Spy Wars: Red Shopkeeper

Chapter 102 Selected
Gendarmerie Headquarters.

In the office was not only Fu Xiaoan who was called in to report in person, but also the consul Hasegawa Inkawa who was specially called by Fu Xiaoan.

Fu Xiaoan had decided to give up on the uncontrollable Sheng Wenyi and attacked him without mercy.

Fu Xiaoan frowned and said angrily, "The rapid deterioration of Shanghai's economy is shocking to me! After only a few days of rest, the SH economy under the rule of Sheng Wenyi and Su Xiwen is facing collapse. I am not exaggerating!"

Iwasa Taro frowned, quite puzzled. "But Director Sheng and Deputy Mayor Su told me that the mission is progressing smoothly. This statement seems to be different from what you, Mayor Fu, said."

"General Iwasa, are you too busy with official duties to read the newspaper? You two can go to downtown Shanghai and the stock exchange. You won't see the real Shanghai if you stay in Hongkou."

"I know there's some chaos in downtown SH. The military police will report to me what they see and hear in downtown SH, but handling these things will definitely cause some unrest. The military entering the city to strictly control the situation should improve this situation."

"Improvement? Can the army continue to station troops on the streets and not withdraw from the city? Strict control can indeed deter scoundrels, but the various inspections under strict control will only result in a slowdown in the flow of everything.

Traffic slowed down, flow slowed down, cargo transportation slowed down, transactions slowed down, and Shanghai's economic recovery slowed down, or even declined!

The harm hasn't become apparent yet, but regarding the strict inspections of cargo ships at Wusongkou, the Military Police Headquarters could ask the customs whether the accumulation of a large number of cargo ships on the river is causing economic stagnation and leading to an increase in complaints from foreign businesses.

Iwasa Taro thought about it and still disagreed: "Mayor Fu's concerns are too exaggerated. I know what you are worried about. You think Shanghai is in chaos now, and the merchants are unwilling to cooperate, which will affect Shanghai's overall economic situation.

But I don't think so.

When the military implemented economic control in Manchuria, the merchants also cried out in despair. But when the Kwantung Army forced it to be implemented and put long swords to the throats of those merchants, didn't they still obediently switch to the Manchurian yuan?
Businessmen are dogs, and dogs will always eat shit. As long as there is profit, they will swarm in like flies smelling blood.

Director Sheng’s seizure plan has now closed down hundreds of opium dens in Shanghai. Within half a month, all the drug profits in Shanghai will be in our hands.

Persistence will bring victory. Never give up when fighting with them. Public opinion is the best symbol of their incompetence and rage.

Now, we are just one step away from victory.”

"General Iwasa, that's not the case. Things are not that simple." Fu Xiaoan continued to persuade earnestly.

"Stop talking!" Iwasa Taro suddenly interrupted and shouted, "Mayor Fu, do your own thing and don't try to interfere with the Empire's decision-making. According to what you said, do both of the military's plans have to be abolished? Do you know what you are talking about?
Deputy Mayor Su reported to me two days ago, and Director Sheng reported to me yesterday. The number of businesses willing to accept military notes increases by dozens every day, and the cleanup of Shanghai's opium dealers is also progressing rapidly. At this rate, both tasks should be completed within two weeks. I don't see any problems."

"But if you ask again today, Sheng Wenyi might be able to give you a stable response, but Su Xiwen absolutely can't. Today, the entire municipal government can't come up with 10 companies willing to implement military bills!"

"You've already mentioned the chaos in downtown SH. Complaints have increased recently, and businesses are showing some resistance. Is this surprising? Short-term attitudes are completely unnecessary. I've already said that merchants' pursuit of profit will ultimately lead them to change. This is something the Empire has proven in Manchuria. It's experience.

Mayor Fu, instead of arguing with me about this issue, you should focus on the speed of enterprise implementation. This is your job. Okay, stop wasting time on useless topics. The military's plan will not change."

"I!"

Fu Xiaoan stood up suddenly. Before he came, he really didn't expect Iwasa Taro to act on his own.

Seeing what Iwasa Taro wanted to say, he glanced at Hasegawa, who had deliberately called over, and found that the other party had no intention of speaking. In the end, he held it in and nodded repeatedly: "Okay, okay, okay, I won't interfere. It's me who is talking too much. I also want to see good news from the empire. Then... I'll leave first."

Fu Xiaoan paused at the door and turned back to say, "General Iwasa, you just said that the military's strategy in Manchuria was very successful and that it was only a matter of time. But I tell you, it's impossible, because this is not Manchuria, this is Shanghai!"

As soon as the person leaves.

Iwasa Taro looked at Hasegawa Inkawa and said, "Hase-kun, the problem with the Chinese is that they are too selfish. Fu Xiaoan came to my house today to try to remove Sheng Wenyi's power and told me so much. Do you think this is just an economic issue? Is it really based on the overall situation of Shanghai?"
This is the newspaper I kept. Our Mayor Fu has more than just a simple mind."

