My years of espionage

Chapter 2019: Sister Xia is a mystery

In 1943, Cheng Qianfan and his family spent the Spring Festival in Nanjing.

February in Nanjing is characterized by continuous rain and unusually cold and damp conditions.

Details of Wang Jingwei's visit to Japan, and its aftermath, were gradually revealed by newspapers in the Kuomintang-controlled areas:

The 3,000 Type 38 rifles that Japan provided to the Wang Jingwei regime in Nanjing were discarded by the Japanese army, and some even had problems with their rifling.

The 100,000 tons of relief rice that Japan provided to Nanjing was actually moldy old rice, and even with this moldy old rice, less than 10,000 tons were delivered.

The Wang Jingwei regime promised to deliver 100,000 tons of soybeans from Northeast China to Japan, which directly led to a major famine in Northeast China, especially in Harbin.

The Japanese puppet regime implemented a rationing system in Harbin, and the Japanese mixed 50 percent sawdust into the rationed food. This directly led to the freezing and starvation deaths of more than 20,000 people in Harbin in the winter of 1943.

The Wang Jingwei regime cooperated with the Japanese in plundering raw silk in Jiangnan and severely reduced the food rations of female workers in the silk factories.

The monthly salary of a silk factory worker in Huzhou, who worked desperately for a month, was not enough to buy ten kilograms of rice. Due to extreme hunger and cold, many female workers committed suicide by jumping into the river, a truly tragic scene.

The Wang Jingwei regime promised to conscript 500,000 men to cooperate with the Japanese in their "mopping-up" campaign. Young men in northern Jiangsu were willing to cut off their right arms to avoid being conscripted, and many "one-armed villages" even appeared in Yancheng, a truly tragic situation.

Public resentment boiled over, and even in the Japanese-occupied areas, people could no longer tolerate Wang Jingwei's betrayal of his ancestors and perverse actions.

Shanghai residents are selling "commemorative stamps for the visit to Japan" on the black market. The back of the stamps reads, "When will this traitor die?" and the news is spreading like wildfire!

……

Yihe Road.

"It's crooked, it's crooked, a little to the left, yes, raise it a little higher." Cheng Qianfan was directing the staff of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to hang up the banner.

A victory celebration was held to commemorate the Japanese army's victory in the Battle of Guadalcanal in the Pacific. The entire city of Nanjing was "immersed" in a joyous atmosphere of celebrating the victory of our friendly nation in the Pacific War.

“Great!” Chu Mingyu said with a smile. “The New Year is a time of joy, and our friendly nation has achieved a brilliant victory. This is a double celebration.”

"The Secretary-General is right." Cheng Qianfan respectfully offered Chu Mingyu a cigarette, took out a lighter and lit it for him, saying, "The war is going smoothly, and everything is advancing triumphantly towards victory. This is truly a good omen."

"I heard that my niece-in-law was unwell a few days ago. How is she now?" Chu Mingyu asked with concern.

"It's much better now. Ruolan isn't used to Nanjing's climate yet, but she'll get used to it gradually," Cheng Qianfan said.

"People with twins need to be especially careful," Chu Mingyu said with concern.

"Yes." Cheng Qianfan nodded, then lowered his voice and asked with concern, "Uncle Chu, is Mr. Wang feeling better?"

"Even if you're sick, it's because you got angry." Chu Mingyu said with a cold snort.

At the beginning of the month, the Wang Jingwei regime announced that Zhou Liang had officially assumed the post of Mayor of Shanghai and had successfully taken control of the more than 20,000-strong Tax Police Corps.

In a sense, Wang Tianhai's power was greatly diminished, and he was suspected of being sidelined by Zhou Liang.

Cheng Qianfan learned from Liu Xia that Wang Tianhai angrily smashed his medicine bowl while ill, and that Wang's wife even went to Zhou Liang's official residence, pointing her finger at Zhou Liang and cursing him as an ingrate.

