cicada

Chapter 1530, the 1536th Reputation
On the night the Northwest Negotiation Team arrived in the mountain city, Dai Chunfeng summoned Zuo Zhong to inquire about the security arrangements at Guiyuan.

With all eyes on the negotiations, if Guiyuan were to get into trouble, the Kuomintang's secret police would be in serious trouble.

In the director's office, Old Dai asked with a worried expression, "Shenzhong, how many people have you arranged for Guiyuan?"

"Reporting to the teacher, there are a total of 40 people, including guards, cooks, gardeners, and service staff." Zuo Zhong said respectfully, and then reported the specific arrangements.

"As per the Northwest's requirements, our personnel can only guard the perimeter of Guiyuan and are not allowed to enter without authorization. Other service personnel can only move within the designated area."

"The students' mission to the security personnel is to protect the members of the negotiation team at all costs. All visitors must notify us in advance to enter Guiyuan so that we can review them. Unregistered vehicles are strictly prohibited from entering."

"The vegetables, meat, and fruit used for the negotiation team's daily meals were supplied through special channels, and the food had to be tasted before being served to prevent the enemy from poisoning the food."

Dai Chunfeng nodded, but immediately tapped the table: "That's not enough. Increase the number of guards to 100, and make sure the weapons are in place."

Zuo Zhong was somewhat speechless. If 100 guards stood together, they could circle Guiyuan. However, seeing Lao Dai's serious expression, he solemnly agreed.

"Yes, the student will arrange it immediately."

"Wait a minute." Seeing Zuo Zhong turn to leave, Old Dai quickly stopped him and asked, "Are these people reliable?"

Huh? Looking at Dai Chunfeng's mysterious appearance, Zuo Zhong's heart skipped a beat. This old fox was probably up to no good again, so he quickly patted his chest and assured him that the personnel were absolutely reliable.

"Teacher, please rest assured, all the personnel are carefully selected by me. They have clean backgrounds and no issues with their stance."

After a moment's thought, Dai Chunfeng asked in a low voice, "Could we find out some information about the Northwest negotiation team, such as their bottom line for negotiations? We need to do this discreetly and not let those red heads find out."

Zuo Zhongren was dumbfounded. Do you want to hear what you're saying? You're trying to gather intelligence on the Northwest Negotiation Team without being discovered. Do you know how many intelligence experts are in the Northwest Negotiation Team?

After a few seconds of silence, Zuo Chongqiang forced a smile: "Teacher, the underground party is very vigilant. If they find out, the party and the state will be in a very passive position in terms of public opinion."

Old Dai was conflicted, but in the end he gave up the plan and decided to focus his main energy on seeking the position of Navy Commander.

The following day, negotiations between the two parties officially began, and the two sides discussed a number of issues.

Just as Zuo Chong had thought, the Kuomintang was making exorbitant demands for military, political, and ideological restrictions, showing absolutely no sincerity, and was practically asking the underground party to surrender.

The Northwest naturally could not agree to these excessive demands, and the negotiations reached a stalemate.

Zuo Chong accompanied the Kuomintang negotiation team to Guiyuan every day. When he had nothing to do, he would chat and drink tea with Shen Dongxin and others who were also negotiation representatives, so the time was not difficult to pass.

During a break in the meeting, someone went to the outskirts of the city with a high-ranking leader from the Northwest. The two strolled along the bamboo forest, chatting as they walked. Although there was no anger in their words, there was a subtle barb.

Zuo Zhong, as a bodyguard, followed the two officers throughout the entire process and had the opportunity to witness firsthand what it means to be utterly crushed by language.

During the conversation, when the story of discussing heroes over plum wine came up, the senior leader jokingly asked someone, "Which of them is Cao Cao, and which is Liu Bei?"

The man was immediately embarrassed, and the members of the Kuomintang entourage also looked solemn; this was not a good question to answer.

Cao Cao was powerful but did not think of serving his country, and used the emperor to command the other lords; Liu Bei was weak but had the ambition to save the world.

