386: Chapter 184 We Need to Buy Some Time 386: Chapter 184 We Need to Buy Some Time In this timeline of Continental Europe, only three great empires, Britain, Frank, and the Northern Rakshasa, remained standing after getting scrubbed by the tides of space and time.
This was a piece of historical knowledge that Wang Yunxiao had learned from his history textbooks.
For decades, the British had isolated themselves, recalling their diplomats stationed abroad, abandoning their colonies, and eventually severing all domestic and international contacts.
Now, whether they are alive or dead, no one knows exactly what their situation is.
The Frank Empire, on the other hand, had gone through a cycle of collapse and restoration over the past millennium and had become the Third Frank Empire by now.
A hundred years ago, under the leadership of a great emperor, it had restored the ancient territorial map of the Frank Empire and had almost completed the unification of Europe.
But after that emperor died, it split again—sorry, they called it distributing multiple countries, and it seemed to start repeating the historical cycle.
The war two years ago was sparked by the Former Dynasty and the Frank Empire vying for domination over the South Asian region.
The conflict involved five fleets tangling with each other, stretching the battle from the Strait of Malacca all the way to Vladivostok, spanning thousands of miles.
After the war ended, the emperor of the Former Dynasty abdicated, and a new government was established in Ming Country.
The people from France withdrew from South Asia, and both parties signed a peace treaty agreeing not to invade each other.
Now, this Duchy of Nederland… doesn’t have much history to speak of, traceable only back to a hundred years ago.
It is said to have been a fiefdom of a general under that great emperor.
Their setting up a consulate here is more symbolic than practical; the consulate is just a shell.
In fact, what they do is overseas trade, and with this shell, diplomatic immunity can save them a lot of unnecessary and cumbersome procedures.
Now, the “unnecessary and cumbersome procedures,” looking at the distant consulate, gritted their teeth in frustration.
“I just knew it was these people!”
Yan Yu’an, grinding his teeth, said, “Every time there’s a smuggling list, it includes Dutch merchants.
We arrest them, and they bail them out right after.
They think they’re so great just because they have money?”
The customs is specifically responsible for inspecting domestic and international goods, primarily collecting tariffs and searching for contraband; intercepting smuggled goods is an additional function, not investigatory authority.
This kind of cushy job, riddled with absurdities, you would know that it absolutely should not let leaders like Qin Xiangdong, who are hard-headed and reckless, take charge.
Therefore, Yan Yu’an and his team, being an emergency response team under customs, only handle urgent situations and can’t solve real issues, so it’s inevitable they feel suffocated.
“Are you really going to move on the consulate?”
After venting, Yan Yu’an quickly calmed down and asked Wang Yunxiao urgently, “Aren’t you afraid of sparking a diplomatic dispute, having the higher-ups push you out to take the blame?”
“Don’t worry, our boss said he’d take the blame.”
Wang Yunxiao was only concerned about the danger, not the pressure; if there was pressure, Qin Xiangdong would bear it.
Behind Qin Xiangdong stood the Imperial Army, the Ink Green Qilin Army, and the entire city of Tianmen… no, one should say, the most tough-talking, fearless group of brutes in the entire eastern hemisphere.
Yan Yu’an thought about it and felt it was still not very secure: “I’m going to make a phone call, and call some more people over.”
“You’re also calling for backup?”
Wang Yunxiao looked at the time: “It’s too late, we’re about to move in.”
“No worries, we’ll make our move first, and after it’s done, let the lady take the blame.”
“The lady?
Taking the blame?”
Wang Yunxiao didn’t know who he was talking about, but at such a time, anyone willing to take the blame was good news, the more, the merrier.
At exactly twelve-thirty, the surrounding blocks were sealed off, and plainclothes officers began to disperse the nearby citizens.
“Underground Civil Air Defense discovered!
Located ten meters underground.”
A few minutes later, Ulan Tuya brought some bad news.
Wang Yunxiao couldn’t help frowning.
Ten meters underground plus reinforced concrete buildings made it basically impossible to dig through with current manpower.
How could it be such a coincidence that the consulate was built right on top of the civil air defense works?
However, from another perspective, if they could take control of these unknown underground passageways, it would indeed be very suitable for smuggling.
“Can you find any other entrances or exits?”
“I’m looking…”
“Underground air raid shelters, right?
I’m familiar with these.”
Yan Yu’an took out a city map from his pocket and handed it to Ulan Tuya, “Is it oriented east-west or north-south?
Draw it for me.
These air-raid shelters have ventilation shafts designed every hundred meters.
Although they are also buried underground, as long as you follow the trail, you can dig them out.”
Seeing how familiar he was, Wang Yunxiao couldn’t help but ask curiously, “Is there something special about these air raid shelters?”
Yan Yu’an shrugged, “According to the intelligence held by the customs, it should be a piece of space-time fragment that was washed here from the future by the space-time tide, overlapping with Tianmen City.
It’s still unclear whether there are any human manipulations involved, but I’m inclined to think there are.
Those smugglers are more familiar with the underground than us, and they can even get their hands on part of the maps.”
After taking the map from Ulan Tuya and looking at it, he nodded, “It’s east-west oriented, and it crosses the river.
Take your time.
Buy me some time.
Once we find the ventilation shafts on both sides and start digging, we can trap them here.”
Wang Yunxiao hurried to find Qin Xiangdong to report the situation.
“They can only have half an hour at most.”
Qin Xiangdong didn’t want to rush them, but the problem was that they had already started sealing off the area.
There were no pedestrians on the streets, and even fools in the consulate would realize something was wrong.
Wang Yunxiao thought for a moment, then suggested, “How about we stir up the snake by hitting the grass?
Maybe that could buy us more time.”
“What do you have in mind?”
“Pay them a direct visit and investigate them.
They will definitely respond with diplomatic terms initially, which will also distract their attention.”
“Who will go?”
“I will!”
Veronica laughed from the side and asked, “The Nederland people speak Dutch.
How will you communicate with them?”
“Since they pretend to be diplomats, why shouldn’t they speak Chinese when they are in our territory?”
“What if they speak in their mother tongue quietly in front of you?”
“Let them talk, I’m not really playing any diplomatic game with them.
When it comes to action, who cares what those foreigners are babbling about?”
Wang Yunxiao didn’t care much; he was prepared to go in and create a distraction, buying time for his teammates to covertly progress.
“What I mean is, I should go with you.”
Veronica raised her eyebrows and said, “I can pretend to be an illegal immigrant, and you can take me to the consulate to verify my identity.
Doesn’t that sound more plausible?”
Hmm…
Wang Yunxiao had to admit that her proposal was indeed very deceptive.
He certainly couldn’t just go in and bluntly say, “I suspect you’re harboring cultists and secretly holding wicked sacrificial ceremonies.” That wouldn’t be stirring the snake by hitting the grass; that would be Wu Song fighting a tiger.