cicada

Chapter 1448 Means
The air in the mountain town was damp and chilly in the early winter morning. He Yijun wrapped his coat tighter and strode into the Military Intelligence Bureau headquarters at No. 29 Luojiawan.

Good morning, Director He.

The Kuomintang agents who passed by greeted him, and He Yijun nodded slightly in acknowledgment, but kept walking.

Every morning, she personally received top-secret telegrams from undercover agents and local stations, never delegating the task to anyone else.

Because these coded telegrams involved several high-ranking moles within the Kuomintang's military intelligence network and the Japanese puppet regime, the codes used had to be kept strictly confidential, and ordinary telegraph operators had no right to access them.

He Yijun pushed open the door to the telecommunications room, and the duty operator inside got up and left without a word. The handover of work was completed silently between the two parties.

At nine o'clock sharp, short but extremely important telegrams were copied one after another, and He Yijun checked them off on the form from time to time.

After recording the last coded telegram, she glanced at the form and noticed a blank space.

[Los Angeles Station]

He Yijun frowned as she looked at the three words. Since four days ago, Zheng Tingbing and the other two, who were supposed to report their status to headquarters regularly, had disappeared without a trace, and the Luocheng station had not submitted any relevant reports.

It is normal for operatives to occasionally lose telegrams during secret operations, but that was in enemy-occupied territory. Zheng Tingbing and his comrades were in Nationalist-controlled territory, so this should not have happened.

After a brief moment of thought, He Yijun pressed the telegraph key to send a Class B coded telegram to Luocheng Station, stating that there was urgent official business that required Deputy Director Zheng's decision and requesting that the other party return to Shancheng as soon as possible.

Less than half an hour later, a reply came from Los Angeles station, containing only the short sentence: "I will reply soon."

He Yijun's expression changed, and she immediately packed her things to meet Dai Chunfeng. However, as soon as she stepped out the door, she heard the deputy seatmate's greeting from downstairs.

She peered out the window and saw Zuo Zhong, Gu Qi, and three others getting out of the car. Noticing her gaze, Zuo Zhong looked up and smiled at her.

Soon, the news of Deputy Director Zuo's return spread throughout the Military Intelligence Bureau. Some were happy, while others looked gloomy.

He Yijun naturally belonged to the former category. She went downstairs to accompany Zuo Chong back to his office. The two chatted casually for a few minutes before getting back to business.

"Vice-Sir, Deputy Director Zheng, Section Chief Song, and Deputy Section Chief Wu went to Luocheng to investigate the case of Shi Ming, the political training director of X Division, for colluding with the enemy. They have been out of contact for several days."

After giving a brief overview of the situation, He Yijun hesitated for two seconds before stating her speculation.

“I sent a telegram to Luocheng Station, requesting that Deputy Director Zheng return to Chongqing as soon as possible to handle official business. Luocheng Station replied shortly afterward. I think it is very likely that Deputy Director Zheng and his colleagues have run into trouble.”

Zuo Zhong paused in tidying his desk, looked up and asked, "Oh? Tell me your reasons."

“Since Deputy Director Zheng can call back, why was he out of contact for the past few days? That doesn’t make sense. I suspect that the call back was not sent at Deputy Director Zheng’s behest.”

As He Yijun spoke, he placed the case file and all the communication records of Zheng Tingbing and the other two after they arrived in Luocheng on the table.

Zuo Zhong casually flipped through the map, then looked at the large-scale map on the wall, pondered for a moment, and then gave the order.

"Contact the Northwest and ask them to check if any of our people have recently entered their territory, with a focus on western Henan."

"Notify the brothers in Luanchuan, Nanzhao, and Nanyang to secretly search for the whereabouts of Zheng Tingbing and the other two."

He Yijun quickly took notes, and after finishing, asked, "You mean, Deputy Director Zheng, Section Chief Song, and Deputy Section Chief Wu will be going to these places?"

He nodded slightly, lit a cigarette, leaned back in his chair, and slowly took a puff.

“That’s right. As for Lao Song and Lao Wu, they are both experienced intelligence officers. If they sense something is wrong, they can easily escape.”

"We shouldn't underestimate our Deputy Director Zheng either. He has a keen sense of danger and is absolutely first-rate at escaping."

"I judge that if they were to escape, the most likely destination would be the underground Communist Party or cities far from the front lines."

He exhaled the smoke from his mouth, slapped the files on the table with his left hand, and his face was full of mockery.

"As for Shi Ming colluding with the enemy, that's pure nonsense. If Shi Ming wanted the defense map, why would he steal it? He could just go to the front line and inspect it himself."

"The X Division is treating our Military Intelligence Bureau as a bunch of idiots like the Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics. Lan Hongchang has a problem, and a big problem at that. Such a big thing as framing the Director of Political Training cannot be done without the cooperation of his military commander."

He Yijun thought about it and agreed. The army is different from other places. Strict discipline is the basic rule. Lan Hongchang is indeed a strong suspect.

Then, she turned and went to the telecommunications room to send electricity to the aforementioned place, the sound of her footsteps gradually fading away.

Zuo Zhong forcefully stubbed out his cigarette, his gaze sharpening. There was one more thing he hadn't mentioned: the Luocheng station was no longer trustworthy.

In just a few years, the disciplined Military Intelligence Bureau has become so corrupt and degenerate. A top-level station dared to deceive headquarters. This matter must be dealt with seriously, otherwise other regional stations will follow suit.

However, the final decision on how to handle it and to what extent needs to be made by Dai Chunfeng.

After tidying himself up a bit, Zuo Chong went upstairs and knocked on the door of Teacher Bian's office. He heard Lao Dai say "Come in," and he pushed the door open and entered.

