Respectfully

In the fifth year of the Republic of China, November 1913, 11 in the Gregorian calendar, Shanghai

The rain was falling, the street lights were flickering, and there were no pedestrians on the street. Ned cursed the damn weather while speeding up his pace.In order to take a shortcut, he turned into a more remote alley.

Ned is of Chinese-Portuguese mixed race. His father is a Portuguese businessman and his mother is Chinese. His family has lived in Macau for generations.When Ned became an adult, he moved from Macau to the Shanghai Concession with a dream in mind. He found a job in a French bank. Today is his third day at work.

"damn it!"

The suit on Ned's body was still new, and it was the only decent piece of clothing he had before he received his salary.

Gradually, the rain began to decrease. Ned just wanted to thank God, but suddenly his eyes widened. He saw the most terrifying scene in his 21 years of life!

A few Japanese in kimonos are holding up their long knives and chasing a tall Caucasian man!

There was no mistake, it was a Caucasian man, his striped suit was stained red with blood, his hair was soaked by rain, and his face was terribly pale.

"God!"

Ned exclaimed, those Japanese are lunatics, they have been seen everywhere in the International Settlement for half a month, they held up banners denouncing the Chinese people, calling the Chinese people brutal butchers, they It is even said that what happened in the Tianjin Concession was a conspiracy by the Chinese. The Chinese killed the Japanese and then framed them wantonly!

They called the Chinese people the Chinese people, and cursed the Chinese people for being despicable with a superior attitude.

Ned hated them, his mother was Chinese, his grandfather and uncles were very civilized, in his eyes, they were much more noble than these short Japanese monkeys!

"God, help me!"

The man saw Ned, and he started calling for help, in French.The Japanese who were chasing after him also saw Ned. Ned had black hair and black eyes, and his outline was relatively soft. He looked more like a Chinese than a European.

"Baga, the Chinese!"

The Japanese who rushed to the front saw Ned, showing a ferocious face. Behind him, a taller man's expression did not change, but his eyes flashed, and he immediately said: "Mr. No one can let go! Especially this French ghost!"

"Yes!" The man named Tongkou had a fierce expression on his face, "These French ghosts help the Chinese, and they must be punished!"

As he said that, he raised the Japanese sword in his hand and swung it down vigorously, a row of blood splashed out. The Frenchman who was still calling for help before suddenly opened his eyes and fell to the ground suddenly, twitched twice, and was silent .

Ned suddenly turned around and ran back the way he came. He remembered that there was a police station not far from the alley!He doesn't have any weapons on him, he has to run!

The Japanese footsteps were getting closer and closer. Ned had never run so fast before. When he saw the familiar building in front of him, he immediately shouted: "Help!"

The shouts were heard far away in the night.

The Indian patrol in the patrol room heard the shout and poked his head out of the gate.

Most of these Indian patrols are from Punjab, India, and belong to the Sikh ethnicity. They have obvious Indian characteristics, with big beards and heads wrapped like pineapple.However, don't underestimate them because of this. They bowed their knees in front of the British lords, and they were not usually vicious when they faced people who were not in their eyes.

At first, they also regarded Ned as a Chinese, and obviously didn't want to care about this matter.When Ned called out that he was a Portuguese expatriate, the third brothers immediately changed their appearance, picked up their batons and rifles, rushed out of the gate, and rushed towards Tongkou and the others aggressively.

The strong smell of curry hit his face, and Ned was almost certain that some of them had just had dinner.

Seeing that the situation was not good, Tongkou and others immediately turned around and ran away.They even forgot that there is a patrol room that was just established last year nearby!They assassinated the Frenchman in secret, and no matter how stupid they were, they also knew that if things went wrong, it would not end well.It's a pity that the boys are short in stature and short in legs, and Brother Ah San's running ability is beyond imagination, and he is about to be caught up.

"Mr. Tongkou, we must go separately!" The man who reminded Tongkou to kill the Frenchman said again, "There is a fork in the road ahead, I will lead them away, Mr. Tongkou, please take everyone to hide, and then leave .”