Iwasa Taro took out the news about Fu Xiaoan and his son from the drawer.

Hasegawa took it and took a look. He was in charge of public opinion and had actually read the news, then put it aside.

He said: "You are the commander, you have the right to make the decision. Fu Xiaoan's purpose is not pure, but Iwasa-kun, don't you have any selfish motives?
Sheng Wenyi and Su Xiwen were both people you employed, and you forcibly replaced them by overturning the people I recommended!
Today you rejected Fu Xiaoan. Did you firmly believe that this plan would succeed, or did you know that if their plan failed, Shanghai's economy would be destroyed and you would be held responsible in the military, so you were so stubborn?

Many people are eyeing the position of commander-in-chief of the Shanghai Military Police Command.

Before the economic collapse, if your plan succeeds, you win; otherwise, you will be court-martialed.

Wishing you good luck.”

Hasegawa was unwilling to say more. He couldn't convince Iwasa Taro, and he had already sent a telegram to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, asking it to put pressure on the military.

But the military is powerful, and it's just that international public opinion is not very favorable at the moment. Although the pressure is great, to a certain extent, this is something the military has predicted long ago. The implementation of military notes will definitely cause unrest, so they are tolerant of Iwasa.

No action will be taken against Iwasa until there are obvious bad consequences.

In this case, there is no point in saying more.

Iwasa Taro looked at Hasegawa's leaving back with a gloomy expression.

Pick up the phone and call Sheng Wenyi: "Speed ​​up! I want to see results in a short time, don't let me down!"

Iwasa Taro who is in a hurry, coupled with Sheng Wenyi who is going smoothly but arrogant, SH city faces a new round of storm of attacks.

Sheng Wenyi expanded his crackdown to cover all tobacco shops owned by drug dealers. No matter who was behind the scenes, they would be arrested and their goods seized.

The shop owners and others who were captured were taken directly to the gendarmerie's interrogation room and forced to reveal information about the warehouse and the number of people transported.

As a result, they seized the drug stocks hidden by various gangs in the urban area of ​​SH.

There were many fights on the streets, which started with smashing shops and escalated into shooting battles due to the participation of drug dealers from various gangs.

Chaos frequently occurs on the streets of Shanghai.

As for the promotion of military notes, just as Fu Xiaoan wished, in the vegetable market alone, there were armed military police standing guard, and no vendor dared not to use military notes.

People always have to eat. The vegetable sellers only accept military notes, and the buyers have no choice but to go to the garrison to exchange them for military notes no matter how reluctant they are.

Behind every person buying groceries is a family, and military notes are officially circulated on the streets of Shanghai.

However, because military notes and Japanese yen look so similar, disputes over misidentification and misplaced exchange frequently occur.

76 number.

Wu Sibao was in his office, pondering whether futures prices would rise or fall, and whether to short or buy, when his trusted subordinate Liu San walked in. Liu San clutched his stomach, looking distressed. "Captain, my stomach hurts. I'm going to the hospital."

"I told you not to eat so much. Your mouth is even greedier than mine. Go ahead. Wait, tell me first, should I buy high or buy low?"

"Is it going to fall? No matter how you look at it, the market won't go up. What a mess it is out there."

"But the price is very cheap. It should rebound anyway. And I heard Fu Xiaoan has returned to work. Okay, okay, I'll think about it myself. Go ahead and spend it. I'll get the medical expenses reimbursed later and consider it a work injury."

"Thank you Captain."

Liu San took the twenty dollars given to him by Wu Sibao, walked out of No. 76 with difficulty, asked for a rickshaw, and went to the hospital in the concession.

In the internal medicine room, Liu San nodded to the female doctor and turned into a small room on the side. There was already a person in the room, Chen Mo, the current leader of the Military Control Commission's Iron-Blooded Assassination Group, or he had another name, Chen Mo, the leader of the Military Control Commission's Shanghai Anti-Japanese Action Group.

Covering his identity, he was Du Yuesheng's personal disciple.

"Team leader."

"How are the people at the Secret Service Headquarters?"

"Li Shiqun originally asked the Japanese consulate to contact the Municipal Council to revoke District Chief Zhou's protection. However, due to the recent uproar over the military notes, foreigners were quite unhappy, and the Municipal Council directly rejected the Japanese request.

Li Shiqun is now putting direct pressure on the people from the Municipal Council. If they do not hand over District Chief Zhou within three days, Li Shiqun will start a massacre in the concession. He even plans to kill two people from the Municipal Council to scare them.

Team leader, we have to find a solution quickly, time is running out."

Chen Mo frowned when he heard this. This was a difficult matter to handle.

It was no secret that Zhou Weilong, the district chief of the Military Control Commission's Shanghai district, was now in the International Settlement. With so many people from the Military Control Commission arrested, the district chief's address was clearly known.