Upon discovering that the visitor was his prized disciple, Dai Chunfeng smiled and pointed to the stool opposite him: "Shen Zhong is back. Please sit down."

"This student greets the teacher." Zuo Chong bowed and, after sitting down, asked with concern, "It's been a while, teacher. You've lost quite a bit of weight. How are you feeling?"

"Haha, very good, very good."

Old Dai put down the documents in his hand, first laughed loudly, then crossed his arms and looked at Zuo Zhong. "Your work in North Africa was excellent, the Chairman is very satisfied, and I, as a teacher, am also proud. Shen Zhong, this time we owe you a lot, otherwise a big disaster would have occurred."

Zuo Zhong smiled modestly, saying that such words were best taken with a grain of salt and he didn't waste time on them. He then changed the subject and reported on the situation in Luo City.

Upon hearing that Zheng Tingbing and the other two might be in trouble, and that the Luocheng station was colluding with corrupt elements in the military, Dai Chunfeng angrily cursed loudly.

"These bastards! Have they all forgotten the family rules? Shen Zhong, I authorize you to handle this matter with full authority. If necessary, you may go on a killing spree."

Old Dai didn't care about corruption in the military, nor about smuggling and human trafficking; what he cared about was that the Los Angeles station had slipped out of his control.

Anyone who dares to touch the core power of the Military Intelligence Bureau will be targeted. Not to mention Commander Tang, even his own father is not an option.

Zuo Zhong nodded in agreement, and then asked the other party how to deal with Lan Hongchang and his group.

After pondering for a while, Dai Chunfeng offered his opinion: "Personnel matters in the military are always sensitive, so we must be cautious in our handling of them."

“Shenzhong, don’t you still have a side job in the Attendant’s Office? Then report through the Attendant’s Office. Only with a proper name can you speak with authority.”

The old fox, not wanting to be suspected of interfering in military affairs, skillfully passed the buck. Zuo Zhong, knowing his concerns, immediately replied, "Okay."

However, Zuo Zhong did not act immediately, but planned to report back after things became clearer.

In government, it is most important to avoid acting rashly, especially in intelligence work, where everything needs to be supported by evidence and can never be done based on guesswork.

In fact, Zuo Zhong did not have to wait long. That afternoon, the 36th Army Group stationed in Nanyang sent a telegram that Zheng Tingbing had been found.

Immediately afterwards, the Northwest also notified the Military Intelligence Bureau that Wu Jingzhong had appeared in the Funiu Mountains.

Both men carried with them records of the X Division's collusion with the Japanese invaders in the sale of arms and people; detailed information was sent via telegram.

Currently, only Song Minghao is missing. Neither the Kuomintang-controlled areas, nor the Japanese-occupied areas, nor the underground party have found any trace of him. Old Song has disappeared.

In addition, according to intelligence from the underground party, after Zheng Tingbing and his two accomplices escaped, in addition to the X Division, four other units underwent unusual troop movements.

To be honest, Zuo Zhong wasn't surprised at all that Master X was buying and selling, but the second message really shocked him.

Henan Province was on the front line against the Japanese, and these five troops were all in key positions. Once the war broke out, the so-called defense line would probably be nothing more than a formality.

Because the matter was of great importance, Zuo Zhong told Dai Chunfeng and then rushed to the Huangshan official residence without stopping.

Before meeting someone, he went to the attendant's room and took another document, placing it on top of the report.

After waiting for more than ten minutes, Zuo Zhong entered someone's office and immediately presented two reports.

Someone opened the first document, which contained the assignments and promotions of graduates from the Army Officer School, and the results were not optimistic.

Although the continuous battles have resulted in heavy losses among junior officers, many units still do not welcome army academy cadets. These individuals are unlikely to be promoted in the military and can at most serve as company or platoon leaders.

This situation wasn't limited to irregular armies; it was the same even in the Central Army, given that the Kuomintang army had too many factions.

Even the Army Schools were divided into the Whampoa Military Academy system, the Nanjing Military Academy system, and the Chongqing Military Academy system.

The man's expression was not good. The military academy was his base of operations, and the exclusion of officers and soldiers from the Army Academy was a way to weaken his control over the military.

However, he was a deep thinker and did not express his opinion on the spot after reading it. Instead, he turned to the second document.

"boom!"

Someone slammed their fist on the table. The guards outside rushed in upon hearing the noise, but retreated after confirming that nothing was amiss.

After a long silence, someone's voice slowly rang out: "Shen Zhong, what do you think should be done with people like Lan Hongchang?"

Zuo Zhong quickly lowered his head and whispered his attitude: "This humble servant will obey the Chairman's instructions in everything."

After another silence, someone looked at the two reports, a glint of light suddenly flashing in their eyes, and said carefully.

“The Japanese have been acting unruly lately, and there must be no problems on the front lines in Henan Province. Therefore, those involved must be severely punished, but the situation must be kept to a minimum.”

"Once these people are dealt with, Junwei will send personnel to take over the relevant troops, and your Military Intelligence Bureau should cooperate accordingly."

Zuo Chong instantly understood that keeping the situation under control to the smallest possible extent meant implementing secret sanctions. Only in this way could Shancheng quickly and smoothly take over the troops.

This is precisely why he placed the Army Academy report at the top; if he only mentioned that the X Division was involved in buying and selling, the matter would likely have been dropped.

However, considering the experiences of the Army Academy officers, the situation is different. After all, if people like Lan Hongchang don't die, how can someone send people to the front lines?

There's a lot to learn about reporting. The same thing can have completely different results depending on whether it's said first or last, or said separately or in a series.

"Yes, Chairman, I will arrange it immediately."

Zuo Chong bowed deeply, sighing helplessly. He realized that even dealing with corruption required resorting to underhanded tactics; the KMT's continued existence was an injustice to Heaven.