My spy diary

Chapter 550 Confession (Part 2)

"They want to blow up the armory?"

"probably."

"Should I have given her the blueprints?"

"Yes."

Li Mulin pondered to himself, "Since Guan Ayue has already obtained the blueprints, why haven't they been found on her or in her home?"
Has the blueprint already been sent out?

Suppressing the thought, he snorted coldly: "Liang Fu, Liang Fu, putting aside your identity as a soldier, as a Chinese person, we can't do this. The two armies are facing off, a major battle is imminent, and our soldiers are without weapon support. Have you thought about the consequences? Tell me, what benefits did they promise you?"

"Ten gold bars."

These words surprised Li Mulin: "You sold yourself for ten gold bars? That can't be right, there were more than just these things seized from your house."

“You can’t say that.” Liang Fu also seemed helpless. “When I took over the armory, it was a mess. The accounts were a complete mess. Sitting on that powder keg, I was worried every day, like I was walking on thin ice. I couldn’t sleep soundly, afraid that it would suddenly explode one day.”

Li Mulin understood. Generally speaking, when a new official takes office, there are only a few ways to "expand territory": one is to follow the old rules and regulations, and keep everything the same, so that everyone can be happy.

Secondly, he started afresh, cutting ties with his ex and past events decisively, wiping the slate clean of all old grievances.

The third option is to build upon the work of predecessors, patching up, repairing, modifying, or expanding upon what they have left behind.

This approach often has several possibilities: it can either add to someone's success or kick them when they're down.

How can I show that I'm more capable than you if I don't overthrow everything you've done?

But thinking about it is one thing, doing it is another. If the former is brought down, then everything can be started over. But often the former is promoted and is looking down on you. If you make any move, you will be attacked by everyone.

Therefore, many officials are overwhelmed when they first take office. Faced with the mess left by their predecessors, do you cover it up, wipe the mess, or uncover it?
Clearly, Liang Fu chose to blend in with the crowd.

"So, the Japanese were interested in it, and you fanned the flames, blowing up the armory to end it all? It conveniently covers up your embezzlement and crimes, you bunch of parasites!" With a long sigh, Li Mulin slammed his fist on the table in anger. He thought to himself that if the armory was blown up, all the mess would disappear, and the beneficiaries would naturally be happy and probably want to clap their hands in delight, but the Military Intelligence Bureau would have to clean up their mess.

Then, remembering that Liang Fu's predecessor had been promoted to deputy director of the Military Police Headquarters' Inspection Department, and that he was a confidant of Commander Tang, the deputy commander of the war zone, he suddenly felt a headache coming on and said irritably:

"Is there anything else that hasn't been explained?"

Liang Fu suddenly couldn't help but laugh: "Deputy Station Chief Li, you seem a little...dejected."

Li Mulin snorted coldly, "Go about your business."

Liang Fu thought for a moment and said, "Before you came, I received a mysterious phone call. The caller told me that Guan Ayue had been arrested."

"A mysterious phone call?" Li Mulin's heart skipped a beat. "Can you tell who it is?"

Liang Fu shook his head.

Li Mulin asked a few more questions, but when he couldn't get any other valuable clues, he had someone take him away and went to report to Zhang Yi himself.

"Aside from providing blueprints to the Japanese spies, we know nothing else. As for that mysterious phone call, I've already had someone investigate it." Li Mulin became increasingly puzzled as he spoke, speculating, "Although our capture of Guan Ayue was quite a commotion, it's impossible for the enemy to happen to be nearby. So I suspect there might have been an internal leak?"

"Any suspects?"

"not yet."

“Then let’s investigate slowly. As Boss Dai once said, patience is a hunter’s best weapon; a fox will always show its tail eventually,” Zhang Yi comforted him, then changed the subject, “Is there a safe house at Yuzhou Station?”

"There are a few, but they haven't been used for a long time. What does Director Zhang mean?"

“No matter who that person is, just in case, first move the arrested people to a safe house and keep the news within a limited scope. If something still happens, then keep an eye out for who in the station is paying attention to this matter. If they inquire about it, then they are suspects.” Zhang Yi’s expression was unusually serious.

"Understood. What if Station Chief Cui gets involved?"

"Keep it a secret, from everyone."

Li Mulin understood immediately and was about to go make the arrangements when a plainclothes officer came running over with a delighted expression.

"Deputy station chief, Director Zhang, Zhou Entai has agreed to confess."

This is good news. Zhang Yi and Li Mulin exchanged a glance:
"To the interrogation room."

The prolonged pain and torment almost completely consumed Zhou Entai. Not only his body was in danger, but his mind was also in turmoil, and the pain from his addiction to cigarettes was even more unbearable.

