Spy Wars: Red Shopkeeper

Chapter 196 Corruption
"welcome."

The first couple to disembark from the ship were a very stylish pair, smiling and waving to everyone. Needless to say, they were Wang Ni and his wife, Chen Bijun.

Led by the Japanese, everyone applauded in welcome.

Military Police Commander Jiro Miura, Director of the Special Affairs Committee for China Teiji Kagesa, and Shizue Tsuda of the Asia Development Institute all went to greet him. There were also some high-ranking Japanese officials, including Gu Yansheng, whom he had never met before; they were probably from Nanjing.

In terms of rank, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that all the high-ranking Japanese military officers in Shanghai and Nanjing came to greet them.

Regardless, Wang Jingwei was, after all, the vice chairman of a country, and the Japanese valued things like status and hierarchy, so they gave him plenty of face.

Following closely behind were Minister Zhou and his cronies, who talked with everyone and extended their warm regards to the local officials, including the two representatives, Gu Yansheng and Fu Xiao'an.

When introducing Gu Yansheng, Minister Zhou introduced him to Wang Ni, saying, "This is Director Gu of the Municipal Government whom I told you about. He went to great lengths to raise funds for our army of 50 troops."

"Oh?" Wang Ni had obviously heard Minister Zhou's introduction before. Upon hearing this, he reached out and shook hands with Gu Yansheng, saying in a warm manner, "It's really hard on our compatriots in Shanghai. Thank you very much."

Gu Yansheng, neither humble nor arrogant, fabricated a lie: "Mr. Wang's great cause of peaceful nation-building is a good thing that benefits the country and the people. You are the one who is working hard for the country and for all the people of the world. What I am doing is just my duty. How can it be considered hard work?"

Wang Ni was pleased to hear this and waved his hand, saying, "Thank you for your hard work."

Gu Yansheng nodded.

After completing the formalities, we still had important matters to discuss at the meeting, so we got in the car and left.

A group of people who defected from Chongqing did so in a planned and premeditated manner, so they brought all their families with them. Now they are all large families, with many children, making it a lively scene.

Hasegawa Jinchuan instructed, "Just keep them company. You'll be spending a lot of time with them from now on. Since they've just arrived, they'll inevitably need help with their lives and work. Get to know each of them."

Since the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has chosen Gu Yansheng as the main person in charge of infiltrating the Wang Jingwei government, Hasegawa Jinchuan will place his hopes on Gu Yansheng. Otherwise, Ling Xianwen would be much more skilled at handling this kind of reception, which is why Gu Yansheng was called here.

Gu Yansheng agreed, indicating that he understood.

"Then I'll go first."

"Ah."

Gu Yansheng quickened his pace, caught up with Minister Zhou, and said to him, "Minister, you can stay here for another minute."

"What's wrong?" Minister Zhou asked curiously.

Gu Yansheng turned his head and pointed at the reporters, and said with a smile: "Your China Daily reporter team, I brought them here today to show their faces. It's their first time on stage, so there are bound to be things they don't do well enough. If there are, they should correct them and if there aren't, they should strive to do better. Shouldn't you say a few words of encouragement and wish them good luck?"

Minister Zhou then noticed the reporters. He had initially thought they were sent by the Japanese, but they turned out to be his own people, which piqued his interest, and he began to scrutinize them.

"Is the newspaper setup complete?"

"It's done. Except for the positions of president and editor-in-chief, which you will decide on yourself, all other personnel and equipment are ready."

"Okay, not bad."

Given his experience as a propaganda minister, he naturally had high expectations for ordinary reporters. However, for a newspaper that had only been established for a short time, seeing such a scale and professionalism was more than enough.

"You've worked hard." Minister Zhou stepped forward and offered a few words of thanks to the reporters.

Then, at the reporter's urging, he expressed some of his wishes for peaceful nation-building.

"That's good. We'll give them a bonus later."

"Ok."

