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Chapter 1411 Deputy Director Zuo, a History Enthusiast

Outside the National Government Auditorium in Shancheng, a large crowd gathered. Hundreds of military and political officials walked down the steps, some smiling and some with somber faces. The most eye-catching person in the crowd was Zuo Zhong, who was surrounded by a group of people talking non-stop.

"Zuo Weiyuan, congratulations! I've prepared a small feast and hope you'll grace us with your presence."

"Yes, Deputy Director Zuo, you must give me and Lao Bai this face."

Bai Wenzhi and Lao Yang pushed aside the troublesome guy and invited Zuo Zhong to the banquet with smiles on their faces, their faces full of wrinkles from laughter, almost squeezing the flies buzzing around them.

The reason the two were so polite was not only because of their past friendship, but also because Zuo Zhong had been promoted to lieutenant general in the Guo army during the meeting that had just ended.

A lieutenant general under the age of thirty is extremely rare even in the Kuomintang army, where connections are rampant. Moreover, Zuo Chong holds a position of real power, overseeing the most important intelligence agency of the Nationalist government.

So even though they were old friends, Bai Wenzhi was still careful when speaking to Lao Yang, afraid of offending this newly minted rising star of the Nationalist government.

Zuo Zhong stepped down the last step, flicked his new collar insignia, and said to the two men, "Old Bai, Old Yang, we're brothers, no need for all this formality. Let's not make our relationship so vulgar."

He adopted the airs of a confidant of the leader, but after finishing his speech, he suddenly changed his tone and became amiable.

"I, Zuo, am fortunate to have been promoted to lieutenant general thanks to the Chairman's favor. I should be inviting you, but the bureau is very busy and we really can't do without you. How about we find some time later?"

As he spoke, Zuo Zhong rolled up his sleeves to check his watch. Bai Wenzhi and Lao Yang knew that the dinner party couldn't be arranged today, so they smiled and escorted him to his car.

Just as the car was about to start, Bai Wenzhi glanced around, leaned close to Zuo Chong's ear, and whispered, "Deputy Director Zuo, I recently acquired a valuable item, said to be a treasure from the Eastern Tombs of the previous dynasty. I will deliver it to your residence later."

Zuo Zhong, who had been sitting upright, suddenly brightened up and nodded almost imperceptibly. He didn't care about the treasures; he was mainly interested in history.

With Bai Wenzhi and Vice Minister Yang waving goodbye, several cars sped away towards Luojiawan, and pedestrians and vehicles along the way gave way to the convoy.

"Congratulations, co-driver." Gui Youguang, who was driving, grinned widely, looking even happier than if he had been promoted himself.

This is a normal reaction. As the leader of the Military Intelligence Bureau, the higher Zuo Zhong's rank and position, the safer he and his associates would be.

But when Zuo Zhong heard this, he was not happy at all. Instead, he frowned and a faint look of worry appeared in his eyes.

At this moment, Wu Chunyang, in the passenger seat, turned around, his expression equally serious: "Vice-Captain, I heard that the Chairman only promoted you to a higher military rank?"

"Mm," Zuo Chong replied, his voice devoid of any emotion.

He Yijun, who was standing next to him, realized the seriousness of the matter. As the saying goes, two tigers cannot share one mountain. The Military Intelligence Bureau now has two lieutenant generals, one is the director and the other is the deputy director. Who should the people below listen to?

The carriage fell silent. After a long while, Wu Chunyang suggested, "Co-seat, you should go to Hanzhong."

Zuo Zhong nodded slightly. Yes, he should go to Hanzhong. Firstly, to show his loyalty to Lao Dai, and secondly, to express to the other party that he had no intention of seizing the core power of the Military Intelligence Bureau. However, doing so alone was not enough.

After thinking for a few seconds, he gave orders to Gui Youguang and Wu Chunyang: "Chunyang, the task of eliminating Li Shiqun is assigned to you. Youguang will be in charge of the specific implementation. Remember, this plan was devised by the Director. Do you understand?"

