Now, to Beiping

I returned to the hotel room with a deep sigh. Should I say it was unexpected, or should I say it was natural? Zhou Lizhi had already arrived at the hotel without any incident and was resting after taking off her military coat. It seemed the central government hadn’t done anything to her.

“Where are you coming back from?”

Zhou Lizhi asked in a soft voice, but with hidden sharpness. I shrugged.

“The room felt stuffy for a moment.”

“It must be stuffy. With such a profound atmosphere.”

Ah, this is an angry voice. It seems she’s a bit… angry because we’ve been too openly advertising that we’ve been having fun all day. Churchill was still lying on the bed, roughly sprawled out with only her underwear on, covered by a sheet.

Bri slightly raised her head, looked at me, and grinned. She couldn’t show it too obviously, but it seemed she wanted me to join in giving Zhou Lizhi a little taste of her own medicine. I could comply with this level of request.

“Well, you were late. What did you expect when two women in their prime are locked up in a room all day…”

“I hate to say it, but usually nothing much happens even when people of the same sex are in the same room…”

It was really something Zhou Lizhi should be ‘hesitant’ to say. Seeing her say such an absurd thing, it seemed that even though Zhou was trying not to show it, she still had some bitter feelings about Bri and me having fun while she was away.

“So, tonight…”

At Zhou’s words, I turned my head towards Briar Churchill once again. Churchill puffed her cheeks slightly and made it clear that she wanted me to reject Zhou’s subtle invitation. I sighed, turning back to the Chinese major.

“I’m sorry. My waist is starting to ache. Besides, I don’t think I’ll get wet anymore, so it’s also burdensome.”

“Huh!”

Zhou Lizhi let out an explicit growl. But she soon seemed to give up, leaning back in her chair and gulping down a mouthful of water to swallow her irritation. She turned towards Churchill and raised her voice.

“Why are you lifting your head and staring? If you’re going to lie down and sleep, just stay as you are!”

“What, I can’t even lift my head in bed, Major?”

Zhou Lizhi ignored her words. The joke had gone far enough. I was starting to get curious about what this major had actually done at the Presidential Office. I sat across from Zhou Lizhi and subtly changed the topic of conversation.

“By the way, it seems nothing much happened at the central office.”

“I told you nothing much would happen. The Generalissimo has already left and is staying there, so it was just officials’ instructions to hurry north early tomorrow morning. Of course, the officials’ attitudes were annoying, but isn’t that always the case?”

I think I’ve heard such stories in the United States too. Jefferson, who was quite high-ranking in the organization and often had contact with ministerial-level personnel, would sometimes complain to me about the so-called ‘elite bureaucrat group’.

Even though they’re learned people, they’re no different from illiterates outside their specialized fields, but due to excessive confidence in their own intelligence, they try to interfere in areas they shouldn’t step into. Zhou Lizhi, an elite soldier, would be even more at odds with party bureaucrats. That’s natural, whether she’s suspected of treason or not.

“Was there no sign of suspicion?”

“Even if they suspect, now is not the time. You can understand from the political dynamics. The incident in Beiping can be an opportunity to purge annoying organizations. But it’s impossible immediately after. If the central government starts to form an investigation team for this incident, that’s when we need to be careful.”

“If things turn out that way, Major, wouldn’t it be better to move now?”

Briar Churchill suddenly sat up and said something fierce. Zhou Lizhi frowned and asked.

“What do you mean, Briar Spencer-Churchill?”

“It’s simple. I thought the Major was too dull to anticipate what’s going to happen. Yes, that’s right. They won’t be able to pass this incident without an investigation. When the Presidential Office starts to form an investigation team, that’s when the real game begins. Even if the central government didn’t initially intend to purge you, once an opportunity arises, they won’t let it go, will they?”

“…”

“I realized it seeing the atmosphere in Guangzhou. Ah, the morale of the military here is wavering.”

“…They’re just trying to align themselves with me on their own. I have not the slightest intention of turning Guangdong Province into my private property.”

“But it seemed like that military district was actually moving.”

