Lushan Guling, beautiful Lu.

It is a typical European garden-style building, and it was a wedding gift given to Chiang Kai-shek and Soong Meiling by an English lady named Barry. The villa is a two-story building, with a pointed arcade, a rumbling Donggu River in front of the door, a huge ancient pine that has stood for thousands of years around the wall, and the whole house is made of random stones.

Chiang Kai-shek arrived at Lushan last night, rested for a night, held talks with Zhou Enlai, the representative of the Chinese Communists, and listened to the demands of the Chinese Communists on the reorganization of the army, but did not express his position on this.

After dinner, Chiang Kai-shek came to the study and began to deal with the backlog of a day's official business, when Chen Bui, who looked hurried, sent an urgent telegram, Chiang Kai-shek was expressionless after reading it, but his trembling body and white knuckles showed very clearly how bad his mood was at this time.

"What is going to happen like this?" Chiang Kai-shek asked calmly.

Wang Shihe, who was standing aside to help sort out the documents, was shocked, and he knew that every time Chiang Kai-shek spoke in such an eerie tone, he was actually furious deep down, and what would follow would be a storm

Chen Bui patiently explained: "According to Dai Yunong's report, it was originally just the Qing Gang searching for the real culprit, but who knew that the Japanese suddenly ran out to stop it, and the two sides clashed fiercely, and then fought fiercely, which intensified, and the riots gradually swept the entire eastern and northern districts of the public concession. ”

Zhang Xiaolin rushed to stop the news, but was assassinated with a cold gun, which led to a larger clash that killed more than a dozen Japanese marines. By the time Du Yuesheng arrived, the situation was out of control, and Du Yuesheng was afraid that there would be more Japanese casualties, so he had to take Zhang Xiaolin's body and the Green Gang to completely abandon the eastern and northern districts of the concession and withdraw to the west bank of Suzhou Creek."

Chiang Kai-shek took a deep breath and asked sharply: "I heard that the Party Affairs Investigation Office is also involved?" ”

Chen Bui nodded: "Zhang Xiaolin has some relationship with the old lady of the Xu family, and this time he encountered an unprecedented predicament, I think it was he who took the initiative to put down his body, and came to visit the old man Originally, Xu Kejun (Xu Enzengzi) and Dai Yunong planned to pretend to investigate, and then find a few random ghosts to fool the Japanese, and end the matter as soon as possible." Things changed so quickly that all the previous set-ups were in vain."

"So, is there a mastermind behind the scenes, or are there two of them?" Chiang Kai-shek continued to ask with a straight face.

"This"

At this time, even Chen Bui, who is known as the "leader of courage", didn't know how to answer for a while.

Chiang Kai-shek closed his eyes and thought for a while, then opened them suddenly, slapped the telegram in his hand on the desktop in front of him with a "snap", stood up and ordered Wang Shihe: "Prepare yourself, we will leave for Shanghai immediately." ”

Hearing Chiang Kai-shek's words, Chen Bui was stunned, and hurriedly stepped forward to take Chiang Kai-shek's hand, and bitterly advised: "Now that the situation in Shanghai is unclear, the Japanese marines have set up a card to block the streets connecting the eastern and northern districts of the public concession with the Chinese boundary, and war is about to break out...... If the chairman of the committee goes there in person, I am afraid that something will happen."

Seeing this, Wang Shihe also hurriedly stepped forward to stop him, and Chiang Kai-shek pushed the two away and scolded: "Niang Xipi, if I don't go, maybe Shanghai will become China's Sarajevo"

"Headmaster, Director Dai is already waiting outside the door, is there a rumor to meet?" Tang Zong, a young waiter who had just returned from studying in Germany and a student of the sixth phase of Whampoa, walked in.

Hearing that Dai Li, the head of the secret service department, had arrived, the anger in Chiang Kai-shek's heart finally calmed down, sat back down, and beckoned: "Let Yunong come in." ”

"If the student is not doing well, please punish the principal."

Dai Li, who flew from Nanjing to Lushan overnight, took the initiative to admit his mistake as soon as he entered the door.

