chsdbacks Chapter 116 What exactly do you want to do?
Chapter 116 What exactly do you want to do?
Yan Shuo read the telegram word by word, his fingertips gently tracing the signature seal at the end of the telegram, before looking up at Shen Qing.
Seeing this, Shen Qing smiled and took out a brocade box from his inner pocket, gently placed it on the table and pushed it over: "Here, I also brought you the medal. This sixth-class Yunhui Medal is a real bargaining chip, specially awarded to those who have made outstanding contributions in military affairs and behind enemy lines. Not many people in our Military Intelligence Bureau can get it. Wearing it will make you respected by both friendly forces and local factions."
Yan Shuo opened the brocade box, and a silver medal lay quietly on the red velvet background.
The medal features a military banner pattern surrounded by auspicious clouds on the front, with small silver stars along the edge and a one-inch-wide blue and white sash below. The design is rigorous and exudes a strong sense of honor.
For him, who had been working behind enemy lines without making any battlefield achievements, this was not only an affirmation of his covert work by headquarters, but also a legitimate proof to exercise the powers of a major general.
"Thank you for going to all this trouble, Brother Shen." Yan Shuo carefully put away the medal and the telegram, his tone calm but his seriousness undeniable.
Shen Qing picked up his coffee, took a sip, and lowered his voice to add, "Headquarters specifically instructed that this sixth-class Yunhui Medal is an exceptional award. According to regulations, intelligence and logistics personnel behind enemy lines need to accumulate three years of merit before they can apply. Your achievements in the past two years have been too outstanding, and the Director personally approved the expedited grant. The meaning is very clear: you are to take control of the intelligence and supply lines, and to clean up the ranks and consolidate forces."
Yan Shuo's eyes darkened slightly, and he asked casually, "Has headquarters heard anything about Zhang Lingchi?"
"I was just about to tell you even if you hadn't brought it up." Shen Qing put down his coffee cup, his expression becoming more serious. "The evidence you submitted has already taken effect. The headquarters' disciplinary inspection department is secretly investigating him. This old guy's background is indeed not clean. It's said that he made his fortune by embezzling military pay in his early years and also had shady dealings with the Wang Jingwei regime. Taking him down on the grounds of 'suspected collusion with Japan' is perfectly justified."
"Okay." Yan Shuo nodded in agreement, tapping his fingertips on the table. "I have already arranged for people to dig deep into his dirt, which will not only eliminate the potential threat but also solidify his suspicion of colluding with Japan."
A hint of approval flashed in Shen Qing's eyes: "You've thought of everything. By the way, remember to keep the sash of this medal safe; it's not advisable to wear it conspicuously during operations behind enemy lines."
French restaurants are crowded and noisy, so it's not advisable to linger there.
When Yan Shuo drove back to the base, it was already close to dusk.
He went straight into the bedroom, where Li Zhiyao was sitting by the window mending clothes. When she saw him come in, she looked up and smiled, "You're back? Judging from your expression, it seems like something good has happened."
Yan Shuo took out a brocade box, handed it to her, and opened it: "This is an award from headquarters, the Sixth Class Yunhui Medal, which promotes me to the rank of Colonel and allows me to temporarily assume the duties of a Major General."
Li Zhiyao put down her needlework, carefully picked up the medal and examined it, her face full of joy: "The Yunhui Medal! I heard that this is a legitimate military medal, not given casually! This is recognition of your hard work behind enemy lines these past two years."
She ran her fingertips over the auspicious cloud pattern on the medal, but couldn't help worrying, "It's just that the bigger the tree, the more the wind will blow against it. With more authority, more people will be watching you, especially the Guangxi Army. They probably won't let this go easily."
"I know." Yan Shuo sat down beside her and pulled her into his arms. "But with this medal and authority, dealing with Zhang Lingchi will be justified, and we'll have more confidence in integrating Zhou Tianba's troops. Once these hidden dangers are eliminated, our foundation will be solid."