In the current context, it's self-evident who Cao Cao and who Liu Bei are. In the end, the person could only laugh awkwardly and change the subject to avoid losing face in front of his subordinates.

Faced with such a grand occasion, Zuo Zhong naturally turned on his phone to record, beginning his daily routine of secretly recording, which will become valuable historical material in the future.

That day, the negotiations ended in failure once again. Just as Zuo Chonggang was about to get up and leave, an underground party worker strode in, looking extremely angry.

The other party whispered a few words to several high-ranking leaders in the Northwest, and the atmosphere became heavy. One of the leaders slammed an object on the table and questioned the party representative in a deep voice.

"Commander Zhang, our men found a bugging device in the room. Was this done by your side?"

Whoosh! Everyone present turned to look at Zuo Zhong, including the members of the Guo Party.

Well, that's what reputation is all about.

Zuo Zhong felt more wronged than Dou E. He looked at Commander Zhang in a fit of rage and said, "Commander, you know me. If it were my men who installed the bugging device, it would never have been discovered."

"Please give me a chance, along with all the guests from the Northwest. Our military unit will find the suspect who installed the bugging device as quickly as possible and give the public an explanation."

Commander Zhang thought for a moment, then nodded to the Northwest leader: "Old friend, I believe the bugging device was not the work of Shen Zhong's men. I vouch for this."

"Could we ask the Military Intelligence Bureau to investigate the source of the listening device? After all, they are experts in this area."

"Haha, Brother Zhang, you're too kind." The Northwest leader spoke in a hearty and humorous tone: "We're here as guests, so naturally, it's up to you, the hosts, to handle any problems that arise."

Seeing that the leader did not object, the underground party staff handed the bugging device to Zuo Zhong, who then handed it to Wu Chunyang, who had arrived at the scene.

With just one glance, Wu Chunyang recognized the model of the bugging device and loudly recited its main performance data.

"Sirs, Vice-Captain, this is an American X2 radio microphone. With an external battery, it can operate for 24 hours and has a range of 300 meters."

Zuo Zhong immediately ordered, "Chunyang, take men to block off the surrounding traffic and thoroughly search all houses and vehicles within a 500-meter radius!" "Also, re-inspect Guiyuan to see if there are any more listening devices. Commander Zhang, do you think this arrangement is appropriate?"

After assigning the task, Zuo Zhong did not forget to ask Commander Zhang for instructions. In officialdom, the most important thing is to distinguish between superiors and inferiors. Although the other party did not care about these things, he could not leave it unasked.

Commander Zhang and the top leader of the Northwest discussed the matter in hushed tones for a moment, then he looked up and nodded slightly: "Very good, Shen Zhong, we will do as you say."

Subsequently, accompanied by underground party members, military intelligence technicians entered Guiyuan. The two sides jointly conducted a comprehensive inspection of the building's interior and exterior, and found two more listening devices.

One of the listening devices was installed inside the restaurant chandelier, and the other was installed in a bookcase compartment. This infuriated Zuo Zhong, who immediately convened a meeting with his subordinates.

"Oh!"

Zuo Zhong slammed his hand on the table, the loud noise startling all the secret service leaders, especially Song Minghao, who was in charge of inspecting Guiyuan.

But besides being scared, there was one thing he couldn't understand: where did those three bugging devices come from?

Before the negotiations began, the Second Division conducted a thorough inspection of Guiyuan, almost to the point of prying open the floorboards. They found nothing at the time. When and how did the enemy install the listening devices?
Suddenly, Song Minghao froze. Oh no, could there be a mole among his men?
The thought of this possibility made his legs tremble. According to the rules of the Military Intelligence Bureau, if a mole was found in any department, the person in charge of that department would bear full responsibility.

Just as he feared, Zuo Zhong's cold voice rang out, and Song Minghao felt a rush of blood to his head.

"Old Song, tell me, why were there listening devices in the two buildings that were searched? Did they just spring out of the rocks?"

"Speak! Answer me!"

