The Red Era: Living in Seclusion in a Siheyuan as a Boss

Chapter 676 The Seniors of Shanghai!!!

Seeing that Xu Jie's defenses were beginning to crumble, Gu Shen confidently said, "As long as you explain the problem properly, we can consider your request."

To his surprise, after Xu Jie returned to the detention center, he became emotionally unstable and even tried to harm himself. Fortunately, the guards discovered and stopped him in time.

On the third evening at 7 p.m., Gu Shen arrived at the interrogation room early again.

Gu Shen held Xu Jie's injured hand and said sympathetically, "Didn't we agree on this yesterday? Why can't you understand?"

Perhaps he was moved by Gu Shen's sincere attitude.

Suddenly, Xu Jie grabbed his hand and said urgently, "Hurry! Hurry! The diamond, we have to hurry, otherwise, we won't be able to get it back!"

"Don't rush, explain things clearly first." Gu Shen's expression instantly turned serious as he reassured Xu Jie while urging him to explain the specifics of the situation.

Xu Jie first admitted that he did take the diamond. "When I received the goods that day, I heard that they were valuable items. I thought that I was going to England soon, so why not make a quick buck before I left?"

So I deliberately didn't tell Xiao Yao that it was a valuable item when I delivered it, and when the clerk wasn't paying attention, I casually threw it into my car.

That evening, I took the package out of the office, initially thinking it contained gold and silver jewelry.

When I rode my bike to the intersection of Dong'an Road and Zhongshan South Second Road, I tore it open and found it was full of glass beads.
Thinking that these things were useless, and that if they were sent back, they would definitely be caught and fired, I might as well throw them away.

So I just scattered all 13 packages along the way.

Gu Shen was shocked to hear this and mocked Xu Jie, "You're really generous, do you know? This diamond is worth more than 100 US dollars!"

"Huh?" Xu Jie was completely stunned upon hearing this.

Later, the police organized more than 100 officers to search for five days and nights, recovering a total of 1.785 carats of diamonds, worth more than 20 US dollars. The rest of the diamonds may have been buried in the soil like autumn leaves...

When Liu Yong studied under Teacher Gu, he received a lot of experience that was not found in books, which helped him avoid many detours on his path of criminal investigation.

Before becoming a professor at the Public Security University, Professor Gu had handled many major and serious cases.

He was not only an interrogation expert who was good at seizing opportunities and riding the wave of success, but he also felt sorry for the suspects, especially the young ones. Even though they had committed capital crimes, he would still leave them with the dignity they deserved.

More than a decade ago, in early winter, a female college student was found murdered in a university restroom in the Jinshan area of ​​Shanghai.

Judging from the scene, the female college student may have resisted fiercely before her death and was strangled to death.

At this time, Gu Shen had already completed the procedures to become a university professor, and Zhang Shenghua, one of the "Three Musketeers," who was promoted to captain, still invited him to come back and help.

This was the last case Gu Shen handled at the Shanghai Municipal Public Security Bureau before becoming a university professor.

Without hesitation, Teacher Gu went to the Jinshan Branch of the Public Security Bureau and listened to the case briefing.

The murdered junior female student was a good student, a well-behaved girl, and a very hardworking student.

Around 9:30 p.m. on the night of the incident, after the dormitory lights were turned off, she took her books and went to the women's restroom to read, as usual.

The detectives in charge of the case analyzed that someone followed her into the restroom and attempted to assault her. The girl fought back desperately but was strangled to death.

At the time of the crime, there were two pairs of women's shoes in the toilet, one pair was white and the other was red.

It was these two pairs of women's leather shoes that caught Gu Shen's attention.

He suggested starting with these two pairs of shoes to find out whose they were.

A local police officer provided an important clue: a man named Li Mode was a prime suspect.

This Li Mo has a fetish and has been dealt with by the police station multiple times for stealing women's leather shoes.

The investigators immediately brought Li Mo in for interrogation. Under Gu Shen's powerful psychological pressure, Li Mo confessed that he was the one who did it.

That day, Li Mo followed this female college student.
This investigation led to an important clue. Gu Shen then produced a copy of the Criminal Law.
Seeing that Li Mo was looking at it intently, Gu Shen seized the opportunity and said, "This is the Criminal Law, it's written in black and white, do you believe it?"

