Chapter 468: Ten years of life expectancy

Tianjin. The Japanese-controlled dock.

A ship flying the Japanese flag slowly docks.

At the command of the officer in charge, a large number of black-clad men line up to disembark. Each one looks solemn, like a wooden man.

There are also a large number of military policemen scattered around the dock.

More than 200 metres from the pier, several high-ranking Japanese spies were watching the commotion.

'Where are they from?'

'Xinjing.'

'The Koreans haven't arrived yet?'

'They will soon!'

Kishida Takeo then stopped talking.

From Xinjing? That means Manchukuo? Where is Kawashima Yoshiko?

It's strange, so many people have been transferred from Xinjing, but I don't see Kawashima Yoshiko. What is this bitch doing?

Kishida Takeo had a very bad impression of Kawashima Yoshiko.

This woman is too good at flattering. She is too capable. She also knows very well how to use her body as a weapon.

I guess many people in the Japanese high-level management have already been corrupted by her. They often give her benefits intentionally or unintentionally.

That is, he, Kishida Takeo, keeps himself clean and rarely comes into contact with Kawashima Yoshiko. Even when they were in Shanghai, he was not tempted by Kawashima Yoshiko. He knows very well that this woman is unreliable.

Did everyone else also feel that this bitch couldn't be trusted? So they went around her and kept her busy?

If so, that was a good thing.

'How many people?'

'Five hundred.'

'No. It's five hundred and seven.'

'Seven more?'

'Yes.'

'Impossible.'

'You see for yourself,'

Shigehide Shigekawa said coldly.

Wachi Kotani frowned. There was a mistake in the headcount? How was that possible?

Under the control of the Japanese army, all personnel movements must be strictly in accordance with orders. One more or one less is not allowed.

How could there be seven more?

'The seven at the back. They're women,' said Takeo Kishida in a low voice to Wachi Takatsugu.

'Let me see,' said Wachi Takatsugu, raising his binoculars.

Sure enough, at the back of the line of black-clad people, there were indeed a few people with slightly distinctive features.

They were wearing exactly the same black clothes as the others. They didn't seem to have any distinguishing features. They must have bound their breasts. They were also slightly shorter.

Looking closely, there was no sign of a Adam's apple. They were definitely women.

This was a big mistake.

Who had gone to all this trouble to get some women here? What did they want?

Were there no women in Tianshuiwei?

Did they have to be brought from Xinjing? Did the women in Xinjing have a special smell? Baka...

Shigekawa Shu was the first to express his dissatisfaction.

'Who transferred him? Who gave the order? What does he want?'

'Lord Kuroshima.'

'That's fine then.'

Shu Maochuan immediately changed his tone. Wachi Otaka also fell silent.

So it was that useless royal family member! Haha. At this time, he's still playing with this kind of special hobby. Really, what the hell.

Anyway, the few of them have all been quite dissatisfied with Ryuzo Kuroshima recently.

The main thing is that this guy is just taking up the toilet without doing anything.

He doesn't do anything. He dares not take responsibility. He just comes out and gives orders when there's nothing to do. And when there is something to do, he just shrinks into a shell.

Seriously, if he wasn't a member of the imperial family, they would have reported him to the military and sent him to guard the ice and snow in the faraway city of Harbin.

What a loser.

Heck.

Even the gatekeepers don't want him.

However, other people are members of the imperial family! Having that aura is enough.

Even the commander of the garrison, Tadao Toda, had to act friendly when he met Ryuzo Kuroshima. Otherwise, he might get a report filed against him.

Especially now...

It was a time of great turmoil, and there were also undercurrents within the Japanese army.

The struggle between the imperial way faction and the control faction was fierce. Both sides had already come to blows. They didn't assassinate each other. They just chopped each other up with swords.

Three months ago, on 12 August, there was a big incident when Tetsuzan Nagata was assassinated.

Technically, he was hacked to death.

Imperial Way officer Saburo Aizawa broke into the War Ministry and hacked the Army Secretary Tetsuzan Nagata to death with his command sword.

