Spy Wars: Red Shopkeeper

Chapter 177 Funeral
The next day, Li Shiqun called and asked Gu Yansheng to come over.

After Gu Yansheng left, Li Shiqun said, "My idea for He Xingjian's funeral is to hold a grand ceremony and set up a funeral committee. You will represent the municipal government, Luo Junqiang will represent Minister Zhou, and Ding Mochun and I will join in. Two people from the Japanese side will also be present. We'll just go through the motions and give him a proper send-off."

But the Japanese disagreed. They had just praised He Xingjian's defection to the Imperial Japanese Army in the newspapers, and then he was assassinated. They felt it was a loss of face, and if they held a grand funeral and the media reported on it, the matter of his defection would be brought up again, which was too offensive. So they decided to just buy a coffin and bury him.

"The Japanese have a good idea," Gu Yansheng thought for a moment and said, "It is indeed easy to damage morale. The Japanese are not without reason."

It's ridiculous that they set up a committee for someone who just joined them, and now that he's dead, they even have Gu Yansheng give him a name on it.

Li Shiqun frowned and shook his head. "It's not that simple. Some of He Xingjian's men have already arrived, and others who are out of town will be here in the next couple of days. When I received them, I told them that I would take care of it. It's not that I'm quick to speak, but that's what these soldiers are thinking. If you don't take care of it, what if they cause trouble later?"
My concern is with Minister Zhou. We're in a difficult position to explain ourselves to. He Xingjian has already died. If his men rebel, what will we say to Minister Zhou? That we failed to coordinate, leading to their mutiny? That we failed to keep an eye on He Xingjian, resulting in his death? That would be too embarrassing.

"Tsk, this is troublesome. Could you help me put in a good word? There's been too much trouble from the Military Intelligence Bureau lately, and I haven't produced any results. As for the Military Police Headquarters, I can't say much; I've already spoken to them once, and they rejected my request."

"What's the trouble with this?"

Gu Yansheng said frankly: I think you shouldn't get too involved in this matter. You're not pleasing either the Japanese or the military. Didn't his men come?

You should tell them that we meant to have a big celebration and that we would cover the expenses, but the Japanese disagreed and thought it would look bad, so we couldn't do anything about it.

If they disagree, let them make trouble with the Japanese themselves. I know you're going to ask what to do if they start making trouble. Just let them make trouble, then cut off their connection with the outside world. It's just a small disturbance, nothing more than a few personal guards. If they succeed, the Japanese will deal with them, and we'll all be happy.

If things get out of hand and the Japanese still won't do it, to prevent the situation from escalating, you should bring them back, comfort them, and calm them down. Then we can quietly bury them, and they'll know that it's the Japanese who won't do it.

We've handled all the interpersonal relationships well. People will blame the Japanese, not us, and it won't affect Minister Zhou's future control of the army.

But if you say that the Japanese absolutely refuse to do it, and we insist on persuading them, wouldn't that be putting ourselves in a bad position?

The Japanese complain that we are disobedient, but their underlings also complain that we haven't done enough. Isn't that the logic?

Li Shiqun thought for a moment and nodded, "You're right, we really have to let them make a scene on their own, we must let them make a scene on their own. Okay, let's do it that way."

Ah, that's more like it. It doesn't make sense to ask Gu Yansheng to save face for him.

"Boss, one of our outposts in the concession has been attacked," a subordinate ran over to report.

Li Shiqun narrowed his eyes. "Another attack?"

"Yes, we hid that outpost quite well. We've only been there for three days and only carried out one operation. I don't know how they found out."

"Then you go ahead with your work, I'll be going now," Gu Yansheng said goodbye.

"Okay." Li Shiqun started to get busy.

Previously, the Kuomintang's Military Intelligence Bureau carried out indiscriminate killings, with the aim of eliminating He Xingjian, and of course, there was also the matter of distributing grain.

Logically speaking, now that He Xingjian is dead and the grain has been released, the Military Intelligence Bureau should have quieted down for a while.

But now Li Shiqun is going to retaliate. The chaos in Shanghai has not only not lessened, but has intensified, with fighting breaking out every day even in the foreign concessions.

Ding Mocun didn't keep Gu Yansheng waiting for long.