While Madam Wang's actions vented her anger, they also brought the conflict between Wang Tianhai and Zhou Liang to the forefront, sparking widespread discussion. Even people from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs privately discussed and joked about the matter.

Even Shanghai residents are talking about this; it's utterly shameful.

……

"Mr. Wang has worked so hard for China and for the Party and the country. He must take care of his health." Cheng Qianfan's eyes were full of concern and worry.

He said to Chu Mingyu, "Mr. Wang carries the hope of China and the hope of the Party and the country. His body no longer belongs to him alone. He is the hope of the entire nation and the whole of China. Please take good care of your health."

"Don't worry, Mr. Wang is in good health; the sky won't fall," Chu Mingyu said in a deep voice. He looked at Cheng Qianfan and asked, "How is the investigation into spies within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs progressing?"

The fact that Wang Tianhai angrily smashed his medicine bowl and cursed Zhou Liang while on his sickbed was a highly confidential matter, but it was leaked and reported openly in Chongqing newspapers. The Chongqing authorities used the vulgar headline "Traitors fighting like dogs."

Upon learning this, Wang Tianhai was so angry that he smashed the medicine bowl again.

He then ordered the intelligence headquarters to thoroughly investigate the leak.

After a thorough investigation, the intelligence headquarters reported that the source of the leak was the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which greatly displeased Chu Mingyu.

Cheng Qianfan immediately sent a secret report to Chu Mingyu, saying, "There may be someone with ill intentions who is deliberately trying to frame the Ministry of Foreign Affairs," implying that someone had instructed the Special Agent Headquarters to target the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in an attempt to deal with him, the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Chu Mingyu agreed wholeheartedly and firmly refused the Special Agent Headquarters' further investigation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ordering Cheng Qianfan to conduct a self-examination and rectification of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

……

"Nephew, I've thoroughly investigated." Cheng Qianfan accompanied Chu Mingyu to the office, poured him some water, and said unhurriedly, "To be honest, there are people in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs who like to gossip in private, and some even..."

He glanced at Chu Mingyu's expression and continued, "There has been some discussion about Madam Wang's visit to the Zhou residence to argue, but these things have already spread. It's not just the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; which department in the Executive Yuan doesn't have gossip?"

"However, to say that the leak of confidential information about Mr. Wang’s sickbed was related to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is pure nonsense. Not to mention that after a thorough investigation, everyone in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is innocent, such confidential information is something that ordinary people would never know, let alone leak."

Upon hearing this, Chu Mingyu nodded slightly, expressing his satisfaction with Cheng Qianfan's investigation results.

"Please organize your thoughts and submit a report," Chu Mingyu said.

"I understand, nephew." Cheng Qianfan nodded, but seemed a little hesitant as he spoke.

"Speak," Chu Mingyu said, glancing at Cheng Qianfan.

"This slander against our Ministry of Foreign Affairs by the Special Agent Headquarters was actually done by Su Chende of the Nanjing Station of the Special Agent Headquarters," Cheng Qianfan said. "The Shanghai side should be unaware of this."

……

"Did your senior contact you?" Chu Mingyu sneered and said to Cheng Qianfan.

“During the holidays, Director Li did pay a visit.” Cheng Qianfan nodded and said to Chu Mingyu, “I reported this to you, Uncle Chu, but I haven’t seen him since. However, I received a telegram from Director Li yesterday, in which he spoke with great respect for you, Uncle Chu.”

As he spoke, Cheng Qianfan took out a telegram from his person and handed it to Chu Mingyu with both hands.

Chu Mingyu took the telegram, read it carefully, and then remained silent.

“I believe that Li Cuiqun did not participate in the framing of our Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” Chu Mingyu said after thinking for a moment. “After all, his conflict with that person is becoming increasingly acute.”

At the beginning of the year, Li Cuiqun finally secured the position of Governor of Jiangsu Province, a position he had been seeking for a long time.

