Chapter 639: Holding the Reins of the Green Gang

And yet, who can truly feel at ease?

Zhang Xiaolin thought everyone within his Zhang Tianyue Gongguan was under his control, but there are always loopholes; it was just that the Military Statistics Bureau hadn't studied them yet.

The Military Statistics Bureau's first attempt at a sanction operation involved shooting on the street, but because Zhang Xiaolin's car had been modified with bulletproof plating, it failed. The reason they chose a public street execution was for the sake of deterrence. After all, a public assassination is far more impactful than a covert one. The power it represents is simply not the same thing.

But there was no help for it; since the previous operation failed, Zhang Xiaolin became guarded, living a reclusive life like a turtle in its shell. Adding in the previous prison break operation where they didn't receive the credit they were due, they wanted to pull off something big, which is why they studied Zhang Xiaolin in such detail again.

They investigated everyone inside and outside the Zhang Tianyue Gongguan, finally locking onto a maid in her forties. She had parents, a husband, and two sons. Being people of the Zhang Tianyue Gongguan, they could borrow some of Zhang Xiaolin's influence. Furthermore, Zhang Xiaolin, despite being a hoodlum who committed every evil, was very adept at buying people's hearts with small favors.

Thus, the maid's family lived quite well and were also rather arrogant. Ordinary people can't maintain a humble heart; with the whole family working for Zhang Xiaolin, after a long time, they naturally became conceited.

This gave the Military Statistics Bureau their breakthrough, and they kidnapped the entire family. Zhang Xiaolin's so-called control was merely arranging jobs for them and having people watch them. But when such tasks are delegated to subordinates, they might be carried out diligently at first, but after a long time, no one takes them seriously anymore.

So, the Military Statistics Bureau used both threats and inducements on the family, successfully coercing the maid in her forties. That morning, there was a rare moment when Zhang Xiaolin was alone and had let his guard down.

The maid smeared a layer of cyanide inside and outside the rim of the cup and put a lethal, water-soluble poison into the tea. Under the dual effect, it took less than three minutes from the moment Zhang Xiaolin swallowed the tea until his death.

After successfully poisoning Zhang Xiaolin, the maid left the Zhang Tianyue Gongguan openly and was immediately arranged by the Military Statistics Bureau to leave Shanghai for the Nationalist-controlled areas.

Zhang Xiaolin died easily, but it shouldn't be viewed that way. Because from the time Wang Yan incited them to act, a month and a half had passed. In that month and a half, they conducted various investigations, prepared various methods, and so on; these preliminary preparations were the most crucial part. Although tampering with the rim of the teacup was crude, Zhang Xiaolin was the one who had been careless.

In fact, it was impossible for the Military Statistics Bureau to act so crudely. Since the maid felt the opportunity was good and chose to act, they were bound to be prepared to switch to a direct assault if the poisoning failed. Before acting, the maid had already signaled outside, and the operatives outside, along with others inside who had been bought off, were ready to strike at any moment.

It can be said that when the maid walked into the study with the tea tray, the entire Zhang Tianyue Gongguan was shrouded in dark clouds, brewing a massive murderous intent that would inevitably change the situation in the Shanghai Bund.

Originally in history, Zhang Xiaolin also died at home, shot by his own bodyguard. According to records, that was an insider whom the Military Statistics Bureau had already turned following a previous failed sanction operation. However, due to Wang Yan's influence, and added to the fact that regardless of who the prototype was, Wang Tianfeng simply did not exist—and this person happened to be quite paranoid and possessed extremely high execution capability, focusing his energy on the matter of killing Zhang Xiaolin to get promoted—now it has nothing to do with original history anymore.

The man died in the morning, and the news of his death was announced at noon, on a Kuomintang radio station. Once again, with righteous indignation, they proclaimed the Kuomintang's determination to resist Japan and save the nation, as well as their must-kill attitude of never showing leniency toward traitors who defected to the Japanese and harmed their compatriots.

