Spy Wars: Red Shopkeeper

Chapter 283 Criticism
"What's the difference?" Chen Mo thought for a moment but couldn't figure it out, so he frowned and asked, "Doesn't reporting to anyone avert the crisis?"

Gu Yansheng shook his head. "There's a big difference here. From your perspective, you think Wang Ni and the Japanese are in cahoots, but that's not actually the case."

To give you an example, someone from the 76th Division discovered a clue about the Military Intelligence Bureau. This person was originally one of Li Shiqun's men, but he reported the clue to Ding Mocun, which ultimately led to the capture of some people.

From the Japanese perspective, it's all the same; it was all solved by the 76th Division.

But from Li Shiqun's perspective, can it be the same?

Chen Mo opened his mouth, then nodded, understanding now.

Raising an eyebrow, "The person who reported this, number 76, is essentially Fu Xiao'an?"

Gu Yansheng nodded and smiled, "Fu Xiao'an is trying to curry favor with Wang Ni."

Chen Mo: "Then what do we do?"

"It's about spreading rumors," Gu Yansheng laughed. "Leak the news to the newspapers, reveal the background of the Kuomintang major general's arrest by the 76th Division, and emphasize that Mayor Fu Xiao'an was loyal to the Wang Jingwei regime and leaked the news to Mr. Wang as soon as he heard it."

It's a good thing if you don't have any malicious intent.

By using exaggerated praise, the newspaper established an image of Fu Xiao'an's pro-Wang government, making its content even worthy of publication in Japanese newspapers like the China Daily.

Fu Xiao'an was pleased to see it.

Then the news spread, and you found two pro-Chongqing newspapers or people who liked to write critical articles, and naturally, you talked about how Fu Xiao'an had switched sides from collaborating with the Japanese to collaborating with the traitor Wang Jingwei.

From how he became mayor, to the Japanese providing him with bodyguards, to why he was informed by Wang Jingwei first, rather than the Japanese, let's analyze this for him and help the Japanese sort out the logic behind it.

If it succeeds, the Japanese will definitely harbor resentment towards Fu Xiao'an. Whether or not to withdraw the guards is another matter, but this problem will be sown in the ground.

"If it doesn't work, we won't lose anything. There's no harm in trying; let's see just how much the Japanese trust Fu Xiao'an."

Chen Mo laughed, "This attempt might give Fu Xiao'an a real headache."

Gu Yansheng laughed, "That's none of our business."

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

"You can pay for writing short essays, but don't show your face. If that doesn't work, send it to Chongqing and let them do it. They definitely have newspapers and writers under their control."

"rest assured."

The news was published quickly, without any censorship hassle. The China Daily, as the main mouthpiece of the Wang Jingwei faction, received the article and highly praised Mayor Fu's decisiveness.

Title: President Wang's keen insight thwarts Chongqing's assassination plot; Mayor Fu's unwavering loyalty protects the pillar of the National Government.

This is how the article is written.

This newspaper reports:
Recently, Chiang Kai-shek's secret service in Chongqing attempted to sabotage our peaceful nation-building cause through despicable assassination tactics.

Fortunately, Heaven blesses China, and the conspiracy of the traitors was crushed before it could be carried out!
It is reported that Chiang Kai-shek's secret service dispatched fugitives to Shanghai to carry out treacherous acts against the Nationalist government leader, President Wang Jingwei.

Mayor Fu Xiao'an of Shanghai, loyal to the country, immediately sent a secret telegram to President Wang after discovering the treacherous plot. He strongly argued for the perilous situation in Shanghai and pleaded with the President to postpone his inspection tour to avoid falling into the enemy's trap.

President Wang is exceptionally wise and insightful, able to see through the schemes of treacherous officials.

After reading the document, he ordered a special plane to land at the Nanjing headquarters and personally oversaw the suppression of the rebellion.

Following the wise instructions of the President, our special agents launched a swift and decisive operation to capture the criminals, apprehending all the spies dispatched from Chongqing within ten days.

Such clowns will ultimately not escape the mighty wrath of Heaven!
This case is sufficient to demonstrate that the Chiang Kai-shek clique feared our new government like a tiger. When they were at their wits' end, they resorted to the behavior of street ruffians. Their intentions were despicable and their actions were contemptible.

In contrast, Mayor Fu remained calm and composed in the face of danger, displaying both wisdom and courage. He protected the head of state at the critical moment, truly a pillar of the party and the country.

1000 words omitted.

It was the headline on the front page; the entire first page of a newspaper was filled with this content.