He lay on the ground, barely alive, his hand trembling as he reached for the cigarettes outside the railing, but he couldn't reach them. He could only tilt his head and whimper, "Let me have one puff, just one puff, I'll tell you anything."

The two plainclothes guards, like cats playing with a mouse, deliberately placed the cigarettes within his reach, then moved them when he eagerly reached for them, constantly giving him hope and then disappointing him.

Upon seeing Zhang Yi and Li Mulin enter the interrogation room, they trembled and knelt down as if they had seen a lifeline:
"I'll tell you everything."

"Can you trust the words of a drug addict?" Zhang Yi said, playing the good cop.

"What if? Why don't we give it a try?" Li Mulin played the good cop, looking down at him condescendingly: "Your superiors have all been arrested, do you still have any leverage?"

"Yes, I have, I still have chips, courier." Zhou Entai mumbled incoherently, tears streaming down his face, his eyes glazed over, as he struggled to his feet. "Quick, let me have a smoke."

Li Mulin smiled wryly and nodded to the plainclothes officer.

Soon, plainclothes officers brought over a tray with a pipe on it.

Zhou Entai grabbed it impatiently, lay down on the ground, and silently closed his eyes. After exhaling a cloud of smoke, he let out a long sigh.

Seeing this, Li Mulin ordered the plainclothes officer to retrieve the opium pipe, looked him over, and said with a smile:
"Alive?"

Zhou Entai stretched and sat up, his eyes still a little dazed.
"much better."

"Then tell me, I'll ask and you answer."

"Row."

"Name, code name?"

"My real name is Morikawa Kakusuke, codename Rabbit."

Upon hearing this code name, Li Mulin couldn't help but laugh: "There's an old Chinese saying that a rabbit's tail can't grow long. It seems you're destined for this fate, unable to escape your doom." Zhou Entai smiled helplessly: "I am Chinese."

Li Mulin was stunned: "A Chinese person?"

Zhou Entai said earnestly, "Yes, I am from Taiwan." After a pause, he explained, "But I only found out after I came to Yuzhou."

So, you mean you always thought you were Japanese when you were in Taiwan?

Zhou Entai sighed, "Yes, that's what I've always thought since I was a child."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yi and Li Mulin immediately understood that they had been completely enslaved and transformed.

Since the Japanese army occupied Taiwan in 1895, in order to consolidate its colonial rule and eliminate the national consciousness of the people, it began to promote a series of enslavement movements. The core of these movements was to force the people to identify with Japanese culture and the rule of the Emperor through cultural and educational means, to forcibly designate Japanese as the "national language" and prohibit the use of Chinese, to stipulate that Japanese was the only language, to weaken national identity through linguistic infiltration, to encourage people to adopt Japanese names, and to carry out identity transformation. After several generations, the true history has long been distorted and buried in the dust of history. Who still remembers their original identity and belonging?
Zhang Yi snorted and interjected, "Taiwan is naturally an inseparable part of China, but whether you are Chinese is another matter. The core of judging whether a person is Chinese lies in the unity of national identity, ethnic identity, and cultural identity, rather than simply whether they speak Chinese. This identity is the result of the combined effects of historical inheritance, emotional belonging, and realistic choices."

You served the Japanese invaders, aiding and abetting their atrocities, and now you're a prisoner, and you remember you're Chinese? Where were you before? Don't try to be friendly, confess your crimes.

Zhou Entai gave an awkward smile, changed his sitting posture, and changed the subject:

"Yes, yes, I am guilty of a terrible sin, I deserve to die. What do you want to know? I will tell you everything I know."

Li Mulin nodded in satisfaction: "Tell me about your superior, that Huang Zhong."

"His name is Sato Kenjiro, codename Field Mouse, and he was my instructor at the spy school."

"Instructor?" Li Mulin seemed thoughtful, then had someone bring over portraits of Guan Ayue and Shi Xiong, and asked:
Do you recognize them?

"I don't know them!" Zhou Entai shook his head, then thought for a moment and said, "Perhaps they are people who came from later in the organization, and I don't know them either."

Li Mulin's face darkened, and she interrupted him sharply: "Didn't you just say you still had some chips and knew some liaison officers?"

Zhou Entai instinctively shuddered: "I know someone, and I think he is."

He hurriedly explained that he had been assigned to infiltrate the school, but one day a strange rickshaw driver stopped him on the street, gave him the pre-arranged wake-up signal, and took him to see Sato Kenjiro.

Did you see him again after that?

Zhou Entai shook his head in frustration.

Li Mulin was furious: "Stop talking nonsense. Is this the bargaining chip you're talking about?"

“I can help you find the person. I have been trained in shorthand and I remember what he looks like.”