Zhang Xiaolin was indeed a major traitor; after all, his social status was there, the things he did to help the Japanese were there, and his past of harming the suffering masses at the bottom was even more there. Regarding the death of such a person, the broad masses were happy to see it. Of course, mostly they just listened to the excitement; once they were happy, it passed. After all, they had been in Shanghai for many years, and it wasn't as if they hadn't seen such people die before. They knew very well that once one died, another would come up; it wouldn't change their lives at all. Especially now that there were more Japanese, no one was stupid enough to truly believe in any "East Asia Co-Prosperity"; they were all exploiting them just the same.

Compared to those suffering masses, those progressive intellectuals were still very happy about Zhang Xiaolin's death. They understood more and knew what a thunderbolt this news was for other traitors, and that it was indeed useful for resisting Japan and saving the nation. After all, if a tycoon like Zhang Xiaolin, who had dominated the Shanghai Bund for many years, could be killed, wouldn't those minor traitors who were far inferior to Zhang Xiaolin die even faster? Even if no one went to kill them, at times, regarding certain matters, they would make different choices to leave themselves a way out.

On this point, those traitors or whoever else they might be, the role model they learned from was always Wang Yan. It was just a pity that their personas couldn't stand up; they were far from being as authentic as Wang Yan. That was something he had insisted on ever since he entered the police station, and had continued to carry out after rising to power. After so many years, no one would easily suspect Wang Yan. The most critical thing was that they didn't have the French as a backer, and even less did they have Wang Yan's ability to maneuver.

However, it must be said, the person who benefited most from Zhang Xiaolin's death was Wang Yan.

Because within the Green Gang, there were likewise many rival factions. Zhang Xiaolin couldn't control everyone either; it could only be said that he could suppress others, making them afraid to act on their own. Now that Zhang Xiaolin was dead, his sons were incompetent, and among his direct subordinates, there was no one who could suppress the others. The originally good situation collapsed in an instant, becoming a scattered mess. As for those who hadn't defected, they hadn't defected to begin with, so whether Zhang Xiaolin died or not had some relation, but not much.

"Impossible!"

It was just at dinner time, at a dining table in a Huaiyang restaurant, that Wang Yan, without the slightest hesitation, spoke these words of refusal to Akihiro Omura, a high-ranking official from the Japanese consulate sitting across from him.

"Mr. Omura, before contacting me, you should have already been clear about what kind of person I am. Indeed, during this recent period, I have provided you with quite a bit of intelligence, but that was my compensation for the unintentional mistakes I made before, and also a return for your not getting angry and wanting my life. Now you want me to step forward and handle the mess Zhang Xiaolin left behind; that is no different from asking me to go die right now. Not to mention the French attitude toward this matter, even Zhang Xiaolin, with such tight security, was poisoned to death by the Military Statistics Bureau; I don't believe I can live many more days.

Zhang Xiaolin was over sixty; he had already enjoyed life for a lifetime. If it weren't for his money, at this age, he should have died of illness long ago. I saw him just over a month ago; he was ruddy-faced, full of vitality, and healthy as could be. Who could have imagined that not long after, he was so easily poisoned to death by someone? I am only twenty-nine this year and have decades left to live; my wealth and power are not even as good as Zhang Xiaolin's, and I don't want to die so early.

Speaking back to the French attitude, once I agree to take over Zhang Xiaolin's mess, when the time comes, I will be holding the Frenchmen's money while also holding you Japanese people's power; do you think the French will let me off? Do you think I will believe you when you say you will definitely exhaust all efforts to protect my safety? Mr. Omura, words cannot be spoken too fully; absolute safety does not exist in this world.

I will reiterate once more: whoever's rice bowl you eat from, you do work for. I know you Japanese won't stop here; a perfectly good Shanghai, with two concessions popping up, is uncomfortable to look at, and sooner or later you will march your troops into the concessions. By that time, if you trust me and still let me work at the police station, then how I am doing things now is how I will do them then. When the time comes for me to arrest people from the two parties, Mr. Omura, I will tell you the truth: even if you completely occupy China and scatter the two parties, I still wouldn't dare to be their enemy. Because even if they are only gasping for breath, the remaining people wanting my life would be an easy task.

