Did he trick the young marshal into becoming sworn brothers and then go south to Huangpu Military Ac

Upon hearing Lin Qi's words, Zhao Sihai's expression changed instantly.

"The direct descendants smuggled several boatloads of rice in Shanghai, and Lu Yongxiang's son slept with some actress. You could buy a stack of these kinds of gossips for a dollar at the entrance of the Great World."

Lin Qi ruthlessly tore away the fig leaf of the Fengtian clique's intelligence network: "You have no idea what the value of Shanghai is. This is not a place to listen to gunfire, but a place to listen to abacuses."

Zhao Sihai's forehead was covered in a fine sweat. He couldn't figure out the background of the young officer in front of him, but the fact that the other party kept calling him "Hanqing" and that the order came from Fengtian was of the highest rank showed that he was of high status. He didn't even have the courage to explain.

"Here's your first task."

Ignoring Zhao Sihai's panic, Lin Qi directly issued the order: "Keep a close watch on one person, Zhang Renjie."

Zhao Sihai suddenly looked up: "Who? That moneybag from the south?"

"right."

Lin Qi picked up the black tea on the table and took a sip: "I need to know all his movements in the last two weeks. Who he met, where he went, how much money he wired to Guangzhou. Don't investigate what he said, investigate his accounts, investigate the recent flow of funds from the Jiangsu and Zhejiang financial groups behind him. I need to know exactly how much cash he has left."

"Sir, this man is heavily guarded, and the accounts of those big compradors from the Jiangzhe financial magnates are all in safes at HSBC and Citibank. Our people can't get involved at all."

Zhao Sihai looked troubled.

Lin Qi put down his teacup, making a crisp clinking sound.

"That's your problem. Hanqing didn't raise you to come to Shanghai to eat pan-fried buns and yellow croaker noodles."

Lin Qi's tone was icy: "Three days! I'm only giving you three days. If you can't find out the truth, you can quit your job as station chief and just throw yourself into the Huangpu River."

Zhao Sihai gritted his teeth, stood up abruptly, and saluted: "Understood. I will give you a reply within three days."

"Don't rush. There's a second thing."

Lin Qi called out to Zhao Sihai, who was about to leave.

"What are your orders, sir?"

"Tomorrow morning, send a few quick-witted men to the black markets in the French Concession and the International Settlement to keep watch. Tell them that a Chinese tycoon who has just returned from the United States has a batch of German World War I return warrants and is urgently looking for a big buyer."

Zhao Sihai's mind raced, and he immediately realized that this was a major move: "Sir, what is the scale of the goods on this bill of lading? We need to make our claims seem more convincing."

"Don't brag. Show us the details." Lin Qi's lips curled into a cold smile: "Two thousand genuine German Mauser C96 pistols, not those domestically made junk, specifically short-barreled, red-nine-marked German goods. In addition, fifty tons of single-base smokeless powder produced by the Krupp Arms Factory."

Zhao Sihai gasped.

This level of weaponry is enough to attract many people; it's all highly sought-after, hard-to-find stuff.

Especially fifty tons of smokeless gunpowder. With warlord conflicts raging in China, gunpowder consumption is enormous, and this stuff is more expensive than gold.

"Sir, if we spread such a big rumor and the buyer comes to inspect the goods, we won't be able to produce the real thing, and it will cause us a lot of trouble. Those warlords and Green Gang members in Shanghai are not to be trifled with."

"You can go get some fresh air."

Lin Qi waved his hand: "Ignore anyone who comes knocking. Leak the information precisely to those around Zhang Jingjiang who are in charge of military procurement. Understand?"

Zhao Sihai swallowed.

He discovered that this young officer was not only a ruthless character, but also frighteningly cunning; he was fishing, fishing for the biggest crocodile in the south.

"Understood. I'll take care of it right away."

Zhao Sihai left.

The room returned to silence.

Lin Qi walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, where the lights on both sides of the Huangpu River were reflected in the water.

Why choose Zhang Jingjiang?

Because he was the biggest financial backer of the Southern Revolutionary Party and also that gentleman's moneybag.

The gentleman was preparing to establish a military academy in Guangzhou. Although the Soviet Union had agreed to provide assistance, it was too late to solve his immediate problem.

The military academy's infrastructure, the food, clothing, and daily necessities for the first batch of students, and the initial few hundred guns all relied on financial support from the Jiangzhe financial magnates in Shanghai.

