cicada

Chapter 1340 Chaotic Situation

A week later, at Shancheng Pier.

Xu Enzeng stood on the steps and looked at the steamer that was about to dock, then looked at Zuo Zhong next to him. He snorted a few times with a look of indignation on his face.

The "Southern Committee Case" was progressing smoothly, and Xu Enzeng was about to ask for credit and reward from someone, but the Military Control Commission suddenly intervened, and the credit he had earned was reduced by half. How could he swallow this?

However, the Military Control Commission insisted that the arrested underground party members were related to spies within the military, so the party investigation office could only escort the arrested persons to Chongqing together with Song Minghao.

The steamer slowly approached the shore. Zuo Chong and Xu Enzeng came to the side of the ship, one on the left and one on the right. The young agent opened the iron lock, and dozens of prisoners in handcuffs and shackles walked out of the cabin.

Among these prisoners there were both men and women, old men with white hair, and young men in their prime, all of them covered in wounds and in tattered clothes.

In addition to the escort personnel from the Military Control Commission and the Central Control Commission, another group of people walked down from the bow. These were traitors of the underground party, such as Chen Ran, Xiao Tieguai, and Li Xian.

Song Minghao jumped off the boat, walked quickly to Zuo Zhong, reported to him about his trip to Gan Province, and introduced the situation of the prisoners and traitors one by one.

Zuo Zhong looked at Chen Ran deeply. As the head of the Organization Department, the other party knew too many people and must be eliminated as soon as possible!

As if he had noticed something, Chen Ran turned around and looked at the Military Intelligence Bureau team. The Central Intelligence Bureau agent whispered to him about Zuo Zhong's identity, and Chen Ran quickly bent down and smiled.

Ignoring the traitor's overtures, Zuo Zhong called out to Xu Enzeng, "Deputy Director Xu, I'll take the man away. The military spy case cannot be delayed."

After saying that, he waved his hand and was about to take away all the prisoners and traitors. Xu Enzeng jumped in anxiety, took a few steps forward to block Zuo Zhong and shouted in a low voice.

"Mr. Zuo, don't think about taking the case for yourself. These people must be monitored by the Central Bureau of Investigation. At most, you and I can send someone to watch over them."

Xu Enzeng had a beautiful idea. Since he couldn't kick out the Military Control Commission, he might as well go with the flow. In this way, he could use the mobility of Zuo Zhong's men to protect the prisoners. In case someone tried to kidnap the prisoners, the Military Control Commission was more reliable than the Central Control Commission.

Zuo Zhong pushed the aggressive Xu Enzeng back, covered his mouth and nose with his hands and said disdainfully: "Stay away from Zuo, we can be detained together, then you can choose a place, forget about your Central Bureau of Investigation detention center, otherwise I'm really afraid that the red-headed guy will be locked up today and escape tomorrow."

These words made Xu Enzeng so embarrassed that he wanted to find a hole to crawl into. What do you mean by being imprisoned today and escaping from prison tomorrow? Isn't this clearly saying that there is a traitor in their Central Bureau of Investigation? Although this is true, it is too rude to say it out loud.

But thinking about what happened before, he couldn't find any reason to refute. Xu Enzeng rolled his eyes and a place popped into his mind: the newly built police dormitory of the Police Department.

After the National Government moved westward, housing for military and political agencies in the mountain city became extremely tight. Last year, the Police Department managed to raise funds to build dormitories. The project has just been completed and is currently vacant. The dormitories are spacious enough to accommodate all underground party prisoners.

Xu Enzeng expressed his idea, Zuo Zhong nodded slightly, and then the two gangs got in the car and drove towards the police dormitory.

Bai Wenzhi, who was sleeping in the office, didn't know that his dormitory was gone while he was taking a nap, but there was no use knowing it.

Someone learned that the underground party's "Southern Committee" had been destroyed, and quickly identified this matter as the most important task of the National Government in the near future, and ordered all agencies to fully cooperate with the investigation.

On the bank of the Jialing River, the Military Control Commission and the Central Control Commission convoys drove into a peninsula adjacent to the city, where the police dormitories were located.

