Spy Wars: Return of the Red Luan

Chapter 175 The Last Efforts Before the Battle
In late August, Ozaki Hotsumi finally managed to secure a position as a squad leader in the South Manchuria Railway Investigation Department for his friend Nakanishi Koji through family connections, extending the squad's reach into the South Manchuria Railway and completing the task assigned by Chen Jiehua.

In reality, Chen Jiehua, limited by his historical knowledge, was unaware of Ozaki Hotsumi's abilities; he simply knew that such a person existed.

Hotsumi Ozaki was a member of the Japanese nobility. His ancestor, Masanobu Kusunoki, died in battle protecting the Emperor. His statue is located on the southeast side of the outer garden of the Tokyo Imperial Palace. Chen Jiehua passed by several times but never noticed it.

Therefore, thanks to his family background and progressive ideas, Hotsumi Ozaki got to know Chinese writers such as Lu Xun and Wang Xuewen, and through Chung-Nishi Kō, he also got to know Ansai Koji, Nishiri Tatsuo, Shirai Yukiyuki and others who were studying at the East Asia Tongwen Academy.

Hotsumi Ozaki's small team was full of talented people, but she did not inform Chen Jiehua of all of them, nor did she inform her team members of Chen Jiehua's existence.

Why? Because in Ozaki's mind, Chen Jiehua was a very strange person. When Sorge introduced Chen Jiehua to him, he did not explain Chen Jiehua's identity clearly, only saying that he was a "trustworthy comrade".

Similarly, apart from that interview in Shanghai, Chen Jiehua's interactions with Ozaki were always brief and fleeting. In addition, Chen Jiehua's public identity was that of a powerful figure in the navy, but he acted "entirely based on feelings and preferences," and his use of plain text telegrams terrified Ozaki.

This beautiful misunderstanding has led to the current situation. Chen Jiehua is unaware of how many comrades Ozaki has, and Ozaki is also unaware of Chen Jiehua's true identity. He is only helping Chen Jiehua because of his trust in Sorge.
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In early September, Doihara arrived at the headquarters of the Kwantung Army in Lushun. In the interrogation room of the prison, he saw a row of corpses, and the prison was being used as a temporary morgue.

The manner of death for all the victims was similar: they all died from knife wounds, struck or stabbed in vital areas by samurai swords, leaving no time for treatment.

What kind of investigation is this? This is clearly the swordsmanship of a ronin! It's someone from the Navy! Contact Shibayama Masao to come and see if it was one of your people who did it.

Shibayama Masao happened to be supervising the unloading of cargo at Lushun Port. He rushed to the Kwantung Army Headquarters, took a quick look, and replied directly, "Impossible, he's not from the Navy. Apart from officers, none of the Navy personnel in Manchuria carry swords!"

"The navy personnel are either at various pharmacies or escorting medicines and silver dollars to different places. We don't even have enough people for ourselves, where would we find the time and energy to do this?"

Kenji Doihara noticed that Masao Shibayama's expression didn't seem fake, and thinking about it, it made sense; the Navy only had so many people, they didn't have the energy for that.

Who could it be? Aoki Seigen again? That's not like him at all!
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Although Chen Jiehua was in Shanghai, he collected intelligence and summarized information every day, and kept a close eye on the domestic military situation. In September 1931 (the 20th year of the Republic of China), the military situation continued to deteriorate.

Although Yan Xishan's troops in Shanxi were eventually suppressed and did not rebel, Ji Hongchang, stationed in Xinyang, Henan, maintained frequent contact with Guangzhou and was at risk of rebellion at any time; the Nationalist government's troops in Guangzhou had already advanced into Hunan; and Lei Zhongtian and Ma Wenche in Gansu staged a mutiny and seized power in Gansu.

Feeling powerless to change the domestic situation, Chen Jiehua decided to use Ozaki's network in Tokyo to leak the news that the Kwantung Army would launch an uprising on September 28 to the conservatives.