And in the current situation, although your military edge is sharp and you are cutting through like bamboo, the resistance you are encountering is becoming greater and greater. I still remember last year you said you would quell the China Incident in one month and resolve the Kuomintang Central Army in three months; the fact is that the front lines are still fighting now. You tell me, how could I dare to step forward and seek death?

Mr. Omura, you had better find someone else; this kind of thing, Wang Mou truly cannot do."

With this string of words, Wang Yan spoke from the bottom of his heart with genuine emotion, and his words also revealed his fear regarding Zhang Xiaolin's death this time. When mentioning the two parties, he was truly like a frightened rabbit, with four words written all over his face: "greedy for life, afraid of death."

Akihiro Omura stared straight into Wang Yan's eyes: "Are you not afraid of angering the Great Japanese Empire and having you killed right now?"

"That won't happen, Mr. Omura, we are friends, aren't we? Up until now, except for that one unintentional mistake before, I have never blocked your path, and have even made things convenient for you. Before the war started, your people were frequently fighting with the two parties' people in the French Concession; although I was only a small captain then, I still guaranteed your safety. I don't need to talk about that period, do I? How many of your people did the French arrest? I didn't arrest a single one.

And why did you come personally to have me take over Zhang Xiaolin's mess? Isn't it precisely because I have value? You all know clearly that even if I don't arrest people from the two parties, my ability to get things done is there. Even if you don't have gunfights with the two parties' people in my jurisdiction, then my jurisdiction is the safest; no one dares to commit crimes here. The residents, vagrants, little beggars, merchants, and tycoons within the jurisdiction are all in perfect order. Even if I don't oppose the two parties, such an ability to maintain regional stability is also what you need, isn't it?"

"Ordinary people only have petty cleverness; only Detective Wang has great wisdom. What you said is correct; just as Yoko Minami is opening doors of convenience for you and arranging women for you, we all appreciate you very much. Before coming, I was already clear that with your character, you would never step forward for anything. Since you won't do it, we shouldn't force you." Akihiro Omura chuckled and picked up a piece of steamed fish from the table, and after feeling the fresh and tender taste, he said: "Then, who do you think is suitable?"

"Mr. Omura, this is making things difficult for me; you don't know, so how would Wang Mou know so much? You are clear that although I am also a member of the Green Gang, I don't have close dealings with those other bosses; I can't say."

"Oh? Is that so? I don't think so. Perhaps you haven't received the news yet, but I have already received intelligence. After the news of Zhang Xiaolin's death spread this morning, those Green Gang members who were at odds with Zhang Xiaolin and had an ambiguous attitude toward the Great Japanese Empire gathered together at noon. They even invited Huang Jinrong, but were refused. They argued for two hours and finally decided to find you and have you step forward. Detective Wang, what do you think?"

This was not an unexpected matter. Before Zhang Xiaolin died, they each governed their own affairs because they knew Zhang Xiaolin couldn't do anything to them. As long as they occasionally bowed their heads and made a few concessions, it would be fine. And they didn't offend the Japanese, just peacefully operating their gambling, drugs, and other businesses in the Public Concession and French Concession. Being fellow Green Gang members, and with those bosses who hadn't explicitly defected to the Japanese, uniting was also a force not to be underestimated, so everyone usually kept to their own business.

But now it was different. Zhang Xiaolin was dead, and no one could suppress the previous bosses who had defected to the Japanese; they all started developing for their own interests. They were all people who had come up in the Shanghai Bund, and in such a small place, they knew each other's character all too well. So if the Japanese could find someone to suppress them, it would be fine; if not, then the Shanghai Bund, which had been tending toward stability, would surely see another bloody storm.

Those who hadn't defected knew very well that among the older generation, only Huang Jinrong and Du Yong had that prestige. But Huang Jinrong had already retired and didn't ask about underworld affairs; otherwise, Zhang Xiaolin wouldn't have gained power back then. Du Yong had even run to Hong Kong, gasping for life there. Besides them, there was no one else who could make people convinced.