If he had not been protected by someone around him, and if the news had not spread widely, the Municipal Council would not have allowed the people from the Secret Service Headquarters to arrest him from their territory openly for the sake of face. This person would have fallen into Li Shiqun's hands long ago.

You can't run away. The people at No. 76 are watching you 24 hours a day.

The only way was to kill the people who were following No. 76 and create an opportunity for him to escape. However, there were more than twenty people following No. 76, and it was not easy to kill them. Once they were caught causing trouble, the Municipal Council would have a reason to arrest them all.

"Okay, let me think about this, and I have one more question for you.

The Japanese have been using economic tactics in Shanghai recently, cracking down on longevity cream and forcing us to pay military bills, which has caused us a lot of trouble.

Boss Dai judged that the Japanese collected this batch of foreign currency with the ultimate goal of using the collected money to buy supplies from our territory to support their own troops.

He makes money in Shanghai, then makes money here, and then uses our things to attack us. His method is quite clever, but it makes our intelligence seem a little behind the times, and we don't have any countermeasures.

Boss Dai has instructed us to recruit a few economic talents from the core circle of the puppet government. It doesn't matter if they truly understand economics or have access to the Japanese economic intelligence firsthand. Number 76, please recommend two people.

"The person at No. 76... I didn't see it." Liu San thought for a moment and his eyes lit up: "But there is one at the municipal government."

"Who?"

"Gu Yansheng."

"This name sounds familiar." Chen Mo thought about it and immediately remembered it, raising his eyebrows: "The deputy director of the Judicial Department?"

"Yes, that's him."

Liu San follows Wu Sibao every day and knows too well how good Gu Yansheng is at making money.

He talked incessantly about how much money Gu Yansheng had made for Wu Sibao and how he manipulated the stock market.

And it is important to point out that Gu Yansheng has a good relationship with No. 76, which can avoid a lot of unnecessary suspicion and trouble in the future.

"This guy is simply amazing. He makes money so quickly. Just look at people like Wu Sibao and Li Shiqun's wife. They're obsessed with money. Who do they admire? Seeing Gu Yansheng is like seeing their own father. They're so warm and welcoming."

"He understands economics and is also in charge of justice?" Chen Mo became more interested in Gu Yansheng. If he could be recruited, he would be a powerful general.

"Does this person have any blood debts?" Chen Mo was in charge of the Iron Blood Assassination Group, so he knew very well which famous Shanghai officials had blood debts. However, Gu Yansheng had not been here for long, so he was not familiar with him. He did not appear on the assassination list, so theoretically he should not have any blood debts.

Although it is not impossible to talk to someone with a blood debt, the risks of contacting someone with a blood debt are different, and you may be ambushed and bitten back.

"No, I'm very familiar with this person's resume." Wu Sibao had at least investigated Gu Yansheng at the time, and the information was in Liu Sanguo's hands. "He used to be a lawyer, a wealthy one, and it wasn't long before he was recruited into the government by the Japanese.

You see, some time ago he was busy helping the Japanese make the merchant ships in the concession pay taxes to the Japanese. How could he have the time to kill our people?

If you go back further, you're a student, and it's even more impossible for your identity and resume to be clean."

"Interesting. A lawyer who actually knows a lot about the law." Chen Mo's interest in Gu Yansheng grew stronger and stronger. He asked with a smile, "Have you ever come into contact with this person? What are his whereabouts? What are his hobbies? Where do he frequent? Is there any way to contact him so that he can have a conversation?"

Liu San was troubled by this problem. With his level, when Gu Yansheng came to the secret service headquarters, he didn't even have the qualifications to stand and listen, so how could he know his whereabouts?

"I really don't know."

Chen Mo didn't embarrass him after hearing this. He thought for a moment and said, "Officials of the pseudo-government are now protected when they travel. Gu Yansheng must have some around him, so it's not easy to get close to him and talk to him."

"How about I find a chance to contact him?" Liu San volunteered. It seemed that he was the only one who could meet Gu Yansheng in this situation.

Chen Mo shook his head: "No, your position is not easy to come by, you must be a nail in the agent headquarters and keep an eye on their every word and action.

And you're Boss Dai's man, so he needs to get his approval before he can hire you. He can't hire people casually, just like the Shanghai district was busted this time, and the full list of names was taken. If you had any contact with anyone in the Shanghai district, you'd be dead by now."

"I'm not afraid of death. The main thing is that if I really contact Gu Yansheng, there must be a middleman, right? It's inconvenient for him to travel, and it's not convenient for me to see you. If I have any problems in the future, I can contact him directly. It's definitely more convenient for me to contact him than you."

What you said makes sense.

Chen Mo thought for a moment and said, "Since you're willing, I'll ask Boss Dai for his opinion and let him decide."

(End of this chapter)