My spy diary

Chapter 237 Special Investigation Procedure (asking for monthly ticket)

Yamamoto Kenzo's residence in Shanghai was a luxurious French-style villa, which was surrounded by Japanese military police and plainclothes guards and was under tight security.

Entering the first floor from the main gate, there is a spacious hall, and the back of the hall has been converted into a Japanese-style secret room.

Two samurai swords were placed on the wooden rack on the upper wall, and a plaster flag hanging on the wall read "Long-lasting Military Fortune". Several officers were sitting on the ground around Yamamoto Kenzo.

In turn they are Sakata Makoto, the head of the Sugi Agency's headquarters in Shanghai. The Japanese military headquarters is also known as the "Sakata Agency". He once worked in the Kwantung Army's General Staff and was a member of the Japanese General Staff. As an important assistant to Yamamoto, he was responsible for work in Shanghai.

Then came a thin man in his early forties with a sinister face and a pair of plain glasses over his triangular eyes. He was full of cunning. It was none other than Kentaro Yamamoto, the chief of the Shanghai Special High Section.

Sitting cross-legged on the right is Kato Hisaichi, who is in charge of intelligence work at the Shanghai Military Police Headquarters.

At this moment, Yamamoto Kentaro picked up his drink and said, "First of all, on behalf of the Special High Section, I would like to welcome Mr. Yamamoto to Shanghai and wish the Sugi Agency a successful start in its work."

Yamamoto Kenzo smiled and said, "Section Chief Yamamoto, you are welcome. We both serve the Empire, so we should communicate more in the future."

Kato Shou raised his glass and continued, "Yes, Bin's work is indeed a great plan, and Commander Tojo has made great contributions. Since the implementation of the plan, it has provided the army with a steady stream of military funds and supplies. I would like to toast to Mr. Yamamoto."

"cheers."

After a few drinks, the atmosphere became more harmonious.

Sakata Makoto also raised his glass and stood up. He was fat, had a tuft of Jindan beard, and looked extremely cunning. He nodded to Yamamoto and said:

"Everyone, the 54th branch of Chengda Company, a secret organization under my Sugi Agency, has been established in Wuhan. I believe that with the Empire's occupation of China, Chengda Company can also flourish everywhere. Under the leadership of Colonel Yamamoto, China's financial system will be destroyed in one fell swoop, and indelible achievements will be made for the Emperor and the great cause of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. I propose to toast Colonel Yamamoto again, first for the brilliant achievements of Bin's work, and second, congratulations on Mr. Yamamoto's promotion to colonel."

"Colonel?!" Kato Hisaichi and Yamamoto Kentaro looked at each other with some disbelief in their eyes.

As far as they knew, Yamamoto Kenzo was just a young graduate of the 15th class of the Army Accounting School, who first joined the Kwantung Army and then worked in the Military Geography Class of the Seventh Section of the General Staff. His military rank was only lieutenant colonel, but now he had been successfully promoted to colonel thanks to the implementation of Sugi's work. It was really unexpected.

A Japanese enters the Army Junior School at the age of 12, studies for 3 years and then enters the Army Officer School preparatory class to serve for 2 years, then enters the army to serve for 8 months before he has the opportunity to enter the Army Officer School. After another 1 year and 8 months of study, he can become a trainee officer, and the earliest he can become an Army second lieutenant at the age of 20 or 21.

Army second lieutenants are generally promoted to lieutenants between the ages of 25 and 30.

Second lieutenants and first lieutenants who have served in the army for two years can enter the Army University with the recommendation of their supervisors. The qualification is extremely strict, and generally only 10% of people can successfully enroll.

The graduates of Lu University are called the Tianbaoqian Group, and those who did not enter Lu University are called the Wutian Group.

This is not only about resume, but also about qualifications and background. Lieutenants who enter the Army University can usually be promoted to captain after three interviews of graduation, and for those in the Wutan Group, captain is basically the pinnacle of their promotion.

