Chapter 210: Refutation
“Exactly what went wrong!” Li Shiqun demanded.
The captain lowered his head and reported: “The family members went out to the Concession and the incident happened suddenly. This was originally not within our security scope. Our staff and undercover agents were mainly concentrated in the Chinese Territory area.”
“Then you didn’t do security in the Concession?!”
“We did. They wanted to stroll through so many alleys. To avoid anyone from Chongqing sneaking into the alleys in advance, we had to preposition staff in all alleys without missing a single one. This led to our forces being dispersed a lot.
Our defense area was mainly the Chinese Territory area. The Concession security couldn’t cover everything. We didn’t know they were going to the Concession to shop or which alley they would take, so we couldn’t preposition a large number of staff at the entrance of the alley where the incident happened in advance.
When they confirmed they were going to the Concession for sightseeing, I had actually already sent someone to notify other teams to come for support on security, but these officials’ wives couldn’t be stopped. They wouldn’t wait for us at all when they wanted to go out. I communicated with them at the time, asking them to wait half an hour, but they refused.
I could only shuffle and arrange with the existing staff.
Security for over four hundred people—half had to be scattered on the streets, leaving just over two hundred for security, divided into ten alleys, so only about twenty per alley, with people needed at both ends.
Most of the personnel still had to protect these high officials, so protection for the women was inevitably less. Sigh, Director, I had no choice.”
“You think people from Hanoi will listen to your explanations?!
Tell the husbands of the dead ones that their women were too stupid and insisted on going shopping—you want me to explain it that way?!
Would that work!”
Li Shiqun knew his subordinate was telling the truth, but he still shouted loudly.
It wouldn’t work!
How to explain this?
The subordinate fell silent, lowered his head helplessly. Getting stuck with this job was really rotten luck.
“How did it happen at the time?”
“I asked my subordinates. Our people thought someone had suspicious behavior, so they went up to check, then gunfire broke out, and then a bunch of people rushed over.
We were in the open, they were in the dark. They just needed to track this group’s movements, but we had to defend all areas, so we couldn’t concentrate personnel faster than them.”
Li Shiqun closed his eyes, then opened them and said angrily: “Which idiot? When discovering danger, he didn’t know to first get people to retreat.”
The captain didn’t argue. Telling the officials’ wives to retreat—if something happened, it was explainable; if nothing happened, it would affect their mood, and there would still be no good outcome. Such talk was just hindsight.
“Director.”
“Don’t call me Director! I might not be able to be Director much longer! Now, immediately, right away, dig out the Military Statistics Bureau for me. I don’t care what methods you use. I’m telling you, dig them out and redeem yourself; if you can’t dig them out, I might not even be able to save your life.”
“Yes!”
As soon as the subordinate left, Li Shiqun picked up the phone and called Wu Sibao.
“Hey, where’s Wu Sibao? Where did he go?
We’re all facing death, and he’s still stock trading?!”
International Settlement hospital.
The operating room outskirts were full of people.
Those who died today were all high-level family members. Even someone of Wang Ni and Zhou’s status had to be there; these were all trusted aides.
After the initial emotional fluctuation, everyone had calmed down now—or rather, they were all suppressing it.
Except Gu Yansheng.
Good riddance.
These women really didn’t know they were traitors, with zero awareness, happily touring Shanghai—how could they even think of that.
Now they should all have learned their lesson.
Look at the remaining family members here, each one sobbing soullessly, with dazed eyes, clearly not yet recovered from the huge change just now.
Once they woke up, they should have a basic understanding of the situation in Shanghai.
Being a traitor isn’t that easy.
The Japanese arrived.
At the stairwell entrance: Kagesa Sadaki, Imai Takeo, Miura Jiro, Hase Jinagawa. Almost all of Shanghai’s Japanese high-level figures had come.
“Suddenly hearing that Mr. Wang’s affiliates suffered a great disaster, please accept our condolences.” The Japanese bowed their heads.
Wang Ni was in no mood. Everything that happened today was the fault of these Japanese.
If not for the Japanese messing with the bank, they would have been fine waiting for negotiations. If not suspecting problems with the negotiations, they wouldn’t have thought there was a bug in the room, and wouldn’t have decided to change houses together, and today this disaster wouldn’t have happened.
The source of everything was the Japanese!
He said coldly: “Thank you all for visiting. The poor public order in Shanghai has truly shocked me!”
“Apologies! For such a problem occurring, we do bear responsibility.” Miura Jiro slightly bent at the waist and bowed his head, leading the group behind him to slightly bow in unison.
“We will urge the Agent Headquarters to catch the culprits as soon as possible.”
“The people are already dead. Doesn’t General Miura think it’s too late to say these things?” Wang Ni waved his hand. “I don’t want to discuss this. I want to ask about something else. These people died today for the sake of our negotiations with you—they died for the negotiations.
What I want to know now is, are you negotiating in good faith?”
“Of course!” Miura Jiro said in a firm tone, puzzled: “Aren’t both sides working hard for peace talks? Does Mr. Wang think we’re not progressing fast enough?”
