My Italian Chapter 317

The Italian fleet was under the urging of Li Zhongtang this time, so the preparations were not too full. Then the next addition in Shanghai, the economic center of the Qing Dynasty, is very important.

Japan, which attached great importance to the departure time of the Italian fleet, received the news immediately. Tokyo even sent the telegram intact to Youpeng in Shanxian County on the front line of Weihaiwei by means of a communication ship. This even stimulated the ferocity of the attacking Weihaiwei Japanese army, and the defending Qing army suffered heavy losses after repeated desperate attacks.

If it weren't for Li Zhongtang's strict order, and there were Italian reinforcements in sight, the Qing army, which had suffered heavy casualties, might have voted.

After all, it is better to die than to live. If you surrender now, you can save a life. Even if Li Zhongtang will behead his head in the future, it will be a long time to live.

It's just that Li Zhongtang was ruthless this time. After the war, as long as Weihaiwei surrendered to the Qing army, no matter who they were, they all had to engage in military law, and their family members would also be assigned to the frontier. Such harsh and strict orders made the Qing army grit their teeth to death. After all, in Qing society, the family still pays attention, and even if he dies, his family will be implicated. Not everyone has the courage to do so.

The delay in Weihaiwei's delay is also anxious for Japan. In order to buy time for the Japanese army to attack Weihaiwei, Japan has used all means, among which assassination and sabotage are extremely important. And Shanghai, which needs to stop to replenish supplies, has become the hardest hit area.

Zhang Shusheng took out his pocket watch and looked at the time. It was six o'clock in the afternoon.

"Leader Zhao, let everyone eat quickly, and be refreshed in the evening."

"Don't worry, Mr. Zhang, our more than 30 brothers will ensure that your warehouse will not be lost."

The brawny man who spoke was the leader of Zhao, whose full name was Zhao Tiezhu. Under him, more than thirty brawny men were eating. There was plenty of fish and meat, and sharp tools such as knives and axes were kept handy by their side.

That's right, the group led by Zhao were all temporarily invited by Zhang Shusheng to guard, but it cost the boss a lot of money.

It is impossible for Mr. Zhang not to care. Although Shanghai is unreasonable in planning and crowded with people, there are great safety hazards due to random construction, so there are fires from time to time. However, there have been too many fires in Shanghai during this period. In the past ten days alone, there have been more than 20 fires, and two of them have burned down the whole family.

Moreover, the fires that occurred during this period were very strange. Most of them burned warehouses, especially those businesses that provided supplies to Italy, which were even more prone to being burned. Even in the most secure settlement, several warehouses were burned.

So during this time, whether it was the yamen in Shanghai City, or the patrols in the concession, they were patrolling day and night, trying to catch these perpetrators.

Not to mention, this period of time has been fruitful, and I encountered a wave of arsonists. However, this group of people was extremely vicious. After some resistance, 12 people were killed, one was seriously injured, and the arresters also lost two. Unfortunately, the badly injured gangster didn't make it through the night.

Although they were not able to leave a living hole, they have been inspected by the company. These people have thick calluses on their right hands. In addition, their big toes and other toes are a bit too large, so they are most likely Japanese.

Of course, this is not what the government said to the outside world, but Master Zhang got it through his relationship, which is why Master Zhang paid a lot of money to hire Zhang Tiezhu and his gang. Zhang Shusheng knew all too well what was going on with the government alone.

"Boss Zhao, I entrust my life to you."

Speaking of which, Zhang Shusheng took out two silver dollars from his arms. "This is the fee for me to invite all the heroes to drink tea. After the goods are shipped, I will definitely thank you."

Starting with a heavy silver dollar is also a big temptation for Zhao Tiezhu and his party who are used to licking blood with the tip of a knife.

"Don't worry, Mr. Zhang, I will guarantee my life, and the warehouse that will be protected will not be lost."

Although this is the second time that Zhao Tiezhu has said this, judging from the dignified tone of his expression, this is an oath.

Facing Zhao Tiezhu, how could Zhang Shusheng, a businessman who has dealt with various people, not know this. I saw him pat Zhao Tiezhu on the shoulder. "It's enough to have you, my life is all on you."

Zhang Shusheng didn't make a big deal. Although there were more than 10,000 cotton-padded clothes in this warehouse worth only 20,000 to 30,000 taels of silver, it was nothing to Zhang Shusheng, who was worth hundreds of thousands. But this cotton-padded coat is still a matter of his life, because this is the military uniform purchased by Italians. As Zhang Shusheng, who is mainly engaged in the trade between Qing and Borneo, what is the difference between this and his life.

