Spy Wars: Red Shopkeeper

Chapter 212 A Good Name
"Imai, what on earth is going on?!"

Inside the Military Police Headquarters in Hongkou.

Jiro Miura, his face grim, demanded of Takeo Imai, "Why didn't I know about this? Not even Kagesa, who was in charge of the negotiations, knew. Did you keep it a secret for too long?"

As the highest-ranking local official, he was offended that the man was unaware of such an important matter.

If he hadn't found out by chance today, he might have made a serious mistake in his future interactions with Wang Jingwei's faction, leading to a reprimand from the military—a reprimand that would not be forgiven.

He hoped that Imai wasn't trying to pull some underhanded trick of insubordination.

Takeo Imai bowed and explained, “Lord Miura, it’s not that I intentionally kept this from you, but rather that this matter has not actually been implemented yet; it’s just a plan.”

According to the intelligence we have gathered through numerous attempts to contact them, Chongqing has always been resistant to peace talks. This is because the Chongqing leadership believes that if news of the peace talks leaks out, it will be detrimental to their anti-Japanese united front and also to their personal interests.

Therefore, if we want to induce the Chiang Kai-shek government to surrender, we must find suitable people to contact, convey messages, and release friendly information so that we can conduct in-depth negotiations with the Chiang Kai-shek government.

So far, we are only screening Chongqing personnel for communication; we haven't reached the stage of communicating with Chongqing officials. It's still too early to say anything.

Jiro Miura frowned and sneered, "Mr. Imai, the Wang faction already knows about a plan that hasn't even been implemented yet. Are you telling me it's too early? Are you planning to wait until you can sign documents with the Chongqing government before telling me?"

"I had no such intention." Takeo Imai bowed his head and apologized.

Kageyama Yoshiaki, who was standing to the side, spoke up, "I originally thought that the Wang faction obtained the news of the peace talks from within the Chongqing government, but according to you, it hasn't even started yet, so how did they know?"

Takeo Imai looked over, thought for a moment, and said, "The only people who know about this are the people at the Central China Expeditionary Army Headquarters and the people at the Nanjing Reformed Government. It must have been people from these two places who leaked the information."

Kagesa Tsuneaki raised an eyebrow and smiled slightly in surprise: "Then their intelligence gathering ability is stronger than we imagined. They've already found spies in the Restoration Government so quickly, and they're high-ranking officials, right?"

The commander of the Central China Expeditionary Army was ruled out first, and Kagesa naturally felt that the problem lay with the Meiji Restoration Government.

"From this perspective, I think the Wang faction is very capable. We should continue to negotiate instead of pursuing a vague possibility of peace talks with the Chongqing government. If we offend the Wang faction, we may end up losing on both sides."

Takeo Imai nodded slightly. "I've considered this issue, so I was originally prepared to negotiate with them while contacting people in Chongqing. Given that Chongqing doesn't want the outside world to know that they are negotiating with us, we can negotiate on both fronts simultaneously."

Now, it's a bit of a pity.

Yingzuo Zhenzhao chuckled, "I think you're overthinking it. With their strong capabilities, once they establish a government, we can use it to attack Chongqing."

We have occupied all the coastal cities, and with their economic and tax revenues, once these areas develop, the defeat of the Chongqing government is only a matter of time.

Negotiations with Chongqing are pointless; ultimately, we will definitely take over the whole of China, and that will not change. We will still be at war with the Chiang Kai-shek government.

The most important thing now is to expedite the establishment of the Wang Jingwei regime, using his position to establish a new Kuomintang government, thereby weakening the legitimacy of the Chongqing government and replacing it.

"Keeping the Kuomintang under our control is far more important than negotiating with Chongqing. Even if you succeed in negotiating with Chongqing, how can we challenge the legitimacy of the Chongqing government?"

Takeo Imai frowned and shook his head. "That's not how it's said. If a deal is reached, the initiative will be in our hands. For example, if we disclose the peace documents signed by President Chiang, wouldn't that greatly dampen the anti-Japanese sentiment of the Chinese people?"
If we go to war then, won't their cohesion be broken?

"You want to finish this stroke of the character 'eight' (八), but who knows how long it will take? So what will happen to the Wang faction during this time?" Yingzuo Zhenzhao asked. "You negotiate for a year, we drag it out for a year; you negotiate for two years, we drag it out for two years? The economic losses will not outweigh the gains."

"Sigh, it's been discovered. Those idiots in Nanjing can't even keep such a small secret." Takeo Imai said with a hint of resentment.

Kagesa Tsuneaki scoffed dismissively, "People who can develop their own businesses on other people's turf are clearly capable, and in the long run, it's definitely a good thing."

I remember Liang Hongzhi, the mayor of the Nanjing Reformed Government, who was quite resentful of the arrival of Wang Jingwei's faction and must have kept a close eye on his subordinates.

Takeo Imai nodded. "You're right. Liang Hongzhi has always been dissatisfied with our plan to merge the government. He doesn't like the arrival of Wang Jingwei's people and feels that he was among the first to join us. Even if a new government is established, he should be the head."

I have filed numerous complaints with the Expeditionary Army Headquarters for this.

In fact, this negotiation with the Chongqing government was the very idea he initially proposed to the headquarters.

"Oh?" Kagesa Tsuneaki raised an eyebrow in surprise, then scoffed, "A man of great ambition but little talent."

Takeo Imai shook his head. “Whether he is talented or not is not the point. If we can really negotiate with the Chongqing government, the people we control and the original people of the Chongqing government will inevitably form a new coalition government. Compared with the Wang Jingwei faction, Liang Hongzhi is much easier to control.”

That's the truth. Kageyama Yoshiaki smiled. "That's the only value of mediocrity."

