On this morning, at eight o'clock, Qi Yuanshan and Qin Beiyang set off from Dharma Mountain on the sea.

They rushed from Hongkou in eastern Shanghai to Caojiadu in western Shanghai, and saw the towering chimneys in the distance. On the first day he came to Shanghai, Qin Beiyang wanted to work in the "Chinese Merchant Mr. Sai Machine Iron Factory", but was turned away by the porter.

The owner of this factory, surnamed Qian, was kidnapped a few days ago, and the kidnappers extorted 100,000 yuan. The family found the patrol room, but the detective could not do anything but turn to the underworld for help. This boss Qian has funded the career of the Green Gang, but in fact, he burned incense to worship the dock for safety, and now he has been kidnapped on the ground in Shanghai, which is equivalent to a slap in the face of the Green Gang.

Ouyang Sicong ordered Qi Yuanshan to rescue the people back. Although Qin Beiyang is not a member of the Green Gang, he has been involved in the Hongkou Patrol House Massacre, and he has no choice but to simply be a craftsman.

"Don't let Anna know!" This is Ouyang Sicong's last sentence.

Qi Yuanshan was nervous, this kind of tricky kidnapping case was probably Ouyang Sicong's exam for him.

Boss Qian's son-in-law greeted him at the door, he was also a seventeen or eighteen-year-old boy, thin and small, wearing a smart overalls, not like a rich young master. When he saw that the person who came was equally young, instead of the bearded man or the old man he imagined, his face was not very good-looking.

Shaodong's name is Qian Ke, and he said that the kidnappers' base is in Huiji Mountain, Shaoxing, and this gang of bandits often wanders around Jiangsu and Zhejiang to commit crimes, blocking roads and robbing, kidnapping tickets for extortion, and doing all kinds of evil, and the overseers of the two provinces can't help it.

Qi Yuanshan took off his top hat, pretended to be old and serious, looked at the factory with roaring machines and said, "Can we take a tour?" You may be able to find clues to the kidnapping. ”

The factory gate was opened on Robert Johnson Road, which stretched from Huajie to the Public Concession. The equipment was purchased from the Ruhr region of Germany and Bohemia in Austria-Hungary, and was used for both small steel mills and coking chemical plants, as well as the production of hardware components and small machinery. Freight relies on the terminals of Suzhou Creek and is transported from the Yangtze River to Chinese mainland provinces. The power is made of coal steam, so the black smoke is billowing out, and the factory area is like a locomotive with countless steam engines, which can drown people with a puff of white smoke at any time. Be sure to speak hoarsely, otherwise it will be all muffled by noise. Qi Yuanshan's new robe had been dirty with soot, and he was distressed to look at.

Qin Beiyang exclaimed: "The factory is called Mr. Sai, and it is indeed a masterpiece of science!" ”

"How do you know?"

"Huh...... Mr. De, Mr. Sai, isn't that a buzzword these days? ”

"Yes, Democracy and Science, we in China lack these two things the most!" Qian Ke felt that it was more interesting to chat with Qin Beiyang, "My family is from the Qian family in the south of the Yangtze River, the Miao descendant of Qian Hao, the king of Wuyue in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, who has lived in Huzhou since the Ming Dynasty, and his ancestors have produced three champions, twelve jinshi, countless lifters and talents. In my father's generation, he studied foreign affairs and saved the country through industry, and built this factory in a joint venture with Mr. Zhang Jian from Nantong. ”

"Three years ago? It was just when the European war broke out. ”

"The British, French, German, and Russian powers are all busy with the Great War, and the commodities dumped into China have plummeted, and there is room for our national capital. You see, the Suzhou Creek was originally a factory for foreigners, and now there are many Chinese merchants' cotton mills, cigarette factories and match factories, and next door is the flour mill of the Rong family in Wuxi. ”

"See." Qi Yuanshan tiptoed and looked over there, "That's a wealthy businessman." ”

"Since the Opium War, China has been in the super year after year, and the silver has flowed out, but the year before last it has turned into a super, an unprecedented good situation! Coal and iron in the north, copper and tungsten in the south, have increased dramatically. It is said that there are more than 2 million industrial workers in China. ”

Qin Beiyang knew that Britain, Germany, and the United States, the most powerful countries in the world today, all had heavy industries of astonishing scale, and if there were 100 such Mr. Sai machine iron factories in China, why couldn't they stand on their own in East Asia and fly majestically in the world?

