Chapter 48: The Ancient Tomb Plan

  Tall Bridge waved his hand and shook his head, saying: "That's not going to work. If the common people find out about this, won't they curse us Japanese to death? What kind of Greater East Asia Co-prosperity Sphere would that be? Let me tell you, on the third day after the ancient tomb was opened, I had someone reseal it."

  Ye Tu Fei was really curious this time and asked: "Sealed up? Why?"

  "What's the point of sealing it up? Are we going to leave it for the common people to visit? What we want is the treasure inside, not to dig it open and use it as a house."

  Yè Tú Fēi asked again: "What treasures are buried inside?"

  Takahashi Kaito feigned mystery and said to Ye Tufei: "You come with me."

  In a dark room of Takahashi's residence, Ye Tufei saw various items excavated from the ancient tomb. Takahashi couldn't hide his excitement as he stroked each item one by one, muttering to himself: "These are all antiques! These are treasures worth a fortune! Little Ye, do you know that any of these things, if taken to America, could be sold for tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars!"

  "US dollars? So much?" Ye Tufei exclaimed.

  "This is still talking about these ordinary objects, if this is taken over there, my god, Americans will go crazy, one million, even ten million, someone will buy it." Takashi Kobayashi walked to a platform and pointed at an item on the table with emotion.

  "Golden threads and jade clothes?" Ye Tufei looked clearly.

  "Yes, this Golden Brocade is something that only a 'King' has the qualifications to use as funeral goods. For many years, it's been a legendary treasure that people have heard of but never seen. Xiao Ye, we've really hit the jackpot this time, haven't we?!"

  "Are you planning to take them to the US to sell?" Ye Tu Fei's eyes were fixed on that golden jade garment, thinking of how he could stop Takahashi Shin from taking these treasures out of the country.

  "Keep it under wraps, Xiao Ye. Only you, me and Shan Xia Jingwu that fool know about this. We must keep this secret, otherwise if the higher-ups find out, we'll all be in for a world of trouble!"

  "What's the point of these things just lying around? They're neither edible nor drinkable, what's the use?"

  "I don't know if it's useful or not, but I do know you're talking nonsense! Hehe, this war will eventually stop, and when that time comes, we'll secretly transport these treasures out. Xiao Ye, I've discussed with Yamashita Kōgo, and your contribution is the greatest in this matter, so we can't bully you. We three will split it equally, one-third each. What do you think?"

  Ye Tu Fei picked up an ancient sword and replied: "How can this thing be divided? Break it?"

  "Of course, we'll change it into US dollars and then split it."

  After watching these treasures, Ye Tu Fei stayed at Gao Qiao Xin's place for lunch and only returned to the barracks. As soon as he entered the barracks, he saw Zhang Luo Hui coming over anxiously to report: "Sixth Master, hurry up, Mr. Wei has arrived."

  Ye Tu Fei didn't react for a moment and asked: "Which Mr. Wei? You're so tense."

  "Zhang Luosheng replied: 'Wei Xiangdong! It's that Wei Xiangdong who has already died. He came early and said he had important business to discuss with you, I searched everywhere for you but couldn't find you, so I could only let him wait in your room.'"

  When he saw Wei Xiangdong, Ye Tufei was stunned for several seconds. The person in front of him didn't look like the spirited and proud Wei Xiangdong from back then at all. His face was covered in wrinkles, his beard was unkempt, and he was dressed like a ragpicker.

  "Wei Dong first spoke up: 'Don't be surprised, if I didn't dress like this, what if the Japanese recognized me, wouldn't that be troublesome?'"

  Ye Tu Fei only confirmed that the person was indeed Wei Xiang Dong after hearing his voice, and hastily invited him to sit down. He also complained that Zhang Luo Hui did not treat Wei well, not even serving him a good cup of tea.

  Wei Dong said repeatedly that there was no need to be polite, and they were all just familial courtesy words.

  After sitting down, Wei Dong put forward the real purpose of his visit: "I've been in Jiajiazhuang all along." Seeing the confusion on Ye Tufei's face, Wei Dong quickly explained: "Oh, I mean since Gao Qiao's discovery of the ancient tomb was leaked out, I have been in Jiajiazhuang."

  Ye Tu Fei's puzzled expression became even more apparent as he asked: "How did you also know about the ancient tomb?"

  This time Wei Xiangdong was puzzled and said: "How could I not know? Many people knew about this!"

  Ye Tu Fei stopped talking and quickly thought about the reason in his mind.

  Wei Dong continued: "This treasure belongs to our country and must not be allowed to fall into the hands of the Japanese, Ye Liu Ye, you..."

  Ye Tufei interrupted Wei Xiangdong's impassioned speech and asked: "What kind of person is Gao Qiaoxin, after all?"

  Wei Xiangdong told Ye Tufei the story of him and Takahashi Shin, "The matter of the ancient tomb treasure, was actually intentionally revealed by Takahashi Shin. I've talked to him about it, he said he didn't want to see this batch of treasures being taken away by the Japanese invaders either, so he intentionally leaked the information, letting everyone know about it, perhaps there will be a way to retrieve these treasures!"

  Ye Tu Fei thought carefully about it again and again.

