Chapter 221: Have The Little Devils Gone Mad?!
“Just now, on the section of road between Datong Bridge Pier and Qingfeng Gate Pier in Beiping, one of our batches of supplies was robbed. Inside… inside was fifty tons of gold!”
“What?!!”
Cold sweat broke out on Miyamoto Ichiro’s forehead in an instant.
What did he hear?!
Fifty tons of gold robbed?!
He knew about the three trucks heading to Shashahai pier tonight. After all, transporting goods by driving after curfew would inevitably require cooperation from their Gendarmerie Headquarters.
However, he only knew it was supplies being transported, but he had no idea it was actually gold!
And a full fifty tons at that!!
He roared furiously: “Ba, you’re lying to me, aren’t you?!”
With fifty tons of gold lost, even if he was unaware, such a huge loss meant he would absolutely have to bear some responsibility, even if it wasn’t much!
Because this batch of gold was lost in Beiping!
Controlling and clearing out anti-Japanese elements in Beiping was his duty!
“Very sorry, Miyamoto Ichiro, this is real! So, please cooperate with our orders!”
“…Fine, I got it!!” Miyamoto Ichiro gritted his teeth and agreed, then slammed down the telephone heavily, breathing rapidly as he cursed:
“Damn it! Damn it! You damn bastards!!”
“These incompetent wastes!!”
“A secret transport of a full fifty tons of gold, and they didn’t even make full preparations! What idiots!!”
He was so angry he was trembling all over. This news was a complete disaster for him!
If the gold transport succeeded, he got no merit.
But with the gold robbed, he had to bear responsibility.
He was truly in deep shit!
These damn Kwantung Army Headquarters!
No matter how furious he was inside, what needed to be done still had to be done. At least on the surface, he had to cooperate actively.
He immediately picked up the telephone and dialed out. “Moshi moshi, this is Miyamoto Ichiro.”
“I now order all departments to cooperate with the Beiping garrison infantry regiment and Defense Command to immediately blockade the entire Beiping!”
As the Japanese puppet regime’s various agencies began action, the whole Beiping City was immediately on high alert.
The entire streets could be described as having a post every three steps and a sentry every five steps, with even some infantry regiments directly under the North China Area Army participating.
Barricades were set up on every street, and the entire Beiping was searched house to house, with screams rising and falling everywhere.
Patrolmen and puppet army poured out in full force; motorcycles, trucks, sedans, even armored vehicles took to the scene, and bicycles were a given.
To find the gold, the Japanese clearly no longer cared about any bullshit public opinion.
“Have these little devils gone mad?”
“What the hell are they looking for?!”
“Oh heavens, my kang! Why are they even dismantling the kang?!”
The common people cried and wailed, having no idea what they were searching for.
In fact, not only the people didn’t know—most of the rank-and-file soldiers and patrolmen also had no idea what they were searching for.
They only knew the Great Japanese Empire had lost something very important, and they were participating in the search in a fog, clueless about what all this fuss was for.
A full ten days of search and arrest turned the entire Beiping City upside down, but still nothing was found.
Kwantung Army temporary command post.
“Major Kawashima Yoshiko, given the loss this time is simply too great—a full fifty tons of gold!”
“Fully four months of military pay, just vanished into thin air.”
“This responsibility is too great; I can’t help you.”
Head of the Organization Nishida Otoko said with a stern face. At the first moment the incident happened, Kawashima Yoshiko had already pulled strings to find him and stuffed him a large sum of money to try to get herself out.
Unfortunately, this incident was far too big—this was four months of military pay for the entire Empire, involving too much; it wasn’t something a mere lieutenant general like him dared to meddle in.
“Officer Nishida, please help me. This matter really has absolutely nothing to do with me; I’ve never leaked any intelligence at all.” Kawashima Yoshiko begged bitterly. She didn’t want to die; she hadn’t lived enough; she still wanted to regain recognition from the Japanese Army side; she still wanted to be one of the elite.
Looking at the pleading Kawashima Yoshiko, Nishida Otoko remained expressionless.
If the gold was found, everything would be fine, with room to maneuver.
But now, ten days had passed, Beiping had practically been turned upside down, yet not even a shred of clue had been found.
Everyone knew this gold had probably already been transported out, and finding it again would be next to impossible.
With such a huge incident, forget a Chinese person like Kawashima Yoshiko—even all the Japanese officers involved would be implicated, including himself!
He said stiffly: “I told you, I can’t help!”
“Not just you—I’m implicated too!!”