The consequences of this incident were very serious. Even the Emperor was furious.

In the end, Saburo Aizawa was of course executed. The representative of the Imperial Way faction, the Director of Education Jinzaburo Masaki, was also removed from office.

It is said that the Emperor supported the dismissal of Jinzaburo Masaki. It was clear that the Emperor was very unhappy with the Imperial Way faction.

However, no one dared discuss these matters behind closed doors.

They were all very sensitive. Whoever talked about them died.

'What are they doing here?'

At this very moment, someone asked in a very tactless manner.

His name was Harukichi Momota. He had just been promoted to the rank of colonel. He had been transferred from the distant city of Jiamusi to Tientsin. He had only been there for two days.

Yes, this guy knew Jiamusi very well...

There was silence.

No one answered.

The answer seemed obvious. But no one said it.

What can women do?

What do you think they can do? Fight?

'I'll go and ask.'

'You can do it,'

Takeshi Kishida responded in a subdued voice.

No one else could. But Harukichi Momotake could.

Because all five of the Momotake brothers had served in the Japanese army. One of them was a major general.

As everyone knew, it was very difficult to go from colonel to major general.

Only one in ten colonels was promoted to major general.

However, this brother was not the most outstanding. The most outstanding was his other brother, a vice-admiral. This was very impressive. With these two men looking after him, Harukichi Momotake really was not afraid of anything.

Harukichi Momotake walked up to the middle of the black-clad men. He stopped seven black-clad women. He asked a question. Then he came back.

'We made a mistake. They are going to Beiping.'

'To Beiping?'

'Yes. Their destination is Beiping. Not Tientsin.'

'What are they doing in Beiping?'

Shu Shigawa asked curiously. Then he shut up.

It must be a secret mission. The rank could be very high. They had no right to ask.

Sure enough, Hyakutake Seikichi shook his head, indicating that he had no idea. The other person didn't answer. They were directly under Kawashima Yoshiko's command.

'Oh yeah...'

'What?'

'They were actually transferred by that bitch.'

'Oh...'

The group then nodded.

That bitch was Kawashima Yoshiko.

There were no outsiders here. It was just the few of them. They spoke without any worries.

Behind their backs, they all called Kawashima Yoshiko a bitch.

Harukichi Hyakutake, in particular, found such a woman highly objectionable. He wanted to kick her back to Xinjing.

He had previously been the head of the Harbin secret service. He had no good feelings towards the people in Xinjing. For him, it was enough to keep them all in Xinjing. They must never be released.

'They are all members of the Anguo Army.'

'So...

The group fell silent again.

The Anguo Army was the army of Manchukuo.

Strictly speaking, this army was not large. It was not regular. It was neither fish nor fowl.

Its commander was Kawashima Yoshiko. But behind her was Tada Shun.

Yes. Tada Shun, commander of the North China Garrison.

So, as you can imagine, Kawashima Yoshiko and Tada Shun had a very close relationship.

Going to Beiping...

Kawashima Yoshiko is not in Tianjin. She must have gone to Beiping.

So, something big must have happened in Beiping recently.

These 500-odd An'guo soldiers, after arriving in Beiping, will definitely have to pretend to be Chinese.

They will infiltrate every corner of Beiping. Monitor all movements. They are 500 tentacles, providing information at any time.

Silence.

No one wants to say anything.

They are just here at the dock to watch the fun. None of the people transferred belong to them.

What happens in Beiping is also none of their business.

'The ship from Korea has arrived.'

'Will there be a few more people?'

'Who knows?'

They spoke in a distracted manner. Another ship flying the flag of the Japanese Empire docked.

This time, the people who disembarked were Koreans wearing dark yellow clothes. A rough count revealed that there were almost 500 of them. At the end of the procession, a dozen women were also spotted.

Harukichi Hyakutake asked around. He learned that their destination was also Beiping.

'Can we transfer people?'

'What?'

'Since Beiping can transfer people, can we also...'

'Yes!'

