On the morning of the second day after the Navy Department's dinner to welcome Colonel Joseph Clark, Shigemitsu Aoki, who had been silent for two days, hurriedly asked Er Yuyu Shifu to find John Clark and ask Fang Lang to have lunch with him.
The venue was set at an izakaya not far from the United States Naval Club. This izakaya had a very maritime name, called Langhua Izakaya. Fang Lang didn't know how to pronounce it specifically in Japanese, but from the text it looked like the word "Langhua" was indeed written in Chinese.
This time, Shigemitsu Aoi invited Fang Lang alone, so John did not go with him. Fang Lang went with a group of guards and his adjutant Qi Qingshan.
It’s not that Fang Lang is afraid of death, and he is always accompanied by a lot of guards wherever he goes, but his current identity, plus some of the things he did to the Japanese in Brazil, make the guards dare not let him go out alone.
Because it was noon, there were not many customers in the pub. Fang Lang's guards had checked inside and out. After confirming that there was nothing unusual, Qi Qingshan came to Fang Lang's car window and whispered to Fang Lang:
"Boss, there is only Mr. Shigemitsu Aoki and a middle-aged couple in the pub. The middle-aged couple said they are the owners of the pub!"
Fang Lang looked through the car window at the not-so-big izakaya. It would be normal if it was a husband-and-wife shop. He didn't feel any danger here, so he nodded and pushed open the car door without hesitation and walked in.
After walking in, you will feel the simplicity of this izakaya even more. There is only a row of tables and chairs on the left side of the door. You can count them at a glance: there are only five of them.
On the right is a long bar! In front of the bar are more than ten high stools. This layout is very similar to the small Japanese izakayas that Fang Lang often sees in later generations.
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At this moment, Shigemitsu Aoi was bowing deeply to Fang Lang at the bar counter of the izakaya, and was calling out in a rhythmic voice:
"General, I'm glad you accepted my invitation. It's really rude of me not to be able to greet you at the door in person!"
Seeing this, Fang Lang waved his hand nonchalantly and said:
"Okay, this isn't the first time we've met, so let's not be so polite and just get straight to the point!"
After hearing Fang Lang's words, Shigemitsu Aoi seemed to feel that Fang Lang's attitude was not very good. He thought that Fang Lang felt that he was being neglected, so he quickly took the initiative to explain:
"General, this izakaya is run by one of my old subordinates. Both he and his wife are very reliable people. Because what we want to discuss today is quite confidential, I deliberately invited you here. I definitely don't mean to neglect you!
Please don't take it as an offense!"
Hearing this, Fang Lang glared at the other party in dissatisfaction and said:
"Is meeting with me something shameful? And you have to do it secretly?"
Fang Lang had some vague guesses about Shigemitsu Kui's thoughts. It was that he wanted to join him but didn't want others to know. However, Fang Lang didn't want to be sneaky and wanted everyone to know that Shigemitsu Kui had joined him.
Hearing Fang Lang's unceremonious reprimand, Shigemitsu Aoi's face turned green and red, and he didn't make a sound for a while. However, he was a foreign minister after all, so he had already developed a thick skin. He quickly adjusted his mood and said:
"General, I am doing this so that I can better serve you! Please be so kind as to give me a chance to explain myself."
Although he knew that the old man was looking for an excuse, Fang Lang did not refuse again. After all, this guy still had some value, and it would be a good move if he used him well, so he did not continue to dwell on this issue. If Fang Lang did not want to meet him, he would not come here today. After all, the cultural relics that he and Kodama Yoshio promised to send him have not arrived yet!
Moreover, the other party had not asked him out to play or invite him earlier, but only hurried to ask him out after Joseph Clark arrived in Japan. It was clear what the other party was planning.
"I know exactly what you are thinking. This is your last chance. If there is a next time, don't say I didn't warn you!"
Shigemitsu Aoki also knew what he and Kodama Yoshio had done. After hearing Fang Lang's words, he did not dare to say much. After all, it was such a big thing, and they could not believe what Fang Lang said casually. What if this guy was talking nonsense and deliberately deceiving them?
Therefore, in the past few days, the two of them have been asking around for Fang Lang's specific situation. Unfortunately, among the people they know, almost no one knows about Fang Lang's situation, and they are unable to contact people at a higher level.
