Binjiang Police Affairs
Chapter 158 - 128: Attacking from All Sides!

Chapter 158: Chapter 128: Attacking from All Sides!

At 1:30 PM, Han Yu was picked up by Ma Jintao and brought back to the station.

He didn’t see Director Xu, nor Old Zhang. As soon as he boarded the dunship, under the command of Li Weiguo, he returned to the dormitory to catch some sleep since they would be providing armed escort at night.

Another night of staying up to sail; he had to sleep even if he couldn’t.

He drew the curtains and burrowed into the blankets to squint for a while, and unexpectedly, he really fell asleep. When he woke up, it was already 5:30 PM.

As he picked up his toothbrush cup and towel, preparing to wash up, he saw Old Qian and his senior sister moving things onto the big 001.

"What’s up, Uncle Qian?"

"We’re preparing supper and breakfast for tomorrow for you all. The dishes are all cooked, and the rice cooker is brought aboard too; you’ll heat it yourselves when the time comes."

Not only did they need to escort the passenger liner away but also bring it back.

Just as Han Yu realized they indeed couldn’t go on an escort with empty stomachs, Han Xiangning turned and smiled, "San’er, it will be a long trip with many people on board. All the hot water flasks we have on this dunship wouldn’t be enough for you, so Uncle Qian has brought a small coal stove over. You can boil water for yourselves to drink on the ship."

"Alright, I’ll ask Xiao Yu to carry some coal later."

"There’s no need to call Xiao Yu over; Uncle Qian has already moved them aboard for you."

Han Yu quickly turned back and said, "Thank you, Uncle Qian."

Old Qian chuckled, "What’s there to thank for? I’ve steamed salted meat, salted fish, and sausages for you. You can heat them up and eat or just eat them directly."

"Okay."

"Salted Fish, come upstairs for a meeting!"

Looking up, it turned out to be the Director calling.

Han Yu put the wash-up business aside and quickly put his toothbrush cup and towel back in the dorm, then ran up to the second-floor meeting room.

As he pushed the door open, he was startled. The meeting room was packed with people, and they were from several agencies.

For Linghai Police Bureau, there was Xu Sanye, Instructor Li, and Old Zhang; from the Water Police Division were Director Yu, Chen Zikun, and Ma Jintao.

Over from the Bailong Port Police Station were Director Zhang and Old Liu, who had just been appointed as an instructor.

Both the eldest and the second brothers came.

Even Chief Ding from the Four Factory Police Station had arrived.

There were even two officers in industrial and commercial uniforms and two in customs outfits sitting next to Director Yu.

What surprised Han Yu even more so was that two discharged soldiers from the Water Police First Company were pressing bullets into the magazines of 56 assault rifles in the next-door command and dispatch room.

And behind them was actually a mortar, with four boxes of shells neatly piled up in the corner!

"Salted Fish, haven’t woken up yet? Hurry up and come in."

"Yes!"

"Comrades, everyone has arrived, let’s formally begin."

Xu Sanye took the lead to sit in the main seat, looked around at everyone, and said: "Before we officially start the meeting, let me introduce everyone. This is Zeng Xiang, Director Zeng from the Binjiang Customs Anti-Smuggling Division.

This is Director Yin Zhiping from the city’s Administration for Industry and Commerce. Let’s welcome Director Zeng and Director Yin with a warm round of applause."

Han Yu hurriedly clapped along with everyone, still puzzled about what the customs and industry and commerce people were here for.

"The situation on the river is clear to everyone; it is extremely dire and needs urgent action. This afternoon, when I went to the Bureau to collect blank cartridges and to the Armed Forces Department to borrow mortars and illuminating projectiles, I also took a trip to the Agricultural Bureau to find Shameless Zhang, but he gave all sorts of excuses, saying that jurisdiction over fishery management on the river falls to Binjiang Fishery Station, and he has neither the authority nor the funds or personnel."

Xu Sanye’s face was stern as he spoke coldly: "Without Butcher Zhang, can we not eat hairless pigs? I, Xu Sanye, do not believe in these evils, nor does Yanjiang Police Station or Binjiang Water Police Branch believe in them!

Director Yu gathered a lot of clues through inquiries and research this afternoon. Old Li reviewed some relevant laws and regulations this afternoon, and also made a big gain. In short, we have a lot to do next!"

It seems it’s not just about armed escort...

But then again, this is Xu Sanye.

For him, armed escort is akin to passive defense; with his character, he would only go on the offensive, never just defending passively.

As for how he managed to bring over the customs and industry and commerce people, Han Yu wasn’t surprised.

After all, the station is cooperating with customs and even helping Director Yu to establish a second Water Police Company funded by customs.

Although the station has never directly collaborated with the city’s industry and commerce administration, they have indirectly cooperated through Binjiang Port Police Station during the follow-up investigation of the foreign exchange evasion case.

Lost in thought, Xu Sanye knocked on the table and said: "Director Yu learned that the national acquisition of eel fry is clearly regulated and must be purchased by the aquatic department. There are also strict regulations on the export of eel fry— the principle is ’raise first, sell later.’"

Zhang Junyan asked curiously, "Why raise first and sell later?"

"Eel fry are valuable, and adult eels are even more so. Selling them at a good price can generate more foreign exchange, and in the past few years, Jiangnan Province has been exporting eels to Japan, earning over ten million US dollars annually."

Xu Sanye glanced at his notebook, and with a change of tone, added: "But over the last two years, there has been a growing number of illegal eel fry fishers, and yet the amount of eel fry purchased by the fisheries departments has been decreasing."

