Once the flames of war were ignited, they could not be extinguished and spread rapidly. In the following days, both sides mobilized their forces, using all sorts of methods such as explosions, attacks, intimidation, and assassinations, igniting a bloody battle on the Shanghai Bund.
Chen Hongchi personally led a team to infiltrate the city and, a few days later, shot and killed Lou Dong, deputy director of the investigation department of the Nanjing Central Reserve Bank, right at his doorstep.
Li Zhiqun immediately retaliated by sending numerous agents to storm the staff dormitory of the Kuomintang Bank. They gathered twelve bank employees on the second floor and then opened fire, killing them all.
Yang Wenbo, the leader of the Shanghai station operation, led his men to infiltrate Dahua Hospital, where they killed Zhang Yonggang, the head of the business department of China Reserve Bank, as well as several employees of China Reserve Bank who were injured in the bombing, and guards. They then calmly escaped without a trace.
Wu Shicai led a group that kidnapped three employees of the Chongqing government's Bank of Communications and carried out bomb attacks on two offices of the Central Bank in the International Settlement and the French Concession, killing a total of fifteen people.
……………
Both sides disregarded the consequences and used any means necessary to annihilate each other. In just over two months, they engaged in countless violent attacks, each suffering heavy casualties. Both sides were bloodthirsty, and even the consulates of various countries in the concessions were so frightened that they retreated and ordered their subordinates to restrain themselves, allowing both sides to attack and kill each other at will.
Late one night in late March, Li Zhiqun mobilized all his forces, and a large number of agents from the 76th Division stormed into the Bank of China's employee dormitory, kidnapped nearly two hundred Bank of China employees, and took them back to the intelligence headquarters' prison. He declared: "One life for three lives! If any of the agents in Shanghai take action and a Nanjing Central Reserve Bank employee dies, I will shoot three Bank of China employees."
This ruthless move immediately made Chen Hongchi back down!
Ultimately, it was still Shanghai that gave No. 76 the home advantage, and they firmly grasped the initiative. In the past three months, not only have the employees of the four major banks suffered heavy casualties, but the Shanghai station has also paid a heavy price, with almost half of the operation personnel lost. Even the operation leader, Yang Wenbo, was killed in an attack.
Chen Hongchi was also exhausted and unable to fight any longer. Faced with such a dire situation, he had no choice but to ask the Chongqing headquarters for help again.
Meanwhile, the four major state-owned banks, already unable to withstand such a brutal attack, jointly petitioned the Chongqing military government headquarters to stop the bloody fighting.
The three-month-long financial bloodbath disrupted the financial order in Shanghai, and people from all walks of life in Shanghai felt insecure. The British, American, and French governments put pressure on the Chongqing government, strongly urging it to end this bloody situation as soon as possible.
Under such circumstances, the command had to reconsider. If the situation continued to develop, their side could not afford to suffer heavy losses, and they ultimately had no choice but to end the war.
The director then received instructions to make private contact with the Nanjing government, shake hands and make peace, guarantee the financial status of the four major banks in Shanghai, and rescue the two hundred employees of the Bank of China as soon as possible.
This put the Director in a difficult position. It's easier said than done! The Military Intelligence Bureau is currently unable to fight any longer and is at a significant disadvantage. How could the Nanjing government and the 76th Bureau possibly be so easy to talk to?
Li Zhiqun, in particular, performed outstandingly in this financial war and was riding high. He was at the height of his power and was thinking of pressing his advantage to completely squeeze the four major state-owned banks out of Shanghai, make a big appearance in front of the Nanjing government, earn enough capital, and consolidate his position.
Therefore, unilaterally proposing a ceasefire is simply not feasible. The initiative is now in Li Zhiqun's hands, and the only way to avoid greater losses is to reach an agreement with him.
After much deliberation, the Director found himself at a loss. He had previously held secret talks with the Japanese in Hong Kong, but due to a lack of secrecy, he almost suffered a great loss. If it weren't for Ning Zhiheng's intervention and the acquisition of the engine blueprints, he wouldn't know how things would have ended up now!
He then unilaterally terminated the negotiations, cutting off all communication channels with the Japanese. Now he can only seek help from a third party.
In the end, he decided to let Ning Zhiheng take the risk and step in to stop the situation from escalating further. After all, Fujiwara Tomohito's status was enough to suppress Li Zhiqun and prevent him from causing any more trouble.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
