Spy Wars: I can get rewards by being a bully!

Chapter 662: Confrontation at the Municipal Council

The Municipal Council was the former Gordon Hall, which was the seat of the Tianjin Municipal Government until later on.

This is a Western-style building with a small white building, green lawn, and a few red turbans guarding the door.

When Matsuzaki's car arrives, it has to register and report before it can enter.

This made the North China spy chief Naoto Matsuzaki very unhappy.

He said sinisterly in the car: "Lin Sang, did you see that? These English people are still high and mighty. They are still immersed in the afterglow of the British Empire. Little do they know that their strength and status have changed. In the Far East, we should have the final say, not them. Their existence is like a stain on a beautiful piece of fabric, which is annoying and disgusting."

Lin Ze didn't say anything.

This is China's territory. You guys are fighting with each other. Do you really think you are the masters?

The English are certainly not good people, but the Japanese are even worse.

After waiting for a few minutes, the guard finally let me in.

When we arrived at the door, there was no important person to greet us. Only a so-called director of the Municipal Council was standing at the door.

The structure of the Municipal Council is very interesting. The directors are first elected by Chinese and foreign taxpayers within the concession. Previously there were five directors, and later after the merger with the American Concession, the number was increased to nine. These nine people then elect the vice chairman and chairman.

The chairman then appoints the directors of the Finance Department, Engineering Department, Police Department, Electrical Department, Water Department, and Health and Medical Officer Department. He has enormous power and can be said to be the local emperor of the concession.

However, there is an emperor above the chairman, and that is the Consul General of Tianjin, England.

When they met, there was no greeting. Naoto Matsuzaki said coldly, "I want to see Mr. Dana. Such a serious explosion happened in the concession. What on earth are you doing? This has affected the overall public security in Tianjin. I tell you, the general is in Tianjin now. If there is any trouble, you will be responsible!"

The director was a typical Englishman, with a neat suit, neatly combed hair, a pocket watch hanging on his chest, and the only thing missing was a walking stick.

After hearing what Matsuzaki said, he was not very polite: "Chairman Dana is waiting for you. In addition, Consul Claude is here too."

Matsuzaki raised his eyebrows, said nothing more, and followed him upstairs.

Lin Ze was a little confused. How come the English seemed to have been prepared? It seemed as if they knew that Naoto Matsuzaki would come and even called the British consul over?

When we arrived at the reception room, there was an older man and a younger man in the room.

The older man, with a white beard and a sturdy build, stood up and shook hands with Naoto Matsuzaki. "Major General Matsuzaki, it's been a long time since we last met. We have bad luck. Every time something bad happens, we can only meet."

Naoto Matsuzaki snorted coldly, "Chairman Dana, the explosion has happened for some time. What have you done?"

Dana said solemnly, "When the explosion occurred, a play was being rehearsed in the theater. Now it has been confirmed that two women have died and many people have been injured. While they are being treated, I have asked the police to start an investigation."

Naoto Matsuzaki said disdainfully, "Investigate? Your police department is either filled with red turbans from the White Elephant Country or local thugs. What can you find out?"

Then, he said emphatically: "I think the Secret Service should take over the investigation of this incident!"

Dana said nothing, but the younger, well-dressed English Consul Claude suddenly stood up and asked, "Do you want to repeat the scene from last year?"

The scene from the year before last that Claude mentioned refers to the second year after the Japanese occupied Tianjin and Beijing, when they launched a large-scale hunt for rebels.

The concessions were a natural safe haven for rebels. Whether for the sake of interests or to consolidate their own ruling power, the concessions would not allow the Japanese to enter and arrest people at will.

So there was a disturbance at that time.

At that time, there was still a part of the British garrison in the British Concession in Tianjin. Seeing that the Japanese were about to break into the police station, the consulate finally had to dispatch the garrison.

Eventually, the incident evolved into an armed confrontation between the two sides. The Japanese headquarters felt that it was not yet firmly established in North China and it was not appropriate to completely turn against the British. The British also felt that they were already in a mess in Europe and there was no need to expand the conflict with those crazy guys in the Far East.

So both sides took a step back, and the English consul who requested the garrison to be deployed was also transferred away.

Since then, the two sides have been secretly competing with each other, and conflicts have often arisen over the extradition of prisoners and case investigations.

Later, the Liaison Department replaced the Military Police Command to be responsible for the public security in Tianjin, and the two sides enjoyed a rare period of peace.

Looking at the confrontation between Matsuzaki and Claude, Lin Ze was still very confused.

Why did Matsuzaki choose this time to attack the English?

Matsuzaki sat on the sofa without any hesitation, "Claude, you don't have to scare me. What qualifications do you have to repeat what happened last year? Do you still have soldiers? Let me tell you, the problem now is that there was an explosion in the concession, and you can't find out the truth by yourselves, and you don't allow us to investigate. This is clearly a deliberate attempt to undermine the security environment in Tianjin. I'm putting it here. Today, either you authorize our military police headquarters to take over the investigation, or our people will enter the concession after midnight tonight!"

"you!"

Claude was furious.

Damn it! How dare this little dwarf threaten a gentleman from the English Empire like this!

Just then, there was a knock on the door of the reception room.

Everyone looked over, and then the door was slightly opened, and it was Niu Saner who was at the door.

Lin Ze walked quickly over, left the room, and closed the door behind him.

"Niu Saner, what's wrong?"

"Someone tried to find out Shanshanyuan's whereabouts at the Lishun Hotel, but was pointed out. The person has been caught. Qingshui Hao just sent someone to report the news. He has been interrogated. The preliminary judgment is that he is from MI6."

What the hell!

What on earth are they trying to do? What on earth are the Japs doing to the British?

Why do English spies want to find out about Shanshanyuan? Do they want to play a big game?

After returning to the house, Lin Ze winked at Matsuzaki and reported the matter in a low voice.

As expected, Naoto Matsuzaki flew into a rage and slammed the table and stood up.

"Claude! Don't think I don't know who you are. You are in charge of the Sixth Department's activities in the Far East, right? Why are you operating in the Astor Hotel? What do you want to do? Hmm?"

Claude remained calm and said calmly, "I don't understand what Major General Matsuzaki is talking about. Let's talk about the bombing."

Matsuzaki grinned and said, "Talk? If I had the interest to talk with you just now, I don't need to talk now. The people from the Sixth Bureau tried to assassinate the general, but now we have caught them. What else is there to talk about? Tonight, our people will enter the concession!"

Claude frowned and thought, "Oh my god, how did I get caught in the act?"