You were allowed to marry into No. 76 family, and you were promoted to director?

Chapter 387 Revenge
Daoya mainly operates on the black market, reselling supplies, and hasn't done anything outrageous.

Of course, Dao Ya frequently visited the French Concession, as evidenced by the fact that all the newspapers within the French Concession unanimously condemned the Mei Agency, which infuriated the cabinet. It is highly likely that the Governor of the French Concession also had close business dealings with Dao Ya.

However, Kagesa didn't seem to care much about this.

Having just finished washing up, Kagesa arrived at the Mei Agency's cafeteria.

As soon as he entered, Kagesa frowned.

Inside the cafeteria, almost everyone who came to eat looked gloomy, and some even cursed loudly.

They only calmed down a bit when they saw Yingzuo come in.

Kagesa looked at Suzuki Haruko beside him and asked:
"What happened?"

Haruko Suzuki was also puzzled and hurriedly went up to ask. After going around the cafeteria, Haruko Suzuki quickly walked to the cafeteria window.

When Suzuki Haruko saw the variety of breakfast options in the window, she turned green with anger.

Quickly returning to Kagesa's side, Haruko Suzuki whispered:

"Teacher, the cafeteria only serves thin porridge, and there's no meat or vegetables at all."

Kagesa, puzzled, quickly went to the window to look. After confirming that it was indeed the situation Suzuki Haruko had described, Kagesa, suppressing his anger, questioned the chef:

"What's going on? We give you so much funding every month, and this is all the warriors you're preparing for my empire?"

The chef inside the window said with a bitter expression:
"Sir, it's really not what I wanted to do. I didn't embezzle a single penny. The main problem is, even if I wanted to spend the money, I had nowhere to spend it!"

"What do you mean?"

The chef sighed and recounted what had happened since yesterday:
"Sir, the vegetable vendor who was supposed to deliver vegetables to us said he won't be delivering here anymore. Apparently, someone is buying up all his vegetables. And it's not just him; all the vegetables in the vegetable markets of Hongkou, or even the entire Shanghai, have been bought up. Those people won't sell us anything."

“Now when you go to the market to buy vegetables, if you buy a lot, you have to show your ID. If it's someone from our Mei Bureau, no one in any market in Shanghai will sell to us.”

"This is just for vegetables; the same goes for meat, fruits, and snacks. All the major stores in Shanghai operate this way."

"More importantly, by the end of this month, we'll probably be out of food, not even able to get porridge."

Kagesa gasped. He didn't believe that no one was behind this.

But what kind of place is Mei Agency? If those people don't sell to them, then they'll just accuse them of being communist sympathizers or Kuomintang agents. If they arrest a lot of people, how can other merchants refuse to sell to Mei Agency? Are they really not afraid of death?

Haruko Suzuki naturally thought of this and asked the chef directly.

But the chef still said with a bitter expression:

"The logistics guy made the same threat, but now, in major vegetable markets and rice shops in Shanghai, there are military police patrolling around frequently. If anyone causes trouble, the military police will arrest them directly, regardless of whether you are from the Mei Agency or any other department."

After the questioning, Kagesa didn't even eat breakfast and stormed back to his office. He then immediately ordered Suzuki Haruko to investigate who dared to oppose the Mei Agency so directly and insidiously.
Half an hour later, Suzuki Haruko returned with an angry expression. Standing in front of Kagesa's desk, Suzuki said angrily:
"Teacher, we've found out. Dao Ya has now leased all the land deeds for the vegetable markets and rice shops in Shanghai for a period of three years."

"To put it bluntly, within the next three years, as long as Dao Ya gives the order not to sell anything in Shanghai, that person will have to close down and get out."

"The reason why the vendors in the vegetable market are so obedient is because Dao Ya waived their stall fees, and Dao Ya also hired a group of military police to protect the various vegetable markets and shops. If anyone causes trouble in these places, they will all be arrested."

"In addition, the daily vegetables, meat, rice and flour needed by the original government agencies, the Gendarmerie Command, the Special Higher Police, the French Concession Governor, and the Marine Corps Command were all arranged by Dao Ya to be sold to them at a price 30% lower than the market price, with Dao Ya subsidizing the difference to the merchants."

"As a result, other intelligence agencies turned a blind eye to Dao Ya's actions, but our Mei Agency couldn't buy anything in Shanghai!"

