Chapter 698: The Eighth District

"Chief Kitagawa, I believe that the news you told me last time was not the whole truth. Besides Ming Jing's sudden exposure, did anything else go wrong?"

"Not yet."

Wang Yan laughed and drank his tea, saying nothing more. His meaning was clear: this was directed at him.

"Wang Sang, I express my apologies once again; please understand." Kitagawa Kosuke, who was kneeling, supported his thighs with both hands, straightened his body, and bowed, displaying the fine habits of the little Japanese.

"Understand, of course I understand. Chief Kitagawa, if I were you, I would also be suspicious. However, the difference between you and me is that I wouldn't ask; I would monitor silently. On this point, I think Mr. Iwai also knows. For so many years, there have been no shortage of eyes around me. If I really had problems, Chief Kitagawa would not be able to know me."

"Wang Sang, don't worry too much; this is also for your protection." Iwai Eiichi said with a smile, "It was also a sudden incident that ruined Chief Kitagawa's deployment. Expectations were too high, and the result didn't match, so it's hard not to lose one's composure."

"After deploying for so long, it can't be that there was no harvest at all, right?"

Kitagawa Kosuke sighed: "Of course there was some harvest, but as Mr. Iwai said, our expectations were too high. Originally, if things had developed according to our plan, we could have mastered the situation of the Communist Party's Shanghai traffic station step by step and destroyed their traffic lines. But now, because of Ming Jing's sudden exposure, our deployment was disrupted; although I haven't received the results of the action yet, I think we won't catch any important figures."

"If I'm not mistaken, you must have already turned or sent people to infiltrate the Communist Party, otherwise there is no way to explain why you mastered the intelligence so long ago but didn't act the first time. Since only Ming Jing is exposed now, the people you planted are safe; as long as they continue to lurk and continue to gain the trust of the Communist Party, it won't take long to have a harvest and deal a heavy blow to the Communist Party."

Casually saying a piece of nonsense, Wang Yan turned to ask: "Mr. Iwai, Chief Kitagawa, I don't know how Ming Lou and Ming Jing are being arranged?"

Looking at Iwai Eiichi, Kitagawa Kosuke pondered and said: "This time the incident was sudden and disrupted our deployment. We cannot determine whether Ming Jing's exposure was accidental or whether they had learned the news through some channel and staged a bitter meat strategy for us. From the current results, no matter what, Ming Jing cannot stay out of it, so her active exposure is the best choice. If this is the case, then there is still value in digging into her."

"As for Ming Lou, we currently cannot determine whether he just found out, and we need to conduct a more detailed investigation to find more evidence to prove his innocence. These all take time; it will take three to five days to say anything. This time, I don't think it will have too much impact on your business, right?"

"It doesn't have too much impact, but as long as it is affected, what I lose is money." Wang Yan drank a sip of tea and continued: "I still say the same thing: if Ming Lou has no problems, and it is proven that Ming Jing was indeed accidentally exposed, then let her go. You just said that Ming Lou ran to see Ming Jing the first time he received the news and scolded her, and Ming Jing took the initiative to confess to Ming Lou. Since this is the case, Ming Jing will have no way to contact the Communist Party in the future and can only do business peacefully."

"This is certain, Wang Sang." Iwai Eiichi expressed his position and gave an affirmative word, "I also say the same thing: if it is confirmed that Ming Lou has no problems, then no matter whether Ming Jing has problems or not, as long as she is willing to cooperate, then she is free. We have already made Ming Lou lose his brother; we cannot let him lose his sister again."

Wang Yan nodded with a smile: "Speaking of which, this Ming Lou is not easy; he has been suspected quite a bit these past few years. If I were to say, if there is no problem this time, Mr. Iwai might as well consider it; don't let him hold a position in the Special Committee; I don't know what he thinks, but even I, an outsider, am annoyed looking at it."

"Wang Sang is right; in fact, he has been declining for the past two years, but I didn't agree. Ding Mocun, Li Shiqun, and the others may not be on the same side as the Great Japanese Empire. Although Ming Lou is also like this, their fighting is naturally beneficial to me. On this point, I think you can understand my painstaking efforts."

"Of course, Mr. Iwai, you are a superior with wisdom."

Wang Yan said flattering words with his face licked, and after talking for a long time, he said goodbye and left the Iwai Tianyue Gongguan...

"Mr. Iwai, what do you think?" Seeing the sliding door close, Kitagawa Kosuke leaned close to Iwai Eiichi and asked while pouring tea.

"This is your business; you should say your opinion."

"Wang Yan's mind is too deep; I have no grasp." Kitagawa Kosuke frowned, was silent for a long time, let out a long breath, and shook his head, "However, if I have to say whether he told Ming Lou, I don't think so."

