Spy Wars: Red Shopkeeper

Chapter 137 Firearms
"Finished watching? What did you think?" Li Shiqun asked with a smile.

“Then let’s buy it. I don’t think we need to waste time negotiating the price. Just negotiate a lower price and buy it directly.” Gu Yansheng put down the telegram. “It’s so cheap, what’s there to think about? I thought the $10,000 was a deposit, but it turns out that $10,000 can buy dozens of sets, so it’s all full payment.”

Buy them all, as many as you can, and then sell them all to those wealthy people who are going to Nanjing to take up official positions.

If we stock up on two or three hundred units, we can sweep up all the ones on the market. And Director Li, I think if there are really good houses, even if the person is unwilling to sell at first, we can buy them for them by raising the price. If the market price is 1000, we can offer 1200 or 1300, and they will be willing to sell.
We can still make a profit when we resell it; the key is that the house has to be good.

Li Shiqun nodded, "Okay, I'll reply to him right away. Wait for me a moment, then we'll go eat."

Li Shiqun summoned the people in the communications room, gave them instructions to send the telegram immediately, and then sent someone to deliver money to Nanjing right away.

After giving the instructions, he invited Gu Yansheng to have dinner together.

As they walked, Li Shiqun said, "There's something I want to ask you about."

Gu Yansheng readily agreed, "What is it? Speak."

Li Shiqun whispered, "The Japanese suffered a defeat in southern Anhui and discovered that the New Fourth Army had an unusually large amount of clothing."

Li Shiqun's statement was similar to Ding Mocun's.

However, Li Shiqun's problem was, "The Japanese now suspect that some merchant in southern Anhui has colluded with the Communists, and they want us to send people to southern Anhui to secretly investigate and gather information about this matter."

But I was thinking, weren't we in the cotton yarn business back then? I remembered that cotton yarn prices in Shanghai weren't very good at that time. Do you think it's possible that someone in Shanghai transported cotton yarn to southern Anhui?

Gu Yansheng paused, his eyes widening. "You suspect Fu Xiao'an of being a communist sympathizer? No way!"

Li Shiqun chuckled and quickly waved his hand: "It's not that I suspect him of being a communist sympathizer, but the market price was bad at the time. How could he sell so much stock? We don't even know if he's sold it all yet."

He certainly wouldn't sell them himself, but would he force his subordinates to sell goods to recoup funds? Would his businessmen be forced to take the risk of selling cotton yarn to the New Fourth Army?
Is that possible?

Moreover, according to the newspapers, his finances had been rather tight for some time.

Gu Yansheng certainly knew about this. Publishing a notice in the newspaper asking the mayor for money—wasn't that your masterpiece, Director Li?
After mentally assessing the situation, Gu Yansheng hissed and said, "If you put it that way, then it's definitely possible, but if you want to investigate Fu Xiao'an's people, it won't be easy."

“It’s not easy to investigate.” Li Shiqun frowned and remained silent. “He has such deep connections in the Nanjing Command, I could be in serious trouble if things go wrong. But Yingzuo wants us to find him, and I have to give an account to them.”

"Just find someone from southern Anhui, and this matter will be settled, right?" Gu Yansheng offered a bad suggestion to him as a backup plan, raising an eyebrow and stopping in his tracks.

Li Shiqun noticed something was wrong and asked, "What's wrong?"

“I just remembered something,” Gu Yansheng said, frowning. “When you arrested Wan Molin, Fu Xiao’an was very eager to release him. As the mayor, it’s understandable that he wanted to release him. I also wanted you to release Wan Molin.”

But at the time, Secretary-General Ling and I were still discussing what to do about this matter and how to approach the Japanese.

Fu Xiao'an took the initiative to call us and asked us to go to the military police headquarters to negotiate, which led to Wan Molin's release.

At first glance, this matter doesn't seem like a problem, but it has affected Shanghai's economy, so the people should be released.

But this isn't the first time Shanghai's economy has been damaged. Why didn't Fu Xiao'an step in to mediate before, instead lying in his hospital bed pretending to be dead?
Wan Molin was particularly enthusiastic.

I didn't think much of it at the time, but now that you mention it, could it be that Wan Molin was in charge of transportation, and Fu Xiao'an was handling the distribution—a collaboration between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party?

Li Shiqun frowned as he listened; the whole matter sounded very complicated.

If we delve deeper, it's not impossible. The New Fourth Army belonged to the National Revolutionary Army's combat order. Although Ding Mocun said that Chiang Kai-shek deliberately withheld the New Fourth Army's military expenses, he certainly didn't want the New Fourth Army to die, otherwise there would have been one less anti-Japanese armed force in Jiangnan.