Gu Yansheng read through the entire piece and was full of praise.

He was the one who recruited them all; how could he not know that there were so many sycophants among them?

His flattery skills were unparalleled.

Just by reading the article, you can tell that the people he recruited should satisfy Mr. Wang.

Gu Yansheng immediately called Fu Xiao'an and praised him highly.

Such praise from official media is indeed a great honor.

Fu Xiao'an answered the phone with a smile, clearly having received quite a few calls that morning.

After saying he wouldn't bother him any longer, Gu Yansheng hung up the phone.

The following day, major newspapers investigated the matter thoroughly and reported on it extensively. The China Daily focused on how wise Mr. Wang was and how loyal and devoted Mayor Fu was to the country.

The major newspapers focused on how the Kuomintang's assassination attempt failed, the identity of the major general targeted by the Kuomintang, and other related details.

This is all normal.

Among them, three or four newspapers analyzed the incident and commented on Fu Xiao'an, the central figure in it.

Everyone knows the nickname "the roly-poly toy".

Mayor Fu is incredibly wealthy, richer than a country; everyone knows that.

How did he become mayor? What agreement did he reach with the Japanese? Why was Fu Xiao'an able to become mayor? What happened during his tenure as mayor? How much money did he make? Why did the Japanese send him bodyguards? It was because the Japanese wanted to use Fu Xiao'an to make money off the Chinese.

After a brief initial exploration, we will delve deeper.

Since the Battle of Shanghai, several forced expropriations of Shanghai occurred after Fu Xiao'an became mayor. Fu Xiao'an's own business suffered no losses; on the contrary, it grew bigger and bigger.

Even British and American figures have been fighting tooth and nail in Chinese-speaking areas, but Mayor Fu's resilience is truly remarkable.

The fact that the forced conscription in Shanghai went so smoothly is largely thanks to the traitor Fu Xiao'an.

Fu Xiao'an was a professional at being a dog for the Japanese.

Don't say that President Wang is building the country for peace. Just look at the people he employs to know what kind of person he really is.

Leaving aside distant examples, the ongoing forced requisition of rice and grain began before the new government and has not yet ended. If the Wang Jingwei government truly aimed for peaceful nation-building, why did it still resort to forced requisition of grain from the people?

Was all the rice collected on behalf of the Japanese? Did the Wang Jingwei government actually have any say in the eyes of the Japanese?

After this group finishes their insults, another group will follow.

Another newspaper analyzed Fu Xiao'an's recent revelations.

He immediately began to claim that Fu Xiao'an had completely sided with the Wang Jingwei regime, while ignoring the Japanese.

The evidence is that the relationship between the Japanese and the Wang Jingwei government can only be described as a cooperative one; they were by no means completely superior-subordinate or departments with the same will.

Fu Xiao'an had previously sided with the Japanese, so he had a dozen or so military police officers as his bodyguards.

Logically, if Fu Xiao'an hadn't changed his mind, he should have informed the Japanese about the assassination attempt by the Military Intelligence Bureau, and the Japanese would then relay the information to President Wang.

In this way, President Wang would have to be grateful to Japan for saving his life.

As the saying goes, no favor is greater than the favor of saving one's life.

Fu Xiao'an's choice to directly curry favor with President Wang shows that he doesn't actually value the Japanese that much at the moment; in his eyes, the Wang government is more important.

Of course, this is not surprising, after all, it is the Nanjing government era.

However, there is one thing that is actually quite puzzling.

The newspaper raised a question.

"Fu Xiao'an informed the Chongqing Association of the assassination attempt on President Wang. So I can't help but wonder, why was it Fu Xiao'an, and not the 76th Division, who knew about the assassination beforehand?"
Did Agent 76 know about this but choose not to speak up? Were they dissatisfied with President Wang and wanted him dead?
Or was it that No. 76 was unaware, and only Fu Xiao'an knew?

But if Fu Xiao'an knew, then there's another problem: even the 76th Division didn't know Chongqing had sent assassins to Shanghai, so how did Fu Xiao'an know?

It's like killing someone by destroying their spirit; it's like killing someone by destroying their spirit.

In the teahouse, Gu Yansheng looked at the newspaper and couldn't help but admire it. It was really well written. Putting aside other skills, these writers were really good at stirring up trouble.

In return, a family sent him a writing fee of 200 silver dollars.

This is going to be a real headache. Not only will Fu Xiao'an's head hurt, but No. 76's head will also hurt, and even Wang Ni himself will have a headache.

