The morning after the Navy Department's dinner to welcome Colonel Joseph Clark, Aoi Shigemitsu, who had been silent for two days, hurriedly asked Mr. Tamaki to find John Clark and asked Fang Lang to have lunch with him.
The location was set at an izakaya not far from the U.S. Navy Club. This izakaya has a very maritime name, called Langhua Izakaya. Fang Lang didn’t know how to pronounce it in Japanese, but from the text it looked like it was written in Chinese. The word "splash" is attached to it.
This time Chongguang Kuiyue invited Fang Lang alone, so John did not go with him. Fang Lang went there with a group of guards and his adjutant Qi Qingshan.
It's not that Fang Lang is afraid of death and brings a lot of guards with him wherever he goes, but because of his current identity and some of the things he did to the Japanese in Brazil, the guards don't dare to leave him alone. Go out alone.
Because it was noon, there were not many guests in the izakaya. Fang Lang's guards had already checked inside and outside. After confirming that nothing unusual was found, Qi Qingshan came to Fang Lang's car window and whispered to Fang Lang. :
"Boss, there are only Mr. Shigemitsu Aoi and a middle-aged couple in the izakaya. According to themselves, the middle-aged couple are the owners of the izakaya!"
Fang Lang looked at this small izakaya through the car window. If it was a mom-and-pop shop, it would be normal. He didn't feel any danger from here, so he nodded and pushed forward without hesitation. Opened the door and walked in.
After walking in, I felt that this izakaya was even more shabby. There was only a row of tables and chairs on the left side of the door. You could count them clearly at a glance, there were only five.
On the right is a long bar! There are more than ten high stools in front of the bar. This layout is very similar to the small Japanese izakayas that Fang Lang often saw in later generations.
At this moment, Shigemitsu Aoi was bowing deeply to Fang Lang at the bar of the izakaya and shouting in an ups and downs:
"Your Excellency, General, I am very glad that you can accept the invitation. It is really rude that I cannot greet you at the door in person!"
When Fang Lang saw this, he waved his hands carelessly and said:
"Okay, this isn't the first time we've met, so there's no need to be polite, let's get straight to the point!"
After hearing Fang Lang's words, Shigemitsu Kui seemed to feel that Fang Lang's attitude was not very good, thinking that Fang Lang felt that he had been slighted, so he quickly took the initiative to explain:
"Your Excellency General, this izakaya is run by one of my old subordinates. The couple are very reliable people. Because the things we want to talk about today are relatively secretive, I deliberately invited you here. I intentionally neglect you!
Please don’t be offended! "
Hearing this, Fang Lang glared at the other party dissatisfied and said:
"Is meeting me something shady? Do you want to do it secretly?"
Fang Lang had some vague guesses about Chong Guang Kui's thoughts. He wanted to take refuge with him but also didn't want others to know about it. However, Fang Lang didn't want to be sneaky. He just wanted everyone to know that Chong Guang Kui had already taken refuge. Own.
Hearing Fang Lang's unceremonious reprimand, Chong Guangkui's face turned green and red, and he didn't make a sound for a while. But after all, he was a foreign minister, and his thick skin had already been tempered, and he quickly adjusted his mood and said:
"Your Excellency, General, I am doing this to serve you better! Please be kind enough to give me a chance to explain."
Although he knew that this old boy was making excuses, Fang Lang did not refuse again. After all, this guy still had some use value. If he used it well, it would be a good move, so he did not continue to dwell on this issue. If he didn't want to meet him, Fang Lang wouldn't have come today at all. After all, the cultural relics he and Yushio Kodama promised to send him haven't arrived yet!
Moreover, the other party had not asked him out to play with him for a long time, but it was only after Joseph Clark arrived in Japan that he hurriedly asked him out. It was already clear what the other party was planning.
"I know exactly what you are thinking. This is the last chance for you. If there is another time, don't say I didn't predict it!"
Aoi Shigemitsu also knew what she and Yushio Kodama had done. After hearing what Fang Lang said, she did not dare to say anything. After all, it was impossible for them to believe Fang Lang's casual words about such a big matter. If this happened Did the guy lie to them intentionally by telling what he said?
Therefore, in the past few days, the two of them have been inquiring about Fang Lang's specific situation from many sources. Unfortunately, among the people they knew, almost no one knew about Fang Lang's situation, and they could not contact higher-level people.