As for those other older people, perhaps they had once been very glorious, with disciples spread across all walks of life, many of whom were outstanding and held high positions. But they had been away for many years; if people gave them face, they would call them Uncle or Grand-Uncle, but if they didn't, who recognized those old guys? "Old and not dying is a thief"; when one is old, one should be honest. Only by being honest can one have corresponding prestige, and the former students and old acquaintances, and the favors scattered out, would be useful; now, after all, it was no longer their underworld.

If one were to talk about a single force being the most powerful, besides Zhang Xiaolin's direct line, it was Wang Yan, who had been developing on his own all these years and belonged to the younger generation. Not only in terms of the strength of such manpower, but Wang Yan was also not inferior at all in terms of connections. After all, Wang Yan was so afraid of death and had been doing business with the two parties for so many years; how could he not leave himself a way out? The Kuomintang's territory was larger, so naturally, he had made more acquaintances, among whom there was no lack of people in high positions. They were all people who had come up in the world, and behind them all were pulling a whole bunch of people.

Wang Yan was famously greedy for life and afraid of death in the Shanghai Bund; even five or six-year-old children had made up doggerel about it, singing it for fun on the streets and alleys. They concluded that Wang Yan would definitely not step forward to do work for the Japanese. Even if they were in Wang Yan's position, they wouldn't go either. After all, he already had a force not to be underestimated, no one dared to move him easily, and he was happily making money; only a fool would be a lackey for the Japanese, be cursed as a big traitor, and be targeted by people from the two parties.

So they did the opposite: since Wang Yan wouldn't defect to the Japanese, they would pull Wang Yan over to their group to step forward, withstand the Japanese pressure, and suppress those original Zhang Xiaolin subordinates who were leaderless. In this way, the Shanghai Bund would still be the original Shanghai Bund, and everyone would be happy.

"Wang Mou is most greedy for money and lust; if you say I have no ambition, Mr. Omura probably wouldn't believe it." Wang Yan drank a mouthful of wine and said with a chuckle: "I indeed haven't received the news yet, but if they truly find me to step forward, then I will definitely step forward. Because this will make my status leap, becoming the new generation's Green Gang leader, holding the reins of the Green Gang. I think by that time, you won't interfere in the internal struggles of the Green Gang, right? After all, you have always followed the policy of using Chinese to control Chinese."

"Of course, as long as you don't cause a big commotion and don't affect our plans, who would be willing to meddle in other people's business?" Akihiro Omura also laughed, laughing at Wang Yan's undisguised ambition. He asked: "Detective Wang, if they really find you, what do you plan to do?"

"Of course, harmony brings wealth. I am a businessman; although I did indeed start by fighting and killing in my early years, I am most annoyed by such things. So I will still be the same: everyone together, harmoniously making a big fortune. I won't force those who don't agree; it's better to part on good terms. But you can rest assured, I still won't cooperate with the two parties, and even less will I offend them. Our cooperation will continue, and can even be deeper."

"What do you mean?"

Wang Yan laughed: "You also know that my goods are sold to the Nationalist-controlled areas and the Soviet areas, and even your merchants are the same. You have occupied many places now and can dump goods locally, but in the Nationalist-controlled areas and the Soviet areas, although your goods are also sold there, they are still far inferior. And I have been doing business with them for so many years and have smooth channels. You can completely hand the goods to me, and I will help you sell them over there. You can cooperate with merchants, or you can have your own relatives operate it; as long as you give the goods to me, then the rest is just waiting to count the money."

"However, there is one point: your goods cannot have Japanese-style packaging; they can only be Western-style or Chinese-style. You know that our cooperation hasn't been put out in the open, so it's better to be a bit more secretive. Otherwise, if the people from the two parties find out, I'm afraid they'll come over and take me to the chopping block for no reason. The Red Party has someone called Comrade Pei Min Min, and he is a ruthless person; how many people has he killed over these years? I heard he is right here in Shanghai. Although the Military Statistics Bureau doesn't have a strong figure like Comrade Pei Min Min, they also have the so-called Four Great Assassins; they have been acting frequently lately, and their methods are not weak either. I am truly afraid."

