Period drama: Old Cao's carefree life

Chapter 174 Time is money
Given the heavy firepower used this time, and the fact that it was all Japanese weapons, Cao Weida, who had facilitated two arms deals for Ono Oda, was naturally the prime suspect.

The two Type 99 sniper rifles that Cao Weida gave him were to clear his name of suspicion.

Otherwise, he really wouldn't have dared to take out these weapons for Wu Jingzhong and the others to use.

He lacks the awareness and understanding of selflessness; deep down, he is a selfish person.

He will help within his capabilities, but he will absolutely not do so if it might endanger himself.

And it was obvious that Ono Oda's attention had indeed been diverted elsewhere.

He plopped down, looking surprised and uncertain, and said, "Ono-kun, are you saying that this assassination attempt was carried out by those Navy naval officers?!"

Ono Oda almost choked. "You really have a vivid imagination. To make such a big move in Beiping City, if it gets investigated, do you think the Navy's Malu gang will still have their lives?"
"What I mean is that the explosion at the Beixin warehouse was caused by a time bomb planted inside."

"The enemy infiltrated the warehouse and may have secretly transported a batch of weapons and equipment out, or perhaps those naval personnel were secretly selling arms on the street."

"Forget it, let's not talk about it anymore. This is none of our business. Let the intelligence agencies worry about it."

"Cao Sang, is there something you need today?"

“I do have something to ask you.” Cao Weida admitted directly without the slightest embarrassment, “It was originally just one thing, but when I went to the police station to check in before coming here, something else happened.”

"Oh? What happened at the police station?"

Ono Oda is an advisor to the Outer Fifth District Police Station, and he would also be held responsible if anything went wrong at the Outer Fifth District Police Station.

"It's nothing serious, it's just that someone named Dong Xiaozhen deliberately slandered me."

After recounting the whole story, Cao Weida added, "The Great Japanese Empire has always been working hard to maintain friendly relations between China and Japan, and now Beiping is in complete chaos."

“Dong Xiaozhen’s resentment towards me is innocent, which is a small matter. But in such turbulent times in Beiping, he still acts recklessly and arbitrarily, making the people of Beiping feel insecure.”

"If this continues, what kind of turmoil could it cause to the rule of Beiping if those rebels were to instigate it even slightly?"

"So, after careful consideration, I broke his limbs and imprisoned him, and came to ask you, Ono-kun, what should be done with him."

Cao Wei Da's rambling was so logical and well-founded that he even believed it himself.

Ono Oda had to admit that Cao Wei Da's words made a lot of sense.

Beiping is now in turmoil. Although Beiping is still under the rule of the Japanese army, the resistance forces around Beiping have never stopped.

Anti-Japanese organizations in Pingxi, Pingbei, Huaishun, Jizhong and other places have been frequently appearing. Although they cannot pose a great threat to the Japanese army around Beiping, if unrest occurs in Beiping, wouldn't that create excellent conditions for those anti-Japanese elements to cooperate from within and without?

Seeing that Ono Oda had already shown an expression of approval, Cao Wei Da delivered the fatal blow:
"Moreover, Ono-kun, if he continues like this, our business will be greatly affected."

"You should know that the most important thing in doing business is those merchants. One or two may not be a problem, but once there are many, it can become very troublesome."

"If Dong Xiaozhen's reckless actions lead to all the merchants in Beiping uniting to boycott Japanese goods, will we still be able to make money?"

Will it affect business?

How can that work!
Cao Weida struck at his weak point. After a moment of silence, Ono Oda nodded with satisfaction and said, "Cao-san, you did very well. Dong Xiaozhen and the others have indeed gone too far recently, undermining our Great Japanese Empire's goal of 'Sino-Japanese friendship'."

"Dong Xiaozhen was already incompetent in carrying out her mission, and now she has done something that endangers the stability of Beiping. She must be severely punished!"

"Since you were the one who took charge of this matter, then you can handle it."

"Ono-kun is indeed farsighted. I will definitely handle things well." Cao Weida smiled confidently to himself, everything was as he had expected.

Of course, it doesn't matter if Ono Oda doesn't agree in the end, since he won't lose anything anyway.

Having come this far, Cao Wei Da simply brought up the old matter again, "That Ono-kun, those who were arrested..."

Ono Oda shook his head decisively: "Cao-san, from now on, I will discuss with Fujita-kun and the others to make those people behave themselves, but those who have been arrested cannot be released."

"Otherwise, we have no way to explain ourselves to our superiors. If they blame us, we have to save face."

"Ono-kun, can we try a different approach?" Cao Weida didn't give up. He couldn't bear to watch his compatriots being killed innocently.
"If you need people, we can just gather them all for you, right?"

