Spy Wars: Red Shopkeeper

Chapter 278 Take the initiative
"We're here early, and we still have time. Shall we go see a play together?"

During the trip, Minister Zhou made a suggestion with great interest.

"You're not listening to opera, you're just lusting after women," Gu Yansheng didn't hesitate to expose him.

There were many things going on in Nanjing, and Minister Zhou's wife even followed him there. Minister Zhou couldn't even find a place to eat meat when he wanted to. Now that he's out, he couldn't be happier.

Ding Mocun, who had come along, chimed in first, "Great, great! It's been a while since I've had a break. You've been so busy lately!"

Then he started talking about how he set up the social affairs department.

The Social Affairs Department was also converted from a previous department, and Ding Mocun's takeover and reorganization involved a lot of work.

However, he occupied number 76, and his methods were even simpler and more brutal.

He also wanted to place his own people in the family, so Liang Hongzhi's people were really in trouble.

Anyone who objects will be thoroughly investigated and imprisoned.

There's no one who objects, but you look like someone who objects, so arrest you and interrogate you first. Anyway, if we really investigate, none of those officials have clean hands.

Liang Hongzhi certainly couldn't stand Ding Mocun's actions. Arresting people without any evidence was simply outrageous!
However, he couldn't stop his subordinates from vomiting so quickly.

Less than two hours after the man was imprisoned, Liang Hongzhi received the news and sent someone to confront him. The man voluntarily vomited everything in the cell, showing a very good attitude in admitting his guilt.

What can you, Liang Hongzhi, do?
Even if he complains to the Japanese, they won't help him save these people.

"Yansheng, are you going or not?" Minister Zhou asked.

"Go on, take a break from work." Gu Yansheng wasn't going to spoil the mood. "I'd like to go outside the city and fire a few shots, and get some game to hunt."

"You also like to have sex?" Minister Zhou was surprised; his hobby was quite unusual.

Let's chat for a bit. Once we get to Shanghai, let Shen Shuyun go back first. We can have a meal, watch a play, and drink some tea.

By the time the evening ended, Shen Shuyun had finished sending out the reports.

Gu Yansheng can create a happy time, but Ma Shiqi, the secretary, can't.

Ma Shiqi quickly found out what had happened in Shanghai during that time and came to report to Gu Yansheng that evening.

"The effects of the Japanese grain requisition are now becoming apparent. When the requisition first began, it was during the autumn harvest season, so there was a relatively abundant supply of grain, and normal people could still afford to eat."

However, several months have passed, and last year's rice has been almost consumed. Now it's April, and this year's rice is still a long way off. Rice prices have risen sharply, and have already tripled since October last year.

At this rate, rice prices are expected to double every month before this year's rice harvest.

This was all expected, and Gu Yansheng was not surprised.

"What have the Japanese and the municipal government's reactions been?"

Ma Shiqi thought for a moment and said, "I haven't heard of any measures taken by the Japanese. However, some people protested the grain requisition in Hongkou, but they were driven out by the Japanese."

The municipal government has raised some concerns about the high grain prices and rice shortages. Fu Xiao'an addressed reporters' questions, stating that grain would be sourced from outside to alleviate the situation.

Gu Yansheng thought for a moment, then remained noncommittal, "Anything else?"

“There’s something else that’s been making headlines lately,” Ma Shiqi said mysteriously. “I heard from my men that businessmen have been kidnapped every now and then, from the Chinese-controlled area to the concessions. They’ve been kidnapped by the British and Americans. As a result, the British and Americans have strengthened the defenses of the concessions and protested to the city government.”

"Who did it?"

"Wu Sibao did it."

Gu Yansheng was surprised for a second, but thinking about it, this was indeed something Wu Sibao was capable of doing.

Has this scoundrel gone mad with poverty?
Ma Shiqi laughed and said, "Anyway, Wu Sibao will definitely not admit it. The British and Americans all think Chinese people look alike. Wu Sibao will not personally tie them up. It is his subordinates who do it. Those foreigners cannot tell them apart and cannot produce any evidence."

But I heard from my men that it was Wu Sibao's men who did it.

Gu Yansheng scoffed at this, shaking his head and having nothing to say.

Ma Shiqi continued, "There's one more thing: Quinine has arrived in Shanghai."

Gu Yansheng's smile vanished; this matter was indeed related to him.

How many?

"One ton."

How's the quality?

"I asked the delivery person, and they said they haven't tested it there because this product needs to be tested on people with malaria. They're worried about the information leaking if they test it in Yunnan. Do I need to find someone to test it?"

