20 years of the Republic of China

Chapter 821 Unparalleled Hero
The next day, the Jiang family began preparing to meet the enemy early in the morning.

This time the situation is different. Because of advance arrangements and lessons learned from previous experiences, there is no shortage of staff at each counter.

Moreover, the Jiang family's funeral arrangements were not in vain. When everyone heard that Marshal Zhang had sent a wreath to express his condolences, they believed that the Jiang family had not yet lost power, so they rushed to come and help, hoping to redeem themselves.

The Jiang family's business was originally based in Xiaoxiguan, so they paid special attention to this neighborhood.

Zhao Guoyan led his men to guard the insurance company's main office, Li Zhengxi led his men to watch over Heshengfang, while Hai Xinnian stayed in Huifangli with several of his uncles to ensure the safety of the counter.

The brothers, dressed in cotton robes and holding whistles and pickaxe handles, stood in the front and back streets, patrolling back and forth, looking majestic and imposing.

Hu Xiaoyan gave everyone a strict order—unless absolutely necessary, the brothers at each counter must not leave their posts without permission and must support each other.

how?
For no other reason than that the Jiang family had mastered the art of luring the tiger away from the mountain.

If there is any disturbance, all staff will be mobilized at each counter, which will lead to a situation where one cannot attend to all the staff. How can this be resolved?

It should be noted that, so far, the Jiang family's only opponents have been the followers of Old Man Dou the Basket Weaver and Whistle Li, while the Qin family's forces have remained inactive.

That's why we need to be careful.

However, if things continue like this, the Jiang family will lose a manpower available for contingency planning.

Who should we ask to take on this job?

After much deliberation, the task ultimately fell to the shoulder of the fan-wielding gang.

If we don't turn to them, who else can we turn to?
Although other "gang" members wanted to take on the job, considering the loyalty and righteousness shown by the fan gang that night, it was really not good to neglect them.

According to Hu Xiaoyan, at this time of gang conflict, loyalty is far more important than ability.

Lai Zi and his gang were already eager to climb the social ladder, so they naturally refused to refuse. They went to Jiang Lianheng and swore that they would do their best to help their master overcome the difficulties.

With the matter already out in the open, what could Jiang Lianheng, as the head of the gang, do but nod in agreement?

The brothers proceeded step by step, guarding the area closely and waiting for an opportunity to strike.

As mentioned earlier, Fengtian implemented a joint police-military defense system. In remote corners of the city, local constables were responsible for maintaining order. However, the area from Xiaoxiguan to the commercial port was a bustling part of the provincial capital, and the government officials could not completely ignore it. Therefore, there were a few old constables patrolling the streets. When they saw the Jiang family making a big show of things, they did not try to stop them, but simply pretended to be deaf and dumb.

So, early that morning, the merchants and common people on the street immediately noticed something was amiss.

Seeing the Jiang family members occupying the streets, with the yamen officials turning a blind eye and the air thick with tension, they sensed that a gang fight was about to break out, so they quickly took a detour and left.

As the north wind began to blow, Xiaoxiguan appeared even more desolate.

As the sun rose, the members of the security maintenance committee finally began patrolling the streets.

As usual, this group of traitors, wearing armbands, staggered into the city, with several of their leaders carrying pistols on their waists.

At this moment, Zhao Guoyan was standing with his men outside the headquarters of the insurance company.

The brother next to him pointed and whispered, "Brother Yan, Lao Dou and the others are here!"

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a dozen more people rushed out of the building, clamoring to ask, "Where is he? Where is he?"

Everyone looked westward, and when they saw who it was, it was indeed Old Dou and his group. They couldn't help but curse, "Damn it, this old man still dares to stroll around the streets. He doesn't treat us like human beings at all! Brother Yan, let's fight them!"

Zhao Guoyan raised his hand to stop them, squinting as he looked into the distance. He saw several Japanese policemen clearing the way in front of the maintenance committee. He quickly said, "Grab your weapons, don't be impulsive. We'll deal with whatever they say first."

At a command, the brothers outside immediately grabbed their batons and pickaxe handles, while several others retreated into the shop, picked up their pistols from the counter, and prepared for the worst.

Before long, the maintenance committee swaggered over.

Roughly speaking, there are nearly twenty people.

Old Dou, the basket weaver, was leading the way, but he didn't see Whistle Li or Skyhawk; on the Japanese patrol side, Yamazaki Yuta was leading the team, but he didn't see Saito Rokuro.

