Spy Wars: Red Shopkeeper

Chapter 269 Stigma
At Wang Ni's residence, the core members held an emergency meeting.

Wang Ni, Chen Bijun, Chen Gongbo, Chu Minyi, Minister Zhou, and Gu Yansheng, who was brought along by Minister Zhou.

The others are either not close enough or not useful at the moment.

Wang Ni was in a hurry and couldn't sit down at all, pacing back and forth in the room.

"I knew Gao Zhongwu was a good-for-nothing, but I never expected that he would actually have a rebellious streak!"

Did you hear the broadcast? He actually said he was forced into it, that after seeing the secret agreement he felt deceived by me, so he realized his mistake and wanted to set things right.

Listen to this!

Back then, he requested an audience three times a day, even taking the initiative to fly to Japan to talk with the Japanese cabinet without Chiang Kai-shek's knowledge!

Now, they're even cursing at me! It's utterly shameless! Utterly shameless!

Chen Gongbo frowned and agreed, "This person has problems. He was young and arrogant. I remember it was in 2026, when he was interviewed by the media, that he said it."

As the Director-General of the Asian Affairs Department, he was theoretically supposed to discuss transactional cooperation with Japan, such as tariff reductions and the introduction of technological cooperation, but he said he had no interest whatsoever.

What he wants to do is to bring about a complete 180-degree shift in Sino-Japanese relations, in order to achieve a historic transformation in East Asia.

"How outrageous!" Wang Ni turned around and scolded, "What do you mean by a historic change? Can he persuade Japan to withdraw its troops? Or can he persuade Chiang Kai-shek to negotiate peace?"

"I can't do it, how could he? He really doesn't know his own limitations!"

Chen Bijun interjected, "Alright, don't be angry about him. We're not holding a criticism session about him right now; we should focus on the current situation."

We must come up with a plan as soon as possible, and it needs to be finalized today.

It's not just about giving the public an explanation and securing their continued support; more importantly, it's about what we'll say when people bring up this at tomorrow's meeting. It's urgent, and what will we say when they ask?

The radio is now playing 24/7, it hasn't stopped, and they're constantly criticizing him.

Wang Ni was furious and wouldn't be satisfied without swearing, but the situation was urgent. "What are your thoughts?"

Chen Gongbo frowned and said, "We are indeed in a very passive position now. Gao Zhongwu participated in the entire negotiation and is very clear about all the contents of the agreement. Moreover, most importantly, he has several copies of the original agreement and the original manuscript of the negotiation."

It's just being broadcast now; tomorrow, these contents should be accompanied by photos and appear in the newspaper.

It's difficult for us to deny it even if we wanted to.

"It must be denied."

Minister Zhou set the tone, saying, "We can't admit to this matter; there's only one way: denial. We need to figure out how to deny it smoothly, so that everyone can accept it and won't feel that we're denying it unreasonably."

There are photocopies as evidence; the pictures speak for themselves, and the witnesses and physical evidence are all there. How can this be denied?

Chen Bijun suddenly spoke up: "Minister Gu, you've been a lawyer. If you were to view this as a lawsuit from a lawyer's perspective, how would you handle it?"

"That's a clever question," Gu Yansheng thought for a moment and said, "Attack the witnesses, attack the plaintiff, attack the evidence, and attack the flaws in their logic."

"How so?" Chen Bijun pressed.

Gu Yansheng glanced around and exchanged glances with everyone.

"In this matter, they have labeled us as traitors, and Gao Zhongwu, the traitor, has become the righteous party. Because we are unjust, the people are attacking us."

But we can dismantle Gao Zhongwu's sense of justice, making him a victim of attack and an unreliable witness.

To put it simply, Gao Zhongwu left Chongqing and has now returned. This back-and-forth is tantamount to being a traitor, and his integrity is inherently questionable.

Now, just because he came from our area, many people believe what he says about us.

