Chapter 1696 Get to the bottom of it
Assisting the Manila Provisional Management Committee to establish a local trade and logistics system led by Haihan after the war is one of Ran Tianlu's main tasks at this stage. The Interim Management Committee hopes to make Chaosheng Commercial Store a benchmark in the local business community and control the local sales and circulation of daily necessities. Although Chaosheng Commercial Warehouse's own manpower and business scale have expanded rapidly after the war, in fact, they still follow the trend. Without meeting the requirements of the management committee, especially the construction of distribution channels, this is not a job that can be accomplished overnight, so Ran Tianlu introduced many local businessmen as subordinate distributors of Chaosheng Commercial Warehouse in the process - of course, their identities are relatively sensitive. Hispanics are not included in this list yet.
More than 80% of the local businessmen currently cooperating with Chaosheng Merchant Store are of Han origin, and the rest are indigenous businessmen. Even those with obvious mixed-race characteristics have been temporarily excluded from Chaosheng Commercial Store's cooperation partners. Ran Tianlu's purpose in doing this was not only to suppress the Hispanic ethnic group that originally had a relatively large influence in the local area, but also to concentrate business resources in his own hands as much as possible, at least to the extent that he could allocate them.
Due to official suppression, it was almost difficult for Hispanic businessmen to obtain sufficient supply of goods after the war, and daily operations became difficult. Even if they want to get an opportunity to cooperate with Chaosheng Store, it is a very difficult goal for Hispanic businessmen. Before this, there were no Spanish businessmen who came here to see Ran Tianlu, hoping to buy supplies from Chaosheng Commercial Store, but they basically returned with no success. At most, Ran Tianlu sold him some things symbolically, so as to Come and send them away.
However, in the past two days, more and more Hispanic businessmen have come to Chaosheng Merchant Warehouse, and compared with previous visitors, these Hispanic businessmen have made higher offers, hoping that Chaosheng Merchant Warehouse can provide them with supplies. Ran Tianlu was also surprised by the desire for survival displayed by Hispanic businessmen. He originally thought that these businessmen would give up their struggle and either change careers and stop doing business, or simply leave Manila to survive elsewhere. But now he found that these people He is actually quite tenacious and is still unwilling to give up completely even when he is obviously suppressed.
However, Ran Tianlu did not think about whether these Hispanic businessmen were incited by others. He was more concerned about whether the existence of these Hispanic businessmen would hinder his own plans, or whether they could be used to catalyze local business resources. Get it into official hands faster. So he began to make exceptions when meeting with these Hispanic businessmen, giving them more time to explain their business philosophy.
In fact, the Hispanic businessmen who are still willing to stay in the local area after the war have basically psychologically acquiesced in obeying the new rulers. If the interim management council makes certain adjustments to local business operations, these Hispanic businessmen will not There will be no more pointless resistance. What they want is often just a livelihood, but due to racial and cultural differences, it is now difficult to gain the trust of the new rulers, so they end up in this situation.
Some of the businessmen had originally given up the idea of struggling, but recently they learned through some special news channels that if they could be recognized by Chaosheng Commercial Store, they could continue to do business locally in the future, so they decided to give it a try Thinking of this, these Spanish businessmen came here again, hoping to persuade Ran Tianlu to put aside his "prejudice" against them and give him a chance to cooperate.
This so-called special information channel is naturally the Yamen West Administration Bureau, which specializes in managing Hispanic people. Francis can only encourage businessmen to find Ran Tianlu in this way. If he can succeed by chance, then he may have the opportunity to pass the Hispanic people in the future. The businessman came to know the inside story of Chaosheng Store. Although this method will be slower to take effect, for Francis, it may be the only method within his power.
At the same time, Fang Peng and Qin Huacheng were each trying to find out the other's details. Through his connections within the public security police, Qin Huacheng finally contacted the public security police officers in the neighboring jurisdictions and the area where Chaosheng Store is located. After paying a favor fee, Qin Huacheng asked them about the information about Chaosheng Store and its operators. But the answer was not as clear as he thought, it was still shrouded in a layer of fog.
