20 years of the Republic of China

Chapter 709 Meeting an opponent in chess

"Huang Gai?" Sheng Mancang's heart tightened, and he asked knowingly, "What Huang Gai? What are you talking about?"

Saito Rokuro sneered twice, still staring at him intently, and said: "The self-torture trick - you are the one sent by Jiang Lianheng, right?"

Sheng Mancang was dumbfounded.

He really didn't expect that such words would suddenly come out of the devil's mouth.

Little did people know that various storybooks, picture books, and ukiyo-e prints about the Three Kingdoms have been circulating in the East for many years and have had a wide influence. It is no exaggeration to say that they are known to people of all ages.

Xiao Dongyang's deep understanding of the Central Plains, his earnest efforts, and his far-sighted plans often make people feel uneasy.

However, the Koreans present were completely confused.

It was not until the clerk at the counter translated these words that Song Lvcheng and others became alert. They looked at each other with frowns, but they did not dare to interrupt Saito Rokuro's interrogation.

Sheng Mancang felt uneasy, and his voice immediately changed. He quickly said in defense, "No, no, I hate Jiang Lianheng to death now, how could I still listen to him?"

"Don't joke with me!" Saito Rokuro cursed in a Kansai accent, "Asshole, do you think this is the first time I deal with people like you?"

The servants of Qingqiu Society translated it into Chinese.

When Sheng Mancang heard this, he shuddered all over and hurriedly raised his bandaged right hand and defended himself again: "Really, really, look at my hand, he chopped off two of my fingers, how could I--"

Before he could finish his words, Saito Rokuro grabbed Sheng Mancang's wrist, tore off the bandage, and pressed hard on the cuts on the two broken fingers.

Sheng Mancang's two fingers had just been chopped off last night. The wound was almost healed, and there was only a thin layer of blood scab. How could it withstand such ravages?

Saito Rokuro exerted force, the blood scab broke, and blood immediately gushed out of the two severed fingers.

But in the blink of an eye, Sheng Mancang's right hand was soaked in blood!
"what--"

The fingers are connected to the heart, it would be strange if it didn't hurt.

Sheng Mancang screamed, his whole body twitched upside down, and he quickly grabbed Saito Rokuro's arm with his left hand, begging desperately, "Taijun, stop pinching me, stop pinching me!"

The wailing caused a commotion in the store.

The smokers all sat up from their low beds and looked over here anxiously. Many of them hurriedly put on their cotton shoes, eager to escape from this place of trouble.

Seeing this, Yuta Yamazaki immediately picked up a baton, swung it across the store, and shouted a few curses.

The guys from Qingqiu Club also came over, not behaving like businessmen at all, and they also scolded: "What are you looking at? This has nothing to do with you. Just sit there!"

In the whole world, perhaps only the opium shop owners would dare to insult their customers like this.

The smokers had already lost their energy and spirit due to the longevity drug. They were decadent and had no backbone at all. When they saw the Japanese patrolman puffing out his beard and glaring at them, they immediately shrank back like chickens, closing their eyes and covering their ears. They would not speak when it was none of their business and would shake their heads and say they knew nothing when asked.

Yuta Yamazaki calmed down the commotion in the store, then turned around and continued to listen to his senior's interrogation.

On this side, Sheng Mancang was already in so much pain that not only were there tears in the corners of his eyes, but also layers of cold sweat on his forehead.

"Taijun, it hurts, it hurts... Please, stop pinching me. If you continue, someone will die!"

"Then tell the truth."

"I...I'm telling the truth!"

"Ok?"

Saito Rokuro's forearm bulged high, and Sheng Mancang's screams became more and more shrill.

Xiao Dongyang seemed unsatisfied, and then turned to look at his companions and whispered, "Give me a cigarette."

Sheng Mancang didn't understand until he saw Yamazaki Yuta lighting a cigarette. He suddenly woke up, then he grabbed Saito Rokuro's hand and said with a very sincere look:
"I'll tell you! I'll tell you!" His voice was filled with tears. "Taijun, please let me go, I'll tell you everything!"

Saito Rokuro was quite proud, but he was not in a hurry to interrogate. Instead, he turned to look at his companions and smiled slightly, "Yamazaki-kun, you see, these are the Chinese. Don't think they are all docile. In fact, they are also very cunning. You must never trust them easily."

"Hey! I got it!"

Like a student, Yuta Yamazaki immediately memorized the experience of his predecessors.

He had just arrived in Manchuria and was still learning about the local customs and practices.

In recent years, in order to promote the superiority of the Yamato people, the Oriental Empire has often belittled the Chinese in newspapers, describing them as an ignorant, weak, incompetent and inferior race, as if the Orientals could conquer the entire Far East at any time if they wanted.

