Spy Wars: Red Shopkeeper

Chapter 221 Scolding
In the evening, Gu Yansheng returned home.

Shen Shuyun came down from the second floor after hearing the sound of the car.

The silk robe fit her quite well; it was a gift from someone when Gu Yansheng moved to a new house, and it was just the right amount of money to give it to her so she could wear it and save some money on clothes.

"Still not asleep?" Gu Yansheng greeted.

Shen Shuyun hummed in agreement. "Why are you so late today?"

Aunt Liu also came out. "Sir, there's some ginseng soup warming in the pot. Shall I serve you a bowl?"

"Aunt Liu, you don't need to worry about it, I'll take care of it." Shen Shuyun took over the task.

Aunt Liu was perceptive; she said "okay" twice and left.

Shen Shuyun ladled a bowl of soup for Gu Yansheng and placed it on the dining table.

"I thought you weren't coming today."

Gu Yansheng scoffed, "He went to a brothel with Chen Gongbo."

"Visiting brothels?" Most women wouldn't accept that word, but Shen Shuyun, being a special agent, was quite tolerant, though she looked down on it. "Why do all these people from Chongqing like visiting brothels? They're supposed to be big shots, but they act like they've never seen a woman before."

Gu Yansheng smiled and continued to rub salt in her wounds.

"People are all the same, aren't they? This group of people who came from Chongqing is like this, but those who stayed in Chongqing are not? The Chongqing tabloids even said that ever since people from Nanjing came to Chongqing, the two most prosperous businesses are restaurants and brothels."

Shen Shuyun pursed her lips, turned to look at Gu Yansheng, and teased, "So how many women did you sleep with last night?"

"I wasn't asleep," Gu Yansheng said with a sneer. "The makeup on Japanese women's faces made me think I was seeing a ghost in the middle of the night."

"Haha." Shen Shuyun chuckled as she looked at Gu Yansheng, resting her chin on her hand and asking, "What about Chinese women?"

“I could consider it,” Gu Yansheng said, his expression serious as they met eyes.

Shen Shuyun smiled: "Who is this Chen Gongbo?"

“A high-ranking official.” Gu Yansheng told her about Chen Gongbo’s resume. Although Chen Gongbo was a high-ranking official, there were many such officials in Chongqing. Moreover, it was a time of war, and high-ranking officials were far less famous than local warlords who commanded troops.

Shen Shuyun nodded, then, realizing something, glanced at the closed door to the nanny's room and whispered, "If someone likes to frequent brothels, wouldn't they be an easy target for assassination?"

Gu Yansheng tilted his head toward the radio, and Shen Shuyun got up and turned it on. Immediately, the indignant voice of a female broadcaster came through.

"Wang's speech in Shanghai was a complete act of treason!"

They have distorted the concepts of Mr. Sun Yat-sen's Three Principles of the People, promoted the capitulationist rhetoric of inevitable defeat in the War of Resistance and Sino-Japanese friendship, and incited the people to accept the so-called indirect way of saving the country under the pretext of preserving national vitality, thus giving their act of surrendering to the enemy a legal cloak. This is utterly shameless!
The people are outraged by Wang Jingwei's actions!

Farmers created a folk song to satirize the traitor Wang Jingwei: "Wang Jingwei, shameless, recognizing a thief as his father and becoming a traitor, Japanese soldier, eats his mother, sooner or later he'll be dragged to feed the yellow wolves!"

Among scholars, Zhu Ziqing, a professor at Tsinghua University, went so far as to denounce it, saying, "Hearing the broadcast by the traitor Wang Jingwei, his words are full of misinterpretations of Sun Yat-sen's doctrines, which is utterly disgusting!"

The remarks of scholars like Zhu Ziqing reflected the general attitude of the literary world towards Wang Jingwei's collaboration with the Japanese!

"

Gu Yansheng listened to the radio with great interest.

Wang Ni's remarks spread through various channels. Although he managed to recruit more people, he was also criticized more frequently.

The Communist Party criticized him, the Kuomintang criticized him, and the general public criticized him. The radio broadcasts criticized him all day long. As long as someone turned on the radio, they could hear people cursing the traitor Wang Jingwei.

