Mr. Ma prepared a very quiet courtyard.
There are four main rooms. Lu Ming is now in the east room. There is a moon-shaped door leading to the inner attic. Ashikaga Erika is in the inner room.
Lu Ming was just about to go to bed in the east room, but unexpectedly, an uninvited guest arrived.
He looked at the pages of photocopies of photos in his hands that were obviously taken with a small spy camera, and then looked at Yu Luan who was standing solemnly opposite him.
Instead of reporting to him via secret message or phone call, Yu Luan came here in person from Montenegro by helicopter. It is conceivable how important the information in his hand is.
Indeed, this is a copy of the comprehensive friendly cooperation agreement to be signed between Haixi Province and the Kingdom of Dongying.
Haixi Province is one of the four provinces in the northern region. It is located in the northern part of Longbei Province and is close to the sea.
Liu Bangchang, the governor of Haixi, has always been ambitious and is a sworn enemy of Qi Huaide, the governor of Northern Xinjiang Province.
Beijiang Province is his hometown, located in the northwest of Longbei Province.
Haixi and Beijiang are the two northernmost provinces of the empire. Further north is the extremely cold land outside the Tianshan Mountains.
There were many people from Jinzhou in Haixi Province, accounting for almost one-third of the population. Jinzhou people were cruel and warlike, and were Liu Bangchang's most important source of soldiers. Therefore, the Haixi Army had always been known for its brutality and fierceness.
Many of Liu Bangchang’s important officials at all levels were from Jinzhou.
The Japanese have always been interested in the four resource-rich provinces in the northern region, and the coastal provinces of Haixi and Longbei are natural stepping stones.
With the civil unrest in the empire today, it is clear that the Japanese no longer need to hide their intentions. This agreement with the Haixi Province is also a microcosm of the empire's disintegration.
"Will it be officially signed tomorrow?" Lu Ming frowned.
"This is what the intelligence from Haixi said." Yu Luan replied in a low voice.
Lu Ming nodded, "Then, I'm afraid it will cause a series of reactions."
The Japanese have been talking to Ren Zhonglin about providing security guarantees for the Japanese residential areas in the Longbei provincial capital on the pretext of protecting overseas Chinese, which actually means stationing troops there.
At the same time, Nanping and Xin'an are also on the list of cities where overseas Chinese need protection.
Today, the Haixi Province has set a precedent by introducing external forces to help it launch a war.
Ren Zhonglin was the weakest among the four provincial governors, because there were too many local warlord factions in northern Long and it was difficult to integrate them.
Therefore, in order to protect himself, Ren Zhonglin might have to make a certain degree of compromise with the Japanese.
Yu Luan whispered, "Yes, the Lady of Liuli Palace also asked me to tell the master that it is better for the master not to return to Nanping yet."
Lu Ming nodded, but he was wondering in his heart whether he should have someone assassinate Gao Baoshan tonight
When Ren Zhonglin negotiates with the Japanese, he will at least have a bottom line and it is impossible for him to allow the Japanese to station troops on a large scale.
But Gao Baoshan’s current mentality is unpredictable, and he might do something unexpected.
But if we get rid of Gao Baoshan now, it will give some people and some forces a high-sounding excuse, and the consequences may not be better than waiting and seeing what happens now.
There was no news from Asaba Yoshiko.
When it comes to the vital interests of the Japanese, they will naturally keep it secret from themselves.
Moreover, it seems that the Asaba family and Yamamoto Yu's Kansai Group are not on the same line.
As for Asaba Yoshiko, she was not on the same page as Asaba Nagamasa.
"Master, if there is nothing else, I will take my leave." Yu Luan knelt on one knee and saluted.
Lu Ming nodded: "Be careful."
…
Meeting room of Nanping Daoyin Office.
Gao Baoshan and Sun Chonggu sat side by side in the main seat.
Gao Baoshan had a blank expression on his face, but Sun Chonggu looked very high-spirited, because the Japanese military police had just entered Nanping, and he became good friends with their military police captain, Okagawa Ichiro.
The first person sitting on the left side of the long conference table was Ichiro Okagawa, who was wearing a brown military police officer uniform. He was not tall, but had a fierce face. The beard on his lips made him look even more ferocious. At least, that was Lu Ming's first reaction, and he subconsciously felt disgusted.
In the provincial capital, Ren Zhonglin only allowed the Japanese to station a police company, and did not allow them to station in the name of military police, and their activities were limited to areas where Japanese gathered.
However, with Gao Baoshan's permission, a Japanese gendarmerie battalion was stationed in Nanping and Xin'an, which was basically a battalion-level organization.
Ichiro Okagawa was also hired as Gao Baoshan's military adviser.
As a result, Ichiro Okagawa sat in the first seat on the left.
Lu Ming sits first on the right. He is Gao Baoshan’s reform consultant. He also serves as the chairman of the Nanping Special Investigation Committee and the director of the Nanping Procuratorate.
Below Okagawa Ichiro and Lu Ming sat the Finance Committee Chairman Li Tian, Police Station Chief Liu Xin, Guard Regiment Commander Gao Yuhu and other important military and political figures from Nanping Dao.
Listening to Gao Baoshan introducing Gangchuan Ichiro, everyone present kept a straight face, but they all knew in their hearts that Nanping Road was in a real mess now. Only God knew what would happen in the end.
Gao Baoshan also introduced the duties of the Japanese gendarmerie. In addition to maintaining order and security in the Japanese overseas Chinese community, they will also assist the police station in managing public security in Nanping City.
When Gao Baoshan said this, Liu Xin and others stood up, nodded and bowed to Gangchuan Ichiro, saying that they would definitely cooperate sincerely with Mr. Gangchuan.
Okagawa Ichiro just nodded indifferently.
"Commissioner Zhang, the special investigation committee also needs to cooperate more with Captain Gangchuan. Security intelligence must be reported to Captain Gangchuan in a timely manner." Gao Baoshan looked at Lu Ming.
Lu Ming nodded, "That's no problem."
Ichiro Okagawa's eyes moved from Lu Ming to the document in his hand.
Lu Ming smiled and said, "General, but now our Longbei Province is still one of the imperial confederations, so we must act within the framework of imperial law. The legal reforms that I helped the general promote are also for this purpose. In addition, I see that the gendarmerie's duties and the agreement with the general do not have extraterritoriality. If there is, it should be abolished according to imperial law. Therefore, once a dispute occurs between the gendarmerie and the people, since there is no military court in Nanping, our procuratorate will file a lawsuit through the civil court. Captain Gangchuan, I hope you can convey this to your troops."
Ichiro Okagawa's brows immediately furrowed.
Lu Ming smiled and said, "I definitely don't want to show off my power to Captain Gangchuan, but there are precedents. Soldiers stationed outside the region often have a different mentality. They think they are superior to others, and they have the protection of the military camp, so they always violate the law more often. I hope Captain Gangchuan can do his best to restrain his troops and not cause any unpleasantness."
He said he didn't want to give me a "show of force", but every word he said was like a provocation.
Gangchuan Ichiro snorted coldly, "Zhang Sang, you have no right to make any speculations or accusations regarding the internal affairs of our Kansai Invincible Army!"
Invincible Legion? Lu Ming smiled, shrugged, and said no more.
"Let's move on to the next topic." Gao Baoshan made a gesture, ending the brief exchange that was full of tension.