Spy Wars: Red Shopkeeper

Chapter 182 Scenery
That evening, Gu Yansheng went to find Chen Mo.

"The auspicious day that He Xingjian's men picked for him is coming up, it's in two days. His men want a grand funeral, but the Japanese don't agree."

"He Xingjian still wants a grand funeral?" Chen Mo was furious when he heard this. "If we give a grand funeral to such a traitor as him, what about the reputation of the Shanghai branch of the Military Intelligence Bureau?"
I think the Japanese did the right thing; it suits my taste. I'm on their side this time, no matter what.

Gu Yansheng chuckled, "Fine, you've become a traitor, daring to stand with the Japanese."

Chen Mo smiled indifferently: "The Japanese weren't entirely wrong. They did the right thing. But why didn't the Japanese agree?"

Gu Yansheng explained his reasons.

Chen Mo frowned upon hearing this. "If you put it that way, I feel a little uncomfortable. Doesn't this just let the Japanese get away with it again?"

"Hmm." Gu Yansheng nodded. "So, when He Xingjian's people came to me to pull strings and find a way, I gave them an idea: to act first and report later, bypass the Japanese, and proceed directly with the funeral so that they could have a grand funeral."

Gu Yansheng gave his idea.

Chen Mo paused for a moment, glanced at Gu Yansheng, and said with a faint smile, "It's not that simple, is it? You'd give He Xingjian a grand funeral?"

Gu Yansheng smiled and said, "I need you to do something."

"Just tell me how to do it."

"When they are seeing them off, throw two grenades into He Xingjian's coffin procession."

Chen Mo's mind went blank, and he looked at Gu Yansheng with great admiration, "Such a grand funeral?"

Gu Yansheng gave him a look and asked in confusion, "Yeah, isn't it glamorous?"

Chen Mo, hands on his hips, laughed heartily, "Glorious! Absolutely glorious! I'll make sure he's never been this glorious in his life!"

"Hey, it's up to you. Don't make your move too early. Let them finish the ceremony first, so that everyone in Shanghai can see it."

"Okay, leave it to me."

Two days later, Li Shiqun called and asked Gu Yansheng to attend He Xingjian's funeral.

The meeting was held at the villa in front of He Xingjian's house. There was no funeral music or band. Everyone was assigned to the funeral committee according to the list prepared by Li Shiqun, and the funeral arrangements were completed quietly.

Luo Junqiang delivered a eulogy on behalf of Minister Zhou. The Japanese sent a deputy chief of staff who gave a symbolic bow, and the rest were He Xingjian's own subordinates.

His subordinates were willing to betray him, so there was still some affection between them. A group of people bowed silently, their faces showing sorrow and respect.

With the ceremony over, the mission was considered complete, and Li Shiqun could breathe a sigh of relief. He Xingjian's men hadn't caused any trouble, and the Japanese were quite satisfied. The situation was kept under control within a very small area and hadn't caused any serious escalation.

The final task was to carry the coffin to the burial site, which didn't require Li Shiqun and the Japanese to go along; He Xingjian didn't have that kind of face.

He Xingjian's soldiers carried the coffin, and a few of his close subordinates escorted it down to the cemetery.

The coffin left the house and went out onto the street. There were only about twenty people in total, and it was no different from a funeral procession for an ordinary family.

At some point, a truck drove up and stopped next to the line, taking out a huge portrait of He Xingjian from the truck.

No one in the procession was surprised. Someone stepped forward, carrying the portrait of the deceased, and walked ahead. The funeral procession, which had been waiting in the alleys along the road, poured out, handing out wreaths and elegiac couplets from the trucks. The number of people expanded from about twenty to over two hundred.

"Let's set off!"

Some played wind instruments, others made banging and striking noises, and a professional wailing troupe emitted earth-shattering cries that could be heard for miles around—it was quite a spectacle!

When Li Shiqun learned of this, it was already afternoon tea time. Logically, sending off the deceased and burying the dead should have been done by noon. The fact that they hadn't returned by now could only mean that He Xingjian's men were truly devoted and had spent a little more time paying their respects at the cemetery.

