great-warnovel Chapter 263 Forcibly Seizing Jianghai Customs Sovereignty
Chapter 263 Forcibly Seizing Jianghai Customs Sovereignty
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On the Bund in Shanghai, the autumn wind carries a biting chill, stirring the rolling waves on the Huangpu River.
The Jianghai Customs Building, standing in the heart of the Bund, appears solemn and cold in the morning light.
Suddenly, a muffled and violent roar of an engine abruptly shattered the tranquility of the Bund in the early morning.
"Beep beep!"
The harsh honking of truck horns echoed along the riverbank.
Amidst the horrified gazes of countless foreign firm compradors and dockworkers, dozens of military heavy trucks and armored vehicles from the First Division of the Chen Family Army, like a torrent of steel, brutally smashed through the sham barbed wire fence of the concession and headed straight for the Jianghai Customs Building.
"Sizzle!"
The lead armored vehicle braked suddenly, its tires leaving a dark, piercing scratch on the stone pavement, and the dark muzzle of its machine gun was pointed directly at the main entrance of the Jianghai Customs Building.
"Hurry! Move quickly!"
"First company to block the left flank! Second company to seal the rear entrance! Machine gunners to occupy the high ground!"
With a series of powerful German commands, hundreds of Chen family army soldiers wearing steel helmets and equipped with German weapons quickly poured off the trucks.
They brandished gleaming bayonets and quickly surrounded the entire Jianghai Customs Building, making it completely impassable.
Along the roadside, several early-rising vendors and dockworkers huddled together, whispering amongst themselves.
"How did Chen's army manage to storm into the foreign concessions?"
"Judging by this, they're going to take action against customs!"
"Foreigners have controlled customs for so many years, and today they've finally met their match!"
Several foreign police officers and customs guards on duty at the entrance of the building were so frightened by the rows of dark gun barrels that their legs trembled. They even forgot to pull the bolts of their guns and obediently raised their hands and retreated to the base of the wall.
"What's going on?! What are you doing?!"
"This is Jianghai Customs! An independent institution protected by international treaties! This is a barbaric military invasion!"
Inside the building, several foreign customs officials heard the commotion and rushed out, shouting angrily.
"Go back!"
The Chen family soldiers didn't waste any words with them; they simply used their rifle butts to violently push the men back, their cold bayonets pressed directly against their chests.
Just as the venue was in chaos, several black bulletproof cars slowly drove up, escorted by guards.
As the car door opened, Chen Zijun stepped out, surrounded by a dozen bodyguards, the golden stars on his shoulders gleaming in the sunlight.
"Young Marshal! This is a blatant violation of the Boxer Protocol! This is a declaration of war against all the Allied Powers!"
"Stop your soldiers immediately! Otherwise, the combined fleet from the Far East will bombard Shanghai!"
Two cars screeched to a halt in front of the building. The British Consul General, Bardon, and the Shanghai Municipal Council Director, Fei Xindun, came running over, sweating profusely. Bardon waved his walking stick and shouted at the top of his lungs.
"Declare war? Combined fleet?"
Chen Zijun slowly took out a cigarette, lit it, sneered, and slammed the blood-stained pass across Barton's face:
"Sir Baldon, open your dog eyes and look at this! What is this?!"
Bardon frantically grabbed the paper, and after just one glance, cold sweat poured down his forehead like a waterfall.
"This...this is a special exemption certificate from customs, but this..."
Bardon's voice trembled, and his eyes darted around.
"The Jianghai Customs, controlled by your Great British Empire, bearing the bright red seal of your Customs Service and personally signed by your Deputy Inspector General, transported anti-tank rifles intended for assassinating this commander to the Special Higher Police of Japan!"
Chen Zijun stepped forward, his eyes flashing with a brutal killing intent, his voice echoing across the square like rolling thunder:
"This is what you call an independent organization?!"
"This is what you call an agreement or treaty?!"
"Young Marshal, please let me explain. This is absolutely the result of personal corruption by certain customs officials; the Municipal Council was unaware of it!"
Fei Xindun hurriedly stepped forward and tried his best to explain:
"We will definitely establish a joint investigation team to thoroughly investigate corruption within the customs! Please withdraw your troops first, otherwise, you will not be able to bear the consequences if this triggers a diplomatic conflict between major powers!"
"as a result of?"
Chen Zijun laughed wildly, blowing a thick cloud of smoke directly into Fei Xindun's face, his words filled with contempt:
"Don't try to intimidate me with diplomatic conflicts! Your Great British Empire is nothing but a speck of dust in this land of Jiangsu and Zhejiang!"
"Since your Great British Empire can't even control the keys to the Jianghai Customs, letting in murderers' weapons at will, then don't blame this commander for being impolite!"
"Young Marshal, this is against the rules! The Jianghai Customs' revenue is related to the Boxer Indemnity and foreign debt guarantees of the Western powers. If you touch this money, the Western powers will definitely not let it go!"
Barton gritted his teeth and pulled out his last card, attempting to exert pressure by using the massive debt of Western countries.
"Rules? Are you just going to let this go?"
A chillingly sinister smile appeared on Chen Zijun's face:
"In the land of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, I am the rule! I am the treaty!"
