Chapter 803: The Leader's Prerogative

Zhang Yong arrived at Ciji Hospital.

He spotted a red dot from afar. It was marked. It was Liu Xi.

It seemed that she had already returned to a normal life.

If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, Zhang Yong would have found it hard to believe that she had actually gone back to being an assassin.

An assassin with no experience whatsoever. Alas...

It was almost her who died.

Fortunately, she survived in the end.

Hopefully, there will be no more similar missions.

Her hands should hold a scalpel. Not a knife to kill people.

There is another unmarked red dot. I don't know who it is.

Next to this red dot, there are also many weapon symbols. They are all white dots. Unknown identities.

There are also several patrolmen at the entrance of the Tzu Chi Hospital. They are all carrying guns.

They are not An'nan patrolmen, but Chinese patrolmen. They are all strangers. I have never seen them before.

Vaguely, Zhang Yong felt that the breath of these people was a little familiar.

It was a bit like Kawashima Yoshiko's men. That is, the iron-hearted police of the puppet Manchukuo.

They were Chinese. However, they had betrayed their own country. They were hardcore traitors. Deserving of death.

Who is it?

Zhang Yong was secretly curious.

The red dot inside seemed to have a lot of status!

Leading so many people.

And so many iron-hearted police.

Zhang Yong did not go directly to the hospital. Instead, he parked quietly in the distance.

Safety first. First find out what's going on.

What if there's danger?

As soon as he had parked, someone ran out of the shadows. They knocked on his car window.

Zhang Yong glanced sideways. It was the thief, called the Thirteenth Demon. The one who stole the seal of the Ministry of Public Works. He actually showed up.

Looking around, he didn't notice anything unusual. So he opened the car door.

The Thirteenth Demon quickly got in.

He moved very quickly. At the same time, there was an unmistakable panic.

'What's the matter?' Zhang Yong asked.

'Help me,' the Thirteen Demons begged.

Zhang Yong's expression did not change.

The Thirteen Demons immediately pulled a small cloth pocket out of his bosom. He handed it to Zhang Yong with great hope.

'What is it?' Zhang Yong did not reach out to take it.

'A seal,' the Thirteen Demons said, 'from the Japanese Consulate General in Shanghai.'

'Oh...' Zhang Yong reached out and took it.

He remembered. He had once made a bet with the Thirteenth Demon.

He had asked the Thirteenth Demon to go to the Japanese Consulate and get something. To prove his strength.

At the time, Zhang Yong had just mentioned it casually. He hadn't taken it seriously.

He had thought that the other party would probably be afraid to go.

After all, it was the Japanese Consulate. It was heavily guarded. No outsider could get in.

Even Zhang Yong himself could not think of a way to get in.

Unexpectedly, the Thirteenth Demon actually went in. And got someone's seal.

He opened the small cloth pocket. Sure enough, inside was a small seal. At first glance it seemed ordinary. A closer look revealed that it was extraordinary.

The seal was carved and crafted. The craftsmanship seemed to be very exquisite.

Zhang Yong knew nothing about seals, but he also felt that this seal was definitely not an ordinary one.

'Whose?'

'Shigeaki Akiyama's.'

'Who?'

'Shigeaki Akiyama's.'

'Oh?'

Zhang Yong's expression changed.

It was actually Shigeaki Akiyama's seal?

Amazing!

This Thirteen Demons!

It's got to be!

We have talent in China!

As long as we defend ourselves against foreign aggression and protect our country and our people, we don't care about the past.

'Does he know?'

'I didn't see his person at the time.'

'Okay. This seal. I'll take it. This is your payment.'

Zhang Yong took out five banknotes.

From the Commercial Bank. All $100 denominations.

This seal is worth at least 500 silver dollars.

If used wisely, this seal can be extremely useful.

How so? Akiyama Shigeaki will definitely not make a fuss about this. Nor will he declare it invalid. That would be embarrassing.

To lose one's own seal. To let it get out. One would be the laughing stock of the world.

It could trigger all sorts of trouble.

He is the Consul-General of Shanghai, and his position is not stable.

At this time, he definitely would rather avoid trouble than cause it. Handle it in secret.

'Who wants to kill you?'

'Kagezo Takamasa.'

'What's the reason?'

'I witnessed him send someone to assassinate Chen Hongye.'

'Who is Chen Hongye?'

'A merchant in the concession. He deals in silk. He's from Lingnan.'

'Why?'

'The Japanese killed Chen Hongye and seized all his assets. They also sent someone to impersonate his younger brother and take over the Chen family business.'

'Really?'

Zhang Yong frowned inwardly.

