cicada

Chapter 1456 Social Affairs Department Meeting

In Zaoyuan, the Northwest base, the office compound of the Social Affairs Department was heavily guarded, with a group of Eighth Route Army soldiers in khaki uniforms surrounding the compound.

Deputy Minister Li of the Social Affairs Department hurriedly entered the courtyard, accompanied by Luo Yongying and several internal security officers from the Social Affairs Department.

Luo Yongying has short, ear-length hair and a serious expression. The progressive young man who followed Zuo Duo and Zuo Jun to the mountain city back then has grown into a qualified counter-espionage expert.

War is the best catalyst; everyone is making progress, except for the Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics (CBIS), which is getting beaten up.

At the end of last year, Luo Yongying was appointed as the head of the First Section of the Third Bureau of the Social Affairs Department, which was specifically responsible for intelligence on the Japanese puppet regime. Today, she appeared here with the internal security officer, naturally because of the case.

To be precise, it was for a spy case involving the Japanese puppet regime that shocked the high-ranking officials in the border region.

A few days ago, Ban Jun, an important intelligence agent dispatched by the Ministry of Social Affairs to Nanjing, was arrested, which caused a great shock in the border region.

Because Ban Jun's information was classified at a very high level, only a handful of people in the entire Social Affairs Department had access to his file. His arrest suggests that there was likely a problem within the organization.

The higher-ups gave clear instructions that the mole who leaked the platoon's intelligence must be found as soon as possible; even if not, it would still reassure the troops.

Vice Minister Li entered a cave dwelling, where the heads of various departments of the Social Affairs Department were already waiting. Upon seeing his arrival, the heads of the departments quickly stood up and saluted.

"Alright, everyone, let's sit down and talk."

Despite the urgency of the situation, Vice Minister Li remained calm and composed, gesturing for everyone to sit down while his gaze swept over the group.

The Social Affairs Department comprises five bureaus and two departments. Bureau 1 is in charge of organization and personnel, Bureau 2 is in charge of intelligence, Bureau 3 is in charge of counter-espionage, Bureau 4 is in charge of intelligence analysis, and Bureau 5 is in charge of special agent training. In addition, there are the Security Department and the Execution Department.

These are front-line agencies. The operation of the Social Affairs Department also relies on the support of internal departments such as General Affairs, Manager (Finance), and Cadre School.

Among those qualified to access Ban Jun's files were only the chief and deputy chief officers of the First and Second Bureaus, as well as the main person in charge of Wei in Jinling City.

Vice Minister Li did not readily suspect his comrades. After everyone sat down, he first explained the situation and then asked for the opinions of those present.

"Where do you think we should begin this case?"

The bureau chief was the first to raise his hand: "Deputy Minister, according to discipline, all borrowing of files is recorded. I request that the organization conduct an investigation into me."

The head of the Second Bureau then made a statement, indicating that he would fully cooperate with the investigation without any hesitation or resistance.

Luo Yongying, who was standing next to her, silently recorded these details in her notebook. The content was detailed and objective. Just as she finished writing, she heard Vice Minister Li call her name.

"Xiao Luo, what's your opinion?"

"Yes, Vice Minister."

Luo Yongying immediately stopped writing, stood up, and after organizing her thoughts, began to speak.

"Based on recent developments, I believe it is unlikely that Wei in Jinling City will encounter any problems, for two main reasons."

"First, if the traitor is from Wei in Jinling City, the enemy will not let Tong Zhi go along that line, but we have not received any news yet."

The relevant leaders nodded in agreement. If the Japanese and their puppet regime really did target Wei in Jinling City, such a large-scale operation would not have gone unnoticed by their intelligence agents planted within the puppet regime.

At this point, Luo Yongying continued, "Secondly, the report from the secret observation post was very clear: not long after the man suspected of being the contact entered the safe house, the Japanese rushed in."

"This means that the contact person has betrayed us or has been followed. Only headquarters knows the complete information about the contact person and the contact, and Wei in Jinling City does not have it."