"Let's go eat first. Although the Japanese Navy's food is varied, there are no spicy dishes. After being at sea for so many days, I really miss Hunan cuisine."

"Hahaha, please, Minister."

There's definitely no Hunan cuisine available.

Where would Hunan cuisine come from at a banquet hosted by Japanese people?

Hongkou is now under martial law, and the car followed the Japanese convoy to its destination: the Naval Club.

The venue was large, the food was plentiful, there was equipment for presentations, and it was safe, which met the needs of Wang Ni and the Japanese in their business dealings.

"Upholding the legacy of Sun Yat-sen's Pan-Asianism, we are dedicated to saving 400 million people through the path of peace. Today's gathering marks the beginning of China and Japan working together to build a new order in East Asia. Sino-Japanese friendship should be like brothers joining hands to break free from the shackles of Britain and the United States and usher in a new era of coexistence and mutual prosperity!"

Wang Ni spoke passionately on the podium, and the people below applauded enthusiastically.

After he finished speaking, he was surrounded by several high-ranking Japanese officials who began discussing matters in Chongqing.

As the hosts, Gu Yansheng and Fu Xiao'an received the people from Hanoi, chatted about all sorts of things, kept the conversation lively, and ensured that no one felt neglected. That was enough for them to get to know each other.

After a while of busy work, I took a break and sat down with Fu Xiao'an to relax, drinking cola and talking about the positions of the newcomers in Chongqing.

As he spoke, Minister Zhou walked over with a smile, holding a wine glass. He smiled when he saw the two of them drinking cola.

"Thank you both for your hard work." "It's nothing." Gu Yansheng and Fu Xiao'an changed their wine glasses, stood up and clinked glasses with Minister Zhou. They pretended to put the glasses to their lips, barely wetting their lips, and put the glasses down without drinking a drop of wine.

Minister Zhou didn't see it, but asked with curiosity, "You two both like to drink Coke?"

"No, it's not that. It's mainly because we both have a psychological trauma." Gu Yansheng briefly recounted the incident of winning the arsenic lottery last time, and concluded, "That's why we rarely drink outside, especially alcohol related to banquets hosted by the Japanese. We're really a bit afraid."

"Is it that serious?" Minister Zhou glanced at the wine glass in his hand and joked, "The Japanese should be keeping our whereabouts strictly confidential. How would the Military Intelligence Bureau know when we just arrived in Shanghai? Besides, something has already happened. The Japanese must have been very strict about security here."

Strict secrecy? Is it really that secret? Fu Xiao'an even mentioned at the meeting that the people from Hanoi were arriving soon. Now, even the city government's dogs probably know that you've come to Shanghai.

Gu Yansheng and Fu Xiao'an exchanged a glance and chuckled. "We've encountered too many assassination attempts, so we have to be careful. Minister, the situation in Shanghai is indeed quite complicated. The Military Intelligence Bureau has carried out too many assassination attempts in Shanghai."

Fu Xiao'an nodded, "I'm getting old, and I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to withstand another dose of arsenic, so please forgive me, Minister Zhou."

"You guys don't need to be so cautious." Minister Zhou chuckled and waved to the waiter. "Get me a bottle of Coke. I haven't had Coke in a while. Watching you guys drink it makes me miss the taste."

After all, they rushed to Shanghai because of the Kuomintang's assassination attempt in Hanoi.

"Hahahaha." Gu Yansheng and Fu Xiao'an chuckled.

Minister Zhou accepted the Coke from the waiter, his smile fading slightly. "He Xingjian had only been in Shanghai for a short time when he died under the protection of the Special Agent Headquarters. The Special Agent Headquarters bears responsibility for the Military Intelligence Bureau's rampant operations in Shanghai."

Since Minister Zhou said so, Fu Xiao'an seized the opportunity to add fuel to the fire, "With their minds not on the right path, how can the Military Intelligence Bureau not be rampant in Shanghai when the dignified Special Agent Headquarters is not thinking about catching spies and bandits, but is only thinking about helping the Judicial Department catch corruption?"