Seeing this, Zhao Guoyan immediately turned to his men and said, "Go to the counter and call Third Master. Tell him to stay put and not come over to help!"

The brother nodded in response and hurriedly turned back into the house to notify all the shops.

Just then, Lao Dou arrived at the building entrance with his men. Upon seeing Zhao Guoyan, he immediately greeted him loudly, "Hey, Zhao Paotou, brother, I pay my respects to you!"

Zhao Guoyan remained silent, his gaze fixed on the distance, standing firmly in front of the maintenance committee, refusing to yield.

He didn't speak, but the brothers around him who were "in the gang" couldn't hold back any longer and shouted angrily, "Old Dou, you've got some nerve! We haven't even had a chance to look for you yet, and you've already come here with your head held high, claiming to be our father?"

Old Dou's lips twitched, a surge of anger rising within him, but he forced a relaxed smile and asked, "What, this Xiaoxiguan is run by the Jiang family, so others can't come?"

"Bullshit! Don't you know what the hell you've done?"

"Hey, what did I do?"

Old Dou pointed to the armband on his arm and shamelessly said, "Can you read? This is the Fengtian Security Maintenance Committee. I'm just doing my job to maintain order in the provincial capital. You all better shut up. If you keep yelling at me, I'll handcuff you all right now!"

The crowd scoffed, saying, "You think you can maintain order in the provincial capital? That night, I wonder which bastard started a shootout in the commercial district!"

"Who is it?" Old Dou looked around, then pointed to himself. "Me? We need evidence to back up our claims. Did you see me do it?"

"Damn it, do you think we're investigating a case here?" the crowd cursed. "What evidence do you need? Spit it out if you have anything to say, or get lost!"

Old Dou smiled and said, "Nothing else. See this? This is Officer Yamazaki from the Oriental Police Department, responsible for protecting the personal safety of overseas Chinese in Japan. In order to ensure the stability of the provincial capital, we now need to thoroughly investigate the weapons and equipment of the local militias. As a secret society, the Jiang family is the key target of this investigation."

As he spoke, he glanced at Zhao Guoyan provocatively and asked with a grin, "Zhao Pao Tou, we're old acquaintances, let's not make things unpleasant, could you do me a favor?"

Zhao Guoyan remained unmoved.

Upon seeing this, the members of the maintenance committee immediately cursed, "Hey Zhao, my big brother is talking to you, are you deaf?"

Zhao Guoyan glanced at Lao Dou and snorted coldly, "I'm busy today. We can talk when I visit your grave!"

"Damn it, still stubborn as a mule, are you trying to play dumb with me?" Old Dou's face changed, and he cursed on the spot, "You surnamed Zhao, why don't you open your dog eyes and take a good look at the current situation? If this were before, would I still be able to walk around on the street? Times have changed, think more positively!"

"No matter what kind of world it is, any real man would not become a dog for the Japanese devils!"

"Yes, yes, I'm no match for you. You're so high and mighty!" Old Dou was too lazy to waste any more words and immediately raised his hand to greet him, "What good is being high and mighty! I'm going to investigate your Jiang family's main branch today, and I'd like to see who dares to stop me!"

"you dare!"

Zhao Guoyan immediately stepped forward, grabbed Lao Dou by the collar, and pushed him down the stone steps at the door.

Having said that, the two sides immediately faced each other head-on.

The members of the puppet regime swarmed forward, emboldened by the Japanese soldiers, baring their teeth and brandishing their claws, attempting to force their way into the building; the Jiang family members, holding their batons and pickaxe handles, lined up in a row, pushing and shoving to block the puppet regime's offensive, while several people inside drew their guns, loaded them, and concealed the barrels in their sleeves, waiting for Zhao Guoyan to give the order to fire.

However, in broad daylight, under the clear sky, not only did the Jiang family members dare not engage in a rash fight, but even the few Japanese police officers were reluctant to fire their guns due to concerns about international public opinion.

Therefore, the two sides mostly resorted to fists and sticks, and despite the constant conflicts, they always maintained a certain degree of restraint.

But as the argument escalated, a crowd of onlookers gradually gathered on the street in the distance.

Just then, a group of elderly Chinese men suddenly emerged from the street.

"Get out of the way! Let me see what's going on!"

