Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 153, Section 152: Chief Wang's Assassination Experience, Fang Wen's Combat Vehicle Deployment
"Open a casino? General Manager, don't you think my line of work is shameful?" Zhao Jiu asked in surprise.

Although he was involved in organized crime, he was self-aware and didn't care what others thought of him.

But he never expected that the owner of Taishan Airlines would suggest opening a casino.

In response to his question, Fang Wen replied, "It depends on the person. Some casinos can ruin families, forcing people to sell their wives and children to pay off debts, while others have rules and boundaries. I think you are someone with rules and conscience."

Hearing Fang Wen say this, Zhao Jiu couldn't help but feel proud. He had done it, regardless of what others thought, but General Manager Fang's praise was an exception.

"That's right. My father was a gambling addict. He lost the family fortune and then disappeared. I don't even know if he jumped into the Huangpu River. The day I opened the Fugui Gambling House, I set a rule for myself: earn the money I should earn, and never go to extremes."

“Yes, if you don’t do it, someone else will, so I might as well let you do it.” Fang Wen replied with a tongue twister, then said seriously, “I’m planning to open a large casino in the United States. I need someone to be stationed there to oversee the daily operations. The location is in Nevada, where gambling was legalized two years ago, and they built a casino city in the desert specifically for gambling, entertainment, and leisure.”

"There are cities specifically for gambling?" Zhao Jiu was incredibly surprised. He suddenly realized that this was exactly the place he wanted to go to.

But Zhao Jiu also knew his own limitations.

He opened the Fugui Gambling House in the Zhabei area of ​​Shanghai. Besides his own capital, he mainly relied on his Green Gang identity to find big shots to handle various issues and to bribe various parties to make it as successful as it is now.

I went to America with nothing and couldn't speak the language. How could I make a living there?

He explained his concerns one by one.

As Fang Wen drove slowly, he explained, “In the United States, I’m going to open a casino company. I’ll recruit a group of Chinese people who understand English to help you, as well as American employees. You’ll mainly manage the casino’s internal operations. As for marketing, logistics, other entertainment industries, and hotel management, we’ll recruit and hire people from the community.”

Fang Wen was explaining the business ecosystem in the United States, where corporate management has penetrated every aspect of life, which is different from the interpersonal relationships in China.

As long as the system and management are sound, a company's operation will generally not have any problems.

With these safeguards in place, coupled with Fang Wen's vision for the future, it's a project with a high probability of making money.

Of course, Fang Wen wouldn't tell Zhao Jiu any of this.

He just wanted another trustworthy person to help him keep an eye on his business, so that if any problems were discovered, they could be resolved in a timely manner.

The car continued to move slowly along the road, and Zhao Jiu was caught in a dilemma.

On one hand, there was the relatively comfortable environment, the casino that was already showing some promise, the daily flattery from his underlings, and the women he frequently changed.

On one hand, there was the new opportunity brought by the chosen one he recognized: to participate in the establishment of a casino empire in a new desert city.

The two are contrasting: one represents the present, and the other the future.

Choosing now is unlikely to change.

Zhao Jiu dared not have the slightest thought about the positions of Huang and Du, the two big bosses of the Green Gang.

If we choose the future, perhaps we can create our own future.

He is a risk-taker and a bettor.

"General Manager, I'll go with you."

"That's good. There's one more thing I need to do when I come to the city. Could you take me around the city and let me know that I have something I want to talk to the friends who went to the Northeast with me?"

"Where should we talk?" Zhao Jiu asked.

Fang Wen handed a slip of paper to Zhao Jiu. "Tell them to come here, that's the place Chief Wang provided."

Then, guided by Zhao Jiu, the car drove to one location after another.

Each time, Zhao Jiu would park the car on the side of the road and get out to notify them.

Taking this opportunity, Fang Wen also learned about the current situation of the members of the treasure-hunting group.

They are all doing very well, owning their own residences in the luxurious city of Shanghai and enjoying a comfortable life.

Who would have thought that just a year ago, these people were struggling to make a living, facing numerous dangers?

After notifying everyone, Fang Wen drove Zhao Jiu to the location for the secret meeting.

It was a riverside warehouse, located upstream on the Huangpu River, far from the concessions and the Japanese, making it a relatively safe place.

The car was parked outside the warehouse, and Zhao Jiu got out and went inside to investigate.

Fang Wen was inside the car, using mechanical senses to explore his surroundings.

After becoming integrated with the car, the observation range doubled, and some clues were discovered as a result.

Shanghai is never short of spies, and there were two of them secretly observing this place.