"Where have the eel fry gone?" Chief Ding asked subconsciously.

"They were taken by traffickers from East Guang, Jianfu, and other provinces. They went from door to door in places where fishermen gathered, and even collaborated with some profit-seeking enterprises and institutions under the guise of joint operations to illegally purchase eel fry and then smuggle them to Japan for huge profits."

Xu Sanye pointed outside and said with a grim face, "We have no authority to confiscate the nets of those who illegally catch eel fry, nor can we fine them, let alone detain them. However, we can assist the Industrial and Commercial departments to crack down on speculative resales and assist the Customs to fight against smuggling!"

Chief Ding suddenly realized, "We need to pull the carpet out from under their feet."

"It’s not about pulling the carpet out, nor can we solve the problem fundamentally, but we can take down as many as we can."

Xu Sanye glanced at his watch again and said coldly, "Comrades, the Bai Shen Passenger Liner was supposed to sail at 8:15 this morning, but because of the blocked waterway, it has been delayed until now, a full eight hours late, leaving thousands of passengers stranded. Time waits for no one, let’s not discuss further; I’ll directly assign tasks."

"Alright, Director Xu, you give the orders."

"We’ll take this one step at a time. Old Ding, after the four passenger ships set sail later, there will still be thousands of travelers stranded at Bailong Port.

Bailong Port is in your jurisdiction; you can’t ignore this situation. You need to act fast to organize forces to assist the Bailong Port Police Station and the long-distance bus terminal police office in maintaining order."

"Understood."

"There’s a phone next door. Go next door and give orders to your station."

So he called me over just to have me do this.

It’s not a big deal for me to do these tasks, but can I not listen a little longer and wait until after the meeting to coordinate the police officers and cooperative defense team members...

Chief Ding felt a surge of frustration yet dared not disobey and could only stand up and squeeze out of the meeting room to the command center next door to make a call.

"Director Yu, you take Chen Zikun and Ma Jintao to collect clues about the criminals who destroyed the navigation markers and assaulted and robbed the Hui’an Province fleet. After all, that area is not under our Yanjiang Police Station’s jurisdiction, and not even under our Linghai Police Bureau’s jurisdiction. It’s inconvenient for us to go there."

"Okay."

"Set off now. If those criminals go to other places to catch eel fry, it will be difficult to find them later."

"Alright, Director Zeng, Director Yin, I will leave first."

Finally able to handle a case on my own.

Scholar Yu did not feel slighted by Xu Sanye’s command at all and quickly left with Chen Zikun and Ma Jintao.

"Xu Mingyuan, your squad’s task is to find out the distribution of the caught eel fry, assist the Industrial and Commercial departments in cracking down on small traders involved in speculative reselling, and assist Customs in combating criminals smuggling eel fry!"

"Instructor, we haven’t finished dealing with our current cases."

"Hand them over to the Second Squad; I’ve already spoken to Wu Ren Guang."

"Yes!"

"I’m not finished yet."

Xu Sanye took a deep breath and said with an apologetic face, "Ming Yuan, this is a long-term operation that may last until there are no more migratory eel fry. If other clues are found during the investigation, this case may take three to four months to investigate, and your marriage to Zhang Lan may have to be postponed."

Xu Mingyuan was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly said, "Instructor, I am a public security police officer, and Zhang Lan is as well. We understand what’s more important."

"Good, you didn’t let me down as your Instructor. Later on... later on, have Zhang Lan do some ideological work with your parents."

"Instructor, don’t worry about our family, I just want to know how to investigate this case and if there’s any breakthrough."

"Yes, I’ll have Xiao Yu follow you guys later. His family is also in the eel fry fishing business. You can start with that and trace down the line. Once you’ve locked onto the suspected smugglers, then backtrack to other small traders engaged in speculative reselling. Seize the right moment to close the net."

Working with the Industrial and Commercial departments and Customs, this is a real big case.

Xu Mingyuan, eager to achieve something in his new role, was thrilled at the opportunity presented by his Instructor, but then felt somewhat embarrassed and said, "Instructor, we don’t have a vehicle or funds."

"With Directors Zeng and Yin here, these won’t be a problem."

"Yes!"

"Director Zeng, Director Yin, Ming Yuan is not only the squad leader of the Fourth Squad of the Linghai Police Bureau’s Criminal Investigation team, but he’s also my personally trained disciple. With his assistance, I guarantee you’ll be able to thoroughly investigate this case."

"Director Xu, thank you so much."

"No need to thank me, you guys get going too."

Letting Xiao Yu work with the Criminal Investigation team on the case, what were they thinking.

He can’t keep a secret with that mouth...

Han Yu wanted to remind them, but in this tense environment, he felt as a newcomer he didn’t have the right to speak.

"Old Zhang, as I said earlier, regarding the issue of eel fry fishing, we indeed have no jurisdiction. But if they block the waterway, we can take action according to the Regulation on Administrative Penalties for Public Security. If they damage the navigation markers, endangering the safety of navigation, we have every right to take action."

Zhang Junyan pulled himself together and lifted his head to say, "Alright, no more playing nice."

Xu Sanye nodded and knocked on the table, "Starting now, we split into two groups. You and Old Li will be in charge of the internal operations, first ensuring the safety of the North Branch waterway, especially the navigation safety of the Bailong Port Waters. Anyone who dares to challenge the law, we’ll arrest everyone involved."

"Okay."

"I will take charge of the external line, responsible for escorting the convoy of passenger liners. We’ll take collective action, getting over this immediate hurdle first. I believe the superiors will not allow Yangtze River to stay blocked; they should soon come up with strong measures."