Li Mo nodded dejectedly.

Gu Shen reiterated: "Your head is your own responsibility to save; there's nothing anyone else can do."

Li Mo asked timidly, "How...how can I save my life?"

Gu Shen continued to persuade him: "Your only option now is to confess voluntarily and try to get leniency."

Seeing Li Mo hesitate, Gu Shen asked softly, "Is there anything else you're having trouble saying?"

Li Mo angrily recounted his ordeal. It turned out that he had been caught stealing leather shoes several times and dragged to the street, even to his mother's vegetable market stall, which made his mother lose face.

Gu Zaikun understood immediately. He then asked, "Have you ever seen the night view of Nanjing Road and the Bund in Shanghai?"

"No," Li Mo shook his head.

“Then I’ll drive you around today to see the lights of Nanjing Road and the Bund. Do you want to go?” Gu Shen said.

Upon hearing this, Li Mo's eyes widened, and he nodded repeatedly, deeply moved.

Then, Li Mo confessed to the entire crime.

After listening to Li Mo's explanation, Gu Shen understood that the boy had been negatively influenced by reading a few "erotic books," which had caused his psychology to become distorted.

Gu Shen kept his word and, on the way to take Li Mo to the city detention center, he made a special trip to Nanjing Road and the Bund.

The police car slowly drove into Nanjing Road. Li Mo pressed his head against the car window, staring blankly with wide eyes, curiously gazing at the magical world outside.

Nanjing Road was ablaze with color, neon lights flashing and reflecting, and rows of magnificent shop windows: "It's so beautiful, I'll never do anything bad again after I get out!" Li Mo muttered to himself.

…………

Teacher Gu truly deserves his reputation as one of the "Three Musketeers," a "super detective," and an "interrogation expert," having solved countless major cases throughout his life.

His extensive experience in criminal investigation and interrogation greatly benefited Liu Yong and his students.

Actually, Liu Yong was different from the teacher's other students. Due to his parents' relationship, he had met Teacher Gu a few times since he was a child.

Liu Yong remembers that when Teacher Gu Shen was young, he was handsome, dashing, and dressed fashionably.

On the day Liu Yong came to Shanghai to visit Teacher Gu, Gu was wearing a plaid shirt and occasionally wiping his nose with a plaid handkerchief. His hair was gray, but still neatly combed. He was still as refined and dashing as ever.

Teacher Gu pulled out a letter that Liu Yong had written to him more than ten years ago from a cardboard box, which made people sigh at how time flies and made Liu Yong admire his teacher's deep affection.

When Liu Yong saw Professor Gu again during his postgraduate studies at the Public Security University, he was already over 50 years old.

Back then, Mr. Gu was wearing a plaid suit, a tie, shiny leather shoes, and his black hair was neatly combed. He was a typical "old gentleman".

"Old Shanghainese" is a local Shanghai slang term used to describe white-collar workers who have returned from abroad, are worldly-wise, and possess both modern awareness and gentlemanly demeanor. It represents an element of Shanghai culture.

Liu Yong had seen a photo of Gu Shen when he was young at Teacher Gu's house; young Gu Shen was indeed handsome.

No wonder the imposing Gu Shen, sitting on the interrogation table back then, could overwhelm his opponents with his sheer presence without uttering a word.

With the passage of time and as he entered his fifties, his interrogation skills became more refined and sophisticated, as if divinely inspired.

When the master and apprentice sat together, they mostly talked about business matters.

Teacher Gu told Liu Yong that he likened "defeating the opponent" to the crucial "final shot" in a football match, which requires good teamwork.

"Just like when an author writes a novel or article, the angle from which you approach the subject is very important; if you don't take the right approach, you'll end up in a dead end."

Therefore, one must be astute enough to grasp the key points amidst the interplay of deception and reality, striking the vital points to corner the target.

Then, focus on what your opponent cares about most and uses emotional appeal to move them.

Be careful not to ignite their emotions, causing them to lose control and suffer a psychological breakdown.

"At the crucial moment, seize the opportunity to get him to make demands, and try to satisfy him as much as possible. This move is like the final kick in a goal, the easiest way to score," he instructed Liu Yong.