“But Imai Takeo doesn’t seem to think so.” Wang Ni glanced at Imai Takeo. “According to the information I received, Imai Takeo has been contacting Chongqing. Do you think this is working hard for peace talks? This is wasting our feelings and trust! Wasting our family members’ lives!”
“Such a thing happened?” Miura Jiro was shocked—not acted shock—and turned to Imai Takeo: “Imai, what’s going on!”
In fact, all the Japanese were looking at Imai Takeo, as if none of them knew about this.
Imai frowned, paused, and didn’t plan to ask Wang Ni’s intelligence source. Instead, he explained gravely: “Mr. Wang, Peaceful Nation Building and constructing the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere—this has always been our principle.
My negotiations with you are sincere; I can guarantee that with my personal honor.
I believe you can’t deny that even if we reach agreement and establish the regime, we’ll still face war because the Jiang regime hasn’t stopped fighting.
But if we can persuade the Jiang Government for peace and resolve this war peacefully, only the Red Party would remain, which we could wipe out effortlessly.
Then China would be completely free of war.
And that achieves your ultimate goal: peace, saving four hundred million Chinese, isn’t it?”
“Then you should have told me in advance! Instead of hiding it from me and negotiating with Old Jiang! Do you think that’s sincerity? If you were truly sincere, why didn’t you say so?”
Wang Ni erupted in anger, retorting coldly: “From your actions, I see only concealment, no sincerity!”
“Mr. Wang, please calm down. Listen to my explanation.”
“No need to listen!” Wang Ni waved his hand and turned his face away. “You heard his words. It’s not that I don’t want to talk, but you lack sincerity. Since that’s the case, no more talks. You go talk to Old Jiang.
Naive!
Stupid!”
Wang Ni scanned each one and berated them: “What kind of person Old Jiang is, I know better than all of you. If he were willing to negotiate, if he wanted peace talks, how could China be in this situation?
How many years have I talked to him? How many years have I spoken of peace? With all your intelligence departments, don’t you know?”
The Japanese hadn’t expected Wang Ni to be telling the truth; they all frowned.
Peace talks were about to succeed, and now this mess— the Military Department really knew how to go back on its word.
Especially Kagesa Sadaki, whose mood was extremely foul; he surprisingly didn’t know about this either.
Negotiating with the Wang Faction was his most important achievement lately. If it fell through, all his work in China would be wasted.
Miura Jiro confirmed: “Imai, did you get authorization from the Military Department for this?”
Imai nodded: “Of course.”
“What reason did the Military Department give?” Miura Jiro pressed.
Imai Takeo glanced at the Wang Faction personnel, hesitating whether to say.
Miura Jiro frowned and snapped: “For something like this, you need to explain clearly to Mr. Wang—no need for concealment! If you think you can successfully negotiate with the Jiang regime, no need to hide; if you think it won’t work, no confidence, then especially now, you shouldn’t hide!”
Imai Takeo thought for a moment and said: “According to the China Section’s investigation, after we occupied Nanjing, appeasement factions emerged within the National Government, such as Mr. Wang being one of them.
After Mr. Wang confirmed peace talks with us, the appeasement voices grew louder again in the Chongqing Government.
Wuhan fell, Nanchang fell; these successive war defeats deepened the despair among Chongqing Government officials time and again.
One could say these officials’ will has reached a critical point.
And today, over fifty airplanes have departed from Hankou to bomb Chongqing, further destroying these officials’ will.
Once this critical point erupts, I believe even President Jiang in Chongqing won’t be able to suppress this wave of defeatist will.
Mr. Wang, as I said earlier, if we can directly negotiate peace with President Jiang, then for China, for all of us, wouldn’t peace come sooner.
Maybe the old President Jiang wasn’t willing before, but things are different now. The situation will force him to negotiate; his subordinates, the generals, will urge him to negotiate. This is the trend of the times.”
The Japanese frowned in thought, silent. This claim seemed plausible upon reflection; their intelligence network had indeed received such reports—Chongqing hearts unsteady, an opportunity worth trying.
But Wang Ni rebuked angrily: “Naive! You are truly naive. You don’t understand Old Jiang at all—he absolutely won’t negotiate peace with you!
Nanjing gone, he can flee to Wuhan! Wuhan gone, he can flee to Chongqing!
Chongqing gone, he can flee to Kunming!
Kunming gone, he can flee to Myanmar!
If Myanmar is gone too, he still has his American daddy!
Negotiate with you? Ask yourself why?
Because of your Japan’s half-dead economy?
Because of this Shanghai full of street gunfights in the occupied area’s logistics supply? Just by fighting, how many more years can you beat him?
If he negotiates with you, what can you give him?
Old Jiang, to stop your offensive on Wuhan, ordered the Huaiyuankou dike blown, drowning alive nearly a million Chinese!
Does he care about the people? He doesn’t care at all!
Territory lost is lost; kill the people if you want—you can do what to him? What to the Four Great Families?
Why would he negotiate with you?
To be my traitor vice president?
Childish, utterly childish!”
Wang Ni looked at them disdainfully, shook his head vigorously, and pointed outside: “All of you leave. With your political wisdom, you really know nothing. Get out—all of you. You’re not welcome here.”
