My spy diary

Chapter 542 Pushing the Merit to Xiang Rang (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

Four telegrams.

The first report was naturally a notification that the mission to assassinate Yoshikawa Teisuke had been completed.

The second document concerns Niu Zidao, a Red Party undercover agent.

The third document concerns the current situation at Yuzhou Station. The telegram is relatively long, briefly describing the complex relationships within the station and highlighting that Cao Lei, the head of the station's communications department, is arrogant and disobedient.
The fourth document concerns Zhou Entai, a Japanese spy.

Zhang Yi picked up his pen and began drafting the telegram. Li Mulin, the deputy station chief sitting beside him, should have avoided the conversation, but because of Zhang Yi's promise, he was extremely anxious and wouldn't feel at ease until he saw Zhang Yi send the telegram.

Seeing Zhang Yi put down his pen and look deep in thought, Li Mulin quickly made a cup of tea and handed it to him, asking in a low voice:

"Director Zhang, what's wrong?" He winked, thinking he had guessed Zhang Yi's thoughts, and said insincerely:

"Is the matter difficult to handle? After all, I have done little to help."

Those in the know understand their own situation. His position as deputy station chief was a product of compromise and power struggles. He had finally managed to get on Mao Qiwu's side. Having connections in high places makes it easier to get promoted, but without some merit, it wouldn't be acceptable.

Zhang Yi wasn't thinking about that, but since the other party had brought up the topic, he took the opportunity to hand over the telegram.

"This isn't a good idea." Though he declined verbally, his actions betrayed him. Li Mulin took the telegram and quickly began to read it.

The first telegram was naturally a boast. Seeing that Zhang Yi had given all the credit to Monkey and Qian Xiaosan, Li Mulin couldn't help but sigh inwardly. Choice is more important than effort. He wondered where these two got such good fortune to have such a considerate superior.

Feeling envious, he immediately flipped to the second telegram. This one was a request for commendation and instructions, but the credit for capturing Niu Zidao was given to Station Chief Cui Fangping's men. Li Mulin glanced at it a few times, then impatiently skipped over it, eagerly flipping to the third telegram, which he also quickly skimmed over. When he saw the fourth telegram, his eyes lit up. He completely ignored the words "Cui Fangping," blinked, and seemed to doubt that he had read it correctly, asking:
"Director Zhang, what if it weren't for my on-the-spot command?"

"Yes! The reason why we were able to identify and capture the Japanese spy Zhou Entai was firstly because of Station Chief Cui's decisive command, and secondly because of Deputy Station Chief Li's on-the-spot coordination. I was just able to accomplish this thanks to the people involved. How can I claim all the credit?"

Deputy Station Chief Li was overjoyed. He understood Zhang Yi's implication; this was clearly a way of "giving credit."

But why?

Is Director Zhang really that kind?

He carefully observed Zhang Yi's expression, but unfortunately, Zhang Yi's face was serious, and he couldn't glean anything from his expression. So he simply stopped guessing and said bluntly:

"Thank you for your kind offer, Director Zhang. I am deeply grateful. Please tell me if there is anything I can do for you!"

He quickly stood up, adopted a humble and obsequious demeanor, and carefully returned the draft of the telegram.

Talking to smart people is so much easier. Li Mulin's implication:
What are your terms for giving me the credit?
Zhang Yi made no attempt to conceal his intentions, pulled out the third telegram, solemnly signed his name, and pushed it towards Li Mulin:
"I'm telling the truth, aren't I? If Deputy Station Chief Li has no objections, please sign it here. And please also send it to Station Chief Cui for his review."

So that's how it is. They're trying to form a temporary alliance between themselves, Station Chief Cui, and the other two!

Li Mulin suddenly realized that although it was unexpected, it was also within expectations. He could only silently mourn for Cao Lei, the director of the telecommunications department.

He thought to himself, "The nail that sticks out gets hammered down. Blame yourself for relying on your seniority. If I don't punish you, who will?"
You think you can act with impunity just because you have Director Wei from headquarters backing you? What a joke!
If one person says you have a problem, it might be someone else's problem. But if all three people say you have a problem, then you definitely have a problem.

This time, with Zhang Yi, Cui Fangping, and the other two signing their names, it could be described as "arrogant and disrespectful to superiors" at best, and "disobeying military orders" at worst. They would be lucky to escape with their lives.

However, he had no objection. He and Cao Lei were just casual acquaintances, and compared to his own future, this man's life or death was none of his business.

He thought to himself, "I have served as deputy station chief for many years. I have worked hard, though I have not made any great contributions. The reason I have not been promoted is simply because the bureau headquarters has not spoken up for me. Now that I have boarded Director Mao's ship and have made contributions in helping to uncover Japanese spies, I have a legitimate reason to do so. As long as I can bribe Director Mao and get him to say a few good words for me in front of Boss Dai, I can take on the position of director of the Central China Supervision Office."

