My years of espionage

Chapter 2040 Lure the snake out of its hole
“Cheng Qianfan said he wants to see our sincerity first,” Feng Man said. “If the first cooperation goes well, we can maintain a long-term cooperation in the future.”

"Sincerity?" Ye Xiaoqing frowned.

“Yes, taking action against Meng Dajun can be seen as an attempt at cooperation between our two sides,” Feng Man said.

"Tell me more about it." Ye Xiaoqing nodded slightly.

“Cheng Qianfan said that Meng Dajun must die,” Feng Man said.

"Very good, it seems everyone agrees on this." Ye Xiaoqing smiled.

“Cheng Qianfan means that he will be responsible for killing Meng Dajun,” Feng Man said. “We will be responsible for providing intelligence, specifically Meng Dajun’s whereabouts, while he takes action.”

"Okay." Ye Xiaoqing thought for a moment and then nodded.

Although Li Cuiqun is dead, and as a woman, she has no power in the Special Agent Headquarters, the headquarters was still founded by her husband, and she still has connections. It might be difficult to get them to do something 'out of line', but passing on messages is no problem at all.

……

"We need to be quick," Feng Man said. "Cheng Qianfan means we need to make a move within two days."

"So soon?" Ye Xiaoqing exclaimed in surprise, then nodded. "Alright."

She said to Feng Man, "It seems that this Director Cheng is trying to establish his authority. He will be going to the Special Agent Headquarters to take up his post soon."

“That should be the case.” Feng Man nodded. “The situation on Jisifeier Road is still quite chaotic, so it’s right for him to take up his post sooner rather than later.”

Ye Xiaoqing glanced at Feng Man subtly.

……

"Go and call Lao He over," Ye Xiaoqing called out to He Rui.

"Yes, Sister Qing."

"Sister Qing, you wanted to see me?" He Hanpeng approached and said respectfully.

"Pass on my message: find out Meng Dajun's whereabouts," Ye Xiaoqing said. "Especially if Meng Dajun is going out, we must keep track of that as soon as possible."

"Understood." He Hanpeng nodded.

A hint of excitement flashed in his eyes. Meng Dajun was too arrogant. He had wanted to deal with this arrogant little brat for a long time.

……

Cheng Qianfan was at the Imamura Mansion at that moment.

"Teacher." Cheng Qianfan noticed that Imamura Heitaro's teacup was empty and quickly went to refill it.

"Kentaro's here." Imamura Heitaro glanced at Miyazaki Kentaro. "Make yourself at home."

"Yes," Cheng Qianfan replied, but continued to stand respectfully beside Imamura Heitaro, ready to serve him at any time.

Heitaro Imamura took off his glasses, rubbed his temples, then put them back on. He then put down the documents in his hand and went to the wall.

Cheng Qianfan quickly pulled back the curtain on the wall, revealing the map on the wall.

……

Heitaro Imamura was looking at a map of Europe.

"Is the teacher looking at the Kursk region?" Cheng Qianfan noticed Imamura Heitaro's gaze and asked in a low voice.

"Hmm." Imamura Heitaro nodded.

“I heard that the battle of Prokhorovka has ended. Although the German army has achieved a phased victory, due to logistical pressure and the increasingly cold weather, the German army has chosen to take the initiative to strategically retreat,” Cheng Qianfan said.

"The Germans did retreat, but not voluntarily," Heitaro Imamura said, shaking his head. "They lost the Battle of Kursk."

With that, Heitaro Imamura pointed to the documents on the table, "You can take a look."

Cheng Qianfan looked surprised. He was surprised by what Imamura Heitaro said about the Germans losing the Battle of Kursk.

This is a report from a Japanese military observer on the Eastern Front; it is a classified document.

The Japanese described the Battle of Kursk as "the largest tank battle in human history."

The largest tank battle in human history broke out in Prokhorovka, with German Tiger tanks clashing head-on with Soviet T-34s.

The Germans originally planned to break through the Soviet defenses with 900,000 troops, but ultimately failed.

In this battle, the German army lost more than 1,500 tanks, which, in the eyes of the Japanese, almost meant that the German army had completely lost the initiative on the Eastern Front.

……

“The British are cheering for the Soviet victory at Kursk,” said Heitaro Imamura. “In London parlance, ‘After Kursk, Germany can only fight for survival, not victory.’”

He turned to look at Kentaro Miyazaki and said, "The British are always arrogant and like to exaggerate their war achievements, but this time what they said makes some sense."