Upon receiving the report, Second Master Jiang rushed over with his men. Seeing that it was the puppet regime conducting a search, he couldn't help but grimace, feeling nauseous as if he'd swallowed a fly. He didn't want to get involved, but orders came from above: the area from Xiaoxiguan to the inner city couldn't be allowed to be overstepped, and any issues needed to be addressed with reason and argument.

In other words, it's about vying for law enforcement power while avoiding provoking conflict between the two sides to prevent the situation from escalating—wanting the horse to run but not feeding it.

Who wouldn't be confused if they encountered such a hot potato?
Having no other option, Second Master Jiang stepped forward to stop the dispute, gathering around and asking, "Hey guys, what's all this commotion in broad daylight? Can't you talk things out?"

Old Dou curled his lip, cupped his hands and said, "Second Master, don't say I'm not giving you face. Our Security Maintenance Committee is here to share the burden of the government and assist the Japanese in maintaining order in the provincial capital. Now the Japanese are demanding a search of the militia to ensure the safety of the people, but the Jiang family refuses to cooperate. Tell me the truth, whose fault is it?"

Master Jiang said with a forced smile, "Well, if you want me to say something fair... do you have a search warrant?"

"A search warrant?" Old Dou's eyes widened, as if he had been offended. "Second Master, I must remind you, this is the Japanese's doing!"

"Yes, yes, I know, but our yamen has instructed that the Japanese police force is only responsible for daily patrols. As for law enforcement and search powers, they still need to be approved by the yamen."

You've got it wrong, haven't you?

“Absolutely right!” Second Master Jiang hurriedly said, “The yamen just held a big meeting a couple of days ago. This was specially instructed by Director Chen. Why don’t you… go and ask the Japanese again?”

Old Dou had no choice but to approach the Japanese policeman with some doubt, and after a long time of talking and gesturing, he finally managed to convey Master Jiang's meaning.

Unexpectedly, upon hearing this, Yamazaki Yuta immediately led his men to stand before Master Jiang, giving him a cold and stern look.

"Hello, hello, can you understand Chinese?" Master Jiang hurriedly said, "I think there's definitely some misunderstanding between our leaders. Why don't you go back and ask for instructions first—"

"Bagaya road!"

While Master Jiang was still trying to reason with him, a sharp "slap" was heard, and Yamazaki Yuta's hand had already struck him.

This slap not only struck Master Jiang's face, but also the face of the entire Fengtian Government.

Everyone was stunned. No one had expected that Xiao Dongyang's attitude would be so concrete and direct.

"Step aside!"

Yuta Yamazaki squeezed out two Chinese characters through his teeth.

Master Jiang was a seasoned street hustler, and he was wearing a uniform. When he was suddenly slapped, he lost face on the spot and instinctively wanted to retaliate, but was quickly stopped by his attendant, Old Chai.

"Captain, don't be impulsive! If you're impulsive, everything will be ruined!"

"Yeah, if we take action now, the higher-ups won't speak up for us. We might just get ourselves into trouble, get scolded when we get back, and even get a demerit. That would be a huge loss!"

"When faced with difficulties, one must step back. Even if we want to be stubborn, it's not our place to be stubborn!"

Guo Jun's rebellion against Fengtian and Lao Zhang's appeal to Japan triggered a series of chain reactions that forced both officials and civilians in Fengtian to swallow their anger.

The gains and losses of one person affect the honor and disgrace of all people.

Upon hearing this, Second Master Jiang hesitated for a moment, then quickly approached Zhao Guoyan and said, "Uncle Zhao, there's nothing illegal in this building anyway, so... why don't you let them go in and take a look?"

Zhao Guoyan frowned and said, "Second Master, you may have lost face, but at least you still have this uniform to hold you up. We who work online are all about saving face. Old Dou can still be running around on the street, and the boss has already been tolerant enough. What more do you want?"

"Then I can't help you."

"It's better to rely on yourself than to ask others! Please, Second Master, make yourself at home!"

Jiang Erye was helpless. Looking back at the crowd of onlookers in the distance, all he could see were eyes filled with utter disappointment. He felt ashamed but powerless to do anything about it. So he gritted his teeth, raised his hand, and called out, "Brothers, let's retreat!"

The old men, carrying their rifles, pretended nothing had happened and walked away along the path, looking disheveled.

Perhaps feeling a little guilty, he couldn't help but curse a couple more times as he passed by the people, shouting loudly, "What are you looking at? If you keep looking, you're all going back to the yamen!"

Among the crowd were several elderly men who shook their heads helplessly and muttered to themselves, "They always chicken out when they see foreigners. They've never changed over the years."