It is possible for Wan Molin to deliver the goods, and Wan Molin is capable of doing so.

However, now that Wan Molin has been released, he was immediately sent to Hong Kong by the Military Intelligence Bureau for treatment. If we want to investigate this matter, it would be extremely difficult to do so unless we directly kidnap Fu Xiao'an.

"Eat first, eat first."

After dinner, Gu Yansheng went to Shen Linshen to have clothes made.

"Master Shen, the weather is getting warmer, make two sets of spring clothes."

"Thank you for your patronage, Mr. Gu. You are a blessed person. You may have gained a little weight from eating more in winter. Let me take your measurements."

Gu Yansheng opened his arms, allowing Shen Linshen to take his measurements.

"The Japanese army in southern Anhui tried to sneak into the mountains to ambush the New Fourth Army, who were freezing to death, but they suffered a loss. The Japanese sent a large force from their Special Operations Headquarters to southern Anhui to investigate where the New Fourth Army got their clothing. If you have anyone in the city, remember to have them collect it. Don't show your face these days."

Shen Linshen was unaware of the news from the Special Agent Headquarters. He narrowed his eyes and continued moving, "Okay, I understand."

The New Fourth Army in southern Anhui sent me a message saying that the Japanese, having suffered a loss, had no intention of stopping but were preparing a large-scale mopping-up operation to regain their face, and were already gathering their troops.

I asked them what they needed, and they said that they were okay with clothes and medicine, but they had been besieged and had spent the winter. If the Japanese raided too hard, even the villagers' scattered sources of food might be cut off, and their food reserves would not last long.

But the most serious issue is firearms and ammunition.

The Third War Zone has been withholding their supplies; they now have less than five bullets per person, several men share one gun, and they mostly fight the Japanese with broadswords and spears—it's very difficult.

“It’s too tough.” Gu Yansheng frowned. “Old Chiang is too selfish. He wants the New Fourth Army to contain the Japanese army, but he won’t provide them with weapons and ammunition. I’ll think of a way. Chen Mo said that there are some foreign arms dealers in Shanghai. We can find these people and buy them ourselves. I’ll pay for it.”

By the way, has the organization made any progress on Chen Mo's screening?

Shen Linshen shook his head: "There was no specific reply, so it probably wasn't completed. The difficulty of this matter lies in how a stranger can approach Chen Mo, create an opportunity to negotiate, and not be closely watched by Chen Mo's subordinates. His subordinates must also include members of the Military Intelligence Bureau. Only Chen Mo himself knows who his confidants are and who are outsiders."

Gu Yansheng nodded. It would certainly be more convenient if Chen Mo told him about the arms dealer directly.

If not, it's not impossible. We can start with the Green Gang; they definitely have someone who knows where to get guns.

However, Chen Mo could actually add fuel to the fire. "How about this, you suggest to the organization that they send someone to contact Chen Mo, under the guise of discussing business."

Chen Mo was registered under Du Yuesheng's name and already had business. He could easily find a business to negotiate with, using the guise of legitimate business as a cover, and find an opportunity to talk to Du Yuesheng alone. He would then reveal his identity and say that the New Fourth Army wanted to buy guns from him and asked if he would be willing to help.

He can help us buy it, or he can provide us with a list of arms dealers. As long as we help him once, wouldn't that be a test to see if he supports the New Fourth Army in its fight against Japan?
Regardless of his Kuomintang affiliation, if it were simply a matter of whether or not he supported the resistance against Japan, Chen Mo's decision would be much simpler.

“Good idea.” Shen Linshen thought for a moment and nodded. “If we don’t reveal that we know his identity as a member of the Military Intelligence Bureau, and just do business, it will indeed be much easier to choose. Okay, I will suggest it to the organization right away.”

Once you've done it, you'll do it again. If you've helped someone, at least you can talk to them next time something comes up.

And the possibility of refusal is unlikely.

“Yes, the Special Agent Headquarters is currently focused on southern Anhui. The timing is quite good.” Gu Yansheng thought for a moment and smiled: “They go to southern Anhui, we buy goods in Shanghai, and after they return from their investigation in southern Anhui, we ship the goods to southern Anhui, making it a situation where we never speak to each other again.”

Shen Linshen laughed when he heard this: "If only the timing could be so perfect."

"It's all up to people. Let's leave the gun issue as it is for now. Your men are ordinary people who don't belong to any gangs. They shouldn't get involved in this kind of thing. Let the organization handle it themselves."

The Shanghai Special Branch of the underground Communist Party was once a prominent figure in Shanghai, with a vast network of connections. The General Affairs Section of the Special Branch could also purchase firearms directly from foreign trading companies at any time.

It was due to the betrayal of an important figure that the Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics (Zhongtong) uprooted the entire system, leading to its complete destruction.

