Spy Wars: I am the Captain of the Military Police

Chapter 1179 must be Takasaki Takuto

In addition, the Japanese army assigned him two personal bodyguards, who were from the North China Expeditionary Army's Special Service Department. These were said to be top-notch fighters, excellent marksmen, and ruthless in their attacks. They stayed by Wang Kemin's side constantly, even guarding him during his meals and rest, making it impossible for him to get close.

Zhao Guangyuan lowered his voice even further, his face full of helplessness: "We tried to get closer several times, but we were stopped by the guards. We couldn't break through the defenses at all."

Chen Gongshu stared intently at Wang Kemin's itinerary on the drawing, his fingertips slowly sliding across it as his brain raced, considering feasible assassination plans.

After a moment, he looked up at Zhao Guangyuan and said in a serious tone, "What are the specific arrangements for the establishment ceremony of the puppet government on January 15th? This is a public occasion, and there may be an opportunity to take advantage of it."

The ceremony for the establishment of the puppet government was an important occasion for the Japanese army and the puppet regime to show off their strength, and it was bound to attract attention from all sides, so the security would be even tighter.

However, the complexity of the personnel involved could actually become a breakthrough point for assassination.

Zhao Guangyuan nodded and quickly said, "The ceremony is scheduled for 9:00 AM on January 15th at Zhonghuai Rentang."

The participants were a diverse group, including high-ranking Japanese officers stationed in North China, officials at various levels of the puppet government, business tycoons from Beiping (Beijing), leaders of the puppet regime, and some restless former Qing dynasty officials and their descendants—over a hundred people in total.

"Our information indicates that the entire ceremony lasted about two hours. It mainly consisted of Wang Kemin reading the declaration of the establishment of the puppet government, receiving the flag from the Japanese military representative, and then officials at all levels taking their oaths of office."

After the ceremony, everyone will attend a luncheon at Huai Ren Hall, jointly hosted by the Japanese army and the puppet government. Zhao Guangyuan paused here, a serious expression on his face: "By the way, Station Chief Chen, besides Terauchi Hisaichi, another very high-ranking Japanese official will be attending this ceremony."

Chen Gongshu's eyes darkened, and his tone became urgent: "Who?" A high-ranking Japanese official who could be so valued by Zhao Guangyuan was no ordinary person. This person's appearance would inevitably make the security of the ceremony more stringent, and might even change the entire assassination plan.

“The commander of the Tianjin Gendarmerie Command, Takasaki Takuto,” Zhao Guangyuan said, enunciating each word clearly. “This matter has already been reported in the newspapers. It says that he came to Beiping from Tianjin specifically to witness the establishment of the puppet government.”

"It's him!" Chen Gongshu's eyes narrowed suddenly, a cold glint flashing in them, his knuckles clenching involuntarily.

He had heard of the name Takasaki Takuto when he was stationmaster in Tianjin. This man came from a top Japanese aristocratic family, was a hardliner, ruthless, and extremely greedy.

However, there are also rumors that this Takasaki Takuto dislikes killing, which, combined with Zhao Guangyuan's previous statement about the Beiping military police collecting bail money, seems to confirm this.

After a moment's hesitation, Chen Gongshu's eyes showed a hint of doubt, and his tone was somewhat wary: "Do you know his detailed itinerary?"

Takasaki Takuto is extremely wealthy and acts with great caution. Normally, the itinerary of such an important person would not be easily made public, let alone announced in advance. There is probably something fishy going on here.

“His specific itinerary is not yet clear, but we found that he will stay at the Beiping Hotel after arriving in Beiping,” Zhao Guangyuan said.

"How do you know? Was it also published in the newspaper?" Chen Gongshu was stunned for a moment, then frowned and said to himself, "No, this could very well be a trap."

Takasaki Takuto was a top-tier Japanese nobleman and the commander of the military police; his position was sensitive, and his whereabouts could not be easily exposed. Even the fact that he was coming to Beiping could be a smokescreen planted by the Japanese army.

He raised his hand and rubbed his temples, his tone resolute: "The Japanese army's purpose is probably to draw our attention to Takasaki Takuto, so that we can concentrate our efforts on dealing with him and thus ignore Wang Kemin, so that the ceremony for the establishment of the puppet government can proceed smoothly."

If the ceremony is successfully held and the puppet government is officially established, it will be a huge blow to the anti-Japanese situation in North China.

In his view, the Japanese army's move was nothing more than a feint, with the core objective being to protect Wang Kemin and ensure the smooth establishment of the puppet regime.

Seeing that Chen Gongshu had misunderstood the source of the information, Zhao Guangyuan quickly waved his hand to explain, his tone urgent: "Station Chief Chen, this is not news from the newspaper, it was found by our own people, it is absolutely reliable."

"Found it?" A hint of doubt flashed in Chen Gongshu's eyes, and he asked with a touch of disbelief, "Takasaki Takuto's whereabouts are so secretive, how could our people find his location?"

The Military Intelligence Bureau's activities in Beiping were already difficult, and infiltrating the core of the Japanese army to obtain such important information was extremely challenging.

"Here's what happened. Our informant at the Beiping Hotel reported that the Japanese have completely emptied the fourth floor of the hotel. They not only dismissed the guests who were originally staying on the fourth floor, but also thoroughly searched and reinforced the entire floor, installed security railings, and arranged for military police to guard it."

Zhao Guangyuan patiently explained, his tone certain, "Clearing the area so early and making such a big fuss clearly means they're arranging for important figures to stay."

He paused, then continued his analysis: "Right now in Beiping, the only person who could command such a large-scale Japanese military operation, clearing out an entire floor of a hotel, is a high-ranking official like Terauchi Hisaichi."

However, Terauchi Hisaichi, as the Commander-in-Chief of the Japanese Army's Northern Area Army in China, had a dedicated official residence in Beiping and did not need to stay in a hotel at all.

Having ruled him out, and considering the newspaper report that Takasaki Takuto was coming to Beiping, we deduced that the person about to check into the fourth floor of the Beiping Hotel must be Takasaki Takuto.

After listening to Zhao Guangyuan's explanation, the doubts in Chen Gongshu's eyes gradually dissipated, his eyes brightened, and his fingertips once again landed on the city defense map, slowly moving from the location of Huai Rentang to the Beiping Hotel: "How far is it from Huai Rentang to the Beiping Hotel? How long does it take?" There was a hint of calculation in his tone.

Zhao Guangyuan followed his finger and immediately said, "The two places are about three miles apart, and the route is relatively fixed. It goes through West Chang'an Street, South Chang'an Street, and West Jiaomin Lane. All the streets along the way are major streets."

If you take public transportation, it should take about half an hour if there's no traffic.

"Where is the best place to make a move along this route?" Chen Gongshu's tone was calm, yet carried an undeniable decisiveness. His eyes were fixed on the route on the map, as if he had already simulated the action scenario countless times in his mind.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Guangyuan's eyes widened in shock, and he said urgently, "Station Chief Chen, you want to make a move against Takasaki Takuto?!"

In his view, the core of this mission was to assassinate Wang Kemin. The guards around Takasaki Takuto would definitely be even more tight than those around Wang Kemin. Moreover, if the assassination of such a high-ranking Japanese officer failed, not only would the entire action team be wiped out, but it would also invite a crazy retaliation from the Japanese army, and the underground anti-Japanese forces in Beiping would also suffer a devastating blow.