Therefore, in addition to hiring Zhao Tiezhu's group, he also came to watch it in person.

And since Zhao Tiezhu received Zhang Shusheng's heavy reward, he must do something.

He turned to look at his brother and asked. "Have you all eaten well?"

"It's all eaten!"

"Now that you've eaten, prepare to work, keep your eyes open, and don't let snakes, worms, rats and ants take advantage of it."

Following Zhao Tiezhu's shouting, more than 30 men wiped their mouths and left the table, taking their own brothers to replace their brothers who had been guarding for most of the day.

As for Zhao Tiezhu, he surrendered to Zhang Shusheng. "Master Zhang, you are resting here, the brothers outside will be watching."

After speaking, Zhao Tiezhu went out to inspect. This bowl of rice looks delicious, but the difficulty of it can only be known by doing their business. How big the risk is.

It is common to send a dozen or so urns back to their hometown every year, and there are even those whose eyes are not bright enough to end up with no one to collect the corpses.

So in their line of work, in addition to being brave, you must have eyesight, not everything can be answered.

And this time Zhao Tiezhu takes this order is not a small risk, of course he knows what to face, but this order must be taken, if you want to stand out in Shanghai, for those who have no capital, they can get it without fighting for their lives. what.

But even so, some people still feel uneasy.

"Master, I'm a little confused."

A team member asked Zhang Tiezhu in a low voice when he saw Zhang Tiezhu coming.

"Huzi, is there anything you can't pass?"

Zhao Tiezhu fixed his eyes and saw that this was Zhao Hu from the same village as him.

"Brother Zhuzi, the risk of this life is too high. I got the news that it is the Orientals who are doing the trouble this time. Brother Zhuzi, you also know how fierce these Orientals are. Although we are not afraid, the casualties will certainly not be small. It's not good to live."

"Huzi, are you afraid?"

"Brother Zhuzi, you don't know my Zhao Hu's character. If I'm afraid, I won't come out with you at all. It's mainly a question of whether it's worth it."

"Then Huzi, listen carefully, this time the risk of living is indeed high, but since I took it, I naturally have my reasons."

Saying that, he looked at Zhao Hudao calmly. "Since we have eaten this bowl of hard-working rice, we must eat this bowl of rice well. Now the matter of Mr. Zhang is an opportunity, a good opportunity for us to make a name for ourselves. Everyone knows that the latest thing is The ghosts of the Orientals, as long as we can protect Master Zhang's goods without losing, then other people will look at us highly, and if this reputation is out, naturally we don't have to find jobs everywhere."

Although Zhao Hu was the only one looking for him, Zhao Tiezhu knew that he was definitely not the only one who thought so, so he patiently explained it.

"Brother Zhuzi, I know, this is for us to make a name for ourselves. Look at it, we won't let those oriental people make mistakes."

And Zhao Tiezhu didn't speak after hearing Huzi's words, and patted his shoulder to show encouragement.

As time passed, the night fell, and today the moon was dark and the wind was high. Except for the bright lights on the warehouse side, the surroundings were plunged into darkness.

After the moon was on the branches, some sneaky figures appeared in a wasteland outside the warehouse.

These figures are of size 30 or 40. Although they are undoubtedly dressed like ordinary people, after careful identification, it can still be seen that they are different from ordinary people. In addition to being vicious, their legs are more serious.

"Sato-kun, is this the warehouse where Yiren's uniforms are stored?"

"Yes, Takedkun, the 15,000 winter clothes that Zhang Shusheng of the Qing Dynasty prepared for the Yiren army are all in this warehouse."

"Yo Xi!"

Takeda glanced at the bright warehouse, turned around and said to the waiting subordinate behind him. "Everyone is ready, for the Great Japanese Empire!"

"Hi!"

Following his orders, these murderers who said nothing silently picked up weapons such as knives and axes, and touched the warehouse. In order to conceal their identities, these ronin didn't even use their favorite samurai swords, but instead picked up Chinese-style swords and axes.

"Sato-kun, follow."

Takeda took out a revolver and beckoned Ito to follow.

More than 30 figures touched the warehouse in the dark of night. Although they could avoid being discovered by various obstacles at first, it was not easy to touch them when they got close.

