Binjiang Police Affairs
Chapter 159 - 129: Getting Serious!

Chapter 159: Chapter 129: Getting Serious!

6:27 AM, the three law enforcement vessels from Yanjiang Police Station turned on police lights, sounded sirens, and slowly moved away from the Dunship berth to start clearing the waters around Bailong Port Passenger Pier.

The police lights on the Dunship were switched on as well, and Sister Zhu’s voice came through the loudspeakers.

"All vessels and individuals involved in eel fry fishing, please pay attention. All vessels and individuals involved in eel fry fishing, please pay attention. This is a joint warning from the Linghai County Police Bureau Yanjiang Police Station, Binjiang Yangtze River Port and Navigation Supervision Bureau Third Law Enforcement Team, and Bailong Port Police Station of Binjiang Port."

"In light of your illegal eel fry fishing, blocking the waterway, damaging navigation marks, disrupting the order of port and ferry operations, and severely endangering water traffic safety and security, you are hereby ordered to leave the waterway within five minutes!"

"Otherwise, pursuant to the ’Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Inland Waterway Transportation’, ’Jiangnan Province Port Pier Ferry Regulations’, ’People’s Republic of China Public Security Punishment Regulations’, and ’Criminal Law of the People’s Republic of China’, stringent measures will be taken against you!"

"This is your final warning; we will commence joint law enforcement after five minutes. We will handle each violation as we find them, detaining fishing vessels, seizing fishing nets, and arresting, fining, and sentencing involved individuals as appropriate without any leniency..."

Sister Zhu’s broadcast was forceful and resonant, filled with intent to eliminate any defiance.

There was no patrolling on the river in the afternoon, nor shouting to drive them away, and just a few hours of relaxation led to an increase in fishing boats on the river. Looking out along the searchlight, it was like a forest of masts.

Not far away, a group of fishing boats followed each other closely.

They cared nothing for water regulations, nor understood where the channels or anchorages were—they simply fished wherever the eel fry were abundant, which often were the channels and anchorages.

Outsiders came to Bailong Port to make a fortune, earning tens of thousands overnight, making the locals envious.

At the few fishing gear shops in Bailong Port, the finely meshed nets for eel fry fishing were sold out, and nearly every local family with a boat was out on the river.

Unable to pass through the lock gates, they carried on shoulders or hands, bringing over wooden and small concrete boats to fish.

Some even used large wooden tubs for bathing or a few oil barrels tied together to fish with nets.

Most of them were inexperienced with water and tides, and most boats lacked power; the boats were even dilapidated with no life-saving equipment, extremely dangerous when encountering storms.

In their pursuit to catch more eel fry, it wasn’t just as simple as net casting.

They installed countless piles in the river in just one afternoon, setting up dense fixed nets and lift nets, occupying the already narrow channels and turning navigation for passenger and cargo ships into moving through a "minefield."

During the high tide, a single cast could yield hundreds or dozens of eel fry—if scooped up, it meant money!

Dozens of foreign fishing boats still bobbed on the river as if they hadn’t heard the warnings at all.

The locals, hearing "Yanjiang Police Station," all turned their gazes towards the direction of the Dunship.

At Bailong Port Passenger Pier, ticketing was underway; four passenger ships carrying nearly ten thousand passengers were set to sail in half an hour. They had 25 minutes to clear the channel.

Han Yu saw Director Xu turn to look at him and quickly handed him a telephone receiver with an extended cord of five or six meters.

Xu Sanye took the receiver and shouted, "All those illegally fishing for eel fry, listen up. I am Xu Sanye, the Chief of Yanjiang Police Station from Linghai Police Bureau. I order you to immediately pull out stakes, collect your nets and leave the channel, or you bear the consequences!"

Xu Sanye!

It really was Xu Sanye!

This name was unfamiliar to outsiders, but well-known among locals.

Han Yu clearly saw that numerous small boats hurriedly rowed towards the riverbanks, daring not to linger on the river.

Master Zhou and the launch drivers from Bailong Port Passenger Pier, Master Yao, approached with vessels 002 and Little 001, unsettling the previously unconcerned foreigners.

Fearing that Li Weiguo, Zhang Junyan, and Director Jin couldn’t see clearly and to deter those reckless money-driven fellows, Xu Sanye held up the receiver and yelled, "Mortar ready!"

"Ready!"

Officer Liu Xinpei from the Water Police First Company, a former artilleryman during his military service, had set up a mortar at the bow as soon as he boarded.

Although Lv Xiangping was not an artilleryman during his military service, he had participated in Civilian Soldier training before enlisting and knew how to fire; he had already taken out a flare from the ammunition box.

Xu Sanye turned to look back and bellowed, "Set the firing parameters! Azimuth double zero, elevation six eight zero!"

Liu Xinpei, squatting on the deck, quickly set the firing parameters.

"Azimuth double zero, elevation six eight zero, parameters set!"

"One round loaded, fire!"

The flare was as much a shell as any other.

Han Yu witnessed firing for the first time, his blood boiling with excitement.

As Lv Xiangping placed a shell into the mortar, crouching down, they heard a thump. Before they could see how the shell fired from the barrel, a flare like a mini-sun appeared above the fishing boats.

As the flare slowly descended, the water within a radius of one kilometer turned as bright as day.

Were they police or the Liberation Army, to actually fire a cannon!

