Spy Wars: Return of the Red Luan

Chen Jiehua couldn't sleep.

Based on the timeline, it's likely that after arriving in Shanghai, Fujiwara Mio first visited Shigemitsu Mamoru, and then went directly to Nanjing. Whether there were any follow-ups after that is unclear.

She went directly to Zhao Shiyu, which wasn't a big problem. Although the Kuomintang's party affairs investigation department might not be keeping an eye on her now, the Fuxing Society had already come out.

Mio, a Japanese person on the surface, rushed to Nanjing alone right after the Hongkou Park bombing and the signing of the Shanghai Armistice Agreement. Even if you were looking for Zhao Shiyu and Qing Teng Liu, this doesn't stand up to scrutiny.

What kind of business problem would require a top Japanese noblewoman, a major general's wife, to personally venture alone into Nanjing?

There's no point in finding any other reason for this; we need to think of another way.

The Japanese Minister to China, Mamoru Shigemitsu, is currently in the hospital, but under normal circumstances, he should know Mio's whereabouts, so underground methods cannot be used.

Mio, you really know how to give me a tough time.

After much deliberation, Chen Jiehua finally decided, "Let her apply to Jinling Girls' School to continue teaching. She is not allowed to do anything else. If anyone asks, the reason should be that she had a fight with Aoki and wants to come back and have some peace and quiet."

Chen Jiehua and Duke Fujiwara "truthfully confessed" that they had quarreled with Mio. Mio wanted me to go to Shanghai with her to visit Uncle Kui, but I, Aoki Qiao, was afraid of dying and didn't want to go. Mio got angry and went to Jinling Girls' School by herself.
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On May 15, 1931 (Showa 5), a coup was launched by Navy Lieutenant Mikami Taku, junior naval officers, army cadets, and right-wing elements.

The coup participants attacked and killed Prime Minister Inukai Tsuyoshi. Due to the small number of participants and the premature leak of the plan, the original coup plan could not be fully implemented, and the coup quickly failed.

Chen Jiehua received detailed plans and information about the number of participants the night before the coup attempt, and determined that the coup could not succeed. He then notified Ozaki and his subordinates to cease their actions.

Yoon Bong-gil is currently safe. Rescuing him in this way would be too risky and not cost-effective.
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At the end of May, three pieces of bad news simultaneously weighed on Chen Jiehua's mind.

First, Prime Minister Inukai Tsuyoshi was assassinated, and Saito Minoru, a naval treaty faction member, was appointed as prime minister and ordered to form a cabinet. The era of Japanese military control over the cabinet officially began, but Aoki Takashi and Saito Minoru had old grudges.

Currently, with Saito Minoru forming a temporary cabinet, there are countless things to deal with, including handling people's livelihood issues and coordinating the relationship between the navy and the army. He hasn't had time to think about Aoki Qiao yet, but Chen Jiehua is still considering and preparing two paths.

The first option is to temporarily avoid the limelight, find a way to be transferred elsewhere, and go out to do some work. Staying in Tokyo is really restrictive.

The second option is to kill Saito if he really causes trouble. Although killing is the least technically demanding method, it is also the most effective.

The second piece of bad news was that Harbin had fallen, and Guan Yuheng's troops were discovered by the Kwantung Army, leading to a battle. Guan Yuheng led his troops in a fighting retreat, and they have already retreated to the Korean border.

The harsh environment and battle losses resulted in the loss of some more members of the unit.

He had asked Zhang Xiaoliu for Guan Yuheng's troops, but he couldn't use them properly, nor could he guarantee their safety. It was a very awkward situation.

The third piece of bad news came from Liu Junze in Shanghai. After the Shanghai ceasefire agreement was signed, Liu ordered the remaining troops of the 19th Route Army to go south to Fujian to participate in the encirclement and suppression of the Jiangxi Soviet Area.

Before the troops set off, General Cai Tingkai contacted Lao Liu, the "God of Artillery," hoping to communicate with the organization behind him and seek a way out.

General Cai was very resentful of the forced transfer of the 19th Route Army to Fujian to participate in the encirclement and suppression of the Jiangxi Soviet Area. However, this remnant force was like a rootless duckweed, unable to enter Shanghai, not allowed to stay in Suzhou, and unable to return to Guangdong. They could only follow orders and settle in Fujian. But what would happen after settling in?
The force behind Liu Junze might be his way out.

Chen Jiehua was caught in a dilemma.

However, there was really no good solution to the problem of the 19th Route Army for the time being, so it could only be dealt with later. Liu was to first appease General Cai Tingkai, and after arriving in Fujian, they could consider requisitioning fishing boats, and the troops could disperse and infiltrate Taiwan. After arriving in Taiwan, they could join forces with the Taiwanese resistance army to carry out sabotage and kill Japanese.
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At the Naval General Staff's June meeting, Prince Hiroyasu Fushimi and Kanji Kato were troubled by the issue of troop reduction. Firstly, the Anglo-American alliance had been watching closely; the agreement had been signed two years ago, why were they dragging their feet on troop reductions?
They had been fooling around before, but now that Saito Minoru has taken office, the navy can no longer be fooled. The old Saito is a staunch treaty advocate and has stipulated that the navy must be disarmed within three months.

Since the signing of the London Naval Treaty, the navy has not undergone any reorganization in two years, and junior officers have not been promoted. This led to more than a dozen junior naval officers committing insubordination and killing Prime Minister Inukai Tsuyoshi.

This time, downsizing is unavoidable. But deciding who to cut and who to keep, and which fleet to cut, are all thorny issues.

Chen Jiehua suddenly had an inspiration and came up with a solution to the problem.

"Your Highness, Grandfather Kato, Aoki has a plan, but I don't know if it's feasible?"

"Oh? Aoki is the brains of our navy, what do you say about him?"

"I think we should stop arguing about who to cut and who to keep in our naval fleet and just cut them all!"

"All cuts? What does that mean?"

"Based on the restrictions on troop reduction, we now need to cut 20,000 personnel and more than a dozen ships, right? We can allocate this quota to each fleet proportionally, and let each fleet cut wounded, elderly, troublesome soldiers and officers."

"Laying off the wounded, disabled, and elderly is too cruel. It's absolutely unacceptable. Those are our old subordinates who fought alongside us in the Russo-Japanese War."

"Grandpa Kato, please let me finish."

"These dismissed naval officers and veterans, numbering 25,000 or 30,000, will be combined with the old and soon-to-be-obsolete ships from various fleets to form a new fleet."

"You're establishing a new fleet, and it's the Empire's fleet, so what's the explanation for that?"

"No, they are not the Empire's fleet, they are the Manchukuo fleet. Aoki is willing to lead the Manchukuo fleet to be stationed and patrolled in the area from Gangneung, Wonsan, Cheongjin to Rajin in Korea, and to be ready to be dispatched at any time."

"However, this is nominally the fleet of Manchukuo, not the fleet of the Empire. The Empire can then explain this to Britain and the United States."

"Moreover, the vacant spots can be used by each fleet to continue recruiting students from the Imperial Naval Academy to supplement the new recruits."

"Dear elders, can all the unemployed or those who are considered for employment in your families be placed?"

"Hahaha~ Great! Aoki kid truly lives up to his title as the Navy's brain; that title is absolutely fitting. This plan is absolutely perfect!"

Prince Fushimi Hiroyasu quickly understood and was the first to give Chen Jiehua a thumbs up. (End of Chapter)