Spy Wars: Red Shopkeeper

Chapter 226 Peacemaking
Your circle is really chaotic.

"So loyal and righteous!"

Gu Yansheng looked at Ye Jiqing with new respect. Despite her love of money, she was willing to sacrifice herself when it mattered. What else could this be but love?

But how did she find Xu Enzeng?

"She probably didn't know Xu Enzeng at the time, so how did she end up in bed with him?"

"I asked someone to find out." Ding Mocun smiled. "Back then, it wasn't when the Japanese were around, so the Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics (Zhongtong) didn't need to hide. Xu Enzeng's residence wasn't too secretive, and anyone with a little ability could find out about it."

The Ye family was a wealthy business family in Shanghai at the time. With a little networking and spending some money, they could find the place.

A young lady from Shanghai, offering herself up to serve him, wouldn't that make that old lecher Xu Enzeng unable to move?
But Xu Enzeng couldn't just release them after one night's sleep; he must have demanded money, wouldn't you say?"

“No wonder then.” Gu Yansheng nodded in realization, his smile quite meaningful. “If she finds out about this, it will really be like setting off a powder keg.”

Ding Mocun laughed heartily, "That's exactly right! I'm waiting to see a real show of tantrums!"

"What does she look like? Do you have a photo? Let me see. Li Shiqun's woman, tsk." Gu Yansheng was so direct.

"She wasn't particularly good-looking, but I think she was a friend of Li Shiqun through thick and thin, which has nothing to do with whether a person is good-looking or not."

Ding Mocun simply stood up, took a document from the drawer, and handed it over, saying, "Here, take a look, it was taken a few days ago."

If there are photos, then it's confirmed that this person is being targeted. Gu Yansheng opened the folder and looked at the woman's photos inside. Sure enough, her appearance was only average.

A glance at the file revealed several highly suspicious individuals. Ding Mocun's markings implied that he suspected these people were from the Shanghai West Intelligence Bureau, and it was even possible that this had been confirmed.

Gu Yansheng was willing to offer some help to anyone involved in the resistance against Japan, but only on the condition that he wouldn't get himself involved.

Let's try our best to save it; there's still room for improvement.

“It’s pretty ordinary.” Gu Yansheng handed the documents back. “Are you sure you want to complain to the Japanese?”

“Of course, otherwise why would I go to all this trouble? Don’t try to persuade me.” Ding Mocun said warily, “Don’t even think about it! I know you’re close to Li Shiqun, but don’t get involved in this. He was the one who tried to get me first, and I can’t just sit here and wait to die.”

Gu Yansheng chuckled, "I can't be bothered with your fight, but I have to give you some advice. Think it over. Things might not be as good as you think. It's not that I'm advising you because I'm close to Li Shiqun, it's because I'm close to both of you that I'm saying this."

"What do you mean?" Ding Mochun frowned. "Once his collusion with the Military Intelligence Bureau is exposed, do you think he still has any chance of turning things around?"

“It’s a huge deal.” Gu Yansheng chuckled, then seriously analyzed for Ding Mocun, “This woman is a member of the Military Intelligence Bureau, and it’s true that Li Shiqun can’t escape responsibility, but if you arrest her, what will Li Shiqun say?”
Would he admit to being a member of the Military Intelligence Bureau? Would he admit to having worked for the Military Intelligence Bureau? Absolutely not.

He says he didn't do it, so what are you going to do? Do you still want to interrogate Li Shiqun?
Li Shiqun had even made prior arrangements with this woman: if anything went wrong, they should say she was a spy Li Shiqun had sent to the Military Intelligence Bureau to gather information. "What if you arrest her and things go wrong?"

Ding Mocun said with a long face, "That's not up to him. I won't interrogate him, but if I arrest this woman and send her information about the Military Intelligence Bureau to the Japanese, I won't have to worry about her not talking."

You don't understand interrogation techniques. Even if she's emotionally steadfast, once she's in No. 76, I can still make her talk.

As long as she speaks up and identifies Li Shiqun.