"As for how much profit our cooperation can yield, that depends on what kind of goods you give me. In this regard, you should be able to trust my character; after all, I have been cooperating with the French and some British and Americans for so many years, and nothing has ever gone wrong. Your intelligence system is very powerful; you can inquire about how much money they have made over these years; this is not a difficult task for you, is it?"

Zhang Xiaolin was dead. Regardless of whether those old things or young little things came to find him, he was the one with the strongest strength in the Green Gang, bar none. And now the situation was unclear, and the Japanese couldn't control the situation in the first instance, so as Akihiro Omura said, those people would surely come to find him, pushing him to step forward. Perhaps they might want to fool a fool and throw him away after use, but was he, Wang Mou, so easy to be toyed with?

To put it bluntly, right now, he was the new generation leader holding the reins of the Green Gang!

Akihiro Omura coming over this time was not really to have him take Zhang Xiaolin's position. Even a fool knew it was impossible; how could they not be clear about that? Coming over this time was just to further test his attitude. This was a very normal thing; the principle that "those who are not of my race must have a different heart" was not something only the Chinese understood.

What's more, even now, Wang Yan had already clearly stated that even if he did work for the Japanese, he wouldn't be an enemy of the two parties, and even more undisguisedly said he was doing business with the two parties. The clear traitorous bones were all written on that face that was afraid of death. He said he would do work for whoever's rice bowl he ate from. To put it plainly, wasn't it still following whoever was strong, and "whoever has milk is mother"? At worst, he had a few more small persistent traits than others, requiring more power and wealth to bribe him.

And his initiative to seek cooperation with the Japanese to do business was nothing more than sending money. His status was higher, so he had to use more money to further deepen the binding; twenty thousand US dollars could no longer solve the problem.

Mainly, he also knew the trajectory of events; sooner or later, he would truly have to be under the Japanese. Besides, even if he wasn't under them, the Japanese controlled the water and land wharves and traffic arteries, which was also holding him by the throat. Further binding could also gain further preferential treatment. The toll fees would definitely decrease again; after all, the money saved would all go into the pockets of those high-ranking Japanese government officials stationed in Shanghai; how could they not care about their own money?

In fact, they also had channels to send goods into the Nationalist-controlled areas; if not for this, there wouldn't be so many Japanese goods in the Nationalist-controlled areas now. It was just that relative to their production capacity, the goods sold were few. Their infiltration into the Nationalist-controlled areas was not weak, but they couldn't use those forces to conduct commercial profit-seeking; that would expose their power.

So this gave Wang Yan an opportunity; otherwise, there wouldn't be a share for him, let alone changing the packaging to deceive himself and others.

Akihiro Omura silently ate the sumptuous feast on the table. After a long while, he put down his chopsticks and picked up his wine cup: "I need to go back and talk to them all; after all, your transport capacity is limited, and how much goods are distributed is not clear. Regardless, thank you for your friendship. Cheers."

"You're too polite. However, Mr. Omura, when the time comes, I need a detailed list. You should understand, I always need to know who my friends are, right?"

"That is of course. Let's drink."

Akihiro Omura tilted his head and drank the small cup of wine in his hand, left a word of farewell, and said he would contact him later, then simply got up and left.

Seeing the little Japanese leave, Qi Si, who had been eavesdropping on the side for half a day, came over with tableware. Looking at the food on the table, he waved to the manager in the distance. After he came over, he pointed to the food in front of him and said: "Send all these dishes out to those beggars, and tell them there will be more in a while, understand? Serve me another table of new ones!"

Regarding the silly boy's self-assertive action, Wang Yan didn't say anything, just smiled. He just watched the waiter busy back and forth, and tilted his head to look at the little beggars outside grinning and laughing foolishly.

Not until the food in front of him was cleared and a few cold dishes were served again did he slowly eat and drink, saying with amusement: "Si'er, you have to learn to control your emotions. There are many people in this shop, and you know who is a Japanese spy? If they report it back later, it will cause us trouble. Have you been mixing too much with those radicalized students in Datong lately and been influenced?"

