Spy Wars: Red Shopkeeper

Chapter 58 Propaganda
Ding-ling-ling. Ding-ling-ling.

It was the first time that Liu Xiaolou received a call from the Japanese consulate, and he immediately reported it to Gu Yansheng.

"Director, the consulate wants you to come over."

"okay, I get it."

"Director, does the consulate have any questions about the plan? There shouldn't be any problems with the plan, right?" Liu Xiaolou couldn't help but ask.

"I dictated the plan and you transcribed it. What do you think of its effectiveness?"

"Of course it's great." Liu Xiaolou blurted out.

"Is it really that good?" Gu Yansheng gave him an intriguing, inquiring look.

Liu Xiaolou hesitated for a moment, then chuckled, "I wonder if foreigners would be so honest? If they don't acknowledge it, wouldn't that be controversial?"

"Your time in the judicial office is not in vain."

Gu Yansheng then withdrew his gaze and picked up his coat from the hanger. "You can see it, and Mr. Hase can see it too, but our mayor can't see it. Isn't it interesting? And then, stop being a flatterer in the future. We don't need you."

Liu Xiaolou curled his lips, smiled, and bowed: "Farewell, Director."

Gu Yansheng drove to the consulate.

He is the one who writes the things, and he always has a prediction in his mind about what it will look like and what effect it will have.

His goal was to release the person, but this was not Hasegawa's goal.

There really is no way to release so many prisoners held by the Japanese without a legitimate reason. At least have some sympathy for the Chinese. It looks like abusing public power for personal gain. It doesn't look like the sharp knife wielded by the Japanese, and the Japanese will not like it.

But if Hase wants to release the person and must release him, then it is reasonable.

There is a saying in the legal profession that in civil disputes, if you can be the defendant, then be the defendant. If you are the plaintiff, then make yourself the defendant. Generally speaking, it will be much more comfortable.

It would be much better to let Hase come to him on his own initiative than for him to go to Hase and ask for help.

consulate.

Hasegawa Inchuan had been waiting for a long time, and as soon as Gu Yansheng arrived, he was taken in by the doorman.

This was Gu Yansheng's second time at the consulate. When the doorman took him to a room, he found Chang Gu to be a nice person. Perhaps because the consulate often received guests, there was a sofa in the place where he was taken to the interview, so he and Chang Gu did not have to kneel to each other.

"Please have some tea. I have read Mr. Gu's plan. There is no problem with it overall. But I don't understand one thing. How can Mr. Gu guarantee that this plan will be carried out smoothly without being opposed by the concession authorities?" Hase Inkawa asked directly.

Gu Yansheng took a sip of tea and nodded with a smile. "The tea is good, Mr. Chang Gu. Let me be frank. After reading this plan, do you think it's a bit unrealistic to want to implement it perfectly?"

Hasegawa smiled and shook his head slightly. "It's not a wild idea, but the plan is certainly good. However, it doesn't meet my expectations of Mr. Gu. This shouldn't be Mr. Gu's level of perfection."

Gu Yansheng laughed heartily: "Thank you Mr. Chang Gu for your high regard. You are right. This is definitely not my full potential. It is only part of the plan."

"So what is Mr. Gu's entire plan?"

Gu Yansheng was not in a hurry to reveal the answer, but said:

Although I didn't stay in the concession for a long time, I still know a thing or two about the personalities of foreigners.

In fact, the world is bustling with people seeking profit. There is no difference in the character of all people in all countries, especially businessmen. The nature of businessmen to pursue profit will never change at any time.

When I received this task, I was thinking that no matter how amazing the reform plan I came up with, these foreign businessmen could reject it all with a single sentence: "Not allowed, we must have the Concession Court to try it."

So isn't this a useless plan?
No matter who writes it, no matter what the plan is, unless the Japanese are willing to forcibly seize the cargo ship and cooperate with my new court, nothing will be done. Mr. Hase, do you think what I said is right?

Hasegawa nodded after hearing this: "In order to safeguard their own interests, the major chambers of commerce will naturally use laws that are more suitable for them to protect themselves.

In order to protect their merchants, various countries would also order concessions to provide assistance to their merchants.

Although we can forcibly seize cargo ships, we must also pay attention to our international reputation in the diplomatic field.

So in the end, I had to compromise on that.

I feel helpless, but this is also the problem I want Mr. Gu to help me solve."

"Public opinion in diplomacy is Mr. Hase's main concern. Things must be accomplished, but public opinion cannot deteriorate. I wonder if I understand correctly?"

"Very correct, and most important."

"Well, my plan is to remove the firewood from under the cauldron."

Gu Yansheng stared at Chang Gu Renchuan and said, "I will take Mr. Chang Gu to personally experience the specific implementation process of the plan. In my plan, you are an indispensable part and I need your cooperation.

As for the plan itself, it can be summarized in one simple sentence.

I will make all the public opinion bullets of these concession media that have attacked Japan hit them back.

I want all the media in Shanghai to praise us, to put them on a pedestal, and when they are praising us, we will remove the ladder, leaving them with no way to express their suffering."

It was very exciting, but very vague. Hasegawa was really interested. "Mr. Gu, could you explain it more clearly?"

Due to the brutality of the Japanese military, Hase, as the owner of the consulate, was really tortured by the media. He wanted the concession to praise them. This was something Hase never dared to dream of, and he was very curious.

"No."

Gu Yansheng could control Chang Gu Renchuan at this moment, and directly rejected him mercilessly, smiling and saying: "No matter how you say it, you will never be as deep as you feel. As I said just now, Mr. Chang Gu, you are a part of my plan. I need your cooperation. I hope you will come."

"No problem, as long as it accomplishes my goal," Hasegawa agreed immediately. "In that case, Mr. Hasegawa, I'll make my request. I hope you can temporarily allow me to use the Japanese and Chinese media. There's no smoke without fire, and I need someone to spread the word."

