Chapter 690: The Death Knell Rings

After the meeting ended, dealing with those who came up to climb the relationship, and talking to several leaders, Wang Yan followed Aige to his office to chat.

Just after entering the office, Aige ran to pour wine, gave Wang Yan a cup, took a big sip, continued to pour wine for himself, and then sat on the sofa: "Wang, I think you are a crow's mouth. Two years ago, the Japanese occupied Shanghai, and you said the Japanese had great ambitions and should be prepared early, so you researched instant noodles and opened a beverage factory yourself, and the goods were sold to Europe. When Germany attacked Poland, you said they had great ambitions. When they attacked the Ma Qinuo Line last month, you actually didn't look favorably on Falanxi, right?"

Wang Yan crossed his legs, shook the red wine glass with a smile: "There is no look favorably or not, just think about everything in the worst place, and at the same time make the worst preparations. Aige, I am not a crow's mouth, but deep foresight. However, what you said is not wrong; the Ma Qinuo Line is indeed indestructible and was not broken by the German army."

"Oh, damn it, Wang, you are mocking me. Damn Germans, they actually bypassed it." Aige still couldn't believe it, he stared: "They, actually, bypassed it?"

"In the past two days, I have already heard the tone that Germany is a mechanized unit with strong mobility. This failure of the Ma Qinuo Line has well explained that future battles will no longer be positional warfare, but mobile warfare and Mobile Corps Commander warfare. On this point, I suggest you read the books of the Red Party; they have a lot of experience in this set of tactics. It's just that their weapons and equipment cannot be compared with Germany. Speaking of which, your Falanxi is still the pioneer of human realization of communism, although it was extinguished."

"Of course, Falanxi is always so inclusive. As for what you said, I have no interest in those things. Positional warfare is good, mobile warfare is also good, I don't care. Wang, what I care more about is, what should we do about our business?"

Aige didn't care about those things; he cared more about his wealth.

Wang Yan sighed and shook his head: "Don't think about it, now prices in Europe are also soaring, resources are tight, and ships sending goods from Europe to here are not easy to walk. You, just keep the mentality you said last time, expect the war to end early, and be a good capitalist when the time comes. You have shares in my instant noodle factory and beverage factory, and the sales route to Europe hasn't been broken; Mitchell even sent a telegram to contact me, saying just send it there.

In addition, I will also extract some from the profits of doing business with those Americans to give to you, so you will never be short of money, just not earning as much as before. Speaking of which, Americans are truly formidable; they are the biggest winners of this war."

He also had to give money; after all, he was mixing in the French Concession, and he had to handle what should be handled; there is only gain if there is sacrifice. Otherwise, if these foreign devils were uncomfortable one day and set him up, it would be enough to suffer. Before, he didn't give money like this because there was legitimate business, and he helped these foreign devils sell it. Now, although there is still business, it is affected by the war, the quantity has plummeted, and the price in Europe is already very high. Shipping it to Shanghai across the ocean doesn't make much profit. Only key materials such as medicine, copper, iron, and steel can make some money.

But these materials are lacking everywhere, and they are not easy to get. And these people don't have quick money, so they are always unbalanced. He manages penicillin here, making a lot of money, so it is considered breaking money to eliminate disasters and reduce some trouble.

Aige raised his glass and looked at Wang Yan with emotion: "Wang, you will always be my good friend."

"Of course."

The two drank wine and chatted for a while. The phone on the desk rang. Aige went to answer it and said two sentences, and then took the phone and shook it at Wang Yan with some annoyance: "Looking for you."

"Look, it's really not free; the phone looking for me actually hit your place." Wang Yan sighed helplessly, got up and went to pick up the phone to listen, and after a while, said "I know" and hung up the phone.

"Trouble again, Aige, stay by yourself, I have to go."

"What's the matter, so urgent?"

"Besides the Japanese, who else can be so troublesome? Iwai Eiichi and Fujita Yoshimasa are looking for me to drink tea in Hongkou together."

"I guess they must want to know the intelligence of the Municipal Council from you."

"Who knows." Wang Yan waved his hand helplessly, "Gone, drink with you when I have time."

After saying that, he left Aige's office, didn't continue to stay at the police station, but went out to get in the car and went straight to the Iwai Mansion. Led by someone, he went to that Japanese-style tea room that Iwai Eiichi had made for him.

