sovbooks Chapter 1964 Good News
Chapter 1964 Good News
Chapter 1964 Good News
“You should be quite busy right now.” Sakamoto Ryono also plopped down in his chair, subconsciously picked up a document on the table, glanced at it a few times, and then put it down, asking with a smile.
“I can still steal half a day of leisure,” Cheng Qianfan said, stirring his coffee. “Besides, you should know the situation in the French Concession. I’ll only have more and more free time in the future.”
"Does Miyazaki already know?" Sakamoto Ryono asked.
“I’ve heard some rumors.” Cheng Qianfan nodded. “Our teacher mentioned before that the Empire could hardly continue to tolerate the French Concession for long.”
"So, that's why I came to ask what's going on." He took a sip of coffee and asked Sakamoto Ryono, "Does Sakamoto-kun know how the Empire plans to handle the affairs of the French Concession?"
“If you had come to me a few days ago, I probably wouldn’t have been able to answer this question,” Sakamoto Ryano said with a smile, pointing to the safe where the files were stored. “The documents just came down yesterday morning.”
……
"What exactly do you mean?" Cheng Qianfan asked, deliberately showing a hint of anxiety.
"Miyazaki-kun is in a hurry," Sakamoto Ryono joked with his friend.
“Nonsense,” Cheng Qianfan said, getting up to check if the door was closed properly before continuing, “From the Empire’s perspective, recovering the French Concession as soon as possible is a good thing… but…”
“However…” Sakamoto Ryono nodded and said, “However, for Miyazaki-kun, this also means that your importance has been greatly reduced, and to a certain extent, your interests in the French Concession will be greatly damaged.”
Cheng Qianfan was silent for a moment, then he lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and nodded. "You are my best friend. Only in front of you do I dare to say these things from the bottom of my heart."
“Miyazaki-kun, this is an inevitable trend that cannot be changed or stopped by any individual’s will,” Sakamoto Ryono comforted his friend.
“I understand,” Cheng Qianfan said. “I didn’t intend to stop anything, nor am I capable of doing anything.”
“Sakamoto-kun,” he said to Sakamoto Ryono, “you should know that I have accumulated some connections and wealth in the French Concession over the years.”
Ryono Sakamoto nodded, understanding that his friend was actually referring to the wealth.
……
"The Empire's complete takeover of the French Concession may be a new leap forward for my career, but it may also have some negative impacts," Cheng Qianfan said, looking sincerely at Sakamoto Ryono. "You know, I have to plan ahead."
"Are you referring to the conflict with the Mitsui Kaikan?" Sakamoto Ryono asked.
The conflict between Kentaro Miyazaki and the Mitsui Kaikan has a long history. People from the Mitsui Kaikan had secretly monitored Miyazaki, and the monitors were even arrested and interrogated by Kogoro Imamura.
Later, the industries supported by the Mitsui Kaikan clashed with the interests of Miyazaki Kentaro's Kyu-Kyu Trading. If both sides had not exercised restraint, a more serious bloodshed would have occurred long ago.
To be precise, the existence of the French Concession regime and the influence of "Little Cheng" in the French Concession made it difficult for even the Mitsui Guild to resist, forcing it to temporarily cease its activities.
It is conceivable that once the empire fully takes over the French Concession, the power and influence of Miyazaki-kun's local regime in the French Concession will be weakened, and the 'peaceful' situation may be broken.
“It’s not just the Mitsui Club.” Cheng Qianfan sneered and said, “The business operations and expansion of ‘Jiujiu Trading’ over the years have not only been hated by Chinese merchants, but also by many imperial merchants who feel that we have encroached on and squeezed their interests.”
As he spoke, he sighed, “Those anti-Japanese elements used the French Concession as a refuge for their survival. As far as I am concerned, the existence of the French Concession and the police station did provide me with some protection in a certain sense.”
……
"Miyazaki-kun, you can't say those things after you leave this room," Sakamoto Ryono said with a smile.
"I'll only say this to you," Cheng Qianfan said with a wry smile, shaking his head. "Even in front of the teacher, I might not dare to say these things."
“So, for you, Miyazaki-kun…” Sakamoto Ryano pondered, “what is closely related to your fate is the power of the police station.”
"There's an old Chinese saying: 'He who has the strongest army and the most powerful horses is the emperor.' That's the point," Cheng Qianfan nodded and said.
"Then I'm afraid Miyazaki-kun, you'd better prepare for contingencies in advance," Sakamoto Ryono said.
Cheng Qianfan immediately adopted a serious expression and began to listen attentively.
