At noon the next day, Yan Xiaohui first called to confirm that Lu Ming was at the apartment, and then sent someone to deliver three invitations.
The invitation was in a typical Japanese style, with blooming cherry blossoms printed on the cover. When opened, Lu Ming's name was written on one of the cards.
Yan Xiaohui told Lu Ming that the other two invitations did not include names and asked him to fill them in as needed.
As soon as he got the invitation, An Gonggen's phone call came, asking him about the invitation, as if he had predicted the future.
At this moment, An Gonggen was waiting in a cafe near Lu Ming's apartment, which showed his eagerness.
Lu Ming told him that the invitation had been received, and if he wanted it urgently, he could take it now.
An Gonggen asked Lu Ming to come to the cafe quickly. He couldn't wait any longer.
This cafe was very inconspicuous, with a small front and almost buried among the trees on the street. An Gonggen was reading the newspaper alone inside.
Lu Ming stepped forward and sat down opposite him, asking for a cup of coffee and a piece of bread. He hadn't had time to eat breakfast yet.
"I thought about it, and it's better if I take the invitation away and don't let my people meet you." An Gonggen said.
"Why, do you don't trust me, or..." Lu Ming rubbed his hands and smiled.
"No, it's...how do you put it? Let's put it this way, if they fail and fall into the hands of the Japanese, even if they can't withstand the torture, they won't be able to reveal the origin of the invitation. They won't even know that I exist."
An Gonggen took a sip of coffee and smiled.
"It makes sense that they don't know me. How could they not know you?" Lu Ming felt very surprised.
"This is the need of the revolution. It has to be like this. All they know is the mission and the person who gave them the order. Beyond that, they don't need to know any information." An Gonggen's tone was decisive.
"Can't you comrades still trust each other?" Lu Ming still didn't understand.
"It's not about distrust, but about narrowing the scope of insiders as much as possible. We implement single-line contact. You will understand later. This is also the protection of comrades."
Lu Ming seemed to understand a little, and asked with a smile: "Have you ever been arrested?"
"No, I will never let the enemy catch me. I would rather die. We are all equipped with deadly poison and can hide it on our bodies at any time." An Gonggen patted his collar and said.
"Just out of curiosity, I'm just asking, if you were... caught by the enemy, do you think you could withstand all kinds of torture?" Lu Ming asked.
"Well, how should I put it? I believe that I can withstand it, but it is useless to believe in this kind of thing. After all, people are made of flesh, not made of iron. The strength of the will depends on many factors. Yes.
People themselves are not afraid of death, but when it comes to their parents, their children can't bear it. Anyway, there are various situations and it can't be assumed." An Gonggen explained patiently.
"Then let's go one step further. If a person is unfortunately caught and doesn't have time to take poison, but he withstands all kinds of torture and comes out later, wouldn't you believe him?"
"You have so many questions. Why do you want to join our line of work?" An Gonggen smiled.
Normally, he wouldn't have the patience to talk to a rookie like Lu Ming. Without personal experience, he would never be able to understand these complicated things.
But now Lu Ming had helped him a lot, and he felt that he might need help from Lu Ming in the future, so he was very patient.
In fact, there is only a ten-year age difference between them, but there is still a big gap in how they view life.
An Gonggen's two brothers are both heroic figures. It can be said that he grew up next to the flames of revolution and had long made up his mind to devote himself to national independence.
Lu Ming was different. He grew up in a privileged environment and went to the United States to study. After returning to China, he opened his own detective agency. This kind of gameplay was something An Gonggen never dared to think about.
"No, I told you, it's just curiosity." Lu Ming was indeed curious.
"Well, let's put it this way, emotionally, of course we believe in our own people, but intellectually, we must doubt everything. This is indeed a bit cruel, but the revolution itself is cruel. A true revolutionary can understand
Yes, because he dedicated his life to the country a long time ago."
An Gonggen's words shocked Lu Ming quite a bit. He also knew what patriotism meant, but he had never connected patriotism with dedication, and had never seriously thought about this issue.
"Ah, what if you are wronged? Wouldn't you live in darkness for the rest of your life?" Lu Ming asked confused.
"Revolutionaries have their own inner light. Master Lu, it is impossible for a rich man like you to understand us."
After An Gonggen finished speaking, he stood up and left without paying the bill. He felt that Lu Ming was a rich young man and he shouldn't care about the cost of two cups of coffee.
Lu Ming sent away the two invitations, and felt a stone fall in his heart. An Gonggen's arrangement was the best for him, but he still wanted to meet the two people who performed the mission, and see what the person who was willing to die looked like.
appearance.
As for what An Gonggen said about being afraid of exposing him, there was a certain truth to it, and he could understand this. Of course, he knew that An Gonggen was doing this to guard against him, fearing that he might betray his two comrades.
A person like An Gonggen will not trust anyone. The cruel reality of struggle has long made him hard-hearted.
Lu Ming returned to the apartment and received a call from Mingzhu.
"Lu Ming, I want to go find my sister." Yuan Mingzhu said anxiously.
"No, how can you find it alone? Where can you find it?" Lu Ming felt a little dizzy.