The three of them walked and talked, passing by a tall warehouse, and caught a glimpse of an elongated oval-shaped object. Qin Beiyang walked in curiously and found that it was actually an airship!

Compared to the German zeppelin in the newspapers, what was seen was still several laps smaller. The hull is painted with the factory logo of Mr. Sai, which is actually a copper coin with a round sky, which probably represents the surname "Qian".

Qian Ke touched the airship pod with the smell of paint: "This is a soft airship, and its carrying capacity is much smaller than that of Zeppelin's hard airship. Since I was a child, I have been fond of all kinds of machinery, especially airships and airplanes. I hired several foreign technicians to make a replica of this soft airship, which I named 'Mr. Sai'. ”

"Mr. Sai!" Qin Beiyang sighed and looked up at the high air bag, "Oh my God! I remembered that I had seen this airship that day in front of the church. It's so beautiful! Can you fly? ”

"I have flown three times, and he flew with me!" Qian Ke pointed to a foreign technician who was drinking in the warehouse, "He's an American, and he's going to fight in Europe next month." ”

"Mr. Qian, your hobby is so enviable to us."

"Really? I had no interest in business, I wanted to be an engineer, not only airships, but I also wanted to design a state-of-the-art aircraft for China. I made an agreement with my father that my younger brother would inherit the family business next year, and I wanted to sign up to learn to fly at Nanyuan Aviation School. ”

It was Qi Yuanshan who pulled the topic back: "Young Master Qian, let's talk about Ling Zun's big deal, when do you think we will pay the ransom?" We'll protect you every step of the way. ”

"You're late!" Qian Ke smiled bitterly, "The kidnappers only stayed for seven days, and if they didn't send 100,000 oceans to their designated ship, my father would be torn up tonight." They are ruthless, and they can definitely do this kind of thing. ”

"Send money tonight?"

"My father is a miser, he took care of me, in case he is kidnapped, don't spend money to ransom him, let him be torn up. What's more, all my family's assets are in this factory. For example, the construction of this airship has spent all the profits of the past two years, and it is not enough to even repay the bank, where can I withdraw 100,000 yuan in ocean cash. ”

After holding it for a long time, Qin Beiyang said, "What ransom to pay?" Just kill and rescue the hostages. ”

Qi Yuanshan nodded after thinking deeply: "Young Master Qian, do you know where Ling Zun is imprisoned?" ”

"At the top of Shaoxing Huiji Mountain, the inspector of the patrol room said that it was true, but they had no right to go to Shaoxing to arrest people. As for the government, it is extremely corrupt, and the soldiers and bandits are not counted on at all. Qian Ke glanced at his watch, it was noon, "The time to tear the ticket is tonight!" There are still six hours left, and even if we take the train to Hangzhou now, and then rush to Shaoxing, we will have to wait tomorrow morning at the earliest. ”

"What if you take it?"

Qin Beiyang patted the propeller behind the airship pod......

In the afternoon, the freshly baked "Mr. Sai" small airship was transported to the open space in the western suburbs of Shanghai by barge on the Suzhou Creek.

Today's weather is clear, the wind is beautiful, and a few auspicious clouds are drifting from the direction of the sea. The airship has been fully fueled, the airbag is filled with hydrogen, and the pre-flight maintenance and inspection have been completed. Compared to the giant Zeppelin, the pod of this soft airship was cramped, and Qin Beiyang and Qi Yuanshan were crowded at the end, each carrying a pistol and a large mirror box gun of the Dagu Shipyard.

The wind is blowing!

The technician motioned for everyone to sit down, and there were dozens of people on the ground to assist in taking off, slowly rising into the air like hot air balloons. This clearing was originally a cemetery, surrounded by scattered graves, where bones and souls watched and blessed from afar. The propeller behind the pod rotates at high speed.

Soaring.