Chapter 700: Return

The wheels of history roll forward, and justice will eventually prevail. Or to change the direction, the one who wins must be justice.

Germany on the European battlefield couldn't be arrogant for too long; after the end of the Battle of Stalingrad, their situation took a turn for the worse, and they were increasingly unable to fight four hands with two fists, and the Allied forces began to win victory after victory.

Japan on the Asia-Pacific battlefield also had a bad situation; after battle after battle, from advantage to equilibrium, and finally to disadvantage. Internal economic problems were serious, and the rapid decline in the quality of soldiers had already made Japan powerless.

As the saying goes, illness comes like a mountain collapse; war is the same. At the beginning of the War of Resistance Against Japan, the Japanese army was strong and sturdy, like a monstrous flood ravaging China; that was China's collapse like a mountain. But later, China removed the silk and illness, and it became Japan's big flood. One failure turned into two failures, then four failures, and finally a total collapse.

Mussolini was executed, Berlin was captured by the Soviet Red Army, Hitler died, Germany surrendered completely, and thus it reached Japan; the bubbling ambition finally ended.

In 1945, on August 9th, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. On the 11th, another atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, Japan...

The car traveled through the countless crowds gathered on the street; sitting in the back row, Wang Yan looked through the car window at the corner of someone's clothes that blocked his sight. Inside the car, which was not very soundproof, it was full of the joy of the people outside.

With two atomic bombs down, it became the last straw that broke the camel's back, and the news that Japan was going to surrender had already spread. Experiencing the initial disbelief, to slowly accepting, then to tears wetting the eye sockets, and finally running out of the house, following the crowd walking on the streets and alleys.

For this moment, 35 million Chinese soldiers and civilians died. This was the post-war statistical data, not the truly accurate number, and it had to add an "above." At the beginning of the war, China had a population of 400 million. These 35 million dead soldiers and civilians, whose children were they, whose husbands, whose wives, whose parents, whose relatives? No one could stay out of it; more or less, they were all harmed by the war.

There was no accurate vocabulary to describe people's mood now. If one had to say it, it was the relaxed relief after the haze covering the heart dissipated, and even more, it was confusion...

However, these people were confused, but those who held power were not confused at all.

"Hahaha..." Ming Lou laughed and poured wine for Wang Yan, "Mr. Wang, we don't have to hide when we talk in the future; it's refreshing, really refreshing. Come, for the victory of the War of Resistance, let's have a drink."

Wang Yan laughed and drank the wine, saying: "Refreshing is really refreshing, but to say that we don't have to hide when we talk in the future, I don't think so."

"Oh? The two parties are already preparing for peace talks, for the sake of establishing a democratic coalition government; do you think the peace talks won't work?"

"Heaven has no two suns, and the country has no two masters; the Kuomintang always shouts that pacifying the interior is more important than resisting the exterior; today the Japanese invaders have been defeated, and if we don't distinguish between high and low, I'm afraid it will be difficult to have a result. This kind of thing, you have no calculation in your heart?"

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Wang Yan ate a mouthful of food and said: "Alright, let's talk; at such a critical time, what are you looking for me for?"

"Receive Shanghai!"

"Who do you represent?"

"Military Statistics!"

Wang Yan sneered: "In the past two days, there have been surrenders everywhere. Dai Yunong has already sent me a telegram; what else do you need to find me for?"

"Let me cooperate with your actions." Ming Lou shook his head, somewhat helplessly: "You might not know yet; in order to receive Shanghai as quickly as possible and not let the Communist Party take advantage, Jiang Zhongzheng instructed Dai Yunong to instigate the Qing Gang and the officials of the puppet government to receive together, and gave them a promise that they would be dealt with lightly in the future. As far as I know, Zhou Fuhai is already preparing, and will act this afternoon."

"What about the Communist Party, any movement?"

"Didn't let me restore my identity." Ming Lou didn't hide it and asked, "Mr. Wang, what are your plans?"