He gave Bardon no chance to maneuver, abruptly turning around and sternly ordering the special operations battalion commander behind him:
"Get inside! Any foreigner who tries to stop you, whoever they are, smash them out with your rifle butts! Anyone who dares to fire, shoot them on the spot!"
"yes!"
The special operations battalion commander roared, drawing his long sword and slicing it through the air in a blinding arc.
"First Company, Second Company, follow me in! Take control of all the offices and the vault!"
"boom!"
Chen's army soldiers, bayonets at the ready, violently smashed open the heavy doors of the Jianghai Customs Building.
"You can't do this! This is robbery! We're going to the consular corps to file a complaint against you!"
Inside the building, the British Deputy Chief Inspector of Customs, seeing the soldiers rushing in, roared in his office, holding a confidential document he was about to burn.
"Sue? Go sue the King of Hell!"
Two soldiers from Chen's army kicked open the door and rushed in, roughly grabbing his arms from the left and right and dragging him off the chair.
"Let me go! I'm a British citizen! This is diplomatic kidnapping!"
The deputy director struggled desperately, his face flushed red.
"I don't care what kind of citizen you are, the young marshal has ordered you to get out!"
A soldier snorted and slammed his knee into the man's abdomen, causing him to curl up like a shrimp in pain.
Then, the soldiers threw the once high-ranking deputy tax commissioner down the stairs from the second floor like trash. He rolled onto the hard marble floor and fell, bleeding profusely from his head.
Chaos erupted inside the building. The usually arrogant foreign employees and compradors were forced out of the building by Chen's army with bayonets.
"The young marshal has ordered that all customs documents, ledgers, and seals be preserved intact! Anyone who dares to conceal or burn them will be charged with treason!"
The special operations battalion commander's roar echoed in every corridor.
Several British accountants who attempted to burn the ledgers were pinned down beside the ashes and screamed in agony.
Before long, boxes of vault keys, ledgers, and customs seals were placed on the long table in the hall.
Just then, a team of professionals dressed in gray suits and looking capable stepped into the customs hall, led by Mo Huixin.
"Sister Huixin, all the customs ledgers, vault keys, and seals have been handed over to you."
Chen Zijun stepped forward, his voice much gentler, and the murderous intent on his face lessened considerably.
Mo Huixin smiled slightly, her eyes sparkling with determination and gentleness:
"Don't worry, Zijun, our Southeast Central Bank's accounting and auditing team is ready. Within three hours, all the customs accounts will be sorted out, and not a single penny will be allowed to flow into the pockets of foreigners."
"In addition, I have ordered all the accounts of the foreign tax commissioners to be frozen. From now on, every penny of customs duty paid by the Shanghai Customs must be deposited into the treasury of our Southeast Central Bank."
"Okay, I trust you completely with the customs' money bag."
Chen Zijun nodded emphatically.
At this time, tens of thousands of Shanghai citizens had gathered on the Bund Square outside the Jianghai Customs Building.
Everyone looked up as the British Union Jack, which had been flying atop the building for decades, was roughly brought down by soldiers. Then, a bright flag of the Chen Family Army's Southeast Army slowly rose in the river breeze.
"Good! Long live the young marshal!"
"This customs house is finally our own! We no longer have to be beholden to foreigners!"
A thunderous cheer erupted from the crowd, and many veteran workers shed tears of emotion.
Baldon stared at the military flag fluttering in the wind, then slumped against the car door beside him, his face ashen.
He knew that the core lifeline of the British Empire in the Far East had been completely taken away.
"Young Marshal, urgent coded telegram from the North!"
Just then, Shen Li hurried through the crowd, clutching a newly translated telegram tightly in his hand, and quickly walked to Chen Zijun's side.
"How so?"
Chen Zijun raised an eyebrow and slowly exhaled a smoke ring.
"When Zhang Shizong of the Fengtian clique in the north received the news, he cursed us for smashing the foreigners' rice bowl and cutting off their source of income."
Shen Li took a deep breath, his tone extremely solemn:
"He has mobilized fifteen divisions, totaling 150,000 main force troops, who are now advancing at full speed towards our Xuzhou border on the Pinghan and Jinpu railways!"
"Zhang Shizong even declared in the telegram that he would march into Shanghai within ten days, reclaim the customs house, and utterly crush you!"
After hearing the report, Chen Zijun not only showed no panic, but instead laughed loudly, his laughter filled with disdain and fanatical fighting spirit.
"150,000 people? Zhang Shizong, that opium addict, certainly has a big appetite."
A sharp glint flashed in Chen Zijun's eyes, and he gave a cold smile:
"Shen Li, immediately draft a telegram to send all the irrefutable evidence—the Japanese assassination attempt on me in the concession and the British customs' release of the murder weapon—to major newspapers across the country!"
"I want all the people of the country to see for themselves who Zhang Shizong is, leading an army of 150,000 south. Whom is he acting as a lackey for? Whom is he robbing our Chinese customs for?"
"Furthermore, send orders to the 12th Division and the 2nd Heavy Artillery Brigade to transport all the Krupp heavy artillery that our Jiangnan Heavy Industry just produced to Xuzhou!"
"These customs rules in Shanghai are what I've set. Anyone who wants them can pay with their life!"