All the heavens begin with the love in the courtyard.

These people were considered clear-headed; they knew very well that the Qing Dynasty had no chance of being restored, so they might as well take advantage of this chaotic world to find a way out for themselves.

If the Manchu restoration fails, neither the warlords nor the foreign powers will tolerate the existence of the Manchu imperial family, and their situation will be extremely difficult.

These people may not have much expectation for the future, but they do not want the Manchu royal family to become the lackeys of the great powers, nor do they want the last bit of the Manchu family's assets to be exhausted in the war!

Bai Jiaxuan's words were like a powerful medicine, finally making Tian Jin make up his mind.

He was still thinking about what Bai Jiaxuan had just said.

"Your future will only get worse!"

Chapter 26

The two did not meet for long, less than half an hour, and did not see each other again for several years afterward.

However, this meeting changed the fate of some members of the Manchu royal family.

Fifty years later, Bai Jiaxuan met this man again overseas. He had a full head of white hair, was trembling and leaning on a cane, and came to visit Bai Jiaxuan with his clansmen.

It was only then that Bai Jiaxuan realized that his few words back then had not only changed the fate of Tianjin, but also the fate of the last royal family.

Starting in the 1920s, Tianjin officially took control of his family. He not only secretly transferred a large amount of assets overseas, but also trained a large number of Manchu youths to study abroad.

Even in the early 1980s, when many Manchus returned to China, they were treated as honored guests and eventually became authorities in certain fields.

Their investment in Qing Dynasty dramas sparked a frenzy in China, giving countless idiots a different kind of fantasy about the Qing Dynasty.

However, Bai Jiaxuan was obviously unaware of all this. After meeting with Tianjin, he took Huo Ting'en back to Jingwu School.

A few days after returning to Jingwu School, Uncle Nong came back with several men in military uniforms. Uncle Nong personally introduced Bai Jiaxuan to them.

The group met in a guest room. The men in military uniforms were quite respectful, but Bai Jiaxuan could clearly sense that their intentions were not pure.

Sure enough, after a few polite exchanges, the man in military uniform asked Bai Jiaxuan if he planned to join the Geming Army.

Bai Jiaxuan naturally rejected the other party's idea of ​​getting something for nothing.

Seeing that Bai Jiaxuan had no interest in Ge Mingjun, the other party began to try to find out Bai Jiaxuan's background through conversation.

But it was obviously useless. Seeing that Bai Jiaxuan was already somewhat displeased, they smiled and began to discuss the cooperation on the medicine powder.

Bai Jiaxuan's attitude was very firm: 100 silver dollars per kilogram, not a penny less.

Furthermore, he was unwilling to trade with anyone outside the Jingwu School. Both parties could use the Jingwu School as a liaison station, and if a trade was needed in the future, he would contact Huo Ting'en of the Jingwu School to handle it.

Bai Jiaxuan saw that the other party wanted to get angry several times, but he managed to hold back in the end. However, the deal was eventually reached.

Sixty kilograms of medicinal powder, six thousand silver dollars—there was no room for negotiation. After the other party and Bai Jiaxuan went to the money exchange to complete the transaction, the deal was officially finalized.

After receiving the cash, Bai Jiaxuan went directly to the gambling den owned by Boss Huang and placed a bet of 5,000 silver dollars on Jingwumen Win.

The duel between Hongkou Dojo and Jingwumen this time was conducted in a very unusual way. Instead of a turn-based system, each side could send a maximum of three people into the arena, and the side that was still standing at the end was the winner!

In other words, whether you're fighting one against three or three against three, all three opponents must be eliminated for you to win!

Moreover, this is a life-or-death struggle, and everyone has to sign a waiver of life and death, so someone will definitely die.

This martial arts competition had a huge impact, and Boss Huang would naturally make a fortune. In reality, not many people were optimistic about Jingwumen winning, otherwise there wouldn't have been odds of 3 to 1.

If he wins, the five thousand silver dollars will become fifteen thousand silver dollars. After learning that Bai Jiaxuan had placed a bet, Boss Huang shook his head helplessly and accepted the bet.

Now Boss Huang understands where Bai Jiaxuan's promise of 10,000 silver dollars after the deal was done came from. It turns out the money came from the Boss Huang himself.

