Courtyard House: Home Alone

Chen Gongshu followed his gaze and nodded in agreement, "Indeed, the Japanese can't even hold onto their sea routes now. They're only managing to hold on by sheer grit. If we make a move, we can catch them off guard."

Lin Yifan instructed, "Go and contact our advance team first, and see if they have made arrangements. Have a small portion of the people on the ship disembark first. Once everything is settled, I will escort them off the ship."

Chen Gongshu disembarked upon hearing the order, while Lin Yifan stood on the bridge, waiting for news. His gaze swept across the entire Victoria Harbour, and he silently considered the defenses and the next steps to take.

Before long, Chen Gongshu was seen leading a man in a gray suit quickly toward the dock. When the man saw Lin Yifan standing on the bridge, he quickly straightened his collar and stood respectfully waiting on the shore.

Once the gangway was in place, Chen Gongshu came up first and introduced Lin Yifan: "Young master, this is Lao Zheng, Zheng Jianming, the person in charge of our development in Hong Kong Island, whom we sent here half a year ago. His family is originally from Chaozhou."

Zheng Jianming quickly followed, extending his hand to Lin Yifan, his voice excited: "Young master, the accommodations have all been arranged, all of them are houses and warehouses that we bought."

We didn't have much money with us, so most people had to be temporarily housed in the warehouse, to be released gradually later. I also took care of their immigration status; I bribed someone in the puppet government who could help with the process, and his price wasn't too high.

Lin Yifan shook hands with him and said with a smile, "Good! You've worked hard. These past six months, you've established yourselves under the noses of the Japanese, it hasn't been easy."

Zheng Jianming quickly waved his hand: "It's all what I should do, young master. I've already arranged a car. Please come with me to our lodgings first, and then we'll give you a detailed report on the Japanese deployment."

Lin Yifan nodded in agreement, then turned around and gave a few instructions to the key personnel on duty on the ship, telling them to keep an eye on the supplies and personnel on the ship, and not to allow anyone to disembark without orders. Only then did he follow Zheng Jianming out of the dock.

The group got into a car that was already parked outside the pier and drove along the streets of Hong Kong Island into the city. Zheng Jianming sat in the passenger seat and pointed out the way to Lin Yifan while saying, "Young master, there are about 8,200 Japanese soldiers stationed on Hong Kong Island now."

Of these, over four thousand were concentrated at the headquarters and port in the northern part of Hong Kong Island, while the rest were scattered at various key points. Recently, the Japanese supplies had been dwindling, morale was extremely low, and many lower-ranking soldiers were secretly selling contraband.

Lin Yifan nodded as he listened, looking out the car window at the street scene, and asked, "Not bad, you've done a great job. Once we've wiped out the Japanese, everyone will be rewarded according to their contributions."

As they were talking, the car turned into a secluded villa area and stopped in front of a mansion with a garden. Zheng Jianming got out of the car first and opened the door for Lin Yifan: "Young master, we bought this mansion a long time ago. The original owner left Hong Kong Island a long time ago. Usually, only me and a few brothers live here. It's perfect for you to come and stay. It's safe and quiet."

Lin Yifan got out of the car, looked around at the surroundings, nodded, and followed Zheng Jianming into the Western-style building. As soon as they sat down, Zheng Jianming spread out the Japanese defense deployment map that he had prepared earlier on the table and came over to mark the Japanese firing points and garrison positions for Lin Yifan one by one.

Lin Yifan bent down to examine the map carefully, his fingertips slowly sliding across it. Before long, he decided on the target for the first wave of attacks. He looked up at Chen Gongshu and Zheng Jianming standing to the side and said, "Let's take down the Japanese on the periphery first. Leave the port and the Japanese headquarters for last, because if we take action against them now, the Japanese will bring in people from other places."

I'll leave you a batch of Mauser pistols and Thompson submachine guns. That way, the Japanese will think it was the resistance or guerrillas who did it, making it easier for you to hide. Once you're completely familiar with Hong Kong Island, give them a final, decisive blow.

By then, it will be impossible for the Japanese to transfer troops from other places.

"Young master, could you leave us a few more Springfield sniper rifles? They're American-made, and they're perfect for taking down the Japanese. That way, we can keep the distance and make our retreat easier."

Chen Gongshu pointed to several Japanese artillery positions and observation posts on the defense map and said in a deep voice, "These positions are all at high altitudes, which are perfect for long-range sniping."

If we take out these Japanese sentry posts and lookout points first, we can not only weaken their vigilance capabilities but also disrupt their command system, thus reducing our casualties when the fighting starts.

Lin Yifan smiled and nodded after listening: "Okay, we'll do it your way. In addition to the Springfield sniper rifle, I'll leave you some more bullets. I'll also leave you other heavy weapons, including light and heavy machine guns and mortars."

Chen Gongshu lit a cigarette, took a puff, and continued, "Young master, didn't you say you had a few gunboats left? Are you going to leave them for us too?"

Lin Yifan tapped the table with his fingertips and replied, "No problem, Lao Zheng. Find a secluded harbor in the next couple of days, and I'll leave all six patrol boats and four gunboats to you."

As for those three dilapidated Japanese warships, I'll take care of them for you when you leave. Then, with your gunboats and patrol boats, you'll be able to roam freely in the waters around Hong Kong Island.

Upon hearing this, Zheng Jianming's eyes lit up, and he quickly stepped forward and said, "I know there's a secluded bay in Saigon where few Japanese ships usually go. It's a good place to moor the ship and hide. I'll take the brothers there tomorrow to clear out the area."

Lin Yifan nodded, pulled the deployment map closer to himself, and circled several of the Japanese army's supply depots with a pen: "Okay, do some camouflage at the entrance."

Furthermore, while I'm here these next couple of days, let's take action in these areas first. Our men have just arrived and are short of guns and ammunition. Taking these warehouses will replenish our equipment reserves and cut off the Japanese supply lines—a win-win situation.

Chen Gongshu looked at the circled area, took out a pen and wrote it down in his notebook: "I remember. Next, we'll attack the Japanese warehouse first, then retreat. We won't fight the Japanese head-on; we'll slowly wear them down."

Lin Yifan raised his wrist to check the time, picked up the tea on the table and took a sip: "Old Zheng, mark the banks in Hong Kong Island later. Before I leave, I want to give the Japanese a hard mark."

"Let's rob the Japanese banks. Firstly, it'll provide us with additional funds for development, and secondly, it'll cut off the economic lifeline of the Japanese troops stationed on the island. They won't even be able to pay their soldiers' salaries; they'll fall into chaos internally without us even lifting a finger. What do you think?"

Upon hearing this, Zheng Jianming immediately clapped his hands in agreement: "Young master, this is a brilliant move! Right now, those high-ranking Japanese officials are secretly transferring money back to their homeland. If we just wipe out their base, we can cut off their hopes!"

I've compiled a list of the locations and security arrangements for each bank; I've figured it out myself over the past six months, so it's definitely accurate.