Cheng Qianfan's expression also turned serious. He put down the documents in his hand and stared at the map.

"Although the British may be exaggerating out of consideration for the situation, strictly speaking, the Germans are indeed in a bad position," Cheng Qianfan said. "At the very least, the Germans cannot launch another offensive on the Eastern Front in the short term."

Heitaro Imamura shook his head. In his position, he could obtain more classified information and control more classified data.

The situation for Germans is actually far worse than imagined.

“Teacher, even if the Germans suffer setbacks, their strength is still unprecedented,” Cheng Qianfan said. “In fact, for the Empire, I think the Germans’ temporary defeat is not necessarily a bad thing.”

Heitaro Imamura looked at Kentaro Miyazaki, signaling him to continue.

……

“Germany’s short-term setbacks will spur the British, Americans, and Soviets to intensify their offensives. And given Germany’s resources, even if they cannot launch an offensive, they can still hold onto their existing positions and territories,” Cheng Qianfan said. “This means that the war in Europe will only become more intense and more brutal.”

"For the Empire, it also means that the Germans can help us tie down a large number of British, American and Soviet military forces," Cheng Qianfan said. "Once the Empire has fully digested the spoils of war in East Asia, it can then take advantage of the situation in Europe to clean up the mess."

"It's good that you can see these things and have confidence." Heitaro Imamura smiled with satisfaction and praised Kentaro Miyazaki.

However, he did not actually agree with his student's words.

The more he learned about the situation in Europe, the more worried he became.

Take the Battle of Kursk, which just ended not long ago, for example. The Soviet and German forces deployed more than 1.5 million troops and more than 8,000 tanks in the Battle of Prokhorovka. This scale of tank battle was something the Empire could not even imagine.

Not to mention the number of tanks, the Empire's tank strength was simply incomparable to the German Tiger tanks and the Soviet T-34 tanks.

This is a gap in industrial strength and resources.

Heitaro Imamura knew that, let alone conquering Europe, simply being able to hold onto the empire's existing territories and protect the 'Greater East Asia' would be the best-case scenario.

However, he could no longer say such things to Kentaro Miyazaki.

When the empire is invincible, he can say some discouraging things to his students.

However, it is not appropriate to say such things when the empire is facing setbacks and immense pressure.

……

"Teacher, according to the established schedule, I will officially assume my post on Jisifeier Road the day after tomorrow," Cheng Qianfan said.

“Not bad, this is very good.” Imamura Heitaro nodded slightly.

He said to Kentaro Miyazaki, "With Li Cuiqun dead or alive, the Special Agent Headquarters is essentially leaderless. Going to Jessfield Road at this time is a good opportunity."

"So, the teacher doesn't think either Xiong Changhua or Wan Haiyang can win?" Cheng Qianfan asked.

“Both of these two are far inferior to Li Cuiqun in terms of ability and prestige,” Imamura Heitaro shook his head and said. “Moreover, neither the Empire nor Nanjing will allow either side to gain an overwhelming advantage.”

"I understand." Cheng Qianfan pondered for a moment, then revealed a look of sudden realization.

"The Intelligence Department of the Special Agent Headquarters has always been the most important part of espionage work," said Imamura Heitaro. "You must firmly grasp the Intelligence Department. I don't expect you to be able to suppress Xiong Changhua or Wan Haiyang, since you don't have any connections on Jessfield Road. But at the very least, you must be able to maintain basic combat effectiveness under the pressure of those two sides."

……

"Does the teacher think that Xiong Changhua and Wan Haiyang will join forces against me?" Cheng Qianfan asked thoughtfully.

"You don't think so?" Imamura Heitaro glanced at Miyazaki Kentaro, somewhat understanding what his student meant, and asked.

“What the teacher said is indeed a possibility,” Cheng Qianfan said thoughtfully. “However, I think they are more likely to try to win me over than to join forces against me.”

“Although I may be the weakest in the Special Agent Headquarters, I still have a certain level of confidence in the whole of Shanghai.” Cheng Qianfan said with a smug look, “Therefore, I think that whether it is Xiong Changhua or Wan Haiyang, their first consideration should be not to completely antagonize me, so as not to push me to the other side.”

“What you said makes some sense.” Imamura Heitaro nodded, but then his expression turned serious. “However, we still need to be wary of the worst-case scenario.”

He said to Kentaro Miyazaki, "If I were Xiong Changhua or Wan Haiyang, I would temporarily cease hostilities and then join forces to deal with you."

