20 years of the Republic of China

Chapter 806 Reconstructing Order (Part 2)

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw that it was Master Jiang. Outside the door were all the same old government officials, and they gradually lowered their guard.

Jiang Lianheng also stepped out from the crowd, stood in the center of the courtyard, nodded and said, "I'm here. What's the matter?"

"Oh, is that so—"

Master Jiang took a step forward, then suddenly felt something was amiss. He glanced at the patrol team standing behind him, cleared his throat, and changed to an official tone: "Uh... it's like this, last night, the yamen received several reports of robberies in this area, so I came to find out what was going on."

The crowd remained silent, their brows furrowing slightly. They thought to themselves, "We reported this last night, where were you officers before?"
Master Jiang, however, was quite nonchalant. With a monthly salary of only twenty or thirty yuan, why would I risk my life?

However, before he arrived, he had heard many rumors on the street and knew that the Jiang family had suffered heavy losses. But when he entered the mansion and saw the devastation, he still found it hard to believe. He looked around and sighed, "Alas, it seems that Mr. Jiang's family has also suffered quite a few losses!"

Now that the news had spread, Jiang Lianheng saw no need to hide it, so he simply replied, "Yes, my family has suffered a misfortune, being robbed. I was just about to go to Second Master to seek justice for me!"

Upon hearing this, Second Master Jiang quickly waved his hand and said, "It's not fair to talk about, but maintaining the security of the provincial capital and ensuring the peaceful life of the people is our duty as officials. However, with the turmoil in the provincial capital last night, we need the help of our neighbors to provide relevant clues in order to solve the case as soon as possible."

As he spoke, he took a few steps forward and asked with a smile, "Mr. Jiang, do you have any clues to provide to the authorities?"

Jiang Lianheng shook his head and said, "Not yet. Once I find it, I will report it to the yamen immediately."

Master Jiang was taken aback, and cautiously reminded him, "This... last night, everyone in the North City branch provided clues saying that Whistleman Li Huizhong was carrying a gun and acting like a tyrant on the streets. Boss Jiang, have you... not heard anything from him?"

"Whistle Li?"

Jiang Lianheng feigned surprise and quickly declared, "Second Master, you must be mistaken. Whistle Li and I have been friends for many years, like brothers. Why would he attack me? Someone must be stirring up trouble and spreading rumors. Please, Second Master, see the truth!"

Old Master Jiang scratched his head, seemingly finding it a bit difficult, and then said, "Oh, last night, there were a few witnesses in the commercial district who said they saw Old Dou, the basket weaver from the south of the city, deliberately committing violence and disturbing the provincial government's security. I wonder if Boss Jiang saw it?"

“No.” Jiang Lianheng said firmly, “Although I am not very familiar with Lao Dou, Xifeng often mentions him to me. I have heard that he is honest and kind, and usually does good deeds. I suppose he would not do anything wrong.”

Upon hearing this, Second Master Jiang was in an even more difficult situation. He said, "What about Old Ghost Huo? I heard there was a riot in the south of the city last night, with gunfire deafening. There are a few people in the know—"

Before he could finish speaking, Jiang Lianheng raised his hand to interrupt him, saying, "Second Master, last night, Guo Yan was in the southern part of the city, guarding the outer residence for me. Why don't you just ask him directly?"

Upon hearing this, Second Master Jiang turned to look at Zhao Guoyan.

Zhao Guoyan shook his head and said in a low voice, "No, I've never heard of such a person."

"Then surely you didn't hear any gunshots last night?" Master Jiang continued to press.

Zhao Guoyan said, "I'm not too sure about other places, but at least when I was at the master's outer residence, the night was peaceful, and I didn't hear any gunshots at all."

At this point, wrinkles began to appear on Master Jiang's face. He thought to himself, "This is bad." The Jiang family had no intention of cooperating with the government's investigation or using the government's power to quell the unrest.

This is no small matter; it's going to result in bloodshed!

When he mentioned Whistle Li and the others, he was actually asking Jiang Lianheng for instructions—whether the government could take action against these three people.

Jiang Lianheng refused, so Lao Chai didn't dare to arrest anyone arbitrarily.

However, with so many deaths, looting, and vandalism last night, the order in Fengtian was almost broken, which aroused the anger of officials and the resentment of the people. Those of them who work in the government offices have to give an explanation to both their superiors and subordinates.

Mr. Jiang was in a dilemma. Despite the cold weather, he took off his hat, fanned himself lightly, and said with a forced smile, "Mr. Jiang, this is a serious murder case that cannot be taken lightly. I still need to investigate and collect evidence. How about... we talk in private for a moment, and I can take a look at the crime scene?"

