The sun sets in the west and the sky is getting dark.
Jiang Mulezi looked at the sky, took out a pocket watch from his arms and checked the time.
"Master Li, is it okay?" Jiang Mulezi asked.
After checking the condition of the barge again, Master Li nodded, "No problem."
Shipping signals were also transmitted from the remaining three barges: everything is normal.
"Action." Jiang Mulezi said in a deep voice.
Following his order, the pier on the Nanshi side immediately started to move.
Jiang Mulezi personally led his brother Jiang Laosi and more than ten of his men, forty national soldiers from the Nanshi garrison, and hundreds of coolies at the dock. They boarded four barges borrowed from the China Merchants Bureau and started the operation.
The reason why I chose to start the operation here is because there are Japanese warships patrolling the Huangpu River. At night, they will shine their searchlights on the surrounding areas. Once any abnormal movement is detected, they will fire.
Choosing a time when the night is getting dark will affect people's vision and objects, but they can barely see.
National soldiers with long guns and coolie workers were hiding in the cabin.
Each barge is assigned two to three Belarus, who will walk around the small deck from time to time.
Flying on the barge is the flag of the British Empire.
Observed from a distance, this is a genuine British barge.
…
"Barge found on the river." A soldier on a Japanese warship quickly noticed the barge on the river and immediately reported it to the officer.
A navy lieutenant immediately came to the deck, picked up a telescope and looked over.
It was getting late and I couldn't see clearly.
"Aim the muzzle and test their reaction."
"yes!"
If these barges see the cannons being aimed and immediately try to escape, then they must be Chinese ships and just open fire.
Although it was getting dark, the British Union Jack on the barge could still be seen clearly.
The Navy Major hesitated. Today, the Empire 'accidentally bombed' a department store in the public settlement. It is said that many people were killed, which aroused protests from the British and Americans. The commander-in-chief issued an urgent order to all warships, strictly prohibiting the bombing of British and American troops.
Wait for the ships of the Western powers to fire to avoid further angering the British and Americans.
The major hesitated a little, but there was a strong desire in his heart that drove him to fire on the barge.
Experience told him that this was most likely just a Chinese barge flying the British Union Jack flag.
"Alyosha, come out quickly." Master Li from the China Merchants Bureau changed his expression and shouted hurriedly. They had been hiding and hiding with Japanese warships recently and were already familiar with the behavior of Japanese warships.
Seeing the Japanese ship's guns turning around, I knew the other party was suspicious.
Alyosha took his sister out of the cabin, and the two of them had changed into decent clothes.
When they came to the deck, the brother and sister shouted at the Japanese warship in the distance.
"Be angry, not afraid. Be scared and angry." An agent from the Shanghai Special Intelligence Group was lying on the ground and whispered.
"British?" The Japanese navy lieutenant saw the movement on the barge deck and ordered the soldiers to turn on the searchlight. Then he saw a pair of young men and women jumping in fear, still barely maintaining the pride and anger of the so-called people of the British Empire.
The searchlights were directed towards the three barges that followed, and sure enough, they also saw the British protesting angrily.
"Sign the flag, the Imperial Japanese Navy is on routine patrol, don't panic, I wish them smooth sailing," the Major ordered.
"yes!"
"They are saying that this is the Japanese navy patrolling. They have no intention of attacking. They are allowed to pass and wish them a smooth voyage." Master Li whispered beside Jiang Mulezi, translating the flags signaled by the other party.
Hearing this, Jiang Mulezi immediately took out a few pieces of paper from his body, flipped through them, quickly found a page, and said, "Reply to them."
"How do you say it?" Master Li asked.
"Just say thank you, long live the Anglo-Japanese alliance."
"good."
Seeing the flags displayed by the four British barges one after another, the Japanese naval officer sneered and said, "Let them go."
Anglo-Japanese alliance?
Sooner or later, the navy of the Imperial Japanese Empire will defeat the British fleet and land on the English Peninsula!
The four barges continued sailing, and when they finally broke away from the Japanese warship, everyone, including Jiang Mulezi, breathed a sigh of relief.
One of the Belarusian "actors" on a barge was so frightened that they peed themselves. Only when they got on the boat did they realize that sixty French dollars a night was not that easy to earn.
…
Almost at the same time, the action personnel led by Qiao Chuntao also launched an operation.
About dozens of steps away from the 903 warehouse of Baffin & Co., Qiao Chuntao put down her telescope, her eyes cold.
"Fell asleep?"