Army colonel was promoted to major between the ages of 33 and 36, and the Tenpozen group and the Muten group completely distanced themselves from the rank of major.

The Tenpozen-gumi were promoted to Army Lieutenant Colonel at the ages of 38 and 40, while the Muten-gumi had to be 45 to be promoted.

Both Kato Hisaichi and Yamamoto Kentaro took the shortcut of the Army University and were promoted to colonel in their early forties, but being promoted from colonel to major general is another hurdle.

They really couldn't understand what kind of luck a junior who graduated from an accounting school had to be promoted to colonel so quickly. Yamamoto Kenzo is only 38 years old now. Could he become a general before he is 40?
This made Kato Hisaichi and Yamamoto Kentaro look at Yamamoto Kenzo with envy and jealousy.

"Yes, the appointment was just issued not long ago. Thank you Commander Tojo and the General Staff for their recognition." Yamamoto Kenzo said it lightly, but he could not hide the pride between his brows. At this moment, he could sit on an equal footing with Kato Hisaichi and Yamamoto Kentaro, two self-righteous and arrogant guys. Maybe in the future they would even bow their heads and salute him when they saw him.

Yamamoto Kentaro's mouth twitched, he put down his glass, and thought: "The 54th branch of Chengda Company has been established in Wuhan, but as far as I know, the Jinling Special High Section team responsible for the escort did not return immediately and lost contact with the organization. Yamamoto-kun, do you know about this?"

"Oh, Iida, the person in charge of Wuhan, has already reported this to me." Yamamoto Kenzo said nonchalantly, "According to the agents of the Song Agency, they must have accidentally exposed their identities during their return. I have already informed the Jinling Special High Section."

"Matsu Agency?" Yamamoto Kentaro sneered. Even their chief Okada Yoshimasa was arrested by the Secret Service, which showed how incompetent this so-called Matsu Agency was.

"The Special High Section will send someone to verify and investigate this matter, and we hope that the person in charge of the Bin agency in Wuhan can cooperate." Yamamoto Kentaro did not believe what Yamamoto Kenzo said. In his opinion, the well-trained Special High Section agents had been arrested, so how could that Iida complete the mission smoothly? He wouldn't have been arrested by the Secret Service as well, maybe he had already surrendered.

But he did not say this guess out loud. Looking at the complacent Yamamoto Kenzo, he thought to himself that the higher you climb now, the harder you will fall later.

After a few words of boasting to each other, Kato Hisaichi and Yamamoto Kentaro stood up and said goodbye.

After coming out of Yamamoto Kenzo's villa, Kato Hisaichi and Yamamoto Kentaro looked at each other, with a hint of excitement and longing in their eyes.

The career prospects of cost estimation are so bright, why can Bin agency do it but they can't?
On the outskirts of Wuhan.

A house was suddenly built near an abandoned small paper mill, with an outer wall made of fences and an inner wall made of mud.

Behind the inner wall, a thick and high wall was built with blue bricks and cement, leaving only a small door for entry and exit.

This is the counterfeit currency factory under construction.

It looks ordinary from the outside and there are no signs, but the inside is heavily guarded, with a guard post every three steps and a sentry every five steps.

In addition to a special forces company equipped with live ammunition responsible for security, there are also plainclothes officers who patrol regularly with wolfhounds.

Except Dai Chunfeng and staff, no one is allowed to enter the workshop.

At this moment, a truck stopped and eight trembling workers got out of the truck. They were all coin makers temporarily transferred from the Bank of China.

Dai Chunfeng put his hands on his hips, watching the men being escorted into the factory, and said without any emotion: "From now on they are not allowed to leave, and their daily work must be closely monitored."

"Yes." Zhang Yi nodded and asked, "Director, when will the equipment and templates arrive?"

