Chapter 186 Before the storm comes

The news that the new deputy prime minister, deputy military and political chief, General Xiao Yimin, who had 200,000 troops, was assassinated and his life and death was unknown, spread throughout the country in just three hours.

Two high-explosive bombs that were thrown at Xiao Yimin's vehicle from the arcade in South Street, blowing up Xiao Yimin's vehicle and three cars in the entire escort convoy, killing and injuring more than 30 guards and hundreds of innocent Nanjing people. At the same time, the entire Nanjing was terrified and the city was filled with miserable terror.

Until late at night, the powerful aftermath caused by the two special bombs had not subsided, and the violent vibration caused by this was spreading rapidly in all directions at an unprecedented speed and destructive force.

From Guangzhou in the far south to Beijing, which is about to be warm and cold, from Shanghai with neon lights to Lhasa on the snowy plateau, countless people were panicked and unable to fall asleep. From south to north, from east to west, telegraph and telephone bureaus were paralyzed. Almost all military and political organs, embassies, consulates, and industrial and commercial chambers in provincial capital cities were lit up, and thousands of stakeholders spent an extremely long sleepless night due to extreme shock and panic.

As soon as the next day, the whole Shanghai was awakened by the exaggerated and tender screams of thousands of newspaper boys. After a brief scolding and complaint, thousands of doors and windows suddenly opened, and countless men and women in various clothes rushed out of the house to buy newspapers. Even the most stingy person who threw down the coins and forgot to ask the newspaper boys to find a supplement.

"Shocking news: General Xiao Yimin was assassinated in Nanjing—"

"The Far East Post exclusively disclosed: Assassination and explosion occurred on the Gulou Street in Nanjing, General Xiao's life and death are uncertain..."

"There are more than 100 casualties in the Nanjing explosion, and military and police gathered in the city to martial law-"

"Famous doctors in Nanjing gathered in Liangjiang Governor's Office, and General Xiao was seriously injured in his life!"

"The explosion scene was extremely tragic, with broken limbs and broken arms splashing a hundred steps!"

"Who is the murderer behind the scenes? The exclusive report of the "Metropolis Daily" reporter tracking and exploring secrets..."

Similar situations then appeared in important cities such as Chengdu, Beijing, Tianjin, Wuhan, Hangzhou, Suzhou, Changsha, and Guangzhou. All cities in the north and south of the Yangtze River were as excited as Shanghai. Countless numb people suddenly discovered that the peace they had just obtained was about to be lost in a blink of an eye, and a huge war disaster was about to come.

Nanjing, located in the center of the storm, is a different situation.

It was just dawn, and the citizens who had been worried all night opened the door tremblingly, but did not see a soldier wearing green or yellow uniform. Except for a patrolman holding a short stick standing at each street entrance, there was no trace of chaos at all. Countless citizens rubbed their eyes in disbelief.

After dawn, citizens found that all the city gates had been opened. In addition to the familiar patrol police, there were a few more Sichuan soldiers wearing steel helmets and fully armed. Inside and outside the city, there were crowds of people working in groups. Vegetable farmers carrying loads to the city to sell vegetables began to enter the city in groups. Inside and outside the city gate, familiar "Yangchun noodles" sounded again, and the whole city returned to its familiar appearance.

The only difference is that the original Liangjiang Governor's Office is now completely closed, with many guards inside and outside. Xiao Yimin's two thousand guards have turned the entire Governor's Office into a huge fortress. Except for the main provincial officials and several generals of the Jiangsu army, everyone was blocked from the first major gate.

The reporters who flocked to see the black muzzles of the guards and their eyes burned red by anger. None of them dared to get close to the cordon.

At noon, provincial government officials and Jiangsu military generals walked down the steps of the building with heavy expressions, got into the car and left one after another. No one paid attention to the hundreds of Chinese and foreign journalists who were surrounded by the streets. No one knew whether they had seen Xiao Yimin, who was seriously injured, nor did they know whether Xiao Yimin was dead or alive. Many Jiangsu and Zhejiang journalists left quietly, calling rickshaws to chase down the familiar officials who had just left, hoping to get valuable news from the important officials in the provincial government.

However, the answers received made the reporters extremely frustrated: the officials who were allowed to enter the Governor's Office for a morning were not able to see Xiao Yimin, and they did not know whether he was dead or alive. The only thing that can be revealed is that two German doctors with excellent medical skills in Nanjing Church Hospital have not yet come out from last night until now.

At this moment, everyone knows that Xiao Yimin's life and death have touched the hearts of thousands of people. Among them, the most anxious people in Sichuan and Guangzhou and Beijing, there is another group of people who are also deeply suffering from waiting. The eagerness of these groups is even greater than that of the leaders of the two major political parties in the north and south.

Two black cars drove from the station, turned over the Drum Tower, then turned west, slowly slowed down and drove into the hurriedly opened British villa gate. The car stopped in front of the main entrance of the villa, and three short Japanese men in black suits got out of the car and strode through two rows of Japanese staff who bowed deeply into the room.

After a while, three people who had just got off the bus stood behind the east-facing floor-to-ceiling window on the second floor of the villa. The middle-aged man named Matsui Ishigen gently pulled the curtain:

"Please look at Xiaobanjun. The window on the left side of the two-story European-style building opposite the street, and the cigarette seller at the entrance of the alley to the west... Yes! And where are the places we can't see? There is no doubt that our consulate has been closely monitored."

The Japanese envoy, Xiaohara Youki, who came from Shanghai for a long time, was very annoyed. He quickly turned around and severely questioned the consulate's agent: "Mr. Jun, I need you to give a reasonable explanation!"