When Minister Zhou heard that it was related to the Department of Justice, he turned to look at Gu Yansheng with a questioning look in his eyes, and then looked at Fu Xiaoan, "What is the corruption that Mayor Fu is talking about?"

Fu Xiao'an then explained the situation: "They've come all the way to the municipal government to arrest people. What does arresting corrupt officials have to do with their intelligence headquarters? Beating a section chief to death—is this really about arresting spies and finding clues, or is it about confiscating property and making a quick buck? Minister Zhou, tell me, what exactly are these people doing?"

Minister Zhou nodded with a slight frown, offering no opinion, and looked at Gu Yansheng, "What do you think of this matter?"

Gu Yansheng said, "This matter was definitely an overreach by the Special Agent Headquarters."

The Secret Service should transfer the prisoner to our judicial department in accordance with all legal procedures.

Corruption is corruption, and it must be distinguished from issues like espionage and special operations.

The person died, and the money was taken by the intelligence headquarters. Nobody knows whether this will lead to new corruption problems. That's one issue.

Secondly, there's the issue of corruption. If someone is beaten to death like this, would someone be beaten to death for embezzling 8 yuan, or for embezzling 1 yuan?

The intelligence headquarters took the man away, locked him up, and beat him. Did they know how much he had embezzled before he confessed?

do not know.

Aside from the corrupt individual himself, probably no one knows the exact figures.

At what point in the fighting would headquarters release the prisoners?
I think that's impossible. It will definitely end in a fight to the death. They'll always feel that he didn't give a proper account, and then they'll tell the world that he was a die-hard.

This will lead to an extremely serious problem.

If the power of adjudication is taken over by the intelligence headquarters, then all corrupt people will surely live in fear.

Thus, petty corruption escalates into massive corruption.

Since getting caught means certain death anyway, why not embezzle more? Make a big fortune, flee abroad before being discovered—isn't that more worthwhile than being a petty embezzler, living in constant fear?

Even if I go to Chongqing and can't become an official, becoming a landlord shouldn't be a problem, right?

Some people would cooperate with the Military Intelligence Bureau (MIB) and act as spies for them. It wasn't necessarily their own choice; it was possible that their embezzlement was discovered by the MIB, and the MIB would blackmail them, saying, "If you don't cooperate with me, I'll report you to the Special Agent Headquarters."

In that life-or-death crisis, did these people become spies for the Military Intelligence Bureau?

This is the consequence of the Secret Service headquarters overstepping its authority.

The law categorizes corruption cases differently: those who embezzle less receive shorter sentences, while those who embezzle more receive longer sentences, with a focus on returning the ill-gotten gains. This approach is itself a calculated measure.

Minister Zhou nodded in agreement. "How to solve corruption has always been a difficult problem throughout history. You're right, we can't do it this way. Have you spoken to the Japanese about this? What did they say?"

Fu Xiao'an shook his head. "It's very troublesome. The Special Agent Headquarters is now under the command of the Military Police Command and Yingzuo. We can't command them. I wonder if Minister Zhou can?"

This was quite a provocation. Minister Zhou smiled and said, "The Special Agent Headquarters is originally a department of the new government, so it will naturally be under our command. I will handle this matter. I will talk to Yingzuo. The responsibilities of each department must be clearly defined."

Overjoyed, Fu Xiao'an was in a good mood and teased Gu Yansheng in a subtle way, "Director Gu, then you have to take responsibility for this."

Gu Yansheng scoffed, "You make it sound like I'm slacking off. Mayor Fu, the current approach is to let each region mind its own business. Huxi is Huxi, and Wusongkou is Wusongkou. Everyone should develop their own economy. We're all at the same level, so even if I wanted to, I couldn't interfere."

The conversation naturally veered towards the economy.

"What do you think of Xingya Institute's approach?" Minister Zhou asked, seizing the opportunity.

(End of this chapter)