"Minister Song has sent his financial expert, the acting manager of Bank of China, Bei Shusong, to fly from Hong Kong to Hawaii to the United States. It is estimated that the counterfeit currency can be delivered to Wuhan in half a month. You need to do a good job of re-aging the counterfeit currency."

The aged counterfeit currency will be handed over to armed agents and escorted to the occupied areas for use.

Deng Baoguang continued, "Director, if we do this, we will have to share the profits with the Ministry of Finance. The Americans charge a lot for counterfeiting the currency, and the counterfeiting cycle is long and the quantity is limited. The transportation security task is heavy. After deducting the cost, the profit will be very small. Why don't we make it ourselves?"

Dai Chunfeng nodded and said, "It would be best if we could make it ourselves, and the technology is in our own hands. But the most advanced copperplate printing machine and special printing paper are not cheap, and we don't have the technology."

He pondered for a while and said, "Well, let's do this for a while, and wait until we have enough capital. I will order Xiao Bo, the head of the American station, to inquire and see if we can invite American experts to work in China."

Xiao Bo was the deputy military attaché of the Chinese Embassy in the United States, and his real identity was the chief of the US station of the Secret Service. As they were talking, they saw a car driving through the mud, and Mao Qiwu got out of the car and trotted over to hand Dai Chunfeng a telegram.

After reading it, Boss Dai destroyed the telegram, took out a few Japanese yen from his pocket, and said, "According to intelligence, the special fiber added to the Japanese yen is called Misaki bark. It is the addition of this bark pulp that makes the Japanese yen paper tougher, has a special luster, and is light yellow. The larger the denomination, the darker the color."

He sneered and said, "I don't believe that this kind of thing is only found in Japan. Immediately issue orders to all provinces and regions to search for this plant with all their strength."

"Yes."

Wuhan Office.

Liu Qitian looked behind him vigilantly, nodded to the guard, then slipped into the office and went straight to Cha Gong's office.

The two looked at each other, and quickly walked out of the house and into the yard.

"Director, I just met with the head of the Wuhan Urban Construction Department. One of their colleagues who works at the Bank of China has suddenly lost contact."

The tea master looked solemn, and ordered the guard to pour a glass of water for Liu Qitian, saying, "Drink some water and tell me slowly, what's going on?"

Liu Qitian didn't even bother to drink water and said, "This comrade is the head of the Bank of China branch and is in charge of a group. He was supposed to open a secret account for the Urban Construction Department today, but he missed the appointment. According to the courier, he was taken away directly from the office and had no time to warn his comrades. We don't know how he was exposed or who caught him. Now other comrades in the Bank of China are very passive and don't know whether to evacuate."

Mr. Cha hesitated for a moment and asked, "Have you been to his house?"

"The comrades from the underground organization went there, and there was no surveillance around his home."

"That's strange. If he was really exposed for some reason, the secret agents would definitely search his home. The most important thing now is to find out who arrested him and what happened to him." Mr. Cha thought for a while and said calmly:
"Have the comrades at the bank prepare to evacuate. If there is no news of this comrade within 24 hours, arrange for them to evacuate immediately. In addition, all personnel related to this comrade should evacuate as well."

Liu Qitian sighed and said, "I'll prepare new documents right away."

Struggle is cruel. Many comrades who were exposed had to hide their identities and leave their homes. Even if some of them could stay, they had to break away from their previous lives.

"It would be great if I could contact that comrade." Liu Qitian murmured to himself.

Cha Gong naturally knew who he was talking about. A few days ago, this person shot and killed the defected Li Chunxiang and returned all the funds of the office, but did not leave any contact information.

This person took action again last night and delivered important information about the Chang'an Office.

They analyzed that this person might be a "mermaid" lurking in the secret service, or a kite with a broken string.

"It's a kite. It will come home one day."

Mr. Cha sighed, no longer hesitated, and said decisively: "This involves the funds and secret accounts of the underground organization. It is a serious matter. I will ask my superiors to start the special investigation procedure immediately."