During a break in a cabinet meeting on September 12, Hotsumi Ozaki pretended to mutter to herself, "Is the Kwantung Army really preparing to attack? If this war really breaks out, won't the domestic economic situation be even worse? Sigh."

Prime Minister Wakatsuki Reijiro overheard Ozaki's mutterings, "Ozaki-kun, you've heard about it too?"

"Yes, it's all over Tokyo. They're saying the Army sent Honjo Shigeru there to prepare for war."

The Prime Minister went to speak with Foreign Minister Kijuro Shidehara. The Foreign Minister, a staunch conservative opposed to military action, spoke first at the following meeting, questioning Army Minister Jiro Minami, "Are the rumors true? Is there any truth to them? Are you planning to launch an attack without the Cabinet's approval?" Army Minister Minami, caught off guard, quickly replied, "No, absolutely not!"

The Minister of the Army vehemently denied it, and no one else could press the matter further.

After the meeting, Minami Jiro did not go home, but went directly to the Army General Staff Headquarters to find the Chief of the General Staff, his fellow townsman Kanaya Hanzo, and ask him about the truth of the matter.

The two felt that the domestic situation was not yet ripe and that it was not a good time to take action. After some discussion, they decided to send an observer, Kenkawa Yoshiji, to Manchuria to investigate. If the matter was true, Kenkawa Yoshiji would be responsible for dissuading the perpetrator.

Unfortunately, Kenkawa Yoshiji knew about this and supported Itagaki Seishiro. So, on the 15th, Kenkawa Yoshiji deliberately did not take a plane or a boat directly to Lushun. Instead, he took the slowest route, the cheapest route favored by the domestic army and pioneers: a ferry to Busan, and then a train from Busan to Fengtian.

On the other side, a messenger sent by Kenkawa Yoshiji before his departure traveled by boat and arrived in Lushun on the 17th to report to Itagaki Seishiro and Ishihara Kanji.

The two found Doihara and discussed the matter overnight, deciding to take action ahead of schedule, as there was no time to wait any longer, so they decided to do it tomorrow!

September 18, Liutiaohu section of the South Manchuria Railway.
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Before the September 18 Incident, Chen Jiehua finally achieved his initial goal and barely completed the establishment of the intelligence network.

Firstly, domestically, the Northeast was the first to be affected, leaving behind Qing Teng Liu, and Qing Teng Qi, who had infiltrated the Fengtian Special Service Agency, whose identity remains to be verified, plus Zhong Xigong, who had just infiltrated the South Manchuria Railway.

In addition, there were the Northeast police led by Gao Shuguang and Guan Yuheng's troops, as agreed upon with Zhang Xiaoliu. These forces, if integrated, would be sufficient for future intelligence gathering and sabotage operations in the Northeast.

Next is Shanghai, where I will be in charge, with Fujiwara Mio and Beifeng Liu Junze assisting me.

In North China, with Zhu Huiwu and Lao Xiong's overt connections and Yang Dengying's covert connections, my strength in North China is sufficient to resist the infiltration of the Doihara Organization.

In Jinling, Old Cat Zhao Shiyu has arrived.

In the mountain city, Zhao Yiyue, the longbowman, also successfully carried out his work.

Finally, overseas, in the United States, Zhou Yongsu's small team is developing very successfully.

In Japan, there's Hidemi Ozaki's small team, though Chen Jiehua only knows of Ozaki. Additionally, his "younger brother," Aoki Aoki, is also an asset, working alongside Obata Toshishiro. Chen Jiehua's relationship with Obata Toshishiro is strange; they exchange "hostages," indicating a deep-seated bond.

Despite not being Sorge's own team, which included Europe and the Soviet Union, the members were bound by fate and had a friendship forged through many life-and-death experiences. They would occasionally help each other out and exchange intelligence, so there were never any major problems.

Since history cannot be changed, let's bring it on! I'm ready!
(End of this chapter)