The young spies drove away the dormitory guard and conducted a detailed inspection of the building to determine whether it was suitable for detaining prisoners. The results showed that the situation was better than expected.

The police officers' dormitory is made up of more than a dozen rows of small bungalows with a neat layout for easy control. The houses are of a brick-and-wood structure, with iron bars on the windows and a high wall surrounding them, making them as solid as a prison.

Zuo Zhong couldn't understand why Bai Wenzhi built the dormitory like this. Was he afraid that someone would come here to steal? Or did he like living in a prison?

He shook his head in confusion and ordered people to take over the dormitory. Xu Enzeng also quickly arranged for the spies from the Gan Province Investigation Office to handle the detention and vigilance matters, and completely gave up on transferring people from the Central Bureau of Investigation headquarters.

Looking at the river flowing in the distance and the underground party prisoners, Xu Enzeng suddenly thought of some unpleasant memories.

Jiujiaxu! Jiujiaxu! That is the eternal pain in his heart!

While Deputy Director Xu was gritting his teeth, under the surveillance of the secret agents, the underground party prisoners entered the temporary cells one by one. There was nothing in the room except a "bed" made of straw.

Zuo Chong frowned after reading it, but Xu Enzeng acted as if it was a matter of course, claiming that time was limited and there was no time to purchase daily necessities.

After his trip to the border area more than a year ago, Xu Enzeng, in order to leave a way out, was no longer as cruel to the underground party members as before, but it was absolutely impossible for him to let them spend money on these prisoners.

Zuo Zhong was too lazy to pay attention to this guy, and said coldly to Gui Youguang who was in charge of the guard: "Remove the wires and all sharp objects, and never let the dissidents commit suicide."

"Yes, deputy seat."

Gui Youguang replied nonchalantly that compared to sabotage operations deep behind enemy lines, guarding a group of prisoners was undoubtedly an easy job.

Seeing the bald man's reaction, Zuo Zhong glared at him and warned him not to be careless. If the underground party really allowed the prisoners to kidnap them, everyone from Lao Dai to him would go to the Huangshan official residence to be scolded.

After inspecting the cells, Zuo Zhong met with the underground party traitors in the reception room. The first person to come in was Chen Ran, whose attitude was so flattering that it was disgusting to watch. "Deputy Director Zuo, I have heard of your name a long time ago. It is a great honor to meet you today."

Chen Ran's face was all smiles, and he spoke with a strong southern accent, which was related to the fact that he was born in Southeast Asia and lived in Guangdong Province for a long time.

In response to the other party's flattery, Zuo Chong smiled, pointed to the stool and motioned him to sit down, and then slowed down his tone to express his welcome.

"Mr. Chen, it is right for you to turn from darkness to light now. Once the Japanese are driven away, the government will definitely wipe out the northwest, pacify the area, and unify the country. By then, it will be too late for you to surrender."

"Yes, yes, Deputy Director Zuo, you are right." Chen Ran nodded quickly, wishing he could raise his hands and feet to agree with Zuo Zhong's remarks.

But Zuo Zhong was very dissatisfied with this answer. Damn, if you don’t know how to speak, don’t speak. You keep calling me deputy director. Do I need your reminder? So his face immediately darkened.

"Okay, let's stop talking nonsense here. Mr. Chen, I would like to invite you to join the Military Control Commission. What do you think?"

Chen Ran was a little surprised. Most of the Military Control Commission's previous missions were related to Japan, and their intelligence activities against the underground party were limited to gathering information and planting moles. Today, Zuo Chong invited him in an unusual move, so there must be a reason for it.

Could it be that the Military Control Commission was also going to deal with the underground party? Chen Ran's mind moved and he guessed a possibility.

This thought flashed through Chen Ran's mind quickly, and he stood up without hesitation and shouted, "I am willing to serve the party and the country."

The reputation of the Military Intelligence Bureau was earned through fighting. Even Japanese spies were defeated by the Military Intelligence Bureau, let alone the intelligence personnel of the underground party. In this case, joining the Military Intelligence Bureau was the best choice.

"Haha, very good, sit down and talk."

