However, the aftermath of this incident did not end there. Ma Yaowu received a large sum of money, but he was still not satisfied. In addition, since the money came so easily, he set his sights on Chai Guoan and extorted him several times. Chai Guoan could not bear the harassment, and in the end, the two broke off relations and parted on bad terms.
When Ma Yaowu wanted to deal with a merchant, he didn't need many tricks. He immediately resorted to all sorts of underhanded methods, using threats and inducements to coerce the typesetting and printing workers at the Chuwen Daily into tampering with the newspaper the next day and publishing an anti-Japanese article on the front page.
By the time the newspaper staff discovered it, many newspapers had already been distributed. Ma Yaowu then reported the newspapers to the Japanese Wuhan Special Higher Police, stating that Chai Guoan's Chuwen Daily was promoting anti-Japanese rhetoric and that he was a hidden anti-Japanese element.
The Japanese maintained strict control over Wuhan, especially in their severe suppression of anti-Japanese sentiment among the people. After occupying Wuhan, they killed many Chinese people for this reason. Now that this problem had resurfaced, the Special Higher Police quickly ordered Ma Yaowu to arrest relevant personnel from the Chu Wen Daily.
Ma Yaowu, who had been prepared, led his men into the Chuwen Newspaper Office and arrested Chai Guoan, the two editors-in-chief, and four other employees who worked at the newspaper at the time.
Not only that, Ma Yaowu also seized all of Chai Guoan's properties, and has begun to embezzle the Chai family's assets.
Upon hearing this, Uncle Quan clenched his fists and said in frustration, "So that's the reason! What an undeserved disaster!"
Miao Yongyi looked at Uncle Quan with surprise and asked softly, "What, does this have anything to do with us?"
Uncle Quan nodded and said helplessly, "Chai Guoan has nothing to do with us, but Pei Wenrui, the editor-in-chief of Chuwen Daily, is one of our people. This time, he was suddenly arrested, and all the people on his work line are not safe. We urgently need to find out his situation and rescue him as soon as possible."
Upon hearing Uncle Quan's account, Miao Yongyi quickly realized that Pei Wenrui, the newspaper's editor-in-chief, must have an unusual party affiliation; otherwise, he wouldn't have made someone as high-ranking as Uncle Quan so nervous.
"Uncle Quan, is Pei Wenrui's identity important?" Miao Yongyi asked.
Uncle Quan sighed and replied, "Very important!"
He didn't explain much. In fact, Pei Wenrui's real identity was one of the Standing Committee members of the Wuhan Municipal Party Committee. This was an absolute high-ranking member of the Wuhan underground party organization, and he knew too many secrets. This time, the problem was really very serious.
"This is quite troublesome. The matter has been reported to the Japanese Special Higher Police. The Japanese have always regarded us Chinese as worthless. They may very well execute everyone to make an example of us. They are capable of doing such a thing."
Miao Yongyi's analysis was not alarmist. In fact, the Central China Expeditionary Army had always been ruthless and brutal towards the Chinese. Since landing in Shanghai, it had committed countless atrocities in the Central China region. The Nanjing Massacre was just one of them. After occupying Wuhan, it also committed countless killings and looting. Under the oppression of the Japanese, the citizens lived in fear.
Now that Pei Wenrui has been arrested, even if it doesn't endanger the underground party organization, the fact that such a high-ranking member has died under Japanese gunfire without explanation is still a huge loss to the entire organization.
Uncle Quan said anxiously, "That's exactly what I'm worried about. Our organization doesn't have any strong connections in Wuhan right now, which is really troublesome!"
Originally, the underground party organization had been operating in Wuhan for many years and still had some connections with the upper echelons. Unfortunately, with the outbreak of the Battle of Wuhan, those powerful officials fled to Chongqing and the southwest, and the power structure in Wuhan was reshuffled. Now, those in charge were traitors who had sided with the Japanese. The underground party organization had no way to smooth things over for the time being.
On the contrary, Miao Yongyi had some influence in the police station because of the arrangement made by the Military Intelligence Bureau. Uncle Quan asked Miao Yongyi in order to find out the real reason why Pei Wenrui was arrested.
Miao Yongyi pondered for a moment and said, "I've helped others get things done before, so I can give it a try. However, Ma Yaowu is very greedy, and there are Japanese involved. I can't talk to Ma Yaowu, so I have to find the person in charge. Uncle Quan, this will require a large sum of money!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
