Just as Zhou Wen walked into Nicholas' house, a man in his thirties and wearing a long gown also walked into the door of the Hongkou Patrol Room at No. 16 Minhang Road almost at the same time.
During the Wanqing Period, after the Shanghai Concession was separatized by Western powers, the three concessions of Britain, France, and the United States adopted a joint strategy and jointly formed the municipal government agency of the concession, the Bureau of the Ministry of Industry, and set up a patrol room under the Bureau of the Ministry of Industry to maintain security in the concession.
However, since the American Concession is located in Hebei, Suzhou, the security management of the patrol house is not effective. The Bureau of the Ministry of Industry set up the second sub-patrol house of the Ministry of Industry in the Hongkou area where the American Concession is located. At the beginning of its establishment, the daily expenses of the patrol house were borne by Hongkou.
The residents and taxpayers of the area bear the responsibility, and the daily management is the responsibility of the chief inspector who is responsible for the daily work of the chief patrol house.
The Hongkou Police Station has one inspector, one detective, and dozens of patrol officers. The chief inspector and inspectors are all held by foreigners. Chinese can hold the highest position of detective.
The man in a long gown who entered the Hongkou patrol room seemed to be very familiar with the people here. No one checked him when he came in. However, many patrol officers who saw him greeted him warmly and called him Brother Zheng.
But I saw Brother Zheng smiling and saying hello all the way, and soon walked up to the second floor of the patrol room, came to a door with the word "Inspector" written on the door plate, and knocked lightly.
"Come in!"
Following the sound coming from the door, Brother Zheng pushed the door open and entered.
In the detective's office, a middle-aged man wearing a white shirt and a small vest was drinking tea leisurely. He didn't get up when he saw Brother Ren coming in. He just said lightly: "Ming Ming
"Zheng, why are you so anxious about something? You have to rush to meet immediately. You don't know, I turned down Boss Ma's card game just to wait for you."
It turns out that this man in a long gown is Ming Zheng, the second most capable general under Mr. Du, the leader of the Shanghai Youth Gang.
Ming Zheng is also the liaison person sent by Mr. Du to deal with all aspects of relations with Zhou Wen.
Just an hour ago, Ming Zheng received a call from Zhou Wen, asking him to help investigate the background of a Belarusian nobleman named Nikolai in the Belarusian concession, and it was very urgent.
It should be noted that Zheng also started to deal with Zhou Wen as early as last year. Although he is a Youth Gang general, he is also a Chinese with patriotic feelings. During the Anti-Japanese War in Songhu last year, Mr. Du provided financial support to the 19th Route Army.
When I came to handle the matter, I admired the various experiences and achievements of a legendary figure like Zhou Wen from the bottom of my heart.
What's more, Mr. Du still owns 10% of the shares of Tiger Defense Company, so he must do his best to handle the matters assigned by Zhou Wen.
However, Mr. Du's sphere of influence is mainly in the French Concession, while the Hongkou District of the Public Concession is the territory of another Qing Gang leader Zhang Xiaoling.
In terms of the Shanghai Youth Gang at this time, there were three major forces.
The most powerful one is of course Mr. Du, but his main area of control is in the French Concession. There are two other big guys, namely Huang Jinlong, who controls the junction of the French Concession and the Public Concession, and the other who controls the east part of the Public Concession.
Zhang Xiaoling of the area.
In fact, these three gangsters had been fighting openly and secretly for more than ten years before, but no one could do anything about the other. So in order to maintain the stability of the Qinggang, they became sworn brothers and made a private agreement, each to take care of their minions and not each other.
Cross the line.
According to the time when he joined the Qinggang, Huang Jinlong is the eldest brother, Mr. Du is the second eldest brother, and Zhang Xiaoling is the third brother.
Although they do not cross each other's boundaries, there is still mutual help and cooperation. Of course, the three people's subordinates are also good and bad, and naturally there are some battles over interests.
But generally speaking, in recent years, the three gangster factions have maintained a balance, and their interactions with each other have become closer.
Therefore, if Ming Zheng wants to investigate the people and things in Hongkou, whether it is for the sake of gang rules or work efficiency, he has to find someone from Zhang Xiaoling for help.
Detective Inspector Lu Dayou of the Hongkou Patrol Room, according to the seniority of the Qing Gang, is Zhang Xiaoling's junior brother, just like the relationship between Su Jixian and Mr. Du.
The patrol room at this time was like the police station of later generations, and it had the best understanding of the residents in the area under its jurisdiction. When Ming Zheng wanted to investigate Nikolai, it was of course the fastest way to contact the patrol room.
At this time, Ming Zheng knew what Lu Dayou was talking about about the poker game. It was just protection money given by some merchants in the area to the patrolmen in order to seek peace.
Of course, the card game that can invite the detective to play must also be a big merchant with a high reputation.
Ming Zheng, the boss Ma mentioned in Lu Dayou's words, also knew him. He was the owner of a spinning mill, he was very powerful, and his main customers were Japanese trading companies.
After the September 18th Incident, many patriotic businessmen in Shanghai refused to do business with the Japanese, but Boss Ma didn't care. He also took advantage of the withdrawal of other businesses to expand the scale of production and exclusively supply the Japanese. Naturally,
It's a lot of money.
Of course Ming Zheng will not show his contempt and disdain for Boss Ma now, and he also knows that Lu Dayou just made a few complaints to express his dissatisfaction. Could it be that if you, Detective Lu, don't go today, you will not be able to show the filial piety that Boss Ma should give you?
No more? It’s just a matter of time.
Ming Zheng smiled and said: "Brother Dayou, this matter is urgent, and a company owned by an American friend came to visit me today. I want my little brother to help you report this."
Lu Dayou had not been in contact with Ming Zheng for a day or two. Knowing that this person was a celebrity around Mr. Du, he naturally would not make any pretense, so he pointed to a stack of documents on his desk and said: "Which Nicholas
The situation is all here, you can see for yourself. I will find someone to record the reported matters."
The so-called reporting means that because the defense company now accepts Nikolai's security protection work, there may be inevitable conflicts with others, and it is inevitable to use knives and guns. Naturally, the patrol room must be notified.
Zhou Wen knew that coming to Shanghai was different from Shanxi on the battlefield, and he couldn't just let his temper go.
Of course you can stir up trouble in secret. As long as you don't get discovered, killing a few people is not a big deal. But protecting Nikola's business is on the surface, and Zhou Wen is eager to kill a few people to establish his authority.
, by the way, you also helped the Tiger Defense Company to advertise, right?
Since it is an open matter, the necessary procedures must be followed. After all, this is the territory of foreigners, and even killing someone needs an explanation, right? So it is necessary to greet all parties.
Of course, Ming Zheng specifically mentioned that the company was run by Americans, which was a disguised reminder to Lu Dayou that when it comes to matters involving foreigners, he should be less involved.
This is also the current situation in Shanghai. Foreigners want to be superior to others, so Zhou Wen spent so much effort to get in touch with the American consulate and get them to endorse the defense company.