Spy game? Stop guessing, I really am an undercover agent!

Chapter 66 Where Did the Gold Go?

"Verify intelligence?" Chen Yang frowned and asked, "What intelligence?"

Song Yilin respectfully said, "The Ministry of Finance of Nanjing will transport one ton of gold from Nanjing to Shanghai."

"You should be aware that it has been handed over to Yokohama Specie Bank for safekeeping, right?"

Knowing about it? More than just knowing about it, every single detail was handled at Chen Yang's behest.

This ton of gold was originally raised by the Osaka Chamber of Commerce through the emergency sale of goods to provide the new government with start-up funds.

The new government was established on the 28th of last month, and this batch of gold went to Nanjing with Finance Minister Chen Jintao.

However, less than a week after the new government took office, Mr. Liang discovered during a routine meeting that one ton of gold was simply not enough to cover expenses.

Of course, the biggest reason for this is that Mr. Liang's influence is limited.

The leaders of major business districts in Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Shanghai, and Nanjing were not optimistic about him, which resulted in the new government being unable to raise funds.

Mr. Liang had originally pinned his hopes on the tax revenue from Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces.

However, the Zhejiang Pacification Headquarters had always been in the hands of Qi Xieyuan, and after the supplies were transported to Nanjing, he took them away under the pretext of suppressing bandits.

The remaining supplies were barely enough to feed the new government, let alone the menial workers.

With funds stretched thin, the Japanese advisory group adopted a "don't bother me, I don't have any money either" attitude.

If the financial problems are not resolved first, this reformed government may become the shortest-lived government in history.

So, after discussing it for a long time, they came up with a brilliant idea.

Issuance of new currency
Yes, that's right. A new version of currency was created in the name of the new Nanjing government and issued in the Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Shanghai and Nanjing regions.

However, issuing currency requires gold reserves.

Without gold as collateral, a new currency is a joke; history has shown this lesson before, for example, with the Pagoda Note.
Of course, unless you are shameless enough and have strong firepower reserves, you can easily suppress the people's grievances, such as with the gold yuan.
The new government doesn't have that kind of power, so now everyone can only pin their hopes on this batch of gold, sending it to the Specie Bank and having the Specie Bank act as guarantor.

In addition to these, Sonoda Kumakichi, an advisor to the new Nanjing government, also specifically contacted Yamamoto Kenzo as an advisor for this currency issuance plan.

Although Kenzo Yamamoto was not a very famous person, he had a significant destructive influence on the Chinese economy.

He was one of the planners and heads of Japan's "Sugi Project" toward China.

In 1937 alone, he secretly printed more than 100 million yuan in legal tender using printing equipment.

With such an expert endorsing it, the new government seemed to have grasped a lifeline and actively launched a new currency issuance plan codenamed "Plan Loose".

In order to successfully complete the "loosening plan," the new government decided to use Shanghai as the first pilot city, and while printing new currency, it also took the opportunity to mobilize some business tycoons to support the issuance of new currency.

Of course, the main reason is the diversity of currencies used in the Shanghai Stock Exchange, which includes not only the silver dollar and the Chinese national currency, but also other mainstream Chinese currencies.

Even the British pound, the US dollar, the German mark, and the French franc can be used as currencies for transactions.

In this situation, it wouldn't seem too much to ask for another new coin.

Therefore, judging from this, Song Yilin has definitely been with me for quite some time. It's very likely that she was already in Shanghai when the transaction of those supplies was completed.

Chen Yang looked at Song Yilin and said, "What? Is headquarters eyeing this batch of gold?"

"It's not that I look down on Hu Xinmin, but to think he can get his hands on gold with just a few scraps of material is to seriously underestimate the Japanese."

Upon hearing this, Song Yilin was stunned for a moment. Hu Xinmin was the acting station chief of the Military Intelligence Bureau's Shanghai station.

The newly appointed station chief, Zhao Lijun, is currently selecting agents for the Shanghai station from the Linli training camp in Hunan.

Meanwhile, the Shanghai Special Operations Division of the Fuxing Society had been repeatedly raided by the Japanese Special Higher Police.

Now there are only a few big cats and little cats left, who can only do some intelligence gathering work.

When it comes to large-scale operations, they really can't muster enough people. After a long silence, Song Yilin said, forcing herself to speak, "Sir, Director Zheng gave the instructions."

"Our mission is to gather intelligence. As for whether to take action or who to hand it over to, that's not something we need to worry about."

"Since headquarters has issued the mission, they must have their own action plan."

This little girl is quite quick-witted.

After pondering for a while, Chen Yang nodded and asked, "What kind of information does headquarters need?"

Song Yilin said respectfully, "It would be best if we could get a transportation route map."

"Hmm, that's not a big problem." Chen Yang nodded slightly.
I almost blurted out: "Should I draw one for you right now?"

Transporting gold from Nanjing to Shanghai was his business; he had complete control over everything from loading onto the train to unloading and finally storing it in the warehouse.

But once it leaves the warehouse, how to transport it to the Yokohama Specie Bank is no longer his responsibility.

Chen Yang picked up the hat from the table, put it on with a flourish, and said, "By the way, how should I let you know after I get the blueprints?"

Song Yilin handed Chen Yang a note that she had prepared in advance.

"Sir, there are three dead mailboxes here, one of which is a locker at the cigarette exchange shop in Daxing on Wutong Road."

"Temporary storage boxes on the ground floor of Yong'an Department Store."

"Another one is the anonymous safe deposit box of Zhejiang Commercial Bank in Shanghai."

"You can choose different dead mail boxes according to different levels of information."

"After you put the intelligence in, call the White Russian bakery downstairs and tell me which dead mailbox it is by choosing different breads with different jams."

"Don't worry, I've checked, these jams have never been out of stock."

"If there is any unexpected situation, you can also call Zhenji Flower Shop at the back gate of Shanghai University."

"Use these types of flowers as substitutes"

"Oh, right, there's another phone number for the White Rose Cafe. I work part-time as a pianist there every Thursday and Saturday afternoon."

"You can call this number to find me."

Chen Yang glanced at the handwriting and quickly memorized the various combinations to deal with the locations of the dead mailboxes.

Then, he took out the matches he carried with him and burned the note.

"I understand. I'll let you know immediately if anything happens."

Goodbye, cherry blossoms.

Office of the Director of the Economic Department, Shanghai.

After meeting with Sakura, Chen Yang was somewhat conflicted.

The route for transporting gold was not difficult for him; as long as the gold was loaded onto the train in Nanjing, the first department here would receive a telegram.

He knew the entire route very well.

The problem is that because he is in the bureau, he can't act casually. Otherwise, if the gold is stolen, the entire Economic Department will definitely be investigated again.

The last mopping-up operation was something no one could find fault with, and no one thought that someone could deduce the army's structure and number of troops from the supply of materials.

But gold is different; the circuit is fixed.
Just as Chen Yang was struggling with what to do, there was a knock on the door.

Secretary Li Ningyu pushed open the office door and said, "Sir, a telegram has been sent from Jinling, asking if the transportation plan has been finalized."

(End of this chapter)