Spy Wars: Red Shopkeeper

Chapter 162 Pressure
One more!

After the extremely ordinary group photo of high-ranking officials, Gu Yansheng and He Xingjian sat down to continue their conversation.

Let's talk about the battles in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai, some inside stories of the Military Intelligence Bureau, and the officialdom in Shanghai.

"Chief, the quartermaster has arrived."

"Okay, Commander He, let's go down then."

Gu Yansheng called over the head of the general affairs department, "You accompany the quartermaster of the National Salvation Army to buy some vegetables and meat, mainly meat. Buy more, and purchase twenty or thirty large fat pigs."

Is that enough?

Gu Yansheng looked at He Xingjian.

He Xingjian immediately laughed, "That's enough. They haven't had any meat in so long. What more could they want than to eat meat?"

"Alright, that's settled then. Let's go, let's go, we can't wait any longer." Gu Yansheng was very eager to leave the city and fire his gun.

He Xingjian was an expert in this area, and since it was a rare opportunity for him to show off in front of Gu Yansheng, he immediately took out a gun in the car and explained to Gu Yansheng how to use the gun and how to shoot accurately.

"Guns are a bit lacking, but cannons are more interesting. Tell me about cannons."

"Alright, then I'll tell you about cannons."

It took the car an hour to reach Daying after leaving the city.

When He Xingjian arrived at the camp headquarters, his subordinates greeted him warmly, making him appear very imposing.

"There are two battalions outside Shanghai now, more than a thousand men. The rest of the troops are scattered around. The flags on the city walls are changing hands. The Japanese are still not at ease with me and have brought more than 10,000 men outside Shanghai."

As they walked, He Xingjian explained the size of the army here to Gu Yansheng with a smile.

Gu Yansheng didn't care about any of that; he was there to fire the cannons.

"As long as there's a cannon, that's fine. Don't tell me we have to keep going. This one-hour journey has already shaken my butt raw."

"Hahaha, yes, we have mortars. Fire as many shells as you like, guards!"

After setting up the formation, the artillerymen began teaching Gu Yansheng how to fire the cannons.

Do I really need you to teach me this little thing?
Have you ever heard that sharpshooters are made by being fed bullets? Artillerymen are made by being fed cannonballs. Gu Yansheng, just keep shooting!

"Load the ammunition."

"Bring me some more artillery shells."

"Damn it, this tree isn't growing well, it's not even growing! I'll just shoot it down!"

"Firepower! Blow that tree down!"

The artillery commander was heartbroken; all the savings he had painstakingly accumulated through frugality had been squandered by this rich young man from Shanghai.

The key is that you can hit the target accurately. The current way of firing is a complete waste of shells, which costs money.

Liu Xiaolou was taking photos, responsible for taking handsome pictures of Gu Yansheng. He secretly glanced at her, and the artillery commander ran to complain to He Xingjian.

"Commander, where did this rich kid come from? You can't be this wasteful. Ten silver dollars a shell, and he's fired more shells than we do in a month."

"Young master?" He Xingjian glanced at him sideways, stood with his hands behind his back, and watched Gu Yansheng fire a cannon with a faint smile.

"This is a high-ranking official in the SH municipal government, and later in the Nanjing government. In terms of rank, he may not be lower than me. Let me tell you, let alone 10 silver dollars a shot, even if it's 100 silver dollars a shot, you have to let him shoot as many as he wants."

"If the stockpile runs out, even if you send a telegram right now, you'd better get some shells from somewhere else and let him have his fill. One word from him can decide whether you'll be eating meat or shit for the next month."

"So impressive?" The artillery commander's expression changed instantly, realizing that Gu Yansheng's silhouette as he fired the cannon was indeed quite dashing.

He Xingjian laughed and said, "Otherwise, why do you think I'm here? Finding someone with a hobby that you can contribute to is called luck, it's called catering to their interests. In the future, when he's in charge of our military supplies, if you can't find a way in, others will treat you strictly as a business, or even embezzle funds. Do you know how much money you'll lose here?"

"Yes, yes, Mr. Gu, that was excellent! Give us another shot to show us!"

