"Workers of the world, unite!"
This is the last sentence of The Communist Manifesto, and also its most famous sentence!
Mihara Kashiwa wrote this sentence on the back of this group photo, which naturally carries a different meaning. Clearly, the people in the photo must be like-minded comrades of his.
Yuji Imai pointed to the last man in the photo and asked, "Have you found out the identity of the other person?"
"No, we spent a lot of time and effort but still couldn't confirm the identity of the last person. It seems that the only way is to capture Takasugi Hitoshi and find out who this person is from him."
Ono Matsunaga shook his head and continued, "It should be noted that Takasugi Jinki's identity is rather special. He entered the East Asia Dobun Academy in his youth, and after graduation, he joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' newspaper. During this time, he was sent to work in inland China many times. After the Battle of Shanghai, he was sent to China again. Now he is under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We feel that this matter should not be made too public, and we are preparing to make a secret arrest and send him back to the country for investigation as soon as possible. That is why we asked Colonel to help us complete this task!"
Upon hearing this, Yuji Imai's expression immediately changed, and he said in surprise, "Is this person an intelligence agent from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs?"
The East Asia Tongwen Academy mentioned by Ono Matsunaga may not be known to others, but as a veteran spy, Imai Yuji naturally knows that it was the earliest spy academy established by Japan in China.
This academy was founded at the beginning of this century in Shanghai. Initially, it was established under the guise of promoting Sino-Japanese friendship and operating under the name of an educational institution. However, from beginning to end, it was a spy agency for the Japanese side to collect intelligence on China and cultivate new forces.
The students recruited are all Japanese teenagers. They study Chinese language, literature, history and geography at this school, gaining a comprehensive understanding of the politics, economy, communications, industry, products, transportation, geography and customs of various parts of China.
After graduating from the academy, half of the students stayed in China, serving in various levels of Japanese invasion agencies or puppet regimes throughout Northeast, North, Central, and South China. Their professions varied, including government officials, scholars, military translators, and newspaper reporters. However, they all basically served the intelligence agencies of various major Japanese departments and had backgrounds as intelligence personnel. They became an important force among Japanese intelligence agents in China. Many of the spies arrested by Ning Zhiheng were graduates of this academy.
Now, Takasugi Hitoki is in the same situation, which makes Imai Yuji hesitate.
Although the intelligence department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has a low profile and its level of secrecy and authority are not high, it is not something that the Special Higher Police can arrest at will. If the matter is leaked and causes disputes and problems, he is absolutely unwilling to bear the responsibility.
Seeing Yuji Imai's expression, Ono Matsunaga knew what the other was thinking and quickly advised, "Colonel, we believe this is the most effective method. As long as we act discreetly, the disappearance of a journalist in China will not attract attention. Once we interrogate him and confirm his communist identity, even if the Ministry of Foreign Affairs finds out, they will not be able to object!"
"You're being too naive. Nanjing isn't North China; it's not up to our Special Higher Police to make decisions. The military is in charge of things in Nanjing right now."
Yuji Imai's face was cold. Of course, he was unwilling to take the blame. He continued, "I cannot do this on my own. I need to consult the North China headquarters. If Section Chief Tsuchihara agrees to do so, then I will carry it out. If I do not receive orders from Section Chief Tsuchihara, then I can only apologize."
The Special Higher Police (THT) is a special case. They were originally just a police department under the Ministry of Home Affairs, but they developed rapidly in China. Under Keiji Tsuchihara, they quickly transformed into a large-scale, quasi-military foreign intelligence agency. Therefore, the THT headquarters is located in North China, and the Tokyo THT is just a branch under it. It has no right to forcibly order Yuji Imai around.
Ono Matsunaga and Abe Rikuzan exchanged a glance. They had anticipated the current situation before they came. After all, they couldn't openly discuss such matters, and no one would take the risk for nothing.
Ono Matsunaga nodded and said, "Before we came, headquarters had already reported the situation to Section Chief Tsuchihara. I think you will receive orders from headquarters soon."
"Then let me wait until I receive orders from headquarters before making the arrest!"
Yuji Imai's expression softened slightly, but another thought came to his mind. If Takasugi Jinki was indeed a true communist, then his long stay in China meant he was very likely to have made contact with Chinese communists, or the underground Communist Party. In that case, wouldn't he be able to follow this lead to find traces of the underground Communist Party?
While waiting for orders from headquarters, I can monitor and track them. If I can gain something from this, wouldn't that be wonderful?
Yuji Imai thought about it and it made more and more sense. He looked at Ono and Matsunaga, his expression softened, and he said with a smile, "How about this, before we receive the telegram from headquarters, I will send people to monitor the target. If you two are not comfortable with this, you can also participate in this work."
"That's great! Everything will be arranged by Colonel!" Ono Matsunaga naturally nodded in agreement. He was even more nervous about Takasugi Hitoshi, fearing that the other party would slip out of his sight and control. It would be best if he could monitor him at all times, and if he could discover anything, that would be the icing on the cake.
The next morning, at the Futian Hotel near the Nanjing Special Higher Police Department, He Siming washed up, changed into a brand-new white suit, and deliberately pinned a dark red handkerchief to his left breast pocket. He glanced at his watch, calculating the time, opened the door, and listened to the sounds outside.
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