The Japanese invaders are at it again. I guess they want to continue planting spies.

Killing people and replacing them is the Japanese invaders' tactic.

Without the map, it would be hard to tell.

So far, he has swept away the Japanese spies in Shanghai, Nanjing, Beiping, Tianjin, Hangzhou and other five cities.

Apart from these five cities, no one knows how many more Japanese spies are lurking disguised as Chinese.

No matter how capable Zhang Yong was, it was impossible for him to catch all the Japanese spies.

Therefore, even after the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japan, there should still be a large number of Japanese spies lurking.

'You were here just now?'

'Yes.'

'There are Japanese people inside Ciji Hospital. Do you know who they are?'

'It's Kagezawa! He just brought someone to visit the injured German.'

'Really?'

Zhang Yong's eyes twitched slightly.

So, the unmarked red dot is Kageasa Teizō?

Good. Mark him immediately.

No wonder there are so many weapons emblems around him. And there are so many Manchukuo ironclad policemen.

This guy is completely different from Akagi Takatoshi.

Akagi Takatoshi likes to take risks. Likes to run around blindly. As a result, he was continuously hit by Zhang Yong.

In contrast, this guy, Kagezawa, is deadly cautious. He doesn't show his face easily. He stays in the police station all the time. If he has to leave the police station, he brings a large group of people with him. It's not bad to say that this guy's excessive caution is comparable to Zhang Yong's.

Kagezawa is by Klinsmann's side, so he definitely can't go in.

With the Japanese invaders nearby, Klinsmann can't say anything.

Just wait here for now.

After Klinsmann leaves, we can go in.

'Brother...'

Xiao Shi calls out cautiously.

Zhang Yong leans at an angle at the other person.

This guy really knows how to take advantage of the situation!

We've only just met for the second time, and he's already calling me brother.

But...

Fine, go ahead and call. I like hearing it.

If this guy's really that good at stealing, he'll come in handy in the future.

Rather than letting this guy go out and cause trouble for ordinary people, it would be better to keep him by your side. Let him cause trouble for the Japanese.

'What?'

'Brother, I have some information...'

'Speak.'

'Tomorrow night, a shipment will arrive at the concession pier...'

'What kind of shipment?'

'Good stuff. Arms.'

'Whose?'

'The consignee is a man named Zheng Wenzhong. I don't know who's behind it.'

'Really?'

Zhang Yong pondered in silence.

Ammunition that is unloaded at the concession wharf. It seems that it is not for ordinary people!

First of all, the Nationalist government's ammunition cannot be unloaded at the concession wharf. It can be unloaded directly at the Wusongkou wharf.

In addition, it cannot be from the UK, France, Germany, Italy, etc. Their ammunition can be unloaded openly. There is no need to smuggle it secretly. Therefore, the source of this shipment is unknown. The consignee is also presumably unknown. It is completely fine to rip off a rip-off.

Even if the real owner of the goods knows that it is Zhang Yong who has eaten it, Zhang Yong is not afraid. It doesn't matter if he has a few more enemies.

'Anything else?'

'Brother, have you read the newspapers in the past few days?'

'No.'

'An American has offered a reward of 10,000 US dollars for the capture of his kidnappers...'

'You mean Michael Farland?'

'Yes...'

'Go get me some newspapers!'

'Okay!'

Thirteen Devils immediately went.

Soon, he had brought back copies of the Shen Bao, the Ta Kung Pao, and others.

Among them was even a copy of the She Hui Shen Wen. This was the newspaper previously run by Shi Bingdao. It was a newspaper with a very small circulation.

Unexpectedly, the Thirteen Demons were able to buy a copy of the She Hui Shen Wen nearby.

It seemed that this newspaper had the potential to grow and develop! As long as you are willing to invest...

Running a newspaper at this time was also a bit of a money-burning nature.

The most effective way to quickly expand the circulation of a newspaper is, of course, to burn money.

If you sell it for three cents, while everyone else sells it for five cents, you can dominate the market. Circulation can be steadily increased to 100,000 copies.

At that time in Shanghai, newspapers with a circulation of over 100,000 copies could be called tabloids.

For example, Shen Bao, Ta Kung Pao, and the like. They were tabloids.

Seems like...

I can burn the fiat currency myself?

There's no other use for all that fiat currency anyway.

Why not smash up a major newspaper?

I can't think of any use for it for the time being. But what if it comes in useful in the future?

He nodded thoughtfully. He thought it was feasible.

Then he concentrated on reading the newspaper.

Sure enough, the American who offered the reward was McFarland.

This guy is really good at stirring up trouble and fanning the flames. A press conference was also held.

A large number of journalists from various countries were invited. The Japanese were specifically named.

