Chapter 35: I Suspect Your Identity

When Tubby’s covert investigation into Aoki Qiao reached June, Kawamoto Daisaku mysteriously vanished after that incident! Before disappearing, Kawamoto left the Aoki household and, late at night, dashed out of the Command Compound alone. Why was it always Aoki?

Soon, intelligence agents sent back to Japan returned with three crucial pieces of information:

(1) During his time at the Military Academy, Aoki had a conflict with a Chinese classmate named Chen Jiehua, whose appearance was nearly identical to his own, resulting in the classmate’s disappearance—utterly inexplicable! Yet, at the academy’s graduation ceremony, another disturbance arose. Interviews with witnesses at the time, including Zhao Yiyue and Aoki Qingxuan, were added to the investigation files.

(2) General Aoki Xuanjun, on his way home, encountered Aoki Qiao—then known as Aoki Qingxuan—on the train, where the general abruptly suffered a fatal heart attack. The autopsy confirmed heart disease as the cause.

(3) Aoki Qingxuan left his grandfather’s funeral in his hometown early, returned to school, and soon after abruptly departed for America. After that, he returned wealthy. According to Nagatomo Tsunao, the former head of the academy’s military law department, Aoki Qingxuan was a solitary man.

“Excellent! The temple has been searched!” Tubby was rational, cunning, and suspicious. He never believed in coincidence; to him, every coincidence was deliberate.

The disappearance of classmate Chen Jiehua, the sudden death of General Aoki, the vanishing of Kawamoto: all threads led to Aoki Qiao! Solitary? How could anyone call him solitary with his behavior here in the Northeast? If that’s solitary, then I must be downright depressed!

In July, Tubby’s top priority was to incite the Young Marshal’s independence, aiming to make him the puppet emperor of Manchuria controlled by the Japanese Kwantung Army.

After being rebuffed by the Young Marshal and banned from his residence, Tubby established the Fengtian Intelligence Agency in August.

(According to certain archives, Tubby established the Tianjin agency in 1928, Fengtian in 1930, and Harbin in 1932, but the author, referencing multiple sources, contends that Tianjin already had the Aoki agency—even if Aoki Xuanjun had died, the agency persisted, and the Sakaishi agency was also in Tianjin. Thus, founding a separate agency there held little value. Should definitive historical evidence arise, the author will correct this.)

Tubby listed the investigation of Aoki Qiao as the agency’s second priority, specifically assigning spies to trace cargo ship entry records, probing Aoki Qiao’s business, income sources, and activities in America.

Agent Mutō Yoshio tracked the trail to the freight docks in San Francisco, but because Chen Jiehua’s initial entry into America was orchestrated with systematic guidance, Mutō found no trace of Aoki Qingxuan’s activities. By the time he reached the pharmaceutical factory, it was already October.

Chen Jiehua himself was surprised at how many flaws had been exposed—flaws so glaring they could not be patched over! This was no longer just a matter of overreaching; the damage was catastrophic.

Yet Mutō Yoshio had not returned, nor had any crucial phone calls or telegrams. Tubby had not managed to catch anything incriminating about Zhou Yongsu or Liu Junze in Fengtian or Lushun.

Thus, after analyzing intercepted communications, Tubby immediately sensed trouble.

First, Mutō Yoshio was definitely in trouble; otherwise, Aoki Qiao wouldn’t have realized he was under investigation. Perhaps Mutō hadn’t confessed, or was dead, so Aoki Qiao didn’t yet know who was investigating him.

Second, the pharmaceutical factory was in trouble. It ought to have nothing to do with Tubby, but Aoki Qiao was clearly trying to pin responsibility for the factory’s predicament on the investigators—implying that someone was backing him. He was speaking for the ears of those behind him. Who else could intercept the phone calls? The Kwantung Army headquarters, or the Imperial General Staff.

Tubby, ever suspicious and thoughtful, extrapolated many details from the information he’d gathered about Aoki Qiao, tentatively concluding that Aoki Qiao was either the white glove for a noble in the Imperial General Staff, or perhaps even a minor agent of the Emperor himself.

Yet the deaths of General Aoki, the disappearance of Chen Jiehua, and the vanishing of Kawamoto Daisaku remained inexplicable—unless someone else was helping him. No matter how he reasoned, Aoki Qiao’s identity was highly suspect.

He really could be, as Zhao Yiyue said, Chen Jiehua—the one who killed Aoki Qingxuan and assumed his identity. Truth often hides in the finest details.

Reasoning thus far, Tubby, anticipating the potential wrath of powerful figures, could only seek advice from his master—Sakaishi Rihachirō, already recalled to the Imperial General Staff and selected as a member of the House of Peers by the Emperor.

Sakaishi Rihachirō was the true disciple of the Aoki faction, one of Japan’s rare experts on China. After the Emperor’s ascension, he needed to consolidate power, bolster his ranks, and devise his China policy, and Gakumura Ninji recommended the “eldest disciple.”

This matter could never be discussed over the telephone. If Tubby was eavesdropping on others, how could he be sure no one was eavesdropping on him?

On October 30th, 1928 (Year 17 of the Republic), Tubby returned home under the pretext of reporting for duty, personally visiting his master.

(When in trouble, seek your master’s help; that’s the way things go, even at home—no issue there.)

On November 7th, 1928 (Year 3 of Shōwa), Tokyo, at Sakaishi Rihachirō’s home.

“As for how to determine the authenticity of Aoki Qingxuan’s identity, I once heard from Aoki himself in Beiping that his family has a special identifying mark known only to the head of the clan. You must travel to Miyazaki Prefecture and consult the clan leader, Aoki Ichirō.”

“Aoki Saburō’s wife, Kanako Shimazu—mother of Aoki Qingxuan—is the sister of the Empress’s mother, Shizuko Shimazu, making Aoki Qingxuan the Empress’s cousin. Tubby, you must proceed with extreme caution.”

“Yes, sir! Understood! Please rest assured, Master!” After leaving Sakaishi Rihachirō’s residence, Tubby reported to the General Staff.

On November 9th, Tubby boarded a train to Miyazaki Prefecture, resuming the pursuit of Aoki Qiao’s true identity.

Why was Tubby so determined to confirm Aoki Qiao’s identity? Because he believed, without doubt, that Aoki Qiao was a spy.

His background was too powerful, his martial prowess extraordinary, but his identity was questionable. If he couldn’t clarify the matter, sleep would elude him.

If it turned out Aoki Qiao was actually Chen Jiehua impersonating the real Aoki, Tubby would need to apprehend and interrogate him—to learn whom he served, and trace his entire line of activity.

If it was truly Aoki Qingxuan, Tubby would still need to determine whose interests he served, lest he harm the wrong party.

Upon reaching the Aoki clan, Tubby did not receive full support from Aoki Saburō.

“The ancestral rule of the Aoki clan is that only the clan leader knows the identifying mark of family members. If confirmation is needed, it must be done personally by the clan leader.”

“Can you summon Aoki Qingxuan for verification? This is vital for the safety of the Empire.”

“Since you, Tubby, have raised doubts about Aoki Qingxuan’s identity, the clan is obliged to verify it. But currently, we cannot contact him. We can only send a message to the Kwantung Army or the ports, and when someone sees him, deliver the family letter and ask him to return.”

“Thank you for your support, Aoki.”