Lu Ming sighed. He knew that he had lost in terms of intelligence this time. If he could find evidence that Japan deliberately caused trouble from the beginning, of course the situation would be more favorable.
"What can we do even if we find evidence? Japan will still go to war. Britain, the United States, France and Italy all favor Japan, just for their common anti-communist policy. In Europe, they use Poland and Romania to contain the Soviet Union, and in Asia they want to
Using Japan to contain the power of the Soviet Union, they are actually working together." Lu Ming said in a low mood.
"What you said makes sense, but this time is different. If we have conclusive evidence and bring it to the international community, Britain and the United States cannot pretend not to see it. If Japan really wants to launch a local war, it can only choose other places, such as North China.
.So you have to endure the humiliation, endure hardships, and strive to establish and improve Shanghai's intelligence system within a few years." Sheng Youde said earnestly and kindly.
Lu Ming hung up the phone feebly. He didn't want to establish an intelligence system, but the Blue Clothes Club had only been established for a few days. It had just established a basic structure and the internals had not yet been completed.
Under such circumstances, if you want to extend your tentacles to every corner of Shanghai, you are deceiving yourself.
But he is already doing it. Last time, he took pictures of all the Japanese expatriates participating in the parade and asked An Gonggen and others to identify them.
An Gonggen and others are relatively familiar with the situation of Japanese expatriates, and with a little effort, they can create a file for each person.
He wants to establish a database of Japanese expatriates in Shanghai, just like the local police station branches understand the residents of their own jurisdictions. In the future, if there is any trouble among Japanese expatriates, they can keep abreast of the latest developments.
An Gonggen is also recruiting informants step by step and placing eyes and ears in the Japanese Concession and areas where Japanese expatriates live. All this is only in the initial stage, and it will take time to achieve results.
Intelligence work is a complex, large and sophisticated system project, which is far from being as simple as sending a spy to steal a piece of information.
Lu Ming was deep in thought when Kang Ze knocked on the door and came in. He said with a heavy expression: "Brother Lu, you know it too, right?"
"I know." Lu Ming responded weakly.
"Since the Shanghai Municipal Government has agreed to all Japan's demands, the war will not start, right?" Kang Ze asked.
"No, the war will start tonight or tomorrow night." Lu Ming said with a livid face.
"Why?" Kang Ze was stunned.
"Because Japan needs such a local war, especially this time they have obtained the approval of the Japanese government and the emperor." Lu Ming said with certainty.
"We have agreed to Japan's conditions, but Japan still goes to war. Do Britain, the United States and the League of Nations really ignore this blatant provocation?" Kangze was a little confused.
"They will take care of it. Japan dared to fight this local war just because it knew they would take care of it." Lu Ming said in a sarcastic tone.
Lu Ming hoped that the British and American governments and the League of Nations would remain deaf and mute and not make any reaction. In that case, it would probably trigger an all-out war between China and Japan.
Once an all-out war breaks out between China and Japan, China's economy will inevitably collapse and it will lose a decade of development opportunities and pay a heavy price. But Japan will also have its economy collapse and lose their national destiny.
If a full-scale war breaks out ten years from now, although China will be stronger than it is now, Japan will be even more powerful. In contrast, China, shrouded in war ten years from now, will be under much greater pressure than it is today.
Lu Ming certainly knew that what made the Republic of China government even more afraid was that once a full-scale war broke out between China and Japan, local forces would become stronger, the Communist Party's armed forces would become stronger, and the central government would lose control of the entire country.
But they never thought about it. Only under the banner of the Anti-Japanese Alliance can China, which is now divided, be truly united and united.
Lu Ming's whole body and mind were filled with disappointment. For the first time, he felt the weakness of the central government and saw the weakness of the Kuomintang.
Although this weakness does have complicated reasons, in Lu Ming's view, any reason is not a reason to passively avoid war.
Lu Ming didn't complain to Kang Ze. He was not that stupid. Even if he complained, he would only yell at Sheng Youde.
"Brother Lu, what should we do now?" Kang Ze said with a sad face.