But if you just give Gao Zhongwu a reason for leaving that isn't what he claims—a reason for realizing his mistakes and returning home—the credibility of his statement is completely destroyed.

Is there such a reason?

"Yes, Gao Zhongwu once asked me for a sum of money, 500,000 silver dollars. The reason he gave me was..."

"He borrowed 500,000 from you?" Minister Zhou suddenly asked, his eyes wide.

Gu Yansheng nodded. "Just before the incident, he came to me and said that he was already very familiar with the Japanese negotiators. He had been drinking with them privately and learned that the man's father was sick and needed money. He thought he could try to bribe them with money to get the Japanese to their bottom line on some terms."

If it's successful, the money is spent; if it's unsuccessful, I'll get my money back.

He also mentioned that Mr. Wang had criticized him because of the last negotiation, and he had complained that he lost his ministerial position because of it, and that he had no future if he didn't make some significant efforts.

So they came to me wanting to try something.

I thought it would be a good thing if this deal could be finalized. Anyway, the money wouldn't go through if it didn't succeed, so I figured it wouldn't hurt to let him try. I gave him 500,000 yuan and he wrote an IOU.

I really didn't expect him to be planning to run away.

I bear responsibility for this.

Gu Yansheng doesn't mind making mistakes that aren't of his own volition.

"That bastard, he was scheming and had planned this all along!" Minister Zhou slapped his thigh in frustration.

“Who could have imagined this?” Chen Bijun spoke up for Gu Yansheng. “Gao Zhongwu ran away, which can be attributed to his dissatisfaction at not getting the ministerial position. Tao Xisheng also ran away. He was the Minister of Propaganda and a member of the Executive Committee. We treated him quite well. How could anyone have imagined this?”
Yansheng's intentions in lending him money were not wrong, Yansheng, please continue.

Gu Yansheng continued, "As soon as he ran away, I realized there was something wrong with the money. I had someone investigate, and it turned out that this person had been speculating in stocks."

According to the team member No. 76 who was following him, he made some money.

But regarding today's events, we can completely portray him as someone else entirely.

If someone embezzles public funds to speculate in stocks, loses a huge sum of money that they cannot repay, and is about to be exposed and arrested, then under the inducement and coercion of Chongqing, they readily agree with Chongqing and use Chongqing's channels to leave Shanghai, cooperating with Chongqing to defame Mr. Wang's image. In this case, all of this person's sense of justice is destroyed.

Given the recent cotton yarn futures battle on the exchange, it's easy for people in Shanghai to understand why he lost money.

When his credibility as a witness was undermined, the evidence he presented next—the secret agreement between Japan and Wang Jingwei—could be argued to be fabricated in Chongqing.

While we were holding the Qingdao talks, Chongqing maliciously fabricated a secret agreement, intending to undermine the process of peaceful national salvation.

There's no way to verify this unless Japan comes forward to support Chongqing and say it's true; otherwise, it will remain a murky affair.

He says his piece, we say ours. He says we signed some secret agreement with Japan, which is treason. Can't we also say that Chongqing signed some secret agreement with Japan to attack the Communist Party?

For example, many people know that Chongqing did not provide supplies to the Communist army. Is this considered resistance against Japan? Promoting resistance against Japan but not actually resisting Japan is clear evidence of this.

This is attacking the witnesses, attacking the evidence, attacking the plaintiff.

“After Yansheng’s analysis, the matter becomes very clear.” Chen Bijun’s eyes brightened. “I think it’s feasible; the logic is sound. What do you all think?”

Wang Ni was the first to nod, "I think it's feasible. It sounds perfectly fine. No wonder you're an elite lawyer. It's feasible."

Chen Gongbo nodded. "By muddying the waters, the goal has already been achieved."

Minister Zhou pondered, “The method is definitely correct, but there is one more thing to do. It’s not enough for us to say that the secret agreement is fake. It would be better to have the Japanese come forward and say that the secret agreement is fake themselves.”