Everyone nodded in agreement. The local mayor was only aware of the meeting, and even if there were traitors in Jinling, they had no way of knowing the contact person or the details of the meeting.

Then there's only one possibility left—the traitor is in headquarters, or even in this cave dwelling.

Vice Minister Li sat at the old wooden table, casually striking a match to light his pipe. When he saw the solemn expressions on everyone's faces, he suddenly burst into hearty laughter.

"Fellow members, don't be nervous. Every organization has problems. We should look at it objectively and not scare ourselves."

After saying that, he asked Luo Yongying, "Section Chief Luo, what do you think we should do next?"

“Vice Minister, investigating loopholes is worse than investigating people,” Luo Yongying said succinctly, proposing a new approach to solving the case.

Vice Minister Li's eyes lit up: "Oh? Tell me more about it."

"Yes."

Luo Yongying showed no stage fright and strode into the midst of the many leaders, her clear voice echoing through the cave dwelling.

"As Vice Minister Li just said, every organization will have problems, which is in line with the objective laws of development. We should face up to and make use of this."

"Assuming there's a mole in headquarters, would they use their authority to directly access Ban Jun's file? I think it's unlikely."

"For their own safety, traitors will inevitably exploit loopholes in our work to steal intelligence. So if we find loopholes, we're not far from finding the traitor."

Luo Yongying's thinking was very clear: instead of launching a large-scale internal investigation, it would be better to take a different approach and start by investigating the channels through which the traitors obtained intelligence.

This is also conducive to unity. After many political movements, many people are terrified of investigations, and open investigations are likely to cause even greater turmoil.

Vice Minister Li was pleased. Luo Yongying's handling of the case was very mature; she not only focused on the case itself but also considered the political implications, which was excellent.

He looked at everyone and asked, "Let's discuss this. What loopholes in the management of intelligence personnel's files could the enemy exploit?"

Collective wisdom is the most distinctive manifestation of the underground party's collective intelligence and a crucial weapon for defeating the enemy. Anyone with differing opinions can raise them directly. The internal security officer was the first to report that the First Bureau's Confidential Section, responsible for storing cadre review materials and intelligence personnel files, was located in cave dwellings or simple warehouses in the Yangjialing and Wangjiaping areas.

Due to the long-term disrepair of the cave dwellings and warehouses, these paper materials often suffer from mold and insect infestation.

In order to improve the storage conditions, the Bureau had the confidential room renovated several times last year and this year. The mole may have taken advantage of this opportunity to steal the intelligence.

Faced with the internal security officer's speculation, the head of the bureau did not deny it, but frankly admitted that there were indeed oversights in the security work of the confidential office.

Those present knew that this was not a matter of negligence, but rather a case of "even a skilled cook cannot make a meal without rice."

The living conditions at the site were harsh, the economy was very difficult, and the staff had varying levels of education, making file management extremely challenging.

Vice Minister Li wrote down "[Improve archive preservation conditions]" and "[Enhance management level]" in his notebook, and then let everyone continue speaking.

The head of the bureau once again "exposed his own dirty laundry," stating that the confidential office lacked the necessary numbering and indexing system, which led to many files relying on manual memory for management.

Although the Ministry of Social Affairs is also promoting "file cards," some elderly people are not very literate, resulting in poor implementation of the "file cards" and difficulties in finding them.

There have been instances where people requested access to a specific file but received a different file instead, and this has happened more than once.

Vice Minister Li frowned, surprised that there were so many problems with the file management. He tapped the notebook with his pen and asked again if there were any other loopholes.

The heads of the various departments shook their heads; they had only considered the aforementioned oversights at the moment. Seeing this, Vice Minister Li closed his notebook and issued two orders.

"Section Chief Luo, your Third Bureau, First Section is responsible for the secret investigation of fellow villagers who have been to the confidential room. You must pay attention to the methods and approaches, and you cannot resort to forced confessions."

"As for Bureau One, immediately question those who have recently accessed the files to see if anyone has inadvertently seen Ban Jun's file."

