Period drama: Old Cao's carefree life

Chapter 305 He's not being a jerk.

"Search for me!"

After taking control of Zhou Laosan, Ji Hongxin waved his hand dismissively.

The officers immediately sprang into action. Although they couldn't keep the items they found, their superiors had said that a portion of the money would be distributed to them!
The more you search, the more you get!
The key point is that Cao Wei Da really kept his word!

The 'security management fees' that those bosses paid before have already been distributed to them!
When it comes to their interests, their enthusiasm is at an all-time high.

Watching helplessly as the police officers ransacked his belongings, leaving only a scene of devastation, Zhou Laosan's eyes turned red with rage.
"I refuse to accept this! I demand to see Cao Weida! He took my money, so he has to protect me!"

"They really think they're something special." Ji Hongxin spat disdainfully and ordered directly, "Take all the key personnel back! Anyone who dares to resist will be treated as a traitor and executed on the spot!"

On the other side, Little Ears personally led a team to surround the Yizitang gambling den.

The gambling den was bustling with activity, filled with the sounds of dice rolling and shouts.

The sudden intrusion of the police officers startled the gamblers, who scattered in all directions, knocking over tables and chairs.

Feng San, the nephew of Feng Lao Jiu, the leader of Yi Zi Tang, relied on his martial arts skills and swung a chair at the police officer. Xiao Erduo and his men hit him on the arm with a police baton, and he collapsed to the ground in pain.

"Don't move! Anyone who moves is a Red Party spy!" Little Ears shouted, and his words worked. The previously chaotic casino instantly fell silent.

He pointed at Feng San and shouted angrily, "Feng San, you harassed a woman in the market the day before yesterday, and yesterday you beat Old Zhao so badly he was paralyzed in bed. Did you think nobody knew?!"

Feng San clutched his arm, his face pale with pain. Just as he was about to deny it, several gamblers he had previously bullied couldn't hold back any longer and immediately shouted:
"That's right, boss. Feng San even stole someone else's wife, and after he got tired of her, he sold her to a brothel!"

"Well, Feng San, you've got some skills!" Little Ears was furious and pointed at his nose, yelling, "You've committed a crime! Take him away!"

As one site after another was raided, truckloads of supplies and money were continuously transported back to the district government.

On the other hand, instead of following Cao Weida on his mission, he took a bus to patrol his jurisdiction to prevent some greedy police officers from causing trouble.

Instead of seeing the patrol officers causing trouble, they first saw two traitors kicking down a resident's door, shouting things like, "Searching for Communists, or we'll take them away!"

Cao Weida's face turned cold, and he ordered the car to stop. The car creaked and stopped not far from the two traitors.

The two traitors had obviously noticed the commotion, and their shouts stopped abruptly as they stared at the suddenly stopped car with suspicion.

When Cao Weida opened the door and got out of the car, their vigilance eased slightly when they saw that he was a policeman. However, when they saw the badge on his shoulder, their eyelids twitched involuntarily.

Damn it, it's the director!

A flicker of fear crossed the eyes of the two traitors, but they still forced a smile and said, "Sir, we are acting on orders from the military police to search for spies."

"Is this how you search for spies?! Arresting people without paying?!" Cao Weida grabbed one of the traitors by the collar and shoved him against the wall.

"No one can break the rules of my jurisdiction!"

“If you dare to extort money or oppress the people, I will send you directly to the Japanese military police headquarters and say that you are communist sympathizers!”

The two traitors turned pale with fright. They weren't stupid; although they didn't know Cao Weida, that didn't stop them from using their brains!

To become a director at such a young age, even a fool could tell that he must have incredibly strong connections!
To deal with those two traitors, they could crush them with the slightest movement of their fingers!
So they chickened out and slunk away.

The people who had been trembling with fear behind the door peeked out and looked at Cao Weida's back with gratitude in their eyes.

"Thank God, an official who stands up for the people has come to our area. It's like our ancestors' graves are emitting auspicious smoke."

Cao Wei Da was sharp-eared and sharp-eyed, and he heard every word of these words.

He felt no joy, only endless sorrow.

Having transmigrated from his previous life, he genuinely believed that the police were there for the people's benefit, and that one should seek help from the police when in trouble.

However, in this world, a policeman who stands up for the people actually has to use such a grand metaphor as "his ancestors' graves emitting auspicious smoke" to describe it.
Oh, this damned world! Let's get the Communist Party in charge already!
The operation to "investigate traitors, eliminate collaborators, and prevent chaos" lasted all night.

