My spy diary

Chapter 527 I'm Not a Sick Cat
"Director, look, this was found in Yang Zaixing's home. 'Loyal heart and chivalrous spirit,' Dan means red, so a loyal heart is a red one. Yang Zaixing is showing that he has a sincere heart for the Red Party."

Xu Zeng was stunned, and it took him a moment to react before he burst out cursing, "Idiot! This is the Chairman's handwriting. You can fool yourself with it, but you expect me to use this to fool the Chairman?"

Xu Zeng's attitude was somewhat unexpected for Team Leader Yang. He thought to himself, "Isn't this what we've always done?"
Why is it not working now?
He immediately realized that things might have changed, and mustered his courage to ask, "Director, what happened? Is it that the Tang and Dai people are causing trouble in front of the Chairman again?"

Xu Zeng explained it to him in a few words and concluded: "In the end, without the Chairman speaking, no one can do anything to anyone else."

Team Leader Yang looked at him with a regretful expression.

Xu Zeng'en sensed that he seemed to have something else on his mind, and asked bluntly, "Is there anything else?"

Team Leader Yang glanced around warily, then hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but couldn't.

Xu Zeng understood: "Go to my office."

The two entered the office and, as usual, locked the door.

Team Leader Yang said, "We received intelligence from the Ministry of Economic Affairs that someone within their ranks is suspected of being a member of the Communist Party."

Xu Zeng seemed not to hear him, leaning back in his chair, deep in thought.

He could intuitively guess that the so-called suspicion was questionable. To put it bluntly, it was a fabricated charge. If it wasn't some spy making a bold assumption or spreading rumors, then it was someone seeking personal revenge, deliberately slandering him, and nothing more than trying to gain credit or eliminate dissidents.

After all, the most effective way to eliminate dissidents within the Party is to label an opponent as a "red party member." Xu Zeng'en himself was a master of this, and he was well aware of the intricacies involved.

As is customary, the headquarters will continue to monitor and collect evidence on such intelligence, and will not easily take extreme measures such as arrest.

However, upon hearing that it was the Ministry of Economic Affairs, just as Team Leader Yang had predicted, his expression gradually changed from serious to delighted:

"Is the news reliable?"

Previously, Chang intended to suppress the intelligence forces, but Dai Chunfeng pulled off a "golden cicada shedding its shell," causing the Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics (CBIS) to attract all the firepower. Coupled with the failure to effectively combat the communists, the Chairman was furious and not only rejected his attempt to be promoted to minister, but also promoted two deputy directors to compete with him, leaving him frustrated and helpless, and in a state of bewilderment for a time.

After a period of reflection and careful planning, adhering to the principle of "having your cake and eating it too," he devised a plan to recruit officials—to keep the Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics (CBIS) firmly in his hands while using it as a political springboard to achieve his goal of being promoted to minister.

How to do it? Simply cater to their preferences.

First, it's about opposing the red.

Second, to address current economic problems.

Anti-red is his job, so there's no need to elaborate. As for the economic issues, now that the KMT's territory is only in the southwest, the economic situation is naturally very bad. Prices are soaring, people are struggling to make ends meet, the common people are slandering him, and government staff are also full of complaints. The Chairman is also having a major headache.

Under such circumstances, the Minister of Economy naturally had a difficult time and had long been the target of public criticism.

The Minister of Economic Affairs, Ong Wen-yi, was also from the political science faction, but he was not a core member. Xu Zeng-en took advantage of this and planned to take advantage of this weakling.

Weng Wenyi is a famous geological expert. Xu Zengen thought to himself, "If you, who studied geology, can serve as the Minister of Economic Affairs, then I, a radio expert, cannot."
Of course, it's not so easy to use the excuse of someone's skills being misused or their talents being misplaced to directly remove Weng Wenyi from office and take his place.

While resorting solely to slander and attacks may prove that Weng Wenyi is not good at economics, it may not prove that he is the best person to serve.

Therefore, the most urgent task is to propose a "policy program" to stabilize the economy in light of the current economic situation, so that the wise chairman can see his great talent and strategy in governing the country and gain his appreciation, thus allowing him to take his place.

The problem is that family members know their own business. Xu Zeng'en himself is no better at economics than Weng Wenyi. Moreover, the KMT's economy is now a mess, and even a god couldn't fix it, let alone him.

However, Xu Zeng'en was superior to the old scholar Weng Wenyi in that he knew how to be flexible and adaptable, and how to leverage external forces. After devising a plan, he immediately won over a group of economic experts, and within a few days, he wrote a "masterpiece of the ages".

This is the first step.

The second step, of course, was to use their most proficient espionage methods to smear Weng Wenyi and politically attack him.