"Will the Japanese admit it?" Chen Bijun had her doubts. If it's a lie, it might become a lie. Wouldn't the Japanese become paranoid?

Minister Zhou knew what she was worried about and smiled, "It's not as complicated as you think. The Qingdao talks haven't even started yet, and it's normal that we haven't finished negotiating with the Japanese.

There's no need to ask the Japanese to admit whether it's fake or not; we haven't even signed it yet.

Chen Bijun suddenly realized and nodded casually, "No problem, then let's do it this way. I'll talk to the Japanese, we'll give a unified statement and then clarify it to the outside world." The Japanese representative here is Kagesa. He's the most anxious person now that something has happened, even more anxious than the Wang Jingwei faction.

With the merger about to be completed, this kind of unexpected trouble could give the other two groups an excuse to launch an attack, further distancing him from his position as major general.

So when Chen Bijun approached him, Yingzuo made it clear that he would fully cooperate.

"We must ensure the complete success of the Qingdao talks."

The talks officially began the following day.

The meeting took place at the Qingdao State Guest House, where Wang was staying.

Qingdao was once occupied by Germany, and this guesthouse was actually the former German Governor's Mansion.

Living quarters are on the second floor, and meetings are held on the first floor.

At the entrance of the guesthouse, security was tight, and traitors dressed in respectable clothes entered one after another.

Today, traitors from three factions—North China, Central China, and the Wang Jingwei faction—have gathered. It can be said that all the major traitors in the Japanese-occupied areas have come.

If we were to set off an explosion here, we could send the entire traitorous group to their doom.

However, another reason the Japanese chose this location was that the Kuomintang's military intelligence station in Qingdao had been uprooted not long ago, and its chief, Fu Shenglan, had defected. Based on Fu Shenglan's familiarity with Qingdao, Qingdao posed no threat to the traitors.

As the protagonist of today's event, Wang Xi should maintain a certain demeanor and save his appearance for last.

Therefore, Minister Zhou, Chen Gongbo, and Gu Yansheng all came down first to receive them.

The main people in question are Minister Zhou and Gu Yansheng. I've already met with the other two groups, so there won't be any awkward silences.

But it still ended in an awkward silence.

"Mr. Wang, it must have been a long journey from Beiping." Minister Zhou greeted Wang Kemin with a smile as he entered.

Upon meeting, Wang Kemin stopped and mocked, "Minister Zhou, I wouldn't dare to allow the Japanese army to permanently occupy North China. I've never signed such a document when cooperating with the Japanese. Mr. Wang, you really have guts."

Having already devised a countermeasure, Minister Zhou sneered without changing his expression, "Are you serious? Can't you see through such blatant attempts to sow discord?"

Wang Kemin paused, frowned, and said, "You're telling me that the information your two ministers revealed is an attempt to sow discord?"

"Let's talk about this later. I'm not afraid to air our dirty laundry in public. Don't worry, I'll give you an explanation." Minister Zhou gestured for him to sit down.

Wang Kemin thought for a moment and then didn't press the matter. He took his seat one by one, and soon Liang Hongzhi arrived.

The Wang Jingwei Treaty was exposed, and public resentment was boiling over. Liang Hongzhi felt that his opportunity had come again.

Seeing Minister Zhou's smiling face, I said, "Hahaha, Mr. Zhou, is there any need for this meeting? Does Mr. Wang still have the face to come out?"

He dared to sign such a contract? Do you think anyone would approve of him as CEO?

After speaking, Liang Hongzhi did not wait for Minister Zhou's response and led everyone to their seats with a smile.

Finally, Wang Ni, who had been summoned down, and Kageyama Yoshiaki, who was in charge of the merger, arrived.

The appearance of Yingzuo, dressed in military uniform, had a certain deterrent effect on the traitors in the room, and all the traitors, big and small, who had been whispering about the contents of the contract, quieted down.

