On November 10, Zhou Lin returned to Mingzhu and went ashore directly at the pier.

As soon as Kobayashi came ashore, he was picked up by someone from the gendarmerie headquarters, and Yamada summoned him, eager to find out what was happening in Xuzhou.

Yamada did not summon Zhou Lin, and Zhou Lin went home directly.

Shen Xiping brought a group of people to report the situation to Zhou Lin, but was sent away by Zhou Lin.

"It's still comfortable at home!" Zhou Lin said while lying on the sofa.

"Of course! I'm not used to it outside. Xiangjun also chatted with Zhou Lin.

"I don't know if those weapons are in the hands of the Eighth Route Army?" Zhou Lin counted the time.

"It shouldn't be so fast, there are many checkpoints on the road, and transportation is very difficult."

At this time, the phone rang, and Xiangjun took the phone.

"Xiangjun! What are you doing? Come out and have fun, everyone in the theater misses you. Magnolia's voice came from inside the microphone.

"Ahh Got it, I'll come later. Xiangjun put down the phone.

Zhou Lin looked at the phone and said, "It must be Yulan who received the telegram from Yan'an. ”

Xiangjun hurriedly put on his coat and said, "Then I'll go to Yulan first." ”

Zhou Lin said: "When you just come back, you go out alone, which is easy to arouse suspicion. Let's go out together and eat at the banquet building at noon. ”

So, the two went out and got into the car and drove out of the dock.

When he arrived at the theater, Zhou Lin asked Xiangjun to go to the theater, and he drove to the banquet building to book a table.

When he arrived at the banquet building, Zhou Lin found an acquaintance.

"Kazuki-kun, when did you come to Mingzhu?" Zhou Lin shouted.

Hua Yue looked back and shouted happily, "You're back!" ”

Zhou Lin looked at Uncle Tong and asked, "What is Huayue Taijun doing here?" ”

Uncle Tong hurriedly replied: "Third Young Master, Huayue Taijun has come to book a table for the evening banquet." ”

Zhou Lin looked at Hua Yue with a smile: "Are you preparing to have a treat?" ”

Hua Yue said helplessly: "A few people from Tokyo came to handle the case, and they had to ask me to treat them, saying that I went to the United States with you to make money before, where is this?" The previous money has long since run out. ”

Zhou Lin pointed at Huayue: "It's not honest again!" You made no less than fifty thousand dollars. In more than a year, you ran out? Tricksters are pretty much the same. ”

Hua Yue explained: "After handing over my uncle and family, I have more than 10,000 dollars left in my hand, but those guys have found an excuse for three days and five days to ask me for a treat." You say, how long can it last, it's strange if it's not finished. ”

Zhou Lin thought about it and nodded: "No wonder, it's okay, if you run out, you don't need to be invited." ”

Hua Yue shook her head: "If you run out, don't be invited, that's to treat people who know you." For those who don't know, I don't know if I've run out, so I'll still ask for it. ”

Zhou Lin patted Hua Yue's shoulder with a smile and said to Uncle Tong, "Uncle Tong, Hua Yuejun's evening table is counted on my account." ”

When Hua Yue heard this, she was immediately overjoyed: "You should talk like this as soon as you enter the door." ”

"Cut! Give you a little color, and you'll open a dyeing room. ”

The two giggled and fought, and then, Kazuki left.

Zhou Lin asked Uncle Tong to get a few dishes at noon, and he had dinner with Xiangjun.

After ordering the food, Zhou Lin drove to the theater, parked the car outside the theater, and sat in the car waiting for Xiangjun to come out.

Sitting in the car, Zhou Lin smoked a cigarette, thinking about Hua Yue's conversation just now.

The people of Tokyo came to Mingzhu to handle the case, and they were the Hanazuki companions of the navy.

This information made Zhou Lin feel that there must be an important reason for it.

Zhou Lin decided to let Li Eighteen come to find out the news at night to see where they were.

Xiangjun soon came out, and in the car, Xiangjun told Zhou Lin a piece of news.

"The Eighth Route Army has already transported the nearly 6,000 guns back to the base area. The New Fourth Army had also taken out the 2,000 guns and sent them to the headquarters in northern Jiangsu. The central government called and praised our work. Xiangjun said excitedly.

"Keep up the good work!" Zhou Lin held Xiangjun's hand.

Xiangjun nodded vigorously: "Hmm! We have to keep up the good work! ”

After eating, the two returned to the docks.

However, Zhou Lin didn't know that in Tokyo, Japan, a big event had happened.

This incident should start with Japan's strategic aspect.

It turned out that in 1939, Japan drew up two operational orientations, namely "southward" and "northern" operational plans.

At first, Japan valued the abundant war resources of the Soviet Union and planned to invade the Soviet Union and occupy Siberia.

From May to September 1939, Japan launched a large-scale exploratory strategic offensive against the Soviet-Mongolian forces in the Normenhan area, 200 kilometers south of Hailar on the Sino-Mongolian border.

The two sides mobilized hundreds of thousands of elite troops and advanced military equipment to engage in a fierce confrontation that lasted for more than four months on a wasteland overgrown with weeds and rolling sand dunes.

Due to its backwardness in military thinking and tactical technology, Japan suffered its first and worst defeat since the Russo-Japanese War.

After the defeat of the "northward march", the dream of attacking the Soviet Union and occupying Siberia came to naught, so they turned around and planned to "go south" to seize greater war resources (oil) and so on, so as to annex the world's reserve and subsequent resources in the future.

Nanyang, with its British, Dutch, and American colonies, made it difficult for Japan to plan southward.

At the same time, since Japan and the United States pursue completely antagonistic East Asian policies, Japan and the United States will inevitably have a collision of interests in East Asia.

In the spring and summer of 1940, there were two high-rises in Japan.

From the first upsurge of the theory of southward expansion in the spring and summer of 1940 to 1941, the period was a year and a half.

The main reason why Japan did not dare to start a war against the United States and repeatedly canceled or postponed the scheduled time for its southward advance was that China's anti-Japanese struggle disrupted the Japanese army's aggressive deployment and forced the Japanese fascists to postpone the southward advance many times.

In 1940, Hitler planned Operation Sea Lion against Britain, requiring the Japanese army and Germany to fight against Britain at the same time.

In order to cooperate with Hitler, the Japanese army expelled all British expatriates in China and seized British interests in China.

The Japanese army's approach directly affected the interests of Britain and the United States.

In addition, Japan's expansion into Southeast Asia, which began in mid-1941, caused dissatisfaction among the major powers in the region, and in order to give the Japanese a little warning, the United States froze trade with Japan, the most important of which was high-octane oil.

Without oil, the Japanese war machine could not function, and the ship's anchor was equivalent to not being able to continue the invasion, and in order to ensure normal aggression and plunder oil, the Japanese army decided to take a risk.

According to statistics, Japan's oil can only last for half a year.

Japan understands that it will either withdraw its troops from China, stop its external expansion, and move closer to the United States diplomatically. Either they will form their own banner, go south to seize strategic resources, and continue to intensify their aggression against foreign countries.

There are colonies of the United States, Britain, and the Netherlands in the South Seas, and entering the South Seas is tantamount to declaring war on the United States, Britain and the Netherlands.

The first battle of the war should reflect the momentum of Japan's military power, and at the same time, it should be able to knock down the paper tiger of the United States at once.

As a result, the Japanese military set its sights on the Pacific Ocean.