After exchanging information, Ning Zhiheng and Ji Hongyi went their separate ways. For the next two days, Ning Zhiheng went to Boli Hospital every day under the pretext of changing his dressings, using various methods to gather information.
Ji Hongyi thoroughly investigated the situations of Yan Kaiding and Xing Shengrong, and then summarized the findings with Ning Zhiheng. The two of them gradually refined their action plan.
Around 7:30 p.m., in the back room of Huimin Grain Store, Ning Zhiheng looked at the blueprints in front of him and said, "Is this the floor plan of Mufengyuan Tavern?"
“Yes!” Ji Hongyi nodded and said. Over the past few days, he had gradually figured out the situation through various means, and even made a floor plan of the entire Mufengyuan Tavern as Ning Zhiheng requested.
"For the past three days, Yan Kaiding and Xing Shengrong's movements have been relatively fixed. They still leave the surveillance point at 5 pm every day, meet at the Suzhou Bridge at around 5:30 pm, and then go to the Mufengyuan Tavern at 5:50 pm. They book two private rooms at the tavern. One room is for the eight Japanese agents to dine alone, and the other room is for Yan Kaiding and Xing Shengrong, with two other agents monitoring their meal. Because their water supply in the safe house has not been restored, they have extended their stay at the tavern until around 7:30 pm, when they leave the Mufengyuan Tavern and go directly back to the safe house."
After saying that, he raised his hand, looked at his watch, and said, "Now is the time for them to leave the Woodwind Garden Tavern."
Ning Zhiheng nodded, bent down to examine the floor plan carefully, and asked again, "How much longer can the water supply pipeline be delayed?"
"Two days at most. The Japanese are also pressing us hard, demanding we speed things up. My men can't delay any longer!" Ji Hongyi explained.
Time is running out; we must act within these two days, otherwise the opportunity will be fleeting, and once missed, it will be difficult to reach our target again.
Ning Zhiheng, his hand on his forehead, paced back and forth, slowly considering every detail. His brain was working at a rapid pace. After a long while, he finally spoke: "Mufengyuan Tavern isn't a big place. There are only three private rooms and six tables in the main hall. Call Mufengyuan Tavern right now and reserve another private room for tomorrow night's dinner. Then find some people to arrive at Mufengyuan Tavern early tomorrow night to reserve the seats in the main hall."
Ning Zhiheng wanted to clear the area before taking action, minimizing the number of idlers in the Mufengyuan Tavern so that he wouldn't have too many concerns when making a move.
Ji Hongyi looked at Ning Zhiheng with a troubled expression, seemingly wanting to say something but hesitating. Ning Zhiheng immediately noticed his hesitation and asked, "What's wrong? Is there a problem?"
“Zhiheng, mobilizing so many people is not a problem, but the problem is that my master doesn’t want our people to get too involved!” Ji Hongyi said hesitantly, looking rather troubled. “We can gather information and act as informants, but it’s not good for us to show our faces directly, since we will still be living here in the future.”
Ning Zhiheng frowned, feeling somewhat annoyed. He was indeed short-handed. He dared not call upon the personnel from the Shanghai Military Intelligence Station. Yan Kaiding and Xing Shengrong were currently guarding the checkpoint, and he could not risk sending the Shanghai Station personnel to their deaths.
Another reason is that there are still moles in the Shanghai station, and the exact number of moles is still unclear. If the people transferred in are problematic, wouldn't that be courting death?
Now, within the Japanese-occupied territory, the only option is to use the Green Gang's manpower. These are local strongmen familiar with the situation, and without their help, it would be almost impossible to move an inch.
But they are still unwilling to directly attack the Japanese! Ning Zhiheng patiently persuaded, "Don't worry, I will absolutely not let your people take action. As long as your people occupy the positions, I will eliminate all the Japanese in this Mufengyuan Tavern, including the tavern staff who have seen your people."
The Mufengyuan Tavern wasn't large. There was a chef, a manager/waitress, and another waiter—three people in total. Ning Zhiheng had no intention of letting these Japanese people live. If the Japanese intelligence agents investigated them in the end, they would definitely be able to find out a lot of suspicious information from them.
This includes the specific time of the crime, the number and appearance of the perpetrators, and the personnel who cleared the area beforehand. The Japanese intelligence department is very efficient, and it is estimated that it will not be long before they can find loopholes from these clues. By then, it will be too late to regret it. Ning Zhiheng will absolutely not let this happen. The style of the Military Intelligence Investigation Department is to rather kill the innocent than let the guilty go free, so these people can only be considered unlucky!
After Ning Zhiheng finished speaking, seeing that Ji Hongyi was still hesitant, he stepped forward and said again, "Brother Hongyi, don't hesitate any longer. To be honest, your Northern Jiangsu gang won't be able to stay in the Japanese-occupied area for long. Sooner or later, China and Japan will fight each other. This time is probably not too far away. At that time, the Japanese-occupied area will be the main battleground."
The area north of the Suzhou Creek will be reduced to scorched earth. You will have to return to the concessions to make a living. There's no need to fear the Japanese causing you trouble.
At this point, he leaned forward slightly and said in a low voice, "Brother Hongyi, are you really willing to spend your whole life in the gang? There are many leaders in the Green Gang. Your master is just one of them. He has eight disciples. You don't seem to be the one to take over the position, do you?"
In the end, aren't you just a gang member? A real man should have a future. I'm telling you this with my hand on my heart: as long as Brother Hongyi helps me this time, you can have any status you want. If you want to pursue a career in government, you can choose any department in the government. I'll give you any official position, no problem.
If you want to join the military, you know what our Military Intelligence Investigation Department is. It's a privileged department that is directly under the command of the leader, and we're about to expand recruitment again. I'll arrange for you to be a second lieutenant right away, officially becoming a national officer and serving the country. I guarantee that I'll promote your rank again in a short time. You know my subordinate, Sun Jiacheng. Half a year ago, he was just a private, and now he's a captain.
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