"What's going on?"
"The Japanese are getting anxious! Harada Takeo is eager to contact the higher-ups and has repeatedly urged me to report to them and send more important officials for in-depth talks. He even said that Itagaki Jiro is willing to personally go to Changsha for a meeting. It is clear that they have lost patience with this war and are eager to withdraw. This is good news for us."
Further contact with high-ranking officials of the Chongqing government to advance the negotiation process is merely wishful thinking on Japan's part. Currently, the two sides are making private contact, and the Kuomintang is already being extremely cautious, fearing the reputation of being cowardly and traitorous. How could they possibly allow high-ranking Japanese officials to openly enter the Kuomintang-controlled areas and make it public knowledge?
Yue Sheng couldn't help but say with some joy, "So, the Japanese can't hold out any longer either. This is indeed good news. Our territory is vast, and our population is dozens of times that of theirs. We can wear them down to death."
"Yes, the situation has improved slightly this year. The Japanese are losing momentum and the two sides are locked in a stalemate. However, the Burma Road has been cut off, which is putting us in a very difficult position. If we can find the blueprints this time, we will have leverage to negotiate with the British. Brother Yue, you must hurry up with this matter. This is the most important thing!"
Jiang Tianhe was most concerned about the blueprints, and looking at Yue Sheng, he couldn't help but urge him again.
Yue Sheng quickly said, "Tianhe, I was just about to tell you something. The British have been making quite a few moves these days, questioning and investigating people everywhere. Just today, they suddenly arrested several crew members of the Nottingham. I don't know why they did that."
"What? They've started arresting people?" Jiang Tianhe straightened up abruptly, asking in surprise, "Are they going to break ties with the French?"
Yue Sheng explained, "That's not the case. As far as I know, they didn't arrest the French crew members, but only a few Hong Kong employees. These people are not French citizens, and they were just making a few protests. But I don't know why they did that."
"Is there any further news?" Jiang Tianhe pressed.
"Also, news came from the police station that two people were missed in this arrest, and the British have ordered them to cooperate in the arrest."
"Two of them escaped?"
"Yes, one of them is named Lu Zhanfei, and the other is named Zhong Ren. They are both locals from Hong Kong and have disappeared without a trace. I have already made it clear that we must find them before the British do. If we are lucky, the blueprints may be in their hands."
Jiang Tianhe nodded, let out a soft sigh of relief, and said solemnly, "Finally, we've made some progress. I'll leave it to you, Brother Yuesheng. I hope everything goes smoothly."
In the dead of night, under the cover of darkness, two figures bobbed up and down on the sea near the dock, slowly approaching the Nottingham cruise ship.
This dock is a dry dock with three sides facing land and one side facing water. Its basic components are the dock entrance, dock chamber and dock bow. There is a water gate at the dock entrance to drain the water in the dock and control the mooring of ships.
Fei-zai and Ah-ren were familiar with the dock's layout. They knew that there must be British guards near the dock, and since they hadn't had time to figure out the situation, they gave up on approaching from land. They calculated the time of high tide, risked going into the water from the nearby coast, approaching the dock by sea, avoiding the guards, and then sneaking into the Notting.
However, this plan required excellent swimming skills, and fortunately, both of them had spent many years at sea and were excellent swimmers. Everything went as expected, and they successfully approached the dock, passed through the dock gate, and dived into the dock.
It was pitch black all around, and the silence was chilling. Seeing that nothing seemed amiss, the two breathed a sigh of relief. They then easily made their way into the passenger ship.
The crew members have been smuggling goods for years and each has their own methods. Their goods are hidden in the hold, making them difficult for ordinary people to find.
The two men quickly reached the lower deck, took out flashlights from the tarpaulin they were carrying, pulled out keys to open a storage room, pushed aside the piles of junk boxes outside, revealing a small pile of goods covered by tarpaulin inside.
"Quick, it's right here!" Ah Ren exclaimed. The two of them quickly stepped forward and lifted the oilcloth. In no time, they found an oilcloth bag, opened it in a few quick movements, and there were five cigars in front of them!
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