Spy Wars: Red Shopkeeper

Chapter 220 Preferences
"what?"

Shen Linshen was so surprised that he unconsciously leaned forward. "We sent people to impersonate Kuomintang members and attend the Wang Jingwei regime's party congress?!"

Shen Linshen felt his mind was being jumbled; the relationship was a bit complicated.

“Yes, you heard me right.” Gu Yansheng pointed to himself. “The recruitment is here. As long as the organization needs someone, I can find a way to recruit them.”

It's impossible to become a minister, but local governments at all levels still need staff to work. Will these people who have attended the meetings be qualified to be section chiefs or department heads?
When the Wang Jingwei regime is integrated and put into operation, it will definitely need a lot of manpower to maintain operations. Who will they turn to? The Kuomintang, of course.

Shen Linshen's expression immediately turned serious upon hearing this; if that were the case, the chances were far too great.

If it could really be accomplished, it would be able to infiltrate the Wang Jingwei regime to the point of being completely impenetrable!

But after a moment's thought, he realized there was a problem.

"If you're hiring, won't this process pose some risks for you?"

"What risks? I'm not the one who actually recruits people; I'm just responsible for sending people out."

Don't get me wrong, I only recruit the people who are sent out, not the people who are responsible for sending out people.

I will report to the organization who went where.

If the organization wants to place someone in its ranks, it can simply have a local person fabricate a Kuomintang (KMT) membership record. In times of war and chaos, is it really that difficult to claim to be a KMT member?

"But what if they verify it?"

"Who can verify this? How could they have the energy to verify it? He said he joined the Party in Shanxi, but can he go and verify it with Yan Xishan?"

Send a telegram to Yan Xishan and ask him, "Can you check the information for me? Did this person join the Party here?"
Whether Yan Laoxi lets him verify it or not is up to us.

It cannot be verified.

Next, this person in the organization went to find the person I sent out, and subtly let him know that you are a member of the Kuomintang.

Alright, the rest is up to fate.

Even if it gets exposed.

What has it got to do with me?
"I didn't hire them, I don't even know them, don't you think?"

Gu Yansheng shrugged, looking quite innocent.

Shen Linshen opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but he couldn't think of any words to refute it.

That's amazing! It actually works.

In this way, wouldn't some comrades hiding in the Japanese-occupied areas be able to transform themselves and return to the new government with official positions?

"I admire you, I really admire you." Shen Linshen chuckled. "You really have a knack for thinking things through. Our people represent the Kuomintang to attend the traitors' party congress, and you actually came up with this kind of method. Hahahaha. I reckon if I report this to the organization, they'll laugh themselves to death at this operation."

"Laugh, a smile makes you feel good," Gu Yansheng smiled and stood up. "I have something to do, I'm leaving. You hurry up and arrange this matter. I estimate that the list of people to be sent out will be completed in the next few days. I will contact you again then."

Shen Linshen nodded immediately, "Okay, I'll send the message right away."

This is another matter that cannot be discussed in a telegram; it seems I must meet with the organization to clarify it.

That evening, Gu Yansheng drove to find Chen Gongbo.

Chen Gongbo himself owns a house in Shanghai, a large villa, located in the International Settlement.

When Gu Yansheng's vehicle arrived, he saw that the people from No. 76 had already begun to guard the area. He stopped the car at the entrance, rolled down the window, and met with them.

"Hello, Director Gu."

"Yes, I'm here to see Mr. Chen."

Chen Gongbo held a high position, being a prominent Kuomintang official. Gu Yansheng gave him face by having a guard go in and announce his arrival at the door.

Not long after, a short-haired woman came out. She looked to be in her early twenties, not yet thirty, and was dressed appropriately and dignifiedly.

Unlike most women who like to leave some bangs on their foreheads, she combed all her hair back, which made her look more capable.

She said gently, "Hello, Director Gu. Mr. Chen is currently working. Please come with me."

A high-ranking official is indeed a high-ranking official; he didn't even come out to greet me personally. It seems that my status is not highly regarded by others.

This was after Minister Zhou had already notified them by phone.

Gu Yansheng smiled and nodded, following after him, and asked, "Who are you?"

The woman smiled and said, "I am Mr. Chen's secretary. My surname is Mo, and my name is Mo Guokang."