"Just now you said that meeting and talking doesn't need to be hidden; you are not honest." Wang Yan pointed at him with chopsticks, shook his head and smiled, "As for me, of course, it's still the same as it should be. For the past few years, you know what I was like under the Japanese; in the future, I will still be like that. Until the last moment, I will absolutely not express my position. I have already planned my position: Deputy Chief of the Shanghai Police Station. Anyway, I have money and am willing to spend it; I don't believe that under the hands of the Chinese, it will be worse than the Japanese?"

No one was better at playing Tai Chi and fooling around than him; in the past few years, he had been living comfortably by relying on this point. He managed so many people under him, and the Japanese situation before was not ideal, and the secret fighting was very intense, so naturally, he couldn't guarantee that nothing would happen. From the factory to the police station, his trouble had never been less, just fooled over time and time again.

As for the question of whether the Communist Party had any movement, he knew much better than Ming Lou; after all, his news belonged to the central first-hand news, while Ming Lou's was second-hand news, and he knew it much earlier.

Japan's defeat had long been a foregone conclusion; a few months ago, he asked the leaders whether he needed to restore his identity and armed control of Shanghai after Japan surrendered. Undoubtedly, he had this ability.

The Eighth District Police Station recruited some people one after another, more than 3,000, and he had more than 1,000 gangsters under his command; he could also control the 10,000 gangsters of the Qinglian, and the Shanghai underground party organization had to have one or two thousand, and those who could participate in the battle had to have 1,000. In addition, there were the tens of thousands of workers in his factory, and the unions he controlled. Among the worker groups in Shanghai, with the cooperation of the Communist Party, he could mobilize countless workers. The weapons and ammunition he hoarded were certainly not enough to arm so many people, but with the Japanese weapons, he could arm several tens of thousands.

This was already an invincible force in the current Shanghai. As long as the first wave of battle started and the momentum of overturning the sea was fought out, then more and more people would join, and taking Shanghai would not be a problem, decided in a day or night.

The problem was, after taking Shanghai, how to deal with it.

A few days ago, he received the leader's reply regarding this matter, asking him to continue to lurk and not act rashly.

This result was, of course, what he had expected long ago, but he had to say what he had to say, to let the leaders know what kind of power they had in Shanghai now.

Without continuing this topic, Wang Yan said: "I remember Ming Tai is in Beijing, right? Still alive, right? This time, just adjust him back, and your family can be considered reunited."

"Thank you for your concern; Ming Tai is now a Lieutenant Colonel, only one rank lower than me, his brother." Ming Lou nodded with a smile, "I plan to adjust him back after the situation in Shanghai becomes clear."

He was happy for the achievements Ming Tai had made, but to say that Ming Tai was only one rank lower than Ming Lou was a joke. Colonel and Lieutenant Colonel were not on the same level. Moreover, Ming Lou had been a Colonel for eight years; this time, after the war, he would be rewarded for his merits, and he would have to be promoted to Major General. However, Major Generals in the Kuomintang were everywhere; specifically, it depended on what position Ming Lou would be in later to determine what power he had.

"What about your Big Sister, how do you plan to arrange it? Your family are all Communist Party members; I'm afraid it will be difficult to deal with in the future." Seeing Ming Lou frown, Wang Yan shook his head and smiled, "Don't misunderstand, it's just that I'm afraid it will delay business. Now your Ming family's business is deeply tied to me. To put it ugly, whether you brothers live or die is none of my business, but one must be left to operate the business.

I can indeed swallow your family's business, but with the Communist Party here, I dare not. I am not at ease with the Communist Party sending people to take over. So your Big Sister's safety is still relatively important. I have more money, but I won't be that wasteful.

And after the surrender, I have to lose a big fortune; you know this. Although everyone says that I, Wang Mou, am their friend, this friend is too fat, so he has become a pig, and everyone wants to come up and take a bite; this is also no way."