Chiang Kai-shek saw that Dai Li's posture was very low, calmed down a little, and waved his hand: "Yunong, you don't have to blame yourself too much, even I didn't expect this matter to evolve to this point...... Now is not the time to blame, but to think about how we can put this turmoil to rest. ”

Dai Li's waist curled slightly, and he said respectfully: "The students think that it is not appropriate for important members of the national government, especially the principal, to come forward now. ”

Chiang Kai-shek let out a light "huh" and looked at Dai Li with blazing eyes: "Tell me your opinion." ”

Dai Li stood up straight and reported to Chiang Kai-shek with a serious face: "As for the investigation of the intelligence personnel stationed in Tokyo by the Secret Service, after the incident, the Japanese government and the military leaders did not react to it, and if the Japanese army really wanted to use this as an excuse to provoke a war, it would definitely not have taken action for so long......

"On the Shanghai side, the Japanese marines did not take any further action except to block the road connecting with the Chinese border, and even their consulates did not lodge a protest with the central government and the local government of Shanghai, which fully shows that the Japanese side is also underprepared for this, and even has not unified its views. From this, it can be judged that the situation is far from being as bad as we think. ”

Chiang Kai-shek still had great trust in Dai Li's ability, and after listening to the analysis, his heart gradually stabilized: "Yunong, if you have any ideas, you might as well tell me and listen to it." ”

"The students believe that since the Japanese side is hesitant now, there is no need for us to express our position first, and we can be prepared for both...... The first is to use the construction of national defense fortifications as an excuse to quietly assemble troops in the vicinity of the Wufu Line, the Xicheng Line, and the Zhajia Line, so that even if there are changes in Shanghai, they can calmly deal with them; ”

"Second, we try our best to rely on Du Yuesheng and Huang Jinrong, the two local snakes, to calm down the incident, after all, Shanghai is related to the interests of the great powers, and no matter how arrogant and rude Japan is, it must also consider the views of Britain, France, the United States and other countries, so as to rely on the strength of the people, and strive to make big things small and small things nothing." Dai Li directly said his own countermeasure.

Chiang Kai-shek pondered in his heart for a moment, and found that there was no better solution than this, so he immediately promised to leave everything to Dai Li

At night, Shanghai Tang, whether it is the concession or Chinatown, is affected by the conflict between the youth gang and the Japanese during the day, and it is no longer prosperous.

In the concession, there was silence on the main road, the four roads and the alleys, and even the buses on many routes were stopped due to the lack of customers, and people hid in their homes to watch the situation change.

Wu Ming's room on the eighth floor of the Metropolo Hotel.

"Big brother, Du Yuesheng sent someone to post and said that he wanted to see the eldest brother." Sun Chengyuan pushed open the door and walked in, holding a name card in his hand.

Wu Ming was reviewing the huge order contracts reached with several foreign companies for the purchase of 500 bicycles and production lines, two sets of brand-new broadcast transmitters, 50,000 tons of steel and other materials at his desk.

For Du Yuesheng, who seems to be able to see through people's hearts, to be honest, Wu Ming is really a little jealous in his heart, after all, he is the first person to cast his suspicious eyes on himself, maybe this is a Hongmen banquet.

"When?" Wu Ming asked.

"The sooner someone comes, the better"

Wu Ming thought about it and decided to meet: "It's not my style to dodge, Chengyuan, dare to accompany me?" ”

"What's not to dare?"

Sun Chengyuan replied with a big grin. In the eyes of Wu Ming, a bold little brother who is a master of art, even if it is the Longtan Tiger's Den, there is nothing to be afraid of, it is a big deal to take the eldest brother to kill it.

Half an hour later, Wu Ming and Sun Chengyuan came to Du Mansion together, and Du Yuesheng personally greeted him, which made Wu Ming, who was worried, feel a lot more settled.

The two talked secretly until the next morning, and Wu Ming, bathed in the dawn, walked out of Du Yuesheng's mansion, at this time, more than 100 officers and soldiers of the special service company who tried their best to infiltrate the concession from Zhabei, as well as Wu Ming's guards, had already been waiting impatiently, and seeing that Wu Ming was safe and sound, the stone in everyone's hearts finally fell to the ground.

