Late at night, Lu Ming was suddenly awakened by the sharp sound of the fire truck's whistle.
He got up and looked at his watch in the moonlight. It was already half past two in the morning.
Shanghai is such a big city, even in humid winters, fire accidents happen from time to time and are not new.
However, during this special period, Lu Ming became particularly vigilant. After thinking for a while, he still felt uneasy and called the duty room.
The Lanyi Club also has officers on duty at night, called star officers on duty.
"I'm Lu Ming." He said after getting through the phone.
"Hello, Chief Lu, I am a star officer on duty, Shen Zhiqin." The other party spoke clearly, indicating that he was very clear-headed.
"I heard the fire truck siren, do you know where the fire broke out?" Lu Ming asked.
"Report to Commander Lu, I didn't hear it here, and no one came to report it." The officer on duty replied strictly.
"Send someone to check out the fire scene and report to me," Lu Ming said succinctly.
"yes."
Lu Ming hung up the phone and simply put on his clothes and got up.
The temperature in the bedroom dropped a bit at night, so he went over to make the fire in the fireplace a little brighter and threw in a few logs of firewood.
After a while, the phone rang, but it was not the duty star officer of the Lanyi Club, but An Gonggen.
"I'm sorry, Master Lu, for waking you up. The matter is a bit urgent." An Gonggen apologized.
"It's okay, I'm already awake. What happened?" Lu Ming asked.
"Half an hour ago, more than 20 Japanese youths secretly set fire to the Sanyou Industrial Headquarters building." An Gonggen said in an urgent voice.
"What? You're so brave to set fire to the building. Are there any casualties?" Lu Ming asked hurriedly.
"The people at Sanyou Industrial Headquarters were not harmed. They did not leave anyone to guard them at night, but those Japanese youths stabbed two Chinese patrolmen who came to put out the fire. One was killed and the other injured." An Gonggen reported in a very calm tone.
"This is the Japanese's revenge, and it is precise revenge. It is also the second step of their porcelain action." Lu Ming said thoughtfully.
"We originally wanted to catch a few arsonists and murderers, but there were too many of them and we didn't dare to take action. At this critical period, we didn't dare to use knives or guns," An Gonggen said.
"You did the right thing. Your main purpose was to collect intelligence, not to arrest people. It's a pity that you didn't have a camera in your hands, so you couldn't take pictures and leave evidence." Lu Ming regretted.
Lu Ming once thought of buying them some cameras, but felt that they would not need cameras when performing field operations. Now it seems that this was an oversight.
"Continue to stay where you are to collect intelligence. Everyone, take cover and pay attention to safety." Lu Ming said.
"Master Lu, please rest assured, we have experience and will protect ourselves." An Gonggen hung up the phone.
Lu Ming looked at his watch. It was now two forty in the morning, and the Japanese's second porcelain attack had ended.
But just causing an arson incident was far from the intensity of the Japanese Marine Corps dispatch. What did Yoshiko Kawashima and Tanaka want to do? Why would they create a conflict with such a low intensity?
Could it be that the Japanese Consulate is waiting for China to protest and then create a bigger conflict, and then issue a statement of protest and put forward blackmail conditions?
He thought about it and felt that it was not that simple.
Although he only slept for a few hours, his sleepiness was gone at this moment.
At this time, the phone rang again. It was the star officer on duty, reporting the fire situation to him, which was similar to what An Gonggen said.
"I understand, please be careful and don't let the Japanese take advantage of you," Lu Ming said.
"Sir, please don't worry, we are all in a state of emergency now," the officer on duty said.
Lu Ming knew what it meant for everyone to enter a state of emergency, that is, they could not take off their clothes while sleeping, the guns were by their side, and they could enter combat mode at any time.
The Blue Clothes Club is actually an out-and-out military unit, just cloaked in civilian guise.
Lu Ming sat blankly at the table until morning, repeatedly replaying the Japanese combat plan that Muto and Kenta told him in his mind, scanning the possible next move of the Japanese over and over again.
In the morning, he went downstairs to have a quick bite, and then drove to Lanyi Club.
When he arrived at the office, the fire in the fireplace had already been lit, and the tea was brewed in the tea cup. Lu Ming smiled, knowing that Liu Qiwen made it for him, and this girl was quite sensible.
