Chapter 31: He Mei Agreement

  Tianjin, the headquarters of the Japanese North China Garrison Army, Mei Zhen Meizhong stood in front of his chair with a gloomy face, and in front of his desk, a Japanese ronin bowed his head and whispered something.

  Japanese ronin Ishikawa Kazumiya, head of the Tianjin Black Dragon Society, was summoned by Mei Zhengmei to inquire about the "Emperor's Tribute Gold". This morning, upon learning that the gendarmerie ambush on Ouyang Yun's convoy had been annihilated and all beheaded, Mei Zhengmei first flew into a rage, then calmed down and thought it over. He felt he had underestimated the enemy, as the background of these "Anti-Japanese Heroes" was not as simple as it seemed. The Nationalist Party's "Blue Shirt Society" was known to him - wasn't it just Chiang Kai-shek's National Revival Society? However, He Yingqin had long agreed to arrest and hand them over to their side. Under these circumstances, how dare this young Japanese Ouyang Yun be so reckless? Was there another power backing him up? Song Zheyuan? This old guy didn't seem to have the guts; he had already been outmaneuvered by Tōyama and lost his position as Chairman of Chahar Province. So who was it? Mei Zhengmei couldn't figure it out, so he called Tōyama to hear the old spy's opinion.

  Tsuchihashi is indeed a professional spy chief who excels at plotting and scheming, immediately pointing out the key points, believing that the "Anti-Japanese Heroes" must have received support from the young faction of the Chinese military, while also telling him an intelligence: the money used by Ouyang Yun to purchase arms was actually the "Tribute Gold" raised by the Black Dragon Society's North China Branch for the Emperor.

  The Black Dragon Society's Beiping branch was annihilated at the hands of Ouyang Yunhe and Chu Tiange, the only surviving girl being Tofei Yuan's subordinate. Mei Jin was completely unaware of this, but because the "Golden Offering" incident involved the "Emperor", he didn't dare to be careless, so he hastily called Ishikawa Kazuo to ask about it, which led to the scene above.

  "Hakka!" Learning that the money Oyama Kumo used to buy arms actually came from the Emperor's donation, Maezono was so angry and ashamed that he blurted out a curse.

  Ishikawa looked at him with reverence, and his head hung even lower in the midst of scolding, as if he was the one who had lost the offering money.

  Umezu gritted his teeth and suppressed his anger, waving his hand at Ishikawa and saying, "You go."

  Ishikawa had not been gone for long when Umezu was pacing back and forth in his office, deep in thought. Outside, the guard loudly announced: "Commander, Chief of Staff Sakai Takashi has returned."

  Then, Sakae Mochizuki, dusty and disheveled, walked in with a young officer. The young officer immediately bowed deeply to Mei and said: "Imperial Japanese Embassy in Beiping Deputy Military Attaché Takashi Takaoka has arrived to see Commander Mei."

  Takashi Sakai returned to the headquarters and learned from his subordinates about last night's failed ambush. Since the ambush plan was formulated by the staff, he felt particularly humiliated, with a dark face, after saluting Mei Zhen, he angrily said: "He Yingqin this bastard, vowed to capture the culprits with all his might, but let them run under our noses and wreak havoc, He's conscience is too bad!"

  Takahashi stepped forward, bowing deeply to Maezono and said with a tinge of embarrassment: "Commander, I'm terribly sorry, but I bring some very bad news."

  "Huh?" Matsumoto's eyebrows furrowed even tighter, thinking what's going on today? Is it really true to the Chinese idiom: Good fortune never comes in pairs, misfortune never comes alone! This guy from the North Ping Embassy, is he here just to report bad news?!

  "We just received the news from Tofu Original Special Agency yesterday, and the donation for His Majesty the Emperor by the Black Dragon Society's Beiping Branch has fallen into the hands of Ou Yang Yun and Chu Tian Ge. Commander, this donation is a huge sum, if it falls into the hands of those two Chinese people, the consequences will be unthinkable."

  Umezu's face turned cold, and he said in a chilly tone: "I already know about the matter of the gold offering. Please rest assured, Takahashi-san, I will definitely find a way to resolve it. Sakai, let's talk about the negotiations for now."

  "Hey, I've already handed over the memo to He Yingqin in person and the Chinese side has fully agreed to our terms. However, regarding the capture of those two culprits responsible for the 'April 26th Incident', it seems we'll have to take matters into our own hands. From what I can see, although He Yingqin is currently the highest-ranking administrative official in North China, he doesn't have any troops directly under his command. Even if he really wants to catch those people, he doesn't have the capability. Commander, just now I heard from Shō that the ōtani unit has been completely annihilated..."

  "Yes, all 35 Imperial Army heroes have fulfilled their loyalty to His Majesty the Emperor."

  "This can't be done by those Chinese students in the training class, I think there must be a regular army of the Chinese military intervening!"

  "This morning I just had a phone call with Tofei Genkan, and he also confirmed this point. The matter of the dedication gold was also something I learned from him."

  "Commander, Ou Yang Yun and Chu Tian Ge, these two Chinese are definitely to be eliminated. Also, the student training class of the 25th Division - otherwise, not to mention the face of the Imperial Army, but also those Chinese who serve us will have ideas."

  "But if we launch a strong attack on the training camp, what about the 25th Division's intervention? We don't have many troops in Tianjin."

  "Otherwise, go to the North China Embassy immediately and have them urge He Yingqin to sign it at once. Then order all Chinese troops to leave Hebei by midnight tonight, taking advantage of the dissolution of the training class, we will send a battalion of gendarmes to catch them off guard!" said Niizaki Ryūsuke, his small eyes gleaming with cold light behind his glasses.

