Findings at sea

The days in May are very rainy.

Ji Xingtang got out of the car, raindrops splashed all over his trousers, Bai Xiaohong got out of the car, Ji Xingtang held an umbrella, leaned over and gave him a deep look, "You are willing to stand up and stand up, I will thank you on his behalf."

Bai Xiaohong looked tall and tall in a windbreaker that reached to his ankles, but he came to negotiate with the consul general but it was not formal.He was silent and indifferently walked towards the mansion of the French Consulate Long Gao under his umbrella.The interpreter of the entourage came forward to report, and Francis came forward to meet him in person after a while, and Francis said calmly, "Bai sir, why do you need this matter..."

Bai Xiaohong smiled at him and replied simply, "I'm Chinese, so of course I have to take care of Chinese affairs, don't I?"

Francis frowned slightly, shook his head again and again and said, "Bai sir, it will be very troublesome to solve this matter, I don't want you to go into this muddy water."

Bai Xiaohong walked steadily, looking at the rain curtain in front of him, he was calm but somewhat tit-for-tat, "If this matter is not resolved, I think there will only be more trouble. The patience of the Chinese is limited. Consul General, I advise you If you ask someone to translate the Chinese newspapers of the past few days for you, or send someone to the street to listen to the Chinese people’s criticism and reaction to this matter, I hope you will not save a little trouble and add a big trouble.”

Francis smiled innocently, "What big troubles will there be?" He spread his hands, "The relationship between China and France has always been very good."

Ji Xingtang said, "The Chinese have turned against Russia and Japan, but they have not turned against France. The friendship between the Chinese and the French is indeed good. Why does the Consul General arouse the resentment of the Chinese for this matter?"

"Ji sir," Francis said without euphemism, "you should know that according to French law, a drunk person should have a reduced punishment for committing a crime. What's more, he is already dead, let alone being held accountable."

"People from our country who commit crimes in the concession should be punished by our country's laws, so what if you arrest them?" Ji Xingtang retorted.

"It seems that you have to take care of this matter."

"It has to be done."

Bai Xiaohong patted the rain on his sleeves, took off his windbreaker and put it on Ji Xingtang's arm, took off his gloves and stuffed them into his hands, dressed in a straight Serge suit, stood still with his hands in his pockets and said to Francis, "I think you must Agree to my conditions - first: release the man and apologize to the Chinese; second: guarantee that this kind of thing will never happen in the future; third: give preferential treatment to the family of the deceased; fourth: ban foreign bars in the French Concession; Fifth: Ban brothels in the French Concession where only foreign soldiers are allowed in. Otherwise, it is difficult for me to guarantee that I will not help a group of Chinese businessmen in a chamber of commerce on a whim.”

Chinese businessmen in the French Chamber of Commerce have been suppressed all the time, and they have long needed a Chinese consul with authoritative means and ability to vent their anger on their behalf.

His eyes were as sharp as a falcon, and he didn't seem to be negotiating, but rather a strong request.Francis leaned on a cane and smiled gentlemanly, "I know Sir Bai's ability. But even your Chinese government didn't have so many conditions when negotiating with me. Apology, release, compensation, and guarantee have all been proposed by the Chinese government. Why should it be banned? Bars and brothels?"

Ji Xingtang took out the cumbersome document from her bosom and handed it to Bai Xiaohong. It was the document that Bai Xiaohong sent someone to investigate.Bai Xiaohong said, "The five sailors of you went to the bar that night to drink and drink, and then went to the brothel to have fun and make a scene. After getting drunk, they stopped Wu's car and pretended to be crazy and killed someone. Consul General, if you don’t get rid of the root of the disaster, how can you assure the Chinese government that there will be no accidents and murders by foreign soldiers in the future?”

Francis has always wanted to win over Bai Xiaohong. What he wanted was to find a puppet who could intimidate the Chinese to be the king of the sea, and to command the princes with the emperor, but this person was like a strong horse.Then it can only be destroyed, Bai Xiaohong collapsed, and Du Jinming, Yan Zhaoling, and other puppets.

Francis looked at the parasol tree washed by the thunderstorm in the distance, his blue eyes were deep and far away, "Someone gave me a leather bag not long ago, and there are countless documents in it. important secret letters from the government, social secrets, and official criminal evidence... Bai sir, I think if these are made public, and the public security agencies at all levels in Shanghai have been busy for many years, will they still take care of the tram murder?"

