After explaining the matter, Li Zhiqun remembered Luo Xingchao's purpose and asked, "Xingchao, what brings you here?"
Luo Xingchao asked, "I heard that many people in the financial sector are coming to sign bail for those bank employees, but the director hasn't met with them?"
Upon hearing that Luo Xingchao had come for this matter, Li Zhiqun joked, "What, someone has come to you with connections? How much did you get in return?"
The conversation was mostly joking. It was common practice for the people of No. 76 to first arrest people and extort money, then collect money to get them released. This was an important source of income for these high-ranking officials, and everyone knew it. Li Zhiqun had never criticized his subordinates for this.
However, this time the situation is different. Li Zhiqun wants to use these bank employees as hostages to force Chongqing to submit. He has a much bigger plan and will not release them for a few dollars.
Luo Xingchao shook his head and laughed, "Instead of begging me, they should beg Captain Wu, Director. This is how I see it. Our Litai Bank has just been established and everything is still in its initial stage. We will definitely have to deal with them in the future, so we should give these people in the financial industry some face. It would be too harsh to refuse them. Even if we don't agree to their requests, we should at least meet with them."
Luo Xingchao's words made Li Zhiqun realize that he was now a member of the financial industry, and he couldn't switch identities so quickly, so he had been thinking things through inappropriately.
In the future, there will inevitably be interbank transfers and currency exchange transactions between my bank and other banks. I can't possibly carry a gun to every business negotiation! I did go a bit too far.
He slapped his forehead and laughed self-deprecatingly, "If you hadn't mentioned it, I would have almost forgotten. I, Li, am practically a banker myself, and I have a share in the Bankers' Guild. Haha, alright, let's meet!"
Seeing that his goal had been achieved, Luo Xingchao felt somewhat relieved. He could only offer some pointers to Li Zhiqun; whether these bankers could persuade Li Zhiqun to release the people was their own business. That was all he could do to help.
At this moment, Li Zhiqun instructed Wu Shicai: "Alright, this is no longer your business. But you can't let your guard down now. You need to continue to intensify your actions against them. I find that Central Bank branch on Xinzha Road an eyesore. Get to work on it as soon as possible!"
"Yes!" Wu Shicai stood at attention and accepted the order, then turned and nodded to Luo Xingchao before leaving.
After Wu Shicai left, Li Zhiqun asked Luo Xingchao, "Xingchao, may I ask you, have you visited Chairman Fujiwara recently?"
Luo Xingchao was taken aback and said with a puzzled look, "No, that's not the case. As you know, I am still a member of the Shadow Agency. Getting too close to Chairman Fujiwara might cause some problems!"
"You, sigh! You're overthinking it!" Li Zhiqun couldn't help but feel annoyed. He pointed at Luo Xingchao and said, "Xingchao, you're usually so shrewd, how come you can't understand something like this? The Shadow Agency is far away in Nanjing. How can General Shadow Agency and Colonel Qingqing possibly take care of everything for us? If we're left in Shanghai, we'll still have to act according to Chairman Fujiwara's wishes. The fact that he values you is a rare opportunity. You're sometimes too cautious and overthink things!"
Li Zhiqun was quite frightened by the last incident. The Fujiwara Company dispatched military police to kill and rob goods. In the end, General Kagesa had to make a special trip to Shanghai to explain to Fujiwara Tomohito. The smuggling business was forced to withdraw from Shanghai and move to Hangzhou before the matter was finally settled. After this incident, he naturally had a deeper understanding of Fujiwara Tomohito's domineering nature and was still apprehensive.
He knew very well that in Shanghai, Fujiwara Tomohito was still the one in charge, and even Kagesa Hiroki behind him couldn't help much. Therefore, he racked his brains to try to please Fujiwara Tomohito, but he had no way to do so. He thought of currying favor with Luo Xingchao, but Luo Xingchao was too cautious and let the opportunity slip by, which made him very regretful.
Upon hearing this, Luo Xingchao could only nod and say, "What the director says is true. I was indeed overthinking it. I will visit Mr. Fujiwara when I have time."
"That's right. Also, I heard that Chairman Fujiwara is very fond of Chinese antiques and calligraphy. I have prepared a few treasures for you. They are all good things that I specially had someone get from Nanjing. Take them with you when you go, and please give my regards to Chairman Fujiwara!"
Seeing Li Zhiqun's eagerness to curry favor, and that he had already done his homework in advance, Luo Xingchao had no choice but to nod in agreement. Although the director did not allow him to meet frequently, he could still bring gifts to curry favor without anyone noticing. Deliberately avoiding and distancing himself would only arouse suspicion from others.
Li Zhiqun continued, "We've made too many enemies right now. Our opponents aren't just Zhou Fushan's faction. The most important one is Wen Hao. Isn't it because he's climbed up to Chairman Fujiwara that he has the confidence to stand up to me and covet my position? Even if we can't curry favor with Chairman Fujiwara, at least we shouldn't let him target us. You need to pay close attention to this matter and not be careless!"
That evening, thousands of miles away in Hong Kong, in the study of Yue Mansion, Yue Sheng sat facing his two trusted confidants, Wan Mulin and Si Guangyuan.
Yue Sheng had just received an urgent telegram from the Chongqing Military Intelligence Bureau headquarters, ordering him to send someone to Shanghai as soon as possible to try to contact Li Zhiqun, negotiate a reconciliation, and facilitate a settlement.
This put Yue Sheng in a difficult position. Although he still had some old connections in Shanghai, he had no dealings with the Japanese or the Nanjing government, especially with Li Zhiqun of the No. 76 Special Agent Headquarters. Not only did he have no relationship with Li, but he also had a deep-seated grudge against him.
The last time Wan Mulin returned to Shanghai, he was arrested by Li Zhiqun. No matter how many connections he made or how much money he spent, Li Zhiqun still wouldn't release him. In the end, he even handed Wan Mulin over to the Shadow Agency, where he almost lost his life. When he was sent back to Hong Kong, Wan Mulin was practically half-dead and it took him a long time to recover. Because of this, Yue Sheng harbored a deep grudge against Li Zhiqun.
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