However, when he personally arrived in Manchuria, he found that all his experienced predecessors had warned him not to underestimate the enemy, as the Chinese were equally cunning, arrogant, and even dangerous.

One is the prejudice gained from books, the other is the lessons learned by eyewitnesses.

Yuta Yamazaki believes more in the latter.

Saito Rokuro has extensive experience in handling cases. He worked in Lüda in his early years and was later transferred to Fengtian. However, he did not come from a police academy, but from the streets.

This phenomenon is not uncommon. Except for the soldiers, most of the first batch of Japanese immigrants to Manchuria were frustrated people in their own country, or even ruffians.

Saito Rokuro has his own style of handling cases, which may not be compliant, but is very effective.

"What does Jiang Lianheng want to do?" Xiao Dongyang asked coldly.

Sheng Mancang was still a little scared, and asked tremblingly: "Taijun, if I tell you, can you guarantee my safety?"

Saito Rokuro nodded without saying anything.

Sheng Mancang was no longer in a position to negotiate any conditions, so he covered his right hand, slumped his shoulders, and recounted all the tasks assigned to him by Jiang Lianheng.

"Taijun, what I just said was not entirely false. Jiang Lianheng is indeed coming to take revenge on Boss Song. He told me this himself. If you don't believe me, you can just wait and see."

"I know that, but how exactly does he plan to retaliate?"

"He asked me to come to Qingqiu Society to gain Boss Song's trust first, and then pretend to help Boss Song gather information to mislead you and lure the tiger away from the mountain. Finally, he sent people to attack from the east!"

"What kind of false news is he going to release?"

"Well... he hasn't told me yet, really, really!" Sheng Mancang swore, "Taijun, how dare I lie to you! The key is that Jiang Lianheng is not a fool, how could he tell me all the plans in one breath? I have to gain Boss Song's trust first, then he can tell me what to do next!"

This makes sense.

Saito Rokuro believed it, and then asked, "How big a fuss does he plan to make? Is he going to destroy Qingqiu Society, or kill a few people to establish his authority?"

"I don't know about that. However, according to what I know about the Jiang family online..."

At this point, Sheng Mancang suddenly looked up and glanced at the Koreans present, as if looking for someone, and finally his eyes fell on the self-righteous guy.

"Him!" Sheng Mancang said with great certainty, "I don't know about others, but he will definitely suffer a little, and maybe even kill him to vent my anger!"

The guy at the counter immediately panicked, looked around, and seemed quite innocent: "Huh? This...what does this have to do with me?" Everyone frowned, seeming quite dissatisfied with his remarks.

Seeing this, the guy hurriedly changed his words and said, "No, what I mean is, why did he only bother me? Does he think that our Qingqiu society will let it go?"

Sheng Mancang explained, "Mr. Li San is famous for his bad temper, and he is also the pillar of the Jiang family. You spoke to him like that last night, and you wanted to detain him. In the eyes of Xianshanghezi, this is a challenge to the Jiang family. If they don't get rid of you, who will be afraid of the Jiang family in the future?"

Upon hearing this, the guy’s eyes widened immediately and thought: What does this have to do with me? I’m just a fucking translator!

"Anyway, you should be careful next time. What I said is true." Sheng Mancang had no doubt about it.

Saito Rokuro's mouth twitched, and he muttered to himself, "Jiang Lianheng should not push his luck too far. If he doesn't restrain himself, he will regret it one day!"

Song Lvcheng was also curious, so he asked, "Mr. Saito, why is Jiang Lianheng so arrogant? Is it because Mr. Takeda wants to protect him?"

Saito Rokuro stood up and shook his head, but said: "It's not just Mr. Takeda, but also those chaebol representatives and factory owners."

"What? Even the chaebols are on his side?"

"That's not the case. It's just that in recent years, whenever there have been labor disturbances, Jiang Lianheng has been able to come forward and resolve them in a timely manner. Because of this, even British American Tobacco is reluctant to offend them easily, and it's the same here."

"Mr. Saito, then I..." Song Lucheng suddenly hesitated.

It seems that the Jiang family's power is far beyond the ability of the Xita Korean Gang to contend with. Even with the support of the Toyo Police Department, they may not be sure of victory.

Saito Rokuro ignored him and immediately asked Sheng Mancang: "What benefits did Jiang Lianheng promise to give you?"

"He said...if this thing is done, he can help me set up a new business, open a separate gang...that is, give me a piece of land and let me do business on my own."

"I am in the Southern Railway Concession and can offer you the same conditions. Are you willing to help me?"