However, the Zhili clique now controls most of the southeast and has imposed a very tight economic blockade on the south. Zhang Jingjiang is finding it extremely difficult to raise funds to buy guns in Shanghai.

At this moment, offering a batch of German-made weapons as bait was like an oasis to Zhang Jingjiang, who had been thirsty for three days in the desert.

He will definitely take the bait.

But Lin Qi would never take the initiative to see him; chasing after someone is not a good deal.

Those who truly rise to power sit still, waiting for others to kneel down and offer up their chips.

For the next three days, Lin Qi didn't even step out of his room.

Three meals a day are delivered by waiters pushing food carts in.

His daily life was extremely regular. In the morning, he would drink coffee and read the newspaper to keep up with current events, and in the afternoon, he would draw blueprints in his study.

Without wasting time, he used his knowledge to draw up an industrial process diagram for the Haber-Bosch process of ammonia synthesis.

This is the core pre-processing technology for manufacturing modern smokeless gunpowder. Based on the precision of existing industrial machine tools in the Republic of China, the equipment pipeline was improved to make it feasible to be implemented in the local area in the 1920s and 1930s.

These blueprints will be the stepping stone for him to solidify his status as a military industry tycoon after entering Huangpu Military Academy.

On the evening of the third day, the doorbell rang.

Zhao Sihai changed into a suit and walked in carrying a briefcase. This time, his eyes held not only awe but also a hint of fanaticism.

"Sir, amazing! Everything is developing exactly as you predicted."

Zhao Sihai took out several densely packed pages of paper from his briefcase and handed them to Lin Qi.

Lin Qi took the document and quickly scanned it.

Zhang Jingjiang is currently in a state of extreme distress.

Zhao Sihai quickly reported from the side: "More than a dozen urgent telegrams have been sent from Guangzhou urging payment and guns. The old school on Huangpu Island needs renovation, but there isn't even enough money to buy bricks and tiles. Zhang Jingjiang mortgaged his two properties in the French Concession to raise a lot of cash, but now the black market is in a state of panic, and the Zhili clique is cracking down hard, so even with money, you can't buy guns. He contacted several British and French arms dealers, but they all ripped him off and demanded exorbitant prices."

"Did he hear the rumors we spread?"

Lin Qi asked in a low voice.

"I heard that. Yesterday afternoon, Zhang Jingjiang's confidant, a man named Chen G, personally went to the black market at the Shiliupu Wharf to inquire about that overseas Chinese tycoon who returned from America."

Zhao Sihai rubbed his hands excitedly: "Sir, they've already made their way to the Astor House Hotel. My men report that Mr. Chen is currently sitting in the coffee shop on the first floor, asking the front desk for your room number."

After reading the intelligence, Lin Qi casually tossed the paper into the fireplace, watching the flames consume it.

Everything is going according to his script.

He walked to his desk, picked up a document he had typed out in English the day before, and put it into a heavy kraft paper envelope.

He then took out a copy of a letter of credit that he had just processed through HSBC from his briefcase.

This was the invoice he issued for the money from Zhang Hanqing, a cash flow of 150,000 silver dollars, which was an extremely impressive sum for an individual investor in this era.

Lin Qi stuffed a copy of the letter of credit into the envelope, dripped bright red sealing wax onto the envelope, and stamped it with a personal seal featuring a classical pattern.

"go."

Lin Qi handed the envelope to Zhao Sihai: "Give this envelope to the British manager downstairs. Tell him to give it to Mr. Chen when he comes to the lobby again. Tell him exactly what Mr. Lin said: Mr. Lin is having afternoon tea and doesn't see any errand runners. If there's anything, let the person in charge read the contents of the envelope before we talk."

Zhao Sihai took the envelope with both hands, feeling its weight as if it weighed a ton.

He hesitated for a moment: "Sir, Chen G is Zhang Jingjiang's absolute confidant, and holds a very high position in the South. We're not even going to meet him, and we're just going to call him a nobody. Isn't that too arrogant? What if we offend him to death and it backfires?"

"It won't fail."

Lin Qi's tone was completely calm and without any ripples.

Why?

Zhao Sihai simply couldn't understand this crazy way of socializing.

"Because they are starving to death."

Lin Qi looked out the window at the bustling Bund: "A starving person, even if the meat is covered in thorns, will swallow it whole, blood and all. Go and do it."

Zhao Sihai dared not say another word and turned to leave.