Spy Wars: Red Shopkeeper

Chapter 217 Preaching
Sassoon laughed heartily, raised his glass and clinked it against the glass, saying crisply, "Sure, of course, I'm happy to serve you, Minister."

When you become a minister, the situation changes drastically.

Sassoon had originally planned to take advantage of the situation and gain some benefits, but now, he's not in a hurry at all; there's plenty of time.

One must be patient.

Gu Yansheng scoffed at his pretentious and strange tone.

"It's still very early stages, so don't tell anyone about this. It's top secret right now."

"When have I ever been big-mouthed?" Sassoon said with the sincerity of an honest man.

Gu Yansheng told the British government that he didn't care. He chatted with Sassoon for a while, arranged a time and security, and went downstairs with Sassoon seeing him off.

The guard opened the door to the private room, and Gu Yansheng walked in. The room immediately fell silent, and everyone turned to look at him.

Gu Yansheng readily agreed, smiling faintly, "I have not failed in my mission."

"Oh~"

The atmosphere immediately became cheerful.

Those present now have a firsthand understanding of Gu Yansheng's capabilities in Shanghai.

"Come on, let's toast to good luck!" Minister Zhou raised his glass and cheered.

"Ha ha ha ha."

After downing a glass of wine, Gu Yansheng said, "Sassoon said that he will not only provide us with a banquet hall, but also assist us with security."

"Great."

"There's only one condition: no one from number 76 can come in, otherwise it would be a slap in his face. I've done my best."

“That’s nothing. Just don’t say you’re from No. 76. Just say you’re a police officer, a regular guard, right?” Minister Zhou looked at Ding Mochun.

Ding Mocun nodded, "No problem, I will give the instructions."

"Okay, drink."

Now that the venue is ready, the next step is to send out invitations to attend the meeting.

Invitations were sent out on the second day, and a lecture was held directly in the concession area on the third day.

The Grand Conference Hall of the Cathay Hotel was packed.

Almost all the traitors, big and small, from Shanghai came, along with some Japanese, politicians and businessmen from various countries, and reporters from major newspapers. The venue was crowded and very lively.

Gu Yansheng is attending the meeting; today is Wang Ni's personal speech.

As expected of someone who has served as a vice president, Wang Ni is quite eloquent. He started by talking about President Sun Yat-sen's Pan-Asianism and then brought up the current situation.

Let's start with the Northern Expedition and move on to the wars of today.

The discussion begins with the corruption of the Nationalist government and then moves on to the power struggles within the military.

Finally, the meeting concluded with a look towards the new government, inviting talented individuals from around the world to join its family and work together to create a bright future.

He maintained control of the pace of the speech throughout, creating a series of climaxes, and the three-hour speech was met with continuous applause from the audience.

In his final moments, Wang Jingwei became excited and ecstatic. When he spoke of peaceful nation-building and the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, he raised his arms, clenched his fists, and shouted slogans.

"Save the country in a roundabout way!"

"Peaceful nation-building!"

"Prosperity Sphere in Asia!"

All the traitors, big and small, shouted slogans, creating an atmosphere that was far too enthusiastic.

The cheers from the audience were so intense that even Wang Ni felt a little reluctant to leave the stage.

He was still very energetic when he left the field.

I'll take this opportunity to be interviewed by a reporter.

After answering a few questions, another hour passed before it finally ended.

"How did you all feel about today's speech?" Wang Ni asked with a smile as he approached Minister Zhou and his group who were waiting.

Minister Zhou exclaimed, "Unparalleled, incredibly inspiring! I believe that with the publication of tomorrow's newspaper, the whole world will come to support the peaceful nation-building effort."

Wang Ni was pleased to hear this, "Okay, thank you for your hard work. There's another match tomorrow, let's continue."

The second speech began early the next morning.

This scene took place at the Sino-French Technical School in the French Concession. This was due to the connection between Wang Jingwei and Chu Minyi, who was the dean of the medical school and had some connections.

As the speech began, Wang's remarks from yesterday's speech spread widely with the sale of newspapers.

Newsboys waved newspapers and shouted on the streets of the concession.

"Breaking news! Breaking news! Mr. Wang personally denounces the Chongqing government for corruption and incompetence!"

"Exclusive in Shanghai! Mr. Wang calls for a roundabout way to achieve his goal!"

"Headline in the Concession! The new government announces a peaceful nation-building plan today!"

"Live from the scene: Mr. Wang's Declaration on the Prosperity Sphere of Asia causes a sensation in the concessions!"

"Have some."

"Two cents, thank you."

Citizens buying newspapers walked along, heads down, reading their papers. Soon, discussions arose in teahouses, companies, and trading houses.

While Wang Ni was still building up his emotions at the speech venue, before the climax had even arrived, an external climax took precedence.

Bang bang bang bang, crack crack crack crack—at first, there were only a few sporadic gunshots coming from outside the campus, but then the gunfire became more frequent. The students sitting below whispered among themselves, some of them already standing up, looking towards the school gate.

Ding Mocun, who was guarding the venue, immediately arranged for people to strengthen the protection of Wang Ni and directed people to go to support him. He himself went up on stage to explain to Wang Ni, who was still giving a speech and did not know what had happened.

Wang Ni waited and saw that the gunshots continued sporadically, and the students' attention was being drawn away by the gunshots. If this continued, the effectiveness of today's lecture would be greatly reduced, so he felt that he could not wait any longer.