Having made up his mind, he felt more confident about his promotion this time, so he stopped being coy, readily signed his name, and said:

"Since Director Zhang is so kind, I am willing to follow suit."

Zhang Yi smiled slightly, then called station manager Cui Fangping and invited him over, subtly conveying his intentions.

Station Chief Cui naturally had no objections. Zhang Yi had already given credit to his subordinates for the capture of Niu Zidao, and now that he heard that he also had a share of the credit for capturing the Japanese spy Zhou Entai, it was like a windfall. He was overjoyed and didn't care about the life or death of the Telecommunications Director Cao Lei. He signed his name without hesitation.

The three people completed the transaction and were all happy.

After Zhang Yi sent the telegram, the headquarters replied quickly.

There are several main points.

He praised the great achievement of assassinating Yoshikawa Teisuke and others, but this was only verbal; the specific reward would be determined at headquarters.

Regarding the Red Party infiltrator Niu Zidao, headquarters' instructions were: to execute him secretly, with Zhang Yi overseeing the execution. Additionally, headquarters approved the appointment of the action team leader recommended by the Yuzhou station.

Article 3: Cao Lei, the head of the communications department of the Military Intelligence Bureau's Yuzhou Station, is hereby suspended from all duties and sent to headquarters for investigation.

The last point concerns the Japanese spy Zhou Entai: "Eliminate evil completely."

Zhang Yi looked at the coded telegram, his mind settled, and he handed the telegram to Cui Fangping, whose face was full of hope:

"Thank you for your understanding, Mr. Dai. Let's have our new action team leader."

Upon hearing this news, Cui Fangping was overjoyed. He carefully read through the telegram, passed it on to Li Mulin, and immediately summoned his trusted lieutenant.

This man's surname is Cui, and his given name is Wudi (meaning invincible). He is Cui Fangping's distant cousin.

"Congratulations, Captain Cui."

Upon hearing Zhang Yi announce the appointment, Cui Wudi excitedly stood at attention and saluted.

Zhang Yi returned the salute and said sternly, "Captain Cui, headquarters has given orders that you go and detain Cao Lei immediately."

Captain Cui was taken aback, looking at Cui Fangping with a puzzled expression. Seeing the other party nod affirmatively, he immediately accepted the order with a stern expression:

"Yes. I guarantee the mission will be accomplished."

After saying this, he saluted, trying to calm his excited emotions, before pushing the door open and going in.

Telecommunications Department.

Cao Lei sat calmly on the sofa, drinking tea and reading the newspaper, completely unaware of the impending danger.

In his view, the telecommunications department at the bureau headquarters and the local telecommunications departments had always been self-contained systems, and with Director Wei backing them, he didn't think Zhang Yi would dare to do anything to him.

The telecommunications department does technical work, unlike those roughnecks who just brandish knives and guns. Without me, do the others understand technology? Do they understand detection? Do they know how to decipher codes?
"Get out of the way!" Just then, a shout came from outside the door. Cao Lei frowned and was about to call his secretary in when he heard a "bang" as the office door was violently broken open. Captain Cui led several men and stormed in aggressively.

Cao Lei was taken aback: "What do you want to do?"

Captain Cui sneered, waved his hand, and several agents rushed forward, pinning him down and handcuffing him.

"You insolent fool, do you know what you're doing? This is blasphemy!"

Before he could finish speaking, Captain Cui slapped him across the face:
"Stop making noise. Headquarters orders: immediately detain him and send him to the bureau headquarters for review."

Cao Lei's expression froze: "Headquarters orders? What crime have I committed?"

Captain Cui snorted coldly and said disdainfully, "Of course it's Boss Dai's order. You still have the nerve to call it insubordination? It's not terrible for someone to be stupid, what's tragic is being stupid without realizing it. Take him away!"

Cao Lei's face turned ashen instantly.

Captain Cui strode out arrogantly, with Cao Lei following behind, escorted by plainclothes officers. Along the way, bewildered telecommunications staff peered out anxiously, completely unaware of what was happening.

Just as they reached the stairwell, they encountered Zhang Yi walking towards them with his hands behind his back. Behind him were the two station chiefs, Cui and Li, as well as the two henchmen, Monkey Qian and Xiao San.

"Station Chief Cui, what exactly happened?" Cao Lei struggled in desperation, but before he could finish speaking, he was silenced by a quick-thinking plainclothes officer.

Zhang Yi and his companions brushed past each other without giving him a second glance.

As the group entered the telecommunications department's main office, a group of anxious office staff had already gathered there on their own.

Station Chief Cui feigned helplessness: "As you all have seen, Cao Lei was arrogant and disrespectful to his superiors, and has been dismissed from his post by headquarters. Of course, he brought this upon himself, and it has nothing to do with anyone else."