Kagesa stared intently at Suzuki Haruko, his hair standing on end.

"Where did this Dao Ya get so much money and so much power?"

Haruko Suzuki took a deep breath:
“Teacher, we underestimated this girl. I only realized this during the investigation that Dao Ya is now the leader in the black market, and she has basically monopolized the black market business.”

“Even members of the Green Gang have to be mindful of Dao Ya’s feelings if they want to do business on the black market.”

"Teacher, in my opinion, we should just get rid of her. Keeping someone like that around is just a menace!"

"As for the funds she has, the money she makes from reselling supplies is probably not enough. Dao Ya is definitely doing other businesses as well, but her private businesses are too well hidden. None of our spies in various places have obtained any definite information."

"All I know is that Dao Ya's private business seems to have close ties with the navy and the French Concession. Most importantly, with the navy, most of the navy's so-called routine patrols are actually helping Dao Ya escort supplies out to sea."

Kagesa's lips curled into a vicious smirk. Those barbarians in the navy actually used the Empire's fleet to do business for others. Did they have no shame at all?
"She's getting revenge on us!!"

"Hmph, a little brat, how dare she go against our Mei Agency! Chunzi, make the arrangements immediately to teach her a lesson. As for killing her, we'll not consider that for now."

Kagesa still suspects that Toya is a member of the underground party. Obtaining evidence that Toya is a communist is the most important thing. There's no rush to kill her directly.

"Hi!!"

Inside the office of the head of the Intelligence Advisory Section of the Special Higher Police on Wusong Road.

Edith has received a reply telegram from Shen Xing.

This Wang Bentian is indeed the undercover agent that Boss Dai wanted to infiltrate into the Mei Agency.

If Boss Dai had followed his instructions, the Kuomintang agents in Central China would have suffered heavy losses.

Zhao Xuan sneered inwardly at the thought of using the lives of so many colleagues to secure a foothold for a spy in the Mei Agency.

Only the Military Intelligence Bureau (MIB) could pull off such a self-inflicted injury tactic.

Dao Ya has now started targeting the Mei Agency. Zhao Xuan promised his sister-in-law that he would never let the people of the Mei Agency get away with it.

Now that Dao Ya has made her move, Zhao Xuan has no reason to let Wang Bentian go.

Zhao Xuan didn't want Mei Jiguan to take such a big credit from Wang Bentian.

Since the self-inflicted injury ploy has failed to stop it, let's just steal the credit from Mei Jiguan!

Whether Wang Bentian could successfully infiltrate the Mei Agency after doing this was not something Zhao Xuan needed to consider.

The nanobugs that remained beside Wang Bentian also sent a notification that their vision had been connected.

After connecting, Zhao Xuan discovered that Ying Zuo had arranged to meet Wang Bentian. Judging from Ying Zuo's expression, Zhao Xuan roughly guessed that the old man was angered by the result of Dao Ya's actions.

Zhao Xuan overheard their conversation.

After listening, Zhao Xuan could only say, "Wow, Wang Bentian actually used his position as the head of the Central China region to convene an emergency meeting in Shanghai with elite agents from the Military Intelligence Bureau in Nanjing, Hefei, Wuhan, and other places."

And it happened at 3 PM today.

The meeting was held in a teahouse on Fuzhou Road.

The mountain city side wanted to use Wang Bentian to send these elite military intelligence agents as pawns to Yingzuo, so that Wang Bentian would be given important positions by Yingzuo.

It's 9 a.m. now, and there are still six hours until the 3 p.m. meeting.

Within six hours, these Kuomintang agents who had traveled from all over the country to Shanghai would gather at the Shenglai Teahouse on Fuzhou Road.

These people certainly didn't know about Wang Bentian's "betrayal," and Zhao Xuan had no intention of reminding them.

They've already been discarded, so why bother reminding them?

This was a decision made by Boss Dai. Since he wanted to weaken the Military Intelligence Bureau's strength, it was only because Zhao Xuan didn't lend a hand that they were still colleagues and on the united front against Japan.

Since these people are going to be handed over to Yingzuo anyway, it's better for them to end up in Zhao Xuan's hands.

However, before he could do this, Zhao Xuan had to consult his superiors. Of course, these superiors were not from the mountain city, but from Xia Gong in the base area.

