Espionage: Mastering the Ten Cruelest Tortures of the Military Intelligence Bureau from the Start

Under the light, the three boxes were filled with a dazzling golden color.

Three whole boxes of gold bars were neatly arranged in front of everyone.

Even Colonel Yamanami had never seen such a scene. It wasn't that he had never seen gold and gold bars before, but in his stereotype, gold bars were measured in grams, not kilograms.

Then, Su Mingzhe distributed gold bars in order of rank within the research team.

For officers like these, a lifetime's military pay wouldn't be enough to scrape together just one gold bar. With it, their families could live comfortably for the rest of their lives.

The men looked at the gold bars in front of them, their breathing quickening. They wanted them but dared not take them. Then they all looked at Colonel Yamagami's statement.

"Since General Hase is so hospitable, then I shall accept it."

After saying that, he put all the gold bars in front of him into his briefcase.

Following their superior's lead, the remaining officers also carefully pocketed the gold bars in front of them, as these were their guarantee for the rest of their lives.

With this money, militarism, Bushido, and the future of the empire can all go to hell.

Naoki Hase, standing to the side, chuckled and said:

"I have already chosen the location for the research institute. It is located in the Huang Mansion, which is 600 meters north of the Navy Headquarters."

Now that the personnel and equipment are in place, Yamanami-kun, apply for research funding from the Ministry of Finance first thing tomorrow morning.

"If our Songhu Navy gets a bite of meat, you'll get a bite of soup. You'll see my sincerity in this cooperation."

"Yes, General, we will follow your lead."

Colonel Yamanami stood up and bowed deeply to Naoki Hase. Then the other eleven men stood up one by one and repeated Colonel Yamanami's actions, the only difference being that they bowed more deeply.

After glancing at General Hasegawa's gaze, Su Mingzhe got up and went over to help Colonel Yamanami to his feet.

"Yamabin-kun, now that we're in Shanghai, we're all family. There's no need to be so formal."

Su Mingzhe had said this countless times, and he skillfully flashed a professional fake smile.

Now that everything was settled, it was time to drink and chat. The group raised oak cups filled with sake and drank several cups in a row.

After drinking two cups, he switched to tea because he couldn't hold his liquor. His relationship with Naoki Hase no longer cared about the pretense at the dinner table. Besides, given Lieutenant Colonel Tahira's status, there were very few people in the entire Songhu City who could force him to drink.

In the Japanese military system, there are only two ways to get promoted: either find a good father-in-law or be a heavy drinker. Otherwise, climbing up from the bottom is just a pipe dream.

Lieutenant Colonel Tahira is an exception, so the fact that he cannot hold his liquor has long been known.

From the perspective of this research team, Lieutenant Colonel Tian Ping's willingness to have a couple of drinks with them was already a great honor. It also showed them sufficient respect, and that was enough.

To Su Mingzhe's surprise, General Hasegawa drank five cups in a row.

In Su Mingzhe's view, General Hasegawa rarely drank alcohol and was very self-disciplined, as evidenced by his ability to persist in practicing calligraphy for more than a year.

His wise words still resonate with Su Mingzhe: "Alcohol will numb my brain, reduce my intelligence, and make me impulsive, which will cause me to lose money in trading and earn less money."

Su Mingzhe wholeheartedly agreed with this, since in the Osaka people's worldview, earning less is a loss, and not getting a good deal is a loss.

In particular, during his conversation with Naoki Hasegawa, Su Mingzhe didn't take these people seriously at all. Since he had already achieved his goal, there was no need for a naval rear admiral with no hope of promotion to pretend to be friendly with a colonel who was staying in the rear.

Something unusual must be going on. Su Mingzhe watched quietly, occasionally taking a sip of hot tea to soothe his throat.

It seems that General Hase was drinking with Colonel Kanzan?

After several rounds of drinks and several dishes, while everyone was still exchanging pleasantries, Naoki Hasegawa suddenly clapped his hands and called in the guards standing outside the door.

"I'm not trying to belittle it, but the Imperial sake is too bland and tasteless, almost like plain water."

When it comes to alcohol, Chinese baijiu is the strongest and has the most flavorful taste.

We hit it off immediately, let's drink until we're completely drunk!

Before Colonel Yamanami could answer, Su Mingzhe chimed in:

"Lord Yamanami, to tell you the truth, I have never seen our general so thoroughly enjoying himself."

I have served General for so many years, and this is the first time I have ever seen you drink so much.

Honestly, Yamanami-kun, I'm actually a little envious of you.

With just a few words, Colonel Yamagami was put in a difficult position, leaving him with no option to refuse and only the option to passively comply.

Before long, fourteen jugs of strong liquor were neatly arranged on the table, one for each person.

It was probably arranged in advance by General Hasegawa, because the guards pulled the stoppers off the wine jugs in front of everyone without saying a word, and then poured the wine into everyone's cups.

It's clear they can't resist drinking it.

Su Mingzhe was the only exception. The moment the stopper was pulled out, he smelled the unique sweet and sour aroma of dried plum, which was also refreshing. The slight intoxication from the two cups of sake he had just drunk vanished.

Sure enough, no wonder all leaders like to appoint sensible subordinates. Su Mingzhe glanced at the face of the guard who poured him "wine" and silently memorized his appearance.

"Shanbingjun, drink this cup to the brim and taste the baijiu of China!"

Colonel Yamanami hesitated for a moment as he looked at the white wine in his glass, but still chose to gulp it down in one go.

It tasted slightly sweet at first, but soon, a strong spicy sensation surged up from his stomach and rushed straight to the top of his head.

Colonel Yamagami's distress and fear of losing his composure amused General Hase, who burst into laughter.

"Yama-no-kun, this is not how you drink Chinese liquor."

Then, he demonstrated by taking a small sip.

Colonel Yamanami: "Politeness, is that you?"

About half an hour later, all eleven of the group collapsed, leaving only Colonel Yamanami still struggling to hold on.

General Hasegawa glanced at Su Mingzhe, then looked at the group of people slumped over the table. Su Mingzhe immediately understood, and then called in the guards to pull the group away.

Looking at Naoki Hase again, he showed no signs of drunkenness whatsoever, and instead looked like a shrewd businessman.

"Yamahime-kun, I heard you and Kobayashi Yuji are from the same hometown? You even saved his life once?"

Upon hearing this, Colonel Yamagami sobered up instantly. This topic was indeed sensitive, because Yuji Kobayashi was an army officer, and any wrong word he said would cause trouble.

However, he had drunk far too much, and the aftereffects of the liquor made it impossible for him to regain his senses.

Colonel Miyama was somewhat silent. Su Mingzhe pondered for a moment, carefully considering his words, and then said:

"Yamahi-kun, the general's older brother, Hase Akio, was also an army officer, but he died for His Majesty the Heavenly Locust during a flight operation two years ago."

Upon hearing Lieutenant Colonel Tanahira's words, Colonel Yamanami finally lowered his guard.

"Since Kobayashi and I went down completely different paths, we have had much less contact, only exchanging a few telegrams in private to let each other know we are safe."

If he were to say such things in public, it would be tantamount to cutting off his career. The Imperial Navy would never allow its noble navy and lowly army idiots to mix together.

Since Colonel Miyama had already said that, Naoki Hase knew that he had let down his guard and finally revealed his ultimate goal.

"According to my intelligence, the army will launch a military operation against Hubei Province in May or June, but there is a huge shortage of supplies."

Colonel Kobayashi is currently in charge of logistics, and I'm willing to help him out of his immediate predicament. I wonder if Mr. Yamanami could introduce me to him?

As for the transaction price?

We're all family, it's easy to talk things out.