"Just like when they joined forces to take down Dong Zhengguo?" Cheng Qianfan's expression changed, his eyes flashing with murderous intent and a hint of fear.

"What are you afraid of?" Imamura Heitaro glared at Miyazaki Kentaro with displeasure.

My student is good in every way, except that he cherishes life too much.

……

"You can rest assured about that. They shouldn't, and wouldn't dare, use the same methods they used against Dong Zhengguo against you," Imamura Heitaro said.

Cheng Qianfan nodded.

Imamura Heitaro shook his head. He could tell that his student was still quite wary and worried. After all, for Miyazaki Kentaro, the case of Dong Zhengguo's death was right before his eyes, so he couldn't help but worry.

He didn't say anything more to persuade or comfort him; that was just Miyazaki Kentaro's temperament, and saying more would be useless.

Making him more worried might be a good thing, as it will make Kentaro Miyazaki more serious and vigilant in his work.

……

76 Jesfield Road.

"When will this ever end?" Meng Dajun cursed restlessly, like a trapped beast.

"Brother Meng, please calm down," Zhao Chaoyang advised.

"Damn it!" Meng Dajun cursed. "It's so annoying. I don't believe that Cheng Qianfan would dare to lay a hand on me once I step out of the gate of Jisifeier Road."

“Brother Meng,” Zhao Chaoyang said seriously, “that Cheng Qianfan is always arrogant and cares a lot about his reputation. Brother Meng made Cheng Qianfan lose face this time, so naturally he will want to get revenge.”

"What? Does Cheng Qianfan dare to kill me?" Meng Dajun sneered.

“Killing someone, Cheng Qianfan probably wouldn’t dare,” Zhao Chaoyang said after a moment of contemplation. “However, he would probably dare to give Brother Meng a hard time, or even injure you.”

“He wouldn’t dare!” Meng Dajun sneered. “If he dares to touch me, I’ll take my men to Lafayette Road and wipe out his Cheng Mansion.”

"Yes, yes." Zhao Chaoyang nodded and said with a smile, "Brother Meng has guts."

……

In his heart, Zhao Chaoyang held Meng Dajun in utter contempt.

Ever since Li Cuiqun died and Director Wan came to power, this fellow Meng has become increasingly arrogant.

Even when Director Li was around, he treated Cheng Qianfan with utmost respect. He couldn't understand where Meng Dajun's arrogance came from.

Did they really think Cheng Qianfan would be intimidated by the Jisifeier Road brand and wouldn't dare to make a move?

Back in the day, Cheng Qianfan had his hands stained with the blood of Jessfield Road!

"Alright, Brother Meng, just rest well in the courtyard and remember not to go out," Zhao Chaoyang instructed Meng Dajun.

"I know, you're such a chatterbox, so annoying." Meng Dajun glared at Zhao Chaoyang, then waved his hand dismissively.

Zhao Chaoyang snorted inwardly, but wore a wry smile on his face. He said, "Brother Meng, please calm down," and left leisurely.

"This is so annoying," Meng Dajun said, extremely annoyed.

Afterwards, he arrived at the torture room, panting heavily. He personally branded two underground party members with a hot iron, and then ordered his men to use whips, chili water, and the tiger bench. He even personally tortured a Kuomintang agent for nearly an hour. He finally vented his anger and felt much better.

……

"Third Brother." Zou Hongyi arrived to see Meng Dajun carrying roast chicken, pork head meat, and a bottle of wine.

"You've come at the right time, have a couple of drinks with me." Meng Dajun nodded, snatched the bottle, opened it, and gulped down half of the wine.

"Third Brother, slow down, slow down, have some vegetables to fill your stomach," Zou Hongyi quickly said.

After several rounds of drinks, Meng Dajun became increasingly agitated.

"Third Brother, what's wrong?" Zou Hongyi asked.

"What's wrong? What do you mean, what's wrong?!" Meng Dajun said indignantly, "I'm so bored being locked up here."

“Third Brother is missing his concubine,” Zou Hongyi said with a smile.

"What the hell are you laughing at!" Meng Dajun became even more irritated. He picked up the bottle and gulped down several large mouthfuls of wine, then slammed his hand on the table. "No way, I'm getting out of here."

"Third Brother!" Zou Hongyi exclaimed in surprise, "But the Chief repeatedly instructed you not to go out."

"What's there to be afraid of!" Meng Dajun hiccuped and said, panting heavily, "If we don't get out of here soon, I'll suffocate even without Cheng Qianfan causing trouble."

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(End of this chapter)