Chapter 422: The Battle for Governance

Chapter 422: The Battle for Governance

Chapter 422: The Battle for Governance
The inspector held the baton tightly, his face gloomy. When he turned his head, he saw another hail of bullets coming, hitting the four men beside him. The sound of bullets piercing through the bodies was clearly audible, and a cloud of blood mist rose up, with a pungent smell that was shocking.

Two police officers were shot in the vitals and died on the spot. The remaining two covered their wounds and lay on the ground, their faces filled with fear, shouting loudly: "Enemy attack, enemy attack!"

The remaining six team members all dodged and hid in wall pillars, wooden boxes and other shelters.

The inspector half-bent his body, his expression changed from arrogance to fear in less than half a second. Because the villagers holding weapons were no longer lambs to be slaughtered.

They are the masters of the New Territories who have the power to pursue justice, equality, human rights and dignity!

"Attack your mother, occupy the commanding heights, take down the street entrance, and form a team of three to eliminate the police uniforms along the street." Xi Qiuchao, the supervisor of the third workshop of Pegasus Factory, led the team to launch a crazy counterattack. At an extremely fast speed, they defeated the uniformed troops on the front line.

A large number of workers, under the cover of the team, retreated in all directions and entered the end to wait for reinforcements.

Two brothers holding AKs and wearing work clothes, leaning against the wall and exchanging fire with the police, shouted: "Brother Chao, there are police at the three o'clock direction."

Xiqiuchao looked towards the store and saw the panicked expressions of several police officers. He shouted angrily, "Cover fire. Ayong, bring some people with you and solve this problem quickly!"

A Yong gritted his teeth and yelled, "Got it."

The armed workers who were setting up defenses on the streets immediately turned their firepower around. A Yong led two brothers and quickly crossed the street to find a shooting position.

"Da da da."

"Da da da."

The police pushed the bodies of the Pegasus workers to block the gunfire and tried to resist with police weapons, but under the fierce firepower of the AK47, half of them were quickly killed or injured.

There were only three police officers left. In despair, they dropped their weapons, raised their hands, and knelt on the ground.

Ah Yong rushed to the inspector and kicked him in the face. He raised the butt of his gun and kept hitting him in the face: "You bastard, you fucked my brother, I'll pay you back double!"

There were at least twenty bodies of workers on the street, and dozens of limbs with injured hands were cleared out. Together with those arrested by the police, there were roughly more than one hundred casualties and more than two hundred people arrested.

This already accounts for one-tenth of the number of people in previous marches, which shows how ruthless and violent the police are.

At this point, having captured the three prisoners, the factory brothers would certainly not let them go easily. They would beat the three of them until they were gasping for breath, covered in bruises and blood.

Ah Yong pulled the man in front of the boss again and said, "Brother Chao, we caught three licensed thugs!"

Xiqiu Chao came to the older inspector who was wearing a flower on his shoulder, took out his ID from his military uniform pocket, glanced at the photo, and sneered, "You're so swollen that even your mother can't recognize you."

The inspector knelt on the ground, helplessly held up by two brothers, and stammered, "Boss, help me."

Xiqiuchao had a murderous look on his face, nodded repeatedly, and said coldly: "Damn it, you know how to beg for mercy? When my loyal cousin begged for mercy, did you stop? "

"Hang up the three licensed hooligans and hang them in front of the police to see what happens when they mess around with the foreign devils."

Ah Yong looked very happy and shouted loudly, "No problem."

At this time, the police had begun to shrink their lines, build bunkers, and organize positional warfare. Lao Zhong had more than a hundred guns on the scene, and his firepower was no less than that of the police force.

With the slogan "Brothers go first, fellow students help each other", they quickly occupied Anting Road in Yuen Long District and surrounded the Civil Affairs Department on Anting Road.