  Mei thought for a moment and said, "This method is not bad, let's do it!" Suddenly, he remembered another thing and said, "However, this way, the number of pseudo-military personnel in Shi You San will be too small, I'm afraid it won't be enough to control Beiping?"

  Shi You San was a "special force" prepared by Mei Zhen for the "Beiping Autonomy", intending to take advantage of the withdrawal of the National Army and the National Government agencies from Hebei, letting these Han traitors occupy Beiping and make trouble with the Beiping autonomy. After controlling Beiping, then gradually control the entire Hebei

  It must be acknowledged that Mei Zhen's move was brilliant. In this chaotic world, whoever has guns is the emperor, and Shi You San and others are still Chinese people. If they really occupy Beiping, then Beiping may indeed be "autonomous". Mei Zhen spent a lot of money to prepare for this move, in order to avoid being caught by the world that the Japanese army was manipulating behind the scenes, Shi You San's guns were all purchased from Hanjian Ma Benqian at 51 Army with a high price.

  This is the real reason why Ma Ben was willing to be a scapegoat.

  Sakai Takashi was in a hurry to avenge his subordinates and retrieve the tribute gold, but he had forgotten about it. When Mei Jin mentioned it, he thought for a moment and said: "Indeed, with over 300 people, we are a bit short-handed. Commander, why not do this? Let Shi You San and others take the lead, spend some money to invite some small-time hooligans from Tianjin to assist, and then we can arrange for a squadron-sized unit of Imperial Army soldiers to secretly provide support. In that case, it would be impossible for the police force in Beiping to stop them."

  "Then let's do it as the Chief of Staff said!" Mei added after a moment, "Choose soldiers who can speak Chinese, and make sure they remember to keep their identities secret."

  It is indeed a sad thing to say, the development of things turned out as expected by Sakai Takashi, under the "urging" of the Japanese, He Yingqin handed over the reply letter acknowledging the conditions proposed by the Japanese side to the personnel of the Japanese Embassy in Beiping that afternoon, and immediately sent a telegram to various branch national military units, requiring them to leave Hebei before 12 o'clock that night, and those who disobeyed would be subject to military law. In the telegram to the 25th Division, it was emphasized that: The student training class must be disbanded immediately, and all guns and ammunition must be collected!

  The He-Mei Agreement was signed so quickly, and although the highest commanders of various branches of the National Army had already been informed, they were still caught off guard. The most embarrassing one among them was Ou Yang Yun. After Chang Zhi-an received the order from his superiors, he immediately sent someone to inform him that the armored vehicle troops who had helped him make contact had no hope, and warned him to be careful of a Japanese sneak attack that night. The sudden signing of the agreement might have been a trick played by the Japanese - to divert the 25th Division and take advantage of them.

  After sending off Chang Zhan's men, Ouyang Yun felt a bit annoyed. If the situation developed as expected, then tonight would be an extremely severe test for the Xuebing Corps.

  He glanced at his watch. It was past four in the afternoon. If he went to Tianjin city now to look for drivers, he should be able to catch a few. If not, then he would have to ask Song Zheyuan for some men.

  He made a decision and called Liu Zhe Liang, who was about to set off. Chang Zhilin sent someone to find him, which was a good thing. Due to the urgency of the situation, the 25th Division had not fought in years and had accumulated too many supplies, which could not be taken away together. Chang Zhilin consulted with Guan Linzheng and suggested that it would be better to give them to the 29th Army rather than destroying them. So, he let someone inform Ouyang Yun to organize people to go and transport them. Ouyang Yun inquired about the details and found out that there were many old guns and cannons, as well as a large amount of ammunition. He was tempted and thought that since they were being given to the 29th Army, he might as well take some for himself as a favor. Immediately, he drove a truck to Tianjin City.

  He arrived at the entrance of Song's mansion and saw that there were cars and rickshaws parked outside. Afraid of revealing his tracks and causing unnecessary trouble, he looked at the guards standing at the gate and found that the one on the left was a familiar face, Little Li. He quickly beckoned him over and asked him to bring out Guo Biao, then had Guo Biao pass on a message to Song Zheyuan.

  Song Zheyuan was at this time in the living room flattering big and small traitors, from the mouth of the traitor he learned that the He-Mei Agreement had already been signed, his teacup was no longer steady, wondering if what Ouyang Yun said was true or false, would someone call to invite us to go to Beiping? Thinking about the richness of Beiping and then thinking about the poverty of Chahar, he only felt a sour feeling in his heart, and suddenly he felt that the phone beside him seemed to have come to life, always wanting to jump up and ring loudly.

  At this time, Guo Biao walked in and whispered to him: "General, Ouyang Yun is outside. He said that the 25th Division left a large batch of weapons and equipment for the Student Brigade. The Student Brigade can't equip them, and they asked if we want them?"

  Song Zheyuan immediately jumped up and said: "Why not?! Quick, quick, let him come in."

  "He said it's inconvenient to come in now, as the 51st Army is preparing for withdrawal and may not have time to take care of the security within the city."

  "In that case, you arrange for some people to go over and keep watch first. After we enter Beiping, then bring them over - right, have Ou Yang be careful, the Japanese will definitely take revenge on him."

  "Ouyang said that the 25th Division had left a few trucks for them and they only needed to send nine drivers, he would arrange everything."

  Song Zheyuan readily said: "Then listen to him, you arrange it, let them bring their weapons, Tianjin will definitely not be peaceful in the next few days!"

  Guo Biao nodded and cast a cold glance at the traitors before leaving.