Jiang Lianheng nodded and said, "Of course, Second Master is here to carry out his duty, and I will do my best to cooperate."

"Oh dear, look at what you're saying! With the government and the people working together to overcome difficulties, what case can't be solved! Let's go then..."

Master Jiang raised his hand and pointed to the second gatehouse. Seeing that Jiang Lianheng was expressionless, he wisely moved his hand away and pointed to the main gatehouse. Seeing that Jiang Lianheng remained unmoved, he then stretched out his arm and pointed to the main house of the mansion. Seeing that Jiang Lianheng still did not react, he finally understood and determined that the first scene of the crime was the backyard of the Jiang family mansion.

"Mr. Jiang, shall we go and take a look at the backyard first?"

"Alright, we'll follow Second Master's arrangements!"

Master Jiang breathed a sigh of relief, turned around and looked at the police team that had followed him, and shouted loudly, "You guys, all of you stand here properly. No one is allowed to leave the yard without my order. We're on guard day and night, but it's hard to guard against a thief within the family. These people are all suspects. Do you understand?"

"understand!"

The old men responded in unison and immediately surrounded the gate of the mansion.

Second Master Jiang jogged along, following closely behind Jiang Lianheng to the backyard.

Upon reaching the backyard, they found dozens of corpses lying neatly on the half-foot-thick snow. Fortunately, it was winter, and the corpses had frozen into ice blocks, so they had not decomposed and did not emit a foul stench, and there was no need to worry about the spread of plague.

Upon seeing this, Master Jiang felt a wave of dizziness and staggered backward several steps, nearly collapsing onto the snow.

He wasn't afraid, but he felt that this matter was beyond repair, and if his superiors held him accountable, he would also be held responsible.

"Boss Jiang..."

Seeing that no one was around, Second Master Jiang's tone immediately became humble, and he said, "How...how did things turn out like this?"

"You're asking me?" Jiang Lianheng said coldly, his face expressionless. "Then you might as well go ask them how things got to this point!"

Old Master Jiang slapped his forehead and said in a muffled voice, "I also want to ask them, but I can't find them at all! I was hoping to get some information from you! Besides, with so many deaths last night, the higher-ups are pressing us hard. You have to give way to one of the three of them, Whistle Li, so I can go back and report!"

Jiang Lianheng said, "I was about to ask you the same thing. The city was in such chaos last night, yet I didn't see you patrolling the streets. How come your yamen is already starting to investigate cases after just one night?"

"No, you don't know yet?" "Know what?"

"Hey, everyone was wrong. Last night, General Zhang didn't leave. He's still at his residence, overseeing military affairs as usual!"

"They didn't leave?" Jiang Lianheng was dumbfounded and couldn't help but ask, "Then what about the Marshal's Mansion's assets...?"

Master Jiang said, "The gold, silver and valuables of the Marshal's Mansion were indeed all transported to the South Railway Warehouse, but Old Zhang really didn't leave in the end! I heard that a few Japanese went to the Marshal's Mansion last night, and I don't know how they talked, but Old Zhang decided not to leave. Moreover, he appointed special commissioners to various government offices to supervise the provincial government to restore order as soon as possible. Anyone who neglects their duties or slacks off in their official duties will be dealt with as if it were wartime, and most likely they will be shot!"

As the saying goes: A cowardly soldier is cowardly, but a cowardly general makes a whole army cowardly.

With the war situation urgent, every move of Marshal Zhang directly affected the people of Fengtian's confidence in the defense of the provincial capital.

Now that Old Zhang is firmly seated in the Marshal's Mansion, the entire city of Fengtian has gained confidence.

Second Master Jiang had a close relationship with the Jiang family, and he spoke frankly: "So, Boss Jiang, I'm not trying to be pretentious in front of you, but the higher-ups are chasing me to investigate a case. What can I do? You can at least hand over one of the three, Whistle Li and the others, to me. Even if I can't catch them, at least I can put up an arrest warrant. That way, I can give an explanation to both the higher-ups and the lower-ups, right?"

Jiang Lianheng nodded.

What Master Jiang didn't know was that Old Ghost Huo was already dead.

Logically speaking, once Huo Laogui's body is handed over, with both witnesses and physical evidence, the case should be solved quickly.

However, Jiang Lianheng concealed this information and pointed to the corpses on the snow, saying, "They—are the robbers from last night!"

"What?"

