The Bravest

Regarding Zhang Guozhen's escape, Yingzuo Zhenxu, the cunning and treacherous head of the Mei Bureau's secret service, was not in a hurry at all. He was actually playing the long game to catch a big fish.

It is impossible for a small thug to be so daring as to touch the Japanese gold. Ying Zuo Zhenxuan's target is Wu Sibao, the mastermind behind the scenes.

Regardless of whether it was Wu Sibao who instructed Zhang Guozhen, Yingzuo Zhenxu has now confirmed it, whether it is true or not.

Since Zhang Guozhen had run away, someone had to be found to take responsibility. Li Shiqun, who had already gone to Suzhou to take up the post of governor of Jiangsu Province, was called back to Shanghai by Yingzuo Zhenxu.

After being scolded by Ying Zuo Zhenxuan, I finally understood the reason. Damn Zhang Guozhen actually dared to steal the Japanese gold, and now he ran away after the incident, leaving the blame to himself.

What made Li Shiqun even more undecided was that the matter might not be that simple. Zhang Guozhen's robbery of the Japanese gold might have been caused by the involvement of Wu Sibao, or it might have been Wu Sibao who ordered it. Now he had gotten himself into trouble.

"General Yingzuo, I will go back and look into this matter, and I will give you an explanation within three days." Yingzuo Zhenxu was right in front of him, and Li Shiqun, who was unable to make up his mind, had to deal with it for the time being and wait until he got back to figure it out before doing anything else.

"Okay, but Director Li, someone must be held responsible for this matter and give an explanation to the Empire of Japan. Do you understand what I mean? And the 85 gold bricks that were stolen must be recovered." Ying Zuo Zhenzhu's words were very clear. I don't care what you, Li Shiqun, do, the people must be handed over, and the gold bricks must be returned.

Li Shiqun, who was very angry, immediately rushed back to his home in Suzhou and called Wu Sibao, asking him to come to his house immediately to discuss important matters.

"Old Wu, is Zhang Guozhen stupid? Not only did he rob the Japanese of their gold, but he also covered his face. Why doesn't he find some strangers to go with him?" Li Shiqun was furious and cursed.

Wu Sibao learned from Li Shiqun that the Japanese had evidence that the person who robbed the gold was his subordinate Zhang Guozhen. Under Li Shiqun's questioning, Wu Sibao had to admit that he had instructed Zhang Guozhen to rob the gold. Li Shiqun and Wu Sihai had a special relationship, and Li Shiqun also received strong support from Wu Sibao in No. 76. So Li Shiqun was angry with Wu Sibao, and Zhang Guozhen became his punching bag.

"Director, what should we do now? Another thing is that Zhang Guozhen said that he didn't get the gold. Was it the Japanese who framed him? Damn it, 6.5 gold bricks, kilograms each, a total of more than kilograms of gold, I'm not worth that much money even if I sell myself. The Japanese are really taking advantage of the situation." Wu Sibao still hasn't realized the seriousness of the matter. He is still thinking that the Japanese are using this matter to blackmail him, Wu Sibao. What about handing over Zhang Guozhen is all bullshit. The important thing is the last sentence, hand over the gold. He didn't even get the gold, how can he hand it over.

After Li Shiqun had a tantrum, he finally calmed down and began to think about how to deal with the matter next.

"Old Wu, did you ask clearly? The Japanese showed me the photos of the scene. The carriage of the transport vehicle was indeed blown open. If it wasn't Zhang Guozhen who robbed it, who else could it be? The Japanese won't slap themselves in the face." It's hard to say whether Li Shiqun was framed by the Japanese. Zhang Guozhen had been with Wu Sibao for many years and had always been Wu Sibao's most trusted confidant. However, money can attract people's hearts, so it is not impossible that Zhang Guozhen embezzled the gold.

"No way? Zhang Guozhen has never dared to disobey my orders, how dare he hide it from me?" Wu Sibao has always trusted Zhang Guozhen very much. He believed that the Japanese were taking the opportunity to blackmail him.

"Old Wu, no matter what, now that Zhang Guozhen has been recognized, the Japanese must give an explanation. You should hand Zhang Guozhen over first, and we will find a way later." Li Shiqun was no longer hesitant. He certainly could not save the person, and he just hoped that the matter could end here.

Under pressure from the Japanese and Li Shiqun, and in order to avoid getting into trouble, Wu Sibao personally handed Zhang Guozhen over to Li Shiqun. Li Shiqun escorted Zhang Guozhen back to Shanghai to report to the Japanese. Of course, Wu Sibao threatened Zhang Guozhen's family and promised to find connections to smooth things over with the Japanese, so that he would be released after serving a few years in prison.

However, Wu Sibao and Li Shiqun underestimated the Japanese's determination to suppress and reduce the strength of No. 76. How could a small thug satisfy the Japanese? Not to mention that Wu Sibao did not explain the whereabouts of the gold clearly.

In the gendarmerie's cell, Zhang Guozhen, agent number 76, also experienced torture, which he usually used on anti-Japanese elements.

The fiery red Luo Tie pressed against Zhang Guozhen's chest, and a puff of white smoke rose. "Ah...ah...I'll tell you whatever you want to say, ah..."

Zhang Guozhen, who was usually extremely ferocious, could not bear it and fainted immediately. He was soon awakened by a basin of cold water. The Japanese military police were not in a hurry to get Zhang Guozhen's confession. They kept hitting Zhang Guozhen with the branding iron in retaliation until he vented all his anger. Then they started to question him.

