Chapter Thirty-Three: The Spy's Shadow Appears

  "Grapes and fine wine, cups shining in the night, wanting to drink, pipa urging on horseback." This famous poem mentions two special products of Gansu. Grape wine comes from Ganzhou, and the night light cup is produced in Su Zhou.

  It can be seen that the Hexi Corridor in history has a very deep economic and cultural foundation. The main reason why it was disconnected from the Central Plains in modern times is that there were no railways and insufficient transportation capacity. Products from outside could not be transported in, and resources and minerals from Northwest China, including Xinjiang, could not be transported out.

  Li Ruofeng understood this point clearly. Since he took office, the top priority was to build a railway connecting Lanzhou. If the railway is not done well, in the future when war breaks out, the transportation of troops and supplies will definitely become a big problem.

  When Li Chenglong negotiated such a large project with the US government, he was so happy that the US government almost called him an angel. Because this huge investment project not only has great economic benefits in pulling the current US economy out of the predicament caused by the Great Depression, but also has far-reaching political significance to some extent.

  Railway engineering technology is quite mature for the United States at present. As a result, a large number of American engineers came to Hebei Province, and suddenly Hebei Province became the largest gathering place for Americans in the East.

  The construction of the railway is not a secret that cannot be seen, and the Americans have taken over this project, leaving Japan, Russia, Britain and France with nothing but sour grapes.

  As common sense, people generally know that with the construction of railways, there is exploration and mining of mineral resources along the way. If Li Ruofeng did not have strong financial backing, this railway agreement would definitely have to give up these mining rights in exchange for a loan from the US government. Therefore, under the instigation of Japan and Soviet Russia, some domestic newspapers that do not understand the truth began to report on the traitorous behavior of Hebei Province, including the Jiangxi Soviet Area newspaper, which denounced Li Ruofeng, the chairman of Hebei Province, as a big traitor.

  It's not that these newspapers and magazines are to blame for taking things for granted, in this era of China, there isn't a single local warlord who doesn't use the sale of mineral resources on their territory to exchange for funding support from powerful countries. The Fengtian clique, Guangxi clique, Shanxi clique, Zhili clique, Anhui clique, including the National Government, all do it this way.

  Go your own way, let others talk. This is Li Ruofeng's attitude.

  His silence was taken as a default by the press, and for a time, all domestic newspapers pushed him to the forefront. Some newspapers even dug up the ancestors of Li Ruofeng, the new generation of Northwest warlords, through some channels. As a result, the origin of the bandit family became the material for verbal attacks by major newspapers.

  In response, Li Ruofeng remained silent, but this situation made him understand a truth, that is the necessity of news censorship.

  For journalists from various routes entering Hexi Province, he allowed only those with American, National Government and German backgrounds to pass through, while blocking all others regardless of their background.

  Li Ruofeng naturally knew that blocking was not as good as letting go, but he hoped to convey a message to the outside world through this behavior: Hexi Xing Province obeyed the central government, and behind Hexi Xing Province were the United States and Germany.

  It seems that Japan has understood that Li Ruofeng is very unfriendly to the Great Japanese Empire, and this person's conscience is extremely bad.

  To be honest, the Special High Course is still a pretty awesome spy agency in this era. Especially in China, there's no place they can't infiltrate.

  The newly established Military Intelligence Section 5, with a framework that has just been set up, is basically composed of personnel from the original Zhongtong Gansu Branch, except for the Action Group which is manned by Chinese soldiers from Hellfire.

  Although Ye Bei can also be considered an elite agent, compared to the old and experienced agents of the Special High Class, there is still a certain gap. To think that monitoring all Japanese people in Ganzhou City at present is not easy. It's worth knowing that Japan has been plotting against China for a long time and had arranged for people to be hiding in various parts of China. This kind of hidden spy may not even be detected by modern 21st-century high-tech means, let alone the Nationalist government's intelligence agency which was just starting out during the Republic of China era.

  So wanting to get some substantial intelligence in a short period of time is not generally big.

  However, for the Japanese scattered throughout the Hexi Corridor, a divided responsibility system was adopted for monitoring. This not only included those who openly operated as merchants in the Hexi Corridor but also targeted some Japanese hidden personnel through intelligence sharing with Zhonglian.

  Li Ruofeng knew that the war would soon erupt, but he couldn't take any drastic action against the Japanese in his jurisdiction now. He didn't want to give them an excuse, lest they blame him for provoking the war in the future.

  The reorganization of the troops is proceeding smoothly, and some well-trained battalion-level guard units will also cooperate with the Military Intelligence Bureau's monitoring operations in their spare time, using them as part of the counter-espionage warfare practical combat effectiveness.

  Located on the South Main Street of Ganzhou City, the Ganzhou Hotel is a century-old shop with a famous kiln, where people can eat, drink, have fun, and gamble. The most famous attraction is the belly dance performed by foreign beauties known as "Persian Hui Ji" every night.

