The Bourne Counterattack

Chapter 54 Nakamura Consultant
  "Cheng, get in the car and follow me."

Early in the morning, Cheng Mo had just arrived at Laozha Prison. As soon as he parked his bicycle and was about to enter the gate, he met Inspector Pride who was coming out of the house. He waved and let Cheng Mo get into his car.

"Mr. Pride, what's the matter?" Cheng Mo walked over quickly, bent down and got into the car, and sat next to Pride.

Pride did not answer him, but called to his driver: "Go to Richa Hotel."

Licha Hotel, isn't that the Hongkou Japanese War Zone?

Cheng Mo subconsciously closed his mouth.

"The Ministry of Industry and Industry Bureau wants to negotiate with the Japanese on the issue of police power in the Hongkou area where Japanese overseas Chinese live in the public concession. We need a large number of translators who understand Japanese. I think you are a suitable candidate." Pride explained.

"Why me? What about translator Luo Zhiming? He has rich experience and should be more qualified for this job than me?" Cheng Mo asked in surprise.

"He is sick and is recuperating at home."

I'm sick. I'm sick at this time. I'm afraid that I know this job is not easy to do, so I find an excuse to avoid it on purpose, right? It's just a translator, and you don't have to sign or make the decision yourself. There's nothing to be afraid of. Moreover, this is a good opportunity to understand the negotiations between the Ministry of Industry and the Japanese.

This is pie in the sky.

The car drove all the way to Waibaidu Bridge, and from there was the Licha Hotel.

The cars of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce Bureau had special passes. The Japanese soldiers on the north side of the bridge just looked at the people in the cars and let them go.

The Richard Hotel was first built in 1846 by the British businessman Astor Hof Richard. It was moved to its current location in 1856 and later rebuilt. What we see now should be the third generation of the Richard Hotel.

The large curved arched windows and Ionic columns, the cloister-style atrium and the colored inlaid glass at the turns of the stairs present a dazzling array of colors.

With the outbreak of the Songhu Battle, Western expatriates living in Hongkou moved into the public concession opposite the Waibaidu Bridge.

Hongkou was a war zone, and the business of the Richa Hotel plummeted, making it difficult for the British to continue. In addition, the Japanese also coveted this hotel.

As a result, the management rights of Richa Hotel fell into the hands of the Japanese. The current general manager of the hotel is named Morimura Takashi.

Cheng Mo's Japanese name differs by one character, which can be regarded as a kind of fate.

It's just that he doesn't know Morimura Takashi, and Morimura Takashi doesn't know him.

The representatives on both sides of today's negotiations are representatives from the Japanese Military Police Headquarters and Consulate General in Shanghai, as well as representatives from the Board of Directors of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce and the Police Department.

Today's negotiations are not secret, but they are not open to the public.

On the Ministry of Industry Bureau's side, Vice President Kai Ziwei is the chief, Japanese director Okamoto, then Political Section Chief Robertson and Detective Inspector Pride, and then there are several attendants. According to the translator, plus Cheng Mo's words, the total is Three.

They were all men, not a single woman was seen.

Pride introduced Cheng Mo. He was a newcomer and it was his first time to participate in such a high-level negotiation. Except for Robertson, no one else had met Cheng Mo.

In such a scene, Cheng Mo's English was a little jerky except when speaking, but he didn't have any stage fright. This made Kai Ziwei have a good impression of him and even nodded to him.

Because simultaneous translation is required, except for the Japanese director Okamoto, the other three people must have an interpreter, who will be behind them during negotiations.

Cheng Mo was brought here by Pride, so of course he followed him.

Although I still don’t know why I was selected, I am here, so I will try my best to do my best.

The Japanese representative arrived later than the Ministry of Industry and Industry Bureau representative, and was procrastinating. He was a bit unlike the Japanese who pride themselves on being punctual and trustworthy.