It was not until yesterday when they heard that the CEO of the Whip of God Military Contracting Company had suddenly arrived in Japan that they believed what Fang Lang said. Then they heard that the Brazilian rear admiral was also invited to attend the welcome dinner last night.
Although the other party had almost no communication with Joseph Clark throughout the whole process, Joseph Clark's son John Clark accompanied the Brazilian Rear Admiral to chat throughout the process.
What shocked the two men even more was that Mr. Alexander Dodge, the U.S. economic adviser stationed in Japan, actually took the initiative to approach this inconspicuous rear admiral and chatted with him for more than half an hour. No one knew what the two men talked about.
But many people said that the economic adviser and the rear admiral had a very good chat, and they drank frequently during the process, and even clinked their glasses at the end! The economic adviser, Mr. Dodge, seemed to be in a very good mood throughout the dinner.
From this, it can be inferred that the inconspicuous Brazilian Rear Admiral in front of him is definitely not as simple as he appears. Therefore, Shigemitsu Aoki made up his mind to have another good chat with Fang Lang.
Now when Shigemitsu Aoi faced Fang Lang again, he no longer had the arrogance he had before. Instead, he behaved very politely, even a little servile.
After hearing Fang Lang's scolding, he did not show any dissatisfaction. Instead, he bowed again to apologize, and respectfully extended his right hand to point to the innermost table in the pub and said:
"Please rest assured, General. This is definitely the last time. I will never doubt your words again. I hope you can show me the grace this time and give me a chance to atone for my sins."
Upon hearing this, Fang Lang glared at the other person unkindly, and walked towards the inside with big strides, while saying unyieldingly:
"That's not how you atone for your sins. Have you ever heard of the phrase 'atonement for sins with merits'? You have to do enough good deeds to earn my forgiveness.
Do you understand? "
Although Fang Lang spoke very harshly, he actually gave the other party a chance to perform, otherwise he would not have accepted the other party's invitation at all. Both parties were very clear about this.
Shigemitsu Aoi also understood that now was the time to show his sincerity, so he walked inside with Fang Lang and said to him:
"General, I understand that we have not relaxed at all in the past two days. Mr. Kodama and I have collected more than a thousand precious Chinese cultural relics for you, including 400 pieces of porcelain, 300 pieces of calligraphy and paintings, more than 100 pieces of jade, and more than 200 pieces of miscellaneous items such as ivory carvings, rhinoceros horn cups and inkstones.
I assure you that these are rare treasures, and their specific value is inestimable. In order to express my and Mr. Kodama's apologies, we will not take a penny of these cultural relics, and will give them all to His Excellency the General as a gift of apology. I also hope that His Excellency the General will not bear grudges against me and forgive my ignorance. "
Fang Lang's eyes lit up when he heard this. More than a thousand precious cultural relics were not a small number. Moreover, Fang Lang estimated that these two guys would definitely not dare to deceive him now because they could not afford the serious consequences of deceiving themselves.
However, although Fang Lang was very happy in his heart, he would never show it in front of this guy, because he knew very well that these guys would definitely not have only such a few Chinese cultural relics in their hands. If he showed that he was too easily satisfied, the other party would look down on him.
Therefore, he paused and turned to look at Shigemitsu Aoi beside him, frowning and looking dissatisfied:
"It took you more than three days to collect more than a thousand cultural relics. This efficiency is very unsatisfactory. However, you still have three days. If your efficiency still cannot satisfy me, then what we said before will be useless.
I won’t work with trash.”
Fang Lang's words could be said to be extremely contemptuous, which made Shigemitsu Aoki, who had been trying to please Fang Lang and was secretly waiting for his praise with some pride, suddenly look very ugly.
In his opinion, more than a thousand precious cultural relics were already a very large number, but he did not expect that the other party was still dissatisfied, which made him secretly worried. The other party's appetite was so big that he was a little frightened! What could such a person need to satisfy him!
Although he knew that Kodama Yoshio still had a lot of stock, these would have other uses in the future and it was impossible to hand them all over to General Fang at once.
Moreover, he had spent a lot of money to convince Kodama Yoshio to give this batch of cultural relics to the guy in front of him for free. If he continued to give them away, it might empty their family's funds. This would not be worth the loss.