Zuo Zhong pressed his hand with a forced smile, then asked the other party a few questions concerning intelligence from the Southern Bureau, the superior of the underground party's "Southern Committee", such as the whereabouts of certain important personnel.

Chen Ran knew that if he revealed all the information, he would lose his value, so he always avoided the subject and refused to confess completely.

Zuo's heart was finally at ease. It would be good if Chen kept some tricks up his sleeve. This way he would have plenty of time to act. It would be troublesome if this bastard Wang really worked for the government wholeheartedly.

Afterwards, Zuo Zhong had a long, fake conversation with Chen Ran about the treatment he would receive after joining the Military Control Commission. During this time, Xu Enzeng appeared outside the door several times, looking suspicious.

Pretending not to see Xu Enzeng, Zuo Zhong loudly announced that he would apply for the rank of colonel for Chen Ran, and that he would be responsible for the Military Control Commission's intelligence work on the underground party.

Chen Ran was ecstatic. Not only did he repeatedly thank Deputy Director Zuo for his cultivation, he also proposed a plan to split and disintegrate the underground party.

The main content of the plan was to create the illusion that the Northwest had been divided, and then send spies to spread rumors in the Kuomintang-controlled areas and even near the border areas, disseminate forged documents and newspapers, and carry out psychological warfare against the underground party.

Zuo Chong was furious when he heard about this vicious plan. Although Chen Ran's conspiracy would not succeed given the underground party's tight organizational structure, he still hated people because a toad doesn't bite. He had to hurry and kill this bastard.

Suppressing his anger, Zuo Zhong praised Chen Ran against his conscience and told him to keep up the good work and not let down the Party and the country.

After the conversation, another traitor, Xiao Tieguai, came. Chen Ran walked out of the door happily, and was then taken to the interrogation room by the Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics agents.

In the dim interrogation room, the stove that was heating the soldering iron glowed slightly. Xu Enzeng slowly turned his head with his hands behind his back and looked straight at Chen Ran, who was feeling a little uncomfortable.

"Haha, I haven't seen you for a while. Mr. Chen's stock has improved. He has transformed from an underground party traitor to a colonel in the Guo army. It's really cause for celebration."

Although he was saying congratulations, Xu Enzeng's expression was sinister. The two shirtless Central Bureau of Investigation agents were rubbing their hands together, as if they couldn't wait to "entertain" Chen Ran.

Chen Ran swallowed his saliva and explained with a smile: "Deputy Director Zuo asked, and I have no choice but to agree. But don't worry, I will always listen to your orders."

madness!

Xu Enzeng's evaluation of Chen Ran was just these two words. He kept calling him deputy director and even tried to hedge his bets. How did such an idiot become the head of the Organization Department in the underground party?

The officialdom has its own rules. If Chen Ran had insisted on following the Military Control Commission, Xu Enzeng might have thought highly of him. But now, there is no need for that.

After figuring out what kind of person he was, he lost interest in winning him over. He casually said a few words to Chen Ran and sent him away, then went outside the reception room to eavesdrop on Zuo Zhong's conversation.

That night, Zuo Chong returned to the Military Control Commission headquarters and reported to Dai Chunfeng that, except for a few people, all other underground party traitors had agreed to join the Military Control Commission.

Old Dai was very happy. Even though the Military Intelligence Bureau did not have to deal with the underground party immediately, it still had to maintain its attitude, otherwise the higher-ups would doubt the loyalty of the Military Intelligence Bureau and himself, Dai.

The master and the disciple chatted meaningless nonsense for a while, then left Luojia Bay separately. Zuo Chong returned to the official residence and took out the mobile phone from the space.

"The captured personnel and traitors of the Southern Committee have arrived in Chongqing today. Please give instructions on whether to rescue and punish them, Qiu Chan."

After checking the time, Zuo Zhong sent the encrypted message. In a room in the Shancheng Party Headquarters, Old K Xu Weiming was holding the headphones and quickly recording with his hands.

(Friends who haven’t joined the book club group, hurry up and join, red envelopes will be distributed in the group on New Year’s Eve)