Did he trick the young marshal into becoming sworn brothers and then go south to Huangpu Military Ac

Suppressing his shock, Lin Qiqiang repeatedly asked, "Did you see clearly who they were picking up? What did they look like? How old were they?"

Du Yisheng quickly replied, "The brothers didn't dare get too close, they just looked from afar. He was a young man, in his early twenties. He was wearing an ordinary gray suit, but... well, he had a very strong aura of superiority. As soon as he got off the ship, the two young masters of the Fujiwara and Heiji clans bowed almost ninety degrees right there on the dock!"

A young person in their twenties?!

A young man who could make Fujiwara no Heiji bow so deeply?!

Lin Qi was completely stunned.

Memories surge wildly. In the autumn of 1924, what young man in his twenties from the Japanese Imperial Family or the highest power circles would be in Shanghai?

"Which cruise ship was he on? Where did it come from?"

Lin Qi's eyes turned extremely sharp.

Du Yisheng had clearly done his homework, answering without hesitation: "A large ocean liner called the Bordeaux Star departed from Marseille, France, passed through the Suez Canal, and sailed directly to Shanghai. The young man is returning from Europe!"

Back from Europe!

Upon hearing those four words, Lin Qi's pupils contracted sharply to their maximum size.

But he did not exclaim in surprise, nor did he immediately order an investigation into the other party's identity.

After the initial shock, Lin Qi quickly regained his composure.

He picked up the cigarette on the table again, struck a match, slowly lit it, and took a deep drag.

Amidst the swirling smoke, a profound, almost meditative calmness appeared on the young face.

"No need to investigate. Have all your men withdraw. Don't go looking for trouble."

Lin Qi gave the order in a calm tone.

Du Yisheng was taken aback: "Mr. Lin, this is a big fish! Are you just going to ignore it right under your nose?"

"Yuesheng, remember this."

Lin Qi raised his head, looked into Du Yisheng's eyes, and smiled knowingly: "Sometimes, the most skillful hunter appears as the prey."

"Knowing Fujiwara and Heiwa as I do, those two idiots, they're now completely devoted to me, treating me like a god. If the person they've taken on really is a powerful figure who can influence Japanese politics..."

As he spoke, a calculating glint flashed in his eyes.

"These two young masters will definitely recommend me to that important person."

"If we investigate now, we'll only alert them. What we need to do is remain calm and collected."

"Let the bullets fly for a while."

Lin Qi turned around and looked at the dazzling neon lights outside the window. His eyes were terrifyingly deep. He knew that a real show was just beginning.

……

at the same time.

Located a dozen kilometers away from the Astor House Hotel, on the edge of the French Concession in Shanghai, in a secluded and heavily guarded Japanese-style private villa.

The villa looks unremarkable from the outside, but at this moment, the highest point within a one-kilometer radius has been completely taken over by the Japanese military.

Inside the villa is an extremely spacious, purely Japanese-style tatami hall.

There were no bright electric lights, only a few paper floor lamps emitting a soft, dim yellow light, and the air was filled with the scent of fine sandalwood.

The atmosphere in the hall was oppressive and deathly silent, exuding a suffocating sense of perverse class division.

At the very bottom of the tatami mat, twenty or thirty men were kneeling densely packed together.

These people were all high-ranking officials of the Japanese Consulate in Shanghai, colonels of the Special Higher Police, and even major generals commanding the Japanese Marine Corps!

But at this moment, these high-ranking Japanese officers, who usually acted arrogantly and domineeringly on the land of China, all bowed their heads like the most humble servants, placed their hands flat on their knees, and dared not even breathe loudly.

As for the spy chief, Tu Feiyuan, who was slapped and called a dog on the cruise ship, he doesn't even have the right to enter this room or kneel at the back!

They could only stand like watchdogs, heads bowed, guarding the gate outside the villa courtyard in the chilly autumn wind.

In the very center of the hall.

In front of a low table made of precious rosewood.

The young man, described by Du Yisheng's informant as "in his twenties with an extremely strong presence," was wearing a loose, dark kimono and languidly holding a rough ceramic teacup, sipping the emerald green matcha inside.

The young man had a slightly gloomy face, a high nose, and narrow, deep eyes that revealed an absolute indifference that looked down on all living beings and regarded everything under heaven as straw dogs.

To the lower left of this young man.

The two eldest sons of the Fujiwara and Heiji clans, two of the most powerful families, sat upright with ramrod straight backs, their eyes filled with fervor and awe, listening respectfully to the young man's speech.

"...The British fleet is still enormous, and the French army seems invincible. But in my opinion, that is nothing but yesterday's news."

The young man put down his teacup and began to speak fluently in slow, yet authoritative Japanese.

"This so-called grand tour of Europe allowed me to see the weariness beneath the hypocritical veil of those white powers. After the bloodshed of that world war, the industrial base and national spirit of the whole of Europe had entered an irreversible period of decline. Their greed was greater than their strength, and their arrogance masked their weakness."

The young man sneered, his eyes flashing with the ambition of a hungry wolf.

"This is the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the rise of the Great Japanese Empire and to replace their rule over the whole of Asia."

"Your Highness is wise! Your insightful views are like a beacon in the darkness, guiding the empire forward!"

Fujiwara no Heiji immediately prostrated himself on the ground, his voice trembling with excitement.

Fujiwara raised his head, asking cautiously and with a hint of ingratiation, "Your Highness, three years ago you toured various European countries in a public capacity. I wonder what the difference is between that public imperial visit and this secret investigation you are conducting incognito, without regard to your identity?"

This statement hits the "G-spot" of young people with extreme precision.

A rare, satisfied smile appeared on his gloomy face.

"Good question."

The young man stood up and slowly paced on the tatami mat, his tone revealing a coldness that seemed to have seen through the ways of the world.

"During public visits, those European politicians only show you their carefully crafted facade of prosperity. They show you neatly arranged honor guards and roaring steel mills—that's the false prosperity they want us to see."

"But only through private investigation, only when you shed the cloak representing power and delve into the fabric of their society, can you see the coal mines paralyzed by strikes, the impoverished masses driven to despair by inflation, and the deadly rifts within their military caused by the struggle for funding!"

The young man whirled around, his eyes sharp as knives: "Seeing the enemy's fatal weakness is a thousand times more important than admiring their strength. That's the significance of traveling incognito."

"Your Highness is wise!"

The high-ranking officials kneeling at the bottom of the hall all kowtowed their heads onto the tatami mats.