  The composition of merchants coming and going here is complex, with all ethnic groups present, naturally becoming a key deployment location for the Military Intelligence Bureau.

  The rooms in Tianzi Building, although not comparable to the luxurious suites provided by high-end hotels in the concessions of Beijing and Shanghai, would at least meet the standards of a four-star hotel's standard room if evaluated by modern star ratings.

  Three days ago, a man and a woman from Japan checked into rooms 2 and 3 of the Dongxiang Building at Tianzi Hotel. The names they registered under were Takehisa Minamoto and Chihaya Chiba, and their purpose for coming to Ganzhou was tourism and visiting friends.

  After checking in, the Japanese woman was rarely seen leaving her room, while the Japanese man registered as Takeda Miya, on the other hand, came and went frequently.

  During these three days, every move of Takechiyo Mio and Chiba Yuri will appear in written form on Ryeo Fong's hand.

  As for whether he would meet with Chiba Yui, Li Ruofeng had not yet made up his mind.

  He knew she must have come to Ganzhou specifically to find him after receiving his message. But at the same time, he was also certain that she had been used by the Japanese Tokko's people.

  He lived with her for nearly two years, and she can be said to be the first woman Li Ruofeng encountered in this era. He had thought of taking her back home before, but when he thought about the standpoints of both sides after the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War, he didn't dare guarantee whether their feelings could withstand the test of national and ethnic interests.

  The Chiba family, although having little to do with Japan's militaristic right-wing organizations, has been a guardian of the Japanese imperial lineage since its founding in the Edo period.

  They both come from large families, and their good upbringing and family culture have made them follow only rational principles in dealing with people and things, ignoring emotional factors.

  The two of them from acquaintance to understanding, had a large extent, was Li Ruofeng's subconscious mind with a kind of playing with a Japanese chick to solve physiological needs thinking in the making.

  At first, Li Ruofeng challenged the Japanese martial arts world and was quite famous in the martial arts circle. This fame rose to a height comparable to that of the Emperor after Chiba Seiji actively shook hands with him.

  Qianye Baihe and his doomed fate, it started with her recklessly challenging Li Ruofeng, she was no match for Li Ruofeng. The problem is that the venue of their competition was too remote, there was no third person present. Li Ruofeng, in a moment of impulsiveness, lost control and raped her after she lost.

  Japanese women are just weird, once a man has conquered her psychologically and physically, she will become extremely obedient and gentle to the point where you can't even imagine that you're the same person who raped her.

  Li Ruofeng was perhaps lonely for a long time in a foreign land, so he didn't refuse when there was such a beautiful and talented woman by his side.

  Who would have thought that this place would eventually develop feelings over time?

  Li Ruofeng had reflected on his feelings before returning to China, and the conclusion he drew was that he accepted her later because he felt guilty towards her, plus she was indeed very excellent.

  The emotions built on such an unstable factor, Li Ruofeng certainly did not dare to gamble.

  It is undeniable that he and she had a romantic and happy life together back then, those days he knew he would never forget for the rest of his life. Especially on the nights before returning to their country, the scenes of them making love crazily, every detail was deeply imprinted in his heart.

  Especially her sentence "Leave me a son" made him almost impulsively take her back to the country.

  At the corner of the street, fifty meters away from the big wine house in Ganzhou, a black Ford stopped by the roadside. On the driver's seat, Li Ruofeng, wearing a black windbreaker, was pinching a cigarette with his thumb and index finger, constantly puffing out smoke.

  Outside the car door, at least a dozen cigarette butts were scattered randomly on the ground next to the tires.

  "Taishang Laojun, Tathagata Buddha, Guanyin Bodhisattva... all the immortals and gods, please bless me, don't let him really leave his seed in her belly." Li Ruofeng prayed silently in his heart.

  What he is most worried about now is this. This is also the main reason why he has been hesitant to see Chihaya Hidori all along.

  If he deliberately didn't want to see her, there would be plenty of excuses. But he just couldn't make up his mind, and it seemed like he really wanted to figure out whether those last few crazy nights with her before returning home had left behind any offspring of Li Ruofeng's.

  If he really stayed behind, he would do everything in his power to bring the child back. Otherwise, he would have to let Father and Uncle know that the blood of the Li family was outside, and his ears would absolutely not be able to rest.

  As long as he walked across the street, into the room of Chiba Yui, the answer would naturally become clear. But he just didn't dare to lift the lid, because he was afraid that the answer was "yes".

  However, evasion is definitely not a solution. Since Yuki Chien came to China and first arrived in Ganzhou, it's clear that she came looking for him.

  "What comes out mixed will eventually have to be repaid." Li Ruofeng's mind involuntarily recalled the classic saying from later generations. No matter what purpose Qianye Baihe had in coming to find him this time, he would have to face it head-on.

  After making up his mind, Li Ruofeng pushed open the car door and walked out of the driver's room. He subconsciously looked around and then waved to indicate that the attendant guards following his car should not follow him, but instead stay where they were. Then he calmly walked in the direction of the Ganzhou Hotel.

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