Speaking of which, ever since he came to this realm, when talking to people, it was either eating and drinking, or drinking tea in a quiet room. At other times, he basically never talked about serious matters. Of course, it was mainly because at other times, there were always many people around him, and there was no condition for private talk. So when he looked for someone to talk about serious matters, it was eating. When others looked for him to talk about serious matters, it depended on the situation; like now, Iwai Eiichi wanted to drink tea, so he had to drink tea.

In the tea room, Iwai Eiichi and Fujita Yoshimasa were both there, drinking tea while watching the singing and dancing of Japanese geishas. Seeing Wang Yan come in, those Japanese geishas who were singing and dancing left in wooden clogs with broken boards at the instruction of Fujita Yoshimasa.

After Wang Yan walked over and sat down and called people, Iwai Eiichi poured tea for Wang Yan and asked with a smile: "Wang-sang, I heard that all inspectors and above from the French Concession police station went to the Central Police Station for a meeting? I called rashly, didn't I disturb you?"

"What is Iwai-sensei saying, how could your call disturb me." Wang Yan thanked Iwai Eiichi, took a sip of tea and said, "Actually, the meeting this morning didn't say anything, it was just stabilizing hearts. Now Germany has defeated Falanxi and supported the Vichy government. The concessions in China in the future will all belong to the Vichy government. China is thousands of miles away from Falanxi. In Chinese words, it is high in the sky and far from the emperor. No matter how the European side fights, it has nothing to do with the French in the Municipal Council."

Iwai Eiichi laughed loudly: "You are right. According to the situation we have grasped, they were only panicked when retreating in Dunkirk. At that time, they already understood that Falanxi could not stop Germany's military edge. Now they have defected to Germany's puppet government, which just shows that they are all a group of villains who see the wind and steer the rudder."

Now Iwai Eiichi is talking about Germany's puppet government very naturally, and even mocking the French foreign devils in the French Concession, but if it is said that the Wang Zhaoming government is Japan's puppet government, Iwai Eiichi guarantees that he will be the first to jump out and hammer people, because that is China-Japan friendship, the "orthodox Chinese Nationalist Government" of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, so double-standard.

"Human nature is like this; to be honest, isn't Wang the same?" Wang Yan nodded in agreement with a smile, mocking himself.

"Hey, how can Wang-sang be the same as those French people? You are a hero who knows the times. In this world, the least lacking is smart people, but those who know the times and know how to change are ultimately few. Wang-sang, you have great wisdom."

Wang Yan waved his hands repeatedly, calling himself not daring, and laughed twice with Iwai Eiichi and Fujita Yoshimasa. He looked at Fujita Yoshimasa and asked: "Is General Fujita not very busy on weekdays? Why are you free to come to Iwai-sensei to drink tea today?"

Fujita Yoshimasa put down the teacup: "Occasionally, I have to rest. And I have something to do with Iwai-sensei, drinking tea is by the way. It happened that I haven't seen you for a long time, so I called you over, and everyone talked together."

Wang Yan looked at the expressions of the two little devils and poured tea for them: "General Fujita, I don't know how the investigation of Ming Lou is going? Ever since you invited me to dinner last time, I have kept a distance from him. Last time he invited me to drink tea, I didn't give a good face, and left in a huff halfway, just afraid of accidentally falling into his trap and being dragged into the water by him."

"Wang-sang, you don't need to worry about this point." Iwai Eiichi laughed loudly, "Ming-sang's matter has long passed. Your alienation has made Ming-sang very troubled. As a representative of Shanghai businessmen, if you don't communicate with him, his work is difficult to unfold. A few days ago, Ming-sang complained to me, wanting me to mediate and explain this misunderstanding clearly."

Fujita Yoshimasa nodded and said: "Iwai-sensei is right. Wang-sang, I told you before that we suspect everyone; after all, Nantian's assassination is not a small matter. However, the mole hidden inside is hidden too deeply, and it still hasn't been found. But I can tell you that Ming Lou has no problem; you can rest assured on this point. Later, you must communicate well. Economic matters are major matters, and you cannot affect the economy because of some small matters. Wang-sang, you are too careful."