The question that Qin Huacheng was most interested in was where the special treatment and confidence of Chaosheng Commercial Inn came from, but the police officers he visited in the two places did not give a clear answer, because they only received instructions from the Police Headquarters to Provide sufficient convenience for the daily business activities of Chaosheng Store. The so-called full convenience actually means "no questioning". No matter what Chaosheng Store transports or sells within their jurisdiction, they all remain silent. The security police in the area south of the city were even asked not to enter the one block surrounding Chaosheng Store to avoid affecting its operations. As for the daily security maintenance inside and outside the store, the armed guards affiliated with the store are responsible for it.
Qin Huacheng was surprised when he heard this. He immediately recalled that when he went to Chaosheng Store to inquire about information, he was wearing this uniform. If there were no security police around the store on weekdays, then It was too abrupt for me to appear outside the store door like this, and maybe someone who was interested had noticed me. But then he thought about it, even if Chaosheng Merchant Store noticed his appearance, they probably wouldn't pay too much attention to it. After all, when he was staying there, no one from the store came to talk to him or ask him to leave. .
Of course, Qin Huacheng could not have imagined that it was this reckless action that brought him into the sight of the Military Intelligence Bureau, and was noticed by Fang Peng, the spy leader with a keen sense of smell. Not long after Qin Huacheng finished talking with the detachment leaders of the two public security police areas, the Military Intelligence Bureau also approached the two men, and the purpose was very clear, which was to grasp the content of Qin Huacheng's previous talks with them.
Mentioning the name of the Military Intelligence Agency might not be able to scare these ignorant public security officers, so when they found these two people, they also showed them the investigation cooperation document signed by the Director of the Manila Police Department Yu Zhen. These two people did not dare to hide anything, and they vomited all Qin Huacheng's intentions. Fang Peng did not go to the Police Headquarters to ask for this investigation letter, but Ran Tianlu applied to the Police Headquarters in the name of the Ministry of Security. The official document was a real official document, but Yuzhen didn't actually know what case he wanted to assist in investigating, but it was a joint application from the Ministry of Security and the Military Intelligence Bureau, so he naturally didn't dare to neglect it at all.
"Why would a security police detachment leader reach out to check on the business store from so far away?" After Fang Peng understood the situation, he felt that this suspicion became more clear. Qin Huacheng was obviously investigating the business store with some secret purpose. Conduct investigative work.
After Fang Peng found out this step, he no longer wanted to waste time slowly collecting information. Instead, he sent an action team to intercept Qin Huacheng on his way home. As for himself, because the secret identity of the Military Intelligence Agency was not allowed to be exposed to outsiders for the time being, he did not come forward directly during the entire investigation process. He just sat behind the scenes and conducted remote control.
There was no conflict in the process of arresting Qin Huacheng. After the members of the action team revealed their identity to him, they put Qin Huacheng, who was completely unconscious, into a carriage and took him away from the scene. About half an hour later, Qin Huacheng was escorted to a remote manor outside the city. Only then did he realize that he had become the target of arrest by the Military Intelligence Bureau, and he vaguely felt that his experience might be similar to what he had experienced recently. related to what you do.
In the small courtroom, a masked man sat in front of Qin Huacheng and said in a deep voice: "Qin Huacheng, you have two choices. One is to answer whatever I ask and cooperate well with the interrogation, so that you still have a chance to leave here. 2. You have to suffer a little before answering my question. Although it may take a while, the price you have to pay is that you may not be able to regain your freedom. Do you understand? Let's get started!"
Qin Huacheng said in surprise: "I am a police officer from the public security police. We are all our own people. There must be a misunderstanding about this matter. I hope this gentleman will not act impulsively!" The masked man ignored him and started to say: "Qin Huacheng , have you done anything inappropriate recently? ”
Qin Huacheng said: "Since I joined the police force, I have obeyed the law and set an example. I have never done anything inappropriate! Again, you must have misunderstood!"
The masked man said: "Then let me remind you. Where were you and what did you do in the afternoon two days ago. Who did you visit yesterday and what topics did you talk about. Do you remember it?"