Ming Lou nodded, indicating he knew: "Then your meaning is..."

"Go to Hong Kong. I said, your Big Sister is not material for underground struggle; it's pretty good to do business relying on wealth. Now the Communist Party has lost the advantage of penicillin, and its influence is not as good as the Kuomintang; in the future, it will definitely be chased around; it's pretty good for your Big Sister to support the Communist Party with money and supplies. Hong Kong still has to be the British; even if you have an accident, it won't endanger your Big Sister, and doing business there is more convenient. And I also have some influence in Hong Kong, enough to ensure safety. What do you think?"

After pondering for a while, Ming Lou nodded: "I will do some ideological work for my Big Sister when I go back, and let her leave when the situation stabilizes."

He, of course, also wanted Ming Jing to be well; if there hadn't been Wang Yan's reminder about the previous incident, it was possible that their whole family would have lost their lives. Ming Jing was indeed not suitable for work behind enemy lines; it was too dangerous.

Not entangled in this aspect, he talked about business: "When do you plan to act?"

Wang Yan touched a glass with him and drank wine, saying: "Eat first, don't worry."

"What about Zhou Fuhai?"

"Success is king, failure is bandit; a phoenix without hair is not as good as a chicken, not to mention he is not a phoenix. If he doesn't know the situation, then today is his death day." A generation of Qing Gang giants, big gangster heads, arrogantly issued the strongest voice of this era.

For a time, Ming Lou only felt the aura of force overflowing, blinding his eyes. Wang Yan was sitting there, but he suddenly discovered that the person in front of him was so strange. With an elegant demeanor, the domineering edge was exposed. It seemed that Wang Yan at this moment was his original appearance.

Seeing Ming Lou's stunned appearance, Wang Yan smiled and talked to himself: "I truly debuted in the 16th year of the Republic of China; that year, I was 18 years old, worshipped under Lin Hongyuan's door, joined the police station and became a package listener. My true rise was in the spring of the 27th year of the Republic of China; it can be considered that the war achieved me; I clearly remember that the spring of that year was very cold; that year, I was 29 years old. And now it is the 34th year of the Republic of China; I am 36 years old.

From 18 to 36, I constantly climbed up, did business with foreigners, did business with the two parties, did business with the Japanese; I was smiling and sending money to people everywhere, and only then did I achieve today's me. But for these 18 years, I have always been a grandson. It is conceivable that in the future, I will still be a grandson to others. Ming Lou, I, Wang Mou, have only lived these few days in my life."

Looking at the high-spirited Wang Yan, Ming Lou choked for a long time and said: "Power must be restrained. The world is like this; only by yin and yang complementing each other can it last long."

Wang Yan smiled: "Eat, after all, only after eating can you have the strength to do things."

Just like this, after a lunch, Ming Lou mobilized a part of Military Statistics' manpower, and then waited to see Wang Yan's actions. It was also at this time that he truly realized how much energy Wang Yan had.

Because following Wang Yan's order, countless big trucks drove onto the street, dispersing the crowds still immersed in joy on the street. The police carried guns onto the trucks and went straight to the nearby factories and Japanese companies, sealing them all. This was what Ming Lou saw while sitting in the car with Wang Yan, and there were places he couldn't see; the police who originally belonged to the International Settlement Police Station were also fully armed, holding weapons, getting on the trucks, and rushing in all directions. There were also a thousand gangsters dressed in short clothes; these were Wang Yan's direct subordinates. In addition, there were the 10,000 gangsters of the Qinglian, who also all went out holding private guns.

The reporters on the street used cameras to photograph various scenes, intending to publish them later to expose the Kuomintang's evil deeds. No one was a fool; they knew very well that this was to receive the assets left by the Japanese, and they also knew that this was not wanting to let the Communist Party take advantage. But for this matter, they actually dared to employ people from the Wang puppet government, and even had gangsters from the Qing Gang; was this still the act of a government of a country? Exposure, must expose.