However, this amount of 10,000 silver dollars was still manageable for Boss Huang. He also hoped that Bai Jiaxuan would win, so that he could make a lot of money.

Bai Jiaxuan's betting incident gave Boss Huang an idea, so the next day, the odds for Hongkou Dojo rose rapidly. If you bet on Hongkou Dojo to win, you could get two dollars back for every dollar you bet on.

The tide turned overnight, surprising everyone. They never expected Boss Huang to be so optimistic about Jingwu School.

Such odds naturally attracted a large number of buyers who bet on Hongkou Dojo to win. Even after Fujita learned of this, he discussed it with a group of small Japanese merchants and had them place a heavy bet of 100,000 silver dollars on Hongkou Dojo to win.

Boss Huang's face was beaming with joy. Very few people knew that Chen Zhen was representing Jingwu School in the competition, but even those who did know didn't know who Chen Zhen was.

Chen Zhen is currently just a small fry, an insignificant nobody, which is exactly what Boss Huang wants to see.

If Chen Zhen wins this time, Boss Huang will earn more than 300,000 silver dollars, enough to take his business in Shanghai to the next level.

Of course, if Chen Zhen loses, then Boss Huang will have no choice but to jump into the Huangpu River.

Two days after this incident, Boss Huang arranged to meet Bai Jiaxuan again. This time, the meeting was not at the Red and Blue Dance Hall, but at a private place.

After meeting, Mr. Huang first flattered Bai Jiaxuan. After talking for a few minutes, Mr. Huang led Bai Jiaxuan upstairs.

Here, Bai Jiaxuan met three men and one woman. The three men were dressed very smartly, and they looked like they were martial arts experts. The only woman was rather delicate and frail, and she was not very old.

After introducing Bai Jiaxuan to the three men, Boss Huang praised Bai Jiaxuan highly. However, the three martial arts experts obviously did not believe Boss Huang's words and instead carefully examined Bai Jiaxuan.

Bai Jiaxuan sighed helplessly. It seemed he had to show off again. He casually picked up a teacup, drank it all in one gulp, then crushed it with one hand. Under the watchful eyes of everyone, he slowly released his hand.

In Bai Jiaxuan's palm, the teacup had turned into a clump of white powder. Bai Jiaxuan clapped his hands and said with a smile,

"A trivial skill, not worth mentioning!"

This move truly stunned everyone, even Boss Huang was shocked.

The delicate girl's eyes lit up, and she immediately knelt down in front of Bai Jiaxuan, begging him to save her father.

Bai Jiaxuan smiled and helped the girl up. After they were all seated, the group began to introduce the rescue operation.

The girl said her name was Li You, and the person she was going to save was her father. She didn't reveal his identity to Bai Jiaxuan, only saying that the person she was going to save was named Li Yi. However, Bai Jiaxuan could roughly guess that this was an alias, so he didn't point it out. Since it was someone captured by the Japanese, he might as well save him this once.

The Japanese detained the people in their intelligence agency building, which was right next to their army branch. If any disturbance occurred, the other side could surround the entire building within five minutes.

The other side had been planning this for almost a month in Shanghai in order to rescue Li Yi. They brought more than 30 people, all of whom were skilled, but unfortunately, they were still helpless against the Japanese intelligence agency building.

Bai Jiaxuan took the map of the agency building that the other party had given him and studied it carefully for a long time. His brows furrowed. This mission was indeed a bit difficult, not just ordinary difficult!

The target was being held in the basement of the intelligence agency building, while the first floor was the office space, with a considerable number of people on duty almost day and night.

The most crucial point is that the enemy's and the Japanese army's garrison points are separated by only one wall, and they are brother units. As long as a gunshot is fired, the other side can hear it.

Bai Jiaxuan looked at the information they gave him and fell into deep thought. This intelligence agency building not only had visible guards, but also many hidden sentries, making it almost impossible to sneak in.

However, if a strong attack is launched, it will almost certainly alert the Japanese army branch next door.

The enemy's original plan was to use more than 30 people to launch a frontal attack on the entire building, hold off their reinforcements, and use the precious time to have the real experts they had brought in sneak underground to rescue people.

