lerbook Chapter 8 The Twin Flowers of Finance and Intelligence
Chapter 8 The Twin Flowers of Finance and Intelligence
into the night.
Chen Zijun put down the phone, his gaze turning extremely cold.
Huang Qiushan.
The old dog finally couldn't sit still any longer.
Huang Qiushan was Qi Yingcai's top henchman during the Jiangzhe War, acting as a comprador and broker for the Japanese in China. During the war, he used his connections and position within the government to deliver a large amount of military intelligence to the Japanese military, enabling some Japanese military instructors to be more aware of the actions taken in Zhejiang, resulting in considerable casualties.
Of course, he later became the director of the Central Office of the National Government, and together with his son, he sold intelligence, including but not limited to the defense map of the Battle of Shanghai, the defense line along the Shanghai-Nanjing line, the artillery position deployment map of the Jiangyin Fortress, and the plan to sink naval ships to block Japanese warships, etc.!
People like this don't deserve to leave China alive.
"Huixin, prepare the carriage."
Chen Zijun stood up, picked up the black military overcoat draped over the back of the chair, and strode towards the door.
Outside the door, a gleaming black Buick sedan was already parked at the bottom of the steps.
The car door opened, and a slender, fair hand reached out from inside the car, handing over an account list with a gold-embossed cover.
"Young Master, this is last month's financial operation report."
The speaker was Mo Huixin.
Today she wore a fitted dark green cheongsam with a black mink shawl over it, her long black hair was styled into a neat bun, and her eyes and brows exuded a smart and capable air.
Unlike her twin sister Mo Lanzhi, who exudes the aura of a dark assassin, Mo Huixin radiates the calmness and composure of a top-tier financial trader.
Few people in Shanghai knew that this young woman, who looked to be in her early twenties, secretly controlled at least seven underground banks, three legitimate banks, and a remittance channel that spanned British Hong Kong.
She is the financial noose in Chen Zijun's hand, reaping everything in the shadows.
Chen Zijun got into the car and casually flipped through the report.
"How much money was laundered through HSBC's channels this month?"
"One million seven hundred thousand pounds," Mo Huixin replied softly, her voice as calm as if she were commenting on the weather. "After being split up through three shell companies, the money was transferred in batches to the corporate accounts of Lihua Trading, Datong Trading, and Yongchang Bank. Each transaction had complete trade contracts and customs declarations as underlying documents, so no problems could be found."
Chen Zijun nodded in satisfaction.
The system gives him one pound per second, which amounts to approximately two million six hundred thousand pounds per month. However, this money appears out of thin air and cannot be spent directly; it must be laundered by Mo Huixin, a financial genius, before it can enter circulation.
One million seven hundred thousand, that's almost half.
The remaining half is still being slowly absorbed in the accounts of several offshore shell companies.
"Well done." Chen Zijun closed the report and looked out the window at the neon lights flowing by.
"Also, which account did I use for the down payment from the British side?"
"A special escrow account with the Bank of England." Mo Huixin took out an exquisite notebook from her small leather bag and turned to the page marked in red.
"I split this £10 million down payment into four separate transactions, processed through HSBC, Citibank, Morgan Stanley, and Barclays. Each transaction had its own independent letter of credit and guarantee. The internal verification process at the banks in Baltown will take at least three months to complete all the paperwork, so there's plenty of time."
Chen Zijun couldn't help but laugh.
This woman was simply born for finance.
"Huixin" (慧心).
"Um?"
"You've worked hard."
Mo Huixin was slightly taken aback, then lowered her head, and the corners of her mouth unconsciously curved into a smile.
In front of outsiders, she is always the cold and aloof financial queen, even the cunning bankers at the negotiating table have to be three points inferior to her.
But in front of Chen Zijun, she was ultimately just a Mo family girl who had been adopted by the Chen family since childhood and grew up under the protection of the young master.
"If the young master says it's hard work, then Huixin won't feel it's hard work."
Her voice was very soft, as if she was afraid it would be blown away by the wind.
The convoy drove slowly along the sycamore-lined avenue in the French Concession.
Sudden.
Crunch!
The lead car suddenly braked.
"What's going on?" Chen Zijun frowned slightly.
Zang Keping's voice came through the walkie-talkie in the car in front, tinged with suppressed anger: "Young Marshal, there's a group of Green Gang thugs blocking the road ahead. Looks like they've got their eyes on the armored truck behind our convoy."
Armored truck?
Those were a batch of gold bars that Mo Huixin had just withdrawn from Yongchang Bank, which were to be transferred to the headquarters' underground vault.
How dare the Green Gang members target Chen's army's armored truck?
Chen Zijun's eyes instantly turned colder than a blade.
He didn't even bother to lift the curtains, simply uttering three words.
"Sweep it clean."
"yes!"
outside the window.
Da da da da!
The iconic tearing sound of the MG08/18 machine gun rang out in the night sky!
"Ahhh! Stop hitting us! We're from Sanxin Company..."
He hadn't finished speaking.
Another barrage of gunfire erupted.
Those Green Gang thugs wielding broadswords and homemade guns couldn't even last a second against the elite German machine gun fire. They scattered and fell to the ground like leaves swept up by the wind.
The whole process took less than ten seconds.
Mo Huixin sat in the car without even blinking.
She simply closed her notebook quietly and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear.
"Young master, the Green Gang is getting increasingly restless. Last month, they harassed one of our bank branches in the French Concession."
