My spy diary

Chapter 555 Hospital (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

It goes without saying that Liang Fu "confessed his guilt and accepted punishment".

Meanwhile, after Secretary Liu was arrested, Station Chief Cui Fangping feigned illness and went home, never showing his face at the station again. All matters, big and small, at the Yu Station were handled by Deputy Station Chief Li Mulin, who was naturally beaming with joy, his eyes revealing a hint of barely concealed excitement.

The previous assassination of Japanese spy Yoshikawa Teisuke and others by Zhang Yi had little to do with the Yu Station, but the Yu Prefecture had contributed greatly to the elimination of undercover agents, the arrest of Sato Kenjiro, and the annihilation of the remaining Japanese spy forces in Luoyang. With this as his asset, he, as the deputy station chief, had basically gained control of all the major and minor forces in Yu Prefecture. Now that Station Chief Cui's secretary had gotten into trouble, even if it had nothing to do with Cui Fangping, he could not escape the blame for his lax management and poor judgment of people. If he could secretly push things along and bring down Cui, the station chief's seat would be within his grasp. Li Mulin was full of ambition.

As a result, Li Mulin became very attentive to his plan to lure the enemy. Under his constant urging, Zhang Yi had no choice but to reluctantly check into the hospital and pretend to be a patient.

Zhang Yi's hospitalization was entirely arranged and coordinated by Li Mulin. His daily life was taken care of by a designated person from the Military Intelligence Bureau's General Affairs Department. Whatever he wanted to eat, he only needed to ask, and the subordinates would prepare it exactly as he requested. In addition, Li Mulin also sent two rather attractive female agents to pose as nurses to take care of Zhang Yi's daily needs.

In terms of medical care, the president of Yuzhou First Hospital personally took charge, measuring blood pressure and administering medication and intravenous infusions.

Although it was just acting, Zhang Yi had never experienced anything like this before. He could only say that Xiao Dao had opened his eyes.

"Make the performance complete!" While instructing the hospital not to make a big fuss and to minimize the number of people who knew about it, Li Mulin secretly spread the word that Zhang Yi was injured and hospitalized.

This immediately caused a huge commotion, like stirring up a hornet's nest.

Under the leadership policy of "openness covering secrecy, and secrecy leading openness," the number of open agencies infiltrated and controlled by the Military Intelligence Bureau was countless. These included the Sixth Group of the Second Division of the General Staff Office, the Special Guard Group of the General Staff Office, the Second Bureau of the Police Command, the Special Postal and Telecommunications Inspection Office, the Military Commission's Unified Inspection Office for Water and Land Transportation, the Anti-Smuggling Bureau of the Ministry of Finance, the Direct Tax Bureau, the Freight Administration Bureau, the Passport Section of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Military Attaché Offices in various countries, the General Headquarters of the Army, the Investigation Offices of various war zones and army groups, the Intelligence Staff Offices of the three services, the Inspection Offices of the Garrison Commands of major cities and regions, the Police Bureaus, the Anti-Smoking Bureau, the Investigation Offices of the Aviation Commission in various regions, and so on. Not to mention the numerous secret agencies.

Perhaps Zhang Yi underestimated his influence. Although he faced suspicion from Dai Chunfeng, Mao Qiwu, and others at headquarters, walking on thin ice, those below him had no idea. The most fundamental difference between the upper and lower levels lies in only two things: the control and allocation of resources, and the asymmetric information.

Therefore, those below only saw Zhang Yi rise through the ranks from head of the intelligence section, head of the intelligence department, deputy director of the action department, and finally director of the judicial department, eventually becoming one of the directors of the eight departments of the Military Intelligence Bureau, a person of great prestige, and clearly a favorite and confidant of Boss Dai.

Especially now, having been appointed as a "special envoy" to supervise the anti-espionage operation at the Yuzhou station, and having annihilated the head of the Japanese spy agency in North China, with Yoshikawa Teisuke at its core, his prestige and reputation are at their zenith. At this crucial moment, many scheming individuals are eagerly watching Zhang Yi, trying every means to get close to him and establish a relationship with him.

There's a saying, "Burn incense and pray to Buddha early, don't ask for favors at the last minute." It's not uncommon for well-meaning people to prepare lavish gifts beforehand, using the guise of social interaction to lay the groundwork. However, the mountain city is remote and difficult to navigate; even carrying a pig's head wouldn't guarantee finding the temple. Furthermore, after arriving in Yuzhou, Zhang Yi was busy with official duties and rarely saw him. Those who did occasionally meet him were firmly and righteously refused.

Therefore, many people are frustrated and distressed, not knowing how to make up for this lesson.

Then news suddenly spread that Zhang Yi was injured and hospitalized, which made those who were disappointed but had good intentions overjoyed.

They didn't expect to get promoted overnight by associating with him; at the very least, they wanted to become familiar faces, establish connections, and have their names remembered so that good things would come their way, and at the very least, nothing would go wrong.

In a society based on personal connections, if you want to advance your career, you have to stick close to your superiors.