However, it was a pity; what would happen in the future was unclear. But within these few days, if their news could be published, that would be Wang Yan's failure.

Passing by the original International Settlement area, Ming Lou pointed to the trucks crossing Suzhou Creek outside, as well as the police belonging to this side sitting inside, and asked: "Mr. Wang, are they under the command of Zhou Fuhai, or you?"

"You were listening to my phone call, so why ask nonsense. Wang Mou is not a vegetarian; infiltrating the International Settlement is not difficult. As for the Qinglian, humph, that old thing Du Yong has always been looking for my trouble all these years; this time, let him see clearly that he is no longer the majestic Qing Gang tycoon of the past; there is no place for him in the Shanghai Bund; it's better to go to Hong Kong to retire early. Otherwise, his old bones can only go to feed the fish in the Huangpu River."

Ming Lou frowned and pondered: "You want to let them see your energy, so as to ensure your position and your interests?"

"Of course. Otherwise, people will only think that Wang Mou is easy to bully, and everyone wants to take a bite, and after biting, they want to step on it. Of course, this is just showing off the wrist; if you should bow your head, you should bow your head; as long as it's not too much, it's all easy to talk about. Only by being able to bend and stretch can one be a great man; everyone is good, that is truly good."

Ming Lou didn't say anything more, just looked at the situation outside all the way, feeling the huge change at this time...

The car drove all the way to the Japanese consulate, and the two walked in one after another.

At this time, in the consulate, papers were scattered everywhere on the ground, and there was even the smell of smoke from burning paper; a group of Japanese walked quickly with expressionless faces, carrying out the finishing work.

Taking the elevator to the top floor, Wang Yan and Ming Lou met Iwai Eiichi, who looked much more haggard; he had been transferred to the Consul General in Guangzhou and would set off after handling the affairs here.

"Wang Sang, Ming Sang, you are here." Iwai Eiichi still welcomed the two with a smile, let them sit down, and started fiddling with the tea set to make tea, "Are you here to receive?"

Wang Yan nodded: "Has Zhou Fuhai been here?"

"Yes, anyway, the things are there; whoever has the ability can take them."

At this time, receiving Japanese puppet assets had already begun to look crazy. People, for the sake of their own interests, dared to do anything. Especially many original puppet government personnel, they were the most powerful. They just counted on this time to get more benefits, and after the Kuomintang officially received Shanghai, they would buy a life with money, or even want to seek a position and continue to be happy.

Wang Yan nodded: "When is Mr. Iwai leaving?"

"In two days, after the affairs here are handled." Iwai Eiichi sighed long, "Its rise is rapid, its fall is sudden; it is truly time and luck."

Ming Lou smiled: "From the beginning of the war, you were destined to have this day."

Iwai Eiichi looked at the refreshing Ming Lou and smiled: "Ming Sang, why don't you hide it? It's the last few days; it's good to deal with it; it can be considered as fulfilling our friendship; why bother?"

"I don't have any friendship with you." Ming Lou hummed, "When did you find out?"

"There is an old saying in China, called 'a leaf blinds the eye and one cannot see Mount Tai,' and there is an old poem, called 'not knowing the true face of Lushan, only because one is in this mountain.' Now that Japan has been defeated, I can finally think about the past properly; thinking more, I understand."

Iwai Eiichi looked at Wang Yan with a smile, "Wang Sang, are you also helping them secretly?"

"Mr. Iwai, I, Wang Mou, have always helped openly; I have never hidden it." Wang Yan was also smiling, "Since the words have reached this point, I have a request that is not a request."

"Please speak." Iwai Eiichi was very calm, drinking tea while rolling three times, as if he didn't take anything to heart.

"Can you please return the antiques and money that I, Wang Mou, sent before?"

Suddenly hearing Wang Yan's words, Iwai Eiichi didn't swallow well, coughed violently, and looked at Wang Yan somewhat embarrassed: "Wang Sang, do you really want to be so absolute? You must know that when doing things, leave a line, so that we can meet again in the future."