Gu Yansheng said while drinking his soup, "You're right, assassination is possible, but do you think the rewards for assassination are high?"

"To deter traitors?" That's what the Military Intelligence Bureau did, so Shen Shuyun naturally thought of the Bureau's objectives in Shanghai.

Gu Yansheng nodded in agreement, "It can deter, and it must deter. For example, the Kuomintang's massacre in Shanghai a while ago definitely deterred traitors."

However, it's not necessary to kill just anyone immediately.

The 76th Division and Japan's intelligence agencies aren't blind; the more you kill, the higher your chances of being arrested.

Killing someone, like the methods used by the Military Intelligence Bureau a few days ago, was for the purpose of deterrence. So what is your purpose in killing Chen Gongbo, who is surrounded by guards?
"Which has a better deterrent effect: killing him or killing a bureau chief within the puppet government? And who is easier to kill?"

Before she could finish speaking, Gu Yansheng continued, "The new government hasn't been established yet, and Chen Gongbo doesn't hold any position. Killing him is like killing a passerby. Yes, Chen Gongbo may be very capable, but there are plenty of capable people out there. If you kill Chen Gongbo, another Chen Jibo will come along."

What to do? Keep killing? When will it end? Is it worth getting discovered by Agent 76?
Li Shiqun was just a minor director in the Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics (CBIS) after the fall of Nanjing. He was insignificant, wasn't he? Now he's the director of the 76th Division. There's never a shortage of capable people; many people just lack a stage to perform on.

Therefore, killing Chen Gongbo may not be as profitable as you imagine.

Before committing murder, consider how much you can gain from it.

Take Zhou Ni for example, he certainly has ability, but he's also rotten to the core.

If I try to kill him, then I'll be facing Wang Ni and his wife Chen Bijun.

Chen Bijun dislikes me and wants to support her confidant Li Shengwu.

From my perspective, do you think I should kill Zhou Ni?

Shen Shuyun nodded. "It's wrong to kill him, otherwise it will cause a lot of trouble at work in the future."

Gu Yansheng gave her an approving look, "Different perspectives lead to different considerations. Military intelligence agents consider killing traitors to gain merit, while killing Chen Gongbo is a great achievement."

Now that Wang Jingwei is spreading such rampant propaganda, Dai Mubai can't stand it anymore. He's fighting with the 76th Division to kill traitors, and the Military Intelligence Bureau is also making a contribution.

Our mission is to lie in wait; killing is not our responsibility. Other groups can kill as they please, and we'll adjust our strategy based on the changing situation afterward, but there's no need for us to initiate killings.

Unless we absolutely have to kill this person, for example, if he knows our identities, right?

"Yeah, I got it."

"Hey, what are you thinking, trying to assassinate someone who just types? Are you getting high scores? Itching to get your hands dirty?"

"No, I just thought of it."

"If you feel like hunting in the countryside, it's still convenient to fire a few shots at the Loyal and Patriotic Army."

"No need, I can find another way." Shen Shuyun smiled. "Have you finished eating? Are you tired? Shall I give you a massage?"

"Then let's massage it."

The next day, Gu Yansheng went to find Fu Xiao'an.

Chen Gongbo asked him to organize a search team of four or five hundred people, and drawing people from the municipal government was the best solution.

The people in the main municipal governments are the type who just coast along and have no ability to distinguish whether someone is a fake Kuomintang member, which will make it easier for them to replace the Kuomintang members in the future.

"Mayor Fu." Gu Yansheng arranged to meet Fu Xiao'an at the municipal government.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Gu Yansheng got straight to the point and explained Chen Gongbo's requirements.

I thought Fu Xiao'an would still try to play hard to get, but to my surprise, he agreed quite readily. It seems he also wants to curry favor with the new government.

“We definitely can’t spare 500 people. If we had to spare 500 people, the city government would fall apart. Let’s say 400 people. We can spare 150 people from each department, and then I’ll have Lu Ying send out another 250 people. With the police following them, they can act as thugs if anything happens on the way.”

