Spy Wars: Red Shopkeeper

Chapter 272 Flag
The next day, Gu Yansheng received a phone call at the teahouse, requesting a guest to come.

Upon hearing his subordinate's report, he went downstairs to greet the visitor. The man was quite young, in his thirties, and had two followers behind him.

"Mr. Gu, hello. I apologize for visiting. I am Toru Onodera, the new president of the Shanghai branch of Mitsui Company."

He was impeccably dressed in a suit, moved with elegance, and his smile, especially the one when he bowed deeply, was exceptionally radiant.

Gu Yansheng smiled and returned the greeting, "So it's President Onodera, what a rare guest. I wonder how President Sato is doing? Has he returned?"

Gu Yansheng knew that Sato had been called back to Japan, and it seemed that he had been dismissed.

"Coming back?" Onodera Tetsuichi raised an eyebrow, a playful smile on his face. He paused for a moment before saying, "He probably won't be coming back, Mr. Gu. Would it be convenient for us to go inside and talk?"

"Of course it's convenient, please. My office is very simple, please make do."

“Mr. Gu is too simple. A high-ranking official like you should have a better environment. Why don’t you have a good place to work?” Onodera looked around the teahouse and found it to be indeed simple.

Gu Yansheng smiled faintly: "When I first came here, I was in a hurry and I was not familiar with western Shanghai. The security was not good, so I requisitioned this teahouse next to the police station as my office. Later, I was too busy to change it. Although the environment is a bit simple, it is still convenient to contact various parties, which is conducive to work."

"Mr. Gu's spirit is admirable. You wait here."

Onodera Tetsu had his men stand guard at the stairwell, and then followed Gu Yansheng upstairs.

Once upstairs, my eyes lit up again.

Although Gu Yansheng's office was simple, there were some calligraphy and paintings hanging on the walls, some inkstones and brushes on the table, and a display shelf in the corner with a few antique trinkets, which added a touch of elegance to this simple place.

Gu Yansheng used it to show off, to let others know that he had a taste for this kind of thing, and maybe if word got out, someone would rack their brains to think of something to give him.

Toru Onodera was infected.

"Mr. Gu likes antiques?"

"I wouldn't say I like it, I just play with it occasionally."

Onodera Tetsu smiled slightly and got down to business, "I went to Shanghai a few days ago and originally wanted to visit Mr. Gu right away, but unfortunately you were not in Shanghai. I learned that you are back today, so I came to visit you immediately. I apologize for disturbing you."

"Don't talk about disturbing me. We're talking about the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere now. As a major Japanese trading company, Mitsui should make time for me, both publicly and privately, to have a good chat with President Onodera. Please have some tea."

"Thank you."

While he was drinking tea, Gu Yansheng asked, "You just said that President Sato isn't coming back. What's going on?"

Onodera Tetsu's smile was harder to suppress than an AK. "Sato-kun caused the company to lose tens of millions. He definitely won't be coming back. Otherwise, I wouldn't be the one who came to Shanghai to be the president."

"Mr. Gu and Mr. Sato have a good relationship?"

“Of course it’s good.” Even if Sato has made a mistake now, Gu Yansheng will not deny this point. You can’t talk badly about someone behind their back. “I’ve always been in contact with Mitsui. Now that President Sato has been called back to Japan, I’m a little worried. I wonder how President Sato is doing now?”

Gu Yansheng wanted to know whether he was dead or not.

Onodera Tetsu sighed and laughed, "There's nothing we can do about it. He made a mistake himself, so no one else is to blame. Mr. Gu, I can tell you that, in principle, he should commit suicide to atone for his sins. However, according to his description, Mr. Gu, you have a very important business deal that is still underway. Quinine, right?"

"right.

"Based on this and his previous merits, the president let him off the hook, but simply fired him."

"Reprimanded?" Gu Yansheng hadn't expected that Quinine could save Sato's life, but in terms of importance, Quinine could save many people, so it was indeed true.

"That's good. Is Mr. Sato still coming to Shanghai?"

“Shanghai.” Onodera Tetsu smiled and said, “He lost his position after being dismissed. He was taken away by the conscription office as soon as he left the house. His troop transport ship set off before mine, and he should be serving in North China now.”

Huh? Gu Yansheng stared in shock at this turn of events. Sato went to be a little idiot?
Or North China?

The image of Sato drinking red wine and eating steak comes to mind, but now he's dressed in a rag, holding a gun, ready to fight our party in North China.

Hiss, he was killed in one round.

Cause of death: acclimatization problems.