The young and innocent Gancheng of the Song Dynasty bowed in panic: "It's all the fault of his subordinates. He tried his best to stop Gaozong Wenjun's assassination..."

"Ba"

"Hi Yi!"

Xiaoba Youji put away his painful palms, endured the disappointment in his heart and walked towards the desk.

Colonel Matsui Ishione, who accompanied Kobayoshi, came from Shanghai overnight, was also very angry. He glared at Gancheng, who had half of his face swollen, and gritted his teeth and scolded him in a low voice:

"Baga! As a diplomat of the Great Japanese Empire, are you as stupid as those Chinese in the south? Do you know that this explosion almost ruined the entire plan we have made painstakingly? Do you know that if Xiao Yimin died, how much trouble would it bring to the empire? Stupid pig!"

"Hi Yi!"

Gancheng's waist was almost bent to ninety degrees, and cold sweat and tears were dripping quietly.

As a military officer of the Japanese Consulate in Shanghai who was also in charge of Nanjing intelligence, Matsui Ishien bears unshirkable responsibility for the sudden explosion. He really did not expect that Wang Jingwei, who was far away in Guangzhou and Huang Yu, who quietly returned to Shanghai, hurriedly launched this reckless assassination plan without regard to his advice, and without telling the Japanese consulate in Shanghai and Nanjing, disrupting the Japanese generals Li Chun and Ni Sichong in one fell swoop, and then provoked the entire plan of China's Civil War and prompting the division of the Beiyang.

"Matsui Kan."

Koba Youyi, who quickly calmed down, called out to the angry Matsui Ishien and pointed to the chair in front of the desk.

Matsui bowed slightly, strode over and sat down: "Mr. Xiaoba, will you contact Tang Zhaoyi, who had just arrived in Nanjing immediately and make a request to meet Xiao Yimin through him?"

Xiaowan Youji thought for a moment, shook his head and replied in a low voice: "No hurry, it is difficult to ask for a talk with Xiao Yimin at this time, so wait patiently. Duan Qirui's special envoy is already on the way to arrive. It is estimated that the British Minister Juerdian, the American Minister Ryance, and the French Minister Hollande will arrive soon, and the whole world's eyes are staring at Nanjing. We must be cautious."

Matsui Ishigen nodded and then sighed: "It's good that Xiao Yimin will die. Not only can he save huge aid expenses, but he can also promote Li Chun, Ni Sichong, Chen Guangyuan and others to attack Nanjing. We can also firmly grasp the three major provinces of Jiangsu, Anhui and Jiangxi at the lowest cost."

Xiaohan Youji hummed: "In fact, Xiao Yimin may be better off living. With Xiao Yimin's political attitude and tough style, once he knows that Duan Qirui has reached a secret loan agreement with us and restarted "Xiyuan Borrow", he will definitely break with Duan Qirui, and China will also be divided into two military camps in the north and south, which will be more beneficial to our great Japanese empire."

Matsui Ishione is an extremely smart conspirator. He immediately understood after weighing the pros and cons, "Koba-kun is very smart! In this way, no matter whether Xiao Yimin dies or lives, we should continue to move forward unswervingly and instigate Li Chun and others with weapons, ammunition and financial assistance. The plan can be fully implemented.

"But we must first eliminate the trouble caused by the implementation of this assassination plan by the Southern Government, otherwise we may fall into a passive position. According to my research, Xiao Yimin is not as polite as he looks, and his revenge on the enemy is equally firm and cruel."

Xiaohan Youyi immediately reacted, stood up quickly, and walked to Gancheng, Rongnei: "Where is Gao Zongwen now?"

"I disappeared, along with his wife and daughter, as well as two persons in charge of the Jinling Morning News newspaper, lost contact after the explosion. Two of the three people who participated in the assassination were killed on the spot, and one of them escaped." Junnet reported truthfully.

Xiaohan Youji asked in confusion: "Is it missing? Can you be sure they have escaped from Nanjing?"

Koonai bent down again, and the cold sweat that had just disappeared began to emerge again: "I can't confirm that they did not disclose this assassination to us at all. By the time we reacted, Xiao Yimin's guard had already controlled the entire street, and thousands of officers and soldiers arrived in a blink of an eye. We cannot take risks under such circumstances."

Xiaoba Youji's face finally relaxed, he nodded in praise, and comforted with kindness:

"In the middle, your decision is correct in this matter. Keep working hard! Take action immediately and mobilize your subordinates. I must always grasp the important situation of the entire Nanjing city, grasp the situation of all diplomats from all over the country, celebrities from the business circles and all the officials of Beiyang political affairs who arrived in Nanjing, and understand the current political positions of the political officials of Jiangsu Province, as well as the various situations of the army under Xiao Yimin. Can I do it?"

"This is an honor for Junnei and all colleagues in Nanjing Consulate. We will do our best!" Junnei replied loudly.

At this time, Matsui Ishien, who was standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling window to observe the situation, suddenly shouted: "A military convoy is a command vehicle modified by the US truck of Sichuan military... Come and see if this convoy has appeared before?"

The koon flew to the window as if it was flying. The convoy of all closed trucks covering the camouflage net had already driven out of sight, but the koon could still give Matsui a clear answer:

"I have never seen this kind of car, especially the third-last black sedan. I have never seen this square shape. It is certain that this is definitely not the Sichuan Army equipment stationed in Nanjing."

Matsui frowned, looked at the dust that had not yet dissipated below the drum tower, and said to himself: "Where did it come from? What unit? Who will be in the car..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ps: Thank you for the seven liang of eels, dingliantao for your great reward! Thank you for your subscription, recommendation tickets and monthly tickets!

Continue to subscribe, thank you!
Chapter completed!