"Big brother, what is the surname Du looking for you?" Although Lu Kuiyuan, who strode forward to meet him, didn't say much, his anxious expression betrayed his mood.

"It's nothing, Du Yuesheng knocked on the side, suspecting that everything was related to us, but I sternly refuted it, and later we exchanged views on this incident...... Generally speaking, Du Yuesheng is not a villain, but has the heart to serve the country, he is very worried about the development of the current situation, and asks us to help if necessary......"

"Okay, the grievances and grievances with the Qing Gang will be written off, everyone forget about my visit to Dufu today, and have a good rest after going back, and then Shanghai Beach will enter an eventful autumn, and it is not okay to be listless."

Wu Ming took a deep breath after speaking, and his mood was extremely complicated.

It is already late March, not far from the Lugou Bridge Incident, and the Japanese troops stationed in China, who have always had a tradition of going down to the top, are sharpening their knives, but the contradictions and differences within them are also obvious.

The Japanese Army's proposition is to move from the north to the south, believing that the war should be the first to start in the Pingjin area, while the navy insists on taking Shanghai as the target of attack and quickly defeating China.

However, if the Japanese are not ready, what about China?

It can be clearly seen from the investigation results of the Wufu line, the Xicheng line and the Zhajia line that China now has no confidence to start a war with Japan, thinking of the erosion of the defense fortifications in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, Wu Ming felt a pain in his heart, and the big tree that was hollowed out by ants and insects still looks intact on the surface, but no one knows when the road will fall down.

It was eight o'clock in the morning when the group returned to the Capital Hotel, and when Wu Ming returned to the room, he saw Ye Zhuhan walking around anxiously.

Wu Ming closed the door with his hand and asked, "Brother Nanshan, what's wrong?" ”

Seeing Wu Ming's safe return, Ye Zhuhan was sure in his heart, and quickly reported the news he had just received: "After a night of secret connection, the Japanese expatriates in Shanghai who had just dawned gathered in Hongkou Park and the surrounding areas, and so far two or three thousand people have gathered there, and they asked the Japanese government to make solemn representations with the Chinese government in order to make a satisfactory answer to the incident of harming Japanese soldiers and overseas Chinese. Brave Brigade, the command of the Japanese Navy's Shanghai Special Marine Corps, ignored the advice of Japanese Ambassador Shigeru Kawa Yue, who had rushed from Nanjing to Shanghai overnight to mediate. The brave team, the guns and ammunition were distributed, and the situation was on the verge of breaking out. ”

Wu Ming's face suddenly became ugly: "It should just be a gesture, right?" As long as Japan does not mobilize troops to reinforce it, it will not be able to stir up much of a storm with just a few men and horses in the concession."

Ye Zhuhan said with a wry smile: "There is still a certain risk, the Japanese soldiers and marines in the countryside can gather at least 10,000 people, but the national government cannot garrison troops in Shanghai and the surrounding areas, once the situation is out of control, Zhabei and Nanshi will be dangerous."

Wu Ming was also worried when he heard this, and his emotions stabilized after thinking about it: "Now that the Chinese government and the army are not involved, just because of the grudge with the Qing Gang, the Japanese are legally untenable."

Seeing that Ye Zhuhan still had to distinguish, Wu Ming continued: "After all, the public concession is the territory of the Americans and the British, plus the French who have a stake in it, if Shanghai is really in chaos, who will be unlucky?" Now that Zhang Xiaolin has been killed, we have gained a lot from previous operations, and it is better to wait and see what happens."

"Okay, I'll continue to pay attention to the development of the situation after I go back, and I'll report back on any new trends on the Japanese side."

Wu Ming got up to send Ye Zhuhan out, and said as he walked: "Brother Nanshan, when did you see me doing a loss-making transaction?" Rest assured, we'll be back this time."

Ye Zhuhan groaned slightly, and then thought of what secret agreement Wu Ming might have reached with Du Yuesheng last night, and a smile appeared on his face.