Jiang Tianhe was a high-ranking official in the Military Intelligence Bureau, and Harada Takeo was an important figure in the Japanese military. The fact that these two people secretly met in Hong Kong, far from the central government, carried extraordinary significance.
At first, Ning Zhiheng thought that Jiang Tianhe had been sent to Hong Kong by the Director for the blueprints, but now it seems that things are not so simple.
Is it possible that Jiang Tianhe has betrayed his country and secretly sided with the Japanese? But after thinking about it carefully, he realized that this possibility was not high. Jiang Tianhe was already a high-ranking official in the Kuomintang's intelligence department, and as far as Ning Zhiheng knew, he was a man of good character. The Japanese had very few bargaining chips to bribe him.
Secondly, if Jiang Tianhe truly had ulterior motives for coming to Hong Kong, he wouldn't have stayed at Yue's residence. It's important to know that Yue Sheng and the Director have a close relationship, and Yue's residence is essentially a branch of the Military Intelligence Bureau in Hong Kong. This means that Jiang Tianhe wasn't acting alone in secret; at the very least, Yue Sheng was aware of his actions, and his actions were approved by the Director.
So what was his reason for coming into contact with Takeo Harada?
Ning Zhiheng recalled that Harada Takeo was a pro-peace faction in the Japanese military. He always advocated for peace talks with the Chongqing government to resolve the China issue in the shortest possible time, so that the Japanese army could extricate itself from the quagmire of China and devote all its efforts to advancing into Southeast Asia, thus realizing Japan's ambition to dominate Asia.
Back when I was in Nanjing, I had a conversation with Harada Takeo at Uehara Junpei's home. During the conversation, Harada Takeo tried several times to persuade me to support his position and was prepared to contact the Chongqing government through his own channels to facilitate peace talks between the two sides. However, Uehara Junpei stepped in and directly rejected this on my behalf.
Could it be that Harada Takeo made contact with the Chongqing government through other channels, which is why both sides left their spheres of influence and chose Hong Kong, a British colony, for this negotiation?
The more Ning Zhiheng thought about it, the more convinced he was that his guess was correct. If the situation was indeed as he suspected, then Ning Zhiheng absolutely could not stand idly by.
Because he was well aware that the current situation of the War of Resistance was dire. Under the pressure of the Japanese army, there were many spineless cowards in the Chongqing government's top ranks who were willing to grovel and seek a life of ease. In fact, it could be said that there were quite a few of these people, and many of them even held considerable influence.
Even the true thoughts of the Director himself, or even that leader, are beyond Ning Zhiheng's comprehension.
However, under the nationwide call for resistance against Japan, some people dared not defy public opinion, but it was entirely possible that they would take other actions in private.
It is conceivable that if an agreement were to be reached through negotiations, given the current war situation in which the Japanese still hold the advantage, the Chongqing government would inevitably have to make enormous concessions, resulting in the loss of sovereignty and national humiliation, and certainly damage to national interests.
From Ning Zhiheng's perspective, the conflict with the Japanese was a life-or-death battle with absolutely no room for compromise. Therefore, he had to sabotage the peace talks no matter what.
However, Ning Zhiheng was also very clear that the Director was definitely behind Jiang Tianhe's actions, and he couldn't be completely sure what the Director's purpose was. Therefore, he couldn't really be forceful, nor could he reveal his whereabouts. Otherwise, he would be resented, which would be a loss for him. He had to be skillful in this matter, so that he could both disrupt the peace talks and keep himself out of it.
Thinking of this, he instructed, "Be extra careful in monitoring them; we must not let them become aware of our presence."
"yes!"
"Yes!" Ji Hongyi, Shen Xiang, and the others answered in unison.
Meanwhile, inside the Yue Mansion, Yue Sheng was also having a low conversation with Jiang Tianhe.
"How did today's talks go?" Yue Sheng asked.
Jiang Tianhe shook his head and said irritably, "What progress can there be? He just talks his nonsense, and I'll talk my thing. When it comes to getting serious, everyone pretends to be stupid and just goes through the motions. This Harada Takeo even thinks my status is too low and refuses to tell me the truth. I don't see anything worth talking about!"
He had held several talks with the Japanese side during this period, but the differences between the two sides were too great. Harada Takeo, relying on Japan's military advantage, made exorbitant demands, which Jiang Tianhe naturally refused. Anyway, his purpose was not to do so, so he just dragged it out.
Yue Sheng frowned and asked, "Are the Japanese too greedy and unwilling to withdraw their troops?"
In fact, Yue Sheng still held great hope for this meeting. After all, his roots were in Shanghai. He had been wandering abroad for the past few years, like a rootless duckweed. He hoped that the war would end sooner so that he could return to his hometown and make a comeback. He couldn't stay in Hong Kong as a retired official for the rest of his life!
Jiang Tianhe said slowly, "It's not just that they have big appetites, it's that they're completely out of their depth. First of all, they want us to recognize Manchukuo. Isn't that just blatantly ceding the Northeast to them? Which government would dare to agree to that? Who would dare to be the sinner for all time?"
Furthermore, allowing the Japanese army to station troops in Mongolia and North China is a joke. Doesn't that mean we've taken away the entire northern region again, leaving us with only half of the country?
The most important point is that we are asked to cooperate and coexist peacefully with the Nanjing government—this is utterly absurd! Don't they know that there can't be two suns in the sky, or two masters on earth? Where does this leave the leader? Where does it leave the central government? Would the higher-ups agree to this?
"Have the Japanese lost their minds? This isn't negotiation, it's practically an attempt to force surrender!" Yue Sheng was speechless upon hearing this. The Japanese wanted to have their cake and eat it too; there's no such thing as a free lunch.
Jiang Tianhe waved his hand and laughed, "It's alright. He asked for an exorbitant price, so I just negotiated back. It was just idle chatter. The orders from headquarters were to find out the true intentions of the Japanese side. Through these few contacts, I have gotten some information."
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