Controlling the intelligence headquarters and holding the power of the governor of Jiangsu Province, Li Cuiqun also formed a "pacification" armed force of up to 70,000 people and frequently intercepted pacification supplies, which directly led to a power conflict with Zhou Liang.

As Mr. Wang's most trusted confidant and loyal minister, Chu Mingyu was destined to be at odds with Zhou Liang. Under these circumstances, Li Cuiqun would most likely not help Zhou Liang deal with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“I understand,” Chu Mingyu nodded and said.

As he spoke, he glanced at Cheng Qianfan with a serious expression, "Qianfan."

"Ah."

"Your senior is no ordinary person; he's gotten quite arrogant lately," Chu Mingyu said earnestly. "Mr. Wang is also quite dissatisfied with some of his remarks; you need to be clear about that."

……

At the end of last year, when Wang Tianhai was visiting Japan and not in Nanjing, Li Cuiqun gave an exclusive interview to the Osaka Mainichi Shimbun and actually said, "After dark in Nanjing, I'm in charge!"

It is easy to imagine how dissatisfied Wang Tianhai was with these words.

"Uncle Chu, don't worry, I know what's important," Cheng Qianfan said. "I've had some conflicts with this Director Li before, as you know, Uncle Chu."

“My nephew associates with him because he knows that he and that other person don’t get along, and he thinks that the enemy of my enemy is barely a friend,” he said to Chu Mingyu. “It’s just a polite exchange, nothing more than pretense.”

"What 'enemy of my enemy'? That's ridiculous!" Chu Mingyu glared at Cheng Qianfan and said, "Don't say things that are detrimental to unity."

"Yes, yes, it was my nephew who spoke too frankly and misspoke," Cheng Qianfan quickly replied.

"You're just too young and impetuous," Chu Mingyu said, pointing at Cheng Qianfan.

"If young people aren't full of youthful vigor, are they even young?" Cheng Qianfan chuckled and said.

Chu Mingyu pointed at Cheng Qianfan and laughed, "Lazybones."

……

After leaving Chu Mingyu's office and returning to his own, Cheng Qianfan sat down, lit a cigarette, and fell into deep thought.

Zhou Liang accelerated his alignment with the Japanese, who seized the opportunity to support Zhou Liang in his power struggle with Wang Tianhai, directly leading to a fierce power struggle within the Wang puppet regime.

Of course, Zhou Liang was valued by the Japanese because he was even more diligent in his acts of selling out his country and currying favor with Japan.

During the "cleansing" operation two years ago, the Japanese planned to requisition 1.5 million tons of grain from southern Jiangsu.

Zhou Liang was in charge of requisitioning grain and clearing out rural areas. He eventually bloodily collected two million tons of rice from the people and delivered it to the Japanese, which earned him the Japanese's praise. As a result, Zhou Liang was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun by Hata Shunroku.

In the eyes of the Japanese, Zhou Liang has become an excellent economic lifeline.

In addition, Zhou Liang forcibly promoted the issuance of Central Reserve Bank notes in order to plunder wealth from ordinary people and transfer it to the Japanese side, which also won high praise from the Japanese side.

By relentlessly persecuting the people and plundering supplies for the Japanese, Zhou Liang gained their favor, and the Japanese took the opportunity to support him in seizing power from Wang Tianhai.

The power struggles within the Wang Jingwei regime have now reached an extreme level.

For this reason, Cheng Qianfan has been stationed in Nanjing recently, working diligently at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and alongside Chu Mingyu.

He would express his loyalty from time to time, subtly slip in his criticisms, and embellish the story quite often.

……

Thinking of this, Cheng Qianfan narrowed his eyes.

Besides him secretly adding fuel to the fire, Liu Xia was also involved.

Although Liu Xia's actions were not obvious, just like his, he keenly noticed them.

Conversely, Cheng Qianfan also realized that Liu Xia might have noticed his behavior as well.