"Hey..." Wang Yan sighed and shook his head, "There is no way, being careful can sail the ship for ten thousand years. I can live to this day because of this carefulness."

"You, everything is good, just sometimes too cautious, too careful." Iwai Eiichi looked helpless, looking like he couldn't laugh or cry.

But in fact, what he is most satisfied with is Wang Yan's carefulness. This point is not wrong; if Wang Yan were not careful, he would have died early. And it's not just Wang Yan; people who can be counted in Shanghai are more careful than the other. Those who are not careful and not cautious are either already dead or on the way to death.

"By the way, Wang-sang, speaking of Ming Lou, there is one thing I want to ask you." Fujita Yoshimasa looked into Wang Yan's eyes, "We learned that there is a servant in Ming Lou's house who is Ming Cheng's foster mother. But I don't know why, she suddenly left a letter and disappeared. The letter said something about Ming Cheng still not forgiving her, she was not comfortable in the Ming family, so it was better to go to a place where they couldn't see each other. Ming Lou also doesn't know her whereabouts, but he said that this servant often went to find the servant in your house to talk before. Do you know about this?"

"I did hear my subordinates mention this matter before, and I even asked the servants at home about it. Perhaps it was that servant from the Ming household who was curious about me, always prying into my affairs. I didn't pay it any mind, thinking they were sent by Ming Lou, or perhaps they wanted to extract some intelligence from my servants, or maybe they were trying to engage in 'servant diplomacy' to deepen our connections. After that, I didn't pay any more attention to it. As for what you said about the Ming family servant suddenly disappearing, I am not aware of that."

In Wang Yan's eyes, there were two words written in capital letters: blank, and it was only after thinking for a long time that he spoke, and his words were also clearing his relationship. However, he saw the suspicion in Fujita Yoshimasa's eyes; obviously, he didn't believe his words.

When looking at others with suspicious eyes, no matter how one speaks, one will still be suspicious; Fujita Yoshimasa is in this situation now. Obviously, the statement he got from Ming Lou was not that simple, it was just throwing this matter onto Wang Yan. So in this situation, no matter how Wang Yan speaks, Fujita Yoshimasa is suspicious.

And Wang Yan has a criminal record; the captain under him before could have not died after being dug out, but he died. The Japanese all know this; Wang Yan deliberately killed people. This is a very simple substitution thinking; if it were them, they would also make the same choice as Wang Yan. It's just that there is no need to pursue it; this is just raising it high and putting it down lightly.

And there was also the time when Nantian Yangzi was alive, she once installed a bug in Wang Yan's house to monitor Wang Yan's situation. Although Wang Yan didn't break out, according to understanding, Wang Yan's eyes were going to kill people at that time.

So in summary, Wang Yan is very disgusted with others bugging, monitoring, and probing his situation. After all, anyone can't stand it, let alone Wang Yan, who controls huge energy.

Wang Yan knows very well how they think, so his answer is also very particular. Although he is clearing his relationship, he also said he knew about the situation of this Ming family servant. And the answer Fujita Yoshimasa wants to get from him is not whether this Ming family servant was killed by him, but whether he knows or not. Fujita Yoshimasa has already innately believed that he knows, so he did it.

But Fujita Yoshimasa will not suspect that Wang Yan did it on purpose, because even if all the Ming family members were tied up, they would not be qualified to be opponents in Wang Yan's eyes, let alone an unknown Ming family servant? With Wang Yan's status and his knowledge of the times, he is too lazy to know more about such small characters with ulterior motives, and just sends someone to kill them.

Because what if something goes wrong during the interrogation? And Wang Yan doesn't care about those things on the surface; he knows those are redundant. So he really doesn't know, doesn't understand.

This is also the main reason why Ming Lou wants Wang Yan to take the blame; this pot is just right on Wang Yan's head. Because Wang Yan is an outsider and "doesn't know" anything. Even more so, he wouldn't know whether this Ming family servant was sent by Ming Lou or by the Japanese.

Doesn't Wang Yan know Ming Lou's plan? He knows it very well. Because without his cooperation, it cannot be self-consistent. After all, this is not like the original plot, where the matter of the Poison Bee was made, and Ming Cheng took Nantian Yangzi out to die.