The artillery commander quickly stepped forward, praising Gu Yansheng's artillery skills while subtly offering advanced artillery techniques, making sure Gu Yansheng didn't realize he was being taught. He attributed everything to Gu's natural talent, a born artillery genius. Gu Yansheng learned and fired simultaneously; after all, having more skills was never a bad thing. Such opportunities were rare; the only time one could unleash artillery fire without restraint was when someone was flattering him, and even then, the other party had to be a high-ranking military figure.

Furthermore, if he doesn't use them, who will he use these shells for? To attack the New Fourth Army?

It would be better to let him blast it.

"Commander He, why don't you fire a few shots and have a contest?" Gu Yansheng said, drinking water while supporting his back.

He Xingjian also came to participate.

Liu Xiaolou didn't even need Gu Yansheng to say anything; the atmosphere was right, and he very selflessly took several photos of He Xingjian from multiple angles.

While we were fighting, the Japanese troops came by on their motorcycles. We thought there was a battle going on somewhere, but it turned out they were just playing by themselves, so we decided to join in.

After they finished playing, He Xingjian sent his men, who had gone out to find wild game, back.

There wasn't much to offer Gu Yansheng in the camp; it was mostly canned food and dry rations, with only a little bit of wild game to offer any novelty.

Gu Yansheng also got to know He Xingjian's staff team; some of them were familiar faces.

Go home.

The next day, Gu Yansheng made a phone call to the military police headquarters to urge them on the matter of the out-of-town military police clearing out drug dealers. Then, he took the photos that were delivered to Chen Mo.

There were actually many photos, but none of them could be left for Chen Mo; he could only see them.

“We got back quite late last night, and He Xingjian was still taking his gang to the dance hall to drink and find women. There should be opportunities. Be patient and keep looking.”

Chen Mo carefully memorized the person and nodded, "Okay, I understand. Don't worry about the rest, I'll handle it."

"It would be best to let me know before you take any action, so I can help if anything happens."

"Okay, I'll observe first."

After explaining things to Chen Mo, Gu Yansheng took all the photos with him and then went to find Shen Linshen.

Spring clothes are ready to be picked up.

Gu Yansheng explained He Xingjian's situation.

Shen Linshen nodded. "I saw the newspaper about the defection. I have also notified the New Fourth Army. He Xingjian's defection is a serious matter. In the enemy-occupied areas of Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai, the main force responsible for operations behind enemy lines is our Renhe and the Loyal and Patriotic Army."

According to our information, the Loyal and Patriotic Army only had a total of over 20,000 men. Now that half of them have been wiped out, the Japanese army will be able to focus their efforts elsewhere, which will put even more pressure on us.

Thank goodness we had guns, otherwise this would have been really tough.

Gu Yansheng came specifically for this reason; the situation behind enemy lines is very bad.

"How's the gun smuggling situation in Sassoon?"

"They've already been shipped out. Sassoon is indeed quite capable. From what I know, the guns were shipped out on a ship belonging to the British Swire Shipping Company. The Japanese at Wusongkou didn't even bother to check them."

If I'm not mistaken, Swire Shipping will deliver the goods directly to the Swire Wharf in Wuhu, which is an asset of the Swire Company itself.

The telegram hasn't arrived yet, and judging by the time, it shouldn't have reached Wuhu yet. It should arrive in about two more days.

Gu Yansheng nodded. "Swire Group has a partnership with the Japanese Chamber of Commerce. Some ships are responsible for transporting coal from Wuhu to Shanghai. Sassoon has a British military background, and Swire Group is a British official company. The Japanese don't dare to offend the British too much right now. It's good news."

I have two more things to do.

Gu Yansheng said, "First, Zhou wants me to establish a newspaper in western Shanghai, which may become the official newspaper of the Wang Jingwei regime in the future. Even if it doesn't, it will be Zhou's mouthpiece."

This kind of newspaper must have access to a lot of classified information and many sources. You can ask the organization if they're interested in placing someone there; I can control the recruitment process.

“This is a good opportunity.” Shen Linshen thought for a moment and nodded. “The organization will definitely be interested. Moreover, there are already talented people in Shanghai. Let him resign and interview at your newspaper. He is experienced and it is reasonable. You don’t even need to let him know your identity.”

I'll report back in a bit. Anything else?

(End of this chapter)