"Captain Lin, the office has forwarded news from the Shanghai Station that the other party has given in and said it will continue to negotiate redemption matters..."
Zheng Junshan happily took the message and found Lin Mo on the first floor, who was dealing with various official duties with a frown on his face.
Lin Mo took the telegram and read it. The general meaning was that the Japanese had taken the initiative to contact the Shanghai Station and began to communicate about the redemption of Qiuyue Haruko. Their posture was low enough and they made many concessions.
"These guys can change their faces very quickly." Lin Mo was a little surprised after reading it.
"Indeed! I didn't expect these people to give in so quickly." Zheng Junshan also nodded in agreement.
Lin Mo shook his head and said: "This is not a bow, it is just an expedient measure, and the faster they show their weakness, the less good it will be for us.
Let’s talk about it! It’s easier to deal with the unruly and tit-for-tat T-tech company. Now that you’ve restrained yourself like this, who knows what bad things you’re holding back?”
Zheng Junshan also nodded. It's not scary to play drums and gongs in front of you. What's scary is when someone secretly touches you and uses dirty tricks, just like them.
Uh~ When you use it on others, it must be great! But when others use it on you, you have to complain too!
"Now, how are you going to arrange it?" Lin Mo naturally paid attention to this matter, and he didn't have any good ideas anyway.
"Reply and ask the Shanghai Station to negotiate with the previously agreed ransom. If we can't reach an agreement, then we will continue to fight. If we can reach an agreement, we must take the initiative on the specific time and place of the ransom, but do not set it without authorization.
, wait for my news."
Zheng Junshan nodded, but that was obviously not what he wanted to know, so he asked: "What about the Japanese side? How are they going to respond? Aren't they going to make some adjustments?"
Lin Mo pondered for a moment, shook his head, and explained: "Let's proceed as planned! We can't let the opponent disrupt the rhythm, but drag the opponent into our rhythm.
No matter what the opponent's plans are, as long as our offensive is strong enough, we will continue to cause them trouble and things to do, disrupting their deployment.
Moreover, our own plans are all planned based on our own circumstances, that is, mostly based on our own advantages. Is it possible that we have to abandon these?"
Zheng Junshan thought about it and found that this was indeed the case. Although he did not know the specific arrangements of Lin Mo, as the work progressed, he could also feel that it was not a small undertaking, and it was enough to keep the Japanese busy.
"But! Since the other party has come to contact the redeemer a little earlier due to an accident, then we have to prepare some work in advance."
Lin Mo rubbed his chin, with a look of deep thought and contemplation on his face. Of course, there was also a bit of confidence and calmness. He had started planning and making preparations early, and with the steady progress in all aspects, he did not feel any anxiety.
"Are you going to make a fuss about the redemption?" Zheng Junshan asked curiously, but his tone was also mixed with doubts. He felt that Lin Mo's plan was not like this.
"The specific plan is still tentative for me, and some external conditions are needed to finally determine whether it is feasible and the corresponding timing.
More importantly, please don’t ask or make wild guesses. It’s not that you can’t trust anyone, but that if you know this, when everyone implements it, they will inevitably act in a biased manner.
If I cannot objectively implement my corresponding arrangements, there may be deviations. If there are any small flaws in the details of this matter, it is likely to fail, so these small interferences must be cut out as much as possible."
Although after listening, he still didn't understand, Zheng Junshan still nodded in agreement.
"Okay! Then I'll leave these tedious affairs to you. In the past two days, I may have to go to the city again. I can only do this for you!"
After Lin Mo finished speaking, he immediately ran away, leaving Zheng Junshan with his mouth twitching, looking at the pile of official documents in a daze.
Lin Moshan naturally did not just want to escape from those tedious official duties, he did need to arrange some matters.
After getting on the ferry boat, I rowed to the inlet not far away between the reeds. I rowed all the way to the innermost side, turned a corner, bypassed a clump of reeds, and entered a small waterway.
.
The water channel is narrow, but not shallow. However, due to the severe drop in water level, there is only a shallow layer left, which can barely allow sampans to pass through.
On both sides of the waterway, the half-meter-high lake bed has been exposed. It is said to be a lake bed, but it is actually densely packed reed rhizomes, and there may even be dead branches and leaves from previous years piled up underneath.