Gui Youguang and Wu Chunyang replied "yes." They understood Zuo Zhong's intention in making such an arrangement. Since the higher-ups wanted to put pressure on the Director, they had to help him get promoted as soon as possible.

That afternoon, a plane took off from Shancheng to Hanzhong. Zuo Zhong, who was in the cabin, stared out the window for a long time without saying a word. He Yijun saw this and gently squeezed his hand.

Hours later, just as Zuo Zhong landed at Hanzhong Airport, a secret meeting was held at the headquarters of the Military Intelligence Bureau, attended by Gu Qi and Wu Chunyang, among other high-ranking officials.

At the beginning of the meeting, Gu Qi conveyed Zuo Zhong's orders, and then he asked Wu Chunyang how to eliminate Li Shiqun.

Wu Chunyang held up two fingers and turned to look at everyone: "The operation will proceed according to the vice-captain's plan, which is to use the Japanese and their collaborators to kill people. There are two mission locations: Nanjing and Shanghai."

As he spoke, Gu Qi, Gui Youguang, Song Minghao, and Wu Jingzhong, who were present, nodded repeatedly.

Soon, the Kuomintang intelligence agents in Nanjing and Shanghai received two instructions to closely monitor the top leadership of the 76th Division and prepare to welcome important personnel from headquarters.
-
A certain day in June 1943.

No. 17 Guling Road, west of Jinling City, is the residence of Xu Jili and Qinglan. When Ji learned that his old friend's younger brother had come to seek refuge with him, he not only appointed him as a member of the puppet government's Weihui (a secret society) as a sign of favor, but also specially gifted the two of them a garden villa.

Xu Jili enjoys playing mahjong and dancing, and has a high alcohol tolerance. Qinglan also loves to have fun, so their home is often full of guests, and today is no exception.

Inside the card room on the second floor of the villa, three high-ranking officials of the puppet government were playing "Building the Great Wall" with Xu Jili, while a group of officials' wives stood behind them watching the game, occasionally covering their mouths and whispering among themselves.

Perhaps it was good luck, but Xu Jili dominated the field this time, and everyone clamored for him to treat them to a meal. Xu Jili naturally did not refuse and laughed as he asked the servant to call and order food.

Just an hour later, two tables of delicacies were delivered to the Xu residence. The waiter handed the bill to Xu Jili with great respect.

Xu Jili, who was drawing cards, glanced at the bill and casually replied, "Put it on the tab." The waiter didn't say anything more, put the bill down with both hands, and backed out of the room.

As the waiter left the Xu residence, he spat into the house, muttering curses, before climbing into the carriage and speeding away. A few hundred meters later, a sedan car emerged from the alley and followed behind. The two vehicles entered Jinling city one after the other, finally stopping in front of a restaurant.

The car driver whispered something to the other people in the car, and one of them immediately got out of the car and went into the restaurant. He didn't come out of the restaurant for a long time.

As the moon rose in the west, guests left No. 17 Guling Road in twos and threes. Xu Jili and his wife Qinglan saw the guests off and quickly returned to the chess and card room.

Qinglan stood at the door keeping watch, while Xu Jili picked up the bill on the table and heated it over a lit lighter for a moment, revealing a line of small print clearly on the paper.

[Seeking an opportunity to instigate relations between Li Shiqun and the Japanese puppet regime]

Two days later.

Li Shiqun presented a report to Ji, which contained surveillance records of Xu Jili. Madam Ji, Cheng Gongpu, and Zhou Fushui were also present.

After reading the report, Ji frowned and asked, "You mean, Ji Li is an informant for the Shancheng side?"

“That should be the case,” Li Shiqun said confidently, explaining the reasons behind it.

"Two years ago, Xu Jili infiltrated our core in a near-perfect way, without showing any abnormalities, but I have always had doubts about him."

"Because Xu Jili has always been close to the underground party and the leftists, if it weren't for his brother's influence, the one in the mountain city would have sent him to a reformatory long ago. Why would such a person suddenly pledge allegiance to the new government?"