No, they were found at a distance of about thirty meters from the warehouse.

"who?"

With a loud roar, Takeda and his party were exposed.

"rush!"

Seeing that he couldn't sneak in, Takeda waved his hand, and if he didn't do anything, he would force his way in.

At the same time, his revolver also aimed at the guard who found him.

"Crack, snap!"

Two gunshots, more like a frying pan, cheered everyone up.

The vigilant guard clutched his chest and fell slowly.

"not good!"

The sound of gunfire made Zhao Tiezhu, who had just sat down, stand up immediately.

"A thief is coming!"

Zhang Shusheng, who was sitting next to him, also stood up. But looking at his trembling body, you can see how scared Master Zhang is.

"Don't worry, Master Zhang, I'll call my brothers to kill the scattered thieves."

Zhao Tiezhu first appeased the proprietor, then turned around and shouted. "Huzi, you immediately wake up the resting one, and I will take my brother to withstand the thief's attack first."

Zhao Hu obviously has experienced a lot of this kind of thing, and immediately replied. "Boss, I'm going to gather the big guys now."

After saying that, he ran away.

Just when Zhao Tiezhu also wanted to leave, he saw that Mr. Zhang was trembling and stretched out his hand to pull him.

"Master Zhang, is there anything else?"

Facing Zhao Tiezhu who asked, Zhang Shusheng took out two pistols from his body. "Leader Zhao, the thief has a gun, I have two pistols, you can handle it."

Zhao Tiezhu also knew that now was not the time to be polite, so he handed over the pistol and left.

After Zhao Tiezhu walked away, Chang Sui behind him asked worriedly. "Master, I gave them the gun, what are you going to do?"

Facing Chang Sui's concern, Zhang Shusheng pointed to himself. "As I look like now, is it useful to have a gun with Chief Zhao? Besides, since we have asked the other party to protect it, we must do our best. After all, this matter is related to my life."

Since Zhang Shusheng said so, Chang Sui behind him stopped talking.

"Kill me!"

After going out, Zhao Tiezhu gathered the inspecting brothers, and immediately pointed at the gate of the warehouse and approached Takeda and his party to kill him.

Zhang Shusheng's warehouse was built extremely sturdy, and the thick walls cut from masonry were not something that Takeda and others could pry.

The windows are four or five meters high from the ground, and in addition to the glass, they are also covered by thick fences because of the danger these days. Although this will make the warehouse a little darker, it can also prevent others from entering through the window and destroying it. All the above measures make Takeda unable to take this warehouse other than to think of a way from the door.

Therefore, in the face of Zhao Tiezhu and his entourage, Takeda also could not back down. He raised his pistol and shot Zhao Tiezhu and his entourage a few times.

"Leader be careful!"

The sharp-eyed guard saw that Takeda had a gun, and immediately pushed Zhao Tiezhu away, but he was shot twice instead.

"Liangzi!"

Seeing the guards blocking the gun for him, Zhang Tiezhu's eyes turned red. This was brought out by myself from my hometown. Although I knew the danger of eating this bowl of rice, who could not be angry when I saw this.

Zhao Tiezhu took out the two guns that Zhang Shusheng had given him, and also shot at Takeda and his party who were rushing over.

In fact, Zhao Tiezhu had few opportunities to touch the gun, and only knew how to shoot, but Wu Tian and his party rushed close, and he just let his poor marksmanship knock down several.

And Zhao Tiezhu's reckless shooting, on the contrary, suppressed the momentum of Takeda and his party by accident.

However, Zhao Tiezhu, who was the party concerned, didn't care so much. He threw away the bullet after he had finished shooting, and raised his steel knife to kill Takeda and his party.

Under the leadership of Zhao Tiezhu, the guards cheered and killed the pedestrians with Takeda Yika.

"die!"

Zhao Tiezhu, who took the lead as the leader, still has some ability. I saw him dodging a knife sideways, swinging the knife to hold the other knife, kicking it down with a big foot, and then taking advantage of the trend, slashing it on the opponent's arm, Cut down with a knife. The opponent screamed and lost his combat effectiveness.

Led by Zhao Tiezhu, the other guards stepped forward to catch their opponents and they fought for a while.

As for Zhao Tiezhu, because of his heroic performance, he attracted three opponents.

"what!"

An opponent couldn't hold back his breath and took the lead in launching an attack, his axe calling straight towards Zhao Tiezhu's head.