Representatives from the Japanese side include Major Nishimura of the Military Police Headquarters in Shanghai. This person Cheng Mo knew was later the consultant of the Pseudo-Daido Municipal Government, then Tatsuo Kawazo, the Intelligence Minister of the Japanese Consulate in Shanghai, and then the Deputy Consul Iwai Eiichi, as well as the Japanese Consulate General. some staff. Among the many Japanese representatives, Cheng Mo paid attention to a person who was also a translator like him, named Yu Dawei. This person was a well-known celebrity in Shanghai. He had run a newspaper and liked to ask for manuscripts from others, but he was stingy. The ultimate guy, no one expected him to appear here and act as a translator for the Japanese.

Of course, those who work as translators for the Japanese are not necessarily traitors, so we cannot generalize now. If we follow this definition, many people will be beaten to death with one stick.

The negotiations took place in a closed restaurant.

In order to ensure that the contents involved in the negotiations would not be leaked, Japanese military police and patrols were arranged at the door, and the security measures were quite tight.

The atmosphere was not so friendly at first.

The Japanese side demanded that the management of the concession in the area north of the Suzhou River be handed over to the Japanese side. Simply put, it means to be handed over to the Japanese police, including taxation, education, infrastructure projects, etc., especially judicial jurisdiction.

This is obviously the lion's opening. If the Ministry of Industry and Commerce agrees, how will they explain it to the country behind it?

What's more, there are interests from many countries, including the United Kingdom, the United States, Belgium, Germany and Italy.

These countries either have large trade relations with Japan, and Japan is still the largest importer, or they are basically allies.

This is tantamount to ceding part of the public concession to Japan, which has become a concession within a concession. This is absolutely unacceptable.

The two sides argued fiercely. In just one hour of negotiation, the table was slapped no less than seven or eight times. It was obvious that the two sides could not reach an agreement at all regarding the ownership of the governance of the public concession.

At most, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce Bureau can agree to hand over the Hongkou area to Japanese jurisdiction, and can use Japanese nationals to patrol, but it is still under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce Bureau.

All power in other areas must be returned to the Ministry of Industry and Commerce Bureau, especially the Yangshupu area, where there is the largest prison in the Ministry of Industry and Commerce Bureau, Tilanqiao Prison.

This round of negotiations is actually touching on the bottom line of both parties. I didn't see that the big bosses from both sides who could make the decision did not appear in person.

So, I came here to quarrel today.

The purpose of bringing a translator is to make the other party understand his attitude clearly. No wonder Luo Zhiming is unwilling to come. It is not easy to do this job of scolding the Japanese.

We had lunch at the Richa Restaurant. The Japanese are pretty good at etiquette, so I didn’t find fault with this one.

Even just now, they were so quarrelsome at the negotiation table that they were blushing, but when it was time to eat, they were still chatting and laughing together and toasting together.

To be honest, as a Chinese, it feels really uncomfortable to see the European and American powers on one side and the Japanese invaders on the other. People from both sides are fighting for China's land and sovereignty on Chinese soil.

One day, he wants to throw all these people into the sea to feed the sharks.

"Sir, at the negotiation table just now, I heard that you speak Japanese very well. Are you Japanese?" A Japanese man in a suit and tie came to Cheng Mo with a wine glass in his hand and greeted Cheng Mo very gracefully. A sound.

"Who is your Excellency?" Cheng Mo didn't answer, but asked instead, this is social skills, changing from passive to active.

"I am Gong Nakamura, a small employee of Manchuria Railway's office in Shanghai."

"It turns out it's Mr. Nakamura, I'm disrespectful." Cheng Mo's heart skipped a beat. Isao Nakamura was a member of the Japanese Communist Party and both belonged to the "Ramza" group. Could this be the contact he was waiting for in Shanghai?
  If you think about it carefully, it's really possible.

"Can I have a drink?" Isao Nakamura took a glass of champagne from the waiter and handed it to Cheng Mo.

"Of course." Cheng Mo nodded slightly and reached out to take it. Although he had never met Isao Nakamura, the name was too familiar.

If it was really that person, then he would have found a home.

　Please collect it, please read it!

　　
  　
  (End of this chapter)