Spy Wars: Return of the Red Luan

Chapter 124 The Fat Man Catches a Maid

As Chen Jiehua drove, he continued to remind Old Cat Zhao Shiyu, "Because of the existence of the Tufeiyuan organization, you and your comrades in the organization should not have any proactive contact unless absolutely necessary."

"You can directly use the cash flow from Shanghai to start up the chain pharmacy. You don't need to worry about the medicines; I will arrange for the navy to deliver them to the dock. You just need to oversee the rapid expansion, and all the profits will go to Chai Shan. If you encounter any difficulties from the army, you can directly ask Chai Shan to step in and resolve them."

"You're making me work so hard to make money for the Japanese Navy, what's your purpose? Can you reveal it? I'm very curious."

"Curiosity killed the cat, and you happen to be an old cat, so I suggest you don't be curious and just do as I say. I will definitely tell you when the time is right."

The car arrived at the gate of the Marine Corps headquarters, and the guard quickly saluted and let it through. Inside the compound, a team of 12 Marine Corps soldiers were already waiting. Chen Jiehua led Zhao Shiyu out of the car.

"Brothers in the Marine Corps, this is Mr. Zhao Shiyu, the president of the Manchurian branch of Aoki Chain Pharmacy Co., Ltd., an outstanding graduate of the Imperial Army Officer Academy, and my chief steward. I am now entrusting him to you. Please ensure his safety. Thank you!"

"Hi!"

There's no other way; to minimize your contact with the comrades from Northeast China, we've assigned you a small squad of bodyguards!

In the Marine Corps telegraph room, Chen Jiehua directed the telegraph operator to send a telegram to the Naval Command: The head of the pharmacy in Manchuria has been arranged and will depart immediately. The start-up funds have been prepared. Please arrange for the first batch of medicines and the pharmacy head to depart for Manchuria as soon as possible.

Damn it, I'm really worried sick, like a nanny. I'm assigning my most capable assistant to help you make money. You need to put the construction of the "Yamato Hotel" on the agenda as soon as possible!
In the afternoon, the Asahi Shimbun published a front-page headline featuring a documentary interview written by Hotsumi Ozaki titled "A Rising Star on the Road to Empire: An Interview with Takashi Aoki, President of Aoki Chain Pharmacy Co., Ltd.", bringing Takashi Aoki's name back into the public eye.

President Aoki was very satisfied with the interview and specially invited the chief reporter, Mr. Hotsumi Ozaki, to dinner. He also sent a telegram to the headquarters of the Asahi Shimbun in his capacity as an army colonel and navy colonel to express his praise and gratitude, thanking the Asahi Shimbun for its exemplary role as a news media on the road to the rise of the empire!
As a result, Colonel Aoki Takashi regarded Mr. Ozaki Hotsumi as his only confidant in life, and often took him to Japanese clubs, naval clubs and various social gatherings.

In mid-June, Aoki Seigen's younger brother, Aoki Seiji, graduated from the military academy. Aoki Qiao told him to go find Uncle Okamura or Uncle Obata and drink water from behind the crows first.

In early September, news came from the Naval General Staff that, through the mediation of Kinmochi Saionji and Keisuke Okada, the House of Representatives, the House of Peers, and the Military Senate had finally passed the London Naval Treaty, and the fleet faction had achieved almost all of its planned objectives!

On September 9, Aoki Takashi brought back a maid named Aoto Roku from Tokyo to Shanghai. Unable to endure Fujiwara Mio's beatings and the daily drills at the Tongwen Academy, she escaped from the academy and sailed to Manchuria, where she sought refuge with her cousin who was working in a unit of the Kwantung Army in Harbin.

Qing Teng Liu was targeted when she disembarked at Lushun Port. When she arrived at Harbin Station by train, she was greeted not by her cousin, but by Tu Feiyuan, the head of the Harbin Special Service Agency.

Doi-man "warmly" received the maid from the Aoki family who had escaped from Shanghai in the interrogation room. Doi-man only showed her some of the special torture instruments before extracting the information he wanted from Aoto Roku.

"The intelligence came too easily, as if Aoki Takashi had delivered it to us willingly."

"Your Excellency, are you saying that this maid, Qing Teng Liu, was deliberately sent by Qing Mu Qiao? So, you're saying that everything she said was a lie?"

The person speaking to Doi-Yuan was Tani-Ogina Kao, the head of the Telecommunications Section, who was also Aoki Takashi's classmate at Rikudai. "What she said is all true. The naval fleet's May meeting is no big secret. I already knew the content of the meeting. This maid, Aoto Roku, was indeed one of the maids who served in Prince Hirokō's household at that time. It's also no secret that Aoki Takashi left Tokyo by ship with nine maids."

"I also know that when he arrived in Shanghai, in addition to arranging for Qing Teng Er to go to his Qingmu Pharmacy flagship store, the others were indeed sent to Tongwen Academy for secret training, and two of them were rotated to serve at his home every month. This Qing Teng Liu was on duty in September."

"Since everything is true, why do you suspect there's something wrong with it?"

"Your classmate, Aoki Qiao, is no ordinary person. He is the grandson of Master Aoki. I've already suffered two hidden losses at his hands!"

"How could someone like that make such a basic mistake, allowing his maid to escape from Shanghai to Manchuria, and then coincidentally come into our sights?"

"He doesn't act like a secret agent at all. He does everything in a high-profile manner. The open-text telegram a while ago was the act of a complete naive fool. But what happened? He was recalled to Tokyo as he wished, and the timing was so coincidental, just in time for the Navy's debate in the Cabinet!"

"It seems like a wild and unrealistic idea, yet it's done so without leaving a trace. Not only did it turn danger into safety, but it also achieved all its objectives. Moreover, it got in touch with the core of the fleet faction in the Naval General Staff. Anyone who can attend a meeting at Prince Bo Gong's residence must be at least a vice admiral!"

"I still don't understand why you think that this maid, Qing Teng Liu, was deliberately sent by Qing Mu Qiao."

"That's because you don't know his deeds. Last year's 'Hopeless Operation' was to bring him back! And what happened? He and Fujiwara Mio drove a truck safely to the border and returned to headquarters! Meanwhile, our Manchurian agency lost 70% of its manpower!"

"Well done! A feint attack and a diversionary tactic!"

"I knew Zhao Shiyu when he first opened his pharmacy. I knew he existed, and he knew I knew he existed! But he still sent people over in a big way!"

"I was worried that Aoki was just setting a trap, so I didn't dare to touch Zhao Shiyu. But what happened? Zhao Shiyu and Shibayama Masao cooperated and occupied all the cities in Manchuria and Rehe in three months!"

"Then we can go and catch him now! We can seize the entire pharmacy!"

"Are you stupid?! If you want to die, don't drag me down with you! All the profits from this pharmacy go to the Navy! Now even the Army Headquarters has to give them leeway. You want to arrest him? Tomorrow your corpse will be floating in Lushun Bay!"

"Therefore, I believe that the person who can orchestrate such a scheme is definitely not the person he is in front of us now! Everyone could be a pawn in his game, and every move he makes may have a special purpose!"

"Aoki, Aoki, what is your purpose in sending this little maid to me?"

(End of this chapter)