"Oh? What idea does Cao Sang have now? Why don't you tell me?" Ono Oda became interested; he knew Cao Weida was quick-witted.

Since you've said that, you must have an idea.

"It's simple. Just like before, we'll use a substitution trick." Cao Weida smiled smugly. He had absolutely no qualms about swindling those scoundrels.
"If we want to maintain the goal of 'Sino-Japanese friendship,' we must first let the people of Beiping see our friendly actions, right?"

"There are so many local thugs, scoundrels, and bullies in Beiping, let me be honest..."

Although it wasn't explicitly stated, how could Ono Oda not know? After all, the current state of public security in Beiping was largely a result of their negligence.

He wasn't embarrassed at all; everyone knew about it anyway. "Go on," he said.

"Yes, the security situation in Beiping was never very good to begin with, and there have been so many incidents lately. I used to be a patrolman, so I'm close to the people and I know that there's a lot of public discontent in Beiping right now."

"To prevent things from getting worse, we might as well take away those who have committed many evils but don't have much of a powerful backer."

"In this way, firstly, you can report back to your superiors. Secondly, it can also stabilize public grievances. The people of Beiping are docile and the public order is stable. You can create a scene of 'Sino-Japanese friendship' and gain some political achievements. It's a win-win situation."

"Hmm? What you said seems to make sense." Ono Oda couldn't help but ponder. The Japanese had done a lot of work on 'Sino-Japanese friendship,' but it was mostly just superficial. They coerced some people to take some so-called 'friendly' photos to be published in the newspaper.

At first, some fools might have believed it, but as time went on, they all woke up and realized that these were just tricks of the Japanese devils, and they eventually dismissed them.

If we can make something out of this, it certainly seems like there's potential.

As for the life or death of those local thugs, does he care?

What he wants now is for Beiping to stay in chaos!

After all, he is a police advisor, and the police department's job is to maintain public order!

Seeing that he was interested, Cao Weida smiled slightly, "Besides, we can take this opportunity to make some more money. Those people want to clear up the 'misunderstanding,' so they'll have to give us some thank-you fee, right?"

"Furthermore, those local thugs and gangsters must have some money and supplies saved up at home. One or two might not seem like much, but if you add them all up... hiahiahia~~"

Ono Oda's lips gradually curled into a smile. He was full of energy whenever there was a profitable deal. He patted Cao Weida on the shoulder and laughed, "Hey, Cao-san, you're so cunning, playing both sides! But I like it!"

"Then I'll leave this matter to you. I trust you know what's appropriate."

Cao Wei chuckled twice, "Don't worry, Ono-kun, I know what I'm doing and I won't cause you any trouble."

"Now, let me talk about something else. Yesterday, Mei Zepingba contacted me, and he agreed to the cooperation between the two parties."

After hearing the other party's terms, Ono Oda snorted coldly, "Damn Navy Maji, just because he controls maritime transport, he wants to take more and more!? Bah!"

"Does he really think our army doesn't have a navy?! He's utterly insatiable!"

"If you ask me, giving them 40% is already very generous!"

Cao Wei Da shrugged inwardly. Yes, you have a navy, but your navy is not in Tianjin port.

Without the navy's permission, not a single transport ship can dock at Tianjin Port!

Even if they landed, they couldn't escape the navy's search.

"Ono-kun, don't be angry. Business deals are always negotiated gradually."

"Think about it, if they didn't know, that would be fine, but now that they do know, it's impossible to get rid of them."

"They may not be able to help us succeed, but they can easily sabotage our plans."

"They dare!! Those damn navy bastards!!" Ono Oda cursed, but he knew in his heart that Cao Weida was right.

"Calm down, anger is bad for your health." Cao Weida sneered inwardly. If you have any guts, just refuse directly. What good is impotent rage?

Of course, he definitely didn't want the talks to break down; if they did, he, the middleman, would be in trouble.

Being caught in the middle is something not everyone can endure.

"Ono-kun, the worst thing you can do in business is to ruin the harmony. If we cooperate, we can expand our business two or three times. This is a win-win situation, so we can't act impulsively."

"How about this? You discuss it with your superiors and have them send a representative. I'll have the navy send one as well, and then we can schedule a time to discuss it."

Ono Oda firmly refused: "Our Imperial Japanese Army cannot possibly sit at the same table negotiating with those naval bastards!"

"..." Damn it, look how arrogant you are.

"You've misunderstood. We're not at the same table, or even in the same room."

"I'll book two rooms then, so I can move around more easily. Otherwise, going back and forth like this is too time-consuming."

He rubbed his thumb and forefinger together. "You have to understand, time is money!"

(End of this chapter)