Liu Qitian's expression became solemn. The special investigation procedure was very important. It was to use the highest-level agents lurking within the enemy to obtain intelligence and information. It would only be activated or awakened when it was absolutely necessary or in a major battle.

Because generally speaking, this kind of undercover agent will never be interested in general intelligence other than his own job. Even if his comrades are arrested around him, they cannot show any emotion, but instead applaud and celebrate with the enemy.

As far as Liu Qitian knew, there were such comrades lurking in high-level positions within the country, including the Military General Staff, various war zones, the Pacification Office, the General Police Department, the Secret Service, the Party Affairs Investigation Section, and even in Chang's attendant room. They were all hidden in the court and only played a role in major situations or at critical moments that determined life and death.

"Are the risks and costs too high?" Liu Qitian felt that even if this comrade was important and involved secret accounts and funds, activating a top-level agent would mean the risk of being exposed.
"You may not know that this intelligence team is also responsible for guarding a batch of gold in the Bank of China. This is a matter of great importance. Even if there is risk, this risk must be taken. In addition, the financial work in the border area also requires these talents. We cannot be careless at all."

"Yes, I understand." Liu Qitian understood and immediately arranged for people to be on guard and arrange the sending of messages.

At the Secret Service Office, a man dressed in a thick cotton-padded coat and dressed as a businessman appeared outside the gate.

He took out a cigarette from his pocket in a flattering manner and said to the guard, "Boss, can you help me call someone?"

The guard didn't take the cigarette, looked at him with disgust, and warned: "Leave now, or I will shoot."

The boss took a few steps back in fear, but he did not give up. He hesitated and took out a stack of banknotes from his pocket and said flatteringly, "Boss, I won't make it difficult for you. Just help me make a phone call and find someone. Whether he comes out or not is none of your business."

The guard glanced at the notebook in his hand and asked hesitantly, "Who are you looking for? What's the matter?"

"Zheng Huhe, he owes us money for the bathhouse. In the past, we always paid him at the end of the month, but he hasn't come in the past few days. When I went to his house, the door was locked. The New Year is coming soon, and we run a small business. Boss, please help us."

The guard thought it was something else, but when he heard that it was a debt collector, he couldn't help but sneer. When had the head of the Secret Service ever been given money when he went out to spend money? This old guy is really not afraid of death, and he even dared to come to collect a debt.

"Wait, I'm only responsible for making the call, humph." The guard took the money and put it in his pocket calmly. He nodded to the other guard, picked up the phone, and put on a flattering expression:

"Hello, is this the Operations Department? Is Officer Zheng here? Someone's looking for him, it seems, to collect a debt. Do you want to chase him away? He's right outside the door. Okay, okay."

After the guard finished the call, the businessman waited for a while, and Zheng Huhe, dressed in plain clothes, finally came out.

When he saw the businessman, Old Zheng's face remained calm, but his heart skipped a beat.

This person is his superior, and they have been in regular contact. Now, before the agreed time, he actually came to his house on his own initiative. There must be an emergency.

The phones of the Secret Service are all monitored. Going directly to the door without calling is both confidential and shows that the two people are not familiar with each other.

"Is it worth it? I've been busy with work these days and don't have time to go. It's not like I won't pay." Zheng Huhe pretended to be angry and spoke loudly. He took out a stack of money from his pocket and threw it directly into the businessman's arms.

The money fell to the ground, and the businessman hurriedly picked it up, muttering to himself: "The boss gave me too much, too much."

As he said this, he handed the two bills back to Zheng Huhe.

Zheng Huhe understood what he meant, held a banknote in his palm, threw another banknote out, and said angrily: "Alright, that's it, it's embarrassing, I've never seen you do business like this."

After saying this, he walked into the Secret Service Department without looking back.

The businessman bowed repeatedly, sighed timidly, took the money and slowly left with a hunched back.

(End of this chapter)