20 years of the Republic of China

Chapter 865 Substitute
As night fell, the Jiang family split into two groups and headed straight for the Japanese concession.

They traveled all the way to the north of the city, completely concealing their tracks and sneaking into Naniwa-dori Sunrise Plaza. As for the outcome, we'll leave that aside for now.

Meanwhile, the procession along the southern route was truly impressive.

The brothers set off from the outer residence of the Jiang family, and their numbers grew larger and larger. When they first set out, there were only about 120 people, but when they reached Xiaoxiguan, they had unknowingly gathered two or three hundred people. When they arrived at the commercial area, including the onlookers around, they felt like there was a huge sea of ​​people, and it was impossible to tell which ones were the thugs sent by the Jiang family.

The crowd swept through the streets and alleys, their shouts of battle deafening, eager to stir up a storm throughout the city and make the whole place aware of the situation.

Especially those sycophants, who have finally seized the opportunity to pretend to be heroes, all seem to have gained weight, with their arms crossed and looking down on everyone. Even if they encounter a dog on the roadside, they have to go over and kick it a couple of times. They feel uncomfortable if they don't show off their power.

In fact, many people have no connection with the Jiang family. They just know some "gang" members around them and have the audacity to claim that they are members of the Jiang family.

Moreover, those who were the most treacherous and indifferent when the Jiang family suffered misfortune are now scrambling to prove themselves.

With such a display of force, not only did Tang Wenbiao and his group feel inferior, but even Zhao Guoyan and his group seemed less enthusiastic.

The mob, arriving uninvited, would frequently approach him with grins, saying, "Brother Yan, don't worry! Tonight you don't need to watch anyone else, just watch me!"

Zhao Guoyan frowned, turned his head and asked, "Who the hell are you?"

The man laughed and said, "Brother Yan, you really have a bad memory! As for me, I'm so-and-so from so-and-so's family. If you don't believe me, just ask so-and-so. We're buddies!"

Zhao Guoyan snorted coldly, but asked, "Since we're brothers, why didn't I see you come the night of the chaos in the pass?"

The man's eyes widened, and he immediately exclaimed, "Nobody came looking for me! What a pity, if I had known earlier, I would have definitely come and lend a hand!"

"Is that so? Then you'd better do your best later!"

"Absolutely! That Qin Huaimeng, the servant boy, dares to challenge the master. No one can agree to it, not me. We'll take care of him tonight!"

After expressing his loyalty, the man didn't leave. He suddenly blew his nose, then came closer and said with a smile, "Brother Yan, it's too cold. How about giving me a couple of cigarettes?"

Zhao Guoyan doesn't smoke at all, so he naturally had no interest in paying attention to him.

Li Zhengxi pulled out a cigarette case from his pocket, slapped it into the man's hand, and impatiently tossed his head, saying, "Take it, I'll just consider it buying some peace and quiet. Go stand over there!"

"Thank you, Third Master! Thank you, Third Master!"

The man took the cigarette, immediately stepped aside, and secretly glanced down. Seeing it was Hademen, he happily lit one, took a couple of puffs, and said leisurely, "Well, tonight wasn't a wasted trip. I guess I've been served by the British Empire."

After saying that, he shouted at the onlookers on the roadside, "Get out of the way! Get out of the way! I'm talking to you, you old bastard, are you blind? Go home right now, or you'll get hurt!"

Someone asked curiously, "What are you doing here?"

"Where are we going?" A few thugs sneered. "Hmph, you'll be scared to death if I tell you. We're going to fight the Japanese!"

The Jiang family members proceeded slowly along the commercial street, heading straight for No. 207 Ping An Tong, a branch of the South Railway.

Such a large-scale operation quickly caused a disturbance in the west of the city.

As the leader of the gang, Jiang Lianheng naturally wouldn't personally participate in the fighting; instead, he had already returned to his mansion in the north of the city.

I had just arrived home when I received a call from the Fengtian Police Department.

Director Chen was furious on the phone, skipping all pleasantries and asking directly, "Jiang Lianheng, are the people in the west of the city your men?"

Jiang Lianheng said slowly, "Yes."

"What are you trying to do?" Director Chen asked nervously. "Why didn't you notify the authorities beforehand? Didn't we have an agreement?"

"Director Chen, I really wanted to inform you in advance, but I was afraid the news would leak out of the government office."

"What?" Director Chen was taken aback. "Jiang Lianheng, you've even started suspecting the government?"

“This isn’t a doubt, it’s a fact!” Jiang Lianheng asked. “Director Chen, you should know better than me how well the Japanese have infiltrated the Fengtian Government.”