Two days later, while Li Shiqun was fighting in the concession, Ding Mocun took advantage of the chaos to attack a British trading company in the concession, intending to arrest a British man who was dealing in guns on the black market. He was the manager of the trading company.

Who knew that this would stir up a hornet's nest? It turned out that the people in this company were all dishonest. When the 76th Division rushed in to arrest the assistant manager, the employees inside pulled out guns from under the tables and started fighting each other, including several machine guns.

This is hardly a trading company; it looks even more extravagant than a military industrial enterprise.

The capture operation turned into an escape battle, with fierce fighting taking place inside. The remaining personnel from Unit 76 outside quickly called for reinforcements.

As the war escalated, even those who were hiding in the concessions and searching for Kuomintang agents were drawn in, resulting in a chaotic and fierce battle. Some people didn't even know why they were fighting.

Afterwards, police arrived, and several officers from the 76th Division were arrested, while others escaped.

The Municipal Council immediately questioned the Japanese Consulate: Why did the No. 76 dare to attack the British trading company? Who instructed them?
They could turn a blind eye to the fighting between the 76th Division and the Military Intelligence Bureau, but they had to lodge a formal protest against something that infringed on the rights of British citizens! Ding Mocun and Li Shiqun were summoned to the Military Police Headquarters.

Facing Commander Jiro Miura and Lieutenant Colonel Haruki.

Ding Mocun frowned and reported, "I have made a preliminary investigation into the matter. My men pretended to be Chongqing elements and bought guns on the black market. My men questioned several merchants, and some of them had pistols, but none of them had Type 38 rifles."

Some people had them and were selling them for 380 silver dollars each. To prevent them from being just small vendors with only one gun, I asked for 100.

Finally, they found someone who said he had the goods.

I requested a large quantity and wanted to negotiate with the boss behind the scenes. I paid a deposit for five guns, and he led my men to the person behind the scenes. The source of the guns was this Englishman, which is why I took action.

The Japanese listened to the explanation and found that the process was flawless, but the arrest attempt failed.

"Now that you haven't caught anyone, how are you going to prove to me that the guns came from our warehouse?"

"Although we didn't catch anyone, they actually revealed information during the interrogation."

Ding Mocun recounted the information he had gathered: "According to him, he has connections within the Japanese army. Even if I asked for a thousand Type 38 rifles, he could get them. This clearly points to the quartermaster. Who else but him could produce so many guns?"

Even if he didn't sell it directly, he must have been an insider.

Moreover, there was an unusually large amount of money in his bank account.

Ding Mocun handed over the account books he had investigated.

The Japanese glanced at the ledgers and concluded that the trouble caused by No. 76 in the concession had been resolved.

The military police headquarters didn't really care what kind of trouble the concession was causing; it was none of their business.

After reviewing the quartermaster's bank accounts, Jiro Miura spoke with Lieutenant Colonel Haruki and quickly reached a conclusion.

Lieutenant Colonel Qingqi said, "Director Ding, you did a good job on this matter. Next, you will secretly arrest the quartermaster. It must be a secret arrest. Absolutely no word can be leaked. Once you get his confession, hand it over to me. But I warn you, if the news leaks, be careful with your lives."

"Yes."

Ding Mocun judged that the Shanghai Military Police Headquarters was probably trying to cover it up, since it was none of his business anyway.

A covert operation would be even easier.

Taking advantage of the quartermaster's drunken departure from the brothel that night, the car pulled up, two men grabbed him by the shoulders, covered his mouth, and the man in front punched the quartermaster in the stomach.

When a person is in pain, they will unconsciously bend over.

The person walking behind him leaned his head against the car and nimbly climbed into it, as if he had climbed in himself.

The whole thing will take no more than 30 seconds.

That evening, during the first interrogation in the interrogation room, he was arrogant and boastful for only half an hour, thinking he had powerful backers. But when he learned that it was the military police headquarters that gave the order, his legs went weak.

He confessed everything about his job in Shanghai.

Ding Mocun made a phone call to the Military Police Headquarters.

Jiro Miura and Lieutenant Colonel Haruki personally attended the event, and they were not surprised at all by the quartermaster's embezzlement.

I was just shocked by the details of this embezzlement.

Jiro Miura couldn't believe it. "All the soldiers under my command are selling?"

(End of this chapter)