Spy Wars: I am the Captain of the Military Police

Zhou Zhengqing changed the subject, his gaze falling once more on Terauchi Hisaichi's face: "But... I killed someone in public, and it was one of my own, the core of the puppet government that our empire had fostered. I'm afraid that this will bring you some criticism, won't it?"

After all, Wang Kemin was nominally someone supported by your North China Army and the Empire's representative in North China. If I kill him in public, it's inevitable that people will gossip and criticize you for your inadequate supervision and inability to control the situation.

Some might even accuse you of condoning my indiscriminate killing of innocent people and undermining the Empire's "using Chinese to control Chinese" strategy.

Upon hearing this, Terauchi Hisaichi waved his hand lightly, a hint of disdain on his face, as if Zhou Zhengqing's criticisms were insignificant and not worth mentioning.

His gaze was cold and sharp, and his tone was calm, yet carried an undeniable authority: "Criticism? Tuoren, you're overthinking it."

Wang Kemin is nothing but a dog, a useless old dog, a greedy and ungrateful old dog.

His life is of no use to our empire or our North China Army; he will only be a hindrance, a disruption to our plans, and a waste of our resources.

His death is not a loss for us; on the contrary, it is a good thing, a great thing.

"If one old dog dies, we can just find another. There are countless people in North China who want to be that dog."

At this point, Terauchi Hisaichi's tone carried a hint of coldness and sarcasm: "Are those officials of the puppet government, those traitors who want to attach themselves to our empire, truly loyal to us?"

Do you truly want to contribute your strength to the holy war cause of our empire?

No, they are not. They only chose to depend on us and become our dogs for their own wealth and power, for their own benefit.

They are all scheming and greedy; given enough profit, they can betray us or side with our enemies at any time.

Tang Erhe, Dong Kang, and even Qi Xieyuan—weren't they all eyeing Wang Kemin's position with great eagerness?

Who among them doesn't dream of replacing Wang Kemin, becoming our empire's spokesperson in North China, and becoming the chairman of the puppet government?

When Wang Kemin died, they would only clap their hands in celebration, rush to curry favor with us, and try every means to please us in order to take Wang Kemin's place.

Therefore, killing Wang Kemin will not only avoid criticism, but will also gain their support and even make them more respectful of us and less likely to betray us.

When Tang Erhe, Dong Kang, Qi Xieyuan, and others were mentioned, a hint of disdain and contempt flashed in Terauchi Hisaichi's eyes.

These people were all core officials of the puppet government, and they were all traitors. They were all greedy and scheming. They only knew how to fight for power and profit and line their own pockets. They never considered the interests of the empire or the situation in North China.

In Terauchi Hisaichi's view, these people, like Wang Kemin, were just useless puppets, tools that could be discarded at will. As long as they still had some use, they could be kept.

Once they lose their usefulness or betray the empire, they can be eliminated without hesitation.

"In fact, your actions have done me a great favor."

A cold glint flashed in Terauchi Hisaichi's eyes, and his tone grew even colder: "Wang Kemin has become increasingly outrageous and greedy lately. Not only has he been blatantly using the impending establishment of the puppet government to promise high-ranking positions and generous salaries to many people to line his own pockets, but he's also been flirting with many people, and even... has been secretly contacting people in the south."

He believed that as the core of the puppet government and the empire's representative in North China, he could do whatever he wanted, play both sides, and simultaneously rely on us while secretly colluding with our enemies to seek greater benefits.

He even privately expressed his dissatisfaction with some of the empire's policies and outwardly complied with my orders while inwardly defying them.

I know all of this. I've known it for a long time.

His tone grew increasingly angry and cold, and his dissatisfaction intensified: "However, I cannot touch him for the time being because of his status as the first to surrender, because he was the first puppet government chairman supported by our empire, and because of his prestige among the traitors in North China."

If I rashly take action against him, it will inevitably cause panic among other traitors, and they will inevitably feel that our empire is discarding us after we have served our purpose. This will inevitably affect our strategy of using Chinese to control Chinese and our rule in North China.

Therefore, I can only remain silent for the time being, allowing him to be arrogant and do as he pleases.

"And you, Takuto, you killed him in public today. The crime could be 'colluding with foreign enemies, failing to govern effectively, and causing the assassination of an important official.' It would be perfectly justified and reasonable. No one could say anything about it, and no one could find fault with it."

Terauchi Hisaichi revealed a cold smile, a smile that sent chills down one's spine: "This not only eliminates Wang Kemin, a major threat, but also serves as a warning to those other cunning dogs, and to those traitors who harbor evil intentions and want to betray us."

Let them understand that betraying our empire and our North China Army will lead to the same fate as Wang Kemin: a death without a burial place.

Let them understand that our empire is not to be deceived, and our North China Area Army is not to be trifled with.

Let them understand that they are merely our tools; we can bestow wealth and luxury upon them, and we can take their lives at any time.

At this point, Terauchi Hisaichi even revealed a smug smile, but that smile remained cold and cruel, devoid of any warmth.

"Tuoren, if you feel that one Wang Kemin is not enough to quell the storm, not enough to let you vent your anger, and not enough to deter those petty scoundrels..."

Throughout the provisional government, there were many traitors like him who held positions without performing their duties, harbored ulterior motives, and were insatiably greedy.

Tang Erhe, Wang Yitang, Qi Xieyuan...

Even the standing committee members in charge of specific matters—if you dislike them, or if you think they still have value and want to use them to quell the storm.

They wanted to use their lives to intimidate the villains.

If we want to use their heads to gain even greater benefits, we can drag out a few more and, under the guise of "purging internal corruption, rectifying officialdom, and cracking down on treacherous officials," deal with them all at once.