Chapter 57: The Flower of the Empire (Part I)

Chapter 57: Above the Empire

"Director, a classified telegram has arrived from Sirius. The Chief of the Military Affairs Section of the Japanese Ministry of War, Sadaaki Kagesa, departed from Japan's Miike Port by ship and arrived in Hanoi on the sixteenth. Based on the timeline, Wang Jingwei is expected to reach Shanghai by the end of the month!" Mao Renfeng hurried into Dai Li's mansion.

"Our Sirius has gone into action, and his very first transmission is top-tier intelligence. Notify the action team in Hanoi to withdraw; they no longer have a chance to strike at Wang Jingwei!"

"Telegraph Wang Tianmou immediately. Order him to organize the elite forces of the Shanghai Station, ready to assassinate Wang Jingwei in Shanghai at any moment. Also, notify Sirius to closely monitor Wang Jingwei's arrival time in Shanghai," Dai Li instructed.

Assassinating Wang Jingwei, eradicating this ultimate traitor in Chinese history, was a direct order given to the Military Statistics Bureau by the Chairman. It had to be done, regardless of the difficulty!

Though everyone knew the immense difficulty of this task, Dai Li and the Military Statistics Bureau had no room for choice. Conversely, this was precisely where the value of the Military Statistics Bureau lay; the Chairman did not expect the agents of the Central Statistics Bureau to accomplish such a feat at all!

"Wang Jingwei has just survived an assassination attempt in Hanoi. The Japanese must have arranged extremely tight security measures for him. It will likely be very difficult for the Shanghai Station to find an opportunity in a short time," Mao Renfeng said.

Vietnam currently belonged to the French sphere of influence, where the Japanese forces could not fully assert themselves, which was why the action team had been given an opportunity. However, once in the occupied territory of Shanghai, the Japanese and puppet forces held an overwhelming advantage, and the gendarmerie and secret service organs would certainly be on guard against assassinations by the Military Statistics Bureau.

One could easily imagine that Wang Jingwei's residence in Shanghai would be heavily guarded with sentries every few steps, surrounded by various undercover surveillance personnel. Even getting close would be a major problem.

"Even if we can't find an opportunity, we must look for one. This time, we will prepare a dual strategy. Have Dai Xingbing come see me later; I plan to send him to Shanghai under the guise of a special commissioner to go undercover and secretly defect to Wang Jingwei."

"He was formerly a member of the Reorganization Clique, so Wang Jingwei shouldn't harbor too much suspicion toward him. The moment an opportunity arises, he is to directly order the Shanghai Station to execute the assassination," Dai Li said after a moment of thought.

Dai Xingbing was currently a major general in the Military Statistics Bureau and belonged to the old guard of the Lixingshe Special Service Section.

The so-called Reorganization Clique was a prominent faction in the early days of the Chongqing government, founded by Chen Gongbo and others. Wang Jingwei maintained very close private ties with the Reorganization Clique.

Dai Xingbing had previously been a member of the Reorganization Clique as well. Leveraging this connection, it should be relatively easy for him to gain trust, especially since Chen Gongbo, one of the founders of the Reorganization Clique, was a staunch supporter of Wang Jingwei.

To accomplish the mission of assassinating Wang Jingwei, deploying a major-general-rank agent to stage a fake defection showed just how far Dai Li was willing to go, sparing no expense. While the Military Statistics Bureau had no shortage of major generals, a major general was not a major; they were not a dime a dozen and still carried considerable weight.

"The second undercover cell reported that Xu Ruiyang's girlfriend, Wu Yaqing, is currently a peripheral member of the Shanghai Branch of the Three Principles of the Youth Corps. She is only responsible for charitable work, such as raising funds and supplies to relief refugees, and is not involved in confidential matters," Mao Renfeng reported.

"She joined the Three Principles of the Youth Corps? Strictly speaking, that is also our Chongqing government's anti-Japanese organization. Since it doesn't involve espionage work, let's not take any action against her for now."