"You can't do that! In the middle of the night, hundreds of people went out on the streets at the same time, and I didn't even get a word in. How am I supposed to save face?"

"Sigh, I didn't intend to invite so many people, but they insisted on coming. What could I do?"

"Stop talking nonsense. I just want to know what you're up to."

"Don't worry, it's nothing serious. I just sent them over for a stroll."

"No, it's already this late, why won't you tell me the truth?" Director Chen was clearly unwilling to believe him.

Jiang Lianheng replied, "Really! Director Chen, I can assure you, there will be no trouble in Fengtian City tonight!"

Upon hearing this, Director Chen finally breathed a sigh of relief, but then he realized the unspoken meaning and hurriedly asked, "Are you going to cause trouble in the foreign concession?"

"Well... Director Chen, the concessions are in such a mess, surely it's not something that would embarrass you?"

"That's not my fault. I just want to remind you that although the Japanese are more restrained now, there are limits. If your men act recklessly and cause too much trouble, they won't tolerate it. If the Japanese pressure the provincial government, you'll probably have to hand over a few people to settle things."

"Don't worry, I won't make things difficult for you. Just tell me how many people you want to arrest. And—" Jiang Lianheng paused, looked up at the wall clock, and estimated that it was about time before saying, "Zhao Guoyan and his men won't make a move tonight."

"So many people and they're not taking any action?" Director Chen clearly didn't believe it. "You really intend to let them wander around the streets?"

Jiang Lianheng smiled and said, "So many people are eager to do things for me, why should I trouble my own brothers?"

Director Chen wasn't sure what he was planning. After a moment of contemplation, he finally said, "In short, you should think it over carefully. If anything else comes up, come and talk to me."

"Alright, Director Chen, please calm down. I'll come over to wish you a Happy New Year another day!"

"...Call me if you need anything, bye!"

After hanging up the phone, Jiang Lianheng silently stood up, put his hands behind his back, and stood by the window, patiently waiting for news of their victories from both sides...

…………

Nantong Railway Zone, Ping'an District.

Zhao Guoyan and Li Zhengxi finally arrived with their men.

Strangely, the brothers encountered no obstacles along the way. Only when they entered the concession did they accidentally run into two old Japanese men on night patrol. Relying on their numbers, they ignored them and pushed their way into Ping An Tong Street.

The two Japanese police officers were also bewildered, as if the Boxers had reappeared. They were so frightened that they hurriedly returned to the Japanese police station to seek reinforcements. The others didn't care. Looking up, they saw the small villa at No. 207 Ping An Road not far away, with a warm light shining from the second-floor window.

"Qin Huaimeng is right there. It's time to avenge our master! Brothers, draw your weapons and follow me! Let's show them what happens when you offend the Jiang family!"

The person who uttered these words was neither Zhao Guoyan nor Li Zhengxi, nor was it in line with Hai Xinnian's character.

In fact, even the three of them didn't know who had shouted those words. In any case, at a single command, the brothers charged forward in droves.

Judging from their impatient manner, it seems that their real intention is not to avenge the Jiang family, but to take advantage of the chaos.

Tang Wenbiao and his group originally wanted to take the lead and make a name for themselves, but when they arrived at the destination, they were too late. They had all been online before, and seeing that the villa at No. 207 was quiet and still, they became suspicious and dared not go forward rashly.

The other rabble ignored all that, shoved Tang Wenbiao aside, and without even a single weapon in their hands, relying on their collective courage and strength, they charged towards the gate of the villa at No. 207, carrying broadswords and cudgels.

Tang Wenbiao and the others did not dare to slack off and hurriedly followed behind, hoping to be the first to achieve the best.

After all, Jiang Lianheng had promised that whoever could remove Qin Huaimeng's gourd would be rewarded with a thousand silver dollars.

The Jiang family had already regained its momentum, and with such a generous reward, there was no shortage of reckless individuals eager to rush into the mansion and make a name for themselves.

Zhao Guoyan and Li Zhengxi immediately stopped the brothers inside the door and stood silently across the street, coldly watching the rabble rush into house number 207.

At this time, the Qin family's fortunes collapsed and their followers scattered. The brothers who had been guarding the mansion had already disappeared by noon.

The crowd rushed into the courtyard without any hindrance. They quickly smashed the glass windows with sticks, climbed inside, and found the house dark and unguarded.

Soon, several brothers found the light switch, and the room was instantly brightened.

