Spy Wars: Return of the Red Luan

Chapter 179 The storm is coming

In early January, Ijuin Seiki and his family's armed forces completed their secret special training in Shanghai.

At the academy, Chen Jiehua gave encouragement and instructions to the Ijuin family's armed forces, promoted Ijuin Seiki to naval lieutenant commander, and officially organized the Ijuin family's ronin armed forces into the Ijuin Battalion. The ronin under his command who were actively trained and had high combat skills were promoted to higher positions.

The following day, the entire Ijuin Battalion split into smaller groups and entered Rehe Province. Ijuin Seiki would receive members of the Kagoshima clan from North China in Rehe, complete the integration, and then accept missions to continue their infiltration into South and North Manchuria.

The original plan was to use Gao Shuguang and the police, but now the alternative plan has to be changed, and the Ijuin Battalion will be used instead.
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After seeing off the Ijuin Brigade, Chen Jiehua telegraphed the section chief.

"A storm is brewing. Please arrange for Qing Tengyi and Qing Tengwu to purchase medicine from Qingmu Pharmacy in various locations and transport it to the Soviet area as soon as possible. Stock up as much as possible, as there may be restrictions later, making it more difficult to purchase and transport medicine. For the North China region, please contact Zhu Huiwu yourselves."

“I’m in the Soviet area, so it’s not easy to contact the Shanghai Special Branch, but we will try our best. Qing Teng stayed with the Shanghai Special Branch.”

This is a bit troublesome. It's obvious the section chief is still in the Hubei-Henan-Anhui Soviet Area, and he doesn't know who the current members of the Shanghai Special Branch are, so we can't easily contact them anymore. It seems we can't afford to worry about the organization this time.
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On the evening of January 18, Chen Jiehua received a message at the Marine Corps Headquarters that five monks from the Myohoji Temple of the Japanese Renzosan were attacked by workers at the Sanyou Industrial Company in Yinxiang Port. Army Military Police Captain Shigeto Chiharu led a team to punish the Sanyou Industrial Company and clashed with Chinese police. They were in a standoff and requested Marine Corps support.
Holy crap, I forgot about that. Isn't this the starting point of the January 28 Incident, a conspiracy orchestrated by Tanaka Ryukichi and Kawashima Yoshiko?

Chen Jiehua got up and looked at the map. Yinxiang Port, Yangshupu, you guys really know how to pick a place. You specially chose this place. It's very close to the Marine Corps training base. The Marine Corps has no choice but to go.

This woman really knows how to dig a trap!
"Let's go to the training base."

Chen Jiehua sat in the car and, under the escort of the convoy, quickly arrived at the secret naval training base in Yangshupu.

The Marines assembled, and Commander Aoki gave an emergency briefing: "Guys, our mission is to protect the safety of our nationals. Headquarters has just received a distress call. Our nationals have been injured by Chinese workers in front of the Sanyou Industrial Company in Yinxiang Port. Army military police and Chinese police are currently in a standoff."

"However, according to our own Marine Corps sources, this incident was orchestrated by the Kwantung Army from beginning to end. They chose to cause trouble at Yinxiang Port and then ask us for help, with the aim of dragging our navy down with them and using them as cannon fodder!"

"We haven't even settled accounts with the Kwantung Army for the silver dollar robbery in Northeast China. They've already swindled us out of our hard-earned sales and intelligence network in the Northeast, leaving us with a bunch of garbage shops in Shanghai. Now they want to use our navy as their vanguard in attacking Shanghai, as cannon fodder. I'm not stupid! Are you stupid?!"

"Not stupid!"

"As long as you guys aren't stupid, send a small team to Yinxiang Port to check the situation, pretend to mediate, but don't rush to the front."

"Everyone else, disperse and go back to sleep!"

Chen Jiehua's simple persuasion successfully deflated the Marine Corps' fighting spirit. "Isn't it better to go home and sleep? Why do you have to go out and fight?"
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At noon on January 19, Chen Jiehua received a telegram from the Naval General Staff at the Marine Corps Headquarters:
Rear Admiral Koichi Shiozawa was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the First Overseas Fleet, replacing Takashi Aoki. After the handover was completed, Aoki immediately returned to headquarters to report for duty.

Colonel Masao Shibayama was appointed Commander of the Marine Corps stationed in Shanghai, and he was to assume office immediately.

Upon receiving these two urgent mobilization telegrams at this point, Chen Jiehua understood that the Naval Command also intended to launch an attack.

Damn it, they think I have no experience in commanding battles and don't know how to fight. Or maybe last night's speech was leaked to the army by a mole, and the army complained to the bigwigs in the General Staff.

I'm so glad I planned ahead. I'd love to be transferred back to base now!
"Notify Colonel Masao Shibayama to come and take over."

"Hi!"
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On the evening of the 19th, Zhao Shiyu and Zhao Yiyue finally arrived in Shanghai.

In a secret safe house across from the villa, Chen Jiehua met Zhao Shiyu and Zhao Yiyue, both disguised and looking increasingly weathered.

"You two old Zhao comrades, what happened to you and you're in such a sorry state?" "Brother Hua, Chongqing is no place for a human to live! I'm from Wuxi! You're making me eat spicy food every day in Chongqing, isn't that my punishment? It's been more than half a year, isn't that enough punishment?"

"Um, would you believe me if I said I hadn't considered that?"

"Whether you believe it or not is not important, the key thing is that I'm still suffering from both mouth and butt pain!"

"Comrade Old Cat, do you believe it?"

"Alright, Comrade Old Cat, stop talking. I know you believe me."

"Now we're assigning tasks. The transfer order from the Japanese Naval General Headquarters has arrived. The new fleet commander will arrive in Shanghai tomorrow, and I will have to leave Shanghai no later than the day after tomorrow."

"So urgent?"

"Yes, the Japanese army is about to take action. The navy has reached a temporary agreement with the army. Because I, as a Japanese, have never commanded a battle, the Naval General Staff needs to urgently replace me."

"Is Shanghai going to be at war too? Are they really going to start fighting?"

"Don't rush, listen to me. Old Cat, you're doing a bit better here. The Commander-in-Chief of the Marine Corps is Masao Shibayama, and you're quite familiar with him."

"Now I can announce my plan to you; keep it in mind."

“I started planning last year, waiting for this moment to arrive. I specially brought Lao Liu back and got him on board the flagship Izumo.”

"Tomorrow afternoon, when the new fleet commander arrives, as is customary, the flagship's main guns will fire three rounds of shots to welcome the new commander and complete the handover."

"The three-wheeled guns, with eight main cannons, are all loaded with live ammunition. Old Liu will complete the angle calibration in advance. They are targeting the opium warehouse and three prisons."

"What? Eight main cannons, and you think you can hit three prisons with just three rounds of blind firing?"

"Yes, the temporary prison of the Kuomintang Party Affairs Investigation Department, the French Concession prison, and the British Concession prison!"

"That's impossible! Nobody can do that!"

"Old Cat is right, no one could do that, right? Even if Old Zhao is a sharpshooter, it's impossible. Besides, hitting all three prisons exactly on target is too much of a coincidence! In the world of spies, this is clearly premeditated!"

"Look, your own words are contradictory. You believe no one can do it, so why do you think it was premeditated? Who would risk plotting something that is completely impossible?"

"I miscalculated a bit about this. I originally planned to have Lao Zhao fire as many cannons as possible after the war officially started. Surely some of them would hit the target?"

"But plans are subject to change. Now that the fleet commander-in-chief has changed, I can't just leave without firing a single shot after all the planning I've done for so long. I'm not willing to give up!"

(End of this chapter)