My spy diary

Chapter 541 Personnel (Seeking monthly votes)

"Selling shredded tofu, spiced shredded tofu."

"Selling spiced tofu strips!"

It was supposed to be a nice morning. Sato Kenjiro set off early in the morning with his load on a shoulder pole, wandering around Zhou Entai's neighborhood, enthusiastically hawking his wares.

Everything around him was normal. To his left was Zhou Entai's house, and to his right was a public telephone booth.

According to his agreement with Morikawa Yonsuke, if the operation succeeded, Morikawa Yonsuke would ring the bell twice and hang up, twice in total. If not, it meant something had gone wrong.

Sato Kenjiro waited anxiously.

Suddenly, two cars drove across the street, accompanied by a sharp screech of brakes, and stopped on the street not far from Zhou Entai's house. Several plainclothes officers hurriedly got out of the cars and walked quickly toward them.

His heart sank: "The Military Intelligence Bureau."

problem occurs!
Something had indeed happened. With the sound of a gunshot, the entire Military Intelligence Bureau's Yuzhou station was immersed in a tense and anxious atmosphere.

A meeting was then convened.

As the two station chiefs walked into the conference room with grim faces, all the attendees, regardless of their emotions or thoughts, immediately stopped whispering and sat up straight.

It's important to understand that these people are all heads of various departments, each with at least a dozen undercover agents and plainclothes officers, plus various informants—it's quite a large group. When they're in the mood to show off, they're all incredibly arrogant.

But at this point, everyone fell silent.

It wasn't just because the two station chiefs looked unfriendly, but also because of the news that Station Chief Cui had just announced—Niu Zidao was a Communist Party spy and Zhou Entai was a Japanese spy.

Both men were exposed and captured because of the arrival of Director Zhang from headquarters. This was more than just a show of force; it was a direct slap in the face.

The heads of all the departments were on tenterhooks, but Station Chief Cui's questioning, or rather his angry outburst, had only just begun.

"You all consider yourselves elites, with so many eyes and ears under your command, yet you've still been infiltrated. Are you all incompetent? You bastards, you idiots! I think you should all quit and go home to farm! Why is no one saying anything? Where's your energy from going to brothels and playing around with women? You talk about resisting Japan and opposing the Communists all day long, but there are spies lurking among you. Are you all blind?"

Faced with the station chief's cursing and questioning, not one of the department heads or section chiefs dared to utter a sound. It wasn't necessarily fear—who among them didn't have connections and background?—but these seasoned veterans knew perfectly well that Station Chief Cui, newly appointed and caught off guard and humiliated by Director Zhang, was now frustrated and angry, and would definitely drag someone out as a scapegoat. Whoever spoke first would be the damned scapegoat.

Of course, there are still some stubborn ones.

"Stationmaster, as you know, this Zhou Entai was introduced by Stationmaster Yue," Fu Xiaodong explained with a look of fear. Before he could finish speaking, Cui Fangping interrupted him:

"'I trust you to handle things,' you said that, didn't you? You were the one who had Zhou Entai buy the spicy soup, weren't you? And you personally brought it to the conference room, weren't you? I didn't believe there was really poison in the spicy soup at first, but look what happened? The dog in the interrogation room only ate a few bites and then died. How do you explain that? You should be grateful."

Before he could finish speaking, the conference room door was pushed open, and Zhang Yi walked in expressionlessly.

As soon as he entered, everyone inside stood up with a "whoosh".

After entering, Zhang Yi sat in the main seat. Station Chief Cui dismissed his secretary and personally brewed a cup of tea for the section chief, who was much younger than himself. He carefully placed the cup in front of Zhang Yi and then stood respectfully beside him, waiting for instructions.

It's not surprising; everyone has a desire and need to be praised. Cui Fangping believes Zhang Yi is no exception. He just wants to get rid of this "plague god" as soon as possible.

Zhang Yi gave Cui Fangping a meaningful look, nodded, and waved his hand, saying:

"Everyone, take a seat."

After everyone sat down, he picked up his teacup, glanced at it, and gently put it down, saying half-jokingly and half-seriously, "This tea isn't poisoned, is it?"

It was a joke, but no one dared to laugh, and it wasn't funny.

When Zhang Yi noticed Cui Fangping's slight frown, he changed the subject: "Of course, there's no need to be overly suspicious. Has Zhou Entai's situation been reported?"

"It has already been reported."

"Hmm." Zhang Yi nodded, his sharp gaze sweeping over everyone in the conference room: "What's everyone's opinion on this matter?"

silence.

Zhang Yi remained unperturbed by the silence. Although the title of today's play was conceived by Zhou Entai and the Japanese spies behind him, he was the screenwriter, director, and lead actor.

Zhou Entai's poisoning assassination attempt, which appeared to be a chance encounter, was in fact a long-planned ambush.

Now that he has come forward, we should follow the trail and wipe out the spy organization behind him.

“Zhou Entai works in the General Affairs Department, so Section Chief Fu, you go first.” Seeing that no one was willing to speak first, Zhang Yi called on Fu Xiaodong.

Fu Xiaodong, pale-faced and terrified, said, "Director Zhang, this Zhou Entai was introduced by Station Chief Yue. I really can't believe he has such audacity."

*Bang!* Before he could finish speaking, Zhang Yi slammed his Browning pistol on the table and said coldly, "Say something useful. If you keep shirking responsibility, I'll kill you."

Fu Xiaodong shuddered and quickly said, "Yes, this Zhou Entai's mind is not on the station; he likes to dabble in the black market."

"Enough!" Zhang Yi interrupted him coldly: "Chief of Intelligence."