The weather was fine that day. Yan Shuo was watching a singing performance at Yulouchun. The performers were Yamaguchi Ami, Huang Xiaonai, and Hashimoto Sakura, singers from his company. It was their special performance, and Yan Shuo came over to listen since he had nothing else to do.
All three were Yan Shuo's protégés, and were adopted by high-ranking Japanese military officials. Well, those who know, know.
Ami Yamaguchi followed Captain Takagi Takayuki of the Shanghai-based reporting department, who was the head of the cultural censorship section. Last month, that bastard was promoted and is now called a major.
Huang Xiaonai followed Kong Yao, the director of the publicity department of the SH Municipal Government.
Sakurako Hashimoto followed Major Kenji Matsui, the head of the Special Higher Police's Second Intelligence Section.
These three guys are extremely greedy for money. Yan Shuo often gives them money, but in the end, the money still ends up in Yan Shuo's hands. They spend money on beautiful women, jewelry, and real estate, throwing money away like water. When they run out, they ask Yan Shuo for more without batting an eye.
Through this back-and-forth, the three scoundrels became much closer to Yan Shuo, almost to the point of calling each other best friends. Otherwise, Yan Shuo's film company wouldn't have been able to develop so quickly. With these beasts watching over things, things became much easier.
Today's performance is to celebrate Kenji Matsui's promotion. That bastard has been promoted to lieutenant colonel, and we've invited quite a few people to celebrate, including Yan Shuo, who is a close friend and comrade-in-arms of the Japanese commander.
This Kenji Matsui position is quite crucial. This guy is in charge of a large network of informants and organizes intelligence briefings. Yan Shuo would often sneak into his office in the middle of the night and get a lot of high-quality intelligence. Otherwise, Yan Shuo would have been able to get promoted so quickly. He really has to thank this guy.
Huang Xiaonai's Japanese identity is Suzuki Nao, which the Japanese agents can easily find out, so they are naturally at ease. The identities of the other two are also openly revealed as Japanese names, without any pretense. Therefore, the people in the Japanese agent department are at ease, and they call on these girls to represent them for any celebrations, and they are generous with the money they give them.
Yan Shuo was still pondering whether 10 dolls were a bit too few. The other 7 dolls had also been taken by people, all of whom were high-ranking officials in the Japanese Navy, Army, and administrative departments, and were doing quite well. There were also other entertainers, and some of the living entertainers had also been taken by people, all of whom were celebrities and high-ranking officials. Recently, a few new people who were secret agents had also joined the entertainment industry, but Yan Shuo pretended not to know.
As long as Yan Shuo doesn't see the sneaky little tricks of those artist assistants, he'll pretend he doesn't know, as long as it doesn't interfere with the company's operations or his ability to obtain information. It's good to be ignorant.
Besides the Japanese spies that Yan Shuo needs to be wary of, he has recently discovered that his film company also has spies from the Soviet Union, Britain, the United States, and Germany. They have all managed to get positions, are decent at their jobs, but are not very honest.
Especially that Soviet spy, Ivan Petrov, who is ostensibly a director, does a decent job in his daily work, and makes decent films, but in private he actually follows Yan Shuo's driver Xiaomi and Xiaoya (both child secretaries). What is he planning to do?
Yan Shuo has invested heavily in these doll-like secretaries: combat skills, language skills, driving skills, firearms skills, as well as signal transmission chips in their heads, cameras behind their necks, and cameras in their eyes. If you're going to follow someone like this, you're asking for trouble.
"Artem Ignatiev, what exactly do you want? What are you trying to find out about me?"
Yan Shuo pondered Ivan's real name. This man had indeed served as the technical director of a film studio in the Soviet Union and knew how to make films.
But it's a bit worrying. This guy is always messing around with chemical powders, and it looks like he's aiming to make explosives. Xiaomi has already warned him that this brat is up to no good and is going to cause trouble.