"First, hard work; second, ability; and third, luck."

Looking back on decades of crime-solving experience, the now elderly Gu Jian, summarizing his experience, said that solving a case requires three conditions.

Throughout Gu Shen's decades-long career solving cases, whenever a major case came up, he liked to brew a strong cup of tea and stay up all night to work on it.

The effort continued the next day; it never stopped.

It was also under Gu Shen's superb and magical interrogation skills that those stubborn suspects finally gave in and surrendered.

Those major cases that seemed impossible to crack were finally brought back to life and successfully solved, earning him the reputation of an "interrogation prodigy" among the Shanghai police, a testament to his abilities.

Indeed, "luck" can be a factor. Sometimes, even after all the work has been done, the culprit may not be caught or a piece of evidence may be missing, causing the investigation to stall.

But as the ancients said: Man proposes, God disposes.

Teacher Gu believes that hard work will always yield results, bringing us one step closer to the truth.

Liu Yong liked to consult Teacher Gu whenever he encountered a problem: "Teacher, criminal investigation techniques have advanced by leaps and bounds these days..."
Some people believe that technology can already replace interrogation in solving cases.

What is your opinion on this statement?

Teacher Gu smiled and said, "That's a good question."

Although investigative techniques are constantly improving, it remains rare in reality to find out the entire case through preliminary peripheral investigations alone.
The successful solving of any case cannot be completely separated from the participation of interrogation methods.

At the same time, interrogation methods possess timeliness, accuracy, economy, and convenience that are unmatched by any other investigative techniques, from multiple perspectives.

Therefore, our future interrogation work can only be strengthened, not weakened…

Liu Yong then asked, "So, based on your experience, what are your thoughts on our interrogation work, teacher?"

Gu Shen shook his head and said, "Everyone's understanding and grasp of interrogation is different, just like there are a thousand Hamlets in the eyes of a thousand readers."

When investigating each case, I carefully examine the scene and case files before interrogation.

Alternatively, gather information about your opponent from the outside, including their background and personality traits, and collect as much information as possible about them.

The saying goes, "The more troops Han Xin deployed, the better, so that he had a clear understanding of their strengths and weaknesses and could strike with purpose."

Liu Yong once summarized Gu Shen's interrogation experience.

Teacher Gu would seize the opportunity from the opening, strike the acupoint, and deliver a fatal blow, forcing his opponent into a corner.

Finally, explain the advantages and disadvantages, and appeal to emotions.

When the opponent wavers, they are put on the verge of death – these "killer moves" are all powerful, making it difficult for the stubborn opponent to resist, and in the end, they obediently confess the truth.

In practice, these secret techniques may be used in particular, or they may be used in combination. The specific approach should be tailored to the specific case and the characteristics and timing of the opponent. As Sun Tzu said in "The Art of War", "Military tactics are like water, which have no constant shape."

During Liu Yong's time in Shanghai accompanying his teacher and exchanging ideas with him, the teacher also took him to visit Zhang Shenghua, another legendary police officer and one of the "803" detective trio.

"Wearing a leather jacket, he was cautious and didn't talk much." This was Liu Yong's first impression of Zhang Shenghua.

According to Teacher Gu, Zhang Shenghua is usually taciturn, but when he does speak, it is always because he has a clear opinion and idea.

"No matter how tricky or clueless the scene is, as long as Zhang Shenghua is there, everyone feels that they have a backbone to help solve the case and feel at ease."

Why is Zhang Shenghua able to give people peace of mind?
This stems from Zhang Shenghua's extremely meticulous work style.

Zhang Shenghua is different from others. The key to his success in solving cases lies in starting from the scene itself, examining seemingly insignificant details such as a teacup, half a cigarette butt, or a drop of blood. He delves into the details of the scene, letting the facts speak for themselves, uncovering the logic behind major cases, and thus forming accurate and effective judgments. This is precisely the embodiment of the core ability of a brilliant detective.

Captain Zhang Shenghua also attached great importance to Liu Yong, a colleague and junior from Yanjing, and specially invited the master and apprentice to stay at his home for a simple meal.

A few people chatted while eating.

Faced with Liu Yong's sincere request for advice, Zhang Shenghua, unable to refuse, shared some of his crime-solving methods and experiences with him, hoping to provide some assistance to Liu Yong in the future.