As a result, Zhang Yicai stayed in the hospital for only a few hours, making the already crowded hospital even more lively and busy.

Officials of all ranks in agencies and units related to the Military Intelligence Bureau, whether open or secret, rarely clashed, as if by prior arrangement, despite the constant flow of people coming and going.

The officials who came to visit Zhang Yi included high-ranking officials such as the director and deputy director of the Inspection Department of the Garrison Command, the director of the War Zone Investigation Office, and the director and deputy director of the Police Bureau. The majority of the rest were section chiefs, captains, and division chiefs from various agencies and units, as well as representatives of various affiliated groups of the Military Intelligence Bureau. They were a diverse group, ranging from fat and pot-bellied to refined and cultured, and from sinister and gloomy.

These people's visits were quite regular. Those of higher rank would swagger in, surrounded by entourage, sometimes with an adjutant or secretary, carrying flowers or fruit and nutritional supplements, openly and legitimately visiting the patient.

Because Zhang Yi had just undergone surgery and was relatively weak, these visits were very short, mostly consisting of a few words of greeting and routine procedures.

The later the arrivals, the lower the official rank. They usually didn't enter through the main gate, but through the back door of the hospital. They had no entourage, and didn't bring flowers or gifts. They were generally lightly dressed, traveling alone. Most of them wore Zhongshan suits, trench coats, or Western suits, and top hats. They came and went in a hurry, exchanging a few pleasantries without saying much, seemingly just to make an appearance and leave their names.

The gifts brought by these people were also different.

For example, the head of the inspection department of the garrison command sent a wild ginseng, which he described as "a rare and precious item shaped like a human-shaped double chicken leg, weighing two ounces, and over fifty years old." Fearing that Zhang Yi and others might not recognize its value, he even gave them some special instructions on how to stew it in soup.

The director of the war zone investigation office delivered imported canned beef.

The police chief gave them cordyceps.

As the saying goes, one cannot hit a smiling face. It was perfectly normal for someone to visit a patient and offer a small token of appreciation, so Zhang Yi reluctantly accepted it.

But the lone travelers who came in through the back door were much less discreet. Although they only showed their faces briefly and didn't say much, they were all incredibly generous, openly pulling out stacks of Chinese currency, US dollars, or gold bars. They were all calm and collected, exuding wealth and showing no sign of rudeness or shyness. Monkey and Qian Xiaosan were dumbfounded.

Qian Xiaosan chuckled and joked, "Hospitals are really great! Look at all these gifts you've received, it's truly an eye-opener. If the Director stayed at a hospital every time he went to a new place, he'd be rolling in money in just a few years."

Zhang Yi, who prided himself on being worldly-wise, was filled with mixed emotions after experiencing this whole ordeal. The money for the gifts ultimately came from the consumer; it was obvious where it all came from.

There were some things he couldn't say, so he feigned anger and scolded Qian Xiaosan: "What nonsense are you spouting! Have you forgotten the rules of the Military Intelligence Bureau?"

Before Qian Xiaosan could speak, Li Mulin smiled dismissively: "No matter how strict the Party discipline and national laws are, they wouldn't hold a grudge against a patient, would they?"

Zhang Yi had no answer, so he had to change the subject to safety and investigation.

It's a good thing that someone is giving gifts, but this has kept Monkey, Qian Xiaosan, and the others responsible for protecting Zhang Yi extremely busy, as they are all on high alert.

The whole thing was a charade, a performance to lure the remaining Japanese spies into a trap. Security was of paramount importance. With so many visitors, a motley crew, no one could guarantee there weren't any lurking Japanese spies or informants among them. If someone were to take advantage of the situation and attempt an assassination, it would be a complete disaster.

Despite their vigilance, they couldn't stop the visitors in order to make the charade real. Therefore, Monkey and Qian Xiaosan were extra cautious. In addition to the visible guards, they also ordered the Yuzhou Station action team to disguise themselves as family members visiting patients, with some even wearing hospital gowns and pretending to be patients.

In addition, they deployed skilled personnel to secretly monitor everyone entering and leaving the hospital, and anyone found to be suspicious was placed under close surveillance.

Then, centered around the hospital, surveillance personnel were secretly deployed in the surrounding streets and alleys to monitor all suspicious individuals.

Two flowers bloom, each telling its own story. On the other side, Akimizu Taro, using the alias Zhang Chenggong, had disguised himself as a merchant and arrived wearily outside Luoyang.

Although Kaifeng and Luoyang are only a few hundred miles apart, their scenery is completely different.

Early summer should be a time of rolling wheat fields and mulberry and hemp fields, but along the way, the field ridges have mostly been swallowed by weeds, rusty hoes are scattered among the cracked yellow earth, and exposed bones can be seen from time to time along the field roads. Wild rabbits dart through the grass, startling a flock of crows that are pecking at carrion.

The bark of the trees was stripped clean, needless to say, it was taken by starving people to fill their stomachs.

The villages we passed through were mostly deserted. Occasionally, we would see emaciated men and women, but we couldn't tell if they were locals or refugees. They were all disheveled and poorly clothed.