After all, they were on the same side. If Xia Gong's side was fine, then Zhao Xuan would naturally not show any mercy.

In the courtyard where Xia Gong lived in the Red Party base area.

Xia Gong, who had just eaten a cornbread with hot water, had already started working on his day.

Gao Wanyou stood tall and straight at the door, performing his duties as a guard exceptionally well.

Recently, Xia Gong has set up the radio station he used to communicate with Zhao Xuan on his own, so he no longer needs to go through the telecommunications office.

Xia Gong carefully examined each piece of intelligence, categorized them, and then summarized the intelligence from each category before conducting a cross-analysis.

Just as Xia Gongzheng finished organizing the various intelligence reports and was about to take notes, the radio on the wooden table next to him started playing on its dedicated frequency.

Xia Gong paused in his hand movements, immediately threw down the document, grabbed the earphones, and began to answer the call.

After quickly copying down the telegram, Xia Gong no longer needed to consult the codebook. He had already memorized the codebook used to contact Zhao Xuan perfectly.

Just by looking at the telegram, the translated content appeared in Xia Gong's mind.

"hiss--"

Upon seeing the telegram sent by Zhao Xuan, Xia Gong couldn't help but gasp.

The content was simple; it mainly reported to Xia Gong that Boss Dai wanted to infiltrate Wang Bentian into the Mei Agency.

Therefore, he asked Xia Gong for instructions: should he try to save these expendable pawns of the Military Intelligence Bureau, or let nature take its course?

According to Xia Gong's thinking, everyone is an ally on the united front, so it is only right to help.

But the situation is different now. If Wang Bentian really did betray them, it would be understandable to save him. But this is the Military Intelligence Bureau's arrangement and calculation. If they were to save him, it would actually disrupt the Military Intelligence Bureau's operation.

This was arranged by Boss Dai, and even if Master Xia wanted to help, he had no right to do so.

When faced with this problem, Xia Gong could only manage a wry smile after reading it.

The self-inflicted injury ruse and the suicide spy ruse are tactics that only the Military Intelligence Bureau would use. In any case, Xia Gong would never do such a thing.

After letting out a slight sigh, Xia Gong began to reply to Zhao Xuan.

A few minutes later, Xia Gong lit a cigarette, burned it halfway through, and turned to look at Gao Wanyou, who was standing at the door:

"Xiao Gao, arrange for someone to invite Comrade Zhu Zhili over."

"Also, have the telegraph office send a message to Shanghai: I know about the problems with Shi Yinong, and tell them not to make any rash moves."

Xia Gong had been eyeing this fish for a long time. Although there was a small problem along the way, it wasn't time for the fish to be cooked yet.

Although Ding Moqun was cunning, Xia Gong had plenty of ways to deal with him.

However, Xia Gong suspected that there was a group of smaller fish lurking in the base behind this fish.

The fish are now baiting the area, so if you're going to fish, catch them all at once. There's no need to pick one out and then rearrange the fishing to catch the other small fish.

Xia Gong didn't have that much time to play house with them.

Soon, Zhu Zhili arrived at the courtyard.

Xia Gong beckoned Zhu Zhili to sit down across the stone table and then said leisurely:
"Xiao Zhu, you personally trained Comrade Huang Qian. I plan to entrust you with the task of coordinating with her from now on."

Zhu Zhili looked at Xia Gong with a sense of flattery and surprise. She had only been in the base area for a short time, and Xia Gong had actually entrusted her with such an important task. This kind of trust was something Zhu Zhili had never experienced when she was in the Military Intelligence Bureau!

Overwhelmed with emotion, Zhu Zhili stood up abruptly, saluted the Duke of Xia, and solemnly said:

"Please rest assured, sir, I will definitely complete this task."

With a gentle smile, Lord Xia picked up a stack of intelligence reports from the table and handed them to Zhu Zhili:
"This is the intelligence that Comrade Huang Qian collected in Shanghai. Comrade Huang Qian has lived up to expectations, and the mission is progressing very well. Next, the two of you should work together to find out as soon as possible where the Zhenxingqi Society has hidden those national treasures. These are the treasures of our Dragon Kingdom, and they must not fall into the hands of people with ulterior motives, let alone foreign invaders!"

"Yes, I promise to complete the mission!"

Shanghai, Wusong Road Special Higher Police Section.

