Spy Wars: Return of the Red Luan

Chapter 133 Second Meeting with the Section Chief (Part 1)
On January 3, 1931 (the 20th year of the Republic of China), Gu Zhuxuan, a bigwig of the Green Gang, introduced his close friend Gu Shunzhang to Obata Kazuki, the president of the Shanghai branch of Aoki Chain Pharmacy Co., Ltd., and warmly invited President Obata and his wife to a banquet at Gu's mansion.

On January 4, Aoki Takashi met with Aotoji at the East Asia Tongwen Academy.

"Master, the interior of the Gu Mansion is extremely luxurious. The floors are made of white marble, the walls are inlaid with black mosaic tiles, and Western-style clocks and other decorations are everywhere. The chandeliers are magnificent, and the servants and maids are all dressed in uniform servant attire."

“What did they talk about? Just pick out the important parts.”

"We mainly discussed business cooperation. Gu Shunzhang wanted the operating rights of pharmacies in Zhabei District and promised Obata a kickback of five small yellow croakers per store per month."

"The pharmacy is holding off on giving it to him. Is there anything else?"

"They wanted Obata to introduce them to army or navy officers, hoping to make connections. Judging from their tone, they wanted to buy guns and ammunition."

"Go back now. Let Obata find a suitable time to introduce Miyazaki-kun to them. Take good care of Obata. I don't object to you liking him, but don't forget the task I gave you!"

"My subordinate understands!"

After Aoto left, Chen Jiehua discussed with Fujiwara Mio that it was time to arrange the next steps and make preparations in advance so as not to panic.

The first step was to arrange a "desensitization" test for the maid Qing Teng to confirm that she was not a spy from Prince Bo Gong's mansion. In reality, the probability of this was not high, since Prince Bo Gong did not know that he would say those things at the time, and his request for a maid from the prince was a spur-of-the-moment decision.

Perhaps, more likely, one of the maids was a spy planted in the Prince's residence by the Army or Navy treaty faction.

A month was enough time to send them out for "desensitization testing." During this period, the maids were separated: Qing Teng 1 stayed in Shanghai, Qing Teng 3 went to Nanjing, Qing Teng 4 went to Ningbo, Qing Teng 5 went to Wuhan, Qing Teng 8 went to Changsha, and Qing Teng 9 went to Chongqing.

Each maid was allocated a small amount of money to live as a commoner. Each maid was then randomly assigned to three groups of students from the East Asian Tongwen Academy to secretly monitor them 24 hours a day and keep records of their lives, treating it as an internship.

Result determination:

1. If any non-native strangers initiate contact, the desensitization process is deemed a failure. In case of doubt, the guilty party should be presumed guilty. Underground work must be rigorous and strict.

2. If any abnormal event occurs in the monitoring of a group of students, such as being arrested, falling ill, or leaving their posts, the desensitization is deemed a failure, and it is no longer important whether it was you or your master who caused the disruption.

The second step was for Chen Jiehua to reactivate the emergency frequency band, contact Mr. Wang Yong, and request a meeting to have a serious discussion in person.

However, the identity and context of the meeting still require careful consideration. Currently, he is a Japanese Navy Rear Admiral; casually meeting unofficial figures from the Republic of China era in Shanghai seems a bit out of place, especially with those fat, bloated men likely watching him.

Sigh, being promoted to major general has actually made many things more troublesome. Should I ask Yang Dengying for an introduction? The Kuomintang's Party Affairs Investigation Department has too poor a level of secrecy now, so that option won't work either.

If all else fails, they'll have to go in person; luckily, North Sichuan Road isn't far. That evening, after making contact via secret frequency, Section Chief Wang Yong considered that Hongluan rarely requested to meet, except for that one time when she rashly followed Meixu to find them.

The section chief agreed to meet, but the location was difficult to choose. Chen Jiehua specified the small building on North Sichuan Road. He would sneak over there secretly the next night, knock twice short and once long on the door, and ask the section chief to remove the nearby sentries. He was told not to let Gu notice.

Recklessness is reckless, but it has its advantages. As long as you can make sure there are no tails or dangers, and that no one else is around to see you, you're fine.

The following evening, Rear Admiral Aoki Takashi, commander-in-chief of the First Fleet dispatched overseas, hosted a banquet at the Naval Club. By 11:30 p.m., Rear Admiral Aoki had drunk too much again and was sent home by his wife and maid, Aoto Shichi. After washing up, he went to bed.

At 12:20, in the dead of night, Chen Jiehua put on his night clothes, which he hadn't worn in a long time, packed all his supplies into his storage space, climbed over the wall, went downstairs, and then climbed over the wall out of the villa. He arrived near a secret building on North Sichuan Road. After observing and waiting in the surrounding area for 10 minutes, he went to the door of the building, took out two suitcases, and knocked on the door with the agreed-upon code.

Section Chief Wang Yong had been waiting for a long time. He cocked his gun, opened the door a crack, and confirmed that it was that young, reckless fellow from last time. After pulling him in, the guy even dragged in two boxes! Two such heavy boxes! How did this guy get them? Strange, but never mind, now is not the time to think about that.

He closed the courtyard gate, went inside, and closed the main gate. Chen Jiehua calmed himself, feeling only the breathing of himself and Section Chief Wang Yong, and opened his arms to give Wang Yong a hug.

"Section Chief, don't turn on the lights. Move a chair and let's talk here. I can hear what's going on outside from here. There are a few very important things that, for the sake of confidentiality, can only be discussed verbally. We can't send telegrams or use the mailbox."

"Okay." Although it was dark, the section chief knew the way well and brought over two stools. The two sat down, and Chen Jiehua listened to the sounds outside.

"The first thing is that the Japanese have wolfish ambitions. The Kwantung Army is plotting the independence of Manchuria in Northeast China, which is actually a desire to occupy the entire Northeast!"

"Intelligence gathering is my weakness, but I figured this out by analyzing the actions of their General Staff Headquarters and the subtle clues from the various operations of the Kwantung Army!"

"Please be sure to convey this to Leader No. 5. We must take this seriously and make plans in advance. Comrades in Northeast Manchuria and Rehe Province should hide as deeply as possible. Those who cannot hide or feel they are being watched should evacuate to the interior of China or the Soviet Union as soon as possible! The Kwantung Army will definitely make a big move in six months at the earliest, and no later than the end of this year."

"Why should we evacuate? The more the Japanese try to occupy the territory, the more we must stop them and sabotage them!"

"Section Chief, it's not as simple as you think. Right now, it's because the forces over there are complicated, the Northeast Army is still around, and the Japanese are hesitant to act rashly."

"Once they bare their fangs and prepare to occupy the country, they will completely open up the market. Their way of doing things is to kill the innocent rather than let the guilty go free. As long as you are Chinese, if they have even the slightest suspicion, they will arrest you and torture you, no matter who you are."

At this point, Chen Jiehua thought, "Let's not talk about 731; even if we did, the section chief wouldn't believe us. We just have to find a way to nip it in the bud, not let it grow! The epidemic prevention and water supply unit absolutely cannot be allowed to exist!"

"If that's the case, then it's really troublesome. Arresting one person might lead to the arrest of a whole string of others. Okay, I'll report this to you promptly and we'll discuss a solution."

"Comrade Old Cat, I've already arranged for him to be stationed in Northeast China. His official identity is the president of the Manchurian branch of Aoki Chain Pharmacy Co., Ltd., assisting the Japanese Navy in controlling the pharmacy system in Northeast China. This identity is very important, so you should remember it and inform Number Five."

(End of this chapter)