The current food rations of Japanese soldiers are so bad that even the lowest-ranking soldiers dislike them, and it's likely that President Sato wouldn't be able to get used to it at all.

"So he went to purge the Communists." Gu Yansheng could only offer a rosy picture of his future, nodding, "I wish him good luck."

Onodera Tetsu smiled and said, "That's why I came to see Mr. Gu to discuss the quinine matter. How is the production of quinine progressing?"

To be honest, Gu Yansheng is actually unaware of this matter. He Yun is in charge of it, and he can't be bothered to ask.

Anyway, he has plenty of quinine, so he's not in a hurry.

"The machines should have arrived, but I don't know how well they're being produced yet. As you know, that area is under Kuomintang control, so communication isn't very convenient."

Onodera Toru frowned and said, "Can't we find out at all about the progress?"

"As agreed, once the machines are delivered there, the factory will be set up, and production will begin. But we'll have to wait until the first batch of medicine is produced before someone comes to Shanghai to tell me."

The process definitely won't be quick. Although there are Japanese pharmaceutical company production process standards, the operators are locals, not Japanese researchers. You know their educational level, so getting familiar with the process will definitely take time.

"Why didn't you send Japanese researchers over when you already provided the equipment?"

"We didn't speak Chinese and were afraid of being exposed. We considered sending people over, but unless these researchers stayed indoors all the time and could endure extreme boredom, no social interaction, and living and eating entirely in the factory, it wouldn't be feasible."

Otherwise, they'd be finished if anyone overheard them the moment they opened their mouths. This isn't Shanghai; it's very strange to see Japanese people here.

Onodera Toru nodded, still frowning. "If I send a radio over, will it be easier to communicate?"

"That's not necessarily true. Right now, nobody in the entire factory knows that the quinine they produce is sent to Shanghai."

The Chinese workers at the factory only cared about production, believing that the products were for Chinese soldiers, so they would produce them well, ensuring quality and quantity, and striving to make the medicines as perfect as possible.

Only the boss behind the scenes knows that this is for us.

Then there's a problem: if you want to send a radio, you have to send it to this boss. But what if the Kuomintang discovers the radio, arrests your intelligence agent, and the boss is brought out? Then the entire production line will be ruined.

If you don't have a radio and get caught, the worst that can happen is that you're involved in drug smuggling. He has connections in the local area, and if the anti-smuggling team or customs officials conduct a surprise inspection, someone will tip him off.

But if you bring it out of the Military Intelligence Bureau, no one can report it unless you have an informant there.

Onodera Toru knew the trouble was brewing: "The military has a great need for quinine, Mr. Gu. I'll have to ask you to find out more about this matter. We need to keep track of the specific progress."

The Japanese are now preparing to move south, and quinine is indeed a necessity.

"Okay, I'll try to ask again."

"please."

"You're welcome, I will."

After seeing Onodera Toru off, Gu Yansheng called He Yun and asked her to come over.

When I arrived, I asked about the situation and found out that production had already begun.

"Send over a batch of slightly lower quality products in half a month. It should take a month or a month and a half to get to Shanghai."

Gu Yansheng still needs to maintain his relationship with Mitsui; if someone is consistently useless, they will be kicked out.

Ring ring, ring ring. "Hello."

Ding Mocun's voice came through, "Are you free? When are you going to Nanjing?"

"Tomorrow, Minister Zhou is still talking with the various bureau chiefs in Shanghai, one by one. I asked if it would end tomorrow, so we could all go together after that."

"Okay, then call me when we leave tomorrow."

"Wait, I have some news for you." Gu Yansheng told him about Sato being used as a common soldier.

"He joined the army?" Ding Mocun was stunned. The Japanese were so ruthless to their own people. "With Sato's pampered lifestyle, wouldn't he be doomed if he went to the battlefield? The terrain in North China, how could he fight a guerrilla war against the Communists? He's such a spineless coward, how could he even run?"

Gu Yansheng smiled and said, "I'll call you tomorrow."

The next day, the group traveled to Nanjing.

Gu Yansheng brought his men, Liu Xiaolou and Ma Shiqi.

Once they arrive, let them do their own work. Liu Xiaolou can choose a place to stay, get familiar with Nanjing, and then visit the Ministry of Justice in Nanjing.

Ma Shiqi wanted to find out how familiar Gu Yansheng was with the people he had arranged to come to Nanjing in advance, and how well they knew about Nanjing.

Now is the time for land grabbing. Whatever buildings the Wang faction takes a fancy to, whatever department they want to convert them into, they can convert them into that department.

These miscellaneous tasks were all handled by Chen Bijun.