  If he were in Takashi Goto's position, he couldn't personally take action on this matter. Otherwise, Yamashita Kiyow would never let him off the hook. So, he spread the word, hoping that some local anti-Japanese forces could come up with a good plan to seize these treasures.

  "Hmm, theoretically speaking, Takahashi's approach is plausible." Ye Tufei dispelled his suspicions about Takahashi. "Let Takahashi come up with a reason to temporarily leave Jiajia Wang, then we'll gather enough strength and launch a strong attack on Jiajia Wang. I've calculated that currently the Japanese army at Jiajia Wang only has two companies of troops, their heavy firepower is somewhat limited, if we can organize two full-strength regiments, use some clever tactics, taking down Jiajia Wang is still feasible."

  Wei Dong listened and became somewhat excited, saying: "You're saying that with just two battalions of troops, you can take down Jiajia Village?"

  Ye Tu Fei nodded and said, "Perhaps we don't need that many troops. If we can smuggle some ammunition into the bandit camp from outside to equip our brothers, we can launch a surprise attack from both inside and out. Humph, those little Japanese will definitely not last more than two hours."

  Wei Dong was overjoyed and said, "I also had this intention. Ye Liu Ye, your brothers have rested for a long time, it's time to come out and be active again. If you don't, the little Japanese will soon forget the prestige of Zhongyitang in those days."

  Ye Tu Fei stood up, stretched his limbs and said: "You're right! It's time to come out and exercise. If we don't come out and exercise, our brothers who left first will be heartbroken."

  While Ye Tufei and Wei Xiangdong were having a heated discussion, Takahashi Nobuo and Yamashita Keigo had a phone call.

  "Uh-huh, the plan is going smoothly so far. Now, I think they just need an opportunity. Yamashita, this opportunity needs your help. I really can't wait any longer. It has to be quick, best if it's tomorrow."

  "Yoishi! Koubashi-kun, please rest assured that Yamashita will absolutely not let you down."

  He put down the phone, Takahashi Shinichi let out a long sigh, he made himself a cup of tea, holding it slowly savoring it, slowly recalling his carefully planned tomb project that had been years in the making.

  Many years ago, when he found out that his adopted younger brother Wei Xiangdong was actually involved with the Anti-Communist League, he was in great pain. Emotionally speaking, he regarded Wei Xiangdong as his own son, but he was a man of discipline, and he had to follow the organization's rules and uphold the oath he made when he joined the organization. So, he endured the heart-wrenching pain and reported it to his superiors.

  Contrary to Gao Qiao's expectations, his superior actually asked him to let off Wei Xiangdong and even asked him to show affection towards the Chinese people and the Communist Party in front of Wei Xiangdong. He was puzzled and asked his superior why, and his superior replied that he should not ask why, this is the order of General Tōyama, just execute it.

  In late April last year, his old partner Yamashita Kengo was transferred from the Kwantung Army to the North China Expeditionary Force, and at the same time, he also transferred him over. On that day, he met the legendary General Tōyama.

  "Yamashita, Takahashi, you two tell me, after the Empire occupies Xuzhou, what is the most important task?" General Tōyama invited them to his home for a drink and asked them this question during their conversation.

  "Hmm, I think that strengthening public security, effectively striking against resistance forces, and carrying out the Empire's Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity policy is essential." Kengo Yamashita replied hastily.

  "Not bad, so how do you plan to achieve that? Just like our 'Manchukuo', 500,000 soldiers were exhausted from running around, yet still couldn't eradicate the Chinese resistance forces. Yamashita, if you're going to be stationed in Xuzhou in the future, how will you effectively strike against the resistance forces?" Tōyama seemed to casually throw out a second question, but it immediately stumped Yamashita Kiyomatsu.

  At this time, Takashi's eyes suddenly lit up, and he suddenly understood why General Tofu had ordered him to let Wei Xiangdong go before, and even showed a tendency towards the Chinese Communist Party.

  "I understand the general's painstaking efforts. General Tōyama, please give me three days to think carefully and I will submit a detailed plan to you in three days." Takashi Goto said confidently to Tōyama.

  Tsuchihashi Genji was very satisfied and said, "Koukyou kun, to be honest I have been worried about you. The chairman of the Kokuryu-kai, Uchida, has recommended you to me many times, saying that you are a rare talent for the Empire. I believe this, but I still haven't made use of you. Do you know why?"

  Takashi Okamura replied: "I understand Takashi, it's because of my identity, after all I am a Chinese."

  Tsuchihashi Genji nodded slightly and said, "Yes, that's the reason. I've been observing you for nearly five years now. Well, all of that is in the past. You have passed my test. Now you can proudly hold your head high and tell everyone that you are a subject of the Great Japanese Empire, that you are one of the most loyal warriors to His Imperial Majesty. No one will dare look down on you again, Takahashi."

  Tsuchihara Kenji got up from the tatami mat, walked to the safe nearby, opened it and took out a document.

  "This is the nationality certificate signed by His Majesty the Emperor himself, Mr. Takahashi, and His Majesty also knows about your loyalty to him. He told me that he hopes to see you make an immortal contribution to the Great Japanese Empire, just like Miss Kawashima Yoshiko, and at that time, His Majesty will personally receive you."