You were allowed to marry into No. 76 family, and you were promoted to director?

Chapter 422 Negotiation
Hua Xiaonuan sighed with a wry smile:

"President, we've encountered such a major upheaval, and the news has spread throughout almost the entire city of Shanghai. The Zhenxing Flag Society was almost completely wiped out. If my brother is really in Shanghai, why hasn't he contacted us?"

"The code, my brother knows it too."

Lu Tian was speechless, unsure of what to say for a moment.

Huang Qian was also unclear about the organization's arrangements, but Lin Jieru told her that for the time being, they had to keep the remaining members of the Zhenxingqi Society in check, and that the organization had follow-up measures.

"President, Xiao Nuan, perhaps the young prince has some unspeakable reason that prevents him from contacting you for the time being?!"

"Now that we've settled down, and we're not without the confidence to make a comeback, perhaps we can try to get in touch. What if we actually manage to get in touch?!"

Lu Tianting and Hua Xiaonuan exchanged a glance; they definitely needed to make contact about this.

"Okay, Huang Qian, we'll take care of this. By the way, when you came in, you said that the head of the Special Higher Police and Zhao Xuan both left Shanghai. What are they going to do there?"

Huang Qian didn't hide this matter, after all, such things would be known after the Battle of Zaoyi was over:
"It seems they went to negotiate with the KMT, but I don't know the specifics."

Lu Tianting nodded. Perhaps, with a large number of Special Higher Police officers being transferred away from Shanghai, it was time to do something to revitalize the Flag Society.

In fact, the Special Higher Police was the culprit behind the downfall of the Zhenxing Banner Society.

However, after the previous crushing defeat, Lü Tianting had a psychological shadow over Lan Zehuizi and Zhao Xuan.

That feeling of having nowhere to run away is still a nightmare for Lü Tianting, who is often awakened by it in the middle of the night.

"Huang Qian, after you go back, keep a close eye on the Special Higher Police's actions. If the Special Higher Police have any urgent actions, you must report to us immediately. While Lan Zehui and Zhao Xuan are not in Shanghai, we need to make some good plans this time."

Hua Xiaonuan nodded:
“That’s right. Otherwise, even if we find our brother, we won’t be of any use in our current state. We must give our brother a gift.”

By June 15, 1940, Yichang was under the control of the Japanese army.

Even with Boss Dai using Tiger Girl's long-range telegraph guidance, the National Revolutionary Army only lasted four days longer than in history.

The mountain city was shrouded in dark clouds, and the entire Military Intelligence Bureau was filled with gloom and despair.

With Yichang captured, the mountain city was completely exposed to the Japanese guns. The distance from Yichang to the mountain city was more than 400 li, which could be reached in a day or two.

Inside the bureau chief's office, Boss Dai looked pale as he stared at Shen Xing, who had just been summoned into his office.

With about fifteen minutes to go before the meeting, Shen Xing was puzzled as to why he had been called here at this time.
"Director!!"

Boss Dai waved his hand expressionlessly, gesturing for Shen Xing to sit down, before speaking in a deep voice:

"After Yichang was captured, the Japanese army sent a telegram, wanting to hold a negotiation with us."

"If the negotiations go smoothly at this time, the Japanese army will retreat to its original defense zone, which is of great importance to the party and the country. Because of the outstanding performance of our military intelligence in this battle, the principal has given a special order that two people from our side will be present for the negotiations at noon tomorrow."

Upon hearing this, Shen Xing frowned deeply.
"What are the Japanese army up to now?!"

"During the Battle of Zaoyang, the Japanese army spread rumors that they would withdraw to their original defense zone after capturing Zaoyang. However, this was just to make us lower our guard for the second phase of the campaign, namely the Battle of Yichang. In the end, the Japanese army still attacked."

"They have absolutely no integrity!"

"I'm afraid the Japanese military is also trying to buy time during these negotiations in order to prepare for achieving other objectives."

Boss Dai waved his hand:

"Third brother, I didn't call you here to talk about this."

"Furthermore, the principal has already made a decision on this matter, and it is not up to you or me to change it."

Shen Xing's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately realized that something was wrong:
"Director, you're not going to tell me about the person we're negotiating with this time..."

Boss Dai nodded solemnly:

"It's your prized student, Zhao Xuan!"

Shen Xing tried to calm himself down, took a deep breath, and looked calmly at Boss Dai:

"So, Director, what do you mean by calling me here? Are you afraid that Young Tiger will expose Changdian to the public? Or are you afraid of seeing him?"

The fact that an order like sending a young tiger to Ice City could be issued shows that Boss Dai was naturally afraid of seeing Zhao Xuan, and of course, he was even more afraid of the first scenario that Shen Xing mentioned.

"Third brother, there are some things that are beyond our control."