"No, no, it's enough that you can guarantee my safety!" Sheng Mancang said anxiously, "Even if you give me a piece of land, I can't keep it without the Jiang family's permission. Everyone in the underworld knows that Marshal Zhang has the final say in Fengtian City during the day, and Jiang Lianheng has the final say at night. If you divide the land for me, you are harming me!"

"Baka!" Saito Rokuro cursed, "Kid, you better understand this: we Japanese are the only ones who have the final say in Fengtian City!"

"I know, I know, but... this is different!"

"Why is it different?"

"Taijun, you don't know how tyrannical the Jiang family is! In the past ten years, anyone who dared to challenge them and negotiate conditions has never had a good ending. Not to mention the distant past, let's talk about the recent past. Their family opened a sand and gravel factory two years ago. Those competitors either disappeared inexplicably or fell into the water. How could it be such a coincidence? Didn't they get rid of them all!"

"Are you willing to be at his mercy?"

Sheng Mancang quickly shook his head and said, "No matter how reluctant we are, there is nothing we can do! The Jiang family is too powerful. They can even get close to Marshal Zhang. How can we compete? We can only endure it and dare not speak out!"

Hearing this, Saito Rokuro immediately became interested.

"Oh? Then tell me, who in Fengtian City is dissatisfied with the Jiang family?"

"This... this is a long story."

"It's okay, take your time, I have plenty of time!" Saito Rokuro turned around and asked, "Song Lucheng, can I borrow your room?"

"Of course you can, but..." Song Lvcheng lowered his voice and asked, "Mr. Saito, didn't you just say that Jiang Lianheng is protected by the chaebol? If we are disrespectful to him..."

"Don't worry. Although Jiang Lianheng has some abilities, he is not irreplaceable. It's just a matter of time."

Saito Rokuro waved his hand again, "Yamazaki, take him with you and follow me."

"Hi!"

Yamazaki Yuta responded, and then escorted Sheng Mancang to the back hall of Qingqiu Society.

Song Lucheng, along with a few core members, naturally followed closely behind.

Soon, the lobby of the store returned to silence, with only the panting, yawning, and faint sounds of snoring from the smokers.

Sheng Mancang followed Xiao Dongyang for a long time, until the smoke in the store gradually dissipated, many customers had left, and even the clerk at the counter kept nodding and dozing off. Only then did he and a few Koreans return from the backyard to the front hall, chatting and laughing all the way to the store door.

Saito Rokuro and Yamazaki Yuta did not show up, and Song Lucheng never came back.

Sheng Mancang bowed and nodded to the Koreans, muttering, "Thank you very much, everyone. Thank you very much!"

"Ayisi, get out of here!"

Everyone impatiently kicked him out.

It was getting dark outside. I looked at the clock and it was time to close the shop.

The guy at the counter walked to the center of the lobby and shouted at the group of drowsy smokers, "Hey, wake up, don't sleep anymore! We're closing soon. If you want to stay here overnight, you have to pay first. Do you hear me? Hey - I say, wake up!"

He walked around the low beds, waking up each guest one by one and asking them whether they wanted to stay or leave.

Some people paid the money and continued to indulge themselves; some people could not afford to pay, so they had to get up and leave.

In the far corner of the lobby, a guest put down his pipe, slowly put on his coat, and sat there for a while, seeming a little reluctant to leave.

"Hey, I'm talking to you!" The shop assistant came forward and pushed, "If you don't have money, leave quickly. Don't dawdle here. Do you think this is your home? Go, go!"

The smoker had a dull expression and continued to endure the beatings and scolding. He then stood up and staggered towards the door.

"Tsk! Can you please hurry up? I'm still waiting for the door to close!"

The shop assistant urged the customer out as fast as he could, and as soon as he reached the front door, he immediately closed the door, then opened it again, threw out a shoe, and then closed it angrily.

"boom!"

The sound of the door closing attracted the barking of a dog in the distance...

It was then that I realized that the entire Goryeo Street was already deserted at night. There were not even any street lights, only the cold moonlight shining on the ground.

The guest staggered and staggered as he ran towards Xiaoxiguan. As soon as he walked out of the West Pagoda, his steps immediately became brisk, and he almost jogged all the way.

About three or five minutes later, we suddenly came to a hidden street and saw a black car parked quietly in the corner.

He walked over quickly to the driver's window, leaned over, and called softly, "Brother Dong..."

"speak!"

Zhang Zhengdong leaned in the driver's seat, his tone very calm.

The man leaned near the car window and whispered a few words.

After another three to five minutes, the car suddenly started, and the warm yellow light beam swept across the street, then it turned around and slowly drove away towards the north of Fengtian City...

(End of this chapter)