Li Mulin remained noncommittal. Even if the courier had not disguised himself and shown his true face, even if a portrait of him were drawn, finding him in the vast sea of ​​people would be like finding a needle in a haystack.

Furthermore, now that Sato Kenjiro has been arrested, anyone who isn't an idiot would have already changed their identity and gone into hiding.

However, thinking that he might as well try anything, he still had someone summon the portrait artist.

After leaving the interrogation room, he thought for a moment and asked Zhang Yi:
"Director Zhang, what's your opinion?"

“I observed him carefully just now, and he wasn’t lying. The key now is to find this courier or get the others to talk.”

“Yes, once we find the courier, we’ll find the rest of the fish.” Li Mulin wanted to say something more, but suddenly saw Station Chief Cui arrive, followed by two men. Glancing at their faces, he changed his tone and whispered:

"Trouble is coming."

Both men were in military uniform, one a colonel and the other a major. The one leading them went straight to Li Mulin, flashed his identification, and acted aggressively.

"Where is Liang Fu? We want to see him."

Li Mulin glanced at Station Chief Cui and said firmly, "Liang Fu has betrayed the country and is currently being interrogated. No one is allowed to see him."

The colonel in the lead, around forty years old, with a square face and a serious expression, asked: "Do you have any evidence?"

“Deputy Station Chief Li, you should know what it means to frame an officer during wartime, right?” The major next to him was young, a pretty boy.

Each person offered a comment, causing Li Mulin to look around anxiously. How could something with irrefutable evidence be turned into a frame-up?

But if he asked himself honestly, he wasn't guilty at all. Liang Fu had already confessed, so what else could they do?

However, these two men were from the war zone command, and he knew perfectly well what they were up to: they wanted to shut Liang Fu up and cover up their shady dealings.

He snorted coldly and said disdainfully, "You can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want. Liang Fu has already confessed, and the evidence is irrefutable. If you want to see him, you can produce your warrant."

The two men were momentarily stunned, exchanging bewildered glances. They hadn't expected the Military Intelligence Bureau to act so swiftly, and secretly cursed Liang Fu for being a spineless coward. They didn't care whether Liang Fu had defected to the enemy or betrayed the country, as long as he didn't speak recklessly. As for the arms depot matter, they figured it should remain unresolved within the country.

When Liang Fu was arrested, the bosses behind the scenes panicked and were furious. They made several phone calls and finally found out that it was the Kuomintang's intelligence agency that arrested him. They immediately sent people to silence him. The two of them were woken up by the phone call in bed. They didn't even have time to clean their eyes. How could they have any warrants?

The square-faced man was silent for a few seconds, then said with a dark expression, "The warrant will be provided later, please give me some face."

Li Mulin said sternly, "I'm sorry, Colonel Liu, the Military Intelligence Bureau has its own rules. I can't give you that kind of face."

Zhang Yi shook his head, too lazy to pay attention to these two uninvited guests, and said to Li Mulin, "Let's go."

The young man hadn't expected the man surnamed Li to be so difficult to deal with. He was seething with anger and had nowhere to vent it. When a stranger spoke up, he immediately seized the opportunity to bully him: "And who are you? Don't you know how to salute your superior?"

Zhang Yi blinked. He had initially remained neutral, but it was clear that "when the city gate catches fire, the fish in the moat suffer." Since the pretty boy was so oblivious, he didn't mind teaching him a lesson. He glanced at Station Chief Cui, who was watching the show from the sidelines:

"Station Chief Cui, where did this scoundrel come from, relying on his master's power?"

Cui Fangping feigned helplessness: "I'm sorry, Director Zhang, I forgot to introduce you." He then coughed and solemnly introduced himself to the two of them:
"Gentlemen, this is Director Zhang of the Judicial Department of the Military Intelligence Bureau, a major general."

The square-faced man and the pretty boy exchanged bewildered glances, their hearts sinking. How did they manage to attract the attention of the Military Intelligence Bureau headquarters? Not to mention that the Military Intelligence Bureau's Inspection Office had the authority to supervise troops and enforce discipline during wartime, the head of the Military Intelligence Bureau's Judicial Department also served as the Director of the Military Law Enforcement Office. Could his arrival at this time mean that the matter concerning the armory had already alarmed the higher-ups?

Seeing the two men looking somewhat stunned, Zhang Yi snorted coldly: "What, don't you know how to salute your superior?"

The two men snapped out of their daze and saluted respectfully, saying, "Excuse me, Director Zhang, we didn't know you were you."

"Now you know? If you know, go back and tell the people behind you that Liang Fu has betrayed his country and the evidence is irrefutable. No one can save him."

After saying that, Zhang Yi gave the two of them a cold look, then left with his hands behind his back.

(End of this chapter)