"In the future, we should formally absorb her into our Military Statistics Bureau family, gradually making her an assistant to Sirius. What future does a young girl have in the Three Principles of the Youth Corps?" Dai Li said with a smile.

The slogans shouted by the Three Principles of the Youth Corps could fool patriotic, hot-blooded youths, but they couldn't fool the big boss of the Military Statistics Bureau like him. In reality, both the Military Statistics Bureau and the Central Statistics Bureau had their own spheres of influence within the Three Principles of the Youth Corps, though for now, their efforts were not overly overt.

When it came to investment in the Three Principles of the Youth Corps, the Central Statistics Bureau held an advantage over the Military Statistics Bureau. After all, the Central Statistics Bureau was the intelligence organ of the Central Executive Committee and paid special attention to youth and students. Their degree of infiltration into patriotic organizations, factories, and schools was something the Military Statistics Bureau could simply not match.

The primary development direction of the Military Statistics Bureau was the military, gendarmerie, and police; it was a military-style intelligence organization, and its developmental trajectory was different.

Wang Baohe Restaurant.

Faced with Nanzo Yuko's invitation, Xu Ruiyang naturally dared not neglect it. She was a female intelligence officer of the Special Service Section, and her specific function was dealing with Chongqing government agents and underground party members. Having been invited for seven o'clock, he arrived at half past six.

An invitation from someone of her stature was often just a casual remark, and showing up was a matter of giving face. Xu Ruiyang reserved a private room and ordered a few dishes in advance. About ten minutes later, Nanzo Yuko pushed open the door.

She was wearing a blue cheongsam with a jacket over it. Upon entering the room, she took off her jacket and hung it on the coat rack, revealing a sleeveless cheongsam that exposed her snow-white arms. Her demeanor was elegant and luxurious, displaying her exquisite and alluring bodily curves.

"Miss Yuko, it is my honor to have dinner with such an imperial beauty and intelligence officer!" Xu Ruiyang pulled out the chair for Nanzo Yuko in a very gentlemanly manner.

"Section Chief Xu is too modest. I admire young talents who can contribute to the Empire above all else. To have been awarded a medal of honor by His Majesty the Emperor—just for such an achievement, dining with you is my honor!"

"Your ability is beyond doubt. I have read your concluding report on solving the case in Manchukuo. You even uncovered such an unbelievable intelligence transmission method. Such skill is enough to make imperial agents feel ashamed."

"Xu-kun, I believe that in Shanghai, you will achieve even greater merits for the Empire. I look forward to your continued guidance in the future; the Special Service Section might even have to bask in your reflected glory!" Nanzo Yuko said with a smile.

Results-driven!

Upon hearing her words, Xu Ruiyang knew how to respond. This woman probably had no interest in romantic affairs; she was a fanatical militarist. The only way to win her favor was to conquer her with ability. The reason they were able to sit and eat together as equals today relied entirely on the two espionage cases he had cracked in puppet Manchukuo.

"Miss Yuko, for me, achieving results is only a matter of time. But right now, more important than achieving results is familiarizing myself with the environment and building my own network of connections. You might think I am a worldly person, but I believe this is the way to survive." Xu Ruiyang picked up the teapot and poured a cup of tea for Nanzo Yuko.

Since the other party had stated her attitude so directly, he saw no need to be modest. If he wanted to win her favor, he had to speak with confidence.

Looking at the tea cup filled to seven-tenths, Nanzo Yuko smiled and nodded. She was a person who paid great attention to details and valued etiquette, and she naturally appreciated Xu Ruiyang's manners.

"In fact, only very few people know that I was not born in Japan, but in Shanghai. My parents were Japanese expatriates who had lived here for many years prior. Therefore, I am very familiar with everything in Shanghai, and my proficiency in Japanese is actually less fluent than my Chinese."

"It wasn't until I joined the intelligence training of the Special Service Organ that I had the opportunity to return to my hometown in Japan for a visit. Hence, I also have a deep understanding of China's philosophy of worldly wisdom," Nanzo Yuko said.