NFBE Chapter 1125 Father is Wise
Chapter 1125 Father is Wise
The village of Zhangjiazhuang was shrouded in a deathly silence in the dead of night. A cold wind blew in from the grasslands outside the Great Wall, carrying fine sand that pattered against the windows with a soft rustling sound.
The office building of the military police headquarters was brightly lit, but the innermost room on the second floor was filled with smoke, like a lingering dark cloud.
Shoji Kanai sat behind a large mahogany desk, smoking one cigarette after another.
He wasn't wearing a military uniform, but rather a dark blue silk jacket, a small round cap on his head, and a jade thumb ring on his right ring finger, its emerald green gleaming warmly under the lamplight. This attire made him look less like a Japanese military police commander and more like a wealthy landowner from the western provinces or Suiyuan region—shrewd, cunning, and greedy for money.
In reality, Kanai Shoji was always a pure person. He joined the army not for the "righteous cause of the Imperial Army" or for the "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere." His purpose in becoming an official was very simple—to make money.
As long as he could make a fortune while keeping his official position, he could be exceptionally flexible in handling matters. In this area outside the Great Wall, as long as Han Chinese, nomads, Manchus, die-hard traitors, speculators, and even guerrillas from afar maintained a semblance of order and didn't interfere with his business or his payments to his superiors, he would turn a blind eye.
The telephone on the table suddenly rang sharply. "Ring ring ring—" Kanai picked up the receiver unhurriedly. "Hello, Mr. Kanai, an urgent report from the Xuanhua Railway Section," the voice on the other end of the line was visibly tense, "a special train has derailed, and all passengers... are dead. They have already sent people to cordon off and protect the scene, and they would like to ask if we should send anyone else to investigate."
Shoji Kanai's lips curled slightly upward, but his voice was as calm as still water: "I'll send someone over immediately." After hanging up the phone, he was silent for a moment, then got up, walked to the coat rack, took off his mandarin jacket, and put on a crisp military uniform. In the mirror, he instantly transformed from a shrewd businessman into a cold-blooded military police commander. He then took a pistol from the drawer, checked the magazine, and put it in its holster.
Before leaving, he called his secretary and whispered, "Also, inform Prince De. The train derailment is no small matter. Tell him I'll go to the scene personally." The secretary nodded and left.
The distance from Zhangjiazhuang to the accident site is only a little over a hundred li, but the road was muddy and difficult to travel at night. Horse-drawn carriages and cars took turns to travel, and by the time they arrived, the sky was already beginning to lighten.
The accident scene was a complete mess. The derailed train lay askew beside the tracks, its carriages twisted and deformed, and the steam locomotive belching residual white smoke. More than a dozen bodies lay scattered haphazardly on the snow, some thrown from the train, others still wedged against the broken windows. The air was thick with the smells of burning, blood, and gunpowder.
Shoji Kanai put on white gloves and personally got out of the car to inspect the scene. He walked around the area, his sharp eyes scanning every detail: the obvious crater in the rails, the scattered remnants of homemade explosives, the hoofprints and messy footprints everywhere, the gunshot wounds on the corpse's head...
The head of the counter-espionage department, Ichiro Sato, strode forward, saluted, and reported solemnly: "Commander, based on the traces at the scene, someone planted bombs on the tracks beforehand. Judging from the explosive force, it doesn't seem to be military explosives used by the regular army; it's more like homemade black powder. Otherwise, it's impossible that only the carriages were thrown out while the locomotive wasn't completely destroyed. Furthermore, almost all the bodies showed signs of close-range gunshot wounds, indicating that the murderer's purpose was very clear—to kill and silence witnesses. Considering all these characteristics, it is highly likely that it was done by those Red Army guerrillas in the west."
Jin Jingzhang nodded, his tone calm: "Very good. Compile the survey results into a telegram and send it immediately to the Special Service Department of the North China Area Army. Emphasize that it was the work of the Red Bandits and suggest strengthening the suppression."
Sato Ichiro hesitated slightly: "Sir, isn't it a bit... a bit too quick to reach a conclusion... Colonel Uchida is, after all..."
Kanai glanced at him and said calmly, "Sato-kun, Colonel Uchida's death is certainly heartbreaking. But the situation outside the Great Wall is complex, and our responsibility is to maintain order, not to muddy the waters further. You understand what I mean."