Their identities are difficult to determine; they could be members of a gang, Japanese, figures from the concession, informants from the police force, or others.

At that moment, Zhao Jiu waved to the warehouse, indicating that everything was fine inside.

Fang Wen put on his hat, pulled down the brim, turned up his collar to cover his face, opened the door, got out of the car, and walked straight into the warehouse.

He entered the warehouse and saw Chief Wang with several of his men inside. He then went straight over to them.

“I saw two guys secretly watching this place from outside, one on the street corner across the street and the other in the alley on the left across the street.”

Chief Wang was very familiar with the terrain in this area, and immediately sent his men to investigate.

After a while, the two secret agents were brought back.

Facing these two, Chief Wang revealed a sinister expression and pulled out a small axe.

"Anyone who dares to probe the depths of my Axe Gang will have to abide by our rules: one little finger for each of them."

The two men's faces changed drastically. They wanted to beg for mercy, but their mouths were covered, their hands were forcibly pressed onto the table, and an axe came down.

This is the true nature of the Axe Gang; to establish themselves in Shanghai, they had to be ruthless.

The two spies, now without their little fingers, became completely obedient and confessed everything.

These two are not in cahoots.

One of them was from the Green Gang. As the largest gang in Shanghai, the Green Gang had a large number of subordinates and various businesses. This man was an informant who was specifically there to gather information.

But this time, he offended the Axe Gang, and he lost his little finger for nothing.

The other one is someone with considerable influence, a member of the Fuxing Society's Shanghai branch.

Chief Wang sneered, "The Green Gang is fine; they're the ones who broke the rules. The Fuxing Society is coming for me, so General Manager, don't worry."

Fang Wen was surprised: "Why does the Fuxing Society want to see you?"

“Two years ago, I was doing a big deal in Lushan, and it almost came to fruition,” Chief Wang replied.

Zhao Jiu, who had just calmed down Wan, the Green Gang's informant, came over to listen to what Chief Wang was saying and asked in surprise, "What big deal?"

Even without Chief Wang saying anything, the members of the Axe Gang all knew about this, and they started talking about their leader's deeds.

Two years ago, Hu Hanmin, who was under house arrest, asked someone to find Wang Bangzhu and offered 20 silver dollars to buy Chiang Kai-shek's life.

In June, Chiang Kai-shek happened to be in Lushan to escape the summer heat. When this news reached Chief Wang, he immediately began to prepare for action.

At that time, the Axe Gang split into two groups.

They waited at the airport the whole way, and then went directly to Mount Lu.

Chiang Kai-shek waited for no one at the airport, so he took a warship instead.

Wang's team hollowed out the hams, passed the guards at the foot of the mountain, disguised themselves as tourists, and went up the mountain to ambush their target. Later, when Chiang Kai-shek and his entourage were hiking up the mountain, they launched the assassination attempt.

A fierce gun battle ensued between the two sides, resulting in casualties on both sides. In the end, they had to give up because the defending troops at the foot of the mountain were about to arrive.

Zhao Jiu listened with rapt attention to the Axe Gang members' accounts. He was amazed at how powerful Chief Wang was, daring to assassinate even the top figure in the Nationalist government. Although he failed, no one could compare to him.

He talked to the Axe Gang members about the details of that time, wanting to know more.

Meanwhile, Fang Wen and Chief Wang went to the side to talk.

"The people they sent this time may be related to another assassination attempt I'm carrying out," said Chief Wang.

"Who did you assassinate this time?" Fang Wen had to admire this assassin king who had been causing trouble from the Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China.

Chief Wang glanced around and whispered, "That year, we returned from Lushan, blaming ourselves for the failed assassination attempt. Then someone from the south approached us with a new job. Sun Ke sent Ma Chaojun to Shanghai to find me to assassinate Song Zhiwen in order to stop the new fiscal policy. I arranged for a group of people to wait at the Shanghai Railway Station, but two identical targets came out. We failed again, and his secretary, Tang Yulu, took his place. But nobody knew I was involved, so it was dropped."

After a pause, Chief Wang continued, "Later, Dai Li sent people from the Fuxing Society's action group to investigate, and they found two informants we had bribed. This time, the Fuxing Society has probably traced it back to me."

It turned out to be the case.

Fang Wen recalled the ending of Chief Wang; it seemed he had died a very tragic death.

It seems that he was about to be assassinated by the Military Intelligence Bureau before the outbreak of the War of Resistance against Japan.

He subtly reminded him, "Chief Wang, you should be careful. Why don't you go to America with Zhao Jiu?"

Chief Wang refused without hesitation. "No, my life belongs to China. As long as I'm alive, those people will at least fear assassination attempts and dare not act recklessly."

