What Lin Hanwen and Yu Mingyuan didn't know was that Matsudaira Hidemi was not completely cleared of suspicion; his identity was still suspected by Tsuchihara Keiji and Li Zhiqun.
Keiji Tsuchihara informed the person in charge of the Iwai Mansion, Kenji Iwai, the Consul General of Japan in Shanghai. However, as he had expected, Kenji Iwai did not take Tsuchihara's notification seriously. Instead, he was dissatisfied with Tsuchihara's suspicion of the intelligence personnel at the Iwai Mansion.
Iwai Takei greatly admired Matsudaira Hidemi. Matsudaira was a member of the consulate, and Iwai Takei had investigated him many times but found no problems. Matsudaira was reliable and shrewd and capable. In the end, Iwai Takei personally recruited him and made him an intelligence agent for the Iwai Mansion. How could he be so easily doubted because of the words of a Chinese spy?
Furthermore, Iwai Takei did not think it was right to rashly suspect his trusted subordinates simply because they appeared in the neighborhood where the bombing occurred.
However, the necessary procedures still needed to be followed, and Iwai Kenji quickly summoned Matsudaira Hidemi to his office.
"Matsudaira-kun, can you explain to me where you went at 11:30 yesterday morning?"
Upon hearing this, Matsudaira Hidemi knew it was indeed about the danger he'd encountered yesterday. However, given the time that had passed, he had already prepared himself, so he respectfully said, "Sir, I went to the south of the city yesterday at noon. There's a nice record store there, and as you know, I love listening to music. But on the way, an unexpected incident occurred. Someone blew up a coffee shop on the side of the road, and I heard that many people died. The Special Operations Department, a subordinate unit of the Tsuchihara Agency, came out to search the place. I was in a hurry, so after showing my work ID, they let me go. Is this what you're talking about?"
When Iwai Kenichi heard Matsudaira Hidemi recount how he was cornered on the street by the Special Agents, he nodded and said, "At that time, the Special Agents arrested a Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics (CBIS) agent. This agent revealed the undercover agent who was meeting with him at the Feng Hua Cafe. So they set a trap to lure the CBIS agent Bat who came to make the meeting. However, when the bombing occurred, you were near the meeting place."
The Special Operations Department reported this to the Tsuchihara Agency. The agency's head, Keiji Tsuchihara, called me and said my behavior was suspicious, believing I might be the Central Bureau of Investigation agent "Bat" who had come to make contact. He ordered me to investigate you. What do you think I should do?
When Matsudaira Hidemi heard Iwai Takei say this, he felt relieved. He knew that Iwai Takei did not intend to pursue the matter. If he really wanted to investigate him, he would either arrest him now and interrogate him severely, or he would secretly monitor him. Why would he question him to his face?
Matsudaira Hidemi smiled slightly, looking completely calm and without any sign of tension, and replied, "Sir, if we analyze this according to Chief Tsuchihara's logic, I am the Central Bureau of Investigation agent who is about to make contact, so who blew up the coffee shop? And what was their purpose? There are two possibilities."
First, the bomber knew it was a trap, so he carried out the explosion to warn the Central Bureau of Investigation agent Bat, who was about to make contact. However, this explanation doesn't make sense. If they were accomplices, to warn others, he only needed to tell his accomplices not to go to the meeting. Moreover, even if the purpose of the explosion was to warn others, it could have been done the day before or the morning before, blowing up the coffee shop. There was no need to take such a big risk by breaking into a heavily fortified area to carry out the explosion at the time of the meeting. This would have been extremely risky, so this scenario is not plausible.
Secondly, the reason why the demolition expert took such a great risk to carry out the bombing was not to give a warning, but to eliminate a traitor. His target was the Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics agent who had already defected. This defector agent would only appear in the coffee shop during the entrapment operation, so the demolition expert had to take a huge risk to carry out the bombing assassination.
I think only this reason can explain why the demolition expert would break through the encirclement and risk carrying out the explosion.
Since it was an operation to eliminate traitors, Bat had absolutely no need to make contact. In other words, Bat already knew it was a trap, so he sent someone to assassinate the traitor and didn't need to risk making contact himself.
So my appearance has absolutely nothing to do with the bat; I was just unlucky enough to happen to be passing through that area. Therefore, they're accusing me of something completely absurd. Unable to catch the bat, they simply used me, who happened to be passing by, as a scapegoat. Sir, you know me well. I've worked under you ever since I came to Shanghai from China. You know best how I've performed! How could I possibly join the Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics (Zhongtong)? That doesn't make sense chronologically.”
Matsudaira Hidemi's explanation was reasonable and well-founded, which Iwai Kenichi found very convincing. He had never believed the reasons given by Tsuchihara Keiji on the phone, otherwise he would have ordered Matsudaira Hidemi's arrest directly. It was precisely because he trusted Matsudaira Hidemi that he gave him a chance to explain.
Seeing that Iwai Takei seemed thoughtful, Matsudaira Hidemi quickly pressed on, saying, "Sir, the Tsuchihara Agency is a high-level agency jointly established by the Army, the Navy, and our Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Its head, Tsuchihara Keiji, is a renowned intelligence agent. I've heard that Head Tsuchihara Keiji has been working hard to expand the Tsuchihara Agency's influence, attempting to unify our country's intelligence agencies in China. Our Iwai Mansion is among them. I suspect this is just a tactic of his, aimed at undermining the capabilities of other departments and highlighting the Tsuchihara Agency's influence. You should be wary and not let him easily influence your judgment."
"Let's leave it at that!" Takei Iwai said decisively, waving his hand.
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