"No, little tiger, how can this be!"

"It must be done! Stop arguing!" Xiao Shan said with a firm face, "Before they catch me, I will kill myself!"

"Xiaoshan... please!"

Before the fork in the road, Xiaoshan separated from Tongkou and the others. He deliberately led the police chasing him around in circles, and ran to the body of the Frenchman who had been killed by them before.

Because of Ned's sudden appearance, they didn't have time to hide the body. This was the first time that Tongkou, Xiaoshan and the others missed in the past ten days, and it was also the opportunity that Xiaoshan had been waiting for!

"For the Great Japanese Empire!"

Determined that these patrols saw the French body, Xiao Shan cut his own neck with a knife.

Even if he had to die as a Japanese, he would die like a Chinese!

The rain started to rain heavily again, and the blood along with the rain soon gathered into a red puddle beside Xiao Shan's body. He was lying on the cold and wet ground with a smile on his lips.

It succeeded... He fulfilled Imai's entrustment, and now, even if the Japanese jumped into the Yellow River, they would not be able to wash away...

Tongkou and others got rid of the patrol and quickly returned to the hiding place. Everyone's face was full of pain.

The little tiger must be in danger!

The next day, this appalling murder case was published in the newspapers, and the most influential newspapers in the concession, such as Zilinxi Daily, Shanghai Times, and Shenbao, etc., reported the case at length.

The Frenchman who was killed was also identified as a Catholic missionary.

God!

The Westerners in the concession were shocked and angry. The missionaries, the Japanese murdered a clergyman in a frenzy!In fact, only a few people know that this missionary is a pedophile, exiled by the Holy See, and came to China by boat.Many crimes have been committed here, but no one has ever exposed them.

As an important witness, Ned was interviewed by many newspapers. He told the newspapers who interviewed him convincingly that several Japanese killed the missionary, and the dead Xiaoshan was one of them!As long as he sees the murderer, he can recognize them all!

unambiguous evidence.The reason for the case is also very easy to speculate. France is now in the honeymoon period with the Chinese government, and it is also on the side of the Chinese in the matter of the Japanese Concession in Tianjin.Before, there was a Japanese gang, which seemed to be called the Black Dragon Society, and said harsh words to make the French look good!Now this murder just confirmed their words.

Ned's Portuguese expatriate status made his testimony more credible. After deliberation, the Public Concession Industry Bureau announced that all patrol houses in the concession must concentrate their efforts to arrest the murderer within a month.The chief judge of the Joint Trial Office of the Shanghai International Settlement publicly said to the expatriates in the concession: "These criminals will be sent to the gallows!"

At this juncture, a newspaper suddenly brought up the previous murders on Gordon Road and Yuyuan Road. Based on the modus operandi and the identity of the victims, it was speculated that the two murders were also linked to the Japanese.

As soon as the news came out, it caused an uproar in the concession.

Only then did the expatriates in the concession discover that in just half a month, at least three murders targeting Western expatriates had occurred. The dead were two Frenchmen and an American, and one of them was a clergyman!

"It was made by the Japanese!"

The newspapers mentioned almost by name that these murders were all related to the Japanese, and the suspicion of the Japanese in the previous cases that occurred in the concession must not be ruled out.

All of a sudden, the Japanese were notorious in the concession, and Tang En Road, where Japanese overseas Chinese lived concentratedly, was even called "Criminal Road" and "Murderer Road".

Westerners in the concession organized demonstrations, including French, Americans and a certain number of British and Germans, who demanded that the concession protect the safety of the expats.The radicals also demanded that the Bureau of Industry and Commerce expel the Japanese from the concession.

"This group of dirty monkeys are not worthy of living here!"

The Japanese consul realized that something was wrong and it was clear that things were moving too fast.The report that revealed the previous murders was too coincidental.And before this incident, this newspaper had not attracted anyone's attention at all!He has already decided that if this newspaper does not have a strong background, it must push this matter to the Huaxia people.That witness has Chinese blood, which is an excellent breakthrough.Only by directing all the anger of the Westerners to the Chinese people can Japan get away with ease.