Those who initially ignored the warnings were shocked, momentarily at a loss.

Taking advantage of their panic, Master Zhou piloted 002 alongside a wooden boat.

With insufficient police forces, they had to call upon workers from Bailong Port Passenger Pier.

Zhang Junyan raised his handgun and fired three shots, "Bang! Bang! Bang!" Two pier workers immediately threw cable hooks with iron hooks onto the boat.

"Don’t move; stay where you are."

At critical moments, officials had to lead by example. Zhang Junyan barked an order and was the first to climb onto the fishing boat using the cable.

Bailong Port Police Station’s police officer, Old Jiang, and Director Jin from the Port Supervision Bureau Third Team, along with two workers, quickly followed up, restraining the uncooperative fishermen and handcuffing them directly.

An old man in his fifties rushed out from the stern of the boat.

Zhang Junyan, holding a gun, pressed it against his forehead, "What are you trying to do, violently resist the law?"

The old man was petrified, not daring to make any sudden movements.

"Squat down."

Zhang Junyan, also a military transfer official, though retired for many years, still had his combat skills. He grabbed the old man’s arm and twisted it, and along with Old Jiang, they subdued the old man.

The other three men on the boat were terrified, unable to believe the ferocity of the Linghai police; with both shooting and cannons, they clung to the boat’s railings, daring not to move.

"Hurry up and retract the net, do you hear?"

"Oh, okay."

"Did you set these wooden stakes?"

"Yes."

"I’m giving you five minutes to pull them out."

Director Jin checked the hold and found a bucket containing about half a pound of eel fry; there were also items related to the waterway at the stern. He turned to Director Zhang, "There are two navigation lights here and three zinc-air batteries!"

"Seen them, daring to damage the navigation marks, and not heeding the warning. Once the stakes are pulled up and the nets retracted, take everything and everyone!"

For this moment, Xu Sanye had nearly taken all the handcuffs from the bureau’s storage that afternoon.

After pulling up the stakes, Zhang Junyan asked Old Jiang to use four pairs of handcuffs to detain the five men, ensuring they had no chance to resist, and then handed the fishing boat over to a worker to take back to the Yanjiang Police Station dunship. He, along with Old Jiang and Director Jin, returned to boat 002 and rushed to the nearest other fishing boat.

Little 001 was always nearby on guard, preventing anyone from falling into the water.

Seeing the real action from the police, other fishing boats didn’t foolishly wait to be caught and fled at full power.

There were too many boats illegally fishing eels, impossible to chase them all.

Furthermore, both 002 and smaller 001 were too weak; even if they could catch up with a fishing boat in motion, they couldn’t board it.

Ensuring a clear waterway was the priority; Zhang Junyan and Li Weiguo could not chase them further and immediately started clearing the wooden stakes and discarded fishing nets dropped by the fleeing boats.

In a blink, there were no boats visible in the channel.

Han Yu, carrying a 56 assault rifle filled with blanks in the magazine, didn’t get a chance to fire a warning shot and felt regret. He heard Xu Sanye mutter, "So they know fear after all. Knowing fear makes things easier."

"Director Xu, Director Zhang and Instructor Li are clearing ahead; let’s check out the back."

"Alright, notify Captain Wang to turn around."

"Yes!"

Han Yu raised his walkie-talkie and was just relaying the director’s orders when he suddenly noticed his senior had walked out of the command cabin.

"Director Xu, Chief Ding is calling."

"Oh, coming."

The wind outside was strong, and the noise from 001’s main engine was loud; the loudspeakers on top of the boat were pulling the alarm, making the walkie-talkie hard to hear clearly.

Xu Sanye handed the communicator to Han Yu and turned to enter the command cabin.

While gathering the cord, Han Yu asked, surprised, "Sister Xiang Ning, you boarded the boat too?"

"This is a joint operation by the police and port supervision; our team couldn’t have no one aboard."

"Isn’t Director Jin on 002?"

"Director Jin and Sister Zhu are mainly responsible for the North Branch Channel. I’m part of the escort; I coordinate with the brotherly Port Supervision Stations and Law Enforcement Teams."

Xiang Ning curiously glanced at the mortar, then chuckled, "Our territory mainly involves arresting and driving people away, catching people, detaining boats, and issuing penalties. I can’t help much with that. Director Jin and Sister Zhu let me stay on 001."

To escort in someone else’s jurisdiction, it was essential to have someone from the Port Supervision Bureau on board.

Han Yu realized, then thought for a moment and asked, "When did you board? I didn’t know."

"I boarded before you; when you were boarding, I was setting up the bed below."

"You’re staying in the crew cabin below the command cabin?"

"Where else would I stay, I certainly wouldn’t stay in the rear crew cabin; your Director Wang is there... in there..."

Xiang Ning stopped speaking and covered her mouth, laughing.

Feeling a bit embarrassed by the unseemly conduct of their leaders, Han Yu quickly asked, "You’re staying in the front crew cabin, where will I stay when I swap shifts with Captain Wang?"

"There are two beds in the front crew cabin; I don’t mind you, do you mind me?"

"I can’t stay in the same cabin with you; it’s not appropriate."

"You’re young but quite traditional. Besides, it’s winter, we’re just resting temporarily on the boat, we’re not undressing, what’s the inconvenience?"

"Alright, as long as you don’t mind my smelly feet."