Sato immediately bowed his head: "Yes, sir! I understand."
Peking, North China Front Army Headquarters.
When news of Eisuke Uchida's death reached Beiping, it was already noon the next day.
The atmosphere inside the headquarters was heavy. General Okamura Yasuji sat behind a large desk, a newly delivered intelligence report spread out in front of him, his brow furrowed.
Eisuke Uchida, a colonel and commander of the military police, died on his way to inspect Zhangjiazhuang. All the guards in the car perished; evidence at the scene indicated a bomb followed by a gunshot wound—a highly professional operation.
"Is it really such a coincidence?" Okamura Neiji muttered to himself, his fingers tapping lightly on the table.
Another name involuntarily came to mind—Kitahara Ransuke.
Now that Uchida has suddenly died a violent death, what will Kitahara do...?
Okamura Neiji rubbed his temples, feeling a wave of fatigue. Just then, there was a knock at the door.
"Boom boom boom!"
"Come in!"
Nowadays, Tadashi Okamura and Ninji Okamura have a better and better relationship, at least that's what Ninji Okamura thinks. He's happy to discuss things with his son, believing it's a good way to train him.
"Zhongzheng is here. Take a look at this report."
Okamura Ninji pushed the report off the table, and Okamura Tadamasa stepped forward, picked it up, and carefully looked through it.
"Is it that chaotic outside the Great Wall? Uchida is on a special train. If someone wants to ambush him, they need to know the exact departure time of the special train, otherwise they will definitely be spotted by the patrolling soldiers, right?"
Okamura nodded. "That's what I meant too. Kanai Shoji's report said that based on the traces at the scene, it was done by the Red Bandits' guerrillas. But how did the Red Bandits know that Uchida would go to Zhangjiazhuang?"
“Father, the Red Bandits certainly had a motive to do this, because Uchida destroyed their underground transportation lines. I'm afraid the Red Bandits have long considered Uchida a serious threat and wanted to eliminate him as soon as possible. As for who leaked the information, could it be the Special Service Department…?”
When Okamura Tsuji saw that his son thought the same way, he couldn't help but feel a little gratified.
My son has grown up!
“Father, I dare to offer my humble opinion. Now that Uchida is dead, regardless of whether the Special Service Department has any problems, it is not advisable to investigate further, especially since the place where Uchida was killed is outside the Great Wall. The area outside the Great Wall is an important source of our revenue. Every year, Kanai Shoji alone gives you... cough cough. Why not let Lin Jun investigate? He is extremely intelligent and will surely be able to handle this matter properly.”
Okamura couldn't help but laugh out loud. "What kind of method is this? When in doubt, you go to Lin-kun?"
"Father, since we have such capable people around us, why not use them?"
"Tadashi, to be honest, the reason I took the opportunity to heavily promote Uchida Eisuke was because I was somewhat worried that Kitahara would join forces with Hayashizawa..."
Okamura Tadamasa said solemnly, "Father, you are mistaken!"
"Ok?"
“Father, you have a broad perspective and think things through. In reality, Lin Jun is only superficially friendly with everyone. Perhaps Bei Yuan wants to win Lin Jun over, but Lin Jun will never ally with Bei Yuan!”
"how do I say this?"
"Because they have no common interests. Lin Jun is in Tianjin, while Bei Yuan is in Beiping. Bei Yuan is the Minister of Special Affairs, so he naturally has a controlling role over Lin Jun, the commander of the Tianjin military police. Lin Jun not only controls the Tianjin military police, but he also does business with me and manages your businesses for Father. He is both an official and making money. Father has been extremely kind to him. Lin Jun is not a citizen, so his official career is over. Why would he still join forces with Bei Yuan? Does Bei Yuan have the ability to make Lin Jun a major general?"
After Okamura Tadamasa said that, Okamura Ninji seemed to realize what was going on.
Could it be that I'm just being paranoid?
"In that case, let Lin Jun investigate the case. If it really was the Red Bandits' guerrillas who ambushed Uchida Eisuke, then let Lin Jun reorganize the military police headquarters in various places. While cracking down on the underground transportation lines in the Red areas, focus on eliminating the guerrillas around the major cities that dare to appear! I also have a plan recently. The Red forces are expanding more and more seriously now. Before I leave North China, I must wipe out all their forces east of the Taihang Mountains!"
"Father is wise!"