Hahahaha.

Zhou Mansion.

Minister Zhou was the first to receive the news.

Although Tao Xisheng, whom he had appointed as the propaganda minister, ran away because of the incident involving Gao Zhongwu and Tao Xisheng, the position of propaganda minister was taken over by people from the Wang Mansion.

However, the editor-in-chief of the China Daily is still one of his people.

The editor-in-chief notified him immediately upon receiving the news.

He thought about it for a while and decided not to take any action. Since the publicity department was under the control of the Wang family and the newspaper was targeting President Wang himself, he would let President Wang handle it himself.

However, this incident gave him some ideas, and he instructed the editor-in-chief: "In the future, we should promote President Wang's personal excellence less, otherwise his personal reputation will have too much influence on the new government and will lead to public distrust. On the positive side, we should promote the collective will and actions of the government more."

Nanjing.

Wang Jingwei paid particular attention to monitoring public opinion. His secretary screened the useful news of the day and immediately reported to him the news that was unfavorable to him.

The new government has only been in power for a short time, yet some people are already stirring up trouble between China and Japan.

Let's start with the matter of Fu Xiao'an.

Wang instructed, "It's no big deal. Mayor Fu has defected to the new government. What's so strange about that? As for his identity as a member of the Military Intelligence Bureau, that's laughable. If he were a member of the Military Intelligence Bureau, why would he come to notify me? That's utter nonsense."

Tell our media to clarify the facts; in such matters, we must firmly trust our comrades.

"Yes."

The secretary then reported on the forced requisition of grain, which sparked a public outcry.

Wang Ni frowned immediately.

"Don't send it yet, let someone handle this."

"Yes."

Nanjing Headquarters.

A phone call was made to the intelligence agency in Shanghai.

City Hall.

Fu Xiao'an was looking at the newspaper when he suddenly threw the porcelain water cup to the ground, shattering it into pieces.

"Wu Maiding! Wu Maiding!"

"Hey, hey." Secretary Wu Maiding rushed in immediately, his face serious. He had read the newspaper and knew what had happened.

Fu Xiao'an tapped his fingers on the table and said sternly, "There are actually newspapers in Shanghai that dare to maliciously speculate about the government. What are you doing? Arrest them! Arrest them all!"

Wu Maiding lowered his head and said, "Yes, I'll check immediately, but these newspapers are mainly from the concessions, we have no authority over them."

"The 76th Division has practically turned the entire concession upside down! If they can do it, what can't you do?" Fu Xiao'an interrupted angrily. "Send Lu Ying there! Rush in and arrest them, then interrogate them to see who made them write this kind of article!"

"Wouldn't it be better to let the 76th Division handle this? After all, the 76th Division plays the bad cop and we play the good cop. If we also have a falling out with the concession, it will be difficult to resolve any future problems." Wu Maiding considered the matter carefully.

Fu Xiao'an was surprised to find his subordinate so stupid. He stared at him with dead fish eyes and said coldly, "Do you think Li Shiqun from No. 76 will help me arrest people? Have you been living a good life for too long and your brain has become rusty!"

"Yes!"

"Have Lu Ying's men strip the 76 police officers of their uniforms. Don't make me teach you how to do things anymore!"

"understand!"

"idiot."

Fu Xiao'an glared at his subordinate as he left.

His eyes could bulge out blood vessels!
He could bear the stigma from before, but the most damning thing was how he knew the assassin had come to Shanghai.

When told, President Wang didn't think much of it and was grateful that he could easily brush it off.

But the Japanese intelligence agencies weren't stupid!

It's not that easy to fool!

This could lead to something serious.

The Soi Furukawa Corporation.

In the Japanese-style room, several newspapers, just like those on Fu Xiao'an's desk, were placed in front of Haruki Keiichi.

Of all the newspapers in Shanghai that are published every day, only two are truly thought-provoking.

Standing opposite was Li Shiqun, who had been summoned.

Li Shiqun reported: "I received a message from President Wang and then went to arrest the person. I didn't dare to ask President Wang for specific details. Later, after the person was arrested, I asked him about it."

The other party claimed that his task was to contact Fu Xiao'an and devise a plan to have Fu Xiao'an persuade a middleman to act as the introducer between him and President Wang.

Then, at the agreed meeting place, an assassin he had trained, carrying a briefcase filled with high-explosive bombs, approached President Wang as he got out of the car and entered the room to shake hands, detonated the bombs, and carried out a suicide attack.