"I didn't say alone, I want you to accompany me." Yuan Mingzhu said.
"Okay, just wait for me for two days, and then I'll go with you to find Ziyuan after I finish what I'm doing." Lu Ming said.
"How many more days have to wait? What else do you have to do?" Yuan Mingzhu said reluctantly.
"That's it. Wasn't Zhang Ziyang kidnapped before? If he wants to go back to the police station, he has to explain some things that happened during this period. I have to be his witness. After I finish this matter, I will be free."
Lu Ming didn't tell lies. He should go to the welcome banquet or not. Zhang Ziyang's matter was more important. If the police station wanted to close the case, there must be a certifier.
They have already discussed that after the welcome banquet, Zhang Ziyang can return to work at the police station regardless of whether it is successful or not.
As for how he came back safely and how he escaped, all this depends on Lu Ming to vouch for him. He alone can't make it happen.
"You think something will happen to my sister? I've been frightened for the past two days. I've dreamed about her several times at night." Yuan Mingzhu said, actually sobbing.
"Don't cry, Mingzhu, listen to me, Ziyuan is fine, she is so smart, she can get an idea in the blink of an eye, why is something wrong with her, believe me." Lu Ming said.
"Well, then I believe you. You must not lie to me. I tell you, if you dare to lie to me, I... will not live." After saying that, Yuan Mingzhu hung up the phone.
Lu Ming broke into a cold sweat when he heard this. He knew that Yuan Mingzhu was not just joking, but actually meant what he said. However, he did not lie to Mingzhu. He was also afraid that Ziyuan would be killed before, but in the past few days, he had carefully collected information from various sources.
After considering all aspects, I feel that it is unlikely that something happened to Ziyuan.
His judgment was that Ziyuan was hiding in a secret place, but she didn't dare to show up, and she didn't dare to communicate with her family casually.
This shows that she is still in danger. If that letter of safety is really sent by Ziyuan, it may be sending some kind of message, indicating that she is in trouble and waiting for someone to rescue her.
Lu Ming didn't know if what he thought was right, but he had too few clues now, so he could only make this conclusion.
Lu Ming suddenly remembered Sheng Di's call to Yuan Mingzhu. This was a bit abnormal. Why didn't Sheng Di tell Mingzhu that Ziyuan wanted to terminate the engagement? But he took the initiative to reveal this information to him. What was the implication?
?
The welcome banquet hosted by the Yan family was held at the Yamato Hotel in the Japanese Concession. The hotel's three-story living room was luxurious enough.
The hotel was closed to the public one day in advance. All the guests staying there were investigated one by one. Anyone whose identity could not be confirmed was respectfully asked to leave. It was said that there was an important meeting that needed to occupy the room. They were asked to vacate the room. Of course, the room was occupied.
Fees are fully refundable.
Travelers have to check out, and they know there will be a grand banquet here to welcome an important person. In this case, it is better to stay away, because if trouble arises, it will be troublesome.
There were many rumors about the visiting important person. Some said it was an important person from Japan who came to inspect. Some even said it was a prince of the imperial family. Of course, some people also knew that it was Shigeru Honjo, the commander of the Kwantung Army.
It is not a secret that Shigeru Honjo is coming to Shanghai, so there is no special confidentiality. We have done preliminary work regarding the arrival of soldiers from the Eastern Army, mainly communicating with the Japanese Consulate in Shanghai.
The Japanese Consulate in Shanghai expressed an extremely unwelcome attitude towards Honjo Shige's trip to Shanghai, and even sent a telegram to the Kwantung Army, asking Honjo Shige to cancel the trip. The reason was that the situation in Shanghai was recently turbulent, anti-Japanese sentiment was rising day by day, and the officer's safety could not be guaranteed.
The Kwantung Army consulted with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs through the General Staff Headquarters and rejected the request for a consulate in Shanghai.
A few days before Shigeru Honjo arrived in Shanghai, people had already started demonstrating on the streets of Shanghai, demanding that the government ban the sale of Japanese goods.
The parade did not cause trouble. They only stopped for a while in front of the city police station building, city government building, and Japanese Concession, and held a lecture. As soon as it got dark, everyone went home.
Lu Ming naturally knew about this, he heard it on the radio. This kind of thing is not uncommon in Shanghai. Every once in a while, something will arouse public outrage and take to the streets to demonstrate.
He felt that the person standing behind this demonstration was Du Yuesheng, because workers and gang members made up the majority, with only a small number of students.
Generally speaking, students are the most patriotic group. Any patriotic movement is always initiated by students.
Sheng Youde naturally has the most reason to resent the rampant Japanese goods in Shanghai, because Japanese goods have the greatest impact on his business. Now the Sheng family's industry basically relies on banks to maintain the business. The markets for goods such as silks, satins, and cloths have been taken over by Japanese companies.
took up a large share.
Fortunately, Shengjiajia has a large business and is supported by years of accumulation, so there will be no problems for the time being.
However, Lu Ming didn't know what Du Yuesheng had to do with the Japanese. At least he hadn't heard of it. Maybe he just didn't like the Japanese.
He could not tell whether Sheng Youde participated in this event for a while. At this juncture, every move of Sheng Youde had profound meaning.