“I’m about to be relieved of my post at Kwantung Army Headquarters and sent to the Henan front line. You’re on your own.”
If anyone was depressed, he was too. He was perfectly scheming away at Kwantung Army Headquarters when suddenly a huge pit swallowed him up with a thud—whoever encountered this would tremble with rage.
He was stifling his own frustration now; how could he care about Kawashima Yoshiko’s life or death!
“Wh-what?! Officer Nishida, you’re being transferred too?! To the front line?!” Kawashima Yoshiko was dumbfounded. Anyone with connections was basically remotely commanding from the rear.
Desperate frontline stuff was generally for those without big backing who wanted to earn merit.
Though since the invasion of China, only 85 major generals and above had been sacrificed so far, who could guarantee the next wouldn’t be the 86th?
Especially now with the Japanese Army declining day by day, the old guard mostly replaced, supplies critically short, and the Japanese Army desperately trying to turn the tide—death rates for major generals and above were rising sharply.
In such a situation, anyone with deep backing naturally avoided it like the plague.
But now…
Nishida Otoko’s face darkened, and he said coldly: “It’s all because you lot failed in your duties!! That’s what got me implicated!!”
“High Command is very dissatisfied with my work; someone will come to replace me soon!!”
The Japanese Army side wasn’t monolithic either; the power struggles were no less than on the China side.
This incident was serious, but his involvement wasn’t that great.
He was just one of the planners; responsibility couldn’t be entirely shirked, but it wasn’t hugely on him either.
Yet now he was being dismissed and sent to the front line—if it wasn’t political enemies at work, that was impossible.
But no way around it—someone had grabbed his pigtail, and if they didn’t take the chance to screw him over, it’d be a wonder.
And it all boiled down to these damn subordinates’ incompetence, leading to his current predicament!
Could he not hate Kawashima Yoshiko and these damn guys?!
“You can leave!” Nishida Otoko said coldly, his eyes icy as if looking at a dead person.
Kawashima Yoshiko shuddered under his gaze, a chill surging from her soles straight to her mind, making her shiver involuntarily.
It’s over—even Nishida Otoko is implicated; how could I possibly have a chance to survive?!
In her despair, the image of Cao Weida suddenly popped into her mind.
“No, I can’t die!”
She didn’t know if finding Cao Weida offered any hope, but he was her only lifesaver right now!
However, just as she wanted to go find Cao Weida, she was directly stopped and unhesitatingly locked in a secret room.
Want to get out?
No chance!
“Baka! I want to make a telephone call! I want to make a telephone call!”
Kawashima Yoshiko, unwilling to resign herself, roared at the door.
“Miss Kawashima Yoshiko, what do you want to confess?” Outside the door, a man’s voice with a hint of mockery rang out.
Hearing this voice, Kawashima Yoshiko immediately knew who it was—this guy had subjected her to torturous interrogation these past few days.
Even just the day before yesterday, this damn guy had twenty men take turns on her…
This experience involuntarily reminded her of what her godfather had done to her.
“Ah!!! You bastard! Bastard!! You should go to Hell! You damn…”
Facing Kawashima Yoshiko’s hysterical screams, the little devil in military uniform outside the door was utterly unconcerned, maintaining a faint smile.
Curse away, curse hard—this bit of verbal abuse, he’d endured it countless times; it didn’t faze him at all.
He actually knew Kawashima Yoshiko bore little responsibility in this matter—just that she’d suggested the pier choice.
But if not that wharf, would the gold not have been robbed?
Obviously not—this was an intelligence leak; no matter which pier, the outcome wouldn’t differ much.
But after ten days of investigation, they still hadn’t found who leaked the intelligence, so someone had to take the blame!
Even everyone involved in this action had to take blame!
“Curse on, keep cursing, but I still remind you—best to save your strength.”
“I want to make a telephone call! I want to see someone!” Kawashima Yoshiko in the secret room vented, pounding and kicking the iron door, but it was all futile.
After calming down, her first reaction was to find a way to save herself.
“Who do you want to see?”
“Outer Fifth District Police Station, Patrol Officer Cao Weida!”
“Oh?” The officer outside clearly hadn’t expected this matter to involve a Chinese person—and one he’d long heard of!
“You mean he was involved in this?”
“I want to see him now! Until I see him, I won’t say a word!”
Kawashima Yoshiko wasn’t stupid; she wouldn’t randomly drag someone down to take the fall now.
It wasn’t out of conscience, but because Cao Weida was her only lifesaver at the moment!
Even if this straw might not be as sturdy as imagined!