I said to Zhou. Honestly, it was a tense moment. If it became clear that Zhou had rebellious intentions against the Chinese government, I might have to follow the headquarters’ orders.

It’s not that there’s no option to refuse. However, if Zhou really had ambitions for the empire, even I myself couldn’t be sure what choice I would make right now.

“Yes. Didn’t I tell you? The governors and military commanders of Liangguang are all watching me. As if they’ve agreed on a strategy to somehow survive by relying on me if chaos befalls the empire.”

“If the central government starts an investigation using the Beiping atomic bomb incident as an opportunity, they will notice that the situation is getting serious. They might urge an uprising. Regardless of your intentions, if the exchanges between you and the regional commanders are discovered…”

“All our heads could fly off at once. So, you’re saying they will urge me to revolution, is that it?”

“What will you do?”

Zhou took another sip of water. Churchill seemed to want to hear Zhou Lizhi’s ambition for supreme power, but I also had a slight desire to hear Zhou Lizhi say that she wasn’t openly aiming for supreme power.

The powerful Chinese figure, who had been smiling enigmatically, put down her cup and said.

“I don’t want such a thing. Besides, no matter what anyone says, Liangguang is not a good starting point.”

“What do you mean…”

“Starting from Guangzhou, you can’t reach Nanjing. In other words, I, Zhou Lizhi, won’t fall for such tricks.”

I didn’t have the courage to ask her more questions.

Thus ended our night in Nanjing, and the next morning dawned. We left the hotel early in the morning according to our pre-scheduled train tickets and went to Nanjing Station. The high-speed railway coming all the way from Tibet was carrying passengers across the continent at wind-like speeds today as well.

October 30th. I never imagined I would spend the day before the Generalissimo’s birthday in such a gloomy atmosphere in China. The station staff and vehicle staff were still wearing mourning clothes and moving around solemnly.

“Once we arrive in Beiping, you two will briefly separate to move to your respective positions.”

As the train was crossing the Yellow River and passing through North China. Zhou Lizhi gave us the final instructions for the plan.

“As you know, Chinese government officials will go to the Hero School in advance today to start the memorial service, and from then on, I have to be by the Generalissimo’s side and be in charge of his protection. At that time, it won’t be just me, but key figures of the Kuomintang and various other characters will be present, so nothing much should happen.”

“The student delegation I belong to and the foreign dignitaries Bri belongs to are scheduled to attend tomorrow, right?”

“So today, you two should go to your respective positions and wait, and tomorrow during the main event, you should loiter around the Generalissimo and see if anything strange happens around me. I don’t think anything will happen today.”

“Wouldn’t it be more likely that nothing happens tomorrow?”

Churchill objected.

“If the Chinese government wants to purge you, Major…”

“Didn’t I say the Chinese government is nothing to worry about, at least for now? Judging by the atmosphere in Nanjing, it doesn’t seem like Chiang Kai-shek intends to purge me during this event. But there was a tense atmosphere separate from that.”

“In other words, you read signs of external terrorism in Nanjing.”

I said, succeeding in grasping the meaning behind Zhou’s words. The Major nodded.

“The reason Chiang Kai-shek called me was really because he felt a threat to his personal safety. There’s no sense at all that he’s trying to lure me out to kill me, or any such intention. But there seems to be concern, no, more than concern, substantial evidence that a follow-up terrorist attack by the Qing restorationists who caused the Beiping atomic bomb incident will occur. It seems they wanted to bring me, China’s top expert, to take charge of security somehow.”

If Zhou Lizhi says this much, it really seems to be the case. She may have some dull aspects, but she doesn’t seem likely to make mistakes in areas like this.

In other words, the Chinese government’s intentions were relatively pure, is that it?

“The Generalissimo can’t back out just because a follow-up terrorist attack by the restorationist group is suspected. But I also suspect that a situation may arise where you two need to pay attention as well.”

“The situation is getting more interesting…”

Churchill grinned and put her hand on her waist. This visit to Beiping. I had expected from the beginning that it wouldn’t be a pleasant tour, but I started to have the certainty that it would never end quietly.