"Come in," he said after seeing off Xie Bo. Robert, who returned to the room, shouted out the door. He knew that Tang Cheng must be waiting outside his room. Just as Robert expected, Tang Cheng was really waiting for him.
Outside the room, as soon as he heard Robert calling him, Tang Cheng opened the door and walked in with a smile on his face, but Tang Cheng still held the newly bought cigar for Robert in his hand.
"Do you know what that officer did just now?" Enjoying Tangcheng's leg-beating service, Robert sat in the rocking chair and smoked a cigar happily. After taking off his priest's robe, Robert resumed his role as a family man.
He planned to talk to Tang Cheng like a father and son in an ordinary family. "That officer named Xie is here to recruit you as a soldier. Tell me what you did with them today."
Tang Cheng, who beat Robert's leg, secretly made a face, but he still told Robert everything that happened today in detail, even what happened after going to Xie Bo's military camp, including Xie Bo
People like Liu Yangyang around him were not left behind either. "You mean, they asked you to lead the way to the Japanese Concession? And also to the Japanese Marine Corps Headquarters?" Robert asked Tang Cheng calmly, who didn't know why.
The ones inside just nodded.
Robert was a person who had fought in the war. He easily guessed that Xie Bo and the others' entry into the Japanese Concession was actually the so-called pre-war reconnaissance. Robert had also heard about what happened at Hongqiao Airport. Today, the U.S. Consulate has sent information to American citizens living in Shanghai.
A notice was issued that all U.S. citizens should leave Shanghai if they have no important matters in the near future, and those who are stranded in Shanghai should not leave the concession.
The notice from the consulate and what happened in Tangcheng today made Robert already have a suspicion in his mind. It seems that a war between China and Japan is inevitable. Five years ago, China and Japan fought in Shanghai.
After a battle, but Robert and Tang Cheng were still in Peiping City at that time and did not catch up with the battle. After the Marco Polo Bridge Incident broke out, Japan's ambition to annex China has become clear. If Japan and China go to war in Shanghai this time
, it will definitely not end as easily as it did in 1932.
"Okay, you're tired after running all day. Go and rest first. If anything happens, we'll talk about it tomorrow." Tang Cheng was still looking forward to telling Robert about Xie Bo, but unexpectedly, he was kicked back by Robert and ordered to come right away.
Sleep. The heartless Tang Cheng would never have imagined that after he went back to his room to sleep, Robert, who had changed his clothes, quietly left the church and went to a bar in the concession.
On weekdays, the Rose Bar is crowded and very lively, but today there are only a few people and it seems deserted. Robert, wearing casual clothes, walked around the bar and knocked on the bar owner's office. "God, Robert, you are my rare guest.
It's been a while since you last came to my place." Mike, the bar owner with a bulging belly and a smile on his face, opened his arms and hugged Robert.
"Don't worry, my place is absolutely safe. The bartender and pianist are both ours." After a few brief greetings, Mike locked his office from the inside, then called Robert to the back room of the office. He took a big gulp of the wine in the glass.
After pouring it into his stomach, Robert, who had always had a cold face, relaxed a little. He and Mike, the owner of the Rose Bar, were both secret agents affiliated with the Asia Division of the CIA. The Rose Bar was their meeting place and logistics base, but Robert had always been very careful.
Don't come here.
"Mike, I think we should evacuate." After a few sips of whiskey, Robert revealed the purpose of his trip to Mike, "The Japanese provoked trouble at Hongqiao Airport yesterday. I have received instructions from the domestic headquarters, asking us to
Temporarily suspend all activities in China. But now it seems that things have changed. I think the war between China and Japan will definitely break out. Once China and Japan go to war on a large scale, those of us who stay in China will
It's very dangerous, I'm going to contact the headquarters and ask everyone to evacuate."
"But people from the consulate came to my place in the afternoon. They said that the Chinese may not dare to go to war with the Japanese in Shanghai. Robert, this is not like your character. You chose to stay in China voluntarily. Just go back to the headquarters like this.
Those high-level officials in the CIA may not continue to use people like you and me." Mike and Robert have known each other for a long time, and he knows that Robert is a stubborn character who will never look back until he hits the wall. But suddenly Robert mentioned his decision to withdraw to the United States.
This was something Mike couldn't accept for a while.
"Consulate?" Hearing Mike mention the consulate, Robert couldn't help but sneered, "What do those guys who only know how to spend time and wine know? As long as the Japanese invite them to attend more cocktail parties and give them some worthless Japanese lacquerware, they will even
He would say that the United States should form an alliance with Japan." Robert is right. The people at the U.S. Consulate in Shanghai have indeed been a bit clingy with the Japanese recently. Mike also received similar intelligence. The **** intelligence agent he developed
I have witnessed people from the consulate entering Japanese pubs more than once.