Who knew that when he went out for a stroll, he overheard his subordinates talking about He Xingjian's farewell procession, saying it was quite a sight.

"What's so spectacular? He Xingjian's farewell procession?"

"Yes, hundreds of people were playing music and making a lot of noise. It's been a while since I've seen such a grand funeral in Shanghai."

His subordinates vividly described the scenes they saw in the concession.

He Xingjian's men had connections with the Green Gang, so they arranged for someone to carry the coffin. The procession started from western Shanghai, circled the entire concession, and then circled the city.

"Right now, they're probably still circling around and haven't reached the cemetery yet."

"Who gave them permission to be so ostentatious!"

Li Shiqun was furious. If the Japanese found out, they would think it was his idea!

Are there any reporters taking pictures?

Yes, there are many.

Li Shiqun clenched his fists. These idiots, all they know is how to cause him trouble.

They acted first and reported later; these people really hid it well.

He scratched his head, feeling that this matter was very troublesome. He couldn't stop them, and it was too late to deal with it no matter what he did.

He returned to his office with a sullen face. Since the die was cast and he had already offended the Japanese, there was no reason to offend He Xingjian's people as well.

What's the point of blocking them?

Ding-ling-ling. Ding-ling-ling.

"Hello." Li Shiqun answered the phone, but before he could hear a word, he frowned and put the receiver away. The Japanese curses arrived late but surely.

I tried to explain, but I didn't know, so I just let it go with the scolding.

Li Shiqun leaned back in his chair, thinking about how to win back the favor he had done for He Xingjian after being scolded by the Japanese.

He had done something, so he had to let others know that he had taken the blame. He was now part of the Peaceful Nation-Building Army, and it was always good to win over a few people.

He wanted to get this credit so that the current leader of the Peace and National Reconstruction Army would think highly of him. With this in mind, Li Shiqun went out to ask his men where the farewell party was and called the driver.

"Let's go see He Xingjian off."

SH city is quite large. He Xingjian's farewell party was still circling around Zhabei. When Li Shiqun arrived, it was still about three kilometers away from He Xingjian's destination.

Seeing the procession seeing him off, Li Shiqun didn't get out of the car, since it wasn't safe outside.

After following for a few minutes, suddenly, two cars sped past us, one on the left and one on the right. As they passed the procession, several black objects were thrown out of the car windows. The cars sped away without stopping.

Boom! Boom! Suddenly, a series of explosions rang out from the farewell procession ahead, throwing the procession into chaos!
Li Shiqun, who was drowsy and daydreaming from the explosion, suddenly sat up with a start!

Then, as was his habit, he lowered his body.

The farewell procession was densely packed with people, and the damage from the fragmentation grenades was simply outrageous. A total of eight grenades thrown from the two vehicles exploded in the crowd, leaving blood everywhere and heart-wrenching screams.

The Kuomintang's target was the coffin. The eight people carrying the coffin were in the innermost circle, so their injuries weren't too serious, but the sound of the explosion alone was enough to make them stagger.

Bang! The coffin hit the ground, the lid opened, and He Xingjian's stiff body rolled out, facing the sun, seeing the wind and the light.

A grand funeral!

Reporters snapped photos.

The chaotic night began; the bodies still needed to be buried, the Kuomintang agents still needed to search, and arguments were inevitable.

The next day, newspapers all over Shanghai reported on He Xingjian's defection to the enemy and his swift death.

Of course, the first choice of photo was the one showing He Xingjian's body exposed on the street.

The citizens of Shanghai were reading the newspaper with great interest; some even found it very enjoyable!
Some people think that the Kuomintang's military intelligence agency went too far. The person was dead, what grudge did they have, why wouldn't they let him be buried?

The two groups were hurling insults at each other, and there was plenty of talk about the concession area.

Meanwhile, at No. 76, an angry officer questioned Li Shiqun about his dereliction of duty. Their leader had died under the protection of No. 76, and now even the burial ceremony had been ruined. How could these subordinates not be furious!
Li Shiqun was also furious. He told them not to hold the event, but they insisted on doing it anyway. After the event, the venue was vandalized, and they came to cause him trouble.

