cicada

Chapter 1301 Trap
"Young man, can I sit here?"

A familiar Hokkaido accent was heard, and Tetsuji Sudo, filled with grief and indignation, raised his head. A middle-aged man was standing in front of him. The man's windbreaker was a bit loose and the style was a bit old.

However, Tetsuji Sudo could tell that the other person must be a rich man, or at least had been a rich man. Daimaru Western-style clothes were very expensive and ordinary people could not afford them.

In an instant, he had many guesses about this man's identity: a failed businessman, a government official with a bleak future. In short, his situation was as embarrassing as his own. So he nodded silently and moved to the side of the stone bench.

The middle-aged man sat down with a smile, holding a book tightly in his hands, his eyes fixed on the busy road ahead.

After a long while, the middle-aged man suddenly turned around and asked, "Young man, it looks like you are in trouble?"

His voice is quite friendly, and coupled with his gentle smile, he is like a trustworthy elder brother, which easily makes people like him.

Perhaps because of his authentic Hokkaido dialect, or perhaps because he urgently needed to talk, the introverted Tetsuji Sudo nodded his head twice as a response to the other party's question.

The middle-aged man did not ask where Sudo's troubles came from. He looked at the bustling streets and murmured, "The Empire has no vast territory and no satisfactory resources. How could it defeat the White Russians and occupy the Republic of China?"

Sudo Tetsuji was stunned. He had never thought about this question. However, the newspapers were full of stories about how hard His Majesty Tianhuang worked and how the cabinet worked hard.

However, having seen countless high-level secrets, known the details of wealthy families, and personally experienced the rules by which Japanese society operates, he understands that what makes Japan strong is not the above two things, and the only purpose of the carnivores is profit.

The middle-aged man did not wait for Sudo Tetsuji to answer, and his voice became louder and louder: "The reason why the Yamato people have achieved what they have today is because of our tenacity!"

"The hard work of the people in the fields and factories and the brave fighting of the soldiers on the battlefields are the foundation of a strong country."

"What does temporary hardship matter? For thousands of years, we have been a vassal of the Republic of China. Later, we learned their systems and culture from Westerners, which eventually led to a great reform."

The middle-aged man's powerful voice resounded in the park. After saying these bewitching words, the other party patted Sudo Tetsuji on the shoulder with a light in his eyes.

"Cheer up, don't change your ambitions because of temporary gains and losses, because that will only make those who look down on you proud."

"Hi." Sudo Tetsuji perked up and nodded his head in response.

The middle-aged man seemed very satisfied with his reaction and handed the book to him. Sudo Tetsuji took it and looked at it. He saw the words "Notes on Life" written on the cover.

Sudo opened the title page and a long table of contents appeared in front of him. At the same time, he heard the middle-aged man's introduction to the book.

"This is a work by philosopher Kiyoshi Miki. In this book, Miki tells us how to view life and death, happiness, reputation, jealousy, success and failure. I think you need it more than I do."

Miki Kiyoshi mentioned by the middle-aged man is a very famous scholar and social activist in Japan. He was arrested for funding the underground party more than ten years ago.

Sudo Tetsuji had heard of Miki and the name of "Notes on Life", and out of curiosity he quickly flipped through it, without noticing the small words that flashed by on the back of the cover.

half a minute ago.

Suzuki Kantaro's private car drove slowly past the park. Lin Fuichiro was sitting in the back seat, staring out the window. He happened to see Sudo and the other man, and couldn't help but let out a light exclamation.

"What's wrong, Ichiro?" Suzuki Kantaro next to him asked curiously.

Lin Fuyilang signaled the driver to stop the car and pointed in the direction of the stone bench: "Grandfather, look, that's the intelligence agent following me."

Suzuki Kantaro narrowed his eyes when he heard this and saw the middle-aged man handing the book to Sudo Tetsuji. For some reason, the middle-aged man's profile always gave him a familiar feeling, but this was normal.

As an evergreen in Japanese politics, Suzuki has met many people, and it is very likely that the other party has met him on some occasion.

Thinking in his mind, Suzuki Kantaro ordered the driver to drive, closed his eyes and leaned back in his seat. The bargaining with Sugiyama Gen and Okamoto Kiyohsu just now really exhausted him, but fortunately the result was good.