Guo Kang, that name doesn't quite suit someone who would be a traitor. "So it's Miss Mo, nice to meet you."

Mo Guokang smiled and pointed the way, "Director Gu, please."

Upon entering the inner room, given Chen Gongbo's power and influence, the house was naturally quite nice. He went upstairs to the study.

Mo Guokang entered and reported, "Mr. Chen, Director Gu has arrived."

Gu Yansheng saw Chen Gongbo frowning, writing a document very seriously, with a cigarette between his fingers.

He's in his forties, not quite fifty, and has a rather large face.

"Wait a minute." Upon hearing this, Chen Gongbo said this, took a puff of his cigarette, and then continued to bury himself in his work.

Mo Guokang explained apologetically, "Director Gu, I'm sorry, that's just how Mr. Gu is. Once he gets busy with work, he can't stop. He also likes to finish one thing before starting the next. He is currently drafting the outline of the documents for the Sixth National Congress."

Gu Yansheng nodded and smiled, "You go ahead with your work, I'll wait a bit."

"Please sit down, I'll make you some tea." Mo Guokang pointed to the stool, then walked to the tea table to start making tea.

Gu Yansheng looked around Chen Gongbo's study. There were many books on the shelves, in Japanese, English, and even more in China. A casual glance revealed that the books spanned a wide range of eras, and the most eye-catching among them were several books on the Communist Party.

In Chongqing and even in Shanghai today, these books are considered banned. However, whether or not they are banned depends on the people; those in power always make things difficult for the lower classes.

"Director Gu." Mo Guokang offered a cup of tea. "Thank you." Gu Yansheng drank his tea while waiting. He had initially thought that Chen Gongbo was just putting on an act, but observing how quickly Chen Gongbo was writing on the paper, he realized that Chen Gongbo was indeed working and it was definitely not some kind of show of force.

This is quite unusual, Gu Yansheng said, looking at the gorilla.

Gu Yansheng had met quite a few of the people from the Wang Jingwei faction who came to Shanghai, but Chen Gongbo was truly the most conscientious in his work.

After waiting for a few minutes, Chen Gongbo finally breathed a sigh of relief, looked up at Gu Yansheng, smiled, stood up and reached out his hand: "I'm really sorry to have kept Director Gu waiting. I don't like to procrastinate. When something comes up, I want to get it done as soon as possible. Plus, the Party Congress is really urgent, so I'm even more anxious."

Gu Yansheng shook hands and smiled, "I admire Mr. Chen's way of doing things. The thing that citizens dislike most about the government is its procrastination. If Mr. Chen's spirit of finishing things on the same day and setting an example can be followed by his superiors, then the new government will definitely be transformed and its image will be completely renewed."

"Haha." Chen Gongbo smiled. "Director Gu is indeed a top student from Peking University. He praises people so subtly. Oh, this is my secretary, Mo Guokang. She is also from the Peking University Law School."

"Really?" Gu Yansheng looked at Mo Guokang and smiled. "So you're my senior. I'll have to get to know you again."

Mo Guokang smiled and said, "Although Peking University is full of talented people, there are not many as amazing as Junior Brother Gu. In the future, I will have to rely on you to help me out."

Gu Yansheng chuckled lightly, "With Dean Chen around, how could I possibly be the one to promote him? Wouldn't that be going against the natural order?"

"Haha." The group laughed.

Chen Gongbo came out and walked to the sofa next to the coffee table, inviting Gu Yansheng to sit down.

"Since Mr. Wang wants us to organize the Sixth Congress, I quickly drafted out the framework for the Sixth Congress. This task is not difficult, it's just that the process is a bit complicated."

The main focus is still finding people, and it needs to be done quickly. What are your thoughts on this?

"I will cooperate with the operation. You can decide on the specific procedures. I really have no experience in this area."

Gu Yansheng didn't want to get involved, and seeing how hard Chen Gongbo was working, it didn't seem like he really needed any solutions from him. So, that was perfect; he could just be a hands-off manager.

As expected, Chen Gongbo said dismissively, "After all, the new government has not yet been established, and there are many rumors circulating. Under these circumstances, it is easy to find Kuomintang officials, but it is more difficult to find high-ranking officials."