The guards of the foreign company were all Chinese. The French did not trust the Chinese and did not allow the guards to enter the warehouse to rest. Therefore, the guards built a simple shack at the door of the warehouse. At this time, there was no movement of people in the shack, and there were faint sounds of people moving around.
The sound of snoring could be heard.
"Follow me!" Qiao Chuntao whispered, and he personally led his men to cover the shack from all sides.
Without any suspense, the six warehouse guards were all tied up with almost no power to fight back.
"Who are you? This is Mr. French's warehouse!" A guard struggled hard and shouted in a low voice.
Qiao Chuntao sneered. This man waited until all the guards, including himself, were blindfolded before he spoke. He also deliberately lowered his voice. He was obviously afraid that shouting loudly would cause misunderstanding and lead to his death in vain.
This is because he intends to perform well and sell well to the French lord. He is actually a smart man.
However, it is just a little clever.
Qiao Chuntao winked directly, and immediately one of his men came up and knocked the man unconscious with a strike of his hand.
These are just ordinary guards and have no interrogation value.
Moreover, this person is quite clever. This kind of person should pay special attention to avoid details problems in this person.
Qiao Chuntao took a quick look, selected a guard in his thirties, took him aside, and interrogated him for a few words.
The reason why this person was selected was because there was a sesame seed cake hidden in the guard's arms. Qiao Chuntao judged that this person had saved food for his children. Such people were worried and did not dare to lie.
There really isn't any valuable information.
However, just as Qiao Chuntao had judged, this man had two children in his family. His wife died of a long-term illness without medical treatment. It was up to him to take care of the children by himself. He saved his own food rations for the children every day, and the two three- and four-year-old children could barely survive.
.
Qiao Chuntao glanced at this man, and the blindfolded guard was frightened.
A touch of tenderness flashed across Qiao Chuntao's cold eyes, and then she knocked the man unconscious with a knife without hesitation.
Several agents searched the six guards and found no keys.
This was expected.
Looking at the thick iron lock, Qiao Chuntao ordered his men to use powerful pliers to try and break it. However, the thick iron lock was obviously not something that the pliers could break.
"Come here." Qiao Chuntao pointed to a middle-aged man wearing a felt hat.
"Eh." The middle-aged man came up quickly.
This is a 'knowledgeable' person that the team leader ordered Jiang Mulezi to find in advance.
I saw this man taking a few of his apprentices and starting to get busy.
First wrap the iron lock with a wet towel.
Then start cutting with a hacksaw.
Qiao Chuntao nodded secretly and wrapped the iron lock with a wet towel to avoid making any noise.
Several people took turns sawing, and after about half an hour, they finally sawed through the iron lock.
With a dull sound, the heavy barn door was opened.
Qiao Chuntao ordered half of the troops to hide outside and be on guard, and led the other half into the warehouse.
Everyone looked at the pile of goods with their flashlights and couldn't help but swallow their saliva.
…
On the other hand, operations at Shanghai Station have also begun.
Sheng Shuyu and the captain of the Shanghai Station Operation Brigade, Zheng Lijun, commanded the personnel and killed the guards of Sanyou Trading Company, but were stunned in the face of the heavy iron locks.
There is one more lock.
It was originally an iron lock, but I don't know when the Japanese actually welded another keyhole and added a lock.
Only two people could use a hacksaw and start sawing.
The problem is that they didn't expect to have two locks and didn't bring enough wet towels.
Sheng Shuyu's face was ashen, and Zheng Lijun's face was also embarrassed.
The entire Shanghai Station was fully prepared for this operation, but the final 'mistake' turned out to be:
I missed bringing a few towels!
"Take off your clothes!" Lu Xingge said in a deep voice with a cold face on the side, and he took off his coat immediately.
"Quick, quick, take off your clothes!"
Several agents also quickly took off their coats and wet them with water, temporarily using them as wet towels.
About two miles away from the 403 warehouse of Sanyou Trading Company, Cheng Qianfan set up his binoculars with both hands, vaguely saw this scene, and cursed 'idiot' in his heart.
Although the sound of the hacksaw cutting the iron lock could not be heard due to the distance, Cheng Qianfan knew that the sound-absorbing effect of wet clothes was worse than that of towels.
There will definitely be harsh sounds coming out.
At this moment, there was movement from the pier.
Yu Dachuan, captain of the fourth detachment of the Guoying Merchant Escort Team, led a dozen Chinese soldiers and hundreds of dock workers on three barges, risking being bombarded by Japanese artillery fire, and finally arrived.
Everyone is waiting for the warehouse door to be opened.
For a moment, the scene was a bit messy.
No one noticed that at the pier, a small steamer appeared quietly in the night.