"If you want to test it, find a few patients, and I'll bring Japanese people over to inspect the goods."

The Japanese are waiting for this batch of quinine to go to Southeast Asia. Gu Yansheng has been dragging his feet for so long, it's time to deliver some goods, otherwise it won't make sense.

The next day, Gu Yansheng went to the Mitsui Company to find Onodera Toru.

"President Onodera, my subordinates told me that Quinine has arrived in Shanghai."

"Really?" Onodera Toru's face lit up with joy. "How many are there?"

"One ton."

"That's quite a lot," Onodera Toru nodded in satisfaction. The army was in dire need of quinine, and supplying it to the army would bring in a considerable amount of profit.

Otherwise, his predecessor wouldn't have had the chance to survive thanks to this business deal.

"Mr. Gu, would it be convenient for you to take a look?" Onodera Tetsu couldn't wait.

"Of course, I've already had my men prepare it. Please."

Gu Yansheng led Onodera Tetsu to the warehouse in western Shanghai.

Gu Yansheng didn't plan to tamper with this batch of quinine, whose quality was unknown; he had plenty of better ones.

Walking into the warehouse, boxes of quinine were piled up in wooden crates. If you randomly opened a box to check, you couldn't actually see anything; there wasn't even proper packaging.

"Is the medicine effective?" This was Onodera Toru's biggest concern.

“I haven’t tested it. Yunnan doesn’t have the conditions for that. I’ve already asked someone to make arrangements, Shiqi.”

Gu Yansheng called out, and Ma Shiqi quickly walked over, bowed, and said, "Mr. Gu, President Onodera, the patient has been arranged at the infectious disease hospital and can be tested at any time."

A normal course of quinine treatment requires fourteen days. If the medication here is effective, it is theoretically enough to treat 100,000 patients.

"Then let's just start. Why not start?" Onodera looked at Gu Yansheng, puzzled.

Gu Yansheng smiled and said, "I don't understand medicine. This medicine is supplied to the Imperial Japanese Army. Seeing is believing. You will definitely be in charge of the entire testing process so that we can have an explanation to our superiors later."

“Mr. Gu is very thoughtful.” Onodera nodded. “Shall we go to the hospital now? I’ll arrange the doctor.”

"Row."

Gu Yansheng accompanied him to the hospital so that Onodera could begin his experiment.

Once the Japanese's batch of quinine takes effect, he can distribute the quinine in large quantities.

The answer is that it was done by people from Yunnan. Yunnan officials, driven by greed, stole a batch of medicines and went out to resell them. It's utterly shameless.

The experiment will take at least fourteen days, and even longer if more groups are to be done. After watching the operation for a while, everyone left the hospital.

Gu Yansheng was a greedy man. As soon as he left the hospital, he asked, "President Onodera, I had an agreement with Mr. Sato that I would receive some payment for handling this matter. I wonder if that still counts?"

“Of course it counts!” Onodera Tetsuya said without hesitation. “Mr. Gu, you don’t need to worry about the money. We at Mitsui keep our promises to friends like you.”

"Sato gave you $400,000 for two tons of quinine, right?"

"Correct."

"As long as the efficacy of this batch of quinine is equivalent to that of normal quinine, the agreement will proceed. Even if the efficacy is not as good as normal quinine, Mr. Gu, I will still pay the money. However, we will need your cooperation in improving the factory's technology. In addition, we will also need your cooperation in selling to the military and the SH Municipal Government."

"Of course."

Gu Yansheng extended his hand and shook it with a smile. "President Onodera has kept his promise, and I am honored to be able to help the Imperial Japanese Army. I am sure we can cooperate happily, and I hope President Onodera can put in a good word for us with the military."

"Hahahaha." Onodera Toru laughed heartily, his eyes shining. He liked this kind of capable Chinese person.

"Mr. Gu, I will definitely put in a good word for you with the military."

After seeing Onodera Toru off, Gu Yansheng said to Ma Shiqi, "Our quinine can be shipped in bulk now. The KMT-controlled areas will be shipped first, and the Shanghai area will be restocked soon."

"Ok."

After dealing with the medicine matter, Gu Yansheng needed to see Minister Zhou. The ladybugs should have started to appear, and the matter of the Reserve Bank still needed to be addressed.

Actually, there's no rush regarding the Reserve Bank; rushing it won't help.

If Britain and the United States recognize Chongqing, they will not recognize the Wang Jingwei regime. The Wang Jingwei regime is the Wang Jingwei regime. Even the government does not recognize it, so how can it recognize the money it issues?