Beside them lay two or three corpses that were not yet fully decomposed. These corpses were all incomplete, missing arms and legs. Where had the arms and legs gone? It was self-evident.

Akisui Taro couldn't help but glance at it a few more times, a hint of mockery flashing in his eyes. The Chinese were not as prosperous as the Japanese. They did not cherish their own compatriots and had lost the hearts of the people. How could they not be defeated?

The wide official road leading to the city gate was cracked and overgrown with weeds.

In the cold wind of dusk, four Nationalist soldiers carrying Type 24 military uniforms stood around the fence outside the checkpoint, checking passing vehicles and pedestrians.

Akisui Taro produced his pre-prepared documents and, after paying a pack of cigarettes and several silver dollars, successfully entered the city.

After confirming that he was out of the sentry's sight, Akisui Taro hailed a rickshaw.

"Hongxiu Tower."

A cold wind blew through Luoyang at dusk, and the streets were nearly deserted. Akisui Taro felt that the city seemed unchanged from two years ago. Yet, two years had indeed passed, and upon returning to Luoyang, he had lost his brother. Thinking of his brother, of the heavy responsibility entrusted to him by Osawa Kanjiro, and of Zhang Yi, whom he had never met but whose name was already legendary, his expression darkened.

A person's name, the shadow of a tree.

Although he hadn't yet faced Zhang Yi, he had already heard of this man, listed as the Empire's top assassination target. This man possessed piercing eyes and a cunning nature, far surpassing ordinary Chinese. If his supposed injury and hospitalization were a trap, this mission would be much more difficult.

Akisui Taro took a deep breath, gripped the handrail, and pondered. A cold smile gradually crept onto his lips. He had only one belief in his heart: to kill him, to kill him at all costs.

Even if it means sacrificing myself, I'm willing to do it.

"Sir, the Red Sleeve Pavilion is just at the next intersection." The rickshaw driver's reminder brought Akisui Taro back to his senses.

"Stop the car, I'll get off here." Akisui Taro didn't want to attract too much attention, so he got out of the car early to observe the surroundings and make sure there was nothing unusual before he went to make contact.

Not far away, the signboard of "Hongxiulou" could be seen faintly, with bright red lanterns hanging high, and guests coming and going, laughing and chatting.

Akisui Taro lit a cigarette, looked around to make sure there was nothing amiss, then took out an antique pocket watch from his pocket, tied one end to a button, held the other end in his hand, and walked towards the Red Sleeve Pavilion.

Guided by the tortoise and the slave, he entered a dimly lit private room, ordered a cup of Longjing tea, and had just sat down when there was a knock on the door. A woman appeared outside the screen.

"Did you just arrive in Luoyang today, sir?"

"No, yesterday."

As they were talking, a woman in her early thirties with a beautiful face emerged from behind the screen. She was dressed in a flamboyant manner, but her eyes had a somewhat sinister look.

Just as she was about to light the thin cigarette in her hand, she realized she was out of matches, so she raised the cigarette and gestured for Akisui Taro to light it.

Akisui Taro stared at her for a moment, then stepped forward warily to light her cigarette. The woman glanced at the pocket watch on his hand and said again, "Cherry blossoms fall all over the streets of Tokyo."

"The fragrance of plum blossoms lingers in Kaifeng."

The code was matched. The woman looked him up and down, then exhaled a puff of smoke: "Liu Ying."

"Akimizu Taro." Akimizu Taro bowed and made the successful connection, which greatly improved his mood. He glanced warily at the door. Although the door to the private room was closed and there were only him and Ryuki inside, he still leaned close to the woman and explained Osawa Kanjiro's appointment and mission in an extremely soft voice.

The woman sneered: "Don't be nervous, everyone here is my man, it's very safe. Our Special Higher Police are not as stupid as your North China intelligence agencies, where dozens of people went to assassinate one person, only to fall into someone else's ambush and be wiped out in the end."

The slap made Akisui Taro's face turn somewhat ugly, and at the same time he was very curious about her identity: "Are you from the Special Higher Police? Then what about you and Major Osawa?"

The woman smiled mysteriously, not answering his question, but instead asking, "Tell me, what do you need?"

Akisui Taro stared at her: "Zhang Yi is really injured and hospitalized?"

"That's exactly what the intelligence I received said."

"Where was the bullet hit? Which hospital? What's the security situation?" Akisui Taro's eyes gleamed with ruthlessness as he asked impatiently, "I need concrete information."

“Luoyang First Hospital, but you’ll need to verify the specific security details yourself.” Liu Ying’s tone was indifferent as she reached into her pocket and took an envelope. “Here’s the address of a safe house. Inside you’ll find the radio and weapons you need.”

Akisui Taro took the envelope, pulled it out and looked at it. Inside was a photo of a woman in a cheongsam: "What does this mean?"

"Her name is Meng Shutong, she's my top courtesan. She's contracted syphilis and was admitted to the hospital this afternoon, room 302. You can go and investigate under the guise of visiting her."

(End of this chapter)