While Ning Zhiheng was chatting with Fujiwara Hirofumi at the Mulan Academy, in the office of the Shanghai Special Higher Police Headquarters, Tsuchihara Keiji was sitting opposite Sagawa Taro.
"Section Chief, what instructions do you have for me in Shanghai this time?" Sagawa Taro asked his superior with some surprise.
His superior was the most capable of all the previous chiefs of the Special Higher Police. It was because of his efforts that the Special Higher Police officially transformed from a police department of the Ministry of Home Affairs into a military unit with military functions. In a sense, it could even be said that Keiji Tsuchihara was the true creator of the current Special Higher Police, and he had absolute authority in the Special Higher Police.
Keiji Tsuchihara looked at Taro Sagawa and said quietly, "Sagawa-kun, you've been the head of the Shanghai Special Higher Police Section for over two years now!"
Taro Sagawa quickly nodded and said, "Yes, it's been two years."
"But your performance is not satisfactory to me. If it weren't for the fact that you just wiped out hundreds of Chinese agents, I would not have forgiven you for the poisoning of Master Kanda Yuzan alone."
Keiji Tsuchihara's words put immense pressure on Taro Sagawa. Taro Sagawa quickly stood up and respectfully said to Keiji Tsuchihara, "It is all my fault for failing to discover the Chinese spy plot in time. I'm sorry to have troubled you, Chief."
Keiji Tsuchihara snorted coldly. The poisoning case of Kanda Tamakiyama had given Tsuchihara a cold sweat. If it weren't for the fact that his student, Yoshiko Kitaoka, was directly in charge, Tsuchihara would have almost handed Sagawa Taro over to Vice Minister Takeda for punishment.
In the end, he went to great lengths and pulled many strings to get away with it. However, he did not expect that this Sagawa Taro had somehow gotten in touch with the Otani family and that Otani Jinki had come to his rescue. He had really underestimated him.
"Alright, let's leave it at that. You can't afford to make any more mistakes in your work. I've heard that the Chinese agents in Shanghai have been very active lately, assassinating several important figures on our side, including the consulate's counselor. Your work efficiency is just too low!"
"I'm sorry!" Taro Sagawa said with shame.
"Alright, I won't say anything more. I've come to Shanghai this time on orders from headquarters to establish a special committee on China, mainly targeting the defection of various warlords in China and the work of establishing a new government. The committee's office in Shanghai will be set up by our Special Higher Police. I've brought some people from headquarters, and I'll also draw some people from the Shanghai headquarters to get the whole organization up and running. You need to cooperate fully. Do you understand?"
Sagawa Taro dared not utter a word of dissent. In the Special Higher Police, matters were always decided by Tsuchihara Keiji. He quickly nodded and said, "I will follow the orders of the section chief!"
Keiji Tsuchihara continued, "But don't worry, I know the Shanghai Special Higher Police is short-staffed. In fact, our Special Higher Police is too sprawling now, and we're short of people everywhere. So I've decided to set up a new department composed of Chinese people, specifically to deal with the increasingly arrogant Chinese agents, using Chinese to control Chinese. I know you have a Special Agent Investigation Division under you, with quite a few people. I think we should transfer that force to this new department."
"Special Investigation Department?" Sagawa Taro said in surprise.
This force was merely a special agent unit organized specifically to address the manpower shortage and maintain order in Shanghai. Its core members were all traitors who had surrendered from among the Chinese special agents. However, due to numerous problems, he had never fully trusted these people.
Taro Sagawa said, "Section Chief, the core personnel in the Special Agent Investigation Division are all surrendered Chinese agents. We have always controlled and used them, and their loyalty is not satisfactory!"
"It's alright. I brought a Chinese man from North China named Li Zhiqun. He's quite capable. He used to be an agent for the Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics (Zhongtong) of China's intelligence agency. Now he's willing to work for me. He also recommended a veteran Zhongtong agent named Ding Mo. From now on, these two will be in charge of this department."
At this point, Keiji Tsuchihara called in two middle-aged men, who then met with Taro Sagawa.
The middle-aged man of medium build and pale complexion was Ding Mo.
The other tall, robust man was his assistant, Li Zhiqun.
"Both of them are veteran agents; you'll need to cooperate with them more in the future."
Ding Mo and Li Zhiqun both bowed and said in unison, "Section Chief Sagawa, please take good care of us!"
Sagawa Taro looked puzzled. He didn't understand why Tsuchihara Keiji trusted these two people so much and entrusted them with the important task of dealing with Chinese agents. He knew that even the Special Higher Police had never gained the upper hand against Chinese agents, especially the Shanghai Intelligence Section, over the years.
However, he was not foolish enough to question Tsuchihara Keiji's decision. He nodded and said, "I will fully support your work, but I must remind you that your opponents are very strong, especially the Military Intelligence Bureau, your old adversary of the Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics. They have a strong presence in Shanghai, so you should be prepared."
Ding Mo and Li Zhiqun exchanged a glance and nodded in agreement without hesitation.
Both were veteran agents with years of experience on the front lines of intelligence. Their experiences were similar; both were key members of the underground Communist Party in their early years, but both fell into the hands of the Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics (CBIS) during the White Terror period, betraying their comrades and becoming their henchmen. They then turned their swords against their former Communist comrades, using their blood to stain their official hats and become high-ranking officials in the CBIS. Ding Mo, in particular, rose to the rank of Major General and then became a Japanese lackey. It can be said that neither of them had any faith or loyalty; they only believed in themselves and were complete egoists.
This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