'We can also transfer people to Tianjin.'

'It's definitely not possible to transfer people from within the country. But we can transfer people from Manchuria and Korea!'

'I think it's possible!'

The more they talked, the more animated they became.

They now also felt that they were seriously understaffed.

Especially since Zhang Yong had arrived.

That Zhang Yong was truly a psychopath. He had them completely cornered.

Any Japanese who got close to Zhang Yong were all taken care of. Not a single one was left behind. It made them doubt their lives.

Now, they have every reason to suspect that Zhang Yong has some special ability to identify every Japanese person.

As for the intelligence saying that they can smell the Japanese, that's nonsense.

They only believe in science.

They can't believe in metaphysics.

Recruit people!

Recruit people!

That's all they can think about now.

Recruit people from Manchuria.

Recruit people from Korea!

'By the way, have you heard that the Special High Police Department is coming to Tianjinwei?'

'Kamagawa Kagami?'

'Yes. That bitch again.'

'She...'

Everyone frowned.

That bitch, Kamikawa Kagami. Unlike Kawashima Yoshiko,

Kamikawa Kagami was here to seize power. She had the Ministry of the Interior behind her. And the Minister of the Interior was a member of the cabinet.

The arrival of the Special High Section here was basically to monitor the army.

Now the cabinet and the army are at odds. The cabinet of course has to keep an eye on the army's movements.

The army hates Prime Minister Okada Keisuke.

They want to chop him up.

The army's food budget, which hasn't been adjusted in over ten years, is being held back by this guy, who won't let even a single sen increase.

Seriously, if there's a mutiny, the soldiers will be the first to chop up Keisuke Okada. He's so hated.

However...

Prime Minister Keisuke Okada is also very dissatisfied with the army.

He feels that the army is taking up a large amount of military spending, which has caused serious problems for the normal operation of the economy.

The point is that the army puts in a lot but gets little out.

The more territory it occupies, the tighter the finances become. The more it spends than it earns.

On the surface, the Japanese army has occupied the three provinces of East China and is flaunting its military might. But all it's doing is spending without getting anything in return.

Just building the new capital city of Xinjing cost billions of yen.

And that's just what the cabinet has to bear.

The army gets the sweeteners, and the cabinet has to clean up the mess. Of course they don't want to.

The Three Eastern Provinces were already overwhelming the cabinet. Now the army wants to send more troops to North China. Keisuke Okada is of course not willing to do so. He strongly opposes it.

He threatened that not only could not send more troops to North China, but also withdraw from North China.

As a result, many senior military officials wanted to get rid of him. He was so hated that he was ready to be crushed to death.

Once the Special High Police Department came, they became Keisuke Okada's dogs. That bitch, Kagami Uekawa, will definitely not let them go.

'I heard that Lord Yanagawa is going to be stationed in the south?'

'Yes.'

'Where will the 1st Division be transferred to?'

'Jiamusi. They will replace the 4th Division. They will be leaving by March next year.'

'So...'

Everyone fell silent.

Due to the assassination of Nagata Tetsuzan, the Japanese military hierarchy had launched an internal purge.

The control faction would of course not let the imperial way faction get away with it.

Sending Jinzaburo Masaki home was just the first step. The regular transfer at the end of the year was the killing blow.

Heisuke Yanagawa was also a key member of the Imperial Way faction. He was currently in charge of the First Division. The First Division was stationed near the imperial family all year round. Of course they couldn't keep him there.

He was transferred to the distant Taiwan, never to return. It was tantamount to exile.

Because of Heisuke Yanagawa, most of the officers and soldiers of the First Division were also key members of the Imperial Way faction. Of course they couldn't remain in the country.

They must be transferred to the remote city of Jiamusi. Let them reflect in the ice and snow.

However, what's the point of thinking about this?

Takeo Kishida now hoped most that Zhang Yong would hurry up and leave Tientsin.

As long as Zhang Yong was willing to leave Tientsin, it would be worth losing ten years of his life.

Really...

He was willing to lose ten years of his life...