Overnight, all seventeen gang dens in the jurisdiction were wiped out, more than fifty gang members were arrested, and more than two hundred taels of opium, dozens of gambling paraphernalia, a number of silver notes, silver dollars, gold, and a stack of evidence of treason were seized.

Cao Weida took charge of the police station, ordering interrogations to continue overnight to ensure that the evidence was solidified in the shortest possible time.

A few people initially tried to resist, but under the weight of the evidence and the officers’ rigorous interrogation, they quickly confessed.

They not only oppressed the people for a long time, but also provided intelligence to the Red Party and the Military Intelligence Bureau, and even participated in the act of letting underground party members go!

Of course, their heinous acts of providing intelligence to the Japanese and betraying underground party members were also included.

He had Zheng Chaoyang organize the evidence and send it directly to his superiors. The remaining evidence of 'collusion with the enemy' was to be reported to Xu Hancheng, and he also planned to 'report' these gangsters to Ono Oda.

Back at the police station, Cao Weida rubbed his temples wearily. Although he hadn't personally participated in the arrest operation, as the supreme commander, he was responsible for coordinating all the actions, which involved a lot of trivial matters.

This is a huge 'challenge' for him, who has always been dedicated to slacking off.

"Brother Cao, all the interrogation records are here." Little Ears hesitated for a moment, then said, "Zhou Laosan and Feng San and a few others have been cursing you. Should I tell them to shut up?"

"Oh? How did they all curse?" Cao Weida lit a cigarette to perk himself up. It was already night, but the district office was still brightly lit.

If he, as the boss, doesn't leave, who among his subordinates would dare to slack off?
"They said some really nasty things, calling you a hypocrite, saying you'd turn your back on people and that they'd haunt you even as a ghost." Little Ear didn't dare imitate them too well, so he could only pick out some of the 'passable' things to say.

Cao Wei Da sneered disdainfully: "Let them curse all they want. Consider it a way to vent before they die. Anyway, I can't hear it, and it won't cost me a piece of my flesh."

He knew that this crackdown on the gang would definitely draw criticism, but so what? It's my territory, I'm in charge.

Not convinced?

Come and bite me!

He would do his best to reduce the suffering of the people under his jurisdiction and allow them to live more like human beings. He could bear the criticism he received.

Moreover, there was a reason why he did this.

After all, he's young, and young people are prone to acting impulsively for the sake of a woman.

After all, his fondness for beautiful women was well-known; he already had seven concubines. Whose fault was that?

Let's find those three thugs to take the blame!
"Master Cao, this is the operation report from last night. We consumed a certain amount of ammunition and captured a certain amount of firearms and ammunition. We lost two men, one was seriously wounded, and five were slightly wounded. The dead and seriously wounded were all shot and have been sent to the hospital." At this moment, Zheng Chaoyang walked in and handed over a report.

"Huh?! Which bastard did this?!" Cao Weida frowned immediately. In fact, he knew in his heart that this crackdown on organized crime would not be smooth sailing, and indeed, it turned out to be just as he expected.

During the raid, someone used a gun.

Once guns are used, there is a high possibility of casualties.

"Zhang the Bald, the leader of the Lianyi Society, and Wang Dafa of the Shunlong Opium Den."

"Tell the brothers to treat him well! That son of a bitch, daring to resist, I'll make sure he's dead!" Cao Weida slammed his fist on the table in anger, then ordered:

"The compensation for the wounded and fallen brothers will be paid in full. Give the order that anyone who dares to tamper with this will be dealt with personally by me!"

"Furthermore, for the brothers who sacrificed their lives, if there are male members in their families, give them a patrol officer position. If there are no male members in their immediate family or they are too young, the district department will take care of them."

"Okay, I'll arrange it right away." Zheng Chaoyang knew that if Cao Weida did this, once his underlings found out, it would definitely win over the hearts of the vast majority of the lower-level police officers.

The matter was almost resolved, and just as Cao Weida was about to order everyone to go home, a patrolman rushed in, flustered, and said:
"Director, something bad has happened! Director Wang from the Municipal Construction Department has arrived with his men and is blocking the main entrance, demanding an explanation from you!"

"Director Wang?" Cao Weida stubbed out his cigarette. Anyone with the title of 'director' was a very important figure in Beiping.

He knew that today's crackdown would upset many people, and he expected that someone would come to cause trouble, but he didn't expect it to happen so early, and he certainly didn't expect that it would be a department head who came up first.

