At the Bureau of the Ministry of Industry in the Gulangyu Public Concession, the British, the French, and the representatives of the Americans gathered in the conference room, all of them sitting upright with nervous faces.

After a while, Hong Xingtai walked in with two spies with an arrogant expression on his face.

Hong Xingtai sat down and said commandingly: The assassination of Mr. Huang Deren, chairman of the Xiamen Overseas Chinese Association and senator of the city government, and Kawasaki Daisa of the Imperial Japanese Navy was really caused by the rampant anti-Japanese elements in Gudao and the chaos of public order.

When the British inspector heard this, he said angrily: Drum Island is a public concession, and there are many foreigners living in it, so they can enter and leave safely. Since the Japanese army invaded Xiamen Island, it has indiscriminately killed innocent people and carried out economic plunder, which has caused widespread resentment among the people and affected Gulangyu Island. The fact that the military and political personnel of your country ignored the laws and regulations of the concession and were killed in the city of Gudao was actually caused by the accumulation of resentment among the people, and how could the blame be blamed on the Ministry of Industry and Bureau.

Hong Xingtai listened, his eyes widened. He stood up and patted the table and said: "It's just a bunch of nonsense, the two islands of Xiamen and Gu are connected by a strip of water, mountains and rivers, after the Imperial Japanese Army recovered Xia Island, the island's economy recovered and prospered day by day, which led to the economic prosperity of Gu Island, which is well known and obvious to all." ”

"Strong words, unreasonable!" The secretary general of the French sneered a few times and retorted: "Not long after the fall of Xiamen, all foreign merchant ships moved their goods to Gulangyu Island for unloading. As required by the objective situation, and in disregard of the danger of the incursion of Japanese warships, our authorities opened up the waterway defense line to make it convenient for businessmen and prosper in the Sino-foreign trading market. However, the Japanese Navy seized the opportunity to buy raw materials and sell inferior products, joined the Gulangyu Sino-foreign trading market, and took advantage of its prestige to wantonly levy protection fees on merchants, set up tax donation stations, and collect taxes on our imported goods. Is this the so-called prosperity that Xiadao brought to Gudao? ”

Hong Xingtai was refuted, but he still said with strong words: "This is a fallacy to confuse the public, and there is no basis in facts, and we cannot believe it." ”

"yes, then I'll show you this!" After the British patrol chief finished speaking, he ordered someone to bring a "fourteen-shot" pistol and a bullet and put it on the table.

The patrol chief said coldly: "Mr. Hong, you should be familiar with this pistol and bullet casing. This is the one that our people picked up from Longtou Street and came back for inspection, and it was this gun that shot and killed a patrol officer of our Ministry of Industry Bureau, and we were about to go to your consulate to investigate the matter. Can you give us an explanation for the Ministry of Industry? ”

Hong Xingtai stood up and looked at the pistol, not knowing how to answer the patrol chief. But he rolled his eyes, and simply refused to admit it.

He quibbled and said: At that time, the scene was chaotic and the situation was complicated, and with this gun alone, we could not confirm that your patrol officer was injured by mistake by our personnel.

The patrol chief said indignantly: Your people used this gun to shoot several bullets in a row, and the gun hit the patrol police, may I ask Mr. Hong, is there such a mistake, the physical evidence is complete, the evidence is conclusive, does Mr. Hong still want to deny it?

Hong Xingtai stood up, straightened his face, and said in a threatening tone: "Whether it was injured by mistake or not, I have nothing to say, and I can't identify it." However, I also ask your Ministry of Industry and Bureau to arrest the anti-Japanese elements as soon as possible and give an explanation to the Japanese Consulate, otherwise you will bear all the consequences and take your leave. With that, he hurried out of the office.

The British inspector slapped the table and yelled angrily: hooligans, political hooligans.

The French secretary general comforted him and said: "The Japanese Imperial ships are strong and powerful, and they are close to the water, so we must not fight hard." If this is not handled properly, it is very likely to cause a diplomatic storm, which your government does not want to see. ”

"It looks like the Japanese are going to make a move, and the Huang Deren incident is just an excuse for the Japanese to attack Gulangyu, which is likely to be occupied by them soon." The British Inspector stood up and looked at the map on the wall.

"Their violations have touched our national interests." The US representative slowed his tone and said: "We must not sit idly by and watch this, but must safeguard our common interests in China and safeguard the dignity of the country." ”

Everyone nodded.