Iwai Eiichi laughed, looking like you are still young, put down the teacup and said: "You haven't had much contact with him, and your understanding of him is not much either. People's words can be fake, but actions won't be. I have known him for four years; in these four years, he has never made a mistake and has always been cautious. If he had problems, given his position and the industries he controls, there would be no other way but death. I told you, his only secret is that he doesn't know how much money he has."

"Although he used the excuse of having something to do, but ended up eating with his subordinates, perhaps it would make Ming Lou notice some clues. Not to mention whether he was intentional, or unintentional because he didn't put Ming Lou in his eyes, even if he was intentional, it is normal. If it were you or me, we might make the same choice. If Ming Lou has no problems, after the storm subsides, he can sell a favor to Ming Lou. If there are problems, he can sell a favor to the two parties. No matter what, he doesn't lose."

"So you think this time is really accidental?"

"It is very likely accidental, but we cannot lower our guard and still need to search for enough evidence. The Great Japanese Empire's situation is not very good now, and Ming Lou's position is relatively critical. As long as he is not a person of the two parties, then it can be appropriately relaxed. War is about you having me and me having you; after all, even if we are, we are selling goods to the two parties in large quantities through Wang Yan. We are also trading penicillin with the Communist Party. Although this has made the situation of the two parties, especially the Communist Party, much better, we have also made money and saved the lives of the Empire's warriors."

【Stable novel app running for many years, comparable to the old version of the source-changing app that everyone is using, huanyuanapp.】

"There is also Zhou Fuhai; he is the same type of person as Wang Yan, just born earlier than Wang Yan. Do you really think I don't know about his secret contact with Military Statistics? Do you think he doesn't know that I know he has contact with Military Statistics?"

Kitagawa Kosuke nodded: "I understand, Mr. Iwai; I will handle it well."

"Go do things; I think your actions should have some results."

Iwai Eiichi picked up the teacup and drank tea, pretending to have a profound demeanor...

Wang Yan didn't deliberately try to find out more news; he just inferred from the news he had already mastered that this potential huge danger had basically ended.

Ming Jing took the initiative to expose, and others took the opportunity to secretly retreat. No matter whether those who were turned were discovered, it was only a matter of time, and they absolutely couldn't make any big waves. After all, the scope of suspects was fixed, and the personnel involved could be counted; even if the stupidest method was used, using fake intelligence to probe circle by circle, it wouldn't take three rounds.

As for the safety of Ming Lou and Ming Jing, the evidence that the Special High Police needed—that Ming Jing was indeed accidentally exposed and Ming Lou was really ignorant—would definitely appear in the near future, and it wouldn't take long to get out of trouble. It's just that after this time, Ming Lou would have to be ten thousand times more careful. After all, in these few years, he had been suspected frequently; although it was eventually proven to have nothing to do with him, and even found other scapegoats, he couldn't withstand being suspected and probed like this.

This incident, speaking of it, was very simple, but the danger in it was not enough for outsiders to know.

Wang Yan reported the news to the leaders; the leaders pondered for a while, then notified the Suzhou and Shanghai underground party organizations; the intelligence was not that detailed yet, and the Suzhou side had to screen and identify according to the time, and couldn't alarm others. The Shanghai side had to pretend not to know, secretly sort out the business lines involving Ming Jing, and look for the source of the problem from the side. Finally, there had to be Ming Lou's caution in not knowing the truth, and the final determination to push Ming Jing out directly.

The key was that Suzhou, Shanghai, and Ming Lou all had to reflect; if they hadn't learned the news in advance, what kind of disaster would they have faced? Scaring oneself was the most terrible thing; as long as one thought about it, one could be scared awake in a dream.

Because once the Japanese army really broke the surface with a point, it would be a huge blow to the underground work in Suzhou and Shanghai. Even the anti-Japanese base area in Southern Jiangsu would have the worry of overturning.

Wang Yan had a feeling that if he didn't know this news, he would have to go out and act, which could be considered as strangling the crisis in the cradle...

As expected, four days later, Ming Lou, Ming Cheng, and Ming Jing were released and returned to the Ming Tianyue Gongguan. After a meal of surviving a disaster, the next day, Ming Lou threw himself into work and made an appointment with Wang Yan to have lunch.

"Mr. Wang, this glass of wine, we two brothers, again on behalf of our Big Sister, toast you!"

Ming Lou and Ming Cheng raised their glasses seriously and drank them in one gulp, very straightforwardly.

"It's nothing, just a small effort. If you hadn't survived this time, I would have had favors on both sides later; why not do it?" Wang Yan laughed and drank the wine, saying, "However, you are indeed amazing; you actually were willing to let Ming Big Sister take the initiative to expose herself; this bitter meat strategy was performed well."

