Spy Wars: Red Shopkeeper

Chapter 180: Choking
"Yes! I've taken the money!"

Fu Xiao'an stood up, pointed at the director of the Finance Bureau, and shouted: "Just because he is that section chief's superior, you suspect that Director Tsuda took money."

I stood up to speak up for him, but Commander Tsuda also said that I had taken money.

"So, I was appointed mayor by General Matsui, so do you suspect that Commander Matsui also took money from me?"

"Are you trying to intimidate me by using Commander Matsui?" Tsuda Shizue's eyes were cold.

Fu Xiao'an said angrily, "I'm not trying to intimidate anyone. I just hope that Mr. Tsuda understands that they are officials of the municipal government, and I am the mayor of the SH Special Government. If they arrest people from the municipal government, they should at least notify me first, right?"

If they suspect he took money, shouldn't they at least have the Judiciary and Police Department send someone to investigate?
I didn't say he definitely didn't take the money, but we can't create a crisis of trust like this. Today the section chief is arrested and killed, tomorrow the bureau chief is arrested and beaten, and now you suspect him, and if he doesn't admit it, he'll be taken to the Hongkou prison and locked up again. How can the municipal government work like this?

If you suspect he's taking money, should we continue contacting him starting tomorrow? If we do, does that mean we're also having a business relationship with him?

So, are we still going to do this job or not?
I am acting out of a sense of responsibility to the municipal government and the economy, and I do not want to disappoint you and General Matsui. But in this situation, how can I do my job?

If I don't stand up for him, who will?

“Mayor Fu’s words are an accusation that my Judicial Office has not done its job.” Gu Yansheng stood up. “Commander Tsuda, the Judicial Office oversees the judiciary of the entire city of Shanghai. This is something Consul Hasegawa told me before I took office.”

Actually, I don't quite understand why I, the head of the judicial department, didn't even know that a section chief had been arrested.

Even if the judicial office itself is divided according to your regional division, I am still the mayor of western Shanghai and the head of the judicial office in western Shanghai. Isn't the intelligence headquarters located in western Shanghai? How come he doesn't need to notify me when he arrests people?
I only found out now that he's dead and his wife is causing trouble at the city government.

All the government staff watched as a section chief was beaten to death. How bad was the impact?
I now hope that you and the Military Police Command can reach a consensus.

Can my Judicial Office actually supervise the Special Agent Headquarters?

Is Mayor Fu more powerful, or is the director of the Special Agent Headquarters more powerful?

If the Justice Department can't oversee the Secret Service headquarters, I have no problem with it; my job will be easier.

I just hope you can be clear about the extent of their authority. They are in charge of arresting Chongqing elements, but are they also in charge of arresting corrupt officials? Are they also in charge of arresting petty thieves?
Whether it's ordinary people or high-ranking officials like secretaries and mayors, they can arrest whomever they want without needing a reason, and the judicial department doesn't need to know either.

If that's the case, just let me know. I have no objection and will absolutely follow your instructions.

Tsuda Shizue never expected that Fu Xiao'an had an accomplice. She watched quietly as Gu Yansheng spoke. Gu Yansheng was not one to back down from trouble; his eyes were clear, and he looked directly at her as he spoke.

He then sat down.

Gu Yansheng's words contained some significant issues, involving the question of how much power to grant to the Special Agent Headquarters, as well as the issue of the Military Police Command. Tsuda Shizue needed to think about it before giving a reply.

But this is not the end of the story.

Ling Xianwen spoke up again, "If that's really the case, I think the municipal government should be reorganized, and the two directors of the Special Agent Headquarters should serve as mayor and deputy mayor, because since ancient times, only those with higher positions can arrest those with lower positions."

If the Special Agent Headquarters can even arrest us, then they must be the highest-ranking officials in all of Shanghai. Mayor Fu and I should step down to avoid having to negotiate trade with merchants from the concessions. They even claim they have the power to make decisions. It's laughable.

"Oh, no, I'm just a secretary-general. I'm not worthy to give up my place to the two directors of the Special Agent Headquarters. Excuse me, please continue."

Shizue Tsuda had no say in the matter.

Lu Ying said, "I know a little about this. I am the police chief. I only ever receive calls from the Special Agent Headquarters asking us to do things, never from me asking them to do things."

If they can't ask for reasons or justifications on their calls, then I, as the bureau chief, am definitely not as good as the Secret Service headquarters.

However, I can also inquire about matters within the city government, so when you think about it, their status is indeed higher than the mayor's.

"How about this, to save trouble, remove me as the bureau chief, and place all the thousands of police officers under the direct command of the Special Operations Headquarters' action teams. This will also save the Great Japanese Empire some telephone bills."

After Lu Ying finished speaking, the others spoke one after another, and not one was left out.

Even Luo Junqiang said a few words, "I haven't been in Shanghai for long, but I think the so-called power is pretty much the same everywhere. The main thing is to maintain a balance. Even in Chongqing, there are the Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics, the Military Bureau of Investigation and Statistics, the Supervisory Commission, and the judicial system."

Each department has its own superiors, and if it's really about arresting a high-ranking official, it definitely has to go through the deliberations of those above.

Currently, this privilege is concentrated in the hands of one department, and I think this is a very dangerous situation if it continues.

Tsuda Shizue glanced at everyone and said, "It seems you all have a lot of grievances and opinions."

Fu Xiao'an said in a deep voice: "It's not that I have grievances, but that there must be a proper way to do things. The rules and regulations are there, and whoever is in charge should be in charge. The embezzlement was removed, which is not a problem in itself, but the police should be the one to arrest people, and the judicial department should be the one to try them. The police and the judicial department should supervise each other to find out the facts and prevent wrongful convictions. How could it be the Special Agent Headquarters?"