Fang Wen was deeply moved. Regardless of whether the assassination was good or bad, this display of national righteousness was the backbone of China.

Without his assassination attempt, without the articles daring to denounce him in the newspapers, without the patriotic students marching and preaching in the streets, and without the Communists fighting for the interests of workers and peasants, the world would have long been in utter chaos.

It was precisely because of their existence that the Tanggu Truce left a last shred of dignity, refusing to mention the relinquishment of sovereignty over Northeast China.

The two spies were taken away.

The Axe Gang members were guarding outside.

One after another, the members of the treasure-hunting group arrived at the warehouse.

The orientation is straightforward.

"Something unexpected happened. We need to make a decision on the matters we discussed today as soon as possible, so I won't beat around the bush. The purpose of this visit is to discuss the establishment of a pension investment fund."

Pension investment funds were something the members of the treasure-hunting gang had never even heard of.

Fang Wen explained directly without waiting for their questions.

“I’m planning a trip to the United States, where a casino city is under construction. I’d like to use Taishan Airlines’ funds to invest in building one. I’d also like to ask if you would be willing to participate. If you are, you can invest half of your retirement savings in a retirement investment fund. The investment dividends you earn will increase your assets, extend your retirement years, and benefit your families.”

People still didn't quite understand that although Western business theories were already popular in China, the corporate annuity model was still a completely foreign concept in China in 1933.

Fang Wen must explain using a descriptive method that is easier for them to understand.

He thought for a moment and decided to just say it like that.

"The dividends will be distributed over 30 years, with the first 15 years remaining unchanged. As for the gold reserves in the following 15 years, if you are willing, you can entrust them to me to manage, so that the money can generate more money. This is better than leaving the money in a money exchange for others to borrow and earn interest."

Chief Wang was the first to understand: "You should have said so earlier. That's how it should be. I would have been completely at ease letting you do business with half of that batch of gold. What do you all think?"

The others chimed in agreement.

"Yes, the fact that Taishan Airlines has achieved this in just two years speaks volumes."

"I was just wondering if I could delegate this task to the general manager, and now it's perfect."

"I have no objection. I trust the general manager."

With everyone's approval, Fang Wen's trip was considered a success.

He said goodbye to Zhao Jiu and left.

In the car, Zhao Jiu couldn't help but ask.

“General Manager, don’t you still have some money? That money is enough to build a casino, and we don’t need to participate in the investment and profit sharing at all.”

“That money absolutely cannot be wasted.” Fang Wen rejected Zhao Jiu’s idea without hesitation.

He understood the difference very clearly.

The profits from Taishan Airlines and the two treasure hunts were his own money, which was also the main source of funds for this investment.

The treasure-hunting gang's retirement annuity serves as a supplement to their investments.

They may receive investment from the United States in the future, and even list the casino on the stock exchange.

But there was another huge sum of money that he would never use: half of the gold in the Northeast Young Marshal's Mansion, a special fund for the fight against Japan.

That money cannot be touched or lost; it must be used at crucial moments.

Brushing his thoughts aside, he started the car: "I'll take you home. Get ready these next few days, and wait for my call."

The car was driving down the street when gunshots rang out from behind.

Turning around to observe, Zhao Jiu said, "It's over at the warehouse."

Fang Wen could see more clearly than Zhao Jiu through mechanical perception.

More than twenty plainclothes officers opened fire on the warehouse with submachine guns.

Isn't that the Thompson submachine gun that the American gang brought in and stole?

With ample firepower, the people inside the warehouse were suppressed and dared not even peek out to fire.

The group of plainclothes officers were about to approach the warehouse under the cover of fire.

Fang Wen turned the car around, accelerated, and shouted at the same time.

"Zhao Jiu, go to the back seat."

As Zhao Jiu climbed to the back seat, Fang Wen pulled out a lever under the seat.

Suddenly, a rotating dial popped out from the back seat.

“Turn it clockwise.”

Zhao Jiu understood the meaning of clockwise, so he gripped the rotating dial and turned it forcefully.

As he turned the car, an aircraft machine gun rose up from behind.

"No way, General Manager, you installed this in the car?" Zhao Jiu exclaimed.

This is a Vickers-McMillan aircraft machine gun, model MG 16.

It was originally a decoration on the F.220 aircraft. Because it was useless on the aircraft, Fang Wen asked it to be removed and modified to be installed in his own combat vehicle.

The MG 16 fires 7.62x63mm rounds at a rate of 600 rounds per minute, which is not considered good among aircraft machine guns.

But it would definitely be used on combat vehicles!

(End of this chapter)