Xu Zengen secretly ordered the Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics (CBIS) agents embedded in the Ministry of Economic Affairs to strengthen their surveillance of the Ministry in order to find a breakthrough that could be used to launch an attack, such as whether there were any major corruption and bribery cases in the Ministry of Economic Affairs, or whether there were any Communist Party members or progressive individuals lurking there.

As the saying goes, "When superiors are cunning, subordinates are deceitful; when superiors are busy, subordinates are unruly." Any spy will create trouble even when there is nothing to do, let alone with Xu Zeng'en's order.

Upon hearing Team Leader Yang's confident and certain reply, he immediately ordered, "Arrest them right away!"

He was obsessed with how to bring down Weng Wenyi so that he could realize his dream of becoming a minister as soon as possible. Now that he had a handle to use, how could he let it go?

Once Weng Wenyi is brought down, and I present my "governance and stability" strategy, coupled with the achievements of the "Jiangnan Plan," Mr. Chiang will surely be overjoyed. At that time, I can take the opportunity to bring up Yang Zaixing's matter. Not only will the Minister of Economic Affairs be in my pocket, but I can also use my power to severely dampen the momentum of the Military Intelligence Bureau.

Xu Zeng was feeling quite pleased with himself when he suddenly realized that Team Leader Yang was still there, so he asked:

"Anything else?"

Team Leader Yang pointed to the door: "Director, you just mentioned a mole. I was wondering if the only mole among us is Section Chief Meng's secretary, Chen Jianding?"

Xu Zeng'en's face darkened: "Who else do you think could it be?"

Team Leader Yang gave an irrelevant answer, saying, "Therefore, I have some new ideas for this arrest."

As he spoke, he leaned close to Xu Zeng's ear, his voice gradually lowering.

"Director Zhang, I'm sorry, but could you please hand over the car keys?"

Captain Zhang of the General Affairs Department's Motor Transport Team, along with two others, came to collect a car from Wanglongmen Detention Center.

These words were extremely impolite. Monkey and Qian Xiaosan, who were standing next to Zhang Yi, were furious and immediately wanted to step forward to argue with Captain Zhang, but Zhang Yi raised his hand to stop them:
"Go back."

The two were initially unwilling, but after being glared at by Zhang Yi, they had no choice but to reluctantly step aside.

Captain Zhang gave a soft snort, knowing Zhang Yi was upset. He carefully observed Zhang Yi's expression and said:

"Director Zhang, we are just following the rules, please bear with us."

"Oh." Zhang Yi's expression remained unchanged. He pointed to the jeep the three had driven up and said, "You guys were driving jeeps, weren't you? How impressive! You still insisted on taking my old car back. Doesn't the bureau need more cars?"

"How could we not be short? Team Leader Tang wanted a car, and we couldn't even scrape together enough. Mr. Dai gave us a good scolding for it." Zhang Yi sneered inwardly. This was just Mr. Dai's way of getting back at Tang Heng. He immediately took out his keys and said calmly:
"It seems like there's something wrong with my tires. Should I take it to a repair shop first, and then have someone return it once it's fixed?"

"The tire is faulty? Just replace it!" Captain Zhang remained unmoved and walked over to get the keys, but Zhang Yi beat him to it: "Oh right, I just remembered, there seem to be some of my personal belongings in the trunk. Let me take them out first."

Captain Zhang and his two attendants exchanged glances, their eyes gleaming, and said with a smile, "You're the officer, so let us do this rough work for you."

Zhang Yi remained silent and walked towards the trunk on his own. Captain Zhang and the other two followed him warily, watching his every move.

As Zhang Yi inserted the key into the trunk lock, he said:

"No need, these are personal belongings, I'll handle them myself." He said, pretending to strain the trunk key. "Hey, why isn't this key working?"

"Let me do it, Director Zhang," Captain Zhang said impatiently, stepping forward.

"Hey, I don't believe in this nonsense." Zhang Yi blocked him aside, and with a forceful pull, the key broke in two with a "crack".

Captain Zhang was so angry that he couldn't speak when he saw the broken key in Zhang Yi's hand.

Zhang Yi smiled sheepishly: "Never mind, let's take it to the repair shop first."

His actions, in Captain Zhang's eyes, were undoubtedly a blatant attempt to cover something up. His suspicions deepened, and he said with a forced smile, "What's the big deal? It's just unlocking a door. Watch me."

As he spoke, he pulled a thin wire from his pocket, twisted it into a hook, and poked it into the keyhole, smiling smugly, "Three seconds, watch closely."

Zhang Yi remained silent, standing firmly to the side.

The iron hook was inserted into the keyhole and pulled back and forth. In just a few seconds, not only did the half of the key fall out, but with a "click," the hatch lid popped open, revealing a gap.

Captain Zhang noticed some clothes and a license plate inside, so he reached in to remove them. Suddenly, the hatch fell down and hit his hand.