The deeper you go in, the higher the lake bed becomes, until someone is at waist height. A wooden ladder made of thick wooden sticks tied with a bowl mouth is set up beside the water channel. The wood veneer is fresh and has not been removed. Because it is for temporary use, the rough surface can increase the height.
friction.
There were several similar small sampans parked around the wooden ladder. After Lin Mo put on gloves, a hood and even goggles, he climbed over the wooden ladder and got into the reed marsh.
The reeds in front of me have been cut, but not directly to create a path. Instead, a range of about one and a half meters has been thinned, which is used to thin the fruit. The original dense reeds have been cut into thin pieces, but
For people to pull out and pass.
In this way, even from the sky, it is actually quite difficult to see that there is a path, because the reeds are not very short, and when the wind blows, the tips of the reeds on both sides will come over and cover it up.
Lin Mo stepped on some soft dead branches on the lake bed, pulled out the reed poles left behind, and drilled forward step by step. The remaining reed poles were more to support the overturned reed tips on both sides, otherwise
They will lie down, not only blocking the road, but also showing a more obvious path.
They drilled for about two to three hundred meters! Only then did Lin Mo emerge from the reeds. In front of him was an oval open space of several hundred square meters. It used to be a body of water, but the water had disappeared.
The muddy lake bed has been exposed to the sun and has big cracks. Only the edges are covered, and there is still a bit of moisture. A circle of lotus grows around the open space. Unfortunately, under the scorching sun, it is also listless and crooked.
Seven slants eight.
At both ends of the coconut lake bed were water channels that had also dried up. Lin Mo carefully descended to the mud lake bed. Although the height difference was not as high as his calf, he had a slight injury on his leg, so he could do nothing.
A faint path has been trampled on the mud lake bed, extending to the water channel at one end. Lin Mo also followed this path and walked through the dry water channel for about 200 meters, arriving at another open space similar to the previous one.
.
It's just that a large tent has been set up in this open space, but it's not the one on the top of the ship. That set can't be moved here easily.
This set is stored in the cargo hold at the bottom of the ship. Its shape is similar to the one on the top of the ship, but it is more than one size smaller, but it also belongs to the category of large tents.
It is three meters wide and the length can be matched and assembled according to the situation. In addition to the tarpaulin, there is also a second layer of camouflage net. Needless to say its purpose.
This place was found and opened by the left-behind personnel during their operations in Shanghai. It was prepared for the wounded and recuperating personnel. After all, the ship was relatively crowded, and it was mainly used for offices, so most of the time
It is difficult to provide a relatively quiet environment.
And this place is located deep in the lake area. Although this place is not an uninhabited land, there are indeed many fewer people active. Deep in the lake area, in the crisscrossing reed swamps, the water level has dropped and it is no longer navigable. There are even fewer people there.
to.
Lin Mo stepped on the creaking ground. The tent floor was paved, with cut reeds at the bottom, and then tarpaulins and thick canvases.
According to brother Kaifeng's calculations, this place should be one meter away from the current water level in the lake area. Even a heavy rain should not reach this place.
However, Lin Mo is not so optimistic. This place is a flood discharge lake area, which means that the surrounding water will be poured here first. He estimates that it will be flooded if there is a heavy rain.
Moreover, the existence of this waterway is most likely a waterway filled with water from the surrounding areas. However, the flow has been cut off due to the intense heat. Maybe a few light rains will make it impossible to stay here.
Of course, this does not negate the role of this place. Although it is a relatively simple tent, due to factors such as the abundance of vegetation around it, the actual temperature and physical sensation are actually more comfortable than on the ship, and the recuperation effect is also better.
The injured brothers who are currently in stable condition, with no life-threatening injuries, and whose injuries have not worsened, are basically resting here, and many other people even come here to relax.
The ship has an iron shell and good thermal conductivity. Even the air is hot in this weather. Naturally, the temperature inside the ship cannot be lowered. Therefore, many brothers who have nothing to do have come here now, and there are probably more to come.
.
Lin Mo entered the tent, looked at the condition of the wounded, and then passed through the tent and came to the dry waterway on the other side.
On both sides of the waterway near the reeds, wooden sticks were used to build a gate-shaped frame. The tall reed poles were slightly bent down and fixed on the horizontal sticks of the door frame, forming small sunshade spaces underneath.
Most of the brothers who came here to relax and unwind mostly stayed here and did not disturb the wounded who were resting in the tent. Most of them were reading books and information. It was quite quiet. The biggest movement was probably coming from other places across the waterway.
The sound of cooking in a small open space.
Wang Shoufei was leading a few people, concentrating on cooking there. The fuel was alcohol, and there was no smoke that could be observed, but the smell was quite fragrant.
Now I am making pan-fried small yellow croaker, which is a new batch of supplies. However, there is still a lot left from the previous batch, which Lin Mo bought.
Mainly those that are relatively large in quantity and relatively durable, so I still save them and eat them slowly! But now that a wave of people have returned, it will probably be cleared out in a few days.
"Be careful and don't set the surrounding reeds on fire!"
Lin Mo looked around and found that the reeds here were slightly withered and yellow, and the dead branches and leaves underneath were also dry, so he gave a warning.
"Don't worry, Captain Lin. We have dug a puddle so that water can seep out. We are also fetching water and splashing the reeds around the cooking area to avoid any accidents."
After Wang Shoufei responded with a smile, he stepped out of the way. Behind him, a puddle about two meters in diameter had been dug out beside a clump of lotus leaves. Looking inside, it seemed that a lot of muddy water had indeed been filled.
Lin Mo stepped forward and took a look. There was indeed water, but most of the soil they dug out was piled under the lotus leaves, which made him unable to see clearly for a while.
Lin Mo was not in a hurry, he helped him, and after the meal was almost ready, he and Wang Shoufei walked out for a while, lit a cigarette, and chatted about business.
"I told you before to tell you about the sales of those types of boats, but you ended up buying a few directly. The description of the relevant situations was almost written in one sentence, so I wanted to know about this situation with you."
Previously, this guy was rushing to take over He Changwen's scouting mission outside the city. When arranging the mission, Lin Mo had asked him to pay attention to the transactions of large and small ships on the market, and also specially ordered several styles of ships.
As a result, they understood that they wanted to buy a boat. After buying a few large and small boats and temporarily storing them outside, the matter was not followed up, so Lin Mo had to find out the situation in person.
Actually! This was not something Wang Shoufei did deliberately, but something went wrong at the end of the mission, which caused them a lot of trouble. After returning to the army, they were soon faced with another mission.
Time was tight at that time, so they could only focus on the important and urgent matters first, record and sort out the situations during the operation, and make up for other preparations after the operation was over.
But now, the operation had just ended, and before he had time to make up for it, Lin Mo had already taken the lead and looked for it.
"Due to weather and channel conditions, the shipping here has been greatly affected, but ships that can set sail or have power are fine, and you can choose to run other routes.
But as you have mentioned, those boats and people who have no sails or machines and are only suitable for running in lake areas or rivers with gentle currents will be the most affected.
There are many people interested in selling boats in the market right now, and there are various types of boats. If you mention these few items, there are still many people selling them, and they can be sold quickly."
After Lin Mo listened, he found that it was pretty much what he expected, so he took out a list from his body without any further hesitation and handed it over.
"I have to trouble you to make a trip and purchase all the ships on the list. Remember, purchase strictly in accordance with the requirements on the list."
After taking the list and looking at it, Wang Shoufei frowned slightly and hesitated to speak.
"If you have anything to say, just say it! There is no need to hide or worry about anything between us. But don't tell me that we can't work it out!"
When Wang Shoufei heard this, he quickly shook his head and said: "It's not that it's not possible, but it should be easier to buy a boat, and these boats can't be sold at high prices at the moment, so they won't cost too much.
But if you buy these boats, you must not just throw them out. And the boats are not small, and the water level has dropped a lot. Many waterways and hidden hiding places cannot be used, so they have to be brought back. This is no small project!"
There were no sails and no machinery, so the power could only be rocked by props, but the boat was not small, and it was mostly going upstream along the way. It was estimated that the people he could dispatch could only get one back at a time.
After listening to this, Lin Mo pondered for a moment and then replied: "People, you can ask a brother who is free to help. The boat cannot be brought back here directly. We can find a small wild lake or something like that to temporarily park it along the way. But remember
Stay safe and be extremely cautious in your actions so as not to be watched..."