What does it have to do with him?
The Japanese cursed him, and now these soldiers and bandits are cursing him too. What did he do to deserve this?

The Japanese called again, berating Li Shiqun.

If they had given these officers a grand funeral, they could have at least found some solace in pretending they never saw it.

But now, where is there any face left to save?

We must find the Military Intelligence Bureau immediately and carry out retaliation.

Li Shiqun smashed a teacup and told them to get lost, to go back to where they came from, and to stop causing trouble for themselves.

Japanese newspapers did not remain silent; instead, they published an article angrily denouncing Chongqing for carrying out terrorist attacks and undermining peace in East Asia.

However, very few people can understand Japanese.

At noon, Chen Mo called specifically to arrange a meeting with Gu Yansheng.

"Hahaha, a telegram from Chongqing—a commendation! This time, it's not just the bureau that's issuing a commendation, but it's also being announced in newspapers nationwide. Boss Dai has clearly stated that he'll give us a bonus of 50,000 yuan!"

"Wow, that's not easy." Gu Yansheng laughed. Although 50,000 yuan was not much, he was really happy that Boss Dai was willing to pay.

It's more practical than a medal.

Moreover, once you've been paid, your title changes from "bureau chief" to "boss"—paying money makes you the boss.

"We'll split the money in half when it arrives," Chen Mo said generously.

Gu Yansheng couldn't refuse. "Fine, I have to take the money. It's money from Director Dai, so I must take it."

After laughing, Chen Mo got down to business, "There's one more thing. In the recent operation, the Shanghai District and 76 were fighting each other and suffered quite a lot of losses. Director Dai thinks, is there any way to turn Li Shiqun to our side, or find some leverage against him that we can use to blackmail him?"

Gu Yansheng's eyes widened upon hearing this. "Try to turn Li Shiqun to the enemy? Director Dai's idea is really audacious. Let alone how difficult it is to successfully turn him to the enemy, just finding someone to make contact is a huge problem. Whoever makes contact will die."

Such unrealistic ideas can even come up. Li Shiqun is currently at the height of his power and will soon become a core figure in the Wang Jingwei regime. He is in the prime of his life and has great power in his hands. Now he wants to turn the regime against its leader. Isn't that just wishful thinking?

Even Ding Mocun, who was suppressed by Li Shiqun, is only encouraged by Gu Yansheng to do business in the Kuomintang-controlled areas. This is truly audacious.

Gu Yansheng added, "Let me tell you, I've spent a lot of time with Li Shiqun, and I know a lot about his personality, so don't have that idea."

Chen Mo nodded. "I trust your judgment. Although I haven't asked Liu San about this yet, judging from Liu San's usual reports, he also thinks that Li Shiqun won't be turned."

Director Dai was just asking us for advice; after all, there would definitely be benefits in turning people to defect.

"Impossible, don't even think about it. Face reality, the only thing we can do is fight him."

"Understood, that's settled then, I'll be going now."

"Okay, by the way, how's it going in Anhui?" Gu Yansheng asked.

The land route is still very important; relying solely on the waterway could lead to unforeseen circumstances at any time.

Now that Chen Mo has returned to the organization and the land route has been established, he can be responsible for delivering supplies to the New Fourth Army, and he won't need to keep running around like this.

Chen Mo nodded. "It's basically done. A few days ago, the people from No. 76 went and swept through Anhui to find out who the Japanese spies were. Liu San has already told me. Now I've opened a shop in the city, which is run by people from small gangs. I don't have many people of my own. I'll send more people over when needed."

If there aren't enough people, you can ask the organization for help. You can run some trade. There are no technical requirements for this kind of manpower. Any farm boy can do it. The New Fourth Army has plenty of farm boys. It's not hard to find them.

While Chen Mo was still under observation, Gu Yansheng, in the name of the organization, had Shen Linshen send a telegram to Chen Mo, instructing him to transport medicine to the New Fourth Army.

We don't have enough manpower, but we'll have enough when the time comes.

(End of this chapter)