"Hmm." Chen Zijun looked out the car window toward the brightly lit old town in the distance. "The Green Gang... we'll have to deal with them sooner or later. But there's no rush now. Let's take care of that old dog Huang Qiushan first."
He pressed the button on the walkie-talkie: "Lanzhi, are you in position?"
-
the other side.
The Huangpu River estuary, Shiliupu Wharf.
The dock was filled with a salty, briny smell late at night, and a thick fog shrouded the entire dock in a hazy mist.
An old cargo ship flying the flag of the Japanese merchant ship Rising Sun is moored at berth number three, its engine humming softly, ready to set sail at any moment.
On the pier, a short, stout man in his fifties was dragging two heavy suitcases, walking hurriedly towards the pier. He kept looking back, his forehead covered in cold sweat, his eyes filled with fear and guilt.
This man is Huang Qiushan.
He was a staff officer of the former military governor of Jiangsu Province, a member of Qi Yingcai's staff, and also the largest comprador of the Japanese intelligence agency "East Asia Tongwen Association" in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions.
His two suitcases contained more than just a change of clothes.
It consisted of thirty gold bars and a stack of "invitations for political asylum" issued by the Japanese Navy.
"Hurry! Hurry up!"
Huang Qiushan turned back and urged his two men carrying boxes, "The ship is about to depart! Once we reach Japan, I'll be safe! No matter how powerful Chen Zijun is, he can't control what's happening on the other side of the Pacific!"
His foot had just stepped onto the last step of the pier.
Click.
A beam of snow-white searchlight, like a sharp sword, suddenly cleaved through the thick fog!
"Huang Qiushan! Stop right there!"
A chilling female voice came from the depths of the thick fog.
Huang Qiushan's steps froze instantly, his whole body stiffening as if he had been frozen in place.
The fog gradually dissipated.
He saw a woman wearing the distinctive black military uniform of the Chen family's troops in Shanghai, standing on top of an armored vehicle at the entrance to the dock.
Moranzhi.
Her trench coat fluttered in the river wind, and her face appeared cold and beautiful in the backlight of the searchlight, like a vengeful goddess without emotion.
Behind her, more than forty fully armed elite military intelligence officers, all carrying Mauser 98k rifles, were spread out in a fan shape, completely blocking the entire exit of the pier.
What's even more deadly is that among those riflemen, there were four dark MG08/18 machine guns mounted!
This thing was a masterpiece of German engineering during the later stages of the European wars. It was a light machine gun, air-cooled, and could be used to fire in bursts of fire with just a hug. It had fierce firepower and an extremely fast rate of fire.
That terrifying burst of firepower was enough to turn everyone on the entire pier into mincemeat within twenty seconds!
But Moran's real killer move wasn't these guns.
There were three other people standing beside her.
A Chinese lawyer wearing a black robe and a wig holds a stack of legal documents with gold-embossed covers.
A deputy director of the Customs Anti-Smuggling Bureau wearing a top hat and a bronze badge of the Shanghai Customs of the Republic of China pinned to his chest.
There was also a senior inspector from the International Settlement Police Department in uniform, expressionless.
Law, customs, and law enforcement powers in concessions.
A three-pronged approach.
"Huang Qiushan," Mo Lanzhi jumped down from the top of the armored vehicle, her leather boots making a crisp sound on the wet stone floor.
She walked up to Huang Qiushan, took a document from the lawyer, and unfolded it.
"The Customs Anti-Smuggling Administration of the Republic of China has seized thirty undeclared smuggled gold bars under your name, which is suspected of violating Articles 7 and 12 of the Customs Anti-Smuggling Act and the relevant provisions of the Criminal Law regarding wartime collusion with the enemy and aid to the enemy. In addition, according to the provisional arrest warrant issued by the Mixed Court of the International Settlement, you are also suspected of engaging in illegal arms smuggling activities within the International Settlement."
Every word was like a nail driven into Huang Qiushan's coffin.
Huang Qiushan's face turned deathly pale instantly.
"No...impossible!"
He screamed hoarsely, "I am a protected foreigner! The Japanese Empire has granted me political asylum! You have no right to arrest me!"
He waved the "political asylum invitation" covered in Japanese characters frantically, like a drowning man grasping at a last straw.
On the cargo ship, a dozen or so shirtless Japanese ronin with samurai swords at their waists heard the commotion and rushed to the ship's side, yelling as they drew their swords.
"Baka! Let go of Mr. Huang! He's a friend of the Great Japanese Empire!"
A ronin leader with a Jintan mustache brandished his samurai sword and was about to rush off the pier.
Mo Lanzhi didn't even glance at him.
She simply raised her right hand slightly.
Click! Click! Click! Click!
Four MG08/18 machine guns were simultaneously cocked!
The cold, metallic clanging echoed across the silent, late-night dock, like death knocking on the door.
The dark muzzle of the gun was pointed directly at the hull of the cargo ship.
The ronin's steps froze instantly, and the samurai sword in his hand involuntarily dropped to his sides.
No matter how crazy he was, he knew that flesh and blood could not stop machine gun bullets.
Mo Lanzhi's lips curled into an extremely cold smile.
"Sir," her voice drifted coldly in the river breeze.
"You can choose to take your knife and go back to your ship today, and your ship can still sail away tomorrow."
"or……"
She pulled a gleaming Browning pistol from inside her trench coat and casually twirled it between her fingers.
"You can come down and try it yourselves, see if your knife is faster or my bullet is faster."
"I believe that, whether within seven paces or beyond, my bullet is faster than your knife."
"Why don't you give it a try?"