"How is that possible?" Qi Si waved his hands repeatedly: "It's just that I don't want to eat things the little Japanese have eaten. Besides, I don't believe they don't know my past. Children are the most vengeful; it's not like I don't have a reason for doing this. Using the words you taught me, this is maintaining consistency and protecting my inherent impression in the eyes of outsiders."

"You..." Wang Yan pointed at him vaguely with his chopsticks, shook his head and laughed: "You've really grown up; I don't know if forcing you to study back then was right or wrong."

"Of course it was right; not knowing characters and not reading books is like being blind, not even being able to understand picture books and stories." Facing his big brother's deep eyes that saw through everything, Qi Si shrank his neck, then stiffened his neck again, changing the subject: "Brother Yan, are we really doing business for the Japanese?"

"When a person reaches a certain position, many things are beyond one's control; there is no choice. You heard it all; Zhang Xiaolin is dead, and I am the biggest in the Green Gang. If I don't get closer to the Japanese, can they rest easy? 'To give is to get'; only by giving can one gain. Moreover, we haven't given anything; it's just that our attitude has loosened a bit. Doing business with the Japanese, we aren't losing money; this is called a win-win. Why, do you have an opinion?"

"How would I dare? I just didn't understand it and was learning."

Wang Yan looked at him deeply, shook his head again, didn't speak, and went back to eating and drinking.

He could be certain that even if Qi Si hadn't joined the Red Party, he must have mixed into the status of an peripheral member by now. Just as he said, this kid had been hanging around Datong University with him for such a long time; wasn't he influenced?

Qi Si himself hated the Japanese because of things from his childhood, and with the Red Party's propaganda personnel outputting a whole set, from the individual to the nation, from the small family to the big family, it didn't take much effort to confuse this kid. This was different from so-called mixing in the underworld; Qi Si wasn't without wits, otherwise he wouldn't have lived until now. It was just that he had suffered since childhood and was displaced, so he had a greater resonance with the communist ideal.

Of course, it was also mainly because of Wang Yan, who hadn't let him become a purely selfish person. Instead, he let him be the boss, protecting those little beggars who were homeless like him and even younger than him. The spirit of "having been rained on in childhood, wanting to hold an umbrella for others" had been cultivated since childhood, and he had the quality of self-sacrifice.

Added to the fact that he was Wang Yan's personal driver, taken everywhere, and knew everything, in the eyes of Red Party members who didn't know Wang Yan, this kid was someone with huge value to be won over.

Wang Yan mentioned a few simple things and didn't say any more, just letting the kid be more alert; he didn't mean to stop Qi Si from joining the Red Party. Living in this era, no one could stay out of it, and even more, no one could avoid death; it depends on fate...

Dish after dish was served again. Wang Yan was thinking about things in a messy way. After eating for a while, he saw a middle-aged man wearing a long gown and slightly chubby enter the door and walk straight toward him.

Walking to the table, the man performed a salute with cupped fists in the style of the underworld: "I am Li Li Yuejin Shan, a disciple of the Wu generation under Feng Nairong, meeting Detective Wang."

Wang Yan glanced at him and continued eating: "Speak?"

Li Li Yuejin Shan naturally wouldn't care about Wang Yan's attitude. At any time, in any place, if Wang Yan slapped him twice, he would still have to smile; this was the huge gap in power and status. He could naturally also be angry and curse, if he wanted to die.

It was just that Wang Yan wouldn't do that; there was no such bullying, it would lose status.

Li Li Yuejin Shan took an invitation out from his bosom and humbly offered it to Wang Yan with both hands: "Tomorrow at noon, Feng Nairong and the other six managers, as well as several seniors and elders, invite you to have lunch at the Guangsheng Teahouse in the French Concession. You must do us the honor of attending the banquet."

"Got it."

"Jin Shan bids farewell." Li Li Yuejin Shan respectfully placed the invitation on an empty spot on the table, cupped his fists, and stepped back one step before turning to leave. The whole set of actions was quite convincing.

Wang Yan looked at Li Li Yuejin Shan's back and shook his head with a smile. Although these things were all things he had thought of before, he still couldn't help but laugh; this was going to become a gangster boss again...