cicada

Chapter 1354 Testing

"Hello, Deputy Director Zuo."

"Stand up! Who told you to sit down? Do you understand the rules?"

Fang Chengze had just said hello, and before his butt even touched the bench, Gui Youguang slammed the table hard and yelled at the same time, scaring Fang Chengze so much that he almost collapsed to the ground.

Zuo Zhong did not stop the bald guy this time. He didn't know how Master Fang educated the young man, who didn't even know the hierarchy.

Fang Chengze looked at Song Minghao and Gui Youguang who were both looking angry, then looked at Zuo Zhong who had no expression on his face. He swallowed nervously and saluted awkwardly with his hands.

"I have met the three superiors. I was wrong."

After holding it in for a long time, Fang Chengze said, "I was wrong." Song Minghao and Gui Youguang were amused. Did this kid treat the interrogation room of the Political Training Department as his own home?

Looking at the bewildered Mr. Fang, Zuo Zhong suddenly said, "Alright, for your uncle's sake, I won't delve into this matter any further. Don't be so reckless in the future."

"Thank you, Director Zuo. Thank you, Director Zuo."

Fang Chengze nodded rapidly, his pale face regaining some color, and he looked quite frightened, which was consistent with the behavior of a playboy.

Zuo Zhong did not dwell on these minor issues and directly asked the other party about his evaluation of Cao Anguo, Zheng He and Lu Banqing.

"Director Cao is Commander Du's man."

Fang Chengze blurted out.

Song Minghao was smoking and almost choked when he heard this. Is it possible to say such things casually?

This man and Zheng He both came from official families, but the difference between the two people's skills was not even a little bit.

Fearing that Fang Chengze would speak without thinking again, Song Minghao quickly interrupted him: "Let's not talk about these irrelevant things. Tell me if there is anything suspicious about Cao Anguo and the others."

Fang Chengze scratched his head, looking embarrassed: "Sir, I am a correspondent and I often need to go on business trips, and Director Cao and others have misunderstandings about me, so we don't have many personal relationships.

Song Minghao sneered in his heart. What business trip? It was clearly abandoning one's post without permission. He tapped the table with a pen to emphasize his words.

"Don't be long-winded. Just say whatever you are told to say. We will judge whether it is suspicious or not."

"Okay, let me think about it."

Fang Chengze answered hurriedly, racking his brains for a long time, and suddenly slapped his thigh: "Got it, I saw Lu Banqing secretly meeting with a man."

Song Minghao's eyes lit up and he asked a series of questions: "Time, place, how did Lu Banqing behave at the time, did she find you, who was that man, tell me everything clearly."

It’s not that he was making a fuss, but if there was no special reason, given Lu Banqing’s “lifestyle”, Fang Chengze would not deliberately bring up this matter.

During the conversation between the two, Zuo Zhong did not speak a word, but his eyes never left Fang Chengze, which made Fang Chengze feel pressured and he had to answer Song Minghao's questions haltingly.

"To answer your question, it was the last day of last month. I was driving past a theater in the city and saw Lu Banqing and that man walking into the theater."

"Lu Banqing's outfit is completely different from usual. He is wearing very simple clothes and even changed his hairstyle."

"I really didn't see the man's face clearly. He was wearing a hat and his head was bowed very low. It was obvious that he was not a serious person."

"I was far away from them. Lu Banqing probably didn't notice me. I also never told anyone else about this."

Song Minghao understood. According to the intelligence and confessions collected by the Political Training Department in the early stage, Lu Banqing was a typical modern girl. It was indeed a bit strange for her to meet a man in such a low-key manner.

This thought flashed through his mind quickly, and Song Minghao asked again: "Tell me the approximate height and weight of that man."

Fang Chengze was a little clever. He estimated the height of the mysterious man based on the height of the theater door, and estimated his weight based on his own body shape.

Song Minghao wrote all of this down, and finally threatened the other party: "If someone asks you about what happened today after you go out, you know what to say and what not to say, right?"

"I know. Don't worry. Even if my uncle comes to ask, I will never tell anyone about Lu Banqing." Fang Chengze made a solemn promise.

Song Minghao nodded with satisfaction, and asked Fang Chengze to go out first. He leaned towards Zuo Zhong and asked in a low voice: "Deputy Commander, in addition to finding out who has contact with Lu Banqing, do we need to send someone to follow him?"

Zuo Zhong smiled and waved his hand: "Old Song, you are anxious again, let's go through all the screening personnel first."

"it is good."

Next, the staff of the expeditionary force's general staff and secretariat were questioned one by one, including several powerful generals in the army.

Such a thing would have certainly caused dissatisfaction among the military leaders, but Zuo Zhong lightly dropped the corruption case, making it difficult for these people to speak out against it. After all, face is given to each other.

As the investigation deepened, the lurking Japanese spies could no longer sit still, and mysterious radio waves appeared in Baoshan City for several days in a row.

Upon hearing the news, Commander Du was furious and ordered a full-scale manhunt. Technical personnel from the Political Training Department drove a signal detection vehicle to search everywhere, but unfortunately found nothing.