"What else can we do? Speed up the establishment and improvement of the intelligence system. In this incident, we were defeated by the Japanese intelligence system in the first move. We must learn from our experience and lessons." Lu Ming said with a bitter face.
"No, what I want to say is..." Kang Ze suddenly felt a little embarrassed.
"What exactly is Brother Kang trying to say?" Only then did Lu Ming notice Kang Ze's emotional changes.
"What I want to say is...should we move to a safe place?" Kang Ze said with difficulty.
"Transfer? Why? Japan won't really occupy Shanghai. They can't hit our place. If they occupy Shanghai, it will be a full-scale war. Even Britain, the United States and the League of Nations can't stop it. The Japanese are not that stupid."
Ming shook his head and smiled bitterly.
"Many agencies of the Nanjing government have been transferred to Luoyang, and the headquarters also consulted our opinions and asked us whether we should transfer." Kang Ze said awkwardly.
"Brother Kang, we are engaged in intelligence work, not the army. To say the least, even if the Japanese really occupy Shanghai, we cannot move, but go underground and continue working. Of course, this is my personal opinion.
If you want to withdraw, I will not leave, I will be my special correspondent." Lu Ming said seriously.
"Well, that's what I mean. Even if the Japanese really occupy Shanghai, we shouldn't leave. We should all go underground. Should we first formulate a work plan for going underground, just for you and me and everyone everywhere?
You know?" Kang Ze then strengthened his belief.
"Convene a meeting with the directors of various departments tonight to formulate a work plan for going underground. Let's prepare for a rainy day." Lu Ming agreed with Kang Ze's idea.
In fact, he has no interest in doing this at all. He firmly believes that the Japanese will not start a full-scale war. He even hopes that the Japanese will really go crazy again like they did in Northeast China. This will force the government to give up its illusions and carry out a full-scale resistance war.
Jiangsu and Zhejiang are the areas where the central government's revenue is the largest. If the Japanese want to attack Jiangsu and Zhejiang, the central government will have no retreat.
That night, the cadres above the director of the Shanghai branch of the Blue Clothes Society held a meeting in the middle of the night and initially formulated a work outline for all members of the Blue Clothes Club to go underground once Japan fully occupied Shanghai.
This outline is very rough and is just a backup plan.
If we really want to move all members underground, in order to protect everyone's safety, we not only need to organize everyone into groups, but also give everyone a cover identity.
And it needs to be formally registered at the police station without leaving any traces, which will be a huge job.
Lu Ming didn't care, he had a ready-made cover identity, that is, a special correspondent for the "Washington Post".
The next morning, Lu Ming went to Caobang to pick up Mingzhu from Wanguo Apartment.
Although he firmly believed that Japan would not completely occupy Shanghai this time, it was still necessary to strengthen preparations just in case.
In Shanghai, Wanguo Apartment may be the safest place.
He did not go to Du Juan's place, but called Sheng Muyi to take care of her and transfer her to the Lingering Garden if necessary.
"Lu Ming, is there really going to be a war this time?" Yuan Mingzhu asked anxiously.
"It's very possible." Lu Ming nodded.
"Then my godmother, eldest brother and sister Xin will not be in danger, right?" Yuan Mingzhu is worried about the safety of every relative.
"It's okay. If something happens, they can evacuate to the countryside. Brother has a solution, don't worry." Lu Ming said.
Lu Ming actually wanted to take Ning Xiner over and let the two sisters live in his own apartment. He could live in Mr. Dong's suite, after all, it was also rented by him.
However, Ning Xiner rejected his proposal, and Ning Zetao also said that he could protect his sister, so Lu Ming did not insist anymore.
On the streets, everything was business as usual. The citizens did not believe that war would break out, especially after the Shanghai government fully accepted the Japanese conditions. They believed that since the Japanese were satisfied, there was no reason for war.
Major newspapers reacted strongly to the Shanghai Municipal Government's reply, accusing it of losing power and humiliating the country. Of course, their targets were not directed at the Shanghai Municipal Government, but directly at the Republic of China government, especially the main leaders of the government.