“I’ll show you the documents directly,” Sakamoto Ryono suddenly said.
"Forget it," Cheng Qianfan advised. "You can just tell me."
Sakamoto Ryono looked at his friend with a puzzled expression.
"Given my position, I most likely wouldn't be qualified to see this document; this is a leak," Cheng Qianfan said.
……
“We can’t do anything that violates confidentiality rules.” He handed a cigarette to Sakamoto Ryono and winked. “Let’s continue our conversation.”
Sakamoto Ryono understood. He smiled, lit a cigarette, took a light puff, and pointed at his friend. "Alright, let's continue chatting."
“The Empire plans to take action against the French Concession next month,” Sakamoto Yoshino said.
"Given the serious security problems in the French Concession, the French Concession government, especially its law enforcement agencies, was no longer able to protect the personal and property rights of the vast majority of citizens in the French Concession."
"Therefore, the Empire believed that the need to 'strengthen security' in the French Concession was urgent."
"Therefore, the Empire plans to forcibly take over the police and administrative powers of the French Concession next month..."
"...Vichy France was only allowed to retain an empty administrative structure."
"In addition, the French Concession Municipal Council will warmly welcome the special 'advisor' sent by the Empire. The Empire will temporarily take special military control over the core powers of the French Concession, such as taxation and resource allocation."
Ryono Sakamoto has a good memory, and perhaps because of his work habits, his conversations sound more like he's writing a 'document report'.
“Sakamoto-kun,” Cheng Qianfan said, his eyes filled with gratitude, “if the Empire were to take full control of the police and administrative powers of the French Concession, how do you think the Empire would deal with the French Concession police station?”
"The document doesn't specifically mention this," Sakamoto Ryono said in a low voice. "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is only concerned with taking over the French Concession government itself. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has no further authority to participate in specific matters. To be precise, the military, especially the Gendarmerie Command, has more direct authority over the takeover of the French Concession's police and administrative powers."
……
“Miyazaki-kun,” he said to Kentaro Miyazaki, “you can discuss the more specific details with Atsuto-sama beforehand.”
“I understand.” Cheng Qianfan nodded seriously. “I will find time to visit Young Master Duren.”
Just then, there was a knock on the door of Ryono Sakamoto's office.
"Come in," Sakamoto Ryono said in a deep voice.
Cheng Qianfan also crossed his legs, enjoying his coffee with relish, appearing to be having a casual conversation.
He looked up and noticed that the person who came in was a somewhat unfamiliar face.
“Assistant Sakamoto, an urgent telegram from the Nanjing Embassy,” Komura Kanta said.
“Put it down, I’ll present it to the counselor in a moment,” said Sakamoto Ryono.
"Hai." Komura Kanta glanced at Cheng Qianfan, nodded slightly, and withdrew.
“This person looks unfamiliar,” Cheng Qianfan said.
“Kanta Komura, second-class confidential telegraph operator in the communications room,” Ryono Sakamoto said.
"Where's Matsuo-kun?" Cheng Qianfan asked.
“Matsuo Atsushi has been reassigned,” Sakamoto Ryono said, lowering his voice. “Matsuo has been temporarily transferred to Singapore.”
"I see." Cheng Qianfan nodded.
Then he saw Sakamoto Ryono open a drawer and take out a book with a black cover and no words.
"Stay away, I'm translating a telegram," Sakamoto Ryono said to his friend with a joking smile, glancing at Miyazaki Kentaro.
"You should have said so earlier! If I had known you were translating telegrams, I would have run out of this house immediately," Cheng Qianfan said with a laugh. He leaned back on the sofa, crossed his legs, squinted his eyes, and hummed a Fukushima slang tune.
In fact, out of the corner of his eye, he was squinting at the black book in Sakamoto Ryono's hand; he knew it must be a codebook.
The fact that Ryono Sakamoto translated the telegram in front of him is enough to show that the codebook's confidentiality level was not that high; otherwise, it wouldn't have been kept in a locked drawer but in a safe.
However, he had just heard that the coded telegram came from the Nanjing Embassy, which meant that it was a telegram exchange between the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and various embassies and consulates in China. At the very least, the codebook was used for telegram exchanges between the Nanjing Embassy and the Shanghai Consulate General.
……
Are the telegrams exchanged between Japanese embassies and consulates classified?
Very important.
Cheng Qianfan had a deep understanding of this, as he had obtained top-secret intelligence from Imamura Heitaro on many occasions. Among them, the top-secret intelligence about the Japanese strategic movements after the Marco Polo Bridge Incident was obtained through telegrams from Imamura Heitaro's study.