It wasn't until they heard yesterday that the CEO of God's Whip Military Contracting Company suddenly arrived in Japan that they believed what Fang Lang said. Then they heard that the Brazilian Navy Rear Admiral was also invited to attend the welcome dinner last night. .
Although the other party had almost no communication with Joseph Clark throughout the whole process, Joseph Clark's son John Clark accompanied the Brazilian rear admiral to chat throughout the process.
What shocked the two even more was that Mr. Alexander Dodge, the American economic adviser stationed in Japan, actually took the initiative to talk to this humble rear admiral for more than half an hour. No one knew what the two talked about.
But many people said that the economic adviser and the rear admiral had a very speculative chat. During the process, they frequently toasted and drank, and even toasted each other directly in the end! Mr. Dodge, the economic adviser, seemed to be in a very good mood throughout the dinner.
It can be inferred from this that the inconspicuous Brazilian rear admiral in front of him is definitely not as simple as he appears. That's why Shigemitsu Kui made up his mind to ask Fang Lang to have a good chat again.
Now when Shigemitsu Kui faced Fang Lang again, she no longer had the arrogance she had before, but instead behaved very politely, even a little groveling.
After hearing Fang Lang's scolding, he did not show any dissatisfaction. Instead, he bowed and apologized again, respectfully extended his right hand and pointed at the innermost table in the izakaya and said:
"Please rest assured, Your Excellency General, this time is definitely the last time. The villain will never dare to have any doubts about His Excellency the General's words. This time, please allow Your Excellency the General to honor me and give the villain a chance to atone for his sins."
When Fang Lang heard this, he glared at the other party unkindly, strode towards his position inside, and said unforgivingly:
"This is not how you atone for your sins. Have you ever heard of the term "exchanging merit for sin"? You have to use enough merit to obtain my forgiveness.
Understand? "
Although Fang Lang spoke harshly, he actually gave the other party a chance to perform, otherwise he would not have accepted the other party's invitation at all. Both parties knew this very well.
Shigemitsu Kui also understood that it was time for him to show his sincerity, so he accompanied Fang Lang inside and said to Fang Lang:
"General, I understand that we have not relaxed at all in the past two days about the tasks you have assigned us. Mr. Kodama and I have collected more than a thousand precious Chinese cultural relics for you in the past two days, including porcelain. Four hundred pieces, 300 pieces of calligraphy and painting, more than 100 pieces of jade, and more than 200 pieces of miscellaneous items such as carved rhinoceros horn cups and inkstones.
I assure you that these are rare treasures with immeasurable value. In order to express my and Mr. Kodama’s apologies, we will not take any of these cultural relics and will give them all as a gift of apology to His Excellency the General. Please also ask His Excellency the General. Don't remember the villain's faults, and be able to forgive the villain's ignorance. "
Fang Lang's eyes lit up when he heard this. More than a thousand precious cultural relics were not a small number. Moreover, Fang Lang estimated that these two guys would never dare to deceive him now, because they could not afford the serious consequences of deceiving themselves.
However, although Fang Lang was very happy in his heart, he would never show it in front of this guy, because he knew very well that these guys would never have only such a few Chinese cultural relics in their hands. If he showed that he would be too easily satisfied, , the other party will look down upon themselves.
Therefore, he turned around and looked at Shigemitsu Aoi aside, frowning and saying with dissatisfaction:
"It took you more than three days to collect more than a thousand cultural relics. This efficiency is very unqualified. However, you still have three days. If your efficiency still cannot satisfy me, then what we said earlier But I never said that.
I won't work with trash. "
Fang Lang's words could be said to be extremely contemptuous, which made Chongguang Kui, who was originally full of flattery and secretly waiting for Fang Lang's praise with some pride, suddenly become very ugly.
In his opinion, more than a thousand precious cultural relics were already a very large number, but he did not expect that the other party still looked dissatisfied, which made him secretly worried. The other party's appetite was so big that he was a little frightened. ! What does it take to satisfy such a person!
Although he knew that Yushio Kodama still had a lot of inventory on hand, these would have other uses in the future, and it was impossible to hand them all over to General Fang at once.
What's more, for the current batch of cultural relics, I had to spend a lot of money to convince Kodama Yushio to agree to give them to the guy in front of me for free. If I continue to give them away, they may be emptied of their wealth. This is not worth the gain.
