My spy diary

Chapter 631 Openly Repairing the Plank Road While Secretly Crossing the Chencang Pass (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

"You accepted it?"

"Your subordinate has accepted it."

Dai Chunfeng was instantly enraged, wishing he could kick Station Chief Tong to the ground. Station Chief Tong, who had followed Dai Chunfeng for many years, knew from Dai Chunfeng's long, stern face and his habitual touching of his nose that this was the prelude to murder. He turned ashen-faced and felt a chill run down his spine. He hung his head, trembling, and said:
"Director, I was wrong. I never intended to accept it. It was Li Jue's brother-in-law. He left the money and left without giving me a chance to speak."

As he spoke, he cursed inwardly, "Damn it! I just got the money, it hasn't even warmed up yet, and they've already sold me out! There must be a traitor. Who is it? When I get back, I'll skin him alive!"

He tried hard to recall the scene at the time. Apart from the secretary, there was only a newly promoted action team leader present. If something went wrong, this person would not be able to escape responsibility.

As he spoke, he nervously raised his head, glancing at Dai Chunfeng's expression while frantically trying to signal to Zhang Yi, hoping Zhang Yi would say a few words of leniency. But Zhang Yi ignored him, his eyes fixed straight ahead, seemingly indifferent to the situation. Station Chief Tong was instantly furious, cursing under his breath:
"You bastard Zhang Yi, you took my money but didn't do any work! Have you no conscience? If I'm not doing well, you won't be either!"

Given Dai Chunfeng's temperament, he would have loved to send Station Chief Tong to the interrogation room right now, but considering that arresting this person would leave him with no one else to use, he forcibly suppressed his anger and asked coldly:

"You didn't tell him about Jiyaxuan's affairs, did you?"

"No, Director, even if I were greedy for money, I would never do such a treacherous thing. I swear, what I just said was the truth."

Seeing his trembling, cowardly appearance, Dai Chunfeng wanted nothing more than to spit on him. He snorted coldly and continued to ask:
"Do you know who else has accepted bribes from Li Jue?"

Yao Zechong accepted it, and Zhao Longwen probably accepted it too, but what became of the two of them now?
I bet the grass on the grave has already sprouted roots.

He didn't know about the others.

Station Master Tong shook his head like a rattle drum:
"This, I don't know."

Dai Chunfeng glared at him, as if muttering to herself:
"This Li Jue, he just gave away ten small yellow croakers without batting an eye. It seems he really made a fortune. Are you sure you haven't told anyone else about Ji Ya Xuan?"

"No, only I know."

Station Chief Tong gradually calmed down and carefully considered Dai Chunfeng's words. Suddenly, a thought struck him: he had been with his secretary and the action team leader the whole time and had no time to leak information. The action team leader must have been in the same situation.

He rushed over as soon as he received Boss Dai's call. Even if the action team leader wanted to report him, a phone call might be possible, but there wouldn't be enough time to submit a formal report. Having ruled out that someone had reported him, Station Chief Tong couldn't help but regret "confessing" so quickly, but words spoken are like water spilled—they can't be taken back.

Just as he was filled with regret, he heard Dai Chunfeng ask, "Li Jue's money is probably obtained through extortion, smuggling, and other illegal means. No matter how well-kept this is, there must be someone in the know. Who else do you think knows the inside story?"

In order to gain Boss Dai's forgiveness, Station Chief Tong was eager to redeem himself and said directly:

"I don't know how Li Jue amassed his wealth. But I suspect it's related to the Garrison Command, and Lu Dawei, the head of the Inspection Department, probably knows something about it."

"Lieutenant Jia, call him immediately and order him to come over."

One to half an hour later, Lu Dawei, the head of the inspection department, walked into Dai Chunfeng's office, panting.

He was also from Jiangshan County, graduated from the Jiangsu-Zhejiang Police Academy, and worked as an inspector in the Inspection Department of the Nanjing Garrison Command.

In order to further strengthen his control over military intelligence work, Dai Chunfeng held "General Staff Headquarters Class B Staff Business Training Classes" at Honggong Temple in Jinling and Huiyuan Street. Most of the trainees were active-duty intelligence staff officers and special agents from Jiangshan.

The class teacher was Zheng Mingyuan, the former director of the Fourth Division of the Second Department of the Military Command, and Wen Qiang, a lieutenant colonel from the Special Service Department, served as the political instructor.

The class was held three times, each lasting six months, and trained a large number of military special agents.

After the training, all of them returned to their original units or were placed in the military staff offices. With the old man's "imperial sword" to "hunt military intelligence, monitor military generals, control and disintegrate miscellaneous troops, and carry out kidnapping and assassination missions," Dai Chunfeng planted a large number of special agents in the military, which is the origin of the investigation room.

Lu Dawei was one of these people.

Before he could catch his breath, Dai Chunfeng, his face dark, grabbed the documents from the table and, using the same method, tricked Lu Dawei into revealing that he had received a total of sixty small yellow croakers from Li Jue on six separate occasions. He also learned from Lu Dawei how Li Jue smuggled and sold them. Not only Lu Dawei, but the entire inspection department was involved, facilitating Li Jue's smuggling activities.

"A bunch of good-for-nothings! I sent you to monitor him, not to collude with him and form an alliance!"

After listening to his account, Dai Chunfeng couldn't help but shudder, realizing the seriousness of the problem, and his thick eyebrows immediately furrowed together.

He wondered if this had always been the case in Jiangshan County, or if it was the same in other places as well.
Could it be that the investigation and oversight system I painstakingly built has become unreