The whistle blew, and the Yoshino Maru slowly left the Shirakawa Pier.
China and Japan are separated by a narrow strip of water. It only takes three days to reach Japan by boat from Shirakawa Pier. The strategic importance of Yanjin is self-evident.
Ten minutes later, two speedboats rushed up to catch up, one on the left and one on the right, approaching the Yoshino Maru like arrows.
There were more than a dozen policemen on the speedboat, and they were looking for Ray-Ban.
A policeman held a bullhorn and shouted: "We are the police, the Yoshino Maru will stop immediately for inspection!"
The Yoshino Maru ignored it and continued to move forward. They were nominally a merchant ship, but in fact, everyone from the captain to the sailors were employed by the Japanese Navy.
Most of the sailors on the ship are soldiers. They have short guns hidden on their bodies to deal with possible emergencies and to guard the Chinese workers.
According to Li Zhibai's instructions, Lei Ban ordered the police to carry long guns, because pistols did not pose much of a threat to the Yoshino Maru, which had a tall ship, and the other party might just rush over.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Ray Ban raised his hand and fired a warning shot, and at the same time ordered the policeman who shouted: "Tell the Yoshino Maru that if you don't stop the ship, we will shoot!"
The captain discovered that the policemen were armed with long-range guns and did not dare to take them lightly. On the other hand, he also felt that there was no need for a conflict. The Yoshino Maru finally slowly stopped.
Ray Ban led the police down the gangway and boarded the Yoshino Maru. He held a pistol and shouted: "Who is the captain?"
A Japanese man about fifty years old came over and said in blunt Chinese: "I am Captain Nomura. May I give you some advice?"
Lei Ban glanced at him and said, "We received a report that the Yoshino Maru was illegally smuggling controlled substances. I want to check it out!"
Nomura said proudly: "This is a ship of the Japanese Empire. You Chinese police have no right to inspect it!"
Lei Ban sneered and said: "Captain Nomura, you may not have been to Yanjin for a long time. This rule has been changed long ago!"
"changed?"
"Since it was discovered that Kako Nakamura is a military spy, the Chief of the Military Police Corps has issued a special order requiring us to search any suspicious targets, regardless of nationality and identity!"
Nomura walked up to Ray Ban and whispered: "Mr. Sheriff, I can tell you clearly that the Yoshino Maru has an important mission! Aren't you afraid of setting yourself on fire?"
Ray-Ban said with a straight face: "Are you threatening me?"
"I'm just stating a fact!"
"I am a law enforcement officer. Everything I do today is to do my best for the common prosperity of East Asia. I am afraid of setting myself on fire!"
After saying this, Lei Pen waved his hand and ordered: "If anyone comes, search their bodies first!"
"yes!"
"yes!……"
Under the threat of rifles, Japanese sailors' guns were found one after another.
Lei Ban sneered: "Armed escort? Captain Nomura, what else do you have to say?"
Nomura glared at Ray-Ban angrily and said, "I told you, the Yoshino Maru has an important mission, and the purpose of carrying guns is to protect the cargo ship!"
Ray-Ban ignored him and waved his hand and said: "Every cargo hold must be carefully inspected and don't let go of any doubts!"
When the tarpaulin was lifted, bags of rice and white flour were piled in the cabin, stacked as high as a hill. All of this food was to be supplemented to the Japanese combat troops.
"With so much grain, how can you say it's not smuggling?" Even though Lei Ban was not interested in drinking, he was still shocked by the huge amount of grain.
In the occupied areas, white flour rice was rationed to ordinary Chinese people, and each person could only buy a small portion per month. If they were not enough, they had to mix it with corn noodles and multi-grain noodles.
Therefore, ordinary people usually only have a meal of white flour dumplings or a luxurious pot of rice on major festivals or special occasions.
Even though Lei Ban is a police sergeant and enjoys much better food and drink than ordinary people, he has never seen so much rice and flour.
Captain Yoshino said angrily: "Do you want me to show you the Navy Department's warrant?"
Lei-Ban waved his hand and said: "I don't know Japanese, and I can't tell the truth from the false even if I read it..."
"Chief Lei, there's a situation down there!" A policeman ran up from the bottom to report.
"What's wrong?"
"There are hundreds of people imprisoned down there. I don't know what's going on."
"Captain Nomura, you are not only selling food, but also people?" Lei Ban turned around and said to Nomura.
Nomura simply said nothing. He was only responsible for transporting food and labor and had no experience in dealing with this situation.
Lei Ban was more cautious. He was worried that there were weapons hidden on the ship. He only brought a dozen policemen. If someone attacked him by surprise, it would be no joke.
Therefore, in addition to leaving people on the deck to keep watch, he simply asked Nomura and the first mate and second mate to accompany him down to the bottom of the cabin, which was an extra layer of safety.
When the police came down for the first inspection, the hatch door had been ordered to be opened, and the supervisor responsible for guarding it was Zhang Jinbiao, who was confused and confused.
Seeing Lei Pen and his people coming down, Zhang Jinbiao said in surprise: "Chief Lei?"
Lei Pen looked at Zhang Jinbiao and said, "I said that a wanted order was issued a while ago. Why can't I find you? It turns out you were hiding on the boat."
Zhang Jinbiao defended himself and said: "Chief Lei, I'm not hiding. I signed a contract with Dadong Company to work as a supervisor in Japan."
Ray-Ban had no time to chat with him, so he pointed at the dark crowd in the bottom cabin and said, "What's going on?"
Zhang Jinbiao glanced at the captain and said: "They are all laborers going to Japan."
"Workers? Why do workers need to be locked up?" Lei Ban walked to the door of the cabin and said loudly: "Don't be afraid, everyone, I am a policeman. If you are abducted, I can rescue you and return to Yanjin now!"
There was silence in the cabin for a while, and Sanhua said in a trembling voice: "...Police, police officer, help...help..."
As soon as he opened his mouth, the other workers shouted: "Officer, help us!"
"We were deceived..."
——This is the case with many things. As long as one person has the courage to stand up, there will be more echoing voices.
Lei Ban turned around and looked at Captain Nomura, and said coldly: "Captain Nomura, please give the order to return immediately!"
Nomura said angrily: "Do you know what you are doing!"
"Of course I know. Now I suspect that the Yoshino Maru is smuggling food and human trafficking, so I have to go back and find out!"
"Mr. Sheriff, just wait until you go back and remove yourself from office!"
Lei Ban ignored him and said to the workers in the cabin: "After returning to Yanjin, no one is allowed to leave without permission. I will go to the police station with me for questioning. Do you understand?"
"I understand."
"Understood……"
"Thank you, officer..."
At nine o'clock in the night, the Yoshino Maru docked quietly at Shirakawa Pier. The workers, carrying their luggage, lined up and walked to the Hongqiao Police Station on foot under the supervision of the police.
Captain Nomura and the first and second mates also went together.
Such a strange team appeared on the street, which immediately attracted crowds of people to watch. People kept coming up to ask the reason. As long as no one escaped, the police did not interfere with this behavior.
Not long after, several reporters heard the news and came over, holding small notebooks and interviewing the workers as they walked...
When things got to this point, all aspects were as expected by Jiang Xinyu, and there were almost no mistakes.
As long as I see the newspaper tomorrow, not only will this group of people be rescued, but more people who potentially want to work as laborers will change their previous decisions...