Spy Wars: Return of the Red Luan

Chapter 146 Arrangements Before September 18

As September 18th approached, Chen Jiehua began to feel anxious and couldn't sleep at night. That night was no different; he got up alone and went to his study, staring blankly at the map of China on the wall.

At this juncture, the Kuomintang's leader, after stepping down, returned to power, and amidst internal strife and the troop deployment to attack the organization's base, the Kwantung Army and the Army General Staff really know how to pick their timing.

The first piece of news was that in February, the bald man placed Guo Party elder Hu Hanmin under house arrest in Tangshan, which led to signs of another split within the Guo Party. In April, Lin Sen, Gu Yingfen, and others jointly issued a telegram impeaching the bald man for "illegally breaking the law and betraying the country," and the anti-bald man faction, including Wang Jingwei, Sun Ke, and Chen Jitang, began to stir.

The second piece of news was that the bald man was preparing to personally command his troops in preparation for the fourth encirclement and suppression campaign against the Central Soviet Area of ​​the Red Army in Jiangxi.

The third message came from Zhou Yongsu in the United States: due to the Great Depression, the government had no money, and the plan proposed by the U.S. Naval Affairs Committee to build two 2-ton aircraft carriers was rejected by Congress, with only one 1.38-ton light aircraft carrier, the USS Ranger, being approved.

Chen Jiehua called back to Lao Zhou, controlling the focus of the information and amplifying the news that the US Congress had rejected the aircraft carrier, so that it would be known to the Japanese Naval General Staff agents.

The fourth piece of news is that Zhao Shiyu in the Northeast can no longer hold back. Based on a long period of scattered information, he deduces that the Japanese Kwantung Army is about to take action. Please give instructions on the next steps.

Chen Jiehua could only tell Zhao Shiyu, the old cat, to calm down. Gu Shunzhang, this time bomb, had just been defused, and he hadn't yet had the chance to cause trouble for the Kwantung Army.

With so many things to do, and Kawashima Yoshiko still missing and nowhere to be found; I also want to go to Nanjing as soon as possible to lure Zhao Yiyue over; and Liu Junze's "Dark Cloud Plan" still needs to be pushed forward.

Difficult.

Let's take it one step at a time. First, send Lao Liu to the Marine Corps, then go to Nanjing, and finally arrange things in the Northeast. It seems I can't get involved in the two things on Baldy's side.

After thinking about his worries, Chen Jiehua finally fell asleep.

The next morning, Chen Jiehua and Meixu arrived at the Aoki Agency and arranged for Higuchi Keishiro to allocate personnel to cooperate with Obata Kazuki's operation, extending the Aoki Agency's reach to Nanjing. If there weren't enough personnel, they would request more from headquarters; the next step was to advance into North China, which would require even more manpower.
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Dividing line —
On Friday, May 15, 1931 (the 20th year of the Republic of China, the 6th year of Showa), the graduation examination for the special class of the East Asia Tongwen Academy was held. Rear Admiral Takashi Aoki, Commander-in-Chief of the First Overseas Fleet of the Japanese Navy, was present to select outstanding graduates for the Marine Corps.

This special class was highly competitive, with the assessment and combat being very close. In the end, 12 trainees with outstanding overall abilities or outstanding individual performances were recognized by Major General Aoki and entered the Marine Corps. The remaining members were all selected to join Aoki's organization to fill the personnel shortage in Aoki's Shanghai office. Everyone was happy.

On May 25, the Guangdong and Guangxi forces, led by Tang Shaoyi, along with Wang Jingwei, Lin Sen, Li Zongren, Chen Jitang, Sun Ke, and others, jointly sent a telegram to the Guangtou (Liu Bei) demanding that he step down within 48 hours. Guangtou ignored the telegram, and on May 28, the Guangzhou National Government was established.

Local power factions within the Kuomintang who opposed the "bald-headed" faction rallied together, the Southwest faction grew stronger, and a standoff between Nanjing and Guangdong was formed.
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Dividing line —
On May 29, Chen Jiehua changed into civilian clothes, picked up the identity documents he had used in Germany again, used the alias Ye Fei, and took a train to Nanjing.