Before the cup of tea was finished, Kang Ze convened a meeting with cadres from the intelligence department, and of course Lu Ming had to attend.
"Early this morning, there was a big fire at Sanyou Industrial Head Office. As you all know, it's obvious that the Japanese have taken another step forward. We can't simply analyze the intelligence now, we must predict the Japanese's next move.
, can we take the initiative." Kang Ze said.
"Forecasting, I feel that Chief Lu is the best at predicting. The Japanese pretended to be Chinese and assassinated the consulate officials. It was such a clever plan that the Japanese must have been dumbfounded. I think it's better to ask Chief Lu to make a prediction first," said the Fourth Division Director with a smile.
When he said this, the others immediately applauded and welcomed him. Kang Ze also looked at Lu Ming, waiting for him to speak.
Lu Ming smiled bitterly and said, "I don't have any miraculous calculations. It's just a conclusion based on intelligence analysis. I feel that the intensity of the conflicts they have created is far from enough. Now these conflicts are still within the scope of diplomatic settlement, and the Japanese army cannot borrow them."
Let’s launch an attack.”
"What kind of conflict will happen? We don't know what to do, and we don't know how to act." asked the director of the Fifth Division.
"Yes, the little Japanese is very naughty. He might be up to some dirty tricks."
"We can't just sit and wait."
"I can only wait. If I don't wait, what can I do?"
Several section chiefs were muttering quietly.
"But having said that, the Japanese are famous for their shamelessness. Maybe they really have no lower limit." Lu Ming suddenly said this.
After hearing what he said, everyone fell silent.
"I'm not kidding. Just look at the history of the Japanese and you will know that during the Sino-Japanese War they attacked our Beiyang Fleet, during the Russo-Japanese War they attacked the Russian fleet and ports, and during the September 18th Incident, they also carried out sneak attacks.
For these three sneak attacks, they just made up an excuse out of thin air, and I guess even they themselves wouldn't believe it," Lu Ming said.
"President Lu, do you think they will repeat their same tricks this time?" Director Six asked in a hoarse voice.
"I think it's unlikely that the same old tricks will be repeated." Lu Ming stood up and said, "They are engaging in blackmail and a fake war in Shanghai. They need a conflict of sufficient intensity, because they will face not only the people of Shanghai's navy and civilians, but
To resist desperately, we still have to face the pressure from the great powers such as Britain, the United States, France, Germany, and Italy."
"If they send troops to attack Shanghai, they must at least have a good reason." Director Four said.
"Well, that's my opinion too." Kang Ze nodded.
"Will their next move be to continue fighting with each other?" asked the Director of the Fifth Division.
"Yes, let's continue. Judging from their arson operation last night, the two planners Kawashima Yoshiko and Tanaka Takayoshi were a little confused." Lu Ming took two steps. He felt that if he moved his body, his mind would be more flexible.
Some.
"It's a bit confusing, it seems like it's just flopping around." Kang Ze also didn't understand what the Japanese wanted to do by setting the fire.
"This is a ignition operation. Next, they will use similar means to light fires everywhere, such as inciting the ronin in Shanghai to make trouble, inciting Japanese overseas Chinese living in Shanghai to protest and march... to pave the way for the Japanese Consulate to issue a protest statement." Lu.
Ming analyzed.
"Well, what President Lu means is that the Japanese are accumulating conflicts little by little?"
"It's not accumulation, it's intensification, intensifying conflicts bit by bit."
"They want to turn a small fire into a big fire little by little. This is called a fire, you know."
The three division chiefs muttered to each other and seemed to have discovered the Japanese's secret.
"Yes, the Japanese don't have a good solution now. They just take it one step at a time, slice the sausage, and never give up until they achieve their goals. Maybe something will meet their expectations, and then they will intervene militarily." Lu Ming walked back.
He patted the back of the chair and said.
"Then how can we prevent this kind of thing from happening and spreading?" Kangze asked.
"We can't prevent it. Is it easy for you to argue with a scoundrel?" Lu Ming said with a bitter smile.
"It seems that the only option is to kill! This is the result they want." The director of the Sixth Division hesitated for a long time and finally said again.
"The headquarters still hopes that we will assist the Songhu Security Headquarters and the Police Station to try to control the situation, but we must also be prepared for both." Kang Ze told the truth.