Everyone hurriedly looked around, their eyes filled with greed. They didn't care what was on the table, the wall, or the shelf. As long as it was easy to grab, they would take it all into their arms. The scene was just like when the Jiang family mansion was massacred.

"boom!"

As more and more people entered the mansion, the brothers who broke in later saw that the goods were almost all looted, so they ran to the corridor and kicked open the doors one by one, searching for Qin Huaimeng's whereabouts while searching for valuables everywhere.

"Damn it, where's that bastard Qin Huaimeng?"

"Come on, let's go upstairs to the second floor and take a look!"

As they were speaking, more than a dozen brothers rushed up the stairs.

The house wasn't very big to begin with, and the stairs were quite short, but everyone was so crowded and disorganized that it took them almost half a day to climb them.

The crowd was arguing and making a scene of utter chaos.

Tang Wenbiao and his brothers arrived later, and seeing the mess inside, they were also at a loss.

Si Mao was anxious to find something valuable. Seeing that the first floor had been looted, he stamped his feet in frustration. He looked up at the roof and was about to call his brothers upstairs when he suddenly felt that something was strange about the house. He couldn't help but ask, "Second Brother, this little villa isn't all that great. Look at the roof, why are there so many electrical wires?"

Tang Wenbiao was taken aback by the question and subconsciously looked up. He saw that there were indeed several wires on the ceiling, embedded in the floor below. There weren't many, but they were all firmly stuck with tape and extended down the stairs to the second floor.

A thought flashed through my mind, and I immediately sensed a dangerous signal.

"We're doomed, let's get out of here!"

"Go?" Simao seemed very reluctant and quickly argued, "Second Brother, a thief can't leave empty-handed. We have to take at least two things, otherwise how can we show our loyalty to the Jiang family?"

"I told you to leave quickly!"

Tang Wenbiao had no time to explain, nor did he have time to remind others; he only focused on telling his brothers to evacuate the mansion.

Unexpectedly, when they tried to get out, the people outside were vying to get in, and the two sides clashed head-on, unable to gain the upper hand for a time.

On the other side, the dozen or so brothers on the stairs struggled for a while and finally managed to squeeze into the second-floor corridor.

Everyone was busy searching for Qin Huaimeng, but one of them pricked up his ears, listened carefully for a moment, and hurriedly shouted, "Stop looking! Stop looking! Qin Huaimeng is here!"

Everyone fell silent for a moment, and they could vaguely hear a faint sound coming from the guest room at the end of the corridor.

"Cough cough...cough cough..."

"Fuck him, Qin Huaimeng is mine, nobody can take him from me!"

In the chaos, one of the brothers suddenly pulled out a unicorn gun from his pocket and, relying on the gun, immediately rushed towards the door.

Seeing this, the others naturally followed suit.

As he approached, he suddenly kicked open the door with a bang, only to see a figure sitting vaguely in front of the desk. Although the figure was facing away from the door, the clothes and the shape were exactly like Qin Huaimeng.

"Qin Huaimeng! Your time has come!"

The brother lifted the one-horned bull and rushed straight into the house.

Just as he was about to pull the trigger, he saw the man at the table suddenly turn around, his face ashen and lifeless, coughing incessantly while covering his mouth.

Although Qin Huaimeng's reputation was far less renowned than Jiang Lianheng's, he was at least a well-known wealthy man in Fengtian, and many people had seen his face.

But at this moment, everyone was stunned – this person was not Qin Huaimeng at all, but Qin Huaimeng's double, Xiang Baotian.

Perhaps because he was already terminally ill, Xiang Baotian stayed at No. 207 Ping'an Tong the whole time, waiting quietly for the Jiang family thugs to come and kill him. Now that his wish had been fulfilled, he couldn't help but grin at the people outside the door and said, "Brothers... cough cough cough... you guys came to keep me company?"

"what do you mean?"

The man with the gun didn't react for a moment, but he also sensed something was off, so he couldn't help but ask, "Who the hell are you?"

Xiang Baotian didn't answer, but slowly said, "Anyway, I'm going to die soon...cough cough cough...I'll just wait here...waiting for you all to keep me company!"

The crowd gradually realized what was happening. They turned their heads and were shocked to see a detonating device on the table. Their pupils contracted, and they shouted urgently, "Binzi, kill him! Kill him now!"

"boom!"

The brother with the gun immediately pulled the trigger, but unfortunately the unicorn was a homemade pistol that could not fire in bursts, so he had to reload after each shot.

Xiang Baotian, having been shot, dared not delay any longer. He lunged onto the table and immediately pressed the detonator with his right hand, plunging the entire mansion into flames...

(End of this chapter)