Spy Wars: Return of the Red Luan

After several rounds of ideological struggle and debate, the joint investigation team temporarily stationed in Shanghai by the Army and the Special Higher Police decided to request instructions from the General Staff Headquarters.

The General Staff requested permission to consult with General Aoki in Tokyo, as three bullet casings were found on the roof of his Shanghai villa. These casings matched perfectly with the bullets found in the deceased's body. Therefore, the Investigation Section requested permission to enter General Aoki's home to search—no, to inspect—his house.

"You want to come and check my home in Shanghai? Why? There's no one home since Mio and I returned to China?"

……

The lieutenant in charge of communicating with Aoki Takashi from the General Staff Headquarters recounted the bombing of Hongkou Park in Shanghai and the discovery of three bullet casings on the roof of his house by the investigation team.

"Oh, that's unfortunate. Let them go in and check. The key is under the third brick by the door. Don't damage my furniture."

May 1st is a good day for labor. Watanabe Wataru and Obata Kazuki personally led a team to rummage through Aoki's villa in Shanghai.

After searching and exploring for a long time, they found nothing. Just when everyone was about to give up, Obata Kazuki discovered the Aoki family's secret room!

Inside the locked room, the investigation team found the killer's gun, his discarded night clothes, and remnants of the killer's water and food supplies.

Yoho! Preliminary assessment indicates that General Aoki is in cahoots with the assassin!

Obata Kazuki felt something was amiss, so on his way to the office, he stopped at his home and asked Aotoji to find a way to get the message to General Aoki as soon as possible.

Aoki has been so good to us; it's time to repay his kindness.

Three days have passed since the Hongkou Park bombing. It has been confirmed that the killer was from North Korea, but he was very tough and did not confess even after being severely tortured. He only admitted that he planned it all by himself and that it was all to resist the violent rule of Japan. Long live the independence of the Korean people!

The investigators didn't dare touch the secret room in General Aoki's house, or anything inside it; they just took photos and then had people guard it.

The investigation team felt this was a bit too hot to handle, so they compiled the information and sent it back to the General Staff Headquarters, leaving the officers to deal with it.
-
Dividing line —
When the news came back from Shanghai, it was during the Army's May meeting, which Chen Jiehua was attending again this month. Aoki Qiao's attitude was clear: as long as I'm here, Kenji Doihara's promotion proposal will not be approved.

In the evening, during the intermission, after the messenger delivered the urgent telegram from Shanghai into the meeting room, Army Minister Araki Sadao and Vice Minister Masaki Jinzaburo exchanged glances, whispered to each other, and decided to question Aoki Takashi on the spot, giving him a chance to explain himself.

"The meeting continues, but we have an urgent matter to discuss. We will now read out an urgent telegram from Shanghai, the main contents of which are as follows..."

"What?! We found a gun and bullets left by the assassin in my secret room? Mio and I came back from Shanghai in January, and the house has been empty for more than three months."

"Is it their opinion, or yours, that I started planning this assassination in January? That I foresaw the Shanghai war, anticipated the resistance we would encounter, and expected them to hold a celebration in Hongkou Park? That's utter nonsense!"

"Furthermore, the simplest logic is that if I were an assassin, I could leave calmly after firing only three shots, right? I would definitely take the bullet casings with me before leaving; that's one of the compulsory courses at Lu University."

"No one but that bug Doihara would be so stupid as to deliberately leave bullet casings and bullets and traces at home."

"Therefore, please, Mr. Araki and everyone else, do not insult Aoki's intelligence. Thank you."

Hahaha~~~

Everyone at the meeting laughed. They all agreed that this was utter nonsense and that it must be a deliberate frame-up by an enemy. Who could it be? It could only be Kenji Doihara, right?
After a burst of laughter, the scene got a little out of control. Who wouldn't see through such a low-level frame-up?
"Silence, silence!"

"I accept and acknowledge Aoki-kun's explanation. Does anyone else have any objections?" The room immediately fell silent. No one had any objections. Were they tired of living? Looking for trouble?

"Wait, I have a different opinion."

"Nani?"

"Wasn't it said that the murderer was caught at the scene? It's been three days and the murderer still hasn't confessed. I want to interrogate him myself to see who is planning this and who is using such low-level tricks to frame and disgust me."

"Do you want to go to Shanghai in person?"

"I wouldn't dare, I'm afraid of dying! I only heard today when I came to the meeting that I've also been listed as an assassination target by the Blood Alliance. It's too unsafe for me to go to Shanghai."

"Let Shanghai send the murderer to Tokyo."

Although the assassin was a patriot of the Korean people, he was still fighting alongside the Japanese and had even withstood interrogation. We should at least try to rescue him.

There's no way to rescue him in the interrogation room in Shanghai; we can only create opportunities. The first opportunity lies on the road, and the second lies in Tokyo. Chen Jiehua has a somewhat uncertain plan, but it needs to be verified after he meets with Yoon Bong-gil and discusses it.

"Inform Shanghai that the navy should use warships to escort the murderer to headquarters."

Oh my god, I was just thinking about opportunities along the way, and you had to be so clever? Escorting them by warship, sigh.

"No need for that. I'll just talk to the Navy directly. You just need to contact the Shanghai Investigation Section."

"Oh my god, I forgot, Aoki-kun is a member of the Navy."

The meeting continued with the afternoon's agenda.

Following the meeting, in light of the bombing on the 29th, and to prevent any changes in the negotiations, the General Staff reported to the Cabinet. After deliberation, the Cabinet decided to notify Mr. Okamura in Shanghai to sign the contract as soon as possible.

In reality, Japanese Prime Minister Inukai Tsuyoshi does not support war, and the General Staff is even less willing to resume hostilities, as the agreement has already dragged on long enough.
-
Dividing line —
After the meeting, Chen Jiehua returned to his villa in Senso-ji Temple. After deep thought, he decided not to inform Lao Liu about the news concerning Yoon Bong-gil. If Lao Liu knew about this news, the hasty plan could easily go wrong and cause unexpected complications.

Perhaps we should wait until they arrive in Tokyo before looking for an opportunity. Aren't those bunch of foolish low-ranking officers in the army and navy plotting a coup? Maybe we can use them to rescue this North Korean assassin while they're staging their coup.

Furthermore, they can create the illusion of a Blood Oath rescue and shift the blame to Doihara. Damn it, even if the rescue fails, it's good to muddy the waters.

Back at the Fujiwara residence that evening, Chen Jiehua spoke with Fujiwara Mio, who then suggested that she wanted to return to Shanghai to check on the situation and also visit Shigemitsu Mamoru on behalf of her father.

Fujiwara Mio also wanted to take the opportunity to visit the East Asia Tongwen Academy to discuss with Teacher Wang Xuewen whether the progressive students, who had all been sent back to Tokyo, could be sent back to continue their studies since the war was over.

Chen Jiehua agreed with Meixu's opinion and allowed her to return to Shanghai. He suggested she go there to contact Konoe and Teacher Wang.

And then there's Mamoru Shigemitsu. Although he was a Japanese invader, he was genuinely good to Mio. Sigh, I heard he was badly injured in the bombing. I guess I'll just visit him. (End of Chapter)