Chapter 47: Special Service Section I

Chapter 47: The Special Service Section, Part I

In his application report, Xu Ruiyang proposed renaming the Special Police General Corps to the Special Service Section. Given the generally low caliber of the current police force, only a small fraction of the original personnel would be retained, while the majority would be secretly recruited from society. Priority would be given to stranded military personnel and unemployed young elites in Shanghai, effectively bringing about a thorough overhaul.

The mission of the Special Service Section was to counter the agents of the Chongqing Government and the underground party. It would be structured into an Office, a General Affairs Unit, an Anti-Espionage Unit, and a Communications Unit, alongside an Action Squad and a Guard Squad. Its external facade would be the Shanghai Hongyuan Trading Company.

The application respectfully invited him and Tsukamoto Kiyoshi, the Chief of the Police Affairs Section of the Shanghai Kenpeitai Headquarters, to serve as supreme advisors to guide the specific work of the Section.

For office space, the report requested the allocation of a designated property, alongside two automobiles, two transport trucks, radio equipment, and weaponry.

The personnel establishment totaled ninety-three individuals, broken down as follows: six for the office and archives; twenty for the General Affairs Unit, including clerks, drivers, and logistics personnel; twenty-four for the Anti-Espionage Unit, split evenly between foreign and ordinary anti-espionage desks; six for the communications unit; twelve for the action squad; twenty-four for the guard squad; and Xu Ruiyang himself.

This establishment was genuinely modest, which demonstrated Xu Ruiyang’s cleverness. Fearing that starting with too large a scale would make Hanaki Keiei perceive him as overly ambitious and trying to bite off more than he could chew, he downgraded departments into units, making the setup much less conspicuous.

"Xu-kun, strengthening our capacity to suppress underground organizations is my duty and mission. I approve of the establishment of the Special Service Section in principle, but we still need to seek instructions from Excellency Machijiri, and coordinate properly with the Shanghai Kenpeitai Headquarters. Tomorrow, make a special report to General Miura and strive for his support. However, it seems you forgot to write down your application for operational funding?" Hanaki Keiei asked.

Upon reading the application report, his favorable impression of Xu Ruiyang deepened. He considered the man a pragmatic doer whose steps were exceptionally solid and steady. If Xu had started out with a massive scale and bloated establishment, Hanaki's impression of him would have been discounted; one must eat a meal one bite at a time.

In truth, Xu Ruiyang’s concept was hardly novel. The so-called Special Service Section was modeled after the organizational framework of the Manchukuo Security Bureau, albeit on a smaller scale—perhaps because Xu Ruiyang felt more comfortable with that operational mode.

"I was just about to report to you, Lieutenant Colonel. The funds required for an intelligence agency to handle cases are staggering. Considering your difficulties, I am applying for the authority to issue special cargo transit passes, allowing us to utilize Shanghai's commodities to engage in commerce within the occupied territories and raise a portion of our funds independently."

"The Hongyuan Trading Company also needs some business operations to serve as cover. The Police Department's Detective Squad has crammed a bunch of people over to me, and since I don't want to clash with my colleagues right after arriving, I plan to arrange for them to be put to useless work in the company. They won't be spying on intelligence or arresting underground party members, but running a business is fine, right?"

"However, I am still unfamiliar with the situation in Shanghai and haven't figured out how to operate it yet. Therefore, the personnel of the Special Service Section will temporarily remain under the police establishment, drawing their salaries from the Police Department. Operational funds can be applied for on a provisional basis. Furthermore, Excellency Machijiri specially approved ten thousand yuan for me, which should also be used as funding," Xu Ruiyang said.

"No, no, no. The money specially approved by Colonel Machijiri Sadasu was for you to settle in. I am deeply moved by your dedication, but public and private matters must be kept separate. You cannot use your own money to subsidize the organization's operating expenses."

"As for the special service organization of Li Shiqun and his associates, pursuant to the instructions of the Chief of the General Staff of the Imperial Army at Headquarters, we will allocate three hundred thousand yen per month from the customs duties of the Jianghai Customs as their routine operating expenses, alongside provisions of firearms and ammunition. They have not yet received word of this; I will announce it during the meeting shortly."

"Here is what we will do: I will consult with Colonel Machijiri, and once the affairs of the new government are settled, a special fund will be allocated to you so you can handle contraband transactions in Shanghai."

"Actually, making money in Shanghai is not difficult at all. You can purchase goods smuggled from the Nationalist-controlled areas at low prices or directly confiscate them, then hand them over to designated Japanese merchants to reap huge amounts of capital. I will first issue you a transport certificate—this is the passage document for the Lingnan Trading Company, which enjoys unimpeded transit throughout Shanghai," Hanaki Keiei said thoughtfully.

From these remarks, Xu Ruiyang gathered a crucial piece of information: Li Shiqun and his faction had just recently gained strong support from the Japanese military. Previously, they had merely been minor factions subordinate to Japanese intelligence agencies.

"Lieutenant Colonel, just now, Mr. Li Shiqun asked me to join their organization so that both sides can unite and better serve the Empire. What are your views on this?" Xu Ruiyang asked.

"Xu-kun, you are a graduate of the Manchukuo Police Academy. Because you protected the Kwantung Army's military secrets and cracked two espionage cases, you were awarded the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette, by His Majesty the Emperor. Excellency Nishi Yoshiaki recommended you, and we believe you are entirely suitable."

"In the future, the new government in the Central China region, much like Manchukuo, will be jointly formed by three pillars to maintain social stability: intelligence agencies, the police, and the Kenpeitai. The corruption of the police system has caused us no small amount of distress, and we hope to see you bring about reforms in this area."

"Joining is necessary. In the future new government of Mr. Wang, Li Shiqun and his men will play the leading roles. Even if they hadn't spoken up, I would have arranged a suitable position for you. But you must understand your own positioning," Hanaki Keiei said.

"These are some individuals whom the Police Department's Detective Squad forced into the Special Police General Corps. I hope you will step in, Lieutenant Colonel, and send these people back. With the support of the Imperial advisors, I lack the capacity to fend off such interference." Xu Ruiyang took out the roster he had compiled and handed it to Hanaki Keiei.

"Their perspective is far too narrow; they are forever fixated on the Police Department's turf and refuse to let go. Speaking of which, the people they are targeting are me. I will handle this matter tomorrow. There are only forty-in-all-three individuals, of which ten were sent by the Detective Squad to cause trouble, and twenty-four are connections of influential people. They really have the nerve to pull such stunts!" Hanaki Keiei's face turned extremely unsightly.

As they were speaking, the attendees for the meeting arrived one after another, followed by Li Shiqun, who knocked on the door to announce his presence.

Stepping outside to take a look, Xu Ruiyang saw Lu Ying and Tsukamoto Kiyoshi representing the Police Department, while Okamura Saju and Nanjo Kuniko represented the Special Service Section. It was evident that these four individuals formed the core members of the intelligence network Hanaki Keiei was constructing.

In addition, there were a dozen unfamiliar faces—doubtless subordinates of Li Shiqun and Ding Mozhen, who served as junior leaders within the Detective Squad.

"Section Chief Okamura, Miss Kuniko, good evening!" Xu Ruiyang proactively bowed to the two prominent figures of the Special Service Section.

"Good evening, Xu-kun!" Okamura Saju smiled and returned a slight bow.

"Once you put on the police uniform, your image and demeanor completely transformed!" Nanjo Kuniko said with a smile.

Hanaki Keiei and most of the people in the room were somewhat astonished by the scene unfolding before them. How was it that Xu Ruiyang, having just arrived in Shanghai, already knew Okamura Saju and Nanjo Kuniko?