Spy Wars: Return of the Red Luan

Chapter 184 The Small Closed Loop of the Pharmacy Project

On the afternoon of January 22, Fumimaro Konoe arrived at the Wusongkou Wharf on the Huangpu River aboard a naval warship. Considering the recent surge in anti-Japanese sentiment among Shanghai citizens, the Consulate General of Japan in Shanghai did not arrange a welcoming ceremony at the wharf. Instead, they picked him up by car and took him directly to the East Asia Tongwen Academy, where the group met with Fumimaro Konoe.

After getting off the bus, Konoe glanced at the welcoming crowd and walked up to Wang Xuewen, who was half a step behind in the first row. Without saying a word, he gave him a firm hug, and Wang Xuewen said softly, "Hello, senior."

The diplomats at the consulate were immediately intrigued. What was going on? Was there some important person hiding in this school?
That's settled, this temporary backup is enough. That was Chen Jiehua's thought.

Chen Jiehua was thinking about when to find a reason to ask him alone why he went to his grandfather's funeral, but the second person Konoe came up to hug was himself!

Of course, in Konoe's eyes, it was Aoki Seigen.

After the hug, Konoe simply patted Aoki on the shoulder without saying a word.

Next, he shook hands with Consul General Murai Kuramatsu, ignored everyone else, turned to Fujiwara Mio, and bowed.

"You all can go back now. I will hand over the responsibilities to Ms. Mio myself."

Despite the almost unreasonable arrogance of Fumimaro Konoe, none of the high-ranking officials at the consulate dared to express any dissatisfaction. They followed the consul general into the car and left the Dobun Academy.

Fujiwara Mio led Konoe Fumimaro through the handover at the school, introducing each of the important facilities before heading to the auditorium to meet the teachers. Chen Jiehua and Wang Xuewen followed behind, looking rather bored.

The handover process was quick. Chen Jiehua noticed that the other party seemed a bit tired, so he didn't ask the questions that were on his mind. After exchanging polite greetings with Konoe and Teacher Wang, he drove Meixu away to Wusongkou Wharf.

The warships are still waiting at Wusongkou.

Chen Jiehua was already puzzled. Konoe's actions clearly showed a difference in favoritism. He hugged Teacher Wang, shook hands with the Consul General, ignored others, but hugged Aoki as well. It was really hard to understand.

Seven years have passed since that one-night stand!

"Don't think about it anymore. Just ask your father when you get home and you'll find out."

"What you said is one way."
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On January 23, Japanese Consul General in Shanghai, Murai Kuramatsu, sent a diplomatic note to Shanghai Mayor Wu Tiecheng, making five demands: a public apology, compensation for losses, arrest of the "murderers," banning and disbanding anti-Japanese groups, and the withdrawal of Chinese troops from Shanghai.

On the same day, officers of battalion commander rank and above from the 19th Route Army held an emergency meeting at the Longhua Garrison Command. All those who attended the meeting were determined to defend Shanghai and made emergency deployments.

The meeting decided that if the Japanese army attacked the Chinese garrison, they should be annihilated with all their might!

On January 27, the Japanese Consulate General in Shanghai issued a 24-hour ultimatum to the mayor of Shanghai, threatening action if the demands were not met.

At 3 PM on January 28th, the mayor of Shanghai finally agreed to all the demands of the Japanese consulate. This was bad news for the Japanese Navy; their pretext for war was gone. That evening, the newly appointed Commander-in-Chief of the First Overseas Fleet, Koichi Shiozawa, convened a meeting with all members of the Marine Corps, declaring, "The Army has demonstrated its prowess in Manchuria; now, in Shanghai, it's the Navy's turn!"

Colonel Masao Shibayama, representing the Marine Corps, stated, "The Marine Corps in Shanghai is no longer the Marine Corps of the past. We have more than two thousand men, and dealing with the 19th Route Army of the Republic of China is no problem at all!"

Late on January 28, before the Marine Corps set off, Koichi Shiozawa announced: The Japanese Navy will occupy Shanghai within four hours!
Unfortunately, this is Shanghai, not Manchuria in the Northeast; the army defending Shanghai is the 19th Route Army, not the Northeast Army; and the commander here is Cai Tingkai, not Zhang Xiaoliu.

The 19th Route Army was an army brimming with anti-Japanese sentiment. Its commander-in-chief was Jiang Guangnai, and its army commander was Cai Tingkai. The officers and soldiers were mainly from Guangdong. After the September 18 Incident, the officers and soldiers had been requesting to go to Northeast China to fight against the Japanese. This time, the Japanese Marine Corps ran into the 19th Route Army and wanted to "occupy Shanghai in four hours," which was simply wishful thinking.
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Dividing line —
After the war began, Liu Junze disguised himself as an old farmer from Northeast China and used his identity as a former artilleryman in the Northeast Army to find the 19th Route Army camp and apply to join the artillery to kill Japanese soldiers.

With his thick Northeastern accent, exceptional artillery handling skills, and a touch of acting talent, Liu Junze quickly became an indispensable figure in the 19th Route Army Artillery Regiment.

During the fiercest battles, Army Commander Cai Tingkai could hit any target with a single shot. The entire 19th Route Army treated this "artillery god" like a treasure, calling upon him whenever they encountered a fortification they couldn't handle.

In this era, with Lao Liu's Northeastern accent and artillery skills, it would have been effortless for him to infiltrate the 19th Route Army.

After the subsequent battles ended, according to the plan discussed with Chen Jiehua, Lao Liu would retreat with the 19th Route Army, and then find an appropriate opportunity to reveal his identity to the army commander.
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In the first week of the war, the fighting was concentrated in the Zhabei area, but all the "Qingmu Chain Pharmacy" stores in Shanghai were devastated, with all the windows and doors of the pharmacies destroyed.

Most of the medicines in the pharmacies (even-numbered) and the medicines in the display cases were taken away by "enthusiastic citizens" and sent to the 19th Route Army. Some were sent to the gate of the military camp, and some were sent directly to the front line.

When the "army soldiers" saw that the Aoki Chain Pharmacy had been robbed, they wanted to help protect it or transport the valuable medicines. However, in the process of protecting it, the remaining pharmacies (with single numbers) were also emptied by the army's "soldiers".

Meanwhile, "Qingmu Chain Pharmacy," located far away in North China, also faced a comprehensive boycott from the Chinese people, with sales almost reaching zero.

Upon receiving the news, Aoki Takashi, far away in Kagoshima, informed the Naval General Staff at headquarters. The high-ranking officials at the General Staff could only swallow their anger and resentment.

You were the ones who agreed to the store transfer, you were the ones who issued the order to transfer Aoki Takashi before the war, and you were the ones who chose Shanghai as the location for the war.

Only one-third of the "Yamato" has been built. You'll have to raise the remaining funds yourselves.

Also, the army soldiers took advantage of the chaos to loot our navy's pharmacy. Even if I don't have time to settle this score right now, I'll definitely write it down in my little notebook and settle it later when I have time!

The army is denying it? What's the use of denying it? I have photos taken by enthusiastic European journalists! The photos show the name of a large pharmacy and groups of soldiers in army uniforms. Although I can't see their faces, they are definitely from your army!
Chen Jiehua's chain pharmacy system has finally completed a small closed loop. Is he really going to use pharmacies to help the Japanese Navy take a Yamato out of the pockets of the Chinese people?

After the reckoning, whether I, Chen Jiehua, would be considered a traitor is still somewhat controversial, isn't it? So this kind of thing absolutely cannot be allowed to happen!

My arrangements were in place, my comrades executed them flawlessly, and the Japanese Navy cooperated perfectly!

(End of this chapter)