Chapter 46: Do It Personally
Shanghai, Chuanbei Road, Wafuu Restaurant.
Chen Yang received a call from Ino Yusuke inviting him, so he came to the Wafuu Restaurant right after work to meet him.
Ino Yusuke was extremely cautious, knowing that the Special Higher Police Affairs could theoretically monitor all telephone calls from organizations in Shanghai.
So, on the phone, he only said there was a matter to discuss with him, but didn’t mention a single word about what it was.
This left Chen Yang a bit confused. Could it be that the price he quoted was too high, and Suzuhara Shingo wanted to haggle with him?
Lifting the half-curtain at the entrance of the Wafuu Restaurant, the boss lady inside spotted Chen Yang and immediately came forward with a coquettish laugh.
“Mr. Chen, I saw on the newspaper that you’ve become an official. Congratulations.”
The boss lady Mieko enthusiastically took Chen Yang’s arm, almost pressing her entire body against him.
Chen Yang smiled and pulled his hand away, saying, “Boss lady, has Ino-kun arrived yet?”
Chen Yang’s action immediately displeased her. Mieko looked at him with a somewhat resentful gaze, unclear whether she was blaming him for not understanding romance or lamenting that he didn’t recognize value.
In her view, how could Ino Yusuke compare to Chen Yang.
When the invading Japanese Army first recruited soldiers, the requirements were height over 1.6 meters and weight over 100 jin.
Ino Yusuke’s height was only average in the military, just a bit over 1.6 meters.
Unlike Chen Yang, who was nearly 1.8 meters tall, young, and handsome.
That sturdy musculature and tall figure had long made the boss lady drool over him.
Unfortunately, he seemed not to fancy her. She let out a soft sigh, then smiled and said, “Ino-kun is upstairs waiting for you. He’s already arranged the dishes, and I’ll bring them up shortly.”
Chen Yang thanked her and went upstairs on his own.
Pushing open the private room door, Ino Yusuke stood up, gave Chen Yang a slight bow, and invited him to sit.
Chen Yang didn’t stand on ceremony, sat across from Ino Yusuke, and got straight to the point: “Ino-kun, are you looking for me today because you’re dissatisfied with my sales plan?”
“We’re all friends, we can talk openly.”
Ino Yusuke poured Chen Yang a cup of tea, shook his head, and said, “Mr. Chen, you’ve misunderstood. It’s not about that.”
“In fact, the minister also thinks your proposed fee structure is very reasonable.”
Chen Yang breathed a sigh of relief: “So, what did Ino-kun invite me here for today?”
Ino Yusuke took a sip of tea and said, “Mr. Chen, it’s about the four wharves in Chinese Territory.”
Chen Yang chuckled lightly: “Ino-kun, just four wharves are troubling Minister Suzuhara?”
“The minister doesn’t find it troubling, but rather lacks a pretext to move against them.” Ino Yusuke patiently explained, “Mr. Chen, you don’t think the four wharves in Chinese Territory are controlled by some insignificant forces, do you?”
“The things involved here are far more complex than they appear. Without Empire forces pulling strings behind the scenes, the four major wharves in Chinese Territory would have been in chaos long ago.”
“But now, everything on the market is stable, and suddenly moving against the wharves in Chinese Territory at this time—almost no one would agree.”
“So, we need a pretext to act. Mr. Chen, do you understand?”
How could Chen Yang not understand the little devils’ way of doing things.
When they wanted to occupy the Northeast, they staged the Willow Lake explosion case, using the Blue Army blowing up the South Manchuria Railway as a pretext, then shelled Shenyang City.
When they wanted to launch a war against China, they fabricated the Hongqiao Incident, with Saito from the Naval Marine Corps Headquarters driving into Hongqiao Airport to provoke a dispute between the two countries.
Such tactics were commonplace for them.
But for moving against the wharves in Chinese Territory, what target had they chosen?
Chen Yang set down his tea cup and said, “Ino-kun, why not speak plainly? What exactly do you need me to do?”
Ino Yusuke nodded slightly, smiled, took a document bag from beside him, placed it on the table, then pushed it in front of Chen Yang.
Chen Yang picked up the document bag. Inside was a German-made P08 Luger pistol and a yellowed photograph.
“The man in the photo is named Hirata Jizaburo, intelligence collection officer of the South Manchuria Railway Affairs Investigation Section.”
“This person has been gathering information on materials circulating in the market.”
“The minister’s intention is to have Mr. Chen handle this trouble personally.”
“Mr. Chen, you know that on the surface, relations between the South Manchuria Railway and the Gendarmerie Headquarters are quite harmonious.”
“The minister doesn’t want this person to hinder our cooperation.”
“The day after tomorrow at noon twelve o’clock, Jiangnan Wharf. He’ll be conducting an intelligence transaction with Special Higher Police Affairs personnel.”
“You’ll have ten minutes. After you act, a boat at the wharf will pick you up and take you away.”
“Mr. Chen, do you have any questions?”
Whoa, this was asking him to submit a pledge of allegiance.
Chen Yang’s eyes flickered as he looked at the Japanese man with a small mustache in the photo, his expression showing some hesitation.
Ino Yusuke said gently, “Mr. Chen, this is Minister Suzuhara’s directive. If you don’t do it, it’ll be hard for us to step in and help you take the four wharves in Chinese Territory.”
“Without those few wharves, Mr. Chen, your plan to control the Shanghai Wharf will likely fall apart.”
“We’re indifferent either way; it’d just mean selling materials the old ant-moving-house way, but for you, Mr. Chen, without those wharves, relying on Tongji Office’s transportation ability, you wouldn’t have much capital to negotiate with us, would you?”
Chen Yang’s brows suddenly tightened. He gritted his teeth and said, “Please tell Minister Suzuhara that I’ll do it.”
With that, Chen Yang picked up the pistol from the table, tucked it into his waistband, and casually slipped the photo into his clothes pocket.
“That’s the spirit, Mr. Chen. Tea in place of wine—wishing you all the best.”
“Cheers.”
******
Shanghai, Gendarmerie Headquarters dormitory building.
A crisp knock sounded. Suzuhara Shingo said in a deep voice, “Come in.”
Ino Yusuke pushed open the door and gave Suzuhara Shingo a slight bow: “Uncle, Mr. Chen has agreed.”
Suzuhara Shingo nodded: “Good. It’s late, Yusuke. Get some rest.”
But Ino Yusuke showed no sign of leaving upon hearing this, looking at Suzuhara Shingo with a hesitant expression.
“Yusuke, do you have something to say?” Suzuhara Shingo quickly noticed the change in Ino Yusuke’s expression.
“Uncle, I don’t think Mr. Chen can necessarily pull this off.” Ino Yusuke said softly, “His resume only shows experience firing a gun during military training at Kyushu University. Killing someone at close range isn’t easy.”
Suzuhara Shingo looked at Ino Yusuke and suddenly laughed.
“Yusuke, do you think your uncle doesn’t know?”
“Actually, whether Chen Yang acts or not, Hirata Jizaburo will die.”
“What we need isn’t him killing, but him daring to act.”
“As long as he fires the gun, even if he misses every shot, someone else will finish the job for him.”
Ino Yusuke frowned and said, “Uncle, I don’t quite understand what you mean.”
Suzuhara Shingo said slowly, “I’ve told you, we’re handing him this big stage in Shanghai with conditions. As long as he performs well, there will naturally be people to help him.”
Reading is very important today, hope everyone can help out.