However, Fang Lang obviously knew that some things cannot be forced too much. There is gain only when there is sacrifice. He also did not think of taking these things from them for free. It would be better to pay a moderate amount of money to keep the other party hanging and let them willingly hand over the Chinese cultural relics in their hands.
In the future, I have plenty of ways to squeeze out the money given to them bit by bit. For example, giving Shigemitsu Mamoru a special amnesty order won't be free! Isn't this price just a random offer from Fang Lang?
As long as I understand their financial situation, I don't believe that they will not comply.
Therefore, Fang Lang continued without waiting for the other party to speak:
“Also, I’m not someone who likes to take advantage of others. I don’t need you to give me cultural relics. If I say I’ll buy them, I will definitely pay for them.
You only need to send the collected cultural relics to the naval base. My people will naturally carefully identify their authenticity and make an appraisal. At that time, I will pay the corresponding amount of US dollars as the cost of purchasing the cultural relics. You can also use the US dollars I pay to continue purchasing cultural relics for me.
Moreover, I don’t care what price you purchase at, the price I give is absolutely fair.
Do you understand? "
Shigemitsu Mamoru did not expect that Fang Lang would directly reject his gift. Instead, he generously said that he would settle the bill directly in US dollars.
Now in Japan, the US dollar is real hard currency. If you convert it into Japanese yen and sell it to the other party, you may not only not lose money, but you may even make money.
Thinking of this, his originally ugly expression instantly eased, and he couldn't help but smile, and hurriedly said:
"Yes, yes, General, I am short-sighted.
After I return, I will immediately mobilize funds and try to find as many Chinese antiques as possible for you in the remaining time. I will never let you down again."
Fang Lang naturally could not hide the change in Shigemitsu Aoki's expression. Seeing the other party's expression immediately relaxed after hearing him say that he would pay US dollars for the cultural relics, Fang Lang sneered in his heart, but did not show any expression on his face.
As if she had forgiven his mistake after hearing his words, she slowly sat down at the dining table and said with a slightly dissatisfied tone:
"Don't be so confident now. I will see how you perform when the time comes. If you can't satisfy me, it won't matter how much you say."
Shigemitsu Aoki did not have the demeanor of a Japanese foreign minister at this moment. He stood opposite Fang Lang with a flattering smile on his face and said:
"Please rest assured, General. I will never let you down."
Seeing the other party's respectful look, Fang Lang casually waved his hand to signal him to sit down and said:
"Okay, no more nonsense. Just tell me why you asked me to meet you this time!"
Shigemitsu Aoki was not surprised by Fang Lang's straightforward remarks. In his opinion, this young Brazilian rear admiral was an arrogant and greedy bastard who would never be polite to him. If he didn't need anything from him, he would never want to say a word to such a rude guy.
Seeing the other party motioning for him to sit down, he didn't hesitate and pulled out the stool and sat opposite Fang Lang.
"General, I took the liberty of inviting you here today mainly because I wanted to report to you on our preparations for the Chinese cultural relics, and I also wanted to ask about the specific delivery method."
Hearing this, Fang Lang waved his hands impatiently and said:
"Don't say these nonsense. Don't say I won't believe it. Just tell me if you believe it yourself.
I'm busy and don't have time to talk nonsense with you here, so please don't waste our time, OK? "
Shigemitsu Aoi didn't get angry when he heard Fang Lang's impolite words. He just smiled awkwardly, then slowly turned his head and looked around. He saw that there was no one else standing around except the two armed guards standing at the door and the officer standing not far away, staring at him. Even the shop owner and his wife were not at the bar!
He placed his hands on the table, leaned forward slightly, and spoke to Fang Lang in a low voice:
"General, if, in accordance with your wishes, I take the initiative to stand up and admit the crimes committed by Japan during the war, and am willing to kowtow and apologize for them.
I don't know what other help you can give me besides getting me a pardon."
Hearing this, Fang Lang couldn't help but frown and almost lost his composure. However, he quickly realized that the guy in front of him was not truly repentant at all, and it was just a political show at most.
This made him frown and he shouted directly:
"What do you mean by following my wishes? Whether you are willing to admit your mistakes or not is your own wish. What does it have to do with me?
I'm just telling you that doing this will make it easier for me to get you a pardon! You're actually asking for other benefits? What do you think this is? A deal?"
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