funbook-pk Is there a traitor in Chapter 1201?
Is there a traitor in Chapter 1201?
"There are no suspects at the moment. The main problem is that I don't have the talent in this area; most of my subordinates are just technical people. If I were to have them investigate, the news would spread very quickly. So, I would appreciate it if Your Excellency could send someone to investigate this matter."
Colonel Watanabe nodded in agreement at Lieutenant Colonel Aota's words. His junior colleague used to be known as a bookworm, completely uninterested in anything outside of studying. He had also gathered a group of such people under his command. When these people first arrived in Shanghai, almost everyone assumed they were all elites of the empire, incapable of being traitors. Now it seemed they had overestimated them; spies could exist among anyone.
Before the war broke out, many Japanese generals believed that there could be no spies in their army, and that everyone had a background. However, after the war started, many classified information was leaked, and these people then kept quiet.
Those seemingly loyal subordinates of yours may very well have been bribed by the Military Intelligence Bureau (MIB), or threatened by them for other reasons. In any case, a lot of intelligence has already been leaked.
When Li Shaoyi arrived in Pujiang, the secret investigation by the Japanese East China Information Gathering Center had already begun a day earlier. Elites drawn from various intelligence departments had begun investigating the technical personnel within the center. Of course, Li Shaoyi was unaware of all this.
Returning to the Huangpu River evoked a complex mix of emotions for these people. Of course, they could still go to the two foreign concessions, but these areas were now rife with Japanese collaborators and spies. According to the agreements they had signed with the Japanese, Japanese troops were not allowed in the concessions; after all, they needed to maintain their dignity.
However, Japanese police and secret agents were allowed to enter, but they needed to register and were not allowed to carry weapons. Initially, this rule was acceptable. But after a while, the arrogant and domineering behavior of the Japanese made many Europeans and Americans back down. So now, it was perfectly normal for Japanese police and secret agents to swagger around and arrest people in the concession. If anyone dared to stop them, even an accomplice could scare them away.
Of course, regardless of the circumstances, both concessions remain very prosperous. Due to the war, property prices in both concessions continue to rise. Li Shaoyi came to the two concessions for another reason: he had previously acquired a large amount of real estate, and now it was time to sell it off. Historically speaking, prices had already reached their peak.
After the outbreak of World War II, house prices here began to fall. Many people felt that the two concessions might not exist anymore, and that the Japanese wouldn't abide by any agreements, definitely sending troops to occupy the area. Therefore, house prices plummeted, and many people thought they had misread the decimal point.
"I really can't believe that we can still have a cup of coffee in Huangpu at this time. You know, when you withdrew from Huangpu, I thought you wouldn't come back for several years. I didn't expect you to come back so easily, and I didn't expect Huangpu to be so prosperous now."
Miss Gu looked out the window at the bustling crowds. The whole of Huangpu seemed the same as before, still the economic powerhouse of the entire country. Those people outside had endless business to do, and cars and trams crisscrossed the streets, making many people think there was no war at all.
"The prosperity of Huangpu is certain, and the Japanese do not want the two concessions to decline like this. If they decline, how can they purchase so many supplies here? This is also a window for them to communicate with the outside world. Moreover, after the outbreak of war, the concessions sent a safe signal to the outside world. Whether rich or poor, people are preparing to settle down here. Especially some rich people, as long as their money enters the concessions, it will only make the concessions more prosperous."
Li Shaoyi had no sympathy for the distorted economic development of the two concessions. It was as if they had drained all the money from the Jiangnan region to maintain the local economy. However, under such circumstances, Chinese merchants, whether coming to sell or buy, were exploited multiple times by foreigners, ultimately taking away only a small portion of their profits, sometimes even losing their entire capital.
Just as the two were chatting, a young man walked in from outside. This man was Ma Zhuang, the head of the intelligence department in Pujiang.
When he saw Li Shaoyi and Miss Gu, the man's eyes widened in disbelief that the Commander-in-Chief had come to make contact. He had previously assumed it would be at most a special envoy from headquarters. But now it was the Commander-in-Chief and the head of the intelligence department—just how big of a mission was this? Were they going to blow up the entire Huangpu River? Even so, the head of the intelligence department's arrival would have been enough; why was the Commander-in-Chief here?
"Don't panic. If others don't attract the Japanese, you'll attract them instead. I ordered you a cup of coffee to calm you down."
Seeing the guy's awkwardness, Li Shaoyi said speechlessly, "Actually, this is quite normal. Anyone would be upset seeing this scene. Li Shaoyi is the commander of so many people. If he could just enter the war zone at will, who would be responsible if something happened? Especially now that he's in Pujiang, where Ma Zhuang is the person in charge."
“Boss, things are different now than before. Look at the situation on the streets; everyone needs a good citizen certificate. And within the two concessions, it’s not like you can just come and go as you please. If you don’t hide well, the Japanese police and spies can come whenever they want. They don’t care about the regulations of the two concessions. These days, Europeans and Americans are cowards; they won’t stand up for these people at all. As long as the Japanese don’t harass those Europeans and Americans, the concessions don’t care about our lives.”
Ma Zhuang said with some concern that he thought Li Shaoyi was so calm because of the barrier of the concession, but that was not the case at all.
Although the concession was a decent place, it was actually not safe at all. Look at the people on the street; on the surface, they had nothing to do with the Japanese, but in reality, some of them were informants for the Japanese, constantly watching everyone on the street.