An hour later, Japanese media and some Chinese newspaper editors were called to the consulate for a meeting.

When enemies meet, they are extremely jealous of each other. The editor-in-chief of Shenbao, Liang Youwei, was stunned when he saw Gu Yansheng. He thought that he had written some article recently that gave the Japanese a handle and they were going to scold him. Unexpectedly, it was this lawyer. He had seen Gu Yansheng in court.

"My name is Gu Yansheng. Some of you here should know me." Gu Yansheng introduced himself to everyone at the conference table.

"The reason the consulate called you all here today is because there's something we need your help promoting.

The main content is that the new government institutions will be reformed, and I, Gu Yansheng, will serve as the Deputy Director of the Judicial Department of the SH City Special Government."

The editor-in-chief of the Japanese media didn't react much. He was there to work anyway, so he just nodded and took notes.

However, the editor-in-chief of the Chinese newspaper showed obvious surprise in his eyes.

Although Gu Yansheng had been working for a few days, this was only known to people inside the new government. For them, this was new news.

Gu Yansheng continued, "Of course, I called everyone here not to promote me, but because I plan to reform Shanghai's judicial system and make some efforts for Shanghai's judicial environment.

The first thing I will do when I take office is to release a group of more than a thousand minor criminals in prison and give them full freedom."

Wow, this news was extremely bombastic. Not only the Chinese editor, but even the Japanese media editor looked at him in surprise.

"Deputy Director Gu, is what you said true?" Liang Youwei asked directly.

As the largest newspaper, Shenbao is now affected by the war and has to be censored by the Japanese, but it is still a Chinese newspaper and is naturally most concerned with news related to the Chinese.

During the crackdown period after the war, so many people were arbitrarily arrested by the Japanese. This kind of news was reported frequently in the newspapers during that period, and some were even openly criticized.

But the result was that the Japanese at that time did not care about their words at all and continued to arrest them at will.

It was not until international public opinion intervened and the Japanese had to rely on ordinary people to restore Shanghai's economy that they stopped this behavior.

However, the Japanese never mentioned releasing these people, so even when Liang Youwei inquired about it, he didn't know when these people would be released. The Japanese didn't have a deadline at all. In order to save face, they simply denied the incident.

If you say no, what can you do?
Hearing the news of the release was like an eight-magnitude earthquake for Liang Youwei.

Gu Yansheng nodded: "Of course it's true, but this also has prerequisites."

He guessed that it wouldn't be that easy, so Liang Youwei calmed down a little and listened patiently.

Gu Yansheng continued, "My original intention in releasing these people was to establish a sense of justice for our SH City Special Court, so that the citizens and the outside world would believe that our court would judge cases fairly. As for these people's adult backlog cases, I have now listed them as the most important matters opened by our court.

Mr. Hase trusts me and hopes that the Judicial Department can establish an image of fairness and strictness in Shanghai.

I am also willing to work hard to win the trust of all citizens of Shanghai by using this batch of backlog cases. I will even release all the criminals in prison. They should have enough confidence in the future judicial development.

But my efforts are just wishful thinking. Whether one can continue to let go depends on the results.

If the judicial system remains in chaos and fails to produce the desired results, then the direction of our work may change. We may even not release one or two hundred people, because I may be fired by the city government.

This result is not what I want to see.

So I called you here today because I hope that you will use your words to influence all the citizens of Shanghai to believe in the justice of the new government's judiciary in the future. This is what we need, whether in the Chinese area or the concession.

As for Japanese media, we can also create an atmosphere of kinship between China and Japan among the Japanese people. Only a good environment can provide more long-term momentum for Shanghai's economy."

The editor-in-chief of the Japanese media nodded, probably understanding the meaning.

"So, Mr. Gu, what extent do you want our media to write about you? Do you need to sing your praises?"

Gu Yansheng smiled and said, "The whole rhythm cannot be written randomly. I have to control it. This is very important because the influence is continuous. If we all release the big news at the first time, then I believe the results of our efforts will be very small.

So regarding the first version of the content, my main idea is that you have heard some kind of rumor that I have actually been appointed as the deputy director of the Judicial Department, but it has not been announced yet.

According to your sources, my first task after taking office may be related to the group of people who were arrested.

Well, that’s all for this first edition about me.

You can write some of my resume, but you should report more about why this group of people were arrested. Please note that you should not write about Japanese soldiers arresting people for no reason. This is not allowed. You can say that it was a minor crime, a minor friction, or a special reason caused by the environment at that time.

You are all editors, so you should all understand the specific reasons.

The Japanese editors of this edition do not need to participate. It would be more appropriate to speak from the perspective of a Chinese newspaper. I will call you again if needed later.

Is there a problem with the Chinese editor? "

Gu Yansheng looked at Liang Youwei, the one who applied, as he had the greatest influence.

Liang Youwei immediately said, "No problem. As long as it's for justice, the newspaper can cooperate."

I will write it for you whatever you want. As long as he can be released, Liang Youwei is willing to put aside past grudges and cheer for Gu Yansheng.

Gu Yansheng smiled. "I'll review the draft after it's finished. Editor-in-Chief Liang, please don't smear my image. You have a dark history, and I still remember my exaggerated descriptions of you."

"Hahahaha." The other editors laughed.

Liang Youwei snorted, "Why don't you just tell me what image you want? If anything goes wrong, all my decades of writing will be wasted, okay?"

"From a neutral perspective, just describe it normally. Write more about your positive outlook on the Department of Justice after I took office. Isn't that too much to ask?
After this newspaper is published, it should spark some discussion. I will then take you on a personal tour of the prison perimeter, and you can publish a second edition."

(End of this chapter)