Spy Wars: Return of the Red Luan

Chapter 158 The Second Plaintext Telegram

On the night of June 8, after sending the telegram, Hotsumi Ozaki carefully hid the report and the telegraph machine before going to sleep.

Zhao Yiyue, standing outside, was still wondering what the Japanese Prime Minister's secretary was doing. Sending a telegram? Why is it taking so long? Why the hell aren't you asleep yet? I'm so anxious!

Finally, after the prime minister's secretary fell asleep, Zhao Yiyue sneaked into Ozaki Hotsumi's house and stole the report.

Even with his excellent Japanese, Zhao Yiyue spent over three hours reading the 180-page report, and he became increasingly alarmed as he read, wiping away tears as he went. "I knew it, you're Brother Hua, you really are Brother Hua! I know it was hard for you to pretend, but you kept it from me for so long! So hard! Waaah~"

The truth has come to light. Zhao Yiyue believed what the Japanese didn't believe in this report.

Zhao Yiyue did not forget his mission. After reading the report, he composed himself and sent a telegram to Chen Jiehua at around 4 a.m.
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Shanghai during the Republic of China era, early morning of June 9th.

Chen Jiehua couldn't sleep and pondered all night. Suddenly, the secret light connecting the bedside telegraph machine to the secret room flickered. "Who would send me a telegram at this time? It's not at the agreed time, but it must be very important!"

Chen Jiehua scrambled to his feet and rushed into the secret room. After turning on the machine, he began receiving reports. Once finished, he translated: "Report received. Nagatomo is in solitary confinement. We can't kill him."

"Holy crap! You got the report! There's only one copy, it was just with Ozaki Hotsumi. You, Zhao Yiyue, didn't kill Ozaki, did you?"

"Holy crap! Holy crap! Holy crap!"

Chen Jiehua's hands trembled with nervousness, and he kept muttering curses under his breath.

After Chen Jiehua calmed down, he finally asked his first question: How did you get it? Did you kill anyone?
"Hey, this Brother Hua is acting strangely. Why isn't he concerned about what's written in the report, but instead asks if there was a murder?"

"Oh, I see. That secretary is most likely one of our own."

Reply: It was stolen, no one was touched.

Seeing this, Chen Jiehua finally breathed a sigh of relief. "Damn, you almost scared me to death."

Reply: Check if there is any information that could be fatal to the organization. If so, hide it immediately and wait for my reply; if not, quietly give the report to the Navy.

Upon receiving the call back, Zhao Yiyue thought about it. It seemed there was nothing wrong, but there was just too much information, so he had to go back and review it again. He read until dawn, confirming that there was nothing fatal, and then called back, "No."

After replying, Zhao Yiyue packed up the radio, took the report and went out to the Navy Department. Taking advantage of the early morning when no one was around, he quietly slipped it into the courtyard.
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After receiving the word "no," Chen Jiehua was basically relieved. It meant that Doihara and Nagatomo Tsuyoshi were nothing special; they hadn't investigated the core information and probably relied mostly on deduction.

Since it's already dawn and I can't sleep anyway, I might as well think about countermeasures, see how to amplify the impact, and how to sabotage this peace treaty between the Guangdong government and Japan.

Now that Doihara has sent the knife, it would be a disservice to you and Nagatomo Tsugio's hard work if we didn't make good use of such a good opportunity!

On the morning of the 10th, after a day and night of secret sailing, Chen Jiehua arrived at Guangzhou Port aboard the flagship Izumo, escorted by four frigates.

On the evening of the 9th, Chen Jiehua received a coded telegram from the Naval General Staff Headquarters via the flagship's shipborne radio:

The Kwantung Army's Doihara branch and the Military Police Command are extremely dissatisfied with the fact that all the profits from the large pharmacies in Manchuria are supplied to the Navy. They have jointly compiled the "Investigation Report on the Aoki Seigen Problem" with the intention of framing Major General Aoki. Please be careful, Aoki.

The navy has been so good to me, I feel a little embarrassed to take advantage of you all, but what can I do? This is such a good opportunity, it won't come again. After the five warships arrived in Guangzhou, Chen Jiehua did not disembark, but instead sent a plaintext telegram to Tokyo and the Kwantung Army through the flagship's shipborne radio.

Since it is in Japanese, the general meaning of the translation is as follows:

You son of a bitch Kenji Doihara, you vermin! I, Aoki Joe, fight on the front lines, risking my life for the Empire, and you, just because you're jealous of my rapid rank advancement, are spreading rumors and slandering me behind my back! I, Aoki Joe, will never let you get away with this!
Nagatomo Tsuji, please wash your neck clean and wait for me in Tokyo. I'll show you whether my Senju Inagi is sharp or not!
A telegram in plain text! He sent a telegram in plain text! That Aoki Joe sent a telegram in plain text again!

Being silly brings lots of joy.

The Tokyo General Headquarters, the Kwantung Army Headquarters, the Kwantung Army Military Police Headquarters, the Marine Corps Shanghai Command, and others all remained silent.

After three minutes of silence on radio stations worldwide, the sparks in the air started flying again, creating an uproar!
The Kwantung Army Headquarters' first reaction was to call Doihara's agency! They were to immediately destroy all investigation records and drafts, and deny everything!

At this time, Doi-maru was still on a passenger ship bound for Tokyo.

At the Doihara Agency in Manchuria, Taniguchi Hanao was urgently dispatched to order his subordinates to destroy all investigation records and manuscripts. Because the content was too extensive, totaling 180 pages, the agency chief was in a hurry to report to headquarters, so no copies were left as usual.

The current Chief of Staff of the Kwantung Army Headquarters was still Mitsuharu Miyake. Holding the telegram, he didn't know whether he should report to Lieutenant General Takashi Hishikari, the Commander-in-Chief.

When Kenji Doihara insisted on investigating Takashi Aoki, Chief of Staff Mitsuji Miyake and Section Chief Seishiro Itagaki both opposed it, but the Commander tacitly approved.

Now that this has happened, it would seem a bit like gloating if I took it myself. Oh well, he'll find out anyway. I'll just have my secretary deliver it.
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The cabinet ministers at the Japanese high command were somewhat dumbfounded. At this critical juncture, "Who gave him the news?"

"Gentlemen, you shouldn't be concerned about who gave him the information, but rather why the Kwantung Army presented that so-called investigation report at this particular time!"

"What are Kenji Doihara's objectives in the Kwantung Army? What exactly is Takashi Hishikari up to?"

"Minister Lu, shouldn't you go back and deal with this? What exactly is the Army's intention?"

"Your Excellency Prime Minister, shouldn't you be reprimanding Aoki Takashi first?"

"Reprimand him? At this time, Aoki-kun is in Guangzhou during the Republic of China era. He vented his frustrations after being wronged by your army, and you still want to reprimand him? Do you want to make this scandal known to the whole world so that everyone can laugh at the Empire?"

Duke Fujiwara has always been protective of his sons. Last time, his son-in-law was humiliated by the Marines and invented the coded telegraph. This time, his son-in-law has made such great efforts in the Republic of China without making a sound. He is about to facilitate the talks between the Empire and the Guangzhou National Government of the Republic of China. And now your army is causing trouble again.

"You still want to reprimand him? You should reprimand Kenji Doihara! You should reprimand Takashi Hishikari!"

"Alright, stop arguing. The most important thing right now is to get General Aoki to bring the Nationalist delegation back to headquarters as soon as possible."

"I suggest that Hishikari Takashi be transferred back to report on his work."

"Why did Aoki come to know the contents of that report during the Special Higher Police investigation?"

(End of this chapter)