"Mr. Tsuda, if I may say something inappropriate, today the Special Operations Headquarters believes this person embezzled funds and has him killed. But once he's dead, there's no way to verify it. Do you know how much money he embezzled? Is what the Special Operations Headquarters says necessarily true?"

Shizue Tsuda frowned slightly.

Lu Ying added, "Let me add a couple of points. Having worked in the police department for so many years and handled so many cases, I've come to understand one principle deeply..."
If a department can handle a case from beginning to end, it creates a problem: if I say it's true, it's true; if I say it's false, it's false.

Mr. Tsuda, today the Special Agent Headquarters can arrest a section chief and make him confess to embezzlement. Tomorrow he can make everyone admit that we are all special agents from Chongqing.

"We have evidence if you want, and we have confessions if you want. Do you believe me or not?" Tsuda Shizue had come to the meeting today to give a lecture, but she never expected that she would be the one being lectured.

I was a little angry at first, but what these people said, while perhaps emotionally charged, wasn't entirely without merit.

Tsuda Shizue looked at Fu Xiao'an meaningfully and began to criticize, "Mayor Fu, your organizational skills are very strong, and you are well-deserving of the position of mayor."

Fu Xiao'an said expressionlessly, "I hope Mr. Tsuda understands my good intentions. Everything I have done is for the development of Shanghai's economy, and in essence, it is to serve the Great Japanese Empire."

"I hope that under your leadership, Shanghai's economy will be able to successfully complete the tax revenue tasks assigned by the Empire."

"We have been working hard."

After Fu Xiao'an finished speaking, Tsuda Shizue withdrew her gaze and swept it across the crowd. "I understand your opinions. I will handle this matter. Continue to complete your tax collection tasks and don't let me down."

After saying that, leave.

Everyone stood up to see the person off. After seeing them off, they breathed a sigh of relief and sat down. The atmosphere became more relaxed, and some smiles appeared. After all, they had just completed a joint effort to fight the enemy.

The director of the Finance Bureau looked relieved and bowed gratefully, saying, "Thank you all for speaking up for justice."

When Tsuda Shizue pulled out her gun just now, he could really feel the killing intent.

After he finished thanking them, the director of the social affairs bureau also bowed in thanks, after all, they were in the same boat.

Fu Xiao'an said, "We're all colleagues, so we should definitely lend a hand in this kind of thing. Helping you is also helping ourselves. Just be more careful in the future."

The Finance Bureau Chief nodded. "We will be careful, but completing this task is really difficult. As you all know, Shanghai is in a difficult situation right now. In Wusongkou, besides shipping, what else can we figure out? How can we complete 30% of the task?"

"It's difficult for everyone, so figure it out yourselves," Ling Xianwen said.

I've already saved your life, and now I want to help you complete your mission? You can't expect all the good things in the world.

"The Special Agent Headquarters is under the jurisdiction of the Military Police Command, but the Economic Military Police Command in Shanghai is not responsible for it. They have no reason to shrink their power on their own. Whether Tsuda Shizue can persuade them is another matter."

The most important thing now is this matter. Only when this matter is settled and the power is returned to the judicial department can we act with full force.

"We still need to think of a way to make the Military Police Headquarters bow down."

This was indeed a matter of life and death. Everyone racked their brains, determined to get this power back. Only by giving power to Gu Yansheng would they have the chance to go to jail.

Although it's harsh, it's the truth. It's better than death. They can always find a way to negotiate with Director Gu.

However, they had little say in the conversations with the top figures at the Military Police Headquarters.

The social affairs bureau chief asked, "Mayor Fu, could you talk to Nanjing and ask the Nanjing Command to get involved in this matter?"

Fu Xiao'an rolled his eyes. "Don't you think I've offended enough people? It was supposed to be official business, but when I called people from Nanjing to pressure Shanghai, it turned into a personal feud. Will we still be able to negotiate with the Military Police Headquarters in the future? Are we just going to give up?"

The social affairs bureau chief gave a sullen smile.

"Alright, let's wait for Tsuda's reply first. Let's all go. Let's hurry up with the tax collection. If we don't complete the task, Tsuda won't protect us."

"I'll be going now."

One by one, the bureau chiefs left, and Gu Yansheng also got up and left.

It doesn't really matter how this matter develops; whether Tsuda Shizue can persuade the Military Police Headquarters or not.

If he can't persuade them, the municipal government officials will slack off and Shanghai's economy will collapse. If he can persuade them, then his power will increase and he can make more money.

He wasn't worried about his personal safety; he, Ling Xianwen, and Fu Xiao'an were fundamentally different from the others.

Fu Xiao'an was from Nanjing. Even if the Shanghai Military Police Command disliked him, they would not take action against him without Nanjing's orders.

He and Ling Xianwen were from the consulate. According to Hasegawa's plan, he would eventually enter the core of the Wang Jingwei regime. The consulate was the only one in the Wang Jingwei regime, so Hasegawa would not allow anyone else to touch him.

In terms of current importance, he may be even more important than Ling Xianwen.

If he were to join the Wang Jingwei regime, Ling Xianwen would become the only remaining member of the Shanghai high-ranking officials, and Hasegawa would not allow anyone to touch Ling Xianwen.

Therefore, the various threats mentioned at the meeting, such as the intelligence headquarters arresting the mayor, are all nonsense and just meant to intimidate Shizue Tsuda.

The only possible outcome is that the smaller one will be used to extract the larger one, but as long as the larger one doesn't get in, the result of the battle is still uncertain.

Li Shiqun dared to arrest a bureau chief, but he had been eyeing Fu Xiao'an for so long without daring to make a move. In fact, Li Shiqun knew this very well.

Besides, he didn't raise pigs for nothing at the intelligence headquarters for so long; pigs need to eat too.

(End of this chapter)