant that his brother also knew.

Although his brother had no real power, he was after all the president of the Military Affairs Commission. He had some influence.

If he believed this theory, then perhaps the National Army would have thought more carefully about the start of the Battle of Shanghai the following year. Instead, they rushed blindly into battle. As a result, they were caught off guard by the Japanese invaders. Both sides were on tenterhooks. Then they kept sending in reinforcements. In the end, they suffered a crushing defeat.

'The Rice-Milling Plan? Where did you hear about it?'

'From the Japanese spy.'

'Where is the Japanese spy?'

'He was killed in the attack.'

'Huh...'

'Because the Japanese spy was killed and there was no other supporting evidence, I didn't report it to the higher-ups. You are the first to know.'

'Do the Japanese have many warships?'

'Many. Just from the information I have, the Japanese navy has eight battleships with a displacement of over 30,000 tons. Nagato, Mutsu, Ise, Hyuga, Fuso, Yamashiro, they're all big guys. And there's Kirishima, Haruna, Hiei, Kongo, and so on. And there are also eight heavy cruisers with a displacement of over 10,000 tons. There are also nearly 100 light cruisers and destroyers.'

'That many?'

'Yes. That's right. Objectively speaking, the strength of the Japanese Navy was very formidable. It was almost on par with the British and American navies. It was firmly ranked among the top three in the world. In particular, those large battleships had main gun calibers of over 300 millimeters. Some were even as high as 410 millimeters. The lethality of the shells was terrifying. They were also fired quickly.'

'I see...'

Tang Shengming frowned.

He actually knew a little about military matters.

After all, he was also a member of the fourth Huangpu class. He was a classmate of 101. Although they didn't have much contact.

Thanks to his second brother, he was already a military commander six years ago. If he were to wear a military uniform now, he would have two gold triangular stars on his collar.

Zhang Yong's words made him feel a trace of anxiety.

The Japanese invaders' artillery fire and aircraft were indeed something that could not be dealt with. The Nationalist infantry would definitely suffer heavy casualties if they charged headlong.

Boss Miao weakly asked, 'The Nationalist army's largest-calibre artillery...'

'Only 150 millimetres. They're all howitzers,' Zhang Yong replied, "imported from the Germans. There are only a hundred or so. We bought two hundred. But only a hundred have arrived. It's hard to say if the rest will arrive on time. Even if they all arrive, two hundred 150 millimetre howitzers will be no match for the battleships" guns. Besides, the Japanese have a lot of planes. The ground howitzers are such big targets that there's no way to hide. The planes can hit them with pinpoint accuracy.'

Tang Shengming nodded and said, 'This is a big problem.'

Zhang Yong said, "Indeed. In the face of aircraft, sending out the howitzers is a death sentence.'

Tang Shengming pondered for a moment, and he said slowly, "Shaolong, your information is very important. I'm going back to Jinling now. Let my family know.'

'Okay.' Zhang Yong didn't expect such a good result. Tang Shengming couldn't sit still.

After all, they were both in military uniforms.

He must know something about the National Army's plans to attack Hongkou.

There can't be no communication between Commander Qian and the Military Senate.

After all, Tang Shengming's second brother has three gold stars.

Chiang Kai-shek has to 'consult' him on the surface. Just to show that he's not being excluded by the local power brokers.

While they were talking, someone arrived.

A car pulled up nearby. It stopped. Someone got out. They carried out two suitcases.

Zhang Yong recognised them at a glance. They were Liu Xi's medical supplies. They were full of aspirin. How quick. They had been delivered.

He studied the map carefully. He didn't notice anything unusual. The person who had come wasn't wearing any weapons.

He went up to them immediately. He explained who he was. Then they made the handover. He gave the other person five silver dollars. This was payment for the delivery.

He carried the two suitcases back.

Since they are all medicines, they are not heavy. I can carry them.

After I returned, I opened them and found that they were all boxes of aspirin. I estimate that there are about 400 more boxes.

When I called just now, Liu Xi did not say the price. Zhang Yong did not ask either. We will talk about the price after we get the goods. This is a good opportunity to get in touch with her more. Men and women, familiarity breeds affection. The ancients said that death is

'Boss Miao, I'll give it all to you,' Zhang Yong said quickly. "It's a good thing, because the third young master is leaving too. Let's go back to the pharmacy together.'

'Good," Boss Miao said without hesitation.

The organisation did need a lot of medicine. Aspirin was also urgently needed.

Since Zhang Yong was prepared to give it all,

he naturally had to accept it. So he said goodbye to Tang Shengming and got into the car. They went back to Boss Miao's pharmacy.

The location of the pharmacy was a little bit remote. This was certain. After all, it was one of the strongholds of the underground party.

If it was in the bustling city centre, too much attention would be drawn.

In a slightly remote place, if someone was injured at night, they could also be sent for medical treatment in time.

The name of the pharmacy was very ordinary, just called Hoi Chun Tong.

There was a line of kids below, something about ancestral Miao medicine.

Because it was close to the suburbs, the pharmacy was very large. There was a large backyard, and there were also a lot of Chinese herbal medicines drying in it.

He picks them himself and processes them himself. This saves costs.

Zhang Yong notices from afar that there are seven people in the medicine shop. One of them has a yellow dot. The others have white dots.

In other words, there is also a member of the underground party in the medicine shop. He is probably assisting Boss Miao. He could be a courier or something.

Stop the car.

Go in.

See the yellow dot. It's a young guy.

Vaguely, there is some impression. It's as if I've seen him somewhere. After a while, I finally remember. I saw him on Fourth Road.

It was when the Huai Zhou bookstore was bombed, and he led the team back. Among the crowd, there was this young man. At the time, he was very inconspicuous. Zhang Yong didn't pay much attention to him. Little did he know that he was actually one of the Red Party members. What a hidden talent!

'Team Leader Zhang, please.'

'Please...'

Zhang Yong sat down.

He glanced at the young man.

The young man's eyes flickered, and he obviously recognised him.

But neither of them said anything.