"Have you two come up with any ideas yet? The Wang clique is treating us very badly right now. The plan of using Chinese to control Chinese, as instructed by headquarters, is national policy! How am I supposed to report this to headquarters?"

Whether Jiro Miura can negotiate Chengdu or not is not his concern; that's a matter for the negotiators.

If Wang Jingwei's faction stops talking about this kind of blunder, everyone in Shanghai will be held accountable by the military, which is a failure he cannot tolerate.

“We must continue negotiations with the Wang faction; I will explain things to headquarters.” Takeo Imai took all the blame.

That's great, it meets Jiro Miura's expectations perfectly.

But he was curious, "So how do you explain this to the Wang faction so that they can continue the discussion?"

“That’s not difficult. People with ideals will eventually be burdened by them. I will handle it, please rest assured.” Takeo Imai bowed.

Teahouse in western Shanghai.

Gu Yansheng put down his coffee cup, looking quite relaxed.

I can rest for a few more days.

The relationship between the man surnamed Wang and the Japanese is not good now, so all the publicity plans and plans to visit the concessions that were originally made have been put on hold.

Both families moved out of the villa complex near Hongkou. Minister Zhou already owned a villa in Shanghai, on Rue de la Cité in the French Concession, which was a high-end residential area. Wang, on the other hand, didn't own a house in Shanghai before, so he now lives in the villa he had just chosen on Yuyuan Road.

He refused to return to live in the Japanese-owned house in Hongkou, saying, "Even if I were assassinated by the Kuomintang, I would never go back to that house full of eyes!"

Both of them moved. The subordinates who originally lived in Hongkou had no choice but to move as well.

Under the threat of death, there was considerable resentment. Since the resentment could not be directed at President Wang, it could only be directed at the Japanese.

The two sides are currently arguing, so we'll have to wait until they're done arguing before discussing anything serious.

Gu Yansheng doesn't need to do anything underhanded in this matter.

From the perspective of benefiting the country and its people, the Wang Jingwei faction could choose not to betray the country, but since they have already betrayed it, they must resolutely continue down the path of traitors.

This group's constant infighting with Chiang Kai-shek in Chongqing was detrimental to the overall anti-Japanese war effort.

There's always a loud-mouthed surrender faction around, buzzing like a mosquito, which inevitably unsettles the morale of the soldiers who are still fighting.

Therefore, Chongqing does not want them to go back.

On the contrary, now that Wang has come to the Japanese-occupied area, he can make the most of his abilities. Just by providing food, drink and shelter for his men, he can embezzle a lot of money from the Japanese.

This is also beneficial to Gu Yansheng, who is waiting to make a fortune by showcasing his skills.

So, just be a good steward, do some work, flatter a bit, and you'll get a ministerial position. Any other little tricks you want to do are just superfluous.

With nothing else to do, I'll do what traitors do.

"Old Jin, Old Jin, come up here for a moment," Gu Yansheng called to the driver.

Old Jin immediately went upstairs. "Sir, you were looking for me?"

"Go to the city government and pick up someone for me, a woman. Go to the city government parking lot. Once you get there, call her back, and she'll come find you. Bring her over after you pick her up."

"Okay, I'll go now."

"Ah."

Now that they have some free time, Shen Shuyun and Gu Yansheng should take over. A traitor can't be too clean.

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

"Hello, Minister Zhou, um, is that so?"

The Japanese have actually approached Wang Ni; that's quick of them.

Gu Yansheng laughed and said, "You've reached an agreement, right? That's great! The new government will be established soon, won't it?"

Minister Zhou said on the phone, "I just learned about this myself. Takeo Imai personally went to see Mr. Wang, and Mr. Wang agreed. To be honest, I think he agreed too readily. We could have had some leverage over the Japanese, which would have been beneficial for the negotiations. He really agreed too readily."

Gu Yansheng asked curiously, "Do you know the specifics of the discussion? Judging from Mr. Wang's angry demeanor, he doesn't seem like someone who's easy to talk to."

Minister Zhou was sullen. "I don't know the specifics, they didn't say, but...tsk, I guess it's the national righteousness stuff. The Japanese have figured out that Mr. Wang is speaking out for the people and wants to build a peaceful country. If they use this to pressure him, he might actually agree."

There were some things he couldn't say to Gu Yansheng, after all, there's a limit to gossip, especially when the subject is the future head of government.

But dogs do have a natural weakness: they love good names.

He didn't know if it was the assassination attempt on Prince Regent Zaifeng that made Wang Shuang so happy. Although he failed and was imprisoned, he still became famous and eventually became known throughout the world.

Even now, with the peaceful nation-building, despite having the upper hand over the Japanese, they agreed so readily.

Minister Zhou estimated that while the Japanese were using the rhetoric of national righteousness and saving the common people, Wang was now thinking that his personal humiliation was nothing, and that the right path was to establish a new government as soon as possible and save the world.

He assassinated the regent, was imprisoned, and eventually became famous throughout the world.

He negotiated with the Japanese, endured the infamy, and eventually became famous throughout the world.

The same old tricks!

This is because the Japanese have figured out our weakness.

"He has now confirmed with the Japanese that formal peace talks will take place the day after tomorrow at sea. I will also be attending. Once the talks go smoothly, we need to expedite the follow-up matters. I'm informing you in advance so you can prepare."

"Okay, I will arrange it."

Gu Yansheng did not participate in the peace talks, so he was not considered a member of the Wang Jingwei faction.

"Well, that's it for now."

"Goodbye."

Gu Yansheng hung up the phone quickly; he hadn't even started to rest yet, and his vacation was already over.

After waiting for another hour, Lao Jin brought Shen Shuyun.

"Director." Shen Shuyun appeared quite quiet and well-behaved in front of outsiders.

(End of this chapter)