As soon as these words came out, Ji Xingtang's hand holding the umbrella handle went numb, and he subconsciously grabbed Bai Xiaohong's arm.This Frenchman didn't seem to be bluffing, he was too calm and leisurely, leisurely like a lion with its bloody mouth open and about to taste its prey with pleasure.Ji Xingtang never dared to underestimate the ambition and ability of the French. He also believed that the French would not dare to act recklessly. After all, Bai Xiaohong was an important chess piece for them to rule the Chinese world. King of Shanghai, it's not impossible, but that's all for later.If he really had the documents he mentioned, once those details and criminal evidence were made public, who would look down on the poisonous beetles and rot maggots wrapped in hypocrisy, and neither of the brothers would want to hang out in Shanghai.

Bai Xiaohong wrapped his warm palm around his hand that was clenching his sleeve and patted it lightly, thinking to himself: Xingtang, do you believe that he is an insider or not.

Just now Ji Xingtang came back to his senses and let go of his hand and glanced at him worriedly.Bai Xiaohong fixed his gaze on him, and was relatively speechless, but his eyes said, "It's okay."

Francis added, "For example, there is an ancestral hall in Binnan..." Ji Xingtang was kept in the dark, and he knew it all.

Fortunately, the sound of the rain was relatively loud, which covered up the panicked heartbeat.

Bai Xiaohong glanced at Ji Xingtang calmly, Ji Xingtang shook his head, it couldn't be Zi Xuan, how could he collude with the French, besides, Yan Zhaoling and others knew about it.He didn't know what to do, those documents...

Although Francis didn't know who sent him the documents, and didn't know whether those documents were true or not, but Ji Xingtang's reaction just now made him feel that he had caught their pigtails, but Bai Xiaohong was as calm as a cunning old fox, as if Without this, he dared not act rashly.There was a poisoned knife in his eyes, and Bai Xiaohong looked at each other for a moment, and when he reached the door of the living room, he put on a "please" gesture and smiled, "Bai sir, Ji sir, please come in."

The servant brought hot coffee, Bai Xiaohong held the coffee in one hand and rested his elbow in the other, the hot air moistened his lips.Seeing that he wasn't panicking at all, Francis asked with a smile, "Bai sir, according to your opinion, how much should we give to Wu's survivors?"

Bai Xiaohong took a sip of his coffee and corrected his words, "How much is the compensation?"

"No matter how much they will lose," Francis asked again, "In my opinion, the French Consulate General should pay them 1000 yuan, okay?"

"Okay." Bai Xiaohong readily agreed, but then said, "Wu has a wife and nine sons, and the survivors have a total of ten families. I'm afraid 1000 yuan is not enough for them to live. Let's do it, France The Consul General will pay them [-] yuan, and someone will give them [-] yuan."

As if making comparisons, Francis was eager to save face, "Then, I will also send 1000 yuan to the French Commercial Tramway Company."

"That's it, 500 yuan will be used as an education fund for Wu's nine sons. I, Bai, will be responsible for the life of his family of ten. For ten years, I will pay them 30 yuan for their household expenses every month." Bai Xiaohong said again.

This promise was calculated as Dayang's [-] yuan, which was [-] more than the French government's compensation and Bai Xiaohong's gift of [-] yuan.Francis knew that Bai Xiaohong was generous, so he smiled and stopped talking.

Ji Xingtang didn't want to listen to their discussion about compensation, he was worried, Zixuan...

After discussing the matter of compensation, we began to discuss the matter of releasing people.Francis admitted that when he first heard that the Chinese had killed the French, he felt provoked and imprisoned the young man in defiance of Chinese law and the concession treaty, and agreed to release them.And the guarantee and apology from the French government will be published in the newspapers tomorrow.

When the two left, Francis left a sentence: The French's patience is also limited.

Bai Xiaohong snorted and laughed: Putting on airs.

The two brothers left the consulate and got into the car. Ji Xingtang's hand holding the steering wheel was still trembling.Bai Xiaohong asked, "Are you happy? Or scared? Or do you think your death is not far away?"

Ji Xingtang's expression was stiff, and Bai Xiaohong said, "If he is really sure that he can kill me in one bite, he stopped abruptly when he was most sure, which means that he still dare not act rashly. He has no documents or even if he has, he is not sure. True or false", he paused and said indifferently, "Who do you think will get my secret quietly and give it to the French? Except those people next to the pillow. But, it won't be you , I said earlier that people’s hearts are separated from the belly. Fortunately, maybe he just wants to sit on the mountain and watch the tiger fight, and watch me collapse, so he won’t hurt you.”

The brush wiped the rainwater on the glass window, Ji Xingtang buried her head in her arms, Bai Xiaohong leaned back and closed her eyes to concentrate, the car was extremely dull.After a long silence, Ji Xingtang recovered his demeanor, "No matter what, I will accompany you."