Looking at the insurance company headquarters building again, Yamazaki Yuta had already stepped onto the steps and was standing in front of Zhao Guoyan, coldly ordering, "Get out of the way!"

Zhao Guoyan remained unfazed, shook his head, and said, "Impossible!"

Yamazaki Yuta immediately drew his sidearm, pointed it at Zhao Guoyan's head, and ordered again, "Get out of the way!"

"Can't you understand what I'm saying—it's impossible!"

Yamazaki Yuta frowned in response, puzzled as to why the other party showed no fear. Looking down, he saw Zhao Guoyan's right hand hanging at his waist, the black muzzle of a gun protruding from his sleeve, slightly upturned, aimed directly at his chest.

Upon seeing this, Lao Dou was shocked and drew his own pistol, saying, "You surnamed Zhao, are you fucking crazy? These are detectives from the Japanese Police Department. If you dare to fire, even the Heavenly King himself can't protect your Jiang family!"

He wasn't worried about Yamazaki Yuta; he knew in his heart that if the Jiang family dared to shoot Japanese soldiers in the street, they would kill him too.

Seeing this situation, even the Jiang family's "Zaibang" brothers couldn't help but feel a little apprehensive. They weighed the pros and cons in their minds and couldn't help but wonder if it had really come to this.

The onlookers in the distance were on tenterhooks, their hearts pounding with worry for Zhao Guoyan.

"Interesting!" Yamazaki Yuta muttered with a laugh in Japanese. "It seems my senior was right; a war between our two nations is inevitable!"

Before he could finish speaking, a loud shout suddenly came from the outer edge of the crowd!
"Fuck you, where is that old man surnamed Dou?"

The crowd looked up in the direction of the sound and saw a cloud of dust rising in the distance. The onlookers scattered and dodged a road as a group of twenty or thirty people rushed towards them with a "whoosh".

Upon closer inspection, it was indeed Lai Zi dragging a pickaxe handle, leading the Kao Shan gang to rush to the rescue.

The group of guys were arrogant and haughty, pushing and shoving through the crowd as they strode over.

Lai Zi wanted to unleash all the arrogance he had ever displayed in his life, cursing as he walked: "Old Dou, you son of a bitch, do you still recognize your Uncle Lai? I haven't dealt with you these past few days, and you're itching for a beating again, aren't you? Get over here and kowtow to me right now, or it won't be so simple once we brothers take action ourselves!"

Although he was cursing smugly, his eyesight was probably not very good. Only when he got closer did he realize that there were actually several Japanese police officers on the scene. He immediately stopped and his heart tightened. He thought to himself: Damn it, how come there are Japanese here?

The group he brought were not the brothers who had fought with Lao Dou in the commercial district that night, but the Kao Shan Gang who guarded the grain and oil shop for Nanfeng.

Lai Zi paused, seeing that Zhao Guoyan was being pointed at by Japanese soldiers with guns, he felt a little scared. However, under the watchful eyes of everyone, he couldn't bring himself to do it, so he forced himself to remain calm and shouted, "Old Dou, I'm in charge of this place. I'll count to three... Either you come over here and kowtow to me, or you fucking get the hell out of here!"

Seeing this, Lao Dou whispered a few words in Yamazaki Yuta's ear.

Yuta Yamazaki frowned slightly, turned to look at Lai Zi, suddenly snorted coldly, and waved his hand, saying, "Withdraw!"

At a command, the Japanese police officers stepped down from the steps and marched in formation toward the west of the city.

With their master gone, the servants naturally dared not linger. Old Dou and the others also hurriedly retreated, glancing at Lai Zi and the others, then at Zhao Guoyan, and said with a hint of resentment, "Zhao, you've got a stroke of luck today. You wait and see, this isn't over. We'll see!"

After saying that, he quickly turned and left.

Zhao Guoyan was dumbfounded. He watched as Lao Dou followed Yamazaki Yuta away, trotting away. He couldn't understand it at all—was that all?
Not only was he dumbfounded, but the other "helpers" and even Lai Zi himself felt somewhat bewildered.

A moment of silence fell over the scene.

Suddenly, someone in the crowd shouted, "Well done! A true hero! You've finally given us men some pride!"

Immediately afterwards, applause erupted from all around, gradually turning into cheers.

Men, women, and children all exclaimed in unison, "What a hero! He managed to scare the Japanese devils away! That's a true hero!"

(End of this chapter)