"Mr. Iwai, it will be difficult to meet again in the future, so why talk about meeting again?" Wang Yan laughed, "My people are downstairs; go and arrange it."

"What if I don't return it?"

"There are always some people with lofty ideals who hate you Japanese so much that they want to eat your flesh; Mr. Iwai, doing this is very dangerous. Oh, by the way, I, Wang Mou, still have business dealings with your mainland, and I know a little about your family situation. If you want to defend yourself well, I'm afraid it's difficult."

Ming Lou, who was sitting on the side, had his eyes wide open; this Wang Yan was so fierce? He dared to threaten to kill the whole family of someone with Iwai Eiichi's status? Listening to the meaning in the words, it seemed very easy? This is the real gangster...

Iwai Eiichi wished he could kill Wang Yan on the spot; after a long while, he let out a long breath, expressionless, stood up, and raised his hand to the door: "Please, the two of you."

"Mr. Iwai, I hope you won't do small actions in the future; let's try to live peacefully until we die." Wang Yan reached out and patted Iwai Eiichi on the shoulder, and left with a laugh in the eyes of this little Japanese who wanted to die...

Iwai Eiichi had patted him for seven years, and he only patted once; he couldn't stand it. If it weren't for considering the influence, Iwai Eiichi really had no way to live...

Once again, he got into the car, and Ming Lou asked: "Where to next?"

"Of course, it's to find Zhou Fuhai and let him recognize the situation."

"By the way, Mr. Wang, how to deal with Liang Zhongchun?"

Wang Yan waved his hand: "Do you still need to ask me? Although he helped a lot, he also did so many evils, and he has no backer, so what else to say? Of course, kill him. Then swallow his industry, and we will divide it into two."

"Sigh, knowing today, why bother in the beginning..."

The matter of receiving Japanese heritage was still continuing; Wang Yan settled Zhou Fuhai and received all kinds of assets in a big way. He, of course, couldn't keep these things; a large part was waiting for the real surrender officer to arrive and hand them over, and only a small part was his. Of course, even if it was only a small part, it was a small part of the wealth of Shanghai, the largest metropolis in the Far East, which was a massive amount.

Wang Yan planned to send these things out later.

He must lose money; to reinforce the network he connected, and to save his life, to save his wealth and position, he had to be willing. For this kind of thing, of course, it was better to spend less of his own money, so he grabbed it fiercely; he wouldn't feel bad about sending these things out.

Actually, he didn't say he coerced the puppet government officials; he himself had a lot of advantages. Many factories opened by Japanese high officials and overseas Chinese in Shanghai had his shares; now that the Japanese were defeated, those things were all his.

Of course, receiving assets was one part. There was another part, which was the death of many people. Because, there were always some accounts to be cleared. The big ones were not easy to move, and the small ones didn't have that much trouble.

During this period, Wang Yan was the person with the greatest power in the Shanghai Bund...

However, he didn't care about these, and after explaining things, he returned home and stayed with the idle Yu Manli...

In 1945, at noon on August 15th, Japanese Emperor Hirohito broadcast to all of Japan, unconditionally surrendering, ending the war.

In 1945, on September 2nd, at 9:00 AM, the Japanese surrender signing ceremony, marking the end of World War II, was held on the main deck of the Missouri anchored in Tokyo Bay. 【

The War of Resistance Against Japan finally officially ended, and radio stations across China broadcast this news. Although they had already celebrated once before, this time, many people still took to the streets, rejoicing...

And while the arrangements for Japan's surrender were underway, on August 28, 1945, the Red Party side arrived in Chongqing for a meeting between the two parties. After a period of negotiation, on October 10, the Double Tenth Agreement was signed.

But history tells us that apart from the ordinary common people, no one believed in this signed agreement.

The old struggle had not yet gone far, and the new struggle would eventually arrive...