Taro Sagawa had the same guess. Of course, he had his own ulterior motives. He nodded to He Siming and said, "That's why you need to pay more attention in your daily life. These intelligence agencies are better informed than us."
He Siming nodded and agreed, "Understood. I'll find some excuses to go out and make more moves during this time, and I'll come back to report to you as soon as I have any news."
He Siming stepped out and went to the office not far away next door. This was a new office specially set up for him. As the liaison officer of the Special Higher Police, he had to be available at any time when Taro Sagawa summoned him.
Back in his seat, He Siming let out a long sigh. The information he had received today was very important. Judging from Sagawa Taro's account, Tsuchihara Keiji's position as head of the agency was likely to be unstable. What impact would this have on the intelligence work of the intelligence department in Shanghai?
The section chief has always been extremely wary of Keiji Tsuchihara, and has even refused Tsuchihara's invitations on several occasions. If Tsuchihara could leave Shanghai, it would definitely be helpful to the work of the intelligence section.
Another important piece of intelligence is that Tsuchihara Keiji's mission upon returning to North China is to persuade Wu Peide to defect. Wu Peide is an extremely influential veteran warlord with disciples and former subordinates throughout the Chinese military. If such a person were to gain control of the new government's military power, and with the support of Japanese supplies, he could quickly raise a force capable of confronting the Nationalist army. In that case, the newly established puppet government would truly be able to rival the Chongqing government. This is a momentous matter, and I must report it to the section chief immediately to sabotage this defection effort, otherwise, the consequences could be disastrous.
Suzhou is an ancient city with a history of over a thousand years, which has been ravaged by war. It is located in southeastern Jiangsu Province, less than 100 kilometers west of Shanghai, with a population of about 400,000. It is the closest metropolis to Shanghai.
After the city fell to the Japanese two years ago, it came under their control, and many Japanese-style shops and stores were built in the city.
In a private room of a Japanese restaurant, two men dressed in kimonos sat facing a Japanese lieutenant colonel in military uniform.
These three people were Shirakawa Hidee, the president of the Suzhou branch of the Fujiwara Company, Lieutenant Colonel Hirayama Tokumoto, the commander of the Suzhou garrison, and Miyata Yasutoshi, the president of the Miyata Trading Company.
Shirakawa Hideki looked at Hirayama Tokumoto with a gloomy expression and said, "Hirayama-kun, all the major chambers of commerce in Suzhou have now agreed to the distribution plan of our Fujiwara Company. Only the Miyata Trading Company insists on not transferring the goods, which puts me in a difficult position. I know that the Miyata Trading Company dares to insist on this because of your support. The reason I invited Hirayama-kun here today is to have a good talk with you on how to properly resolve this matter!"
It turns out that after Shirakawa Eiji arrived in Suzhou, he had been trying to control the city's economy and trade, especially the major chambers of commerce and trading companies that dealt in smuggled goods. Under his coercive and persuasive tactics, they had no choice but to hand over their goods to the Fujiwara Company.
Several uncooperative trading companies, relying on their powerful connections, refused to cooperate, and were eventually forced to cooperate by the local military police and the Special Higher Police.
However, the Miyata Trading Company refused to back down. It turned out that the company was actually run by Lieutenant Colonel Hirayama, the local garrison commander. The company's president, Miyata Yasutoshi, was his friend and fellow countryman, but he was just a front man.
The military police and the Special Higher Police were in a difficult position. They could deal with other people, but they were not up to the task of forcibly confronting the garrison commander. After all, many underhanded methods were simply ineffective. Faced with this situation, Shirakawa Hidee simply invited Hirayama Tokumoto out for a talk.
To be honest, given Shirakawa Hidee's true intentions, the Fujiwara Company had a powerful background, and even high-ranking military officials would give it a wide berth. So why would he take a mere army lieutenant colonel seriously? However, Suzhou was far from Shanghai, and a local official was more powerful than a distant one, so he still wanted to resolve the matter properly.
Although Hirayama Tokumoto knew about the background of the Fujiwara Company, the interests of the Miyata Trading Company were too great. He had made a lot of money since he opened the Miyata Trading Company, and now asking him to give up most of the profits was like cutting off a piece of his own flesh. He was unwilling to do so no matter what.
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