Surprisingly, Zuo Zhong, the "imperial envoy" who was responsible for counter-espionage, kept a low profile during this period, neither expressing any opinions nor issuing any orders. A few days passed in a flash, and Song Minghao came to Zuo Zhong's temporary office with a list of hundreds of people, all of whom were suspects who had the opportunity to access the overall combat plan and had suspicious behavior.

Zuo Zhong looked up after reading the list and said calmly, "What are you going to do next? Don't be like some people who only know how to arrest people."

On the other side of the room, Gui Youguang, who was sitting on the sofa, looked up at the ceiling and pretended not to hear anything.

Song Minghao looked straight ahead and kept smiling as he explained his plan.

"Now that the expeditionary army has just been defeated, the morale of the army is unstable. If we arrest people hastily, it may cause unrest, which is something Shancheng does not want to see.

Therefore, I think we should first track and conduct an external investigation on the suspects, focusing on their economic, interpersonal and political positions to see if we can find any problems.

Traitors work for the devils either for money or for political gain, both of which require dealing with people, unless the Japanese spy is actually Japanese. "

"very good!"

Zuo Zhong said with relief: "Old Song, I am very happy that you can consider the case from a political perspective. Okay, let's do as you say."

Song Minghao's thinking is very clear. Being a traitor must be for something. No matter what, fame and fortune are the two things. No one would be willing to stoop to being a traitor and acknowledge a traitor as their father.

No, maybe there really are people who bring their own food to be spies. Zuo Chong thought of some people in later generations and shook his head in disgust.

When Song Minghao saw him shaking his head, he thought that the deputy director had other plans, so he quickly said that he would obey the order. Zuo Chong laughed and told him to do his job without worry.

In the confidential room not far from Zuo Zhong's office, Cao Anguo was writing and drawing in his torn sleeves, while the other three were also working on their own things with their heads down. The atmosphere seemed a bit solemn.

There is no wall that is impenetrable. The news of Lu Banqing's secret meeting with the mysterious man has already spread. At this special time point, this matter is somewhat intriguing.

Finally, Zheng He couldn't stand this depressing atmosphere anymore and said softly, "Director, I believe that Sister Banqing is not a Japanese spy. Can you please tell me?"

"Cough cough."

Cao Anguo coughed twice, blocking what Zheng He was about to say, and then he consoled Lu Banqing earnestly.

"Banqing, don't worry. The innocent will be innocent, and the turbid will be turbid. Deputy Director Zuo will definitely clear your name."

Perhaps because he felt that this was too empty, Cao Anguo looked at Fang Chengze who was silent and tried to change the subject: "Chengze, you were the one who made the most noise in the past, why are you silent today?"

Lu Banqing, who was already furious, reacted instantly. There were so many people in the headquarters, and even if someone saw her meeting a man, they would not know her. The person who leaked the news must be an acquaintance.

Thinking of this, Lu Banqing turned around and stared at Fang Chengze, gritting his teeth and said, "Fang, you bastard! When have I ever cheated on a man? I'll tear your mouth apart!"

Having said that, she rushed over, waving her hands to grab Fang Chengze's face. If she succeeded in grabbing him, Mr. Fang would never be able to face anyone again.

"What are you doing! Director, Zheng He, quickly hold this crazy woman back!"

Fang Chengze was startled and stood up and backed away desperately, asking Cao Anguo and Zheng He for help, but no one paid any attention to him.

Upon finding that Cao Anguo and the other man were staying out of the matter, Fang Chengze cursed inwardly, then ran out the door, and Lu Banqing also rushed out of the confidential room.

Cao Anguo and Zheng He smiled at each other and continued to work on official documents with their heads down. The room became quiet again, with only the faint sound of fighting coming from outside the house.

On the rooftop of the headquarters' main building, Zuo Zhong looked down at Fang Chengze and Lu Banqing who were gradually running away, his expression unchanged.

"Deputy Commander, Miss Zheng has already acted according to our plan. She's very quick." Song Minghao on the side said with a smile.

In response to the list of suspects, Song Minghao developed a variety of investigative methods, which naturally included testing.

He used Zheng He to provoke Lu Banqing just to see how the target would react when angry. People's actions when excited often reveal their true thoughts.

Of course, the target can be disguised, but fake is always fake and will be exposed sooner or later.

Based on what happened just now, Song Minghao asserted: "It seems that Lu Banqing is not a social butterfly who is good at dancing with long sleeves. She just likes to join in the fun. It is normal for her to have a hot temper. Wu Jingzhong's transfer to Shancheng also proves that there is no big problem with the target's lifestyle."

Zuo Zhong leaned his hands on the fence and did not respond. When Lu Banqing disappeared from his sight, he turned around and walked downstairs.

Song Minghao was in a daze when he heard Zuo Zhong's voice floating from the stairs: "Let's go to the residence of this Confidentiality Specialist Lu and have someone keep an eye on her."

"Yes!"

Song Minghao replied and hurriedly followed. The little spy who was responsible for protecting the two of them saw his leader leave and quietly evacuated from the rooftop.

Tens of minutes later.

A group of soldiers marched past the street in step. Residents along the way watched the team leave, but did not notice two figures taking advantage of the chaos to sneak into the alley.

Outside an exquisite courtyard, Song Minghao stealthily took off the door lock, gently pushed open the gate, and stepped in with his left foot, but his right foot suddenly stopped the moment he stepped into the courtyard.