Unexpectedly, Akiyama Shigeaki also responded to this matter. Of course, he strongly denied it. He believed that there must be some other hidden circumstances.

'Something else?'

Zhang Yong sensed a hint of weakness in Akiyama Shigeaki's statement.

Akiyama Shigeaki did not dare to completely deny the American accusation. He only argued that there might be something else. Obviously, this was a sign of lack of confidence.

It is estimated that he already knew about the power struggle behind this incident in the imperial family.

The one who started it was Prince Yongren.

This complicates things.

He dared not say too much. He was afraid that the more he said, the more mistakes he would make.

On the other hand, the foreign journalists were united in their hatred and were not afraid of trouble. They reprinted the story one after the other.

Now the situation seems to be escalating, and it has already caused a certain reaction in the UK, the US and other places. It seems that there is still more room for fermentation.

Good.

Continue to ferment. The more intense the better.

Continue to wait.

Finally, Kagezo Teisho led the men to leave.

Zhang Yong raised his binoculars. He looked closely. He discovered that Kagezo Teisho was really unremarkable.

Short. A little overweight. A common face. If you put him in a crowd, you wouldn't be able to recognise him. If there's anything special about him, it's his wandering eyes. He kept looking in Zhang Yong's direction several times. I don't know if he sensed something. He really does have some talent for espionage.

I really want to shoot him.

The problem is, I can't do it here.

If I do, there'll be chaos, and I won't be able to see Klinsmann.

His purpose in coming here is to see Klinsmann.

I'll let him go for now.

After Yozo Shigemitsu left, Zhang Yongcai entered Ciji Hospital.

The others immediately took control of all the major roads.

Zhang Yong arrived at Klinsmann's ward.

There were two other Germans here. They were all armed. They were very vigilant.

If it were before, Zhang Yong might still think they were very impressive. After all, the Germans are really strong.

However, due to the previous assassination attempt, Zhang Yong has already washed away this filter.

It seems that the Germans don't react very well when faced with a sudden attack.

It was the same in World War II.

They were the ones who attacked others. They were the ones who started it.

If someone else started it first, they often couldn't handle it. This was the case in Sicily and Normandy.

The first to strike is the strongest, and the second to strike is the most miserable.

This saying was interpreted perfectly by the Germans. Once they lost the initiative, they were immediately pushed back.

'Who goes there?'

'I'm Zhang Yong. Aren't you looking for me?'

Zhang Yong calmly introduced himself.

In fact, the two Germans knew him.

They were two of the dozens of German soldiers. Maybe they were non-commissioned officers?

The German non-commissioned officers and the National Army soldiers were two completely different concepts. Their non-commissioned officers seemed to be of a very high rank. And it was also an honour.

'Zhang, you've finally come,' Klinsmann exclaimed excitedly.

His Chinese, which was not very fluent, suddenly became very fluent.

It seems that he really needs something from you!

Zhang Yong nodded. He walked in steadily.

'You want to see me about something?'

'Yes. I want to ask you to serve the Führer.'

'The Führer?'

'Yes. In return, the Führer will grant you a special power.'

'What power?'

'The power of a special envoy of the Führer.'

'Special envoy of the Führer? What does that mean?'

'Visas.'

'What does that mean?'

'It means giving foreigners the right to enter Germany.'

'Hm?'

Zhang Yong was puzzled.

What is this? A diplomat? A visa?

It doesn't sound like much of a privilege.

Could it be that he is talking about diplomatic immunity? It seems like I don't need that.

So I didn't respond...

'What's more, you can even make someone a German citizen.'

'Really?'

Zhang Yong was finally a little bit tempted.

Make someone a German citizen?

Wait!

It does sound tempting.

But who will recognise it? The German embassy won't recognise it!

What's the point...

'If you agree, you and I will go to the consulate right away to complete the formalities.'

'What formalities?'

'Internal circular to all embassies and consulates: The visa you issue is valid. No one else has the right to veto it. Because you represent the will of the Führer.'

'Really?'

Zhang Yong was a little tempted.

Although he had no money, he had privileges!

He could issue visas himself. Everyone else had to recognise visas issued by him.

Is that what you mean? It seems so. Otherwise, how could it be called the leader's prerogative? As the name suggests, you represent the leader yourself!

How dare you not recognise a visa issued by the leader? Do you believe in another Long Knife Night?

'Of course. One hundred places.'

'One hundred?'

Zhang Yong frowned immediately.

Only one hundred places. Pfft. So many restrictions!

No fun.

If there were no restrictions on the number of places, it would indeed be a privilege.

