Spy Wars: I am the Captain of the Military Police

After figuring this out, Zhou Zhengqing's expression returned to its previous calmness, even with a hint of just the right amount of embarrassment: "Your Majesty's painstaking efforts, I understand.

It's just that... the balance is so difficult to grasp. We have to cause trouble for the military, but we also have to avoid really shaking the war situation, and we also have to avoid getting burned... Alas, it's like walking on thin ice."

Jingren looked at Zhou Zhengqing's embarrassed look as a "loyal minister and good general" and couldn't help laughing again. He patted him on the shoulder and said, "Takasaki-kun, His Majesty and I know your abilities.

Just do it with confidence. As long as you don’t really poke a hole in the sky, someone will take care of it for you.

Otherwise, why do you think I didn’t stay in Kyoto and had to come to you for “experience”?

Isn't it just to play the supporting role for you, the "Big Buddha", and by the way... also to serve as a "talisman"? "

This statement is almost explicit.

The fact that Prince Jingren, as a member of the royal family and the emperor's younger brother, condescended to serve under Zhou Zhengqing was in itself a very strong political signal, meaning that some of Zhou Zhengqing's "extraordinary" behaviors were tacitly approved by the royal family.

This relationship is an extremely precious amulet within the Japanese army, which has a strict hierarchy and numerous factions.

Zhou Zhengqing's mind suddenly became clear, and many of his previous doubts were answered.

Why did Jingren easily agree to stay in the military police system after hearing what he said? Why was a prince willing to get along with people like Itai Yudai and Koto Saburo and hang out with them?

It turns out that there are reasons for everything.

I had some guesses before, but now that Jingren said it himself, it verified my previous thoughts.

He lifted the bottle of sake from the small table beside the carriage seat and poured a small cup for Jingren and himself. Then, raising his cup, he solemnly said, "Your Highness, please convey to His Majesty that I will fulfill my duty to safeguard the interests of the empire and its stability."

Zhou Zhengqing emphasized the word "stable" a little more.

Jingren smiled knowingly, raised his glass and clinked it with Zhou Zhengqing's: "For the empire, and for... balance." The two smiled at each other and drank the slightly cool sake in the glass.

The wine goes down my throat, with a hint of spiciness and a tacit understanding.

The slight feeling of drunkenness from sake still lingered in his throat, and the brief warm atmosphere in the carriage was broken by Prince Jingren's next more sensitive topic.

He seemed to adjust his sitting posture inadvertently, and his eyes refocused on Zhou Zhengqing with a sense of inquiry.

"Speaking of which, there's another strange thing." Jingren lowered his voice, speaking with the tone of someone sharing a secret: "Takazaki-kun, regarding the 'strange incident' the Tenth Army encountered in Jinshanwei, do you...do the military police system have any more accurate information?"

Zhou Zhengqing's heart tightened slightly, but his face remained calm.

He knew that this problem would come up sooner or later. After all, the 10th Army's reports of "encountering an invincible mysterious force" and "heavenly fire and thunder" were no longer secrets in high-level circles, but were strictly blocked from the outside world.

He didn't expect Jingren to suddenly bring up this matter at this moment, just after revealing the Emperor's intentions.

"Your Highness has heard about it too?" Zhou Zhengqing pretended to be silent, picked up the wine glass, took a sip, and used this brief moment to organize his thoughts.

"It's more than just hearsay." Jingren smiled, but there was no warmth in that smile, instead it was filled with a hint of confusion and curiosity: "The palace has also heard the news.

Your Majesty is quite curious about this matter.

After all, an entire army encountered such an incredible ambush during a landing operation and suffered heavy losses, but the report was written like a gay novel, which really undermined the dignity of the Imperial Army.

Even more outrageous is that the report also mentioned that some soldiers swore that they saw faces that looked like Westerners using weapons they had never seen before. . . This is simply . . . "

Jingren shook his head, as if he found it difficult to speak: "Your Majesty asked me to ask you privately, your Tianjin Military Police Headquarters is in North China, although it is far from the south, but Nakamura and Banjing and others have been there, so they must be well-informed.

What on earth is going on? Could it be that those Westerners in the Shanghai Concession, unable to contain themselves, secretly left?"

Zhou Zhengqing put down his wine glass, his face showing the seriousness and doubt that befitted his position: "I have indeed ordered the Intelligence Department to step up its investigation into this matter.

However, to date, no conclusive evidence has been obtained to support certain bizarre claims in the Tenth Army report.

Zhou Zhengqing first set the tone, denying supernatural and bizarre elements.

"Regarding the so-called 'skyfire' and 'thunderbolt,'" Zhou Zhengqing continued, his tone calm as he analyzed a problem. "Based on what we've learned from other channels, it's more likely that the weather was bad at the time, and our landing troops, in the chaos, encountered extremely fierce enemy heavy artillery fire, possibly some new type of powerful incendiary weapon or explosive device.

It is also common on the battlefield for soldiers to panic and exaggerate descriptions of explosions and flames at night or in conditions of poor visibility."

Zhou Zhengqing cleverly attributed the traces of "missiles" and "rocket launchers" to "heavy artillery groups" and "new weapons", which makes logical sense.

"As for the suspected foreign armed personnel you mentioned?" Zhou Zhengqing frowned, a thoughtful expression on his face. "I have reservations about this.

The various powers within the Shanghai Concession were indeed intertwined and many people were dissatisfied with the empire's advance into central China.

But to say they dared to openly send organized armed personnel to directly engage the Imperial Army... "

Zhou Zhengqing paused, shook his head, and said in a more affirmative tone: "The possibility is extremely low.

This is tantamount to declaring war directly on the empire. Under the current international situation, countries such as Britain, the United States, and France may not have such courage, nor may it be worth taking such a huge risk to delay the imperial offensive.

The more likely scenario is that the 10th Army encountered elite Chinese troops equipped with some imported weapons or with a few foreign advisers as their guide.

For example... some of the Chinese Central Army trained by the German military advisory group, or some troops that received Soviet aid.

It's also possible that soldiers made mistakes in the heat of battle or exaggerated individual incidents."

Zhou Zhengqing's explanation is reasonable and logical. It not only denies the "mysterious power", but also minimizes the possibility of "foreign intervention", leading to a direction that is more in line with the logic of conventional warfare.

Prince Jingren listened and nodded slowly, as if digesting Zhou Zhengqing's analysis.

After a while, he sighed, his tone filled with an indescribable complex emotion: "You have a point. The Westerners in the concession are accustomed to playing tricks. Providing weapons and intelligence from behind might be possible, but personally taking action... the price is indeed too high...

Your Majesty actually agrees with you, but there are a few people in the military who believe Yanagawa Heisuke's words and are running around speaking for him, apparently wanting to protect him."