There are only two paths to achieving this.

One approach was to subdue Britain and the United States. For example, the 76th Division invaded the concession, forcing Britain and the United States to either admit defeat or kill all the bank employees, forcing them to take the plunge.

Secondly, it relies on citizens spending money to drive circulation. When the market is full of reserve vouchers, free circulation is effectively achieved. Whether the UK and the US acknowledge it or not is irrelevant. Citizens only have this money, and merchants and banks can accept it or not. If they don't accept it, then they shouldn't do business.

Minister Zhou couldn't possibly be unaware of this, so Gu Yansheng judged that his hope of negotiating the concessions in Shanghai was only so-so, a mere wishful thinking that they might actually be successful.

The backup plan was to rely on the forceful push by the 76th Division and the military and police.

The tactic of "courtesy first, then force." On the way to Zhou's mansion, as was customary, we first strolled around the entrance of the tailor shop. At the entrance of Shen's Clothing Shop, a blackboard with a coded communication signal was hung.

Not making a phone call means it's not urgent.

"Boss Shen."

"Mr. Gu."

"Make two sets of summer clothes."

"Okay, take individual measurements."

Shen Linshen picked up something and fiddled with it. "You mentioned before that you needed a middleman to make contact, and now we have one."

Shen Linshen had actually been searching, but he always felt that the identities and backgrounds of his subordinates were inappropriate when they appeared around Gu Yansheng.

The Japanese will likely conduct background checks on anyone who appears around Gu Yansheng, and it will be troublesome if things are unclear.

Better to have less than to have too much; that's the bottom line.

"Who is he, and what does he do?" Gu Yansheng was genuinely curious about what kind of messenger Shen Linshen had found for him.

“You don’t know this person, but you have some connection with him. He is Gu Zhuxuan’s nephew, Gu Shuping.”

"Gu Zhuxuan's nephew is a member of the underground Communist Party?" Gu Yansheng was taken aback.

Shen Linshen nodded. "That's right, they are our people."

"Heh." Gu Yansheng couldn't help but chuckle, genuinely surprised. He chuckled and said, "Gu Zhuxuan himself is a member of a gang. He has connections with Gu Zhutong, and his nephew is still a member of the underground Communist Party."

Is it reliable?

"The person was provided by Mr. Wu."

Gu Yansheng nodded. Since it was given by Mr. Wu, he must have already considered everything that needed to be considered.

Where is he? Does he know who I am?

"I don't know yet. He's active in Suzhou. Mr. Wu means you should find out for yourself. If you want, Mr. Wu will talk to him again. It's reasonable for him to come to Shanghai to find Gu Zhuxuan."

Given your relationship with Gu Zhuxuan, find an opportunity to get to know him and have him offer to be your assistant. That will settle the matter, and Gu Zhuxuan won't need to know anything about it.

The arrangement is fine. Gu Yansheng doesn't even need this route. Anyway, he will definitely take action to clean up Suzhou, and the Jiangbei gang will naturally be involved.

Gu Zhuxuan's nephew, Gu Shuping
This identity is really useful; it makes things much easier for him than for Ma Shiqi.

Whether it's contacting Shen Linshen or dealing with gang matters, he can do it all without attracting attention.

"Let's choose him. Have him go back to Shanghai to arrange a meeting."

"Okay, I'll take care of it right away."

"Is there anything else?"

"Nothing else."

This is good news.

We were originally going to send quinine, but now that Gu Shuping is here, we can let him arrange it himself, which will save us trouble.

Gu Yansheng paid the money and left.

Upon arriving at Zhou's residence, we discussed the next steps with Minister Zhou.

Minister Zhou went to Hongkou to discuss making banknote templates with the Bank of Japan, while Gu Yansheng went to the British, American, and French consulates to discuss the exchange of banknotes.

First, go to the French Concession.

At the French consulate, Gu Yansheng had the gatekeeper announce his arrival.

"Mr. Gu, it's been a long time." French Consul General Pierre Richard personally came to the door to greet him.

Richard felt goodwill towards him as his benefactor.

"Mr. Richard, how have you been lately?" Gu Yansheng greeted him with a smile.

"Haha, the war in Europe is so serious, it would be hypocritical of me to say it's all good. Please come in."

"please."

Gu Yansheng followed Richard inside, where a bottle of his prized red wine was poured. The two then discussed the war situation in Europe.

Gu Yansheng didn't mind helping him curse Germany, that Nazi fascist.

