Hearing Du Qian's answer, Ning Zhiheng was very dissatisfied and asked, "Don't make yourself sound so innocent. If Wu Quanjiang didn't give you any benefits, would you have done anything for him? I'm not investigating your corruption, so there's no need for you to hide anything. Answer my questions honestly!"
"Yes, yes! Team leader, you're right! I did accept some bribes from Wu Quanjiang, but that's just a routine thing! As for whether he's a member of the underground Communist Party or not, I couldn't tell at all! Besides, what was being transported out were medicines, not weapons. They were all for saving lives. I was just doing a good deed!" Du Qian said aggrievedly.
"Damn it! Controlled drugs are also embargoed! Didn't you know?" Ning Zhiheng said coldly in a low voice, "How did you make these arrangements? Explain in detail!"
"Yes, yes! It was all because I was blinded by greed!" Du Qian was quick-witted and insisted that he had only helped Wu Quanjiang by accepting bribes, and that it had nothing to do with colluding with the underground party.
His idea was the same as Ning Zhiheng's: to let people know that he was doing things for money, but that he was definitely not an accomplice of the underground party. The two were completely different! The former might still have a chance to live, while the latter would definitely die without a burial place!
Du Qian continued, "Within my jurisdiction are two important transportation routes, each with a checkpoint: Ping'an Port and Kangyuankou. The Kangyuankou checkpoint is located on the only route leading northwest."
Each time, Wu Quanjiang would load the medicine onto one or more military trucks, and I arranged for people to let them pass without inspection!
"Nonsense! After the Kangyuankou checkpoint, there is the 14th Division's garrison. The Qiaoshuiwan checkpoint they set up is under the military's jurisdiction. How could those fake military vehicles possibly get through? Explain yourself!" Ning Zhiheng immediately understood the problem. This Du Qian actually dared to hide something.
Du Qian knew immediately that he couldn't hide it from them. Team Leader Ning was as clear-headed as a mirror and knew everything!
"The reason I had them disguise themselves as military trucks to transport medicine is because the company commander in charge of guarding the Qiaoshuiwan checkpoint is my brother-in-law. I spent a total of 100,000 silver dollars to bribe officials at all levels to get him this position, so any goods I designate can pass through the Qiaoshuiwan checkpoint without any hindrance!"
Upon hearing Du Qian's words, Ning Zhiheng secretly admired him. He really was a talent! He had vision, courage, and was willing to invest a lot of effort. It seemed he had truly underestimated Du Qian!
"You've put in so much effort and painstaking work to control this transportation line. You must have made a fortune over the years, right?" Ning Zhiheng asked.
Upon hearing this, Du Qian immediately understood. It seemed that Team Leader Ning was also eyeing this source of income. He quickly explained, "Team Leader, I had no choice! Ever since I became the director of the Xicheng Police Station, in charge of the Ping'an Port and Kangyuan Port checkpoints, many people above and below me have been envious. They all think I've got a very lucrative position, and they're all trying to get benefits from me. Especially our Deputy Director Han from the Police Headquarters, who asked for a full 30% of the Kangyuan Port checkpoint's revenue. Who told me to get this position? With all the other favors I've done, all my hard work this year has turned into a money-grubbing mess. To outsiders, it looks glamorous, but in reality, it's just an empty shell."
Forced into a corner, I had to make more arrangements, including assigning my brother-in-law as a backup plan. As long as the merchants weren't directly connected to me, I'd let their goods pass through Kangyuankou, then intercept them at Qiaoshuiwan, demanding more kickbacks from the owners before releasing them! After doing this several times, those merchants finally started coming to me honestly, using my connections. That's how I managed to save a little money at the end of the year; otherwise, I would have gone out of business long ago!
Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant! Ning Zhiheng couldn't help but applaud upon hearing this! That move of the Great Shift of Heaven and Earth was truly magnificent!
There are plenty of powerful and influential people in Nanjing. What is a mere police chief from the West District Police Station compared to him?
If powerful merchants want to smuggle contraband or control goods for huge profits, all they need to do is attach themselves to a powerful and influential person. With just one phone call, Du Qian would dare to disobey and let them pass!
As a result, the kickbacks all ended up in the hands of those powerful and influential people, and not much actually reached Du Qian.
However, with various forces reaching out and squeezing Du Qian, he had no choice but to find another way and spent a lot of money to connect the Qiaoshuiwan checkpoint with the others, so that they could cooperate from both sides!
Du Qian always obeyed orders to let all smuggled goods pass through the Kangyuankou checkpoint, but when they reached the Qiaoshuiwan checkpoint, he would have his brother-in-law seize them.
Those powerful figures have no power over the military, and even a word from them won't work, except for the top-level figures who can influence the military, but they are a very small minority.
Besides, why would someone like that go to such lengths to smooth things over for a mere merchant? Do they really think their personal connections are so worthless? When the merchant finally came knocking on his door in a hurry, Du Qian would then play the good guy, saying he could help clear the checkpoint at Qiaoshui Bay.
He would collect money again and have his brother-in-law let them pass, repeating this process multiple times. The clever merchants weren't fools; they saw that those who used Du Qian's connections could pass through without any obstacles.
However, their own goods were repeatedly detained, so how could they not know the problem? In the end, they all obediently went to Du Qian's door, and before long, this important transportation route was finally firmly in Du Qian's hands.
"Are there any smuggled weapons among these?" Ning Zhiheng asked.
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