In summary, I think there are two main difficulties. First, each province needs to send personnel, but some areas were under Kuomintang control. Given the reality, finding and communicating with personnel locally is very troublesome and even life-threatening.

Therefore, the most convenient and feasible method was to find people from the Nationalist-controlled areas in the Japanese-occupied territories to serve as representatives at the meeting.

Second, the identity of the personnel.

Since it is a national party congress, it is necessary to find some veteran, well-known figures to participate.

It would be difficult to find active Kuomintang officials. If we were to look for them, we would have to focus on those veterans from the Northern Expedition period or those who were at odds with Chongqing.

Some people are unwilling to return to public life, some may be worried about their reputation, and some may be missing. We need to analyze each case individually and formulate a specific plan based on the list of people we find.

The total number of attendees will be limited to a maximum of 500 and a minimum of 300. That should be sufficient for the conference.

Gu Yansheng nodded in agreement. Chen Gongbo directly broke down the task and provided detailed solutions, proving he was indeed quite capable.

Do you think it's feasible?

"I agree with Mr. Chen's approach. What do you need me to do?"

Chen Gongbo didn't mince words, "First, we need to send thirty people from Shanghai to each province. Don't be fooled by the number; when distributed among specific cities and counties, it might not be enough in such a tight timeframe."

However, considering that there aren't that many provinces these people actually want to go to, removing those from areas they don't need and merging them into other provinces for the search should be enough.

"That's four or five hundred people?" Gu Yansheng frowned slightly and said thoughtfully, "The municipal government definitely can't spare that many people. Let me think of a way. Do you have any other ideas?"

"Another issue is the whereabouts of high-ranking officials. The Kuomintang elders are at least somewhat famous. The war has caused their whereabouts to be unknown. We may not know them in Shanghai, but the local government or social elites should have been in contact with them. So we need to find out their whereabouts and persuade them to attend the meeting."

Gu Yansheng hummed in agreement. "I can try to find out where these people are, but I'm too busy to persuade them. I might be able to talk to those in Shanghai, but I'm really powerless to help in other places. As a junior member of the Kuomintang, I don't have any connections with the elders."

"It's alright. Aren't there still so many people in Shanghai who came with Mr. Wang and are just sitting around doing nothing? We can have them take action and take them down one by one."

“This is a good idea,” Gu Yansheng praised. “Perhaps each province could send one person there, firstly to lead the team, and secondly, to handle such people and speak on their behalf, so that the people below would have someone to rely on.”

Chen Gongbo raised his hand and smiled, "We're thinking the same thing."

"Hahahaha." Gu Yansheng laughed loudly, "Then let's do it this way for now. Is there anything else Mr. Chen needs me to do?"

"There really is." Chen Gongbo asked, "Have you eaten?"

"Have not eat yet."

"That's perfect, we should go have dinner together." Chen Gongbo stood up and said with a smile, "Anything planned for tonight?"

"It's nothing, just the two things you just asked me to do."

Chen Gongbo tapped his watch. "It's past the time, time to get off work. Just get up early tomorrow and get it done. You can't ask anyone to come over tonight, right? You need to balance work and rest, take care of your health. Come on, let's go eat."

Gu Yansheng smiled and said, "What kind of cuisine do you like? Let me see which restaurant suits your taste."

Chen Gongbo stated frankly, "I like Japanese food."

"Japanese food?" Gu Yansheng's lips twitched. What's wrong with him? He likes Japanese food.

after an hour.

Chen Gongbo declined Gu Yansheng's recommendation and, with practiced ease, led Gu Yansheng to Hongkou.

"There's a Japanese restaurant I haven't been to in a long time. I'm in Shanghai today, so I thought I'd give it a try."

"What Japanese dish is it that you're so fond of, Mr. Chen?"

Chen Gongbo gave him a longing look, "It tastes delicious, you'll know when you get to eat it."

The entrance to a brothel in Hongkou.

Chen Gongbo grabbed the two Japanese women and started making lewd jokes with the madam in broken Japanese, laughing heartily and unrestrainedly. He was a completely different person from when he was having a meeting with Gu Yansheng earlier.

Gu Yansheng was dumbfounded.

Japanese food, oh, this kind of Japanese food.

(End of this chapter)