The train arrived at Jinling Xiaguan Railway Station in the evening, but business was still booming outside the station. Small vendors crowded the exit, and their calls filled the air. Chen Jiehua chose a firewood wonton stall, ordered a bowl of wontons, and chatted with the owner while waiting for the wontons.

"Boss, business is good! What time do you usually work?" (Nanjing dialect)
"Sigh, let's not talk about it. The police are chasing people everywhere. I just ate two people yesterday, and they happened to run into the secret agents arresting people. The two little brats ran away without paying."

"Are spies arresting people every day?"

"Shh, don't talk nonsense. Are you some out-of-towner? Don't talk about spies in Nanjing, or you'll be arrested as a Communist. Here you go, the wontons are ready. Oh, do you want some chili oil?"

"Let's add some."

What time is it? 1931, why is Bald Head so desperately arresting Communists? Never mind, let's not cause any more trouble, let's finish eating quickly and head to the pharmacy's main branch. Chen Jiehua rushed Obata Kazuki over to open the pharmacy in early May, just to have an excuse to come to Nanjing. Otherwise, what would a naval rear admiral like himself be doing secretly running off to Nanjing, the capital of the Republic of China? Looking for death?

Now, under the guise of conducting unannounced visits and surprise inspections of the Jinling Pharmacy network, although they cannot investigate in detail, they can now gain a foothold on the surface.

The location of the Nanjing General Pharmacy was basically decided when Lao Mao Zhao Shiyu visited Nanjing last time. It was chosen to be located in the southern section of Jinling Matai Street, near the Dingjiaqiao Guodang Party Headquarters, which is the location of the Party Affairs Investigation Office.

When Chen Jiehua arrived at the main pharmacy on Matai Street, the shop was already closed. Chen Jiehua used a secret signal to knock on the door, startling Obata Kazuki and Aotoji. "Holy crap, you big boss are going on an incognito visit? What are you up to?"
"Have you received the news that the Kuomintang (KMT) is experiencing internal strife and a split? Do you have the specific details and the KMT leadership's plans?"

"Yes, Aoki-kun, not yet." Obata Kazuki was a little guilty. He had been here for almost a month and hadn't gotten any useful information. Chen Jiehua's question made him even more nervous.

"Baka! All you do is hang out with Qing Teng Er! You don't gather intelligence, your business is barely thriving, and how many people have you recruited with Run Fast?"

Obata Kazuki was almost in tears from all the questions. Why are you bringing up the very thing you don't want to talk about? You're just picking on my weaknesses! But it seems like Aoto and I don't have any strengths either?
"Let me put it this way for you, even if you run fast, you won't hire many people, right? People in Nanjing are wealthy, nobody wants to do such hard work as running fast, is that right?"

"Yes, yes, Aoki-kun is absolutely right!"

"Nonsense! Every city has poor people! With your laziness, next time I'll bring you back to base in the Izumo."

"No, Aoki-kun, I don't want to go back."

“Your uncle entrusted you to me, and I feel like he’s led you astray! I won’t be able to explain this to him when he goes back.”

"No, no, I just sent a telegram home yesterday saying that I'm doing very well here and that Aoki-kun is very kind to me."

Chen Jiehua rolled her eyes at Obata Kazuki, "At least you have a conscience!"

I'm picking on your weaknesses just to find out if you've already told your uncle, so you won't be exposed when you meet Obata Toshiro in the Northeast.

"Please register here. Major General Aoki entered Jinling under the guise of secretly investigating the progress of the pharmacy company's network. His real purpose is to try to gather intelligence on the high-ranking members of the Jinling Guo Party in order to find opportunities for the Empire."

"Aoki-kun personally gathered intelligence on Jinling? To find opportunities for the Empire? You're incredibly dedicated!"

"Stop flattering me, just record it when I tell you to!"

"No matter how weak the Kuomintang was, it was still a ferocious beast. The Empire must find its weakness. A fortress is always destroyed from within, understand?"

"Obata understands!"

(End of this chapter)