The room fell silent. Song Minghao wiped the cold sweat from his brow, and a sudden inspiration flashed through his mind. He quickly voiced his guess.

"Vice-Minister, the probability of our people having problems is not high. I suggest we investigate the original servants of the official residence."

"Out of trust and respect for Commander Zhang, and because there were too many people to investigate, we did not conduct a thorough investigation of the servants in the Zhang household before, such as their economic situation."

Zuo Zhongqi laughed. "You dare to shift the blame to Commander Zhang? Are you going to try to shift the blame to me in the future?"
He was about to curse when he suddenly frowned. What Song Minghao said made sense. Since there was no breakthrough now, he might as well give it a try.

He silently apologized to Commander Zhang, then snorted coldly, "Then go investigate. Be careful not to make too much of a fuss, and definitely don't let it cause a huge uproar, understand?"

"Understood, sir." Song Minghao felt as if he had been granted a pardon and hurriedly ran out.

Perhaps due to the importance attached to the matter by the Nationalist government and the excellent cooperation from all sides, Wu Chunyang and Song Minghao quickly made a discovery, and the two of them went to Zuo Zhong's house together to report the progress of the investigation.

"Report: According to the patrol officers' recollections, a Ford van had been parked near Guiyuan for an extended period of time during the period in question."

Wu Chunyang spoke first, and then took out the file and tapped the license plate number on it with his finger: "I checked, the license plate is fake, but this type of car is very rare, there are only 9 of them in Shancheng."

"Stop the nonsense and get to the point." Zuo Zhong went straight to the point, telling the other party not to keep him in suspense.

"Yes, Vice-Captain." Wu Chunyang was momentarily speechless, but could only honestly reply, "The various businesses have six vehicles, the hospital has two, and the last one is at the US Embassy."

Zuo Zhong narrowed his eyes. The American bugging device and the same model of car as the one used by the US embassy—no one would believe it was a coincidence.

Song Minghao interjected at the opportune moment: "Vice-Sir, there might be a problem with the cleaning staff at Commander Zhang's house. A relative of theirs recently purchased a large plot of fertile land."

“But the brothers at the local station have investigated and found that this man was recently living on borrowed money and doesn’t seem to have the ability to buy land.”

"I have already had someone investigate the source of the funds. We should have results in three days at the latest. After all, it's a small place, so it shouldn't be hard to find out where the money came from."

Zuo Chong carefully put away the files and then instructed the two men to keep it a secret. Commander Zhang had helped the Military Intelligence Bureau, and they couldn't repay kindness with enmity.

Even if the bugging device is related to the other party's servant, this matter should be minimized and resolved peacefully. At worst, a scapegoat can be found to take the blame, but we cannot allow Commander Zhang's reputation to be damaged.

Just as the three were about to finish their conversation, the phone on the table rang, its ringing unusually jarring.

Zuo Zhong picked up the phone and put it to his ear without saying a word, just listening quietly. After hanging up, he stroked his chin and laughed.

"Hehe, Chunyang, Lao Song, isn't it a coincidence? We just found out that the US embassy's car may have been seen at Guiyuan, and Adams invited me to a dinner at Jingyanglou in two days."

Although Zuo Zhong said this with a smile, Wu Chunyang and Song Minghao both shivered when they saw his expression.

The two men couldn't understand why the vice-chairman was angry; it was just a dinner party.

Zuo Zhong didn't explain why. He waved for the two to leave, picked up the phone, and dialed a number.

"Go see that person, and remember to keep it a secret."

After saying something completely unrelated, Zuo Zhong slammed the microphone back into the microphone fork, his murderous intent in his eyes becoming impossible to conceal. It was time for his American friend, who had been jumping around like a madman, to go to bed.

That evening, a U.S. Army major in Chongqing walked into the movie theater. He was unshaven and looked unkempt.

As the curtain lit up, the man's face revealed a hint of weariness and sadness amidst the alternating light and shadow.

I've revised these two chapters several times; I don't know if they're okay. I'll try my best to write them.