"Hutou met a young officer from the 88th Division today. According to Hutou himself, that officer took people to visit the entire Japanese Concession today, especially the Japanese Marine Corps Headquarters and the Japanese Military Hospital Building.
Hutou also went to their military camp. Although Hutou did not see many troops of the 88th Division, I think this is a harbinger that the Chinese are about to go to war with the Japanese army. They entered the Japanese concession today just for pre-war reconnaissance."
"The 88th Division has been used by Chiang Kai-shek as a security force to protect the national government. If the Chinese government transfers the 88th Division to Shanghai, it means that they are really going to war with Japan." The 88th Division was trained by German consultants to help the Nationalist Government.
An elite German weapons model master, as a CIA agent lurking in China, Mike is as familiar with the 88th Division as Robert is. Mike can even tell the names and place of origin of the officers above the regiment level of the 88th Division.
"Intelligence agents in the urban area brought me new information today. Suddenly, there are many people from the Shanghai Security Force at Hongqiao Airport. However, according to my observation, those people are not real security forces. They should be Chinese regular troops pretending to be there."
Before Mike could digest the news that the 88th Division had been transferred to Shanghai, Robert dropped another piece of information that was enough to make Mike collapse immediately. Robert was a soldier, not to mention experienced in hundreds of battles, but against the same regular army
The breathless security team would not be mistaken, and as his partner, Mike had no reason to doubt Robert's judgment.
"That means China will definitely go to war with Japan in Shanghai, damn the consulate." Mike poured himself a glass of wine with a nonchalant expression. Combining the news Robert brought tonight and the intelligence he had, Mike was already very capable.
It is certain that Robert's judgment is extremely correct. The Chinese not only began to mobilize troops to come to Shanghai, but they were also prepared for war. The war between them and Japan was about to break out.
"The Japanese don't dare to attack the concession, right? The last time the Chinese and Japanese fought in Shanghai, it was dark and dark. I don't think there is anything serious in the concession. I don't think we need to withdraw all." Like Robert, Mike is already in China.
After staying there for many years, unlike Robert who was a pastor, Mike had a lot of opportunities to travel around China. Years of lurking and various means allowed Mike to accumulate a lot of wealth. After the Battle of Songhu a few years ago, the Shanghai Concession
The house prices here have been rising all the time. Mike has used all his idle funds to invest in real estate. If he suddenly has to withdraw, his investments will be in vain.
Mike's main purpose of voluntarily staying in China is to make money. As long as he earns enough money, Mike plans to retire early and enjoy life. He will leave behind the wealth he has worked so hard to save and return to the United States empty-handed.
It was absolutely impossible, so he tried his best to persuade Robert to change his mind and stay in China temporarily. Regarding Mike's question, Robert just shook his head and did not answer. The last time China and Japan went to war in Shanghai, Robert was not here, so
It was difficult for Robert to make a judgment without knowing the combat strength of both sides.
"If you have never experienced war, you will not understand the cruelty of war. Once a war breaks out, bullets and shrapnel will not have eyes to identify whether you are American or Chinese." Robert was not satisfied with Mike's self-deception and warned,
"The 88th Division is not only China's elite model division of German weapons, they are also the Chinese troops that experienced the Battle of Songhu last time. Once the upcoming war expands, it will have immeasurable consequences. It is too dangerous to stay here.
It would be safer to retreat to the country."
It was difficult for Mike to persuade Robert to change his mind, but Mike's stubbornness made Robert very helpless. The two talked for a long time in Mike's office. As for what they said, only the two of them knew, but Robert left the Rose Bar.
At this time, the boss Mike's face was obviously not very good-looking. "Think about it carefully. I guess whether it was the Chinese or the Japanese who launched the attack in the past few days, we don't have much time left. You'd better contact the headquarters as soon as possible."
Report this matter." Robert's words before leaving kept flashing in Mike's mind. A distraught Mike closed the bar early for the first time and sat alone at the bar drinking.
After leaving the Rose Bar, Robert did not go back to the church directly. Instead, he went to a bungalow not far from the U.S. Consulate. He was going to get the U.S. passport he had applied for for Tang Cheng. He raised Tang Cheng until he was 9 years old and stayed there temporarily.
Robert from Peiping applied for Tang Cheng's American identity through the CIA's relationship. Don Evanson was Tang Cheng's legal identity in the United States. Robert, who already regarded Tang Cheng as his son, was planning to take Tang Cheng away with him, but Tang Cheng