"In addition, the code name 'Fourth Brother' appeared in the Kuomintang secret telegrams we intercepted, and Xu Jili happens to be the fourth in his family."

Upon hearing this, Madam Ji and Cheng Gongpu showed expressions of disgust, especially Madam Ji, whose friction with the Military Intelligence Bureau many years ago had led her to harbor extreme hatred towards intelligence personnel in the mountain city.

Thinking of Zuo Zhong's slap, Madam Ji directly ordered Li Shiqun: "Then arrest him. In this kind of matter, it's better to kill a thousand innocent people than let one guilty person go free."

Cheng Gongpu nodded in agreement, this traitor also deeply hated the mountain city agents. Zhou Fushui, however, shook his head and offered a different perspective.

“Ji Li’s elder brother is on good terms with us, so it’s not appropriate to deal with him casually. Besides, arresting someone based solely on the code name ‘Fourth Brother’ is far too hasty.”

“I work in intelligence, and I know that the Military Intelligence Bureau likes to use others to do their dirty work. If this is a scheme by Shancheng to sow discord, then we will fall into their trap if we touch Ji Li.”

Li Shiqun opened his mouth to refute, but Zhou Fushui's words were reasonable and well-founded, so he looked at Ji Moumou, hoping that the other party would give the final judgment, and only the other party could decide how to deal with Xu Jili.

After thinking for a long time, Ji suddenly coughed violently. The assassination attempt that took place at the entrance of the National Government Auditorium years ago had left him with serious aftereffects.

Tormented by his injuries, his head became dizzy and he recalled his friendship with his brother Xu Jili, and Jili's heart softened for a moment.

"Ji Li and Dai Chunfeng are old friends, so it's not a big deal for them to contact Shancheng occasionally, as long as it's not too excessive."

After saying this, Ji called his private doctor to inject him with medication. As a whole tube of liquid was injected into his veins, Cheng Gongpu and Li Shiqun looked worried, while Zhou Fushui's eyes flickered.

The discussion about Xu Jili came to an end. Cheng Gongpu, Li Shiqun, and Zhou Fushui left Ji's official residence and immediately parted ways.

Although all three were traitors to the underground party and the Kuomintang, there were many conflicts between them. For example, Li Shiqun and Zhou Fushui had a very unpleasant argument over the position of Minister of Police, and even fought each other.

Li Shiqun got into the car and asked his subordinate in the front seat, "Are any of the people the target has been in contact with suspicious?"

The subordinate turned to the side and replied, "No, we have verified the identities of all the party, government, and military officials and service personnel that the target has recently been in contact with, and none of them have any problems."

"Continue to monitor them; do not let your guard down."

As Li Shiqun spoke, he slowly closed his eyes. Ever since he intercepted that telegram, he had had a bad feeling.

The Military Intelligence Bureau (MIB) is known for its cautious approach. Why was this coded telegram deciphered by the 76th Bureau? Was it just a coincidence, or did the MIB have other motives?

After thinking for a long time, Li Shiqun sighed in distress and told the driver to go to the train station.

Since Xu Jili cannot be captured for the time being, there is no point in him staying in Jinling. He might as well return to Shanghai as soon as possible.

As he boarded the Beijing-Shanghai line train, another person boarded in a different carriage. This person was wearing a top hat, with bald scalps showing on both sides of the brim.

Meanwhile, Zhou Fushui returned home and before he could even sit down, the steward informed him that a guest had arrived with lavish gifts. The visitor claimed to be a descendant of a fellow townsman from Hunan Province.

"Bring the person over here. Oh, and have the guards check him carefully." Zhou Fushui instructed the steward out of curiosity. The assassination attempts of the Military Intelligence Bureau were ubiquitous, so they had to be careful.

Just as Zhou Fushui was guessing which fellow villager had come to visit, a figure walked into the porch. The visitor was not old, but he had an extraordinary presence.