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Chapter 69: Birmingham - The Peaky Blinders
🕑 Added 2024-12-07 14:46:39 +0000 UTCMeeting Winters, a future world-renowned WWII hero, on the plane was a bit of a surprise, and Josh had a pleasant chat with him during the flight. Talking to these officers and listening to their bragging kept the trip from getting too boring.
After more than 20 hours in the air, the Boeing 314 landed on the surface of the sea outside of Liverpool Harbor - seaplanes can only take off or land in harbor areas.
Several small boats soon arrived to pick up Josh and the other passengers.
Although the port had suffered heavy bombing, with the formal entry of the United States into the war and the help of the Allies, the most important port on the transatlantic flight route quickly regained its vitality.
Civilian and military supplies from the United States were unloaded here and then transported by train and truck across the United Kingdom.
"It has been a very pleasant trip and we are honored to meet Mr. Kahn," said Aldo, along with Winters and the other officers. After saying goodbye to the young women, they came to say thank you and goodbye to Josh. Some of the officers even promised to help him if he got into trouble in England.
But they weren't just bragging.
Although Britain had never officially fallen, the massive influx of American soldiers had so overwhelmed Britain that it almost felt as if it had been captured by the US military.
Throughout World War II, Germany caused the deaths of hundreds of thousands of British people, but the US military was even worse, directly responsible for 1.8 million British deaths.
Interestingly, Germany used weapons, while American soldiers used dollars, stockings, canned goods, chocolate, coffee, tea, and even a few loaves of bread.
For example, Piccadilly Circus in London, a center of entertainment in the 21st century, is now the site of beauty pageants for American soldiers. At night, they strike a match and choose their prey for the evening.
There's also the unimaginable image of British pilots flying bombers on suicide missions against Germany, while back home American soldiers are loading British women into trucks and taking them to military camps.
If Josh remembers correctly, it was the 8th Air Force that accomplished this feat... The famous barbecue master Li Mei, who is probably part of the 8th Air Force at this time.
After the officers were picked up by their comrades in jeeps, Josh's transport arrived: two jeeps and a truck.
Josh, Lynden, and Whitney got to ride in the jeeps, while the young women had to settle for the truck.
But that wasn't too much of a problem. As a major port city, The Labor Corps had its own base for receiving personnel, and the surroundings were quite good - it was originally a local high-end hotel.
The plan was for Josh and the others to stay here for one night and then take a train to London for a tour organized by The Labour Corps to visit various American military units.
But Josh wasn't really here for that.
After arriving at the base, he left two bodyguards with the women and handed them over to The Labour Corps team. Unlike the local British women, these American citizens were less likely to be harassed, so Josh wasn't worried about their safety.
As for Josh, he, Lynden, Vito, and four other bodyguards made their way to the U.S. Army Logistics Office in Liverpool.
In just half an hour, Josh and his group used a case of pre-prepared "grape juice" and a small amount of US dollars to secure special passes from the logistics office and "rent" two iconic American military jeeps of the time.
Many American businessmen who came to Britain to strike gold followed the same route.
The military was usually very accommodating to them, as these businessmen often brought valuable small gifts that were very popular in the UK.
As for whether anything would go wrong, Josh wasn't worried - as long as it didn't affect their own people, no one cared.
Allies? Who cares? If it weren't for the US, Britain would have fallen a long time ago. So what if they had to endure a little hardship?
With jeeps marked with US military insignia and special passes, Josh and his group had no trouble getting around.
Their first destination was Birmingham, just 160 kilometers from Liverpool.
After a few hours, the two jeeps pulled up to a pub on the outskirts of Birmingham.
"This is the place!" Linden pointed to the tavern.
Since Josh was in the UK on business, they needed a partner.
The ideal partner would be the US military, but their power was too overwhelming. Paying them for protection was fine, but Josh suspected he would only get scraps if he tried to do business with them directly.
So, under the guise of the US military, teaming up with the local gangsters was the best option.
And if they were going to pick a gangster group to partner with, it had to be the biggest one.
The biggest and most powerful gangster group in Britain was based in Birmingham.
Why Birmingham and not London?
The answer was simple: London had too many aristocrats.
So while there were many small gangs in London, none were big enough to matter.
After all, do you think the royal family is weak?
So the biggest gang in Britain was never in London, but in Birmingham.
Many foreigners might associate Birmingham with its championship-level football team, which doesn't have the fame of Manchester or Liverpool, but in fact Birmingham is the second largest city in the UK.
And the gang they were after was called the Peaky Blinders.
Josh and his group didn't know much about British gangs, but Linden, who had once smuggled and trafficked on European and American routes, knew about the Peaky Blinders, a local Birmingham organization.
"Americans? What are you doing here?" The arrival of two U.S. military jeeps certainly didn't go unnoticed. A few people came out of the tavern and looked at Josh's group with some suspicion.
"We are American businessmen. We have a deal to discuss with Mr. Thomas Shelby," Linden straightened his coat and stepped forward to speak.