The brief report was given, and Station Chief Cui pointed out one person to introduce to Zhang Yi:
"This is Major Sun Shengan, currently the head of the reconnaissance team. He's a veteran at the station, highly skilled and experienced. Perhaps we could let him temporarily take over the duties of the telecommunications department?"

Zhang Yi smiled without saying a word. It didn't matter who was the director of the telecommunications department, as long as they could get things done.

He glanced at Team Leader Sun, who was looking downcast and anxious, and asked:
"Have you sorted out Zhou Entai's phone records yet?"

Team Leader Sun was startled and quickly went to the side, rummaged through the files, and respectfully handed them over:
"I have already compiled the instructions from Director Cao Lei."

Zhang Yi gave him a meaningful look, and while flipping through the document, asked, "Any suspicious discoveries?"

“There was a suspicious call from a public phone that went directly to Zhou Entai’s office late at night, but there was no record of the call being made. So I kept an eye on it and not only found all the phone calls made from Zhou Entai’s home in the past six months from the telephone exchange, but also compared them with this public phone call. We quickly made a discovery.” Team Leader Sun stood humbly in front of the group. He answered Zhang Yi’s questions in a clear, logical and respectful manner.

Zhang Yi nodded approvingly: "You know how to use reverse thinking and reverse tracking. You're really good. Your name suits you well. Sheng'an, Sheng'an, you only feel at ease after being promoted. You deserve to be promoted. Has the location of this public phone been determined?"

Team Leader Sun nodded firmly: "That public phone, its location..." He then picked up a military map from a nearby table, studied it for a moment, and pointed to a location, saying:

"Right here, at the west entrance of Renyi Street."

"sure?"

"Sure!"

“Very good!” Zhang Yi nodded and immediately looked at Cui and Li: “In that case, I will trouble Deputy Station Chief Li to take charge and organize the manpower immediately. Join forces with the Military Police Headquarters Inspection Department and the Police Bureau to block off a one-kilometer radius around the west entrance of Renyi Street and await my instructions.”

"Yes." Li Mulin was very satisfied with this arrangement. His initial dissatisfaction and resentment towards Cui Fangping's suggestion that Sun Shengan take over the telecommunications department's work vanished. He glanced at Cui Fangping:

"Webmaster?"

"Do as Director Zhang says," Cui Fangping said with a forced smile. He naturally didn't want to miss the opportunity to make a contribution, but having already gained something, he couldn't be too aggressive now, so he went along with it.

"Yes." Li Mulin smiled slightly and walked away with high spirits.

Zhang Yi then asked Team Leader Sun, "Has the reconnaissance vehicle been returned?"

Team Leader Sun shook his head with a wry smile.

Zhang Yi snorted coldly and looked at station chief Cui Fangping.

Cui Fangping was silent for a moment, then said, "I'll go make a call."

"Thank you for your hard work." Zhang Yi nodded and said to Team Leader Sun:

"Take me to the listening room."

As he walked, he asked, "If there are reconnaissance vehicles, how long will it take to pinpoint the enemy's location if they send out signals?"

Team Leader Sun thought for a moment and said, "As long as we repeat the transmission within half an hour, we can pinpoint the approximate transmission address, and then use methods such as zoned power supply and secretly intercepting signals to determine the exact location of the radio station."

Zhang Yi nodded. This was an old trick: plainclothes officers disguised as household registration police would conduct door-to-door investigations under the guise of registering household registrations. With the attitude of "better to kill a thousand innocent people than let one guilty person go free," they would make a large-scale arrest, casting a wide net and focusing on key targets. Sometimes, it did work.

However, the frequent power outages not only drew complaints from residents, but the Japanese spies, being no fools, also employed the same tactics.

Normally, the Telecommunications Department would mark the streets where radio signals had previously appeared on the map, dividing them into several key areas. Then, plainclothes officers would secretly stake out these areas. Next, they would take turns cutting off the power, forcing the owners of secret radio stations to risk moving the stations in order to transmit.

But this is a protracted war, and if the enemy stops sending messages or uses dry cell batteries, there's nothing you can do about it.

Ultimately, it was due to outdated technology and the inability to pinpoint locations accurately. Unlike later generations, which can locate your home directly with an error of no more than one meter.

As they spoke, the two entered the listening room, where several monitors sat in front of various electronic instruments and listening devices flashing signals, listening intently with headphones on.

"How's it going? Any suspicious signals?"

"No." The monitor took off his headphones, looking dejected.

"Stay alert, keep listening, expand the scope, and don't miss any suspicious signals." Team Leader Sun gave a few instructions, then consulted Zhang Yi:

"Director Zhang, what are your instructions?"

Zhang Yi shook his head, saying that professional matters should be left to professionals.

All he can do now is wait.

He was just curious about what Zhou Entai's online friend was doing.
Can he send telegrams?
(End of this chapter)