After a fierce bargaining between the two sides, Sugiyama Gen promised that as long as the Sorge group was arrested, they would fully support Hayashi Fuichiro's development in the Ministry of Finance.

With the army's promise, Hayashi Fuichiro can be said to have a bright future. After all, Yamamoto's cabinet formation is a foregone conclusion, and the interests of the Suzuki family will be guaranteed. Suzuki Kantaro is naturally satisfied.

The car drove away from the park, and the figures of Sudo Tetsuji and the middle-aged man slowly disappeared from sight. A smile flashed across Lin Fuichiro's face, but he quickly regained his humility.

On the other side, Tetsuji Sudo closed the book and prepared to buy a copy of "Notes on Life" when he returned home. The contents of the book were indeed inspiring to him.

Unexpectedly, the middle-aged man suddenly said: "Young man, it seems that you really need this book. I can sell it to you at half the price."

Sudo Tetsuji didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He originally thought that this was a wise man, but he didn't expect that he was a businessman selling books. However, he also let down his guard.

Any intelligence officer will be suspicious when faced with a chat-up person; this is a professional habit.

He took out a stack of banknotes and put it in the middle-aged man's hand without counting them. Then he stood up and left amid the other party's thanks, thinking that he had done a good deed.

The good man Tetsuji Sudo left, and the middle-aged man also left the park and got on a rickshaw. After driving for a distance, the middle-aged man whispered to the driver.

"Did you get it?"

"I got it. As you requested, the photo includes your profile and the target's face."

On the noisy road, Wu Chunyang pedaled his bike while answering, his eyes occasionally glancing at the roadside and behind the car.

Zuo Zhong nodded slightly after listening to this, and did not talk to Wu Chunyang anymore. The rickshaw merged into the surging traffic on the streets of Tokyo. A few days later.

The restaurant at Konoe Fumiya's official residence is always so lively on Wednesday mornings, with Konoe's confidants and advisers gathering together to discuss the situation in Japan and abroad.

But the atmosphere at today's breakfast meeting was a little strange. The host's guard ate bread quietly and did not talk loudly as usual.

He didn't say anything, and others didn't know how to speak either. Ozaki looked at his colleagues such as Sorge and Hayashi Fuichiro, and was the first to break the silence, asking everyone what was new in Tokyo recently.

This is a regular procedure of the breakfast meeting, and Konoe can learn about social trends and policy feedback through news from various industries.

As Ozaki asked the question, the restaurant became even quieter. Seeing this, Hayashi Fuichiro, who was at the other end of the long table, gently put down his knife and fork and was the first to speak.

"Gentlemen, I wonder if you have heard that the head of Red Russia's intelligence in the Far East has surrendered to the Kwantung Army. His name is Shelikov, and he is said to be a very experienced spy."

Lin Fuyilang went straight to the point and brought the conversation to Shelikov. He looked around the table as he spoke, but did not pay too much attention to Sorge.

Everyone looked surprised, even Konoe Fumiya who was sitting on the main seat, because the military did not report this matter to him at the cabinet meeting. Realizing that he had been sidelined, Konoe looked unhappy.

Ozaki glanced at his superior Sorge. Shelikov actually betrayed him. Why didn't Mosk report such important information?

After a while, two more people asked Lin Fuyilang about the source of the information. They were skeptical about the matter and did not believe that the Red Russian intelligence officer would voluntarily surrender.

With an arrogant look on his face, Hayashi Fuichiro said that the information came from Suzuki Kantaro. To prove the reliability of the intelligence, he also provided the address of Shelikov's safe house, a manor located in the suburbs of Tokyo.

Everyone present believed it. Suzuki Kantaro was a veteran of the empire and had extensive connections in both the army and the navy, and Hayashi Fuichiro was the son-in-law of the Suzuki family. The accuracy of this information was very high.

Sorge drank some milk and did not participate in the discussion, but he remembered the address firmly. As for the authenticity of the safe house, he wiped the corners of his mouth with a handkerchief, his eyes gradually became firm, as if he had made some decision.