The military and police retreated to the back of Daqiao Road, and the two sides surrounded Daqiao Street, with sporadic exchanges of fire from time to time. The Flying Tigers received the order to take action and sent out a helicopter to hover over Anting Road.

Because it was a mass incident and there were large-scale armed elements, the Flying Tigers, known for their elite forces, did not have the courage to launch a raid.

Hundreds of police cars lined up in a long queue, lights flashing, along Bridge Road all the way to Ping Long. New police cars continued to arrive at the scene, and the headquarters was still sending in reinforcements.

The police commissioner's special car, a black BMW with a license plate number "1", can only be parked on Ping Long Road. The top brother, Mei Henry, followed by more than a dozen police superintendents, arrived at the front line. Next to the command car, Chief Superintendent Xiao Ke, three police superintendents, and more than a dozen inspectors saluted in unison, stamped their feet and shouted, "Sir, Sir!"

Mei Henry nodded slightly, refusing to get on the command vehicle, and said to Xiao Ke quickly: "Thank you for your hard work. Report the situation on the scene."

Deputy Director of Operations Zhuo Youquan, Deputy Director of Management Bai Benli, Assistant Director of Gao Li Lefu, and Assistant Director Yu Shaoze.

No matter whether they were civilian or military generals, or those in charge of media, intelligence, CAI, mobile forces, all the heads of various departments were present on the scene.

Under the heavy pressure of the turmoil in the New Territories, May Henry's control over the police force reached its peak. Both the people left behind by the former director and the Chinese faction were obedient and obeyed his orders.

The first priority is to quell unrest and resolve riots.

After Xiao Ke saluted again, he briefly reported to his superior the criminals' firepower deployment and the number of armed people he observed, and said aloud: "Sir Mei, the rioters were well prepared, and the riots should be supported by anti-Hong Kong forces."

May Henry remained calm and lowered his hat: "I have applied to the Governor to mobilize the British troops stationed in Hong Kong. I believe I will get a reply soon."

Xiao Ke, Bai Benli, Li Lefu and other high-ranking foreigners were relieved when they learned that the British army might be involved.

There is no need for the Gurkha mercenary battalion at the New Territories port. Just a permanent infantry battalion can be deployed to suppress the rioters.

Zhuo Youquan, Yu Shaoze, and Kuang Ruixian were all very nervous and looked very pale. If the British troops stationed in Hong Kong took action, it would most likely cause further unrest.

If the small-scale riots in the New Territories expand further, they will repeat the 1967 incident. During the 1967 incident, the wise men in the Chinese community were not afraid of the mainland taking back Hong Kong Island, but they were afraid that the struggle committee would force them to take sides.

At that time, the Struggle Committee also released a "List of the Top Ten Traitors" and launched an operation to eliminate traitors. After killing the number one traitor, it forced the number two traitor to flee to Hong Kong for asylum.

It is normal for the poor to be homeless and unemployed and to gamble, but they hold high positions with high salaries and prominent status. What they are fighting for is political values, not an either-or, black-or-white reckoning.

Zhuo Youquan spoke on behalf of the Chinese: "Sir, the police force is capable of resolving this matter. I hope the army's action will be suspended."

May Henry said: "I just applied as usual. The Governor's Office has not yet announced whether Sir Youde has approved it. Before dawn, I hope to see the riots stop and the criminals brought to justice."

Zhuo Youquan actively sought an opportunity and shouted, "Sir, give me three hours."

Bai Benli suddenly screamed: "Sir Mei, look!"

Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw three policemen in military uniforms with their hands tied with hemp ropes. They had been pushed off the roof of a residential building and were hanging in mid-air.

Mei Henry clenched his fists and said ruthlessly, "Can you rescue the police officer in three hours?"

Zhuo Youquan swallowed his saliva, stood at attention and saluted: "Yes, sir!"

Although he was not sure, he could not hesitate. If he hesitated for a moment, power would slip away from his hands. In a critical moment, you must first hold on to power. Whether you can do it or not can be discussed later. If you have power, you will not die. If you don't have power, you will die miserably.