Five years ago, a major homicide occurred in Minhang District of Shanghai, in which three women were tragically killed.

Based on the evidence left at the scene and various clues, Zhang Shenghua, the head of the Criminal Investigation Division, quickly sketched out a profile of the suspect:
The suspect's crime traces suggest that he was not very experienced;

The crime location was random, and the perpetrators were likely migrant workers with prior criminal records.
Given that the crime occurred around 2 a.m., the suspect likely lived nearby and used locally sourced materials as tools.

Teacher Gu also told Liu Yong that the case handled by Captain Zhang was a textbook example of crime scene investigation.

Later, every young criminal police officer who came to "803" would study it.

One detail is particularly impressive: based on the detail of blood splattered on the inside of a victim's underwear, Zhang Shenghua accurately reconstructed the crime process, showing that the victim was assaulted by the suspect before the perpetrator committed the crime.

Liu Yong remembers that his teacher, Gu Shen, was also meticulous about details.

When the teacher was solving a major case of mobile murder and robbery in the Songhe area of ​​Shanghai, he found a piece of waste paper with a name and address written on it in the wastepaper basket in the duty room of the train station. It was this inconspicuous detail that became the breakthrough in solving the case, which enabled the subsequent investigation to proceed smoothly.

Liu Yong's many years of experience in criminal investigation have given him his own insights.

He felt that the discovery of this detail, which seemed like a lucky accident, was actually the result of countless hours of meticulous work that was "extremely tedious, tasteless, and even painful."

In the early 1980s, a major theft occurred at the Sijing branch of the Songhe County branch of the Agricultural Bank of China in Shanghai.

During the on-site investigation, the only trace left was the footprint of a damaged leather shoe with water stains.

Based on the on-site investigation, Zhang Shenghua, who was the deputy captain of the Criminal Investigation Team at the time, determined that the case was an "outsider theft" and that the suspect was a local and a habitual offender.

Over the course of eight months, Zhang Shenghua led his team to investigate and conduct thorough investigations, using the key clue of shoe prints as a guide.

They investigated more than 200 local suspects, but all of them were ruled out, and the case investigation was once at a standstill.

Undeterred, the task force promptly adjusted its approach, attempting to link together previous nighttime burglaries in Sijing Town that shared similar characteristics. Ultimately, through the examination and comparison of thousands of pieces of trace evidence, they successfully found a breakthrough and identified the suspect.

Liu Yong is a criminal police officer, and he has a deep understanding of this "extremely tedious, tasteless, and even painful" process.

Extracting even a tiny bit of relevant possibility from a massive amount of fragmented clues requires unimaginable meticulous effort.

When solving cold cases, investigators need to go deep into the local area and become one with the villagers.

Through meticulous visits and effective communication, rumors were transformed into concrete clues, thus advancing the case investigation.

This process may last one or two months, or it may take up to a year.

An investigator might be talking to villagers in the countryside today, and tomorrow he might be consulting county records from the Republican era in the archives.

Searching for evidence related to the case amidst the densely packed traditional Chinese characters.

Zhang Shenghua continued talking about the case. When they were investigating a case that seemed to have clear clues, they had already identified a certain family in a certain place, but they couldn't break through there for a long time.

Zhang Shenghua, who had been lingering in the village for quite some time, was at a loss.

Just then, an elderly man with white hair walked towards them. Zhang Shenghua, on a whim, asked the question that he seemed to have repeated tens of thousands of times over the past few months, "Do you know so-and-so?"

Unexpectedly, the old man replied, "Yes, I know him!" In that instant, the case took a turn for the better.

Those seemingly legendary moments of crime-solving, those seemingly ordinary details, and those seemingly gifted criminal investigators all contain the accumulation and refinement of tens of thousands of meticulous experiences, ultimately becoming a valuable asset for future generations to learn from and pass on.

Teacher Gu once told Liu Yong a quote from their team leader, Duanmu: "When doing something difficult or handling a tricky case, even if you put in eight-tenths of your effort, you may still come up empty-handed."

With every ounce of effort, a miracle might be created.

"Make every effort, however small, for even the slightest possibility..."

(End of this chapter)