"At first, we had no idea whether Tiger Girl's telegram was real or not. Under those circumstances, would I dare to present it directly to the principal? I could only tentatively report it to the principal."

"But as you know, there were leaks and espionage incidents at headquarters, and the Nanjing area was massacred by Yingzuo. After An Ruoxian was brought back to Shancheng, we all concluded that the intelligence An Ruoxian obtained was deliberately done by the Japanese."

"Under these circumstances, do you think Tiger Girl's telegrams can still be trusted?"

"I don't want to make things difficult for Tiger Girl, and I especially don't want to make things difficult for Young Tiger, after all, they are the strongest trump cards of our Military Intelligence Bureau."

"But this time, the cub and the little tiger have really given me a big problem."

"If we're not careful, can the Military Intelligence Bureau still exist? Brother CC will definitely not let this opportunity pass and will surely kick us when we're down. Third Brother, what do you want me to do? This concerns the life and death of the Military Intelligence Bureau. Shouldn't I stop it?"

After listening, Shen Xing sighed heavily. When he analyzed Hu Niu Changdian back then, Shen Xing also thought it was unlikely.

As a result, the subsequent actions of the Japanese confirmed the long telegram, but put the Military Intelligence Bureau in a completely passive position.

"Director, but the question now is, have you truly eliminated it?"

"Although I have always believed in my student and that he would never betray the Party and the country, you must also understand, Director, that Young Tiger is now a colonel, a colonel in the Japanese army!"

"After all this time, I don't believe you haven't thoroughly investigated the strength of the Lanze family. With Lanze Huizi's help, I wouldn't be surprised if Youhu eventually becomes a major general or lieutenant general in the Japanese army."

"So, the real problem is that the young tiger has too many options, but Director, do you have an option?"

“Once Young Tiger retreats, as long as he reveals what he knows to the public, he can drive the Military Intelligence Bureau to the brink of collapse. And you are now forcing Young Tiger down this path!”

Boss Dai stared at Shen Xing with a pale face. He didn't expect Shen Xing to be so bold as to point his finger at him and curse him.

However, it cannot be denied that everything Shen Xing said made sense.

Especially with the negotiations tomorrow, Boss Dai is really panicking now. He's genuinely afraid that Zhao Xuan will confront him tomorrow.

Just thinking about that situation made Boss Dai break out in a cold sweat.

After being stunned for a good ten seconds, Boss Dai finally suppressed his complicated emotions and anger, and said in an almost ashamed tone:
"Third brother, I was wrong. Is there any way to make amends?"

Hearing this, Shen Xing finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Director, if you hadn't asked about this today, I'm afraid there would have been nothing I could do. However, Young Tiger has already come to this conclusion." After saying that, Shen Xing took out a stack of telegrams from his briefcase and handed them to Boss Dai with both hands.

Boss Dai's eyes lit up, and he already had a guess in his mind.

He quickly took the telegram and retrieved the codebook. As the translation continued, a smile finally appeared on Boss Dai's face.

"If the cubs do not fail me, I will certainly not fail the cubs!"

"Third brother, you've raised a good student! Good, good, good!"

Seeing Boss Dai's expression, Shen Xing finally breathed a sigh of relief.

These telegrams were all forged by him. Boss Dai would definitely be able to tell, but even if he did, he wouldn't expose him.

Given the relationship between Shen Xing and Zhao Xuan, as long as these telegrams exist, Zhao Xuan will definitely not bring up the original telegram again. Otherwise, the first person to die would not be Boss Dai, but Shen Xing.

Shen Xing did this in order to ease the relationship between Zhao Xuan and Boss Dai. If they continued to fight, or if Boss Dai continued to plot how to get rid of Zhao Xuan, it would inevitably lead to a lose-lose situation.

As Zhao Xuan's teacher and also a member of the Military Intelligence Bureau, Shen Xing really didn't want to see trouble arising from within the family.

With these telegrams, Boss Dai understood who he should take with him to tomorrow's negotiations.

The following day at noon, Boss Dai, Shen Xing, and a military officer, who had driven overnight to Yichang, entered the town occupied by the Japanese with their guards.

The Chairman has given a firm order: this negotiation must succeed and cannot fail.

Following the Japanese general's guidance, they arrived at the conference room. As soon as Boss Dai and Shen Xing entered, they saw Zhao Xuan sitting across the negotiating table with Lan Zehuizi and Nagahira Shigeru, the commander of the Japanese 39th Division.

As everyone took their seats, Nagahira Shigeru spoke frankly:

"Since you are willing to come here to negotiate, you should already be clear about all our demands."

Boss Dai took a deep breath, looked at Changping Mao, and smiled:
"Colonel, we have reviewed your requests, but there are some unreasonable aspects that we still need to discuss."