But there were only one hundred places. That was bait. Not a privilege. And the bait wasn't very good either.

What he needed was a real privilege. One with no upper limit.

Giving you a little power, and then all sorts of restrictions. Stingy. Scrooge. No bother to serve.

It was the Führer who needed me now!

It's not the other way around!

'There are only 100 places at the beginning,' Klinsmann hurriedly explained. 'If you do enough for the Fuhrer, the quota can be increased continuously. 1,000, 10,000 people is no problem. The German embassy will recognise it all.'

'Really?' Zhang Yong tilted his head.

It sounded a bit tempting. If there were 10,000 places.

Why?

Because Shanghai would soon fall.

By then, everyone outside the concession would be trampled by the Japanese.

The situation was unimaginable.

The only safe place was the concession.

However, it wasn't that easy to get into the concession. The Japanese were putting pressure on it.

The concession itself was limited in size and resources. It couldn't possibly accommodate everyone from the outside! There were more than 4 million people outside! How could it accommodate them all?

At this time, having German citizenship was very important.

As long as you had German citizenship or a visa from the German embassy, you could enter the concession immediately. And you would be protected by the German army.

Even after December 8, 1941, when the Japanese army entered the concession, as long as you had German citizenship, the Japanese would not dare to provoke you. On the surface, they had to be kind and helpful. After all, by that time, Germany and Japan had already become Axis powers. They could not turn on each other.

So...

Zhang Yong suddenly felt that his escape route had been paved by the Führer.

Before, he had worried about what would happen to Gu Xiaoru and the others after the Japanese entered the concession and how they would evacuate. And where would they evacuate to? Now there were no worries.

As long as she was given the status of a German citizen, she could continue to stay in the concession and continue working.

Then Zhang Yong would give himself the status of a German citizen.

Haha, that would be fun.

For a moment, Zhang Yong imagined countless famous scenes in his head.

When the Japanese army came in droves to arrest him, he leisurely entered the German Consulate.

He produced his German citizenship. And the Führer's privileges.

Will the Japanese arrest him?

Will they?

If they do, they'll be disrespecting the Führer.

If they don't, he Zhang Yong will be able to walk around the concession freely.

Haha!

It's laughable!

It has to be said, the Germans are very clever.

They can move mountains with just a little strength.

He didn't have to pay a single penny.

All he had to do was give up a little bit of his freedom. A little bit of his identity. It was the Führer's privilege.

But then again, it was the Führer's privilege. And it only worked in the Far East.

The German embassy would definitely obey the Führer's orders.

But at this moment, the Führer could never have imagined the magic that this privilege would work five years later!

"Really,'

Klinsmann said, taking a document out from under his pillow.

Zhang Yong went over and took it. He found that it was all in German. He couldn't read it at all. However, there were indeed many red seals on it.

At the end of the document, it seemed to have Adolf Hitler's signature.

It is a signature, right? It looks like it.

But...

'This is...'

'His Excellency the Führer's autograph.'

'Oh...'

Zhang Yong believed it.

Then let's go to the German Embassy!

Oh, in the concession, there is only the German Consulate.

That's fine. Just go to the German Consulate. They can verify the authenticity there.

'Shall we go now?'

'Yes.'

Klinsmann obviously wanted to curry favour with Zhang Yong.

Although his arm was still not fully recovered, he got up quickly. He went out the door with Zhang Yong.

A red dot moved over from the nearby area. It was Liu Xi.

Zhang Yong didn't have time to greet her. He first wanted to make sure that this Führer privilege was real.

Hey, if it's real, 10,000 visas. That would be very helpful.

Not only can it protect many people, it can also cover for many people. Including his own men, and the Reds on the other side.

If he's lucky, there might be more than 10,000 visas. Then he'll be even more developed.

But, the prerequisite is that everything has to be real.

Arrived at the Consulate General.

Klinsmann identifies himself.

Instantly, all the other Germans stand up immediately.

Raise their hands.

Salute.

Zhang Yong: ...

Oops.

Is this the Nazi salute?

Oh no. I've wandered into the lair of the Nazis?

Oh no. If I really do a lot of work for the Führer, I'll end up in Nuremberg...

Oh, my God!

This is a bit of a problem!

The Führer's privileges really are poisoned wine!

It's delicious.

Poisoned.

Suddenly I think of MacArthur. Oh. It's okay. They cancel each other out.

While I was helping the Führer, I was also getting more visas. And while I was helping MacArthur, I was also helping the Allies. In the end, I fled far away...

Yes!

That's it. I ran far away.

I don't care about your trial. None of this has anything to do with me.

This cup of poison in front of me...

No.

It's a fine wine.

I'll drink it all!