In fact, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs enjoys discussing various topics in private, especially the military's movements. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is accustomed to discussing and criticizing these matters privately.
……
As Cheng Qianfan was squinting in thought, he heard Sakamoto Ryono suddenly stand up.
"Nani!"
"Sakamoto-kun, what's wrong?" Cheng Qianfan immediately 'opened his eyes' and asked Sakamoto Ryono, "What happened?"
“Miyazaki-kun.” Sakamoto Ryono looked at Miyazaki Kentaro. “I remember Atsuto mentioned before that Onodera-kun is currently in the Imperial 15th Division?”
"Yes, that's right." Cheng Qianfan nodded.
Then his expression changed drastically. "Sakamoto-kun, has something happened to Onodera-kun? Or is there some situation with the 15th Division?"
“I don’t know if Onodera-kun is alright.” Sakamoto Ryono shook his head and said, “The telegram didn’t mention the situation of the officers, but it was Commander Sakai of the 15th Division who was in trouble.”
"What?!" Cheng Qianfan suddenly stood up, his eyes filled with shock, or rather, a glimmer of hope amidst the shock. "Is General Sakai alright?"
“Very unfortunate news.” Sakamoto Ryono shook his head and said, “General Sakai Naotsugu was ambushed on the Zhejiang front and has gone to meet the Great God of Amanuma.”
"This is impossible," Cheng Qianfan said, somewhat agitated. "How could this be?"
……
"General Sakai, as the division commander, has so many imperial warriors protecting him..." he said, "What are the officers and soldiers of the 15th Division doing? How are they protecting their division commander?"
"The telegram said that Division Commander Sakai unfortunately encountered a landmine trap set by the Chinese army," Sakamoto Ryono said.
"Landmines?" Cheng Qianfan asked, his brows furrowed.
“Yes.” Sakamoto Ryono nodded and said, “When General Sakai was inspecting the front-line terrain with his officers, he was caught in a landmine trap set by the Chinese army and unfortunately died.”
"How could this be?" Cheng Qianfan didn't even notice the ash falling from his cigarette. He said, "What are the engineers doing? Why didn't they survey and clear the landmines beforehand!"
“The specifics are still unclear.” Sakamoto Ryono shook his head and said, “We can only confirm that General Sakai died from a landmine planted by the Chinese army. As for anything else, we have not yet learned anything.”
"Bagyaloo!" Cheng Qianfan's face was extremely gloomy. He reached for his cigarette, but after taking a puff, he realized it was out. Frustrated, he stubbed it out in the ashtray. "First, Commander Sawada Shigeru was blinded by a naval mine, and now Division Commander Sakai has also been killed by a landmine..."
Cheng Qianfan said in a muffled voice, "What's been going on lately? It's absolutely terrible."
As he spoke, he looked at Sakamoto Ryono and said, “Sakamoto-kun, I’m a little worried about Onodera-kun. As far as I know, Onodera-kun is highly regarded by General Sakai, and the General often summons him to accompany him.”
……
"The telegram did not mention any casualties among General Sakai's entourage," Sakamoto Ryono told Miyazaki Kentaro.
“I’m going to the Military Police Headquarters right now,” Cheng Qianfan said to Sakamoto Ryono.
"Call me if you have any news." Sakamoto Ryono nodded and said, "I'm also worried about Onodera-kun's safety."
“I will,” Cheng Qianfan said to Sakamoto Ryono.
……
Heitaro Imamura was standing at the window when he saw Kentaro Miyazaki descend the steps of the consulate general, hurriedly get into his car, and then drive away under the escort of bodyguards.
He pressed the bell. "Assistant Sakamoto, come here for a moment."
"Hai."
Sakamoto Ryano hurriedly arrived at the counselor's office.
“Counselor, you called me?” Sakamoto Ryono said.
In the workplace, he has become accustomed to addressing Imamura Heitaro by his official title.
“I just saw Kentaro rush out,” Imamura Heitaro said. “When did he arrive? Why did he leave without saying goodbye?”
“Miyazaki-kun is here to visit the counselor. Since the counselor was busy, he is waiting in my office for now,” Sakamoto Ryono said.
"Then why did you leave in such a hurry?" Imamura Heitaro asked, frowning.
"Counselor." Sakamoto Ryono did not answer the question directly, but instead presented the telegram with both hands. "A telegram from the Nanjing Embassy."
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(End of this chapter)