Yingzu invited Wang Ni to sit down and said to him, "I am very pleased to see such a grand trilateral meeting today. For Japan, a stable government is an indispensable part of building the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere."

Therefore, Japan has been working hard to facilitate the unification and merger of all parties.

As the representative of the Japanese side, I am honored to participate in this meeting.

At the same time, I know that there have been some slanders against Mr. Wang and rumors about the cooperation between Japan and Wang.

I can tell you all that we did have negotiations with Mr. Wang, but so far, no contract has been signed. The contents of the contract circulating in the market, especially the contents of the secret agreement, are completely fabricated.

The reason is quite simple: the Chongqing government does not want a unified government to emerge in our region, and I believe everyone can understand this.

Therefore, there should be no more criticism, and there should be no more situations where loved ones are hurt and enemies are pleased.

If anyone is still bringing this up, I have to wonder what their original intentions were.

After finishing speaking, Yingzu nodded and gestured to Minister Zhou to sit down.

Minister Zhou picked up the conversation and began his brainwashing, "Thank you for speaking up for justice, Lord Yingzuo. Actually, I didn't think this matter needed any explanation. It's obviously a piece of news that was deliberately fabricated before our meeting to damage Mr. Wang's reputation."

Unfortunately, some people actually believed it, so I will explain it to everyone once more, and I will also explain it to the national media after the meeting.

The news is obviously fake; the problem lies with Gao Zhongwu and Tao Xisheng.

One of them was a defector, and the other was a spy that Chiang Kai-shek had planted next to Mr. Wang.

We are ashamed to admit that we only recently discovered this. As everyone knows, Mr. Wang's seniority is much greater than that of Chiang Kai-shek. As early as 1925, Mr. Wang was already the Chairman of the National Government, while Chiang Kai-shek was only the principal of the Whampoa Military Academy.

"If you employ someone, don't doubt them; if you don't trust someone, don't employ them." Mr. Wang trusted Chiang Kai-shek, allowing him to hold military power and rise step by step. However, Chiang Kai-shek's lust for power had no upper limit.

They tried every means to frame Mr. Wang, fearing that Mr. Wang's influence within the party would one day cause him to lose all his power, so they resorted to any means necessary.

I won't even mention the underhanded tactics of smearing others.

In 1935, Sun Fengming assassinated Mr. Wang at the Sixth Plenary Session in Nanjing.

You know about this, but what you don't know is that this meeting was supposed to be chaired by Chiang Kai-shek, but he was absent at the last minute, and Mr. Wang took over the chairing position and stood in the most prominent chairing position!

How did Sun Fengming know that Mr. Wang would be presiding over that meeting and meticulously plan the assassination?
The facts are obvious: it was Chiang Kai-shek who wanted to kill them!

When the murder attempt failed, Chiang Kai-shek tried to place spies around Mr. Wang.

Tao Xisheng is such an example.

Mr. Wang trusted him and put him in charge of the publicity department.

However, Director Ding of No. 76, who was in charge of the internal investigation, discovered clues that Tao Xisheng had connections with Chongqing.

It was under these circumstances that Tao Xisheng had no choice but to flee.

And Gao Zhongwu.

Minister Zhou continued speaking, following Gu Yansheng's instructions.

A spy took away a gambler.

The explanation is reasonable.

At least it makes the whole thing logical.

Most people don't completely agree, but they are skeptical.

Apart from Liang Hongzhi.

Liang Hongzhi scoffed, "Whatever you say goes? I think, regardless of whether what you're saying is true or not, Mr. Wang's reputation is already bad, so let's not force it."
I believe that if everyone elects a president whose reputation is not damaged, they will be able to lead the team to a better future.

Everyone agrees, right? "

Bang! Yingzuo slammed his hand on the table. "Mr. Liang, Mr. Wang's chairmanship is confirmed. You'd better think twice before you speak."

(End of this chapter)