After receiving Xia Gong's reply, Zhao Xuan immediately called Shimura Nitta in.

Xia Gong's reply was simple: since they were pawns of the Military Intelligence Bureau, Zhao Xuan could act as he saw fit, but within his capabilities, Xia Gong hoped that Zhao Xuan could spare the lives of these patriots.

With the reopening of the Sheshan Research Institute, Zhao Xuan knew that if these people were not dead but merely arrested, they would be temporarily detained in Tilanqiao Prison after a period of interrogation.

As long as they are in Tilanqiao Prison, their lives are not in immediate danger.

As long as I don't get taken to Sheshan, it's fine.

Zhao Xuan was confident that he could bring the Sheshan project to a standstill again before these people were transferred to Sheshan.

Since Lord Xia hoped to spare their lives within his own power, Zhao Xuan naturally accepted this small request.

As Shimura Nitta entered, Huang Qian and Lin Jieru obediently stood on either side of Zhao Xuan.

Shimura Nitta looked at Zhao Xuan with some curiosity. In the past two days, the relationship between Zhao Xuan and Aizawa Keiko had become somewhat delicate, which made Shimura Nitta very worried.

Ultimately, they were all trained by the Lanze family. Although they have now been transferred to Zhao Xuan's subordinates by Lanze Huizi, Shimura Nitta still hopes that Zhao Xuan can get along well with Lanze Huizi. In fact, Shimura Nitta would like to see Zhao Xuan become a member of the Lanze family.

"Section Chief, what can I do for you?"

Zhao Xuan slightly raised his head to look at Shimura Nitta, who was bowing and standing in front of the desk:
"We just received intelligence that a group of Kuomintang agents from various parts of Central China will hold a secret meeting at 3 p.m. today."

"I called you here today, of course, for their sake."

Shimura Nitta's eyes lit up. Capturing these enemy agents was not the point of merit; honor was what they valued most.

As retainers, no matter how much merit they accumulated, it was useless; but honor was what gave them the prestige to be promoted in the Lanze family.

Shimura Nitta's ability to become the leader of the group of assassins dispatched by the Aizawa family to Shanghai speaks volumes about his pursuit of honor.

As for where Zhao Xuan got the information, that was not Shimura Nitta's concern. He only wanted to capture the enemy agents Zhao Xuan mentioned as soon as possible.

Upon hearing this, a look of surprise flashed across Lin Jieru's eyes.

Today, from the moment Zhao Xuan arrived at the Special Higher Police Department, she sat in the office the whole time, drinking three cups of tea, all of which she poured herself.

It wasn't that Lin Jieru didn't want Huang Qian to pour tea for Zhao Xuan; it was that she was genuinely afraid Huang Qian might have a moment of madness and poison Zhao Xuan.

So how did Zhao Xuan, who always sits in his office, obtain the intelligence?
Could it be that you already had the information and were just waiting for the right time to reveal it?

Huang Qian had no good feelings towards the Kuomintang secret police. Perhaps, comrades who came from the base areas had no good feelings towards the Kuomintang secret police.

After all, they had access to a great deal of intelligence in the base areas, and they had heard the most about the Kuomintang's assassinations of our party comrades. It was almost impossible for them to have any goodwill towards the Kuomintang's people.

This is why Huang Qian felt nothing when she heard Zhao Xuan's words; she only subconsciously thought that this group of Kuomintang agents were in big trouble falling into the hands of Zhao Xuan, this big traitor!

"Can we keep this operation secret?"

Zhao Xuan's sudden remark stunned Shimura Nitta.

It must be kept secret, meaning that even Aizawa Keiko cannot be informed.

After struggling with his conscience for a while, Shimura Nitta's determination for honor ultimately prevailed over his loyalty to Aizawa Keiko.

Anyway, Lan Zehuizi has already packed them up and sent them to Zhao Xuan. Being loyal to Zhao Xuan is practically the same as being loyal to Lan Zehuizi. There's nothing wrong with that!

"Please rest assured, Section Chief, no one is better at keeping secrets than us."

"Okay, at lunchtime, gather everyone together in the alley next to Randall Restaurant."

After Shimura Nitta left, Zhao Xuan stood up, put on his trench coat, and looked at Lin Jieru and Huang Qian standing to the side:
"Lin Jieru, come out with me for a bit."

