Hearing Ning Zhiheng's words, Zhou Fushan waved his hand and said with a wry smile, "I have already reported this matter to General Yingzuo, but General Yingzuo completely ignored it and instead told me not to cause any trouble. I really don't know what kind of medicine Li Zhiqun has given General Yingzuo. He listens to Li Zhiqun's every word and trusts him completely, and doesn't believe that Li Zhiqun has any ulterior motives. I have no choice but to accept it."
Ning Zhiheng nodded. This was actually quite reasonable. Ying Zuo Yushu was well aware that Li Zhiqun might scheme against Zhou Fushan for personal gain, but he would never side with the Chongqing government. After all, he had gone too far before, and there was no turning back. It must be said that Ying Zuo Yushu was absolutely qualified as a superior. At the very least, he had enough tolerance and trust for his subordinates.
He said with a smile, "I've said it before, General Yingzuo's support for Li Zhiqun is extraordinary. He has given him his all. I heard that he even used military funds to subsidize Li Zhiqun's police department. This shows how much he values Li Zhiqun. Mr. Zhou, peace is the most important thing. Why make trouble for yourself?"
Mentioning this matter only added to Zhou Fushan's annoyance. For the past six months, he had made things difficult for Li Zhiqun and restricted him in many ways. In the Nanjing government departments, he deliberately suppressed and isolated him. In terms of funds, he used his position as Minister of Finance to withhold funds and materials, making it difficult for Li Zhiqun to move forward and putting him in a difficult situation. However, Yingzuo Yushu had been very supportive of Li Zhiqun and had helped him many times, which was why Li Zhiqun had been able to persevere until now. Otherwise, he would have squeezed Li Zhiqun out long ago.
Seeing that Fujiwara no Tomohito was also ignoring the issue, he turned to Su Yue, signaling him to say a few more words.
Su Yue understood and said, "Fujiwara-kun, you are a magnanimous man and will naturally not hold Li Zhiqun against you. However, this Li Zhiqun is too arrogant. Relying on the power of General Kagesa, he doesn't respect anyone. He is now making money everywhere. He not only interferes in the financial industry, but has also started smuggling controlled materials...!"
"What did you say?" Ning Zhiheng's expression changed immediately, and he stared intently at Su Yue.
Su Yue was startled by this glance and quickly gestured to Zhou Fushan, saying, "If you don't believe me, you can ask Minister Zhou."
Ning Zhiheng suddenly looked at Zhou Fushan and asked again, "Is this news true?"
Zhou Fushan hurriedly nodded and said, "It is true. The situation is like this: the government's finances have been tight recently, and Li Zhiqun's funds in Shanghai have also run into trouble, so he is now in dire need of money. He set up this Litai Bank to raise funds. In addition, he has set his sights on smuggled goods. He has now purchased a large amount of strategic materials from abroad. I don't know what connections he has made, but he managed to unload the goods at the Third Fleet's military dock, disguise them in Shanghai, and secretly transport them to Hangzhou. I haven't found out the final destination yet, but it must be in the Nationalist-controlled area."
At this point, fearing that Ning Zhiheng would not believe him, he continued, "Just half a month ago, a batch of scarce Western medicines was transported away, and three days ago, a batch of tung oil was brought back. You think about it, tung oil can only be obtained in the Kuomintang-controlled areas. This must be colluding with the Kuomintang to collect strategic materials for them."
"Baka!"
Ning Zhiheng slammed his hand on the table and shouted angrily, causing the teacups on the table to spill tea everywhere!
Ning Zhiheng's behavior wasn't entirely an act; he was genuinely furious. Zhou Fushan was right. In Shanghai, Ning Zhiheng had spent a lot of time and effort, even killing several Japanese smuggling merchants, to subdue and intimidate the various smuggling associations. All smuggled goods had to be sold to the Fujiwara Company. By consolidating these resources, he was able to dominate the market in East and Central China, controlling and monopolizing it. He could even adjust prices as needed and manipulate the market to maximize profits.
But Li Zhiqun dared to ignore his existence, smuggling medicines in Shanghai but not selling them to him, bypassing Fujiwara Company and starting his own business. What is this if not provocation?
Seeing Ning Zhiheng's uncontrollable rage, Zhou Fushan and Su Yue were overjoyed. Su Yue quickly urged from the side, "That's really too presumptuous, Fujiwara-kun. Everyone knows that doing this kind of business in Shanghai requires your approval. This Li Zhiqun doesn't take you seriously at all. He's extremely arrogant!"
A cold glint flashed in Ning Zhiheng's eyes as he glanced at Zhou Fushan and asked, "Mr. Zhou, how do you know all this so clearly?"
Zhou Fushan quickly explained, "Li Zhiqun's thugs are useless in this kind of business, and they're also easy to be recognized. So, to keep it secret, he selected some people from Nanjing to do these things. Among them are my people. Don't forget, I'm the former Minister of Police. To guard against this ingrate, I still kept informants in the Ministry of Police."
So that's how it is! Li Zhiqun thought he had done it discreetly, and even followed Yu Xinhong's advice to bypass all the personnel of Shanghai No. 76 and select reliable people from the Nanjing Police Department. However, such a big operation, involving so many people, was bound to have some oversights. As a result, the problem arose in Nanjing, where they actually selected the spies that Zhou Fushan had secretly planted. In the past two months, they had figured out the entire smuggling operation process very clearly.
At this moment, Ning Zhiheng suddenly thought of something else. Li Zhiqun's smuggled goods were unloaded at the Third Fleet's military dock. How did he manage to get in touch with the Third Fleet? Li Zhiqun's power was not enough to do this; there must have been a lot of connections and relationships involved.
I understand! It's Hiroki Kagesa!
Li Zhiqun's name contains the character "群" (qun, meaning group or community), but he is not a sociable person at all. After rising to power, he had poor relationships with various parties and few friends in the political world. The only people he could connect with in the Japanese military were the Kagesa Agency, namely Kagesa Hiroki and Haruki Masayoshi. However, Haruki Masayoshi's position was too low to oppose him. Only with Kagesa Hiroki's support could he dare to bypass the Fujiwara Company and secretly engage in smuggling.
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