I asked him why he was going to go through all that trouble. Couldn't he have just introduced Fu Xiao'an directly?

He was saying that he was considering Fu Xiao'an's feelings, otherwise Fu Xiao'an might not have been willing to do it.

The explanation seemed reasonable, so I didn't investigate it further at the time.

Qingqi Keiichi disagreed, "Your statement is problematic. If Mr. Wang is attacked, whether it's your 76th Division or the Japanese intelligence agencies, they will definitely investigate this matter in detail."

It's unlikely that the explosion killed all those in the know, especially since there were definitely multiple people in the know about Mr. Wang's trip.

In this way, Fu Xiao'an will definitely be implicated.

Therefore, this cannot be considered as taking Fu Xiao'an's best interests into account.

Li Shiqun frowned and nodded, agreeing, "I have actually considered this issue. First, let's assume that Fu Xiao'an's identity is that of a member of the Military Intelligence Bureau. Given his identity, Fu Xiao'an would be much more likely to succeed in carrying out this plan than others."

Unless, he doesn't want to die, and doesn't want to trade his life for Mr. Wang's.

But if he were a member of the Military Intelligence Bureau, given their style, if Boss Dai forced him to die for his cause, he probably wouldn't have had a choice but to accept it.

For Chongqing, losing him to replace Mr. Wang is a very good deal.

“This doesn’t rule out the possibility that there are doubts about Fu Xiao’an’s own identity. What if Fu Xiao’an himself doesn’t want to die?” Qing Qiqing raised an eyebrow and asked.

Li Shiqun paused for a moment, then replied, "You'll have to ask him that. I can't find out Fu Xiao'an's identity."

Qingqiqing didn't say anything more, drinking his tea and seemingly lost in thought.

Seeing his expression, Li Shiqun waited a while and then added, "There's something I've always found quite strange."

"what?"

"That's right, I actually investigated Fu Xiao'an."

Li Shiqun recounted some of the previous suspicious points, such as selling guns to the New Fourth Army and helping the Military Intelligence Bureau redeem people, etc.

After finishing his statement, Li Shiqun added, "That's how it is, but afterwards I could always find a reason why he wasn't a member of the Military Intelligence Bureau or the Communist Party, and I couldn't investigate him, so I kept quiet about it."

Qingqi Qingyi never expected that Fu Xiao'an had so many problems.

Listening to Li Shiqun's explanation of the aftermath, it seems that Fu Xiao'an really couldn't have been the culprit, leaving many mysteries shrouded in secrecy.

He looked at Li Shiqun and said, "If a person always arouses suspicion for no reason, even without evidence, that person must have a problem."

After leaving the Doihara headquarters, Li Shiqun stood on the steps and let out a breath. Wu Sibao, who had been waiting for a long time, immediately ran over.

He asked hopefully, "What did the Japanese say?"

Li Shiqun smiled and said, "Investigate! He will have Nanjing remove the guards around Fu Xiao'an to make things easier for us, but there's one thing: we have to investigate secretly. Although Fu Xiao'an's backer has been transferred, there are still people in Nanjing who rely on his connections. Don't cause any trouble."

"Fantastic!" Wu Sibao pumped his fist, extremely excited. How long had he been waiting for this opportunity? He was almost desperate for money.

If it weren't for the large number of Japanese military police surrounding Fu Xiao'an, they would have tied him up long ago.

Seeing the newspaper today, I felt this was an opportunity.

Sure enough, it came!

Heaven has been kind to Wu Sibao!
Even if you spend all your money, it will come back again!
Wu Sibao asked quietly, "Do the Japanese think he's a member of the Military Intelligence Bureau?"

Li Shiqun chuckled and glanced at him sideways, "What time is it? Does it matter? If he says he is, then he is. From today onwards, even if he isn't, he must be."

"Alright." Wu Sibao bowed happily and waved to the car. "Please come in."

Li Shiqun didn't hesitate to say that he had a dog-like face, and when he had money to make, his face was more beautiful than a flower.

Get in the car and leave.

More than a dozen cars filed out.

Since investigating Fu Xiao'an, it has been discovered that even he, the director of No. 76, has been unable to break through Fu Xiao'an's defense.

This is practically a template.

Therefore, Fu Xiao'an's defensive template was further strengthened.

The car is bulletproof, and each trip is escorted by at least forty armed guards.

Unless the Kuomintang forces return to Shanghai, even if the entire Military Intelligence Bureau of Shanghai is mobilized, it is impossible to resolve the situation in Shanghai.

(End of this chapter)