On some occasions, the two even had a tacit understanding and worked together to stir things up.

He wasn't afraid that Liu Xia would notice anything. He was Chu Mingyu's confidant, and Chu Mingyu was Wang Tianhai's absolute confidant. Therefore, he firmly followed Wang Tianhai and stood up for him. His criticism of Zhou Liang's ungrateful behavior was perfectly reasonable.

But what was Liu Xia's purpose in doing this?
Of course, on the surface, Liu Xia was from Madam Wang's family and firmly followed Mr. Wang. From this perspective, Liu Xia's behavior can be explained.

……

Cheng Qianfan didn't think much of it at first.

However, although Chu Mingyu was tasked with investigating the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' leak, he found no connection between the leak and Liu Xia.

However, Cheng Qianfan was very clear about one detail: he learned about Wang Tianhai's secret affairs on his sickbed from Liu Xia.

He told Chu Mingyu that it was impossible for anyone from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to know such confidential matters concerning Wang Tianhai on his sickbed. In fact, he was not telling the truth; at the very least, Liu Xia was an insider.

Since they are insiders, they are suspects.

Although the Nanjing branch of the intelligence headquarters said the leak was related to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, this does not rule out the possibility that Su Chende was instructed by Zhou Liang to take action against Chu Mingyu's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

However, Cheng Qianfan believed that the Special Agent Headquarters would not speak without reason; they must have discovered something.

Although there was no direct evidence, this increased Cheng Qianfan's suspicions about Liu Xia to some extent.

Sister Xia, you are an enigma.

He had long suspected that Liu Xia was not simple, but at the same time, he had always believed that Liu Xia was a staunch traitor who followed Wang Tianhai. However, now, a small question mark began to appear in Cheng Qianfan's mind...

……

A week later.

"Teacher, when did you return from Tokyo?" Cheng Qianfan asked Imamura Heitaro.

After Sakamoto Ryono called to inform him that Imamura Heitaro had arrived in Nanjing, Cheng Qianfan secretly visited him.

"I just got back yesterday," said Heitaro Imamura, his face revealing his exhaustion.

"Teacher, you've worked so hard for the empire, it's truly arduous," Cheng Qianfan said, his eyes full of concern. "You must take care of your health."

"These are turbulent times, and I have no choice in what I do," sighed Heitaro Imamura.

Cheng Qianfan looked surprised. He had always thought of Imamura Heitaro as a spirited and energetic man, and rarely did he appear so dejected.

Clearly, facing his close and trusted student, Heitaro Imamura was indeed very tired, and it was rare for him to tear off his mask and reveal this true state.

"Teacher," Cheng Qianfan said cautiously, "The Empire is reporting frequent victories, and everything is progressing smoothly, so why are you..."

Heitaro Imamura's expression changed slightly, as if he realized that he had inadvertently said the wrong thing.

He glanced at Kentaro Miyazaki and saw the concern and worry in his student's eyes. His heart warmed, and he couldn't help but sigh and say, "Never mind, you're not an outsider, it's alright if you know."

……

Cheng Qianfan immediately adopted a respectful and attentive demeanor.

"The Guadalcanal campaign is over, you should know that by now," Heitaro Imamura said.

“Yes.” Cheng Qianfan nodded. “The Locust Army won a great victory over the Americans. Just a few days ago, Nanjing held a victory celebration. The students have been busy with all of this.”

“Wrong,” Imamura Heitaro said.

"What?!" Cheng Qianfan exclaimed in surprise.

"The Imperial Navy did initially achieve a naval victory, but since the start of the naval battle last year, the subsequent fighting between the two sides has continued until now," said Heitaro Imamura.

“That’s right, teacher.” Cheng Qianfan nodded. “The Battle of Guadalcanal has just ended, and the Empire has won the final victory. The broadcasts are still praising the Empire’s great achievements.”

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(End of this chapter)