Spy Wars: Return of the Red Luan

Chapter 178 Assigning Teacher Wang a Task
In mid-December, within Japan, the Wakatsuki Reijiro cabinet, deemed too weak and unable to prevent the Kwantung Army's military operations, collectively resigned.

Inukai Tsuyoshi was preparing to form a cabinet. In order to gain the support of the navy, Inukai Tsuyoshi asked Army Minister Araki Sadao to send a telegram, requesting the Doihara Agency to withdraw from North China and cede its territory to the Aoki Agency and the Bansai Mansion.

Yang Dengying, who had lost his focus for a while, didn't know what to do with these people, so he telegraphed Chen Jiehua for instructions.

In fact, Chen Jiehua did not expect that the Doihara Organization would withdraw from North China. You, you bug, are so obedient?
Chen Jiehua thought for a moment and called Lao Yang back:

1. Closely monitor the movements of members of the Doihara organization, and execute those who come quietly on the spot.

Now we have even more reason to kill them, since you left and then came back.

2. Using Beijing and Tianjin as a fulcrum, and working with Zhu Huiwu to improve the layout of Rehe Province, the network of Daiyakusho Co., Ltd. will expand in two directions: vertical and southward, connecting with the East China region.

3. Select the most loyal members of the Kagoshima clan, reward them with travel expenses, and transfer them to Rehe Province to await orders.
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Dividing line —
On New Year's Day, 1932, Chen Jiehua telegraphed Zhao Yiyue and Zhao Shiyu, asking them to change their identities and secretly return to Shanghai. They were required to arrive before January 20th, as they had an important mission.

Because of Gu's defection last year, some of the original members of the Shanghai Special Branch were arrested, and others were evacuated. The head of the branch also went to the Hubei-Henan-Anhui Soviet Area after the September 18 Incident. Shanghai was short-handed and there were not many people who could be trusted, so they could only rely on these two old Zhaos.

In addition, last October, Chen Jiehua telegraphed Ozaki Hotsumi, asking him to investigate the background of Professor Wang Xuewen. However, Ozaki never replied. Chen Jiehua, who was short of manpower this time, remembered this and telegraphed Ozaki Hotsumi again:
Principal Fujiwara Mio has discovered Mr. Wang Xuewen's activities and his "Japanese-Chinese Struggle Alliance" organization at the school. Please confirm his background and identity. I have important matters to attend to in Shanghai and need to use my own people!

I've laid my cards on the table. I've found you. Stop pretending and join the team! Anyway, there's no record of this person in Chen Jiehua's memory. No record means no betrayal. We're desperately short-staffed right now, so let's get him on board and get him into the crew!

Later on, all I had to do was say hello to the section chief and tell him, "I've taken it by surprise. Please make a record of it."

Our Ozaki-kun was staring blankly at the telegraph machine at home, unable to escape it any longer. What to do? He decided to send a telegram to ask for the opinion of his team leader, Mr. Johnson.

Sorge was also in a bind when he received the telegram. "Your eyes are too sharp! How did you find out again? And what do you need so many men for? Aren't you afraid of being exposed?"
Sorge thought to himself, "Although Teacher Wang Xuewen is helping me, he originally belonged to the Shanghai Special Branch. However, the important leaders of the Shanghai Special Branch have all left, and it's questionable whether the successors even know about Chen Jiehua and Wang Xuewen. To be on the safe side, I can't contact the Shanghai Special Branch."

After much deliberation and discussion with Ms. Smedley, Sorge decided to confront Chen Jiehua and arrange a face-to-face meeting.
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Dividing line —
On the evening of January 2, Chen Jiehua met with Professor Wang Xuewen at Sorge's residence.

"You two talk, I'll go keep watch for you."

“Professor Wang Xuewen, it is a pleasure to meet you as a comrade on this occasion.”

"Although I was mentally prepared, I was still surprised, General Aoki."

"Let me formally introduce myself. This is Chen Jiehua from the Special Branch, codename Hongluan, the leader of the Devil Group. Welcome, Teacher Wang, to the team."

“Mr. Johnson just told me that there was a special person who had an important mission that needed to be carried out, and that you had taken a liking to Xuewen.”

He also used this to threaten Mr. Ozaki.

"Brother Zuo Liu, if you're going to keep watch, then do it properly. Eavesdropping is very impolite, and interrupting while eavesdropping is even more impolite, don't you understand? I'm just giving him a heads-up."

"Haha, getting back to the point, I can't be out for too long, so please tell me the mission."

"The war in Northeast China has already begun, and Shanghai will not be spared either, and will soon be drawn into the flames of war."

"What? Japan is going to start a war in Shanghai too?" "Brother Zuo Liu, this isn't intelligence. Please keep it a secret and don't spread it."

"Why? Shanghai is a bridgehead for Western and American investments. Does Japan really dare to attack Shanghai? It would affect Western interests. Are they sure they can get away unscathed?"

“It is precisely because of Shanghai’s global status that the Japanese Army and the Kwantung Army considered causing trouble in Shanghai to cover up their conspiracies elsewhere. It’s a whole. You can understand this by viewing the impending conflict in Shanghai as part of the Kwantung Army’s aggression.”

"I understand now, it's a feint to the east while attacking in the west."

"Your Chinese is really good."

"Comrade Wang Xuewen, please accept the mission: I need you to lead the members of your Japanese-Chinese struggle alliance to familiarize themselves with the locations of all Aoki chain pharmacies in Shanghai in the near future, paying special attention to the numbers."

"At the appropriate time, a group of people, posing as ordinary citizens of Shanghai, led the resistance army to rob even-numbered shops and deliver medicine to the resistance army."

"We also need some people to infiltrate the army and, when the fighting gets intense, lead Japanese army soldiers to sabotage and rob drug shops with serial numbers."

"Robbing your own shop? And even differentiating between odd and even numbers? Why is that? Every step you take is truly incomprehensible!"

"Brother Zuo Liu, why have you suddenly become so curious?"

"Teacher Wang, do you understand?"

"I think I understand. Even if I don't understand, it won't stop me from carrying out the mission. This mission isn't difficult."

"Yes, it's because the members of the Japan-China Struggle Alliance under your command are Japanese and can speak both Chinese and Japanese that it's not difficult, so I have to include you in the team."

"Okay, what do we do after we complete the task?"

"Those who have completed their mission, please return to school immediately. Some of you may be exposed, some may defect, and there may even be Army spies within the team itself."

"But there's no need to worry about any of that. Once they're at school, it's Mio's territory. How they're dealt with is up to Mio. Because they're Japanese, it's perfectly justifiable for them to do such things if they have Japanese identities, as long as they push it to the Navy."

"You've really planned out your escape route and the worst-case scenario. Did you start preparing from the very beginning of opening the pharmacy?"

"Brother Zuo Liu, don't make wild guesses. I'm not that amazing. I'm just taking it one step at a time and figuring out which direction to go when we reach a crossroads."

"I'll leave first, you guys can talk some more."

"I also need to go back now, I have other plans. We won't be using any communication lines with Teacher Wang for the time being. If there's an emergency, just contact Meixu directly."

With Teacher Wang's instructions completed, the entire Shanghai plan is ready, except for the two Lao Zhaos.

(End of this chapter)