So he patted the microphone.

"Students, please calm down! Please don't panic, everyone sit down!"

Wang Ni spoke in a gentle tone, with a smile on his face: "The noise outside just now was just a few clowns courting their own destruction. Don't worry, it's safe here. Our guards have brought the situation under control."

Remember, we are gathered here today for a greater cause: to save our nation in a peaceful way!
If we let this little disturbance interrupt us and scare us away, wouldn't that play right into the hands of those saboteurs?

Wang Ni paused for a moment, and his calm words did indeed bring some of the students' attention back.

Some people even looked at him with admiration, yet the person on stage remained so composed.

It must be said that although Wang Ni is old, thanks to his looks and clothing, he does have a decent appearance.

Just then, a student-looking man wearing a hat suddenly stood up, pulled off his hat, took out a gun, and shouted, "Eliminate the traitors for the country! Kill the dog! You scoundrel! Prepare to die!"

After saying that, he raised his gun and fired.

Bang bang bang bang! The No. 76 agent who had been hiding in the crowd stood up. Several shots rang out, and bullets landed on him. The student hadn't fired a single shot, but his blood was spilled on the scene.

The people from Unit 76 did not relax because of the assassin's death. They continued searching in the crowd. Soon, they found a student who was about to sit up but then sat down again, and another student who was terrified and didn't know what to do.

The 76th agent rushed forward to arrest them and found guns on their persons.

"take away!"

"I didn't fire! I didn't fire!"

The panicked students screamed, but were ultimately dragged away without mercy, and what awaited them was the interrogation room of Unit 76.

There was a temporary disturbance at the venue.

It's hard not to feel a pang of sadness when it seems like someone you know has been arrested.

Wang Ni on the field panicked for a moment, but quickly regained his composure and continued to control the situation.

He tapped the microphone and raised his voice, shouting:

"Students! Fellow countrymen! Listen, doesn't that gunfire expose the Chongqing government's bluster and cowardice?"
They were hiding in the shadows and firing shots because they were afraid of our voices!

The Chongqing government kept saying it wanted to fight the war of resistance, but it only dared to use such despicable assassination methods and did not dare to face the people openly and honestly. Why?
Because they feel guilty!

Their rule was corrupt and incompetent, and the army was vying for power, so they could only cover up their failures by carrying out assassinations through secret agents, which they would then publish in the newspapers: "We killed so-and-so today."

But go see for yourselves!

I looked at past newspapers and past news!
You'll find out.

They were completely subservient to the Japanese soldiers!

They fought bravely against the Chinese!

They say they're fighting against Japan, but what kind of Japan are they fighting against?

All I saw were four words: "The Chiang family will get rich!"
All I saw were four words: national subjugation and racial extinction!
And what about us? We took the bright path of saving the country through a roundabout way, achieving peaceful nation-building through negotiations that involved enduring humiliation and hardship!

Peace achieved through necessary sacrifices!
Today's attack is proof of their fear—fear that we will awaken the students, fear that we will win the hearts and minds of the people!
This behavior only makes us more determined!
The louder the gunfire from the Military Intelligence Bureau, the more it proves that the Chongqing government is a paper tiger, tough on the outside but rotten on the inside.

We won't be intimidated!
We must continue to shout: "Save the country through indirect means! Build a peaceful nation! Achieve shared prosperity in Asia! Let the world see who China's future truly is!"

"That's enough, that's enough," Ding Mochun said anxiously from the side. "They've already started fighting, why don't they say a few more words? Mr. Wang, let's retreat first, safety first."

Wang Ni also felt that it was about time, since the situation was still unclear.

"Students, remember this: the new government needs passionate young people like you, not cowards who only know how to use violence!"

The new government awaits your participation.

The wave was finished.

Run
The day after the presentation ended.

Chen Mo came to find Gu Yansheng.

"Chongqing already knows what Wang is preaching. Boss Dai instructed that Wang is a traitorous traitor. Even if we can't get rid of him, we can't let him continue to preach like this and bewitch people."

Gu Yansheng nodded in agreement.

The two-day series of presentations did indeed have some impact.

First, the Chongqing government's repeated defeats in the war of resistance were truly disappointing. Second, Wang's path of peaceful national salvation, under the guise of allowing people to survive, attracted some followers who believed that Wang was right.

Chongqing fears its influence in Shanghai will be weakened, so taking action is understandable.

However, this is something that really doesn't need to be done.

"As far as I know, Wang Jingwei will not be giving any speeches recently. Someone else will be replaced. If you want to attack, you have to attack someone else. As for the schedule, I don't care about the other people's schedules and I'm not familiar with them. They should be discussing it with the people from No. 76."

Chen Mo thought for a moment and nodded, "Okay, then I'll ask Liu San first."

For matters within No. 76, it's obviously much easier to find Liu San.

After saying goodbye to Chen Mo, Gu Yansheng still had to go find Shen Linshen. On his way, he saw a blackboard hanging at Shen Linshen's door that said the new cloth had arrived.

Then let's make a set of clothes.

"what happened?"

Shen Linshen said, "Wang Jingwei has defected to the enemy. The organization asked me to ask you if you can get the latest negotiation content between Wang Jingwei and the Japanese. The organization should have an action plan."

(End of this chapter)