Qin Huacheng was now sure that the other party was here for his ongoing investigation, and he couldn't help being surprised. Except for Ding Feng and Francis, very few people knew about the fact that he was secretly investigating Chaosheng Commercial Store. Even he The two police officers who visited before did not mention to them that they had gone to Chaosheng Commercial Inn alone to conduct investigations. How did the person who claimed to be from the Military Intelligence Agency know his whereabouts?
"Are you still unwilling to say it? If you are so unwilling to cooperate, then I will have to suffer for you first." The masked man's tone was emotionless, but it made Qin Huacheng shudder.
This room was filled with the smell of blood, and some dark red spots were faintly visible on the floor. It seemed that it had been a place of interrogation and execution before. Qin Huacheng had no doubt that the other party would carry out the verbal threats, but he knew that he was not ready to deal with it yet.
Qin Huacheng's purpose of investigating Chaosheng Merchant Store was just to fulfill Ding Feng's request, but if he knew that behind Chaosheng Merchant Store was a privileged agency like the Military Intelligence Bureau, he wouldn't have ventured into this muddy water even if he was killed. Although he is not from the military, he has heard that this special yamen played a great role in the Haihan Army's attack on Manila. These spies who are affiliated with the military probably don't care too much about their own security. Police uniform. If he had to suffer because of Ding Feng and Francis, Qin Huacheng was not prepared to take the blame.
"Wait!" Qin Huacheng said quickly, because he saw that two men had already brought in a large brazier with burning coal briquettes and several red-hot iron drills stuck in it. If he didn't express his feelings quickly, then the other party would probably pull out the hot iron and hit him with it.
"I remind you again, be honest, don't play tricks, you can't afford it, understand?" The masked man motioned to his companion to put down the brazier, and then warned Qin Huacheng again.
"Understood, understood!" Qin Huacheng responded hurriedly. The brazier was obviously quite far away from him, but Qin Huacheng felt like he was starting to sweat all over his body as if he was being radiated by the heat energy it emitted.
Under the high-pressure threats of the interrogators, Qin Huacheng had no intention of resisting at all, and soon vomited everything he knew about the situation like pouring beans into a bamboo tube.
In fact, the things Qin Huacheng was involved in were nothing more than a collusion between government officials and local wealthy businessmen, trying to find a way to squeeze out business competitors. Let alone overseas colonies like Manila that have just ended the war, it is impossible to completely eliminate this issue even in the mainland of Haihan and even the Sanya area, which has the best domestic security. The special thing about Qin Huacheng's matter is not that the two yamen of the Public Security Police and the Western Management Bureau are involved in this matter, but the Chaosheng Commercial Store they want to deal with is a thick and hard steel plate, which can be kicked up hard. It’s not just about the toe headache, maybe the whole leg will be destroyed because of it.
Qin Huacheng's confession was slowly written down by a secretary for him. The masked man got up and walked out of the interrogation room and took off his turban outside. It was Fang Peng who was directing the investigation behind the scenes. Compared to Qin Huacheng, who had been unable to get in, it was very easy for Fang Peng to use the resources of the Military Intelligence Bureau to investigate the opponent's details. Therefore, even if he started a few days later than the opponent, he could still easily complete the preemptive strike. The activities of Qin Huacheng's gang were clearly investigated.
Such a case is almost not difficult for the Military Intelligence Bureau. From investigation to arrest to the interrogation just now, there was no decent resistance. Even Qin Huacheng did everything with a little intimidation. There was no resistance at all. Let the eager torture experts get started. After Fang Peng patiently listened to the confession, he was basically sure that what Qin Huacheng said was true. At most, some details were blamed on Francis and Ding Feng because he was afraid of taking responsibility, but the general story of the matter was nothing. Moisture.
Once the case is investigated here, it is basically declared over. A policeman like Qin Huacheng who abuses his power for personal gain will naturally fight to the end and be fired from office. As for whether he should be held accountable and sentenced, it depends on the Police Headquarters and the Provincial Police. If the meeting is over, the Military Intelligence Bureau will definitely not be able to interfere anymore. As for whether Francis and Ding Feng should be arrested and tried again, Fang Peng did not dare to make the decision without authorization. The social status of those two was different from that of Qin Huacheng. If he wanted to arrest them, he had to first consider the subsequent impact.
(End of chapter)