Master Jiang bent down and looked at the corpses. He saw that there were indeed many of Whistle Li's men among the corpses, but there were also many Jiang family members. He said, "No, Boss Jiang... isn't that Old Yuan? I know him... Besides, there are women among them!"

“Who says women can’t be robbers?” Jiang Lianheng retorted. “Last year, didn’t the young marshal just kill Shuangqiang Tuolong? That was a female bandit!”

"That's plausible, but... Mr. Jiang, they're all your staunch brothers. Are you really planning to hand them over to the authorities?"

"Make the best use of everyone's abilities and resources. They're all dead, so what difference does it make who gets them? Only by paying for the blood debt can we be worthy of our fallen brothers!"

"That's right, but... I still need to discuss something with you."

"You said."

After a moment's thought, Master Jiang said, "Could you please hold off on seeking revenge for now?"

"What?" Jiang Lianheng's expression changed drastically. He immediately took a step forward and asked aggressively, "You want me to suffer in silence?"

"No, no, no, I didn't mean that, but as I just said, the government is demanding the immediate restoration of order in the provincial capital. If you were to lead a fight at this time, I'm afraid... I'm afraid the Municipal Government, the Security Command, and even the Marshal's Mansion wouldn't agree. If a fight really breaks out, I'll have no choice but to..."

"What's wrong, Second Master? Have you forgotten how you became the district brigade leader?"

"No, no, I will never forget Mr. Jiang's kindness in helping me out, but... but please don't make things difficult for me!"

"I won't make things difficult for you. Just do what you need to do and let me know in advance. Once the person is caught, I'll find a way to get him out."

Mr. Jiang sighed and said, “Alas, Mr. Jiang, if it were in the past, I would have done it without your permission. But this time is different. I’m afraid I can’t help you completely by myself or by our police department alone.”

Even the police department can't fully help?

Jiang Lianheng frowned and quickly asked, "What do you mean by that?"

Master Jiang shook his head and sighed, “Alas, you don’t know, the war on the front lines is intense right now. The military police in the city have long been transferred out, and the North and East camps are completely empty. Recently, so many refugees from western Liaoning have come to Fengtian. The provincial government’s police force is really not enough. Marshal Zhang is anxious to stabilize public morale, so he specially entrusted the Japanese to help maintain order. So, relying solely on the police department, we can only do our best. If you want to ensure that nothing goes wrong, you still have to ask the Japanese for help, which is more reliable.”

Jiang Lianheng does indeed have connections and can get in touch with the Japanese police department.

However, it would be difficult to get him to grovel before the Japanese and beg for their protection when he sought revenge!
"When was this order issued?" he asked.

Master Jiang said, "I just heard about it this morning. There are already Japanese people patrolling the western commercial district. I estimate that it won't be long before they infiltrate the inner city. At that time, Fengtian City will be jointly managed by Chinese and foreigners! You'd better be careful and keep a low profile!"

Jiang Lianheng was stunned and speechless.

At this moment, he suddenly recalled a piece of "advice" that Takeda Shin had given him in person when he was in Shanghai: "Your so-called backer is nothing but an iceberg. When the sun rises, the ice will melt away!"
Mr. Jiang kindly reminded him, "However, Mr. Jiang, you are a person of importance. I guess the Japanese will also treat you with some respect. If you really want to ask them to make connections and ask for favors, I don't think it's a difficult thing."

"It's tough!"

"Hiss, this shouldn't be!" Second Master Jiang frowned and said strangely, "I've noticed that those Japanese are quite polite to our local gentry, why don't you give it a try?"

Jiang Lianheng kept his head down and remained silent, pacing back and forth on the snow in the backyard with his hands behind his back. Suddenly, he walked to the corner of the mansion, couldn't help but glance at the second gatehouse, and finally shook his head, muttering to himself, "No, I can't get over this hurdle in my heart."

"Then why don't you wait a little longer?" Second Master Jiang suggested. "A gentleman takes his revenge even after ten years. Once this storm passes, won't you still be the leader of Fengtian City?"

"Second Master, do you think this storm will pass?"

"What do you mean?"

Jiang Lianheng sighed and suddenly looked up at the distant sky.

Even on clear days, the winter sky appears gloomy, like a shroud covering Fengtian, making it hard to breathe.

After a long silence, Jiang Lianheng shook his head and said, "Once is never enough; it's easy to invite a god but hard to send him away. Old Zhang wanted to use one tiger to devour another, but he can only end up being an accomplice. Fengtian City is about to change, and I'm afraid it will never be the same again..."

(End of this chapter)