Huang Qian opened her mouth, wondering what was going on. Shouldn't she, as Zhao Xuan's secretary, be by his side? Why did Zhao Xuan ask Lin Jieru to go out but not her?
Lin Jieru gave Huang Qian a rather subtle look, which Zhao Xuan perceived as a cryptic gesture, and then went out with Zhao Xuan, leaving Huang Qian alone in the office, feeling lost and helpless.

A few minutes after Zhao Xuan left, Lan Zehuizi pushed open the door and entered. Seeing Huang Qian in the office, she asked curiously:
"Secretary Huang? Where's Ah Xuan?"

Huang Qian sighed helplessly:

"Reporting to the section chief, Section Chief Zhao and Assistant Lin just went out. I don't know what they went there for, and they didn't call me."

There was a hint of tattling involved, and Huang Qian also thought that Lan Zehui would probably go to find Zhao Xuan after she found out, and maybe she would take her along.

But Aizawa Keiko only paused slightly, then smiled and went straight to Zhao Xuan's office and sat down, seemingly neither in a hurry nor curious about what Zhao Xuan had gone out to do.

After Huang Qian made Lan Zehui a cup of tea, she stood to the side and watched for a while before finally unable to resist asking:

"Section Chief, aren't you going to see Section Chief Zhao?"

Lan Zehui glanced at Huang Qian and smiled calmly:
“Ah Xuan must have important business to attend to when he goes out, so I won’t go and cause him any trouble. I have nothing else to do anyway, so I’ll wait for him to come back here.”

Huang Qian silently lowered her head, inwardly cursing: Lan Ze is such a simp! He'll end up with nothing!
Huang Qian was actually a little worried about Lin Jieru, and suspected that Zhao Xuan had taken a fancy to Lin Jieru. Otherwise, why would Zhao Xuan leave his secretary behind and let Lin Jieru follow him instead?
But to be fair, Lin Jieru is indeed pretty, but she's not quite as pretty as Dao Yan. Huang Qian thought to herself, Zhao Xuan wouldn't really be interested in Lin Jieru, would he?

Is it true that wildflowers smell sweeter than garden flowers?

But Lin Jieru is a member of our party. How could she possibly develop feelings for a major traitor? Could Zhao Xuan have gone mad after his unsuccessful pursuit of Lin Jieru?

Huang Qian shivered slightly, then couldn't help but glance at Lan Zehui, who was fiddling with the gadgets on Zhao Xuan's desk.

"Section Chief, Section Chief Zhao went out with Assistant Lin. Do you think Section Chief Zhao wouldn't be..."

Before she could finish speaking, Huang Qian's meaning was already clear. A flash of malice crossed Lan Zehui's eyes as she turned to look at Huang Qian and said in an icy voice:
"If you dare to talk about Ah Xuan behind his back again, I think the Huangpu River won't miss your bait!"

Huang Qian gave an awkward smile and silently took two steps back. This time, she dared not say anything more.

However, Aizawa Keiko began to ponder deeply what Huang Qian had just said.

Could it be that Ah Xuan has really fallen for Lin Jie Ru?

impossible!
Although her looks and figure couldn't compare to Dao Yan's, what did Lin Jieru have to offer in comparison?
It's just a tablet, why would Zhao Xuan be interested in it?
However, on second thought, Lan Zehuizi felt that if Zhao Xuan really took a liking to Lin Jieru, that would be good too. It would also prove that Zhao Xuan was at least not wholeheartedly devoted to Dao Yan, which would greatly increase her chances.

With mixed feelings, Lan Zehuizi had no intention of staying there to wait for Zhao Xuan to return. After slowly getting up, she took one last look at Huang Qian and left the Intelligence Advisory Section.

"baffling!"

Huang Qian muttered a slight complaint and quickly walked to the window, hoping to spot Zhao Xuan and Lin Jieru on the street outside.

At this moment, Zhao Xuan had already brought Lin Jieru to Fuzhou Road.

The time is 10:20 AM.

Zhao Xuan led Lin Jieru directly into Shenglai Teahouse, ordered a private room close to the street, and waited for the tea and snacks to be served. Then, Zhao Xuan got up and walked to the window, watching the people coming and going on the street.

This is the time when people go out to buy groceries, and the streets are bustling with activity.

(End of this chapter)