However, Fang Lang obviously also knows that some things cannot be forced to be excessive, and you will get something if you give up. He has never thought about taking these things from them for free. It is better to give the other party a sum of money that cannot be exceeded and let them hang it. The other party willingly handed over the Chinese cultural relics in his hand.
In the future, I will have a lot of means to squeeze out the money given to them bit by bit. For example, running an amnesty order for Shigemitsu Aoi will not be free! Isn't this price just what Fang Lang asked?
As long as I understand the financial situation in their hands, I don't believe that the other party will obey.
Therefore, Fang Lang continued without waiting for the other party to speak:
"Also, I'm not someone who likes to take advantage of others. I don't need you to give me cultural relics. If I say I want to buy it, I will definitely pay for it.
You only need to send the collected cultural relics to the naval base. My people will naturally carefully identify the authenticity and make a valuation. At that time, I will pay the corresponding amount of US dollars as the cost of purchasing the cultural relics. You can also use the money I paid. dollars to continue purchasing artifacts for me.
Moreover, I don’t care what price you purchase at, the price I give is absolutely fair.
do you understand? "
Shigemitsu Aoi didn't expect that Fang Lang would directly refuse his gift. Instead, he generously stated that he would settle the bill directly in US dollars.
Now in Japan, the U.S. dollar is a real hard currency. If you convert it into Japanese yen, you may not only not lose money by selling it to the other party, but you may also make money.
Thinking of this, his ugly face instantly softened, and he couldn't help but reveal a smile, and he hurriedly said:
"Yes, yes, Your Majesty General, you are a villain with limited knowledge.
When I get back, I will immediately mobilize funds and try to find as many Chinese antiques for you as possible in the remaining time. You will never be disappointed again then. "
Naturally, the change in Shigemitsu Kui's expression could not be hidden from Fang Lang's eyes. When he saw the other person's expression immediately softened after hearing him say that he would pay US dollars for the cultural relics, Fang Lang showed a sneer in his heart, but did not make any expression on his face.
As if after hearing his words, she had forgiven him for his mistake, and slowly sat down at the dining table, saying with a slightly dissatisfied tone:
"Don't talk too much now. I will see your performance when the time comes. If you can't satisfy me, it won't have any effect no matter how extravagant your words are."
At this moment, Aoi Shigemitsu didn't look like Japan's Foreign Minister at all. Standing opposite Fang Lang, she said with a flattering smile on her face:
"Please rest assured, General, I will never let you down."
Seeing the respectful look on the other person's face, Fang Lang casually waved his hand and motioned for the other person to sit down and said:
"Okay, no need to talk nonsense. You should tell me why you asked me to meet this time!"
Aoi Shigemitsu was not surprised by Fang Lang's straight-to-the-point approach. In his opinion, the young Brazilian rear admiral was an arrogant and greedy bastard who would never be polite to him, if he didn't ask for it. As for the other party, I would never want to say another word to such a rude guy.
When he saw the other party's motion to signal him to sit down, he was not polite, so he pulled out the stool and sat across from Fang Lang.
"Your Majesty General, I took the liberty to invite you here today. The main reason is to report to you our preparations for Chinese cultural relics, and also to inquire about the specific delivery method."
Hearing this, Fang Lang waved his hands impatiently and said:
"Stop talking about these nonsense, don't say I don't believe it, just say you believe it yourself?
I'm very busy and don't have time to talk nonsense with you here, so please don't waste our mutual time, okay? "
When Chongguang Kui heard Fang Lang's unkind words, he was not angry. He just smiled. Then he slowly turned his head and glanced around. In addition to the two armed guards standing at the door and the two men standing not far away facing each other. Except for the officer who was eyeing him eagerly, there was no one else standing around. Even the shop owner and his wife were not at the bar!
He put his hand on the table, leaned forward slightly and said to Fang Lang in a low voice:
"Your Excellency General, if, as you wish, I take the initiative to stand up and admit the crimes Japan committed during the war, and am willing to kowtow and apologize for it.
I don’t know what else you can do to help me besides getting a pardon. "
Hearing this, Fang Lang couldn't help but frown and almost lost his composure. However, he soon realized that the guy in front of him was not sincerely repentant at all, and was just a political show at best.
This made him frown and scolded directly:
"What does it mean to follow my wishes? Whether you want to admit your mistake or not is your own wish. It has nothing to do with me.
I'm just telling you that doing this will make it easier for me to fight for a pardon for you! You actually want other benefits? What do you think this is? deal? "
(End of chapter)