They planned to sacrifice thirty people to rescue the man named Li Yi. In addition to the action team of more than thirty people, they also had logistics personnel to arrange for the evacuation. After seeing the other party's plan, Bai Jiaxuan only gave a two-word evaluation.

"Bullshit!"

Putting aside whether sacrificing thirty people could save Li Yi, even if it could, is it meaningful to sacrifice thirty people to save one?

This isn't Saving Private Ryan; we don't have that kind of inspirational stuff here.

Bai Jiaxuan looked at the map the other party had prepared, pondered for a long time, and then slowly spoke.

"Next, you all go and prepare some things as I instruct you. As for the people who will do the rescue, leave that to me!"

One of them quickly asked.

"Mr. Chen, what do you need?"

Bai Jiaxuan looked at the map and said coldly.

"Gasoline and explosives! The more the better!"

-------------Chapter Dividing Line---------------

"Explosives and gasoline?"

Bai Jiaxuan's words left everyone looking at each other in bewilderment. Their previous plan was to make as little noise as possible.

They even prepared five crossbows, just to clear out the sentries outside the building first, to make as little noise as possible and buy time for the rescue.

Now that Bai Jiaxuan is directly asking for gasoline and explosives, how could they not be surprised?

Is he planning to blow up the building?

Bai Jiaxuan did intend to bomb the building, but not the intelligence agency building; rather, it was the Japanese army branch building next door.

Bai Jiaxuan didn't explain much, but simply instructed everyone to make the arrangements.

For them, getting gasoline and explosives wasn't too difficult, especially since they had a "friend" named Boss Huang.

Bai Jiaxuan had been thinking for a long time. It was almost impossible to infiltrate without attracting the attention of the Japanese army. But how could he avoid this problem?

After much deliberation, Bai Jiaxuan decided to go all out and stage a rescue operation conducted in the dark.

With five days left before the martial arts competition between Jingwu School and Hongkou Dojo, Bai Jiaxuan was not going to waste any time and planned to complete the rescue decisively before the competition.

Two more days passed in the blink of an eye. The sky was gray and gloomy from the morning, with dark clouds gathering. It looked like a heavy rain was about to fall. The number of people on the street was also sparse. Bai Jiaxuan was delighted when he saw the weather.

He immediately informed Li You and his group that the operation would take place that evening.

As everyone began preparations, around 8 p.m., it started to drizzle. Eventually, the rain intensified, carrying a chill that plunged the outside into darkness.

At this moment, in a small alley opposite the Japanese army branch, eight people were squatting. All of them had their faces covered and were dressed in dark clothes, almost blending into their surroundings in the rainy night.

Rain dripped from the eaves onto them, soaking their clothes, but their expressions remained unchanged.

After nearly half an hour in the darkness, the rain grew heavier, and a trembling female voice asked in the darkness.

"Uncle...Uncle, how much longer do we...how much longer do we have to wait?"

No one answered her in the darkness, and the girl realized how weak she was. She mustered her strength and stopped talking.

The speaker was none other than the gentle girl, Li You. Originally, she, a frail woman, should not have been present in this operation, but she had not seen her father for months and strongly requested to participate in the rescue.

Fortunately, their mission was not to launch an attack, but to retreat and provide support, so they eventually agreed to Li You's request.

Six rickshaws are already waiting outside. Once they pick up the person, the six rickshaws will retreat in three directions and successfully send the person out of Shanghai. As for how to leave, that is Bai Jiaxuan's task.

As for the action team of more than 30 people they had prepared, Bai Jiaxuan had no intention of using them at all.

To him, this group of people were a burden and would only drag him down. He planned to do this operation by himself!

He hasn't had any activities in a long time, so he's planning to go all out this time.

The rain continued to fall in the darkness, growing heavier and heavier. The sky was pitch black, with occasional thunder and lightning. All the surrounding houses and shops were already shrouded in darkness.

Only the Japanese army branch building not far away had two searchlights that occasionally shone around, but in this weather, they were of no use.

After being soaked by the rain for nearly two hours in the alley, a man suddenly heard his watch vibrate and he whispered a warning.