"Finally, colleagues, remember this lesson, and all departments should launch a self-examination as soon as possible."

Everyone stood up and answered yes, then left one by one. Vice Minister Li kept Luo Yongying behind and asked her a question.

"Xiao Luo, do you think the traitor is a Japanese spy, or a mole from some other force?"

Luo Yongying looked surprised. Vice Minister Li couldn't have said that for no reason. Could it be that the mole wasn't a Japanese spy?

She thought about it carefully and realized that the case was indeed a bit strange. The Japanese knew both the contact and Ban Jun, so why didn't they choose to keep them under secret surveillance?
By monitoring Ban Jun, we can find more intelligence agents; arresting him would be a worse option.

Luo Yongying became increasingly confused, her eyes filled with doubt. Vice Minister Li, sitting opposite her, paced around the room twice with his hands behind his back before slowly speaking, his tone quite heavy.

“You must be careful during the investigation and not overlook any clues. I am worried that this case is just the beginning.”

After finishing his speech, Vice Minister Li asked Luo Yongying to leave first, while he went to meet with the top leaders of the border region and made a request.

"Sir, I request permission to contact [Autumn Cicada]."

The top leader put down his pen, his expression turning extremely serious: "You should know the importance of [Autumn Cicada]. Are you sure you want to do this?"

“Yes, I’m sure.” Vice Minister Li replied solemnly, “Ban Jun’s case requires the assistance of [Autumn Cicada].

Having received a positive response, the senior leader didn't say much, but simply asked Vice Minister Li to write down the questions he wanted to ask on a piece of paper.

Vice Minister Li understood that the "Autumn Cicada" had an extremely high level of secrecy. In order to protect them, all secret telegrams used to communicate with them could only be sent and received by designated personnel, and even he was no exception.

After quickly writing a message on a piece of paper, Vice Minister Li left, and the top leader personally went to the telecommunications office with the note.
-
Returning to the mountain city, Zuo Chong walked into Dai Chunfeng's office again, and Old Dai seemed very surprised to see him.

"Shen Zhong, why are you back again?"

Zuo Zhong pretended to hesitate and stammered, "Teacher, did you already know about Lin Miaoyin?"

Dai Chunfeng's smile froze, as if he had just realized that he had said the wrong thing. He looked towards the door, waved for Zuo Zhong to close the door, and looked furtive.

Ten minutes later, Zuo Chong returned to his office and sat down, his mind replaying what Lao Dai had just told him.

“Shenzhong, now that you’ve discovered it, your teacher will no longer hide it from you. I did know about Lin Miaoyin a long time ago.”

"Not only her, I also learned about Ban Jun's arrest earlier than you did."

Although Lao Dai tried his best to pretend when he said this, he couldn't hide the smugness in his expression. Then he mysteriously revealed the reason.

"I have a high-ranking secret mole within the Japanese puppet regime. This is top secret, and only I know his identity. So don't ask any more questions."

Recalling Dai Chunfeng's explanation, Zuo Zhong suddenly remembered something: it was rumored that his cheap teacher had many moles with whom he had one-way communication.

After Lao Dai crashed into the mountain, these moles became like kites with broken strings, resulting in the intelligence work of the Military Intelligence Bureau in the late period being a complete mess, which was incomparable to that during the War of Resistance.

Zuo Zhong reviewed the clues, including Ban Jun's arrest, the leak of secrets, and the threatening letter, and seemed to have found a spark of inspiration.

In intelligence gathering and investigation, sometimes meticulous attention to detail is required, and sometimes it is necessary to simplify complex matters and see through appearances to the essence.

If we eliminate all interfering factors, the most crucial thing in this case is actually only one thing: Ban Jun was arrested.

So, what if Ban Jun's exposure wasn't just a simple intelligence battle, but had another reason? Zuo Zhong seemed to have thought of something, and his eyes slowly widened.

　The characters “同吱” and “同梽” are typed intentionally. Writing them directly would trigger a warning, but typing them this way removes it. I don't know why.
　　(End of this chapter)