Four hundred people is about right. Gu Yansheng thought for a moment and nodded, "Okay, then four hundred people it is. You can arrange the manpower. Once it's arranged, I'll invite Mr. Chen and we'll all have a meal together. Mayor Fu, you've done a lot of work, so I won't take credit for it."

Fu Xiao'an smiled and said, "Okay, I'll arrange it right away. By the way, what kind of food does Mr. Chen like to eat? I'll make the reservation."

Gu Yansheng could practically blurt out the answer, "Of course, it's Japanese food."

At noon, Gu Yansheng went to the airport to see off Wang's men flying to Japan.

Now, Wang Ni travels around as if he has already assumed the role of a CEO, displaying a very imposing demeanor.

And then there's Chen Bijun, who was undoubtedly the First Lady.

Now, when they go to Japan, they say it's a visit.

The Chinese Daily and Japanese newspapers took photos together, creating a grand ceremony, and then sent them off in their plane.

After dropping them off, I returned to the city.

Hasegawa was also there, so I took the opportunity to report on the Wang Jingwei regime to him. He was from the consulate, so I could report as I saw fit. Anyway, it was all about things that were pushing for the establishment of the Wang Jingwei regime, so there was nothing I couldn't say.

Speaking of the second task assigned by Chen Gongbo, it was to compile a list of high-ranking Kuomintang officials.

Gu Yansheng happened to ask, "Mr. Hase, has the Japanese military's intelligence department investigated these people?"

"Yes, definitely. I'll have to ask for details. Come with me to the consulate."

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has a special department responsible for intelligence; in Shanghai, it was called the Iwai Mansion.

Hasegawa returned to the consulate, made a phone call, said a few words, and then told Gu Yansheng, "The person will be here soon. It's Vice Consul Iwai. He'll know more about this kind of information."

"Okay." Gu Yansheng nodded.

Hasegawa said, "I'll let you in advance with some news: once the new government is established, I will most likely be transferred to Nanjing, and then Vice Consul Iwai will become the Consul General in Shanghai."

"You're being promoted to ambassador?" Gu Yansheng smiled. "Congratulations! That's wonderful! I think you should have been promoted long ago. In Shanghai, who is more capable than you?"

Hasegawa smiled, raised his teacup, and said, "So, do a good job of establishing the new government and avoid any problems."

Gu Yansheng nodded, "Don't worry about that. As for how much help I'm giving, I really treat them like my subordinates. I'll do everything I can to help."

As they were talking, Eiichi Iwai arrived, a middle-aged man who looked to be around 40 years old.

Hasegawa explained what had happened and then asked, "Iwai-kun, Director Gu wants information on this. Does your Iwai Mansion have any relevant information?"

Iwai Hideki nodded. "There is indeed information on this, but it's not detailed and hasn't been updated in a long time."

The Kagesa Special Affairs Committee and the Doihara Agency are probably the most involved in this investigation. If we want to recruit more people, I think we need to contact them and obtain the latest intelligence.

“Kagesa just returned to Japan.” What a coincidence. Hasegawa frowned. “The Doihara Organization is now under the management of Haruki Keiichi, right? Why don’t you ask him if there is any such intelligence in Shanghai?”

“Then let’s send a telegram to Kagesa when he arrives in Japan,” Iwai Eiichi complained. “If we ask the Doihara Agency for intelligence, we’ll owe them a favor. Kagesa will definitely give it to us. He can’t possibly refuse to help us establish the Wang Jingwei regime.”

That's true. Hasegawa said to Gu Yansheng, "Then let's wait a day. I'll send a telegram to the mainland and let Kagesa know when he arrives so he can send a telegram back and we can deal with it then."

"Okay. Then I'll take my leave."

Gu Yansheng nodded to the two of them and returned to western Shanghai.

Qingqi Qingyi could actually ask Li Shiqun for it, since Li Shiqun would have to help anyway. However, since Yingzuo already had it, Gu Yansheng was too lazy to ask him.

Meanwhile, Wang Ni and his group arrived at the Japanese airport.

(End of this chapter)