Ji Hongyi continued, "Station Chief, Lao Liu, who had been hiding in the countryside of Pudong, has returned to the Nanshi area now that the situation has stabilized. He's been wanting to see you and says he's willing to continue serving us. What do you think…?"
Ning Zhiheng's extremely violent methods to eliminate Lu Tianqiao have finally yielded results. Several bigwigs of the Green Gang have become law-abiding, the situation is becoming more stable, and You Laoliu has finally dared to take the opportunity to return. The first thing he did upon returning was to contact Ji Hongyi and express his willingness to work for the Wuhan government.
After listening, Ning Zhiheng pondered for a moment. Although You Laoliu had cooperated with him before and had transported important supplies and medicines to fight against the Japanese, his motives were not pure. Ning Zhiheng had always distrusted him and even arranged for Ji Hongyi to bribe his subordinates to monitor him.
Although they both came from the Green Gang, You Laoliu was different from Xu Yongchang and his ilk. Xu Yongchang and his group proved through their actions that they were loyal warriors willing to shed blood and give their lives for the country and the nation.
Ning Zhiheng's first requirement for his subordinates is loyalty. He would rather have fewer but better employees and would never allow any unstable elements in his team.
However, You Laoliu had helped him in the past and saved the life of his childhood friend Miao Yongyi. Besides, he was also a force for resistance against Japan, and if used properly, he might be a valuable asset.
After weighing the pros and cons repeatedly, Ning Zhiheng finally said, "I won't see him. You can tell him that we naturally welcome those who serve the country. He can serve as an external organization for our intelligence station, and you will be in charge of him directly from now on. We can provide him with some assistance, but we absolutely will not allow him to use our name to operate outside. We are an intelligence station, not a branch of the Green Gang. We must remain hidden in the shadows. Once exposed, it will be a catastrophe!"
When Ji Hongyi heard the station chief agree, he felt relieved. You Laoliu was his sworn brother, but the station chief had always been suspicious of him, worried that he would leak information about the intelligence station. Putting aside everything else, just the fact that You Laoliu knew his disguised identity was enough for the station chief to take action against him sooner or later to eliminate any future troubles, given his character.
Now that the station chief has agreed to take him under his wing, it's a way of letting You Laoliu off the hook. He quickly nodded and replied, "Yes, I understand. Laoliu is patriotic and knows what's important. He has already submitted his letter of invitation to Chen Ting, a senior member of the Green Gang, and joined his ranks. He can work for us secretly!"
"Very good, this shows he is trustworthy. I hope he can see things through to the end. I will definitely help him make a good future. Tell him my original words!"
At this time, it was the early stage of the War of Resistance against Japan, and the people's anti-Japanese and patriotic sentiments were still very high. However, in the middle and later stages, many people became pessimistic, could not see the hope of victory, failed to hold their ground, and surrendered to the Japanese. Among them were many members of the Green Gang. Ning Zhiheng made a promise to You Laoliu to strengthen his confidence in resisting Japan.
"Yes, stationmaster, I will definitely tell him exactly what he said! He has always been very respectful to you," Ji Hongyi said respectfully.
“Very good. There’s one more thing. Hongyi, you’re in charge of gang affairs. Although the original Shanghai city area is now Japanese territory, we can’t just hide in the concessions forever. We need to strengthen our forces in the city. Old Sun’s action team and your intelligence group need to gradually infiltrate. Do a good job of this during this period,” Ning Zhiheng instructed.
“Yes, station chief. Actually, we’ve discussed this before. After the battle, many citizens returned to the city, and some Green Gang members have even started to redivide their territories there. I will start preparing some informants in the city!” Ji Hongyi said.
"The manpower must be reliable; we cannot blindly expand our membership!" Ning Zhiheng carefully instructed, emphasizing that safety has always been the top priority.
"Don't worry, they are all my brothers who risked their lives for me!" Ji Hongyi replied confidently.
Ning Zhiheng nodded. He knew that Ji Hongyi had many reliable subordinates in the past, and they had even helped him with his mission to eliminate traitors. These people had Japanese blood on their hands, so they were naturally trustworthy.
"It's good that you know what's going on. Is there anything else?" Ning Zhiheng nodded in satisfaction.
“There’s one more thing,” Huo Yueze said, taking a document from his file bag and handing it to Ning Zhiheng. “This is a piece of intelligence we just bought from the British. It says that Japanese intelligence has started contacting the garrison in Guangzhou, targeting Major General Li Jiangguan, the division commander of the 12th Army Group. Their defection efforts have already begun.”
Upon hearing this, Ning Zhiheng quickly took the intelligence report and examined it carefully. He knew that the Battle of Xuzhou in Shandong was about to end, and that the Japanese had suffered heavy losses in the battle and had not gained any advantage.
The defeat in North China thwarted the Japanese's previous war plans, so they turned their attention to Central and South China. In Central China, they concentrated their forces on attacking Wuhan, the seat of the Chinese government, which would be an arduous and protracted battle.
In South China, the focus was on Guangzhou, because in the past six months, the Japanese had tightened their control over Shanghai, cutting off all kinds of military supplies needed by the Chinese government.
The Chinese government needs to import large quantities of military supplies such as weapons, gasoline, medicines, and electrical materials from overseas.
Because Hong Kong and Macau were leased territories of Britain and Portugal respectively, the Japanese blockade was not too strict. Therefore, for the past six months, the war supplies needed by the country have been transported from Hong Kong and Macau to Guangzhou, and then transferred to various provinces in the interior via the Yuehan Railway. Guangzhou has become the only gateway for China's overseas transportation and the economic artery for China's current material transportation.
This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