"Ouch!" Captain Zhang winced in pain.

Zhang Yi quickly lifted the compartment lid and asked with concern, "Are you alright? I told you I could do it myself, why did you..."

Captain Zhang cursed inwardly, but said aloud, "I just wanted to help." Having already said that, he had no choice but to finish the act. He pretended to take out the clothes and license plate, and asked suspiciously, "Chief Zhang, you have quite a few spare items here, right? License plates and clothes, what are they for?"

"You're an amateur, aren't you? You naturally need to bring extra supplies for a mission." Zhang Yi smiled as he took the clothes. Seeing Captain Zhang's eyes still darting around the trunk, he feigned ignorance and asked, "What are you looking for? Weren't you here to collect the car? Why are you so interested in the trunk?"

Captain Zhang sensed something was wrong and quickly explained, "I was just checking to see if it was clean inside, and whether we needed to clean it later."

“I don’t like to waste words.” Zhang Yi sneered, taking everything out of the trunk, even tearing off the felt tarpaulin covering it. Captain Zhang quickly went over to look; it wasn’t exactly clean, but it didn’t look like it had been specially cleaned either. Undeterred, he was about to reach in to check for dust when Zhang Yi suddenly pulled down the trunk, pinning it to Captain Zhang’s hand, and calmly pulled out a gun, pressing it against Captain Zhang’s head.

Captain Zhang shuddered, but managed to remain calm and said:
"Zhang Yi, what are you trying to do?"

This sudden turn of events startled his two henchmen, who instinctively reached for their guns. Monkey and Qian Xiaosan reacted swiftly, stepping forward and kicking the two men to the ground.

Zhang Yi said coldly, "Captain Zhang, I've already given you enough face for Boss Dai's sake. If you want the car, go ahead, but if you're trying to smuggle something in, that's pushing your luck. Do you really think I'm a pushover that you can manipulate?"

"Calm down, Director Zhang, no, Section Chief Zhang, I don't understand what you're saying. I really just came to pick up my car!"

"Have you seen what's in the trunk? Do you want to take another look?"

"No need! I've already seen it clearly, there's nothing there."

Zhang Yi stared at him for a moment, which made Captain Zhang feel intimidated. Then he asked, "Did you really see it clearly?"

"I saw it clearly now!"

Zhang Yi's cold demeanor vanished, and he smiled as he holstered his gun: "Then drive the car back. I won't see you off."

"Yes, yes, yes." Captain Zhang hurriedly agreed and got into the car, looking disheveled.

Upon returning, he immediately ordered his men to thoroughly inspect the car again, but still found nothing. He had no choice but to call Mao Qiwu.

A few minutes later, He Shangyou, who had been informed, looked gloomy. He wondered to himself, "Does Zhang Yi have a spare vehicle? But where can I find one?"
Just then, the phone on the table rang.

He Shangyou answered the phone, and a happy expression quickly appeared on his face: "Okay, see you at the usual place."

'To awaken means to expose oneself.'

Yang Wei, a specialist and director of the research office at the Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics, leaned back in his chair, looking somewhat tired and solemn.

During their previous meeting, He Shangyou promised that if he honestly worked for the Military Intelligence Bureau for a year, he would release his daughter.

For his daughter's sake, he had no choice but to agree.

But the more he thought about it after returning, the more frightened and terrified he became. Was being a spy really that easy? Chen Jianding was a graduate of the Military Intelligence Bureau's training program and was well-trained, yet he still couldn't escape being arrested. How could a scholar who couldn't even kill a chicken guarantee his own safety?

Yang realized that the road ahead was becoming increasingly difficult.

Just moments ago, while he was reporting his latest theoretical findings in Xu Zeng's office and trying to inquire about Meng Zhen's deeds, Team Leader Yang suddenly arrived, looking hesitant to speak. To avoid suspicion, he voluntarily withdrew.

After returning home, he paced around his office restlessly for a couple of minutes. Hearing a noise outside, he grabbed a kettle and went outside.

Passing by Team Leader Yang's office, I saw that the door was tightly closed, and two plainclothes officers were obediently guarding the door.

"Teacher Yang, shall we go fetch some water?"

"Yes," Yang replied perfunctorily, and was about to leave when the office door opened. Team Leader Yang nodded to him, then hurriedly left with several plainclothes officers who couldn't hide their excitement. Before leaving, he specifically instructed the plainclothes officers at the door to clean the room and destroy anything that needed to be destroyed.

Two plainclothes officers immediately went inside, and the door closed again.

Seeing this, Yang Wei understood that these people must have gone on a mission. As for who they were arresting, it was undoubtedly a member of the Communist Party.

But how could they obtain the intelligence, and how could they leak it to He Shangyou?
(End of this chapter)