"Did you steal the gold? Who is behind this?" The Japanese military police changed a branding iron and threatened Zhang Guozhen in front of his eyes. Zhang Guozhen's eyebrows were burned off by the high temperature of the branding iron. He couldn't open his eyes at all and his spirit was already broken.

"Wu Sibao sent me to rob it. Wu Sibao was the mastermind."

"Where is the stolen gold hidden?"

"No, there is really no gold."

"Still talking tough, right? Then continue." The Japanese had no patience and used various torture instruments to torture Zhang Guozhen, but it still had no effect. No matter what means the Japanese used, Zhang Guozhen insisted that he had not succeeded in getting the gold and retreated. He only gave a list of the spies who had acted together that day.

Therefore, the gendarmerie arrested other spies who participated in the robbery that day according to the list provided by Zhang Guozhen. These spies confessed very quickly, but they were just following orders and could not explain anything. All they knew was that when they ran away, there were people following them to cover their retreat.

Because some of the clever spies heard the bad news and ran away long before Zhang Guozhen fell into the hands of the Japanese, the Japanese believed that the spies behind had stolen the gold.

In any case, the Japanese caught Wu Sibao as the mastermind of the gold robbery, so the military police headquarters ordered Wang Jingwei and Li Shiqun to arrest Wu Sibao in the name of disturbing the peace.

When Wu Sibao heard the news, he immediately hid himself. The Japanese and Wang Jingwei couldn't find Wu Sibao, so they could only put the blame on Li Shiqun. They all believed that Li Shiqun's No. 76 had hidden Wu Sibao, and they forced Li Shiqun to hand him over.

Li Shiqun was innocently implicated and was very angry, but it was not Li Shiqun who hid Wu Sibao, and he didn't know where Wu Sibao was hiding.

In order to ensure his own safety, Li Shiqun had no choice but to take his wife Ye Jiqing to Wu Sibao's residence and persuade Wu Sibao's wife Yu Aizhen to reveal Wu Sibao's hiding place.

"Old Wu can't hide forever! He still has to give an explanation to the Japanese. I can assure you that Old Wu's life is definitely not in danger. At most, he will just spend a few years in jail. After the storm has passed, with some work, he can come out privately." Li Shiqun persuaded Yu Aizhen earnestly.

Finally, Yu Aizhen was successfully persuaded and revealed Wu Sibao's hiding place. It turned out that Wu Sibao had a lot of evidence against Li Shiqun and felt that Li Shiqun would not dare to deceive him and Wu Sibao.

After learning the whereabouts of Wu Sibao, Li Shiqun did not dare to delay and personally led people to find Wu Sibao.

"Old Wu, it's no use hiding like this. If you don't stand up, there will be no way out. If the Japanese find you one day, there will be no room for maneuver." Li Shiqun asked Wu Sibao to stand up and take responsibility for the matter. Only in this way could he, Li Shiqun, get out of this situation.

"Director, I will die if I go out. This is such a big thing, and Zhang Guozhen can't tell me where the stolen gold has gone. How can I dare to go out?" Wu Sibao now understands that the Japanese do not seem to be as simple as framing him, and it seems that they want to kill him.

"Old Wu, we are all in the same boat. I will definitely not stand by and watch you perish. Besides, I wouldn't dare to do that, right?" Li Shiqun spoke from the bottom of his heart. What he said was to show that you, Wu Sibao, have a lot of leverage over me, and I will fight to the death to protect you, Wu Sibao, even if it is to protect myself.

Wu Sibao fell silent, lowered his head and smoked without saying a word. Li Shiqun knew that he couldn't push him too hard, so he had to stay by his side and give Wu Sibao enough time to think about it.

After half an hour, Wu Sibao, who had smoked four or five cigarettes in a row, finally raised his head.

"Director Li, since you said so, I'll take a gamble. Everything depends on you. What if, I mean what if, something happens to me, the family will be taken care of by you. Please do not let them get bullied as brothers." Wu Sibao knew that it was only a matter of time before he was caught, unless he gave up everything and ran away, never to be under the control of the Japanese again. But where could he go? Running to the Kuomintang-controlled area would be courting death.

"Old Wu, don't worry. Even if there is a glimmer of hope, I will save your life. At most it will cost more money. You can also ask Yu Aizhen to raise some money first. No matter what, make preparations first." Li Shiqun once again promised to save Wu Sibao's life.

"Well, this is the only way. Let's go. I'll go back with you and turn myself in. I'll take care of the rest."

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In this way, under the strong pressure of the Japanese, Wu Sibao, the mastermind of the gold robbery, had to follow Li Shiqun back to Shanghai to surrender. In order to protect himself and to control No. 76, Li Shiqun had to do his best to run for Wu Sibao, trying to keep this evil No. 76's number one general, so as to maintain the power of No. 76.

At this time, Lin Jie was in unprecedented trouble. It was mid-December, and there was still half a month until New Year's Day of 12, the day when Lin Jie would marry Sun Yuelan. Except for a small western-style building sent by Gangcun Zhengxiong as Sun Yuelan's dowry, everything else was not ready. Gangcun was already urging him.

If it were just this, it would be fine. The key point is that the relationship between Lin Jie and Liu Haitang is already semi-public. Ye Wulian was originally very unwilling to let Sun Yuelan enter the family, but she had to accept it under pressure from the Japanese. Now Lin Jie and Liu Haitang are obviously different in nature, how can she not be sad? Every day when he returned home and faced Ye Wulian's sad eyes, Lin Jie wanted to escape.