Intelligence Chief Hui Kaidong jolted awake and nervously stood up: "Chief Zhang, do you have information on Zhou Entai's movements over the past three days?"

“This…” Hui Kaidong was speechless.

"Telecommunications Department".

Cao Lei, the director of the telecommunications department, was the most senior member of the station. He appeared calm and composed as he slowly rose to his feet. When he opened his mouth, his tone was gentle and deliberate, but his words were sharp and pointed: "We've been gathered in the conference room since this morning. I wonder what Director Zhang wants to know? I'll have someone investigate now."

Zhang Yi was naturally uncomfortable when his fist, as big as a sandbag, missed its mark. He looked at him sharply and said, "I need to know all the phone calls Fu Xiaodong made in the past three days, including the time and location."

Cao Lei slightly raised his eyelids: "I'll go check it out now."

"Next question, has the Telecommunications Department detected any suspicious signals recently?"

"No," Cao Lei answered decisively.

"As far as I know, Yuzhou Station was only equipped with the latest telecommunications detection vehicle last year, right?"

Cao Lei said helplessly, "That's true, but the reconnaissance vehicle was borrowed by the Military Police Headquarters Inspection Department."

Zhang Yi stared at him for a moment, then waved him away: "I'll give you half an hour to check the phone records and get the detection vehicle back."

Cao Lei didn't say anything, and turned to leave.

The people present were taken aback by Director Cao's unexpected tough stance.

Zhang Yi's face remained calm, but inwardly he was seething with rage. However, remembering that this person was still useful, he suppressed his anger and let out a silent sigh.

"Let's adjourn the meeting here for now. Station Chief Cui and Deputy Station Chief Li, please stay."

After everyone left, Zhang Yi sighed deeply, "Why is it so difficult to do anything?" Then, looking at Cui and Li with a sincere expression, he said, "You two have worked hard."

The two nodded in agreement.

The conference room fell into silence.

Cui Fangping seized the opportunity and said, "It's time to thoroughly clean up the ranks."

Personnel matters are politics. As the top leader, the most important thing is to control personnel and finances. But he's an outsider, a newcomer, and can't afford to make any big moves; he can only proceed gradually. But now that Zhang Yi has brought it up, he doesn't mind Zhang Yi acting as the scapegoat, while he himself fuels the fire from behind the scenes. According to regulations, the station chief and deputy station chief, the main responsible persons, must be directly appointed by the bureau headquarters, and adjustments to others also require approval from higher authorities, but the power to recommend districts rests with the top leader. One person, one position; if others don't step down, how can his own people rise? Without his own people, how can he effectively command them?

Deputy Station Chief Li Mulin was startled and began to ponder. Zhang Yi had raised the sensitive topic of personnel matters. On the one hand, it was a well-intentioned reminder; on the other hand, it was meddling too much. Although he was from headquarters, this was ultimately an internal matter for the Yuzhou Station.

Furthermore, the station chief actually agreed. What is this outsider trying to do? Is it out of public interest, or is he taking the opportunity to fight among himself? He probably wants to promote the people he brought with him.

Just as I was thinking this, I heard Zhang Yi say, "By the way, what was the name of that person who went to capture Niu Zidao before? He seemed to be a capable person."

Upon hearing this, Station Chief Cui immediately understood: "He has been with me for three years, always in charge of fieldwork, and he is very responsible."

“Hmm.” Zhang Yi nodded: “Since the position of action team leader is temporarily vacant, we might as well let him temporarily fill in, after all, there’s work to be done.”

Cui Fangping sized up Li Mulin: "What does Deputy Station Chief Li think?"

Li Mulin was naturally unhappy. The action team leader was leaving, but there was still a deputy team leader. Just as he was about to say, "Shouldn't we reconsider?", he saw Zhang Yi give him a barely perceptible wink. Although he was a little puzzled, he said, "I agree."

Cui Fangping finally showed a satisfied expression.

Zhang Yi smiled, glanced at his watch, stood up and said, "Shall we go to the interrogation room now?"

Cui Fangping readily agreed and got up to walk outside. Li Mulin also got up to walk outside, but Zhang Yi grabbed him and said, "By the way, I need to send a telegram to headquarters. Could you please send me a radio if I ask Deputy Station Chief Li to do the same?"

"Yes."

Seeing that Zhang Yi was about to send a telegram, Cui Fangping left first, and a little while later Li Mulin brought the radio back.

Zhang Yi gestured for him to sit down and casually asked, "I heard you know Director Mao?"

Li Mulin felt a hint of pride: "I am grateful for Director Mao's trust. I only hope to make a difference at Yu Station and not disappoint him."

Zhang Yi smiled and glanced at him: "Oh, so you're one of Brother Qi Wu's men. You should know that he used to hold a position in the Inspection Office, right?"

"Yes, I know."

"Well, in that case, how about I recommend you to concurrently serve as the director of the Central China Inspection Office of the Military Intelligence Bureau?"

Li Mulin was flattered and quickly stood up to express his gratitude respectfully: "Thank you, Director Zhang. Regardless of whether things succeed or not, I will be extremely grateful. Actually, you don't know that before you came to Yuzhou, Director Mao specifically sent a telegram instructing me to do my best to assist you in your work."

Zhang Yi smiled without saying a word. Once Li Mulin became the director of the Central China Inspection Office of the Military Intelligence Bureau and the deputy station chief of the Henan Station, he would have the right to supervise Cui Fangping, but he would also have to be under Cui Fangping's leadership, cooperating with each other while also checking and balancing each other. There was no better way to control people than this, and he believed that his superiors would agree.

(End of this chapter)