After the matter is over, he will suggest to the base camp that these gangs must be controlled, otherwise, I don't know how much trouble will happen.

However, when he was mediating with the consulates of various countries and sending people to investigate the details of the newspaper office, the newspaper office caught fire at night, and Ned, who was an important witness in the murder case, suddenly disappeared.

The evidence and clues left at the scene point to the Japanese again.

Yamaza, Japanese Minister Plenipotentiary to China, rushed to Shanghai in person. He was thoroughly played by Lou Xiao and Zhan Changqing regarding the matter in Tianjin. If the matter in Shanghai is not handled properly, he may really be recalled to China. Instead of being transferred, but completely idle, his future will be completely hopeless.

The Japanese ministers and consuls bowed their heads and apologized to the consuls of various countries, promising to catch the murderer, and hinted that this immediate incident was likely to be framed. Attacked a parade of European expatriates, wounding two others.

Now it's a hornet's nest...

Japanese envoys and consuls were almost kicked out of the British consulate.

Song Zhou and his son have been paying close attention to the development of things in the concession. When they learned that there was already a lot of trouble in the concession, Song Wu suggested that they should immediately order the encirclement of several Japanese concessions in the six southern provinces.

"Father, this is the opportunity."

"It's still early." Song Zhou shook his head. "It takes seven inches to hit a snake. If you don't die in one blow, you will suffer from it. It's too early to do it now. It's easy for people to associate us with the previous incident, and it will also cause trouble for the Japanese. Leave a statement."

"Then continue to wait?"

"Wait." Song Zhou narrowed his eyes, "When something goes wrong in Suzhou, it's time for us to act."

"Yes!"

"Is it true that the Portuguese didn't do it with Imai's gang?"

"No." Song Wu shook his head, "When his men arrived, Ned had already disappeared."

"Could it be that he is really Japanese?"

Song Zhou was a little uncertain, but no matter what, the loss of this person would only benefit him and not harm him.

At this time, no one could have imagined that the missing Ned was sitting on a train heading north.

"Don't worry, Mr. Ned, I won't hurt you." Lu Huaide smiled and said to Ned, who was puzzled and slightly wary: "This is also to help you, you have to be clear, if you are not taken from Shanghai Go, I'm afraid you won't survive now."

"Why should I trust you? In fact, you kidnapped me."

"But I also saved you." Lu Huaide put away the smile on his face, and said seriously: "If I hadn't led people to arrive, you would have been killed."

Ned wanted to refute, but found that what the other party said was the truth.

"I investigated you. You came to Shanghai to make a fortune, but the result was not satisfactory. That bank job can only make you barely make ends meet. It is impossible to make a lot of money."

Ned didn't speak.

"Now there is a chance for you to realize your dreams, the choice is in your hands..."

Lu Huaide's tone was gentle, like a wizard who lured children with candy.

Capital

President Lou Da put down the newspaper that had just been delivered, and pinched the base of his nose. It seemed that he had underestimated Song Zhou. He probably had more pictures than he thought.But... President Lou Da grinned, he is a man!

After Li Jinyan learned that Lu Huaide had brought Ned northward, he decided to tell Marshal Lou about his next plan.In order to expand his business in Europe in the future, he really needed someone like Ned.

If he wants to make a fortune, he has to rely on himself.Even if he wants to live, he has to rely on himself.

Ned's father was just an ordinary Portuguese businessman, but his mother came from a great family. Her grandparents used to be officials in the Qing Dynasty, but they have fallen into decline.But judging from the collected information, this family is by no means a family that has forgotten its ancestors.

At this point, Li Jinyan knew how huge and terrifying the Lou family's intelligence network was.

Li Jinyan might not be surprised when Marshal Lou tells him that there are his nails in the Japanese emperor's palace.

Standing in front of the study door, Li Jinyan took a breath, raised his hand and knocked on the door.