Spy War: I am the Living King of Hell

At noon that day, Xiang Yuan arrived at Chuncheng Railway Station as scheduled. After arriving at the railway station, Xiang Yuan lit a cigarette and kept scanning the surroundings with his eyes, trying to find Yang Xuewu.

But after finishing his cigarette, Xiang Yuan still didn't find Yang Xuewu in the crowd.

Just after throwing away the cigarette butt, Xiang Yuan suddenly felt someone patting his shoulder. Xiang Yuan turned around and saw Yang Xuewu, whom he hadn't seen for a long time.

"Let's go, take me to a safe place to talk." Looking at Xiang Yuan's happy expression, Yang Xuewu said with a smile.

Afterwards, Xiang Yuan took many detours and brought Yang Xuewu to a private house. Xiang Yuan told Yang Xuewu that this was his safe house and it was very safe.

The two of them reminisced about the past, and Xiang Yuan took the initiative to ask, "Mr. Yang, what can I do for you this time?"

Upon hearing this, Yang Xuewu did not hide anything and directly told Xiang Yuan the purpose of his visit.

"Xiang Yuan, I am here for Japan's "Pen Army"."

"Pen troops?" Xiang Yuan was a little confused.

After that, Yang Xuewu explained it to Xiang Yuan, and he finally understood what this "pen army" was.

"Mr. Yang, based on what you said, I think Man'ei must be related to the Japanese "pen army."

"Oh, it seems you know something. Tell me about this "Man'ei"."

"Yes, Mr. Yang. The full name of 'Man-Ei' is 'Manchuria Film Association Co., Ltd.' It seems to have been built two years ago. It is called 'the largest film studio in the Far East' by the Japanese."

"The first chairman of Manyei was Jin Bidong. Yang Xuewu should know Jin Bidong, right?"

"I know, Yoshiko Kawashima's brother."

"Yes, it was this person. Later I heard that Jin Bidong quit, and the Japanese transferred Amakasu Masahiko to serve as the chairman of Man'ei."

"Mr. Yang, you may not have heard of the name Amakasu Shinhiko, but this person has a great influence in the Northeast. I once secretly investigated him."

"Tell me the details of this person." Yang Xuewu emphasized.

Hearing this, Xiang Yuan nodded and said, "Mr. Yang, Amakasu Shinhiko is known as the 'Night Emperor of Manchukuo'."

Hearing this title, Yang Xuewu laughed. In this era, anyone with a little power would be either an emperor or a king.

Seeing Yang Xuewu smile, Xiang Yuan emphasized: "Mr. Yang, I have investigated this person, and this person is really not just a name."

"Tell me what he did." Seeing Xiang Yuan's serious expression, Yang Xuewu immediately said seriously.

"Mr. Yang, it was this man named Amakasu Shinahiko who brought the deposed emperor Puyi from Tianjin to Chuncheng, which led to the establishment of the so-called puppet state of Manchukuo." Yang Xuewu was indeed a little surprised when he heard this. He did not expect that Amakasu Shinahiko was not to be underestimated. It was actually him who brought Puyi from Tianjin to Chuncheng.

"Xiang Yuan, this person is indeed not a simple person. Please continue."

"Mr. Yang, after the establishment of the puppet Manchukuo, Amakasu Masahiko served as the director of the Police Department of the puppet Ministry of Civil Affairs."

"I have investigated Amakasu Shinhiko in detail. Although he is not that brilliant, he played a great role in the establishment and development of Manchukuo. I would even say that without Amakasu Shinhiko, we don't know when Manchukuo could have been established."

Upon hearing this, Yang Xuewu nodded. He now agreed with Xiang Yuan's judgment. This man should indeed not be underestimated.

"Xiang Yuan, please continue. Why did Amakasu Masahiko later become the chairman of Manyei?"

"Mr. Yang, this is what happened. When Man-Yi Film Studio was first established, it was indeed glorious for a while, but later it fell into stagnation due to corruption and power struggles within the studio."

"The Kwantung Army authorities did not want to see the "Man'ei" that they had worked so hard to build go bankrupt, so they decided to reorganize it. The Kwantung Army authorities believed that Amakasu Masahiko was the most suitable person to be the chairman of the board of directors of "Man'ei" because he was a strong-willed person. It just so happened that "Man'ei" was rotten to the core at that time, and it needed a strong-willed person like Amakasu Masahiko to reorganize it."

"Soon after, Amakasu Masahiko took office as the chairman of Man'ei. After taking charge of Man'ei, he carried out drastic reforms. The films produced by Man'ei began to take the soft route of entertainment films to promote the "education" of the people, rather than the serious military police-style films of the past. This gradually improved the reputation of Man'ei."

"When Amakasu Masahiko first took office, he began to plan the establishment of North China Film Co., Ltd. Amakasu Masahiko was very ambitious. He wanted to spread the films produced by Man'ei throughout North China and then throughout China."

"And at this time, a woman happened to appear. This woman's name was Yamaguchi Yoshiko, and her Chinese name was Li Xianglan."

"Li Xianglan became famous the first time she appeared on the screen, and quickly became the signature actress of Man'ei. As far as I know, Li Xianglan was born in China, and her ancestral home is in Japan. She actually didn't want to shoot some of Man'ei's "national policy films", but she had to do so under the pressure of Amakasu Masahiko."

"In the past few years, under the leadership of Masahiko Amakasu, Man'ei has produced hundreds of films. I have seen some of the films produced by Man'ei. In the films, they tried their best to glorify the Manchukuo Army and the Kwantung Army, and tried their best to belittle the anti-Japanese fighters."

"I even watched a movie about a young Japanese technician working for the Manchurian Railway who fell in love with a Chinese rural girl named Xuexiang. Xuexiang's uncle, as one of the leaders of the anti-Japanese movement, opposed the marriage, but Xuexiang still loved the Japanese youth and helped him transport bullets to confront the anti-Japanese activists. In the final battle, Xuexiang and the Japanese youth were both shot and died together."

"When I saw the movie, I was so angry that I wanted to burn down the cinema, but I calmed down in the end."

"I didn't think so before, but after what you said, Mr. Yang, I think Manying is the biggest "pen army" in Spring City."

"I remember that after Amakasu Masahiko became the chairman of Man'ei, he specially recruited a group of writers from Japan to serve Man'ei."

Upon hearing this, Yang Xuewu nodded. He agreed with Xiang Yuan’s judgment that “Man Ying” was indeed the largest “pen army” in Chuncheng.

"Xiang Yuan, I have a general understanding of the situation. I will personally investigate the situation of "Manchukuo Film Studio", but I think that Chuncheng, as the capital of the puppet Manchukuo, must have many "pen troops" personnel."

"I need you to help me investigate the literary and artistic circles of Manchukuo to see if any of them have done what I said, whitewashing Japan's war of aggression through their works. If so, make a list of these people for me. It's time for them to die."

"Also, please help me investigate other institutions in Manchukuo, such as libraries, museums, and cinemas. The cinema that didn't get burned down last time because you were angry at the movie, maybe it can be burned down this time." (End of this chapter)