As for which department will assign which personnel, that will be the main activities of each minister in Nanjing in the coming period.

Gu Yansheng also has to come to Nanjing.

If he doesn't come to Nanjing, how will the officials in Nanjing's judicial system send him money?

You also need connections to give others a chance to visit you.

Those who give gifts may not necessarily get promoted, but those who don't give gifts are still on Minister Gu's list.

Three days after Gu Yansheng arrived in Nanjing, Liu Xiaolou visited the Ministry of Justice and inadvertently revealed that Minister Gu had arrived in Nanjing and settled down.

More than twenty groups of people came to give gifts.

People rushed to meet people, cars rushed to meet cars; the gift-givers had lost all sense of shame, and a long line of cars stretched out in the alley outside Gu Yansheng's house.

Often, the first person has just left the house when the second person comes in carrying gifts.

They brought all sorts of things, big and small, into the Gu Mansion.

Gu Yansheng was even busier receiving them than his mother's restaurant.

To understand Nanjing's ecology, I had to ask a few questions and talk to the municipal government. I was busy for several days.

Gu Yansheng was really too busy.

It's not that no one is giving gifts anymore, it's that they've been called to a meeting.

The new government is about to open, and there are many issues to discuss and decide on.

For example, salary and benefits, and salary grades.

For example, clothing, such as military uniforms and everyday clothes.

Although the specifics are handled by those below, the higher-ups hold meetings to vote and make the final decision, and it's essential to attend these meetings.

These kinds of meetings save time because they deal with trivial matters. The really big issues, on the other hand, involve the military: how many people are needed, whether or not to open military academies, whether or not to recruit soldiers, and whether or not to purchase weapons and equipment.

How to collect taxes, whether to give some tax breaks at the beginning of the new government for good luck, what the return rate should be, and so on—a whole host of things need to be decided in a short period of time and put into action immediately.

Because time was really tight.

When you're nervous, you're more likely to make mistakes.

The meeting had just ended that day when the secretary of the police department whispered a few words to Minister Zhou, who frowned as he listened.

After waving his secretary away, he said to them, "A Japanese soldier in the city shot and killed a government employee who was planting a flag. One died on the spot, and the other was seriously injured and sent to the hospital for emergency treatment. The police station came to ask me how to handle this matter. Quite a few reporters saw it and even took pictures."

The new government was about to open, so they arranged for municipal government employees to plant government flags along the eaves of buildings on the main road to create a lively atmosphere.

After all, the focus of future promotion will be on Nanjing as the capital.

"Why did the Japanese soldiers fire?" Wang Ni frowned in confusion.

Minister Zhou shook his head. "How would we know if they haven't arrested anyone? The question now is whether to arrest them or not."

"Arrest them." Wang Ni quickly made a decision. "Arrest them first, then find out the situation."

"Row."

Minister Zhou made the call and soon received a new message.

"The soldier has already gone back to his barracks. The police went to ask him for his return, but they couldn't get him back at all."

"Call headquarters and ask them what they're trying to do."

He's just an ordinary soldier, does he really think he's someone important?

Minister Zhou made a phone call to the headquarters, and the whole story was quickly uncovered.

It turned out that the soldier was so excited when he saw that the flag was the Blue Sky with a White Sun flag.

After fighting China for several years, Nanjing was suddenly adorned with the Blue Sky with a White Sun flag again, leaving everyone in a daze.

In a fit of anger, he opened fire, which led to what happened today.

The group waited for a long time, thinking that the Japanese army had some dissatisfaction with them, but the truth was so absurd.

But then things took a turn for the worse.

The Wang faction is demanding arrests. Since reporters have already taken photos, if government officials are killed like this and there's no explanation, where is the government's authority?
However, the Japanese also have their own explanation, which is indeed understandable; it's normal for soldiers to react when they see the Blue Sky with a White Sun flag.

Finally, the headquarters allowed the Wang Jingwei faction to arrest people, and the Japanese soldiers were imprisoned.

However, to avoid such a thing, the flag must also be changed.

It can't be the Blue Sky with a White Sun flag; we need to add something, write clear slogans like "Peaceful Anti-Communism and National Salvation."

It's somewhat of a hybrid, not quite a pure Kuomintang anymore, but that's just how things are.

Let bygones be bygones, the meeting continues, there are still many things to do.

As time went by, the time for the establishment of the new government drew ever closer.

Just when Wang Jingwei's faction thought that peace talks in Chongqing would never happen again.

News came from Hong Kong that people in Chongqing were demanding negotiations.

(End of this chapter)