Richard didn't mind lamenting the loss of Gu Yansheng, a legal elite, in the legal profession.

"Mr. Gu, did you come to see me, or is there something you need my help with?"

"There is something I need to discuss," Gu Yansheng said, explaining the banknote exchange.

Richard's smile faded, and he frowned, saying, "Gu, I appreciate your help. If it's my duty, I'm happy to help, but you know the decision-making power for these things lies with the country."

France recognizes the Chongqing government and would never exchange currency with the Wang Jingwei regime. I'm sorry, I can't help you with that. Even if I submitted it, the French government would not agree.

Gu Yansheng smiled and swirled his wine glass. "Of course I know that. If you disagree, you disagree. There's no problem at all."

Richard was a little curious. "You don't care if you can't complete this task?"

"Hahaha, the decision isn't mine. What can I do if the French government disagrees?" Gu Yansheng laughed loudly. "Now I can answer your question. I really came to see you, to ask you for a drink."

“Hahahaha.” Richard understood. “You’re here to kill time.”

“That’s right, some people are still unwilling to give up and want to try their luck, so I’ll toast for them.” Gu Yansheng raised his glass, his words carrying a double meaning, “Cheers.”

"Cheers." Since he had no demands, Richard relaxed. "Don't leave later. You've come all this way, so I'll have the kitchen prepare a big meal for us to enjoy."

"I won't refuse, but you have to do me a favor outwardly, so don't refuse so quickly."

Richard laughed and said, "I understand. Actually, I don't have the right to agree or refuse. I'm willing to submit this matter to the government for review because of my friendship with Mr. Gu. It will definitely take ten days to half a month to go back and forth. If you want it to take longer, a month or two is fine, it just depends on how long you need it."

"It couldn't be more perfect."

Gu Yansheng raised his glass in satisfaction.

Hitler was launching a frenzied offensive on the European front. Although he couldn't recall the exact time when France was defeated, he was certain it would be sometime this year.

Whether Richard has the ability to stall for another two months is actually uncertain.

Two months from now, it's uncertain whether their French government will even still exist.

The success of the Reserve Bank depends not on how well the Wang faction negotiates in Shanghai, but on when Britain and France will lose out in Europe.

The moment Hitler defeated Britain and France, the opportunity to establish the Reserve Bank arrived.

Gu Yansheng and Richard had dinner, and after dinner, they went to watch French women dance in the evening.

Continue watching on the second day, and continue watching on the third day.

Otherwise, how could we demonstrate Gu Yansheng's perseverance in persuading the French consul to help convey a message to the French government?

At home in the evening.

Ding-ling-ling. Ding-ling-ling.

"Hello," Gu Yansheng answered the phone.

"Mr. Gu, this is Takeo Imai. There's news from Hong Kong. We need to fly to Hong Kong tomorrow. I'll be waiting for you at the airport tomorrow."

"Okay, I'll be there."

Boss Dai is very efficient.

Gu Yansheng picked up the phone and called Minister Zhou to tell him about the matter.

"More talks? Chongqing really is a persistent ghost."

Minister Zhou was displeased upon hearing this. The new government had already been established, and he thought the matter was over and that Chongqing had voluntarily refused to discuss it. But now they were actually going to talk about it again.

"From refusing to talk to actively seeking to talk, what do you think caused Chongqing to do this? Did they change their mind? Did Chiang Kai-shek really want to back down?"

"It's possible." Gu Yansheng also looked worried.

Minister Zhou thought about it but still couldn't figure it out. He took a deep breath and said, "It's inevitable. In fact, the Japanese never gave up on peace talks. When I went to the Military Police Headquarters to talk to their commander, I heard several staff officers discussing that if there was no further movement in Chongqing, the Japanese were prepared to use force to promote peace by attacking the Fifth War Zone to force Chiang Kai-shek to negotiate."

Now Chiang Kai-shek has gotten a good deal; the timing was perfect.

Do you think there are Chiang Kai-shek's spies in the military police headquarters? They want to talk to the Japanese because they think the Japanese are about to attack.

It's just a waste of time.

"No way?" Gu Yansheng exclaimed in shock, "The Military Police Headquarters has spies from Chongqing?"

"Screw it." Minister Zhou didn't care about that. He cursed and said seriously, "I still need you to keep an eye on things. Old Jiang's initiative is not a good sign."

“I understand,” Gu Yansheng nodded.

"Okay, thank you for making the trip. I'll wait for your reply."

(End of this chapter)