Now that all connections are gone, and there's no one to know in the underground black market, rebuilding them will be very difficult and require patience.

"Okay, then I'll arrange the food first."

The grain didn't necessarily have to go through Shanghai; it could be bought in Suzhou and Anhui. The real challenge was how to transport it to bypass the Japanese blockade and get it into the mountains.

This still needs to be studied carefully.

"You just said that the intelligence headquarters went to southern Anhui. If they investigate this matter, is it possible that they will find you here?"

"No, even if the intelligence headquarters finds out that the goods came from Shanghai, the first hurdle will be Colonel Kobayashi of the Japanese Transportation Division. They won't be able to investigate further, and besides, I've stirred up trouble."

Gu Yansheng smiled and recounted how Fu Xiao'an had been made a scapegoat.

Shen Linshen was dumbfounded. "Is Fu Xiao'an really from Chongqing?"

"It doesn't seem like it. I'm more inclined to believe that he might still have connections with Chongqing, perhaps doing some business with them, but the specifics are still unclear and hard to say."

However, even though Fu Xiao'an was from Chongqing, he wouldn't be so easily subdued. His connections were at the Nanjing Command Headquarters, making it extremely difficult for Li Shiqun to find fault with him.
Fu Xiao'an wouldn't take action himself, so Li Shiqun wouldn't be able to gather concrete evidence. Therefore, even if it was Fu Xiao'an's subordinates who made the move, Fu Xiao'an himself would retaliate once Li Shiqun made a move.

He's deeply entrenched in Shanghai, so unless there's concrete evidence proving he's guilty, he can easily deny it.

Just because someone has problems doesn't prove that the person in question has problems, right?

Shen Lin thought for a moment and nodded. From the current perspective, this was a good thing for them. The more the water in Shanghai was stirred up, the muddier the better.

Having ordered two sets of spring clothes, Gu Yansheng returned to the judicial office.

As soon as he arrived, Liu Xiaolou approached him: "Director, Vice Mayor Luo called at noon to ask if you were there. I told him you were out on business, and he asked me to let you know that he would ask you to come over when you get back."

"Go over there?" Gu Yansheng raised an eyebrow and repeated.

Luo Junqiang is dealing with a lot of troublesome matters, why bother looking for him?
I really don't want to see this person, but trouble has come knocking, and there's nothing I can do about it.

"Okay, then I'll go over there."

Gu Yansheng strolled upstairs and knocked on the door.

"Mayor Luo."

"Director Gu, you're here. Come in." Luo Junqiang stood up and greeted him with a smile, waving his hand at the sofa: "Sit down, Xiao Ma, bring some tea."

"Mayor Luo, do you want to see me about something?" Gu Yansheng asked with a smile.

After Luo Junqiang and his secretary finished pouring the tea, he waved for him to leave before saying, "Here's what happened: After the meeting this morning, I chatted with Lu Ying and got a general understanding of the current situation in Shanghai."

The supplies we need to collect are mostly in the hands of big merchants, foreigners in the concessions, and some local big merchants. Of course, although small merchants are not very powerful, there is strength in numbers, and the total amount they collect is not small.

So, after some consideration, I decided to donate to various businesses according to a set ratio.

The proportions don't need to be too large. If everyone contributes half a month's or a month's worth of production capacity, wouldn't that be enough to supply the cotton yarn and grain needed for the 50 troops? It wouldn't affect their interests much.

But I also know that when it comes to money, there will always be people who are unwilling.

Therefore, I need Director Gu's help to issue a batch of seizure orders. If any businesses are unwilling to donate, we can provide legal grounds for immediate seizure.

Gu Yansheng wanted to laugh. Why should he use the reputation of his judicial office to collect grain for you?
Gu Yansheng nodded. "What are the specific legal bases for the seizure?"

Luo Junqiang seemed not to understand and said strangely, "You are the director of the judicial department, you can find the legal basis. As long as it can deter them, I don't care what the reason is, whether it's smuggling or tax evasion, it doesn't matter."

Gu Yansheng paused, then chuckled: "Mayor Luo, I understand. The judicial department can cooperate with the operation, but if they haven't broken the law and aren't donating, should I shut them down or not? Does the judicial department even respect the law?"

"The government is the law." Luo Junqiang tapped the armrest with his finger and said seriously, "If they don't donate, that means they don't support the government. If they don't support the government, what's the point of talking about the law with them? Aren't they just a bunch of troublemakers?"
"Director Gu, from what you're saying, you're not unwilling, are you?"

Gu Yansheng waved his hand and smiled: "How could that be? Of course I support the work. I'll do everything as Mayor Luo says. No problem with that."

(End of this chapter)