Ming Lou shook his head with a bitter smile: "It was also a helpless move. We didn't know where the problem lay; later, we found clues at Liang Zhongchun's place; at that time, his subordinates caught the person, and later they were taken away by the Special High Police. At the same time, the Suzhou underground party organization contacted us; they discovered two traitors there. Over the next few days, we investigated secretly, determined several suspicious candidates, and after discussion, we decided to use my Big Sister to break the situation."

He didn't say why it wasn't directly starting from the traitors; perhaps he didn't know the source of the intelligence, or perhaps he knew but didn't say. Wang Yan thought that Ming Lou didn't know the source of the intelligence, and didn't even know there was intelligence, just knowing there was news from Suzhou and preparation in Shanghai, and even denied his proposal to counter-kill the Japanese army starting from the traitors, and finally thought of using Ming Jing to expose herself to break the situation.

Wang Yan nodded and said: "No matter what, you have passed through this time safely. However, you must never let your Big Sister do anything again in the future; don't even have contact. I see your Big Sister clearly; she is not the material for underground struggle. If she contacts the Communist Party again, it will implicate your whole family; it's better to do business steadily."

"I heard from Iwai Eiichi that you pleaded for my Big Sister the first time; thank you for your help." While speaking, Ming Lou drank another glass, and Ming Cheng followed suit without a word, followed by silently pouring wine without a word.

Both of them drank, and Wang Yan, of course, drank too; he laughed and picked up the food: "Actually, I wasn't helping you, but helping myself. Your Ming family's business has been cooperating with my Yonghua Industry for several years, and the binding is a bit deep; if you have an accident, I will also have a lot of trouble; if one is damaged, both are damaged. Speaking of business, actually Ming Big Sister doesn't have to do anything herself; after all, I am the largest material supplier in the Soviet area and hold the exclusive sales right of the Communist Party's penicillin. If she honestly does business with me, that is helping the Communist Party and fulfilling her own principles."

"Yes, you are right. I have already instructed her before; she herself has also realized her shortcomings and has decided to do business steadily. It is really not easy to escape and save her life this time..."

"Wasn't Liang Zhongchun suspected? How did he get out of trouble?"

"By being stubborn! Hard to say he forgot. When asked what A-Cheng was looking for him for, he said it was about business. The Japanese had no evidence, so he mixed through. However, after this time, he probably won't be able to sit in the position of Chief of the Intelligence Division."

Wang Yan smiled; it was good enough that Liang Zhongchun could live: "Do you know the news that Tokyo was bombed today?"

Ming Lou laughed: "Of course I heard; everyone in the puppet government is discussing it now. Good fellow, the Americans are really powerful. We don't have that ability; we don't have many planes, let alone flying so far to bomb the Japanese mainland. I see, a bigger battle is about to break out; the Japanese are very vengeful..."

In May, the Japanese army carried out a large-scale sweep in the North China region, aimed at the Communist Party's Mobile Corps Commander forces. To put it in a larger direction, by now, after years of struggle and development, the Communist Party's armed forces had made leaps and bounds in scale, equipment, and combat effectiveness, and the threat index to the Japanese had risen exponentially. At the same time, Japan had opened up the Pacific battlefield, fighting on multiple fronts, and was already somewhat powerless. They hoped to concentrate their forces to do big things and first sweep away the Communist Party's armed forces.

The Communist Party's troops were, of course, not vegetarian, not to mention that they had long since received the intelligence provided by Wang Yan and were prepared. The situation in North China suddenly became chaotic. In the words of "Bright Sword," it was a mess. The Japanese army's idea of wanting to resolve the Communist Party's armed forces in North China not only failed to materialize but instead exacerbated the consumption and fell deeper into the quagmire.

Ming Lou's understanding of the Japanese was correct; the Japanese were indeed vengeful. In June, the famous Battle of Midway started. After two days, the United States collapsed the Japanese navy, becoming the turning point of the Pacific War. After the war, the Japanese held a grand welcome ceremony for the air and sea troops who returned from defeat, as if they were the winners...

In July, the even more famous Battle of Stalingrad started, which was the turning point of World War II. History had already determined that Germany would suffer a disastrous defeat in this war, and the Soviet Union would suffer a miserable victory.

Turning to the year 1943, the beginning of the year was a heavy piece of news that looked like a joke.

On January 9th, the Wang Zhaoming government declared war on Britain and the United States, and at the same time signed an agreement with the Japanese to return the concessions.

Two days later, the US and Britain abandoned the concessions in China; this was to demand the legal ruling power of the concessions. But the statement issued was "return."

And this was just the beginning; in February, after various negotiations, the French Vichy government controlled by Germany announced the abandonment of the concessions in China.

After a period of promotion and reception, on July 30th, the Wang Zhaoming government officially received the French Concession and renamed it the Eighth District.

The history of the Shanghai French Concession, which lasted for nearly a hundred years, ended here... ===== CHAPTER 699 =====

The history of the Shanghai French Concession, which lasted nearly a hundred years, ended here...