Following his lead, the other two slashed towards the waist and the other to the shoulder, and all of them were fast, accurate and ruthless.

Facing the attack of the enemy, Zhao Tiezhu didn't change his face, took a step on the side, let the axe pass first, then used the knife to block the slash at the waist, and kicked the armpit of the man who cut the shoulder. The armpit is the key, it has a large nerve, so a hard blow can cause severe pain and partial paralysis.

The man who had exhausted his strength couldn't dodge the kick at all, and was kicked and rolled on the ground.

Obviously, Zhao Tiezhu's heavy kick made this person unable to get up for a short time.

Taking this opportunity, Zhao Tiezhu took a step forward, took advantage of the situation, and called his elbow directly on the opponent's face. He also heard the cracking sound of the bridge of the nose, and the opponent bent down and threw away the weapon in pain, holding his face with both hands.

In two or three strokes, Zhao Tiezhu solved two opponents. As for the remaining one, it was easy. The powerful waist knife slashed a few times and took advantage of the opponent's inability to block it, kicked it down, and stepped forward with a knife to kill the opponent.

Zhao Tiezhu's fierceness immediately boosted the morale of the guards, and the leader was so powerful that they also let go of their worries, and even more desperately fought against each other. Takeda also saw it in his eyes, this one immediately stared at him after taking care of a guard.

"Eat my knife!"

Facing Takeda who was approaching, Zhao Tiezhu stepped forward with a knife.

"when!"

The knife was blocked.

Zhao Tiezhu was not in a hurry about this, and kicked it in one go.

Takeda also turned sideways, let go, and returned with a knife.

"when!"

Takeda's sword was also blocked.

After this fight, the two had a preliminary understanding of the opponent's strength, and both knew that the other party was not easy to deal with. So they all stared at each other, trying to find flaws.

"kill!"

Suddenly, the two of them shouted at the same time, followed by a series of knives, in a desperate fight.

Dao Dao is a desperate play that gives up defense and points directly at the opponent's key points.

"puff!"

"laugh!"

In a short but life-threatening play, Zhao Tiezhu was hit twice, one in the thigh and one in the waist. Takeda was just as bad. He was hit three times, one in the shoulder, one in the abdomen, and one in the thigh.

Now both of them are seriously injured and have lost their combat effectiveness, so it all depends on the people below.

However, compared with Takeda and the others, Zhao Tiezhu had reinforcements. While Zhao Tiezhu was dragging Takeda, Huzi finally came with reinforcements.

"kill~"

The roar of reinforcements not only increased the morale of the guards, but also made the attacking people's morale plummet.

Seeing that it was impossible to do anything, Sato, who took over the command after Takeda was injured, immediately ordered. "We withdraw."

The attackers jumped out of the fray and left with speed on Takeda.

And the guards didn't leave them aside except to chop down a few who were too late to escape. After all, their job is to protect the warehouse, not to hunt down thieves.

"Brother Zhuzi, how are you?"

After Zhao Hu and other enemies retreated, he immediately rushed in front of Zhao Tiezhu.

Facing Zhao Hu and the concern of other guards, Zhao Tiezhu smiled. "Don't worry, you can't die. If you have to come back later, then I will be in trouble."

"By the way, brothers slept a few and injured a few."

Of course Zhao Hu knew what Zhao Tiezhu meant. He was asking how many were seriously injured and how many died. "Seven injured and six slept. But we didn't lose any of it, we brought down nineteen on the opposite side."

"Oh, it's still a loss, a big loss."

It's a different story~www.mtlnovel.com~ but there will be compensation immediately.

As soon as the battle was over, Zhang Shusheng, the proprietor, appeared.

Although looking at the blood all over the ground, his legs were shaking a little, but this one still opened his mouth. "I see everyone's love of fighting for my Zhang family's life. In addition to the established burning and burying silver and medical money, I will add another thousand taels of silver as an extra reward. In addition, if everyone does not dislike it, If you can't eat this bowl of rice without arms and legs, I can arrange for a living."

Zhang Shusheng's remarks immediately attracted a burst of applause.

"Zhang Dong's family is open and benevolent, and he is a big business man."

"Thanks first to Zhang Dongjia."

This attack on Zhang Shusheng's warehouse is just a microcosm of Shanghai.

Japan succeeded and missed, but this still did not affect the arrival time of the Italian fleet.

On January 2, 1895, the second day of the new year, the Italian fleet arrived in Shanghai.

Chapter end