Mei Henry said: "Just go ahead and do it. All the manpower in the police force will be at your disposal."

Taiping Mountain, Governor's Office.

Yoder, wearing a navy blue robe and looking sleepy, was in his office meeting with military representatives, making a difficult decision after half an hour.

He sighed and said, “Tell May Henry that political events should be resolved politically, and public opinion negotiations should be prioritized.”

The secretary immediately stood up: "Yes, sir!"

After the horrifying airport reception, how could Sir Edward have the courage to start a war with the Chinese on Hong Kong Island? After evaluation, the military unanimously agreed that the war would be costly and not conducive to the ancestral strategy.

May Henry boarded the command vehicle, took the paper cup handed to him by his subordinates, drank coffee, and was certain that Youde would give in. Because starting a war in the New Territories was a strategic failure, and a short-term tactical victory could not change the situation.

He deliberately commanded the front-line troops to make things worse, which was actually throwing the problem to the Governor. Youde ordered a peaceful solution, which was equivalent to giving up more than 20 billion British capital, which would cause a major collapse of the foreign company in the business world.

Someone has to shoulder this responsibility, and the Governor is big enough to handle it.

Mei Henry's status is not high enough, so he has to act out the whole act to accept 100 million Hong Kong dollars from a foreign company, so that he can complain to the presidents of the foreign companies afterwards!

Not a penny of the money that was earned through hard work could be given to the governor.

Sure enough, within half an hour, the Governor's Office called the front line, asking the police force to initiate peaceful negotiations and use political means to resolve the New Territories incident.

Jiang Hao arrived at the scene of the conflict via the Qingshan Road with several busloads of his brothers. The Civil Affairs Department is located in the center of Yuen Long District, with a dense network of roads around it.

The police did not have enough manpower to cut off all the roads, and workers from the Pegasus Shoe Factory continued to arrive at the scene.

The larger the number of people, the more difficult it will be to blockade the situation, disperse the villagers, and resolve the issue peacefully.

Jiang Hao is not an ordinary worker, but an elite fighter from Mong Kok and Jordan. There is a large amount of munitions in the trunk, and the number of armed men is in the hundreds and keeps increasing.

Zhuo Youquan learned from the Flying Tigers helicopter that the number of people in Zhongyi Hall was growing, and ordered through the intercom: "All units remain alert, suspend advance, and do not contact the villagers."

Then, he released the intercom button and looked at Yu Shaoze: "Sir Yu, it's an emergency, and you've taken the trouble to make another trip to talk to Yin Zhaotang."

"We have conditions and requirements, and we will discuss them one by one. The sincerity of the police force has no upper limit!"

Yu Shaoze received Zhuo Youquan's instructions, nodded slightly, and said, "I'll make another call."

Accompanied by several subordinates, the group came to a corner and called Yin Zhaotang, who was sitting in the back seat of a Rolls-Royce in a suit and tie, with his legs crossed and a cigar in his mouth.

"Yin Sheng, you win, make your terms."

"The foreigners are very sincere." Yu Shaoze lowered his head with emotion on his face.

The situation changed too quickly. It was clearly the foreigners who started the fight, but then they surrendered. It was so frustrating to be associated with the foreigners or to be an official!
Yin Zhaotang puffed on his cigar, slowly exhaled smoke, and made a price offer: "First, ask the Governor's Office to issue a statement to suspend the acquisition of land by foreign companies in the New Territories and ensure that factories and farmland are not damaged."

"Second, increase the treatment of workers in the New Territories, guarantee overtime pay, and purchase insurance for workers. Third, thoroughly investigate environmental pollution and shut down factories that do not meet standards."

"Fourth, pay for the workers injured tonight and pay them compensation according to the highest compensation standards. Also, release all those arrested, immediately!"