"Humph!"

No sooner had Boss Dai finished speaking than Changping Mao interrupted him with a cold snort:
"You must be Dai Yunong from the Military Intelligence Bureau, huh? Heh, do you even have the right to speak here?"

The Kuomintang military major general glared at Dai Mukai, then looked at Nagahira Shigeru and said:

"Your demands are indeed excessive. If they cannot be reduced appropriately, then let's continue this war!"

"Although Yichang has fallen, your battle lines are stretched too thin. How much time do you have to waste here? A year? I'm afraid you can't even afford half a year!"

The original strategic objective of the Battle of Zaoyi was to deter the Kuomintang.

Moreover, the Kuomintang major general was right; the battle line had been stretched far too long this time, from the Huai River to Yichang.

Although logistical supplies can still be guaranteed, the logistical pressure of continuing to be stationed in Yichang is simply too great.

Most importantly, the strategic objective has been achieved. The Japanese army wants to tell the Kuomintang that if they can fight their way from Yichang, they can fight their way all the way to the mountain city.

Nagahira Shigeru never expected that there would be such a visionary general in the Kuomintang; they really couldn't afford to waste time.

"How arrogant! If that's the case, there's no need to continue negotiations. If you want to fight, fine, then let's continue fighting!"

The Kuomintang major general's lips twitched slightly. Was Nagahira Shigeru bluffing or had he made up his mind? He had just been making his intentions clear, asking everyone to negotiate properly and not to make exorbitant demands.

But Nagahira Shigeru actually nodded.

This put the Kuomintang major general in a difficult position.

Shen Xing and Boss Dai exchanged a glance and quickly tried to smooth things over, saying:
"Gentlemen, since this is a negotiation, let's talk calmly and peacefully. There's no need to be so tense from the start."

As Boss Dai finished speaking, Nagahira Shigeru was about to retort when Aizawa Keiko spoke up:

"Changping, Boss Dai is right. Since we're negotiating, let's have a proper chat."

Nagahira Shigeru glanced at Aizawa Keiko, feeling angry but not daring to argue. Aizawa Keiko's status was undeniable; if he offended her today, he might lose his position as division commander tomorrow.

Others may not know, but Nagahira Shigeru has already found out that the commander-in-chief of this battle, Sonobe Kazuichiro, is backed by the Watanabe family.

And Aizawa Keiko is Watanabe Kyoko's daughter-in-law, so she really can't afford to offend her.

As you can see, Gangcun, the former highest-ranking officer of the 11th Army Group, was definitely framed, which is why he lost his position as commander. As for who framed him, there's no need to even think about it.

"Hi!"

With a muffled reply, Nagahira Shigeru shut his mouth.

Now, the Kuomintang has also realized that the Japanese army's dominant role in this negotiation was not the 39th Division that broke through Yichang, but rather the Special Higher Police Chief, Aizawa Keiko, who was sent from Shanghai.

"You must be Section Chief Lan Ze, it's an honor to meet you!"

The Kuomintang major general cupped his hands and smiled at Aizawa Keiko.

Aizawa Keiko coldly stared at the three people opposite her, offering no response, but simply saying softly:

“Ah Xuan, have a good talk with the KMT people about the compensation we want. If they still can’t agree, then continue fighting.”

"As for who can outlast whom, I think the logistics and supplies are sufficient for the 11th Army Group to reach the mountain city, at which point we won't have to worry about logistical pressure."

Aizawa Keiko's blatant threat made the three Kuomintang members look extremely ugly.

Indeed, the Japanese army couldn't afford to lose so much, but they could hold out for about six months. In six months, who knows, the enemy might actually be able to reach the mountain city.

Didn't those people in the Kuomintang General Staff see the weakness of the Japanese army's logistical pressure?
They saw it, but they didn't dare to gamble, and the Chairman dared even less.

If the Japanese army really manages to capture the mountain city, will we have to move the capital again?
However, Lan Zehuizi's decision to have Zhao Xuan talk to them relieved Shen Xing and Boss Dai.

"Mr. Zhao, I've long admired your name!"

Boss Dai smiled and said something to Zhao Xuan, who also smiled and replied:

“Boss Dai, your name is quite famous, but since Section Chief Lan Ze has handed the negotiation over to me, I will only say three points.”

"First, the compensation on the list cannot be reduced in the slightest."

Boss Dai's face darkened, and Shen Xing also frowned as he looked at Zhao Xuan. But when he saw Zhao Xuan loosen the button on his left military uniform sleeve, Shen Xing's pupils shrank slightly, and he quickly tugged at Boss Dai's sleeve under the negotiating table.

Although Boss Dai didn't understand why Shen Xing was reminding him at this time, Boss Dai also trusted Shen Xing.

(End of this chapter)