"Invite him in."

Regardless, he's a department head, while he's just a bureau chief, several ranks below him. He should at least show him some respect.

However, before they could even invite him, Director Wang barged in, making a ruckus.

Director Wang clearly ate well. In an era when everyone was skinny, he was surprisingly plump and strong, with the fat on his face trembling as he moved.

As soon as he came in, he pointed at Cao Weida's nose and cursed, "You, Cao Weida, how dare you!"

"Zhang Laoda is a distant cousin of mine. You arrested him without even saying hello and ransacked his place. Do you have any respect for your superiors?!"

I think your anger stems from the fact that your distant relative was arrested, not from the fact that their business was raided.

Seeing the other party's aggressive demeanor and immediate accusations, Cao Wei Da, who had originally intended to greet them with a smile, sat back down.

Since the other party has already adopted this attitude, is it still necessary for him to give them a friendly look?
He's not being a jerk!
Besides, he's under the jurisdiction of Ono Oda. So what if the other party is of a higher rank? They'll give you face and call you Director Wang, but if they don't, who do you think you are?

He slowly picked up the teacup on the table, took a sip of tea, and leaned back in his chair with a relaxed attitude: "I don't quite understand what Director Wang is saying. The martial law order was issued by the Imperial Army. It is the police station's duty to strictly investigate lawbreakers and Red Party spies in the city."

"Boss Zhang is suspected of smuggling opium, kidnapping innocent people, and colluding with the Red bandits outside the city. The evidence is conclusive. If I do not arrest him, I will be disobeying the Imperial Army's orders."

"Evidence?!" Director Wang sneered. "I've already called headquarters. You not only failed to report to the government, but also to the Imperial Army!"

"I think you're taking this opportunity to eliminate your rivals and build up your own power base!"

That's a pretty harsh statement. In Beiping, any attempt to cultivate one's own power base was considered a provocation against the Japanese army.

The Japanese army absolutely would not tolerate any uncontrolled forces appearing within its jurisdiction. Once such forces appeared, regardless of the reason, they would inevitably be severely attacked and suppressed.

Cao Weida rolled his eyes. Damn it, they're so eager to label him?

He was about to retort when he was interrupted by a police officer who rushed in. The officer said that Deputy Chief Li of the Seventh District Police Station had arrived with two Japanese officers.

Cao Weida frowned. He knew this Deputy Director Li well; he was a notorious traitor, a pawn planted by the Japanese in the municipal government.

Deputy Director Li has close ties with gangsters, so he must be here to confront them.

Damn it, one trouble after another keeps coming.

Sure enough, as soon as Deputy Director Li entered, he bowed to the Japanese officer beside him, then turned to Cao Weida, his tone sinister:

"Director Cao, the Imperial Army declared martial law to arrest anti-Japanese elements, but you've gone and gone to deal with local gangs."

"Commander Miyamoto is very unhappy that the Imperial Army's important affairs have been delayed!"

The two Japanese officers rattled off a string of words, which the interpreter immediately relayed:
"The officer said that you have three days to release the arrested persons and return the confiscated property."

Cao Wei looked at the translator. He had seen this translator before, but he had forgotten his name.

He remembered offering the other person cigarettes a few times, and the other person would immediately return a fawning smile when he looked over.

This man is a favorite of the Taijun (government officials), and even if he acted somewhat inconsiderately today, this small matter has no impact on Cao Wei Da at all.

As long as the Japanese officials do not lose trust in Cao Wei Da, Cao Wei Da can still act with impunity in Beiping.

Cao Wei Da tapped the table with his finger, seemingly lost in thought, his mind racing with calculations.

These traitors to the puppet government ostensibly stand up for the gangs, but in reality, they fear that when he cracks down on the gangs, it will expose some of their shady dealings and the confiscated assets.

Meanwhile, Miyamoto Ichiro, though seemingly annoyed, was actually observing the situation.

The Japanese needed puppet government officials to maintain their rule, since the current situation in Changping was already very sensitive to the Japanese.

They knew in their hearts that although these people from the fake government were respectful to them on the surface, no one knew how much of it was genuine.

At the same time, the Japanese also need the police station to maintain public order, not to mention that it involves him, who has a huge interest in the police force, and he doesn't want to offend either side.

Knowing what was going on, Cao Weida spoke slowly, his voice low but clear: "Deputy Director Li, Your Excellencies, my crackdown on the gang was not an unauthorized action."

He took a stack of documents from the locked cabinet: "."

(End of this chapter)