The first condition was to nail the lid off the coffin of the British financial group; the second and third were universal, helping the workers in the New Territories to fight for their rights.

Fourth and fifth, it is to help Pegasus workers and fellow disciples gain benefits.

Yu Shaoze took a sip of his cigarette, lowered his voice with a serious expression, and said, "We can agree to the first point, and the second and third points can be discussed, but we need to go through the legal process, and it will take at least a few months to start."

"The fourth clause is too embarrassing for the Hong Kong government. Let's both take a step back. I'll release the people first, and you'll withdraw them. We'll talk about compensation later, shall we?"

Yin Zhaotang was very determined and left no room for negotiation: "The conditions I set are the bottom line. If you can't do one of them, you will be beaten. I will beat you as long as I want."

Yu Shaoze heard the dead tone on the phone, and the pressure in his heart was nowhere to be released. He kicked the tire and cursed: "You are manipulating public opinion, bastard!"

The police force could handle the Zhongyitang alone, but after joining forces with the New Territories gentry, they became local tyrants and supported active social groups, which in ancient times had reached the minimum standard of raising the flag of rebellion and killing officials to establish themselves.

May Henry received five peace terms and felt equally depressed. Except for the first one, which he could accept, the second, third, fourth and fifth terms, with each additional term accepted, the ruling power of the Hong Kong government would drop by one level.

Unlike the welcoming event which few people know about, the workers' rally in the New Territories and the unrest sweeping across Yuen Long will surely shake Hong Kong tomorrow and it cannot be concealed from the public.

All sectors of society will refer to the Hong Kong government's solution to judge the government's ability to rule. If all five clauses are accepted, it is basically equivalent to giving up colonization.

In the next three to five years, the Chinese in Hong Kong will take the lead in regaining the right to govern Hong Kong, not through a transfer of power or a peaceful transition, but through the survival of the fittest and jungle competition.

Because this incident was enough to serve as a symbol to make all Chinese in Hong Kong realize that the British Hong Kong authorities were strong on the outside but weak on the inside.

At that time, the Chinese people in the business and political circles who were unwilling to be inferior to others and determined to drive out the foreign invaders would continue to fight to regain sovereignty in their respective fields!

At the same time, the collapse of British capital and the weakening influence of the Hong Kong government meant that it could no longer systematically suck blood from Hong Kong Island and feed back to the motherland. The resulting chain reaction would cause the Federation, which was in a period of economic downturn, to decline in all areas, and might even cause internal turmoil and a crisis of separation.

In ten years at the latest, the Hong Kong government will probably become a trusteeship government like the one in Macao, where it can be slaughtered at will. The matter is getting bigger and bigger. The British side wants to make a big fuss, but Lao Zhong actually accepts it and makes the fuss even bigger!

Mei Henry didn't dare to be a federal criminal, and said in a deep voice: "The conditions are so harsh that I didn't expect them. Sir Yu, the police can only agree to the first one and then negotiate the fifth one. You will continue to be in charge of the negotiations until the international media arrives."

Yu Shaoze had expected this, so he stood at attention, saluted, and shouted, "Yes, sir."

Negotiations were bound to be long, and even five or ten days might not be enough to conclude the negotiations. According to the intelligence department's assessment, the equipment and funds of Zhongyi Hall were not enough to sustain a long-term riot.

If he kept dragging things out, he might be able to wear down Lao Zhong. However, instead of hoping that he could solve everything by dragging things out, it would be better to pray to God and let Yin Zhaotang get hit by a car and die.

After Yu Shaoze and Zhuo Youquan left the command vehicle, Mei Henry immediately turned his gaze to Li Lefu: "Where is the location of the special operations team?"

Li Lefu took off his headphones, his face serious, and said concisely: "Sir, the special operations team has arrived at Tsuen Wan Pier and confirmed the suspicious target. Do you want to carry out the mission?"

Mei Henry said: "Agree to execute!"

(End of this chapter)