Even if Li Shiqun had Qingqi backing him up, would Qingqi still support him at this time?
"I'll send him to the Military Police Headquarters, not Qingqi's. If the Military Police Headquarters gets involved, a lieutenant colonel can't protect him." Gu Yansheng waved his hand, "The first trial will completely ruin things."

If Li Shiqun were to be taken to the Japanese interrogation room, regardless of whether he could extricate himself from the situation...

I'm asking you this: you were protecting Huang Jinrong's smuggling gang in western Shanghai, what are you going to do about that? Won't Li Shiqun implicate you?
How will you explain this to the Japanese?

Ding Mochun clicked his tongue in annoyance, only then remembering this problem.

In fact, a portion of the money from smuggling was used to subsidize his subordinates. Of course, the leaders took the lion's share, but with so many people at the intelligence headquarters, the lion's share wasn't much at all.

The harvest over several months was less than what Gu Yansheng brought in on one smuggling trip—no, less than half a trip.

Even this little bit of money has become a problem.

If they didn't report Li Shiqun to the Japanese, Li Shiqun would deny it. If they reported him to the Japanese, the investigation would cause trouble. With such a good bargaining chip, they had now walked into a dead end. The more Ding Mocun thought about it, the angrier he became.

He slammed his hand on the sofa armrest. "Damn it! I'll fight to the death! I didn't start this, he messed with me first. I can't just sit here and wait to die, can I? When he was messing with me, did he ever think I would complain?"

Gu Yansheng sighed, "If he targets you, at most you'll just be sidelined. Would you report him for smuggling to the Japanese?"

"Then what do you suggest we do?" Ding Mocun said angrily. "I can't let him do this to me. I can't swallow this."

Gu Yansheng pondered for a moment and said, "Li Shiqun is definitely the one who went too far in this matter. How about this, I'll act as a peacemaker and make him back down. What's rightfully yours will be returned to you. Peace brings wealth, and there was no need to make things so tense in the first place."

"He'll listen to you?" Ding Mochun rolled his eyes and scoffed. "He's about to cripple me. You're telling me to give up now? That's impossible."

Gu Yansheng said frankly, "Tell him about this. I'll talk to him and say that you're saving face for him. He'll definitely understand your intentions for the sake of the woman. You won't lose face either; you've given his woman a way out."

Ding Mocun straightened up and said seriously, "There's a big problem here. You can tell him he can agree first, but what if he lets that woman run away after today, then denies everything and continues to harass me? What am I supposed to do then?"

"No way, he might fight with you, but he'll still have to keep his word with me, right?" Gu Yansheng raised an eyebrow. "We've done a lot of business together, can't we cut off our source of income just because of this? This is to protect his own woman."

"No way." Ding Mocun thought it was unreliable and refused directly, adding an explanation, "I trust you, but I don't trust him. He's a complete scoundrel who turns his back on his promises. I've been burned by him before."

He brought me from the Kuomintang-controlled area. Do you know how sweet his words were back then? He kept calling me "brother" and made all sorts of promises, saying that as long as I came, he would follow my lead.

And what happened? They sold my information to a newspaper the very night of the operation! They wanted to find the culprit behind this wrongful conviction and get rid of me!
Oh, they used my intelligence to curry favor with the Japanese, and now they want to get away with it, using me as a scapegoat—they won't even let it go overnight.

When Ding Mocun thought of this incident, he was filled with resentment and felt truly bitter. He couldn't tell just anyone, so he poured out his grievances to Gu Yansheng.

Gu Yansheng acted as an emotional dumping ground. He knew about this and guessed that it was Li Shiqun who broke the news when Liang Youwei from Shenbao mentioned it.

It has to be said that Li Shiqun is a real scoundrel. Now, he was just one step away from saving these people, but he was ruined by the mess he made.

Gu Yansheng tried his best, but he couldn't let Ding Mocun arrest people. Once he entered No. 76, there would be no way out. Of course, betrayal doesn't count.

Even if you betray someone, you can still survive.

(End of this chapter)