The breakfast meeting ended in an atmosphere of disunity. Konoe Fumiya hurried out of the restaurant, while the others gathered in groups of three or four to reminisce and say goodbye.

Given the current situation, perhaps before next Wednesday, the Konoe guards will move out of the Prime Minister's residence, and most of them will go their separate ways and will no longer have the opportunity to work together.

In the chaos, Sorge walked past Ozaki, and their hands separated as soon as they touched. A note was delivered to Ozaki's hands. The whole process took only a few seconds.

Ozaki clenched his fists and returned from the restaurant to his office in the official residence. The first thing he did after entering the door was to check the contents of the note. There was only one sentence on it.

"See you at the same place in three days."

On Thursday, Sorge met with Miyagi and Clausen at the Golden Rhine, and the three talked for a long time before leaving.

Another day passed. On a hillside a few hundred meters away from Shelikov's safe house, Miyagi, the second-in-command of the Sorge group, and several Japanese officers were sketching. Miyagi's eyes passed over the drawing board and headed for the manor at the foot of the mountain.

In a place out of sight of the Imperial Palace, Kiyohsu Okamoto and other secret agents from the General Staff were celebrating because the fish they had been eyeing for years had finally taken the bait.

Inside the manor.

Kiyohsu Okamoto informed Shelikov of the matter of luring Sorge's group, and at the same time, his small eyes scanned the other's face, trying to find some signs.

Shelikov had no complaints about being the bait. He smiled and said, "Mr. Okamoto, I am very satisfied with your efficiency. Please make sure to catch all those guys. Please."

Okamoto Kiyohsu felt a little embarrassed for having made himself look foolish. After a few awkward laughs, he turned the topic to the underground mole in the Kuomintang intelligence system.

The General Staff felt that Sorge and his cronies had no way to escape, and it was time to focus on other things, such as this mysterious mole, which they were very interested in.

If the Japanese side could turn the other party into a double agent, they would be able to obtain intelligence on both the underground party and the Guo Party, and it would be very feasible.

Shelikov nodded politely and said that based on the intelligence sent back by his spies and the telecommunications monitoring of the northwest, the NK┴VD had drawn up a list of suspects, which included several senior officials of the Military Control Commission and the Central Control Commission. Okamoto Kiyohsu hurriedly asked who they were.

"Military Intelligence Deputy Director Zuo Zhong, Deputy Director Gu Qi, Central Intelligence Deputy Director Xu Enzeng, Chief Secretary Shen Dongxin..."

Shelikov reported a lot of names, and Okamoto Kiyohsu's face became darker and darker. It was understandable that Zuo Chong was on the list, but how could Xu Enzeng be an underground party member.

Perhaps seeing through his thoughts, Shelikov laughed out loud: "My friend, everyone is worthy of suspicion. We first suspected Zuo Zhong to be a mole, but we quickly ruled him out.

Because when the Nanyang Chinese Delegation went to the Northwest base, the mole sent a telegram to the Northwest, but the telegraph machine carried by Zuo Zhong was not activated during that period.

In addition, Zuo Zhong lived an extravagant life, was greedy for pleasure, pursued vulgar interests, and had an ambiguous relationship with his female secretary, which violated the discipline of the Northwest. Such a person could not be an underground party member. "

After commenting on Zuo Zhong's lifestyle, Shelikov crossed his legs and revealed a new piece of information that he had not mentioned before.

"Before I left Red Russia, analysts locked their sights on Xu because all operations involving him had ended in failure since 1933. One time could be a coincidence, but countless times could happen.

As a colleague, you should know that faith is the strongest and also the most fragile. Perhaps Xu's thoughts changed during his contact with the underground party and he betrayed the chairman in Shancheng.

His romantic affairs can be seen as a disguise, a clever disguise. There is a Russian proverb that says the more guilty a person is, the louder he shouts. This is the truth. "

After Shelikov's analysis, Kiyohsu Okamoto became a little uncertain. Could it be that Xu Enzeng was really a mole? Should he send someone to give it a try?
At the same time, Xu Enzeng, who was thousands of miles away, sneezed. He looked around suspiciously, feeling that someone was scolding him behind his back.

(Zuo Zhong: Damn, I’ve become a substitute!)