They are all Red Party, so he didn't say much. If it weren't for this, if it weren't for using him in this kind of thing, in less than three days, the whole Ming family would have to feed the fish. Ming Lou feels that he has the wisdom pearl in his hand and feels that he has manipulated him? Who does Ming Lou think he is?

Fujita Yoshimasa doesn't know much about this. He got what he wanted, but even if he had confirmed that Lone Wolf was killed by Wang Yan, he couldn't say it directly to Wang Yan. After all, this matter is not glorious, and it can be done but not said. And Wang Yan's status is unusual; not to mention that Wang Yan doesn't know the situation, even if he did, he wouldn't have any way.

After pondering for a moment, he looked at Wang Yan, who was frowning opposite him with full eyes of incomprehension, and said: "Wang-sang, don't think too much. The reason I know about the Ming family's servant is that all the people in the Special Higher Education Division and 76 were investigated a while ago. Ming Lou's rank is high, so we naturally know more about his situation. I can guarantee to you that we absolutely didn't send anyone to follow by your side."

Wang Yan nodded with a smile and poured tea for him: "What is General Fujita saying? Even if you sent someone to follow by my side, it is out of protection for me. On this point, I understand. As long as it is not like the previous Section Chief Nantian, sending someone to catch my servant's son, insisting that he is Red Party, forcing my servant to submit, and filling the house with bugs, and arranging people to monitor next to my house. This is not treating a friend, but treating a lamb to be imprisoned."

Iwai Eiichi laughed: "Wang-sang, we all know about this matter, but it was only that one time. In the final analysis, it was Nantian Yangzi who didn't do things properly and was too radical. Of course, it was also because you were relatively distant from our Great Japanese Empire at that time; perhaps Nantian Yangzi had no choice."

"Of course, Iwai-sensei, I understand everything. I believe even more in the good intentions of the Great Japanese Empire toward friends, and even more in the good intentions of the two of you toward me. Now we are sitting together drinking tea, talking and laughing, isn't it beautiful? Before, it was also because I was too cautious. If I had made a choice early, I'm afraid my achievements would be higher than now."

"Hahaha, it's never too late. Come, come, drink tea, drink tea." Iwai Eiichi laughed loudly and looked at Fujita Yoshimasa: "It will be noon in a while, Fujita-kun, Wang-sang, let's have lunch together. We haven't talked well together for a long time, let's have a good chat today."

Fujita Yoshimasa had nothing to say, and Wang Yan would not refuse, so the three of them chatted enthusiastically.

Why enthusiastic? Because Wang Yan expressed his stance.

Falanxi's defeat and the establishment of the puppet government made Wang Yan lose his hope for the Municipal Council. Although he would still work in the French Concession in the future, he had to pay more attention to the Japanese side.

Of course, although he expressed his stance, he didn't confirm it; he just loosened his tone. Otherwise, if the French knew about it later, he would still have less trouble.

No one cares more about Wang Yan's situation than Ming Lou. After Wang Yan finished lunch and connected his feelings, Wang Yan wandered outside for a few hours, and in the afternoon, Ming Lou and Ming Cheng came to Wang Yan again.

Because they were sitting at a scattered table and not in a private room, Ming Lou and Ming Cheng sat on both sides of Wang Yan at the square table. Ming Lou poured tea for Wang Yan diligently and raised his glass with a smile: "Coming uninvited, I am truly sorry, Mr. Wang."

"Then you have too much to apologize for." Wang Yan drank tea, didn't even look at the Ming brothers, his eyes fell on the stage, "I know your intention, but I really don't know where Wang Manchun is."

"Mr. Wang, we have no choice. In this kind of time, doing more or less is wrong. Once the eyes of suspicion fall on us, it is difficult to erase them. So it is better to be natural; after all, I am still the Director of the Economic Department, and you are the most influential businessman in Shanghai; our dealings have legitimate reasons."

Wang Yan shook his head and smiled: "You Red Party people are truly formidable. If I am not wrong, it must be that at the cocktail party that night, when little Master Ming took action, he left some flaws and was noticed by Nantian Yangzi. And when you and Ming Cheng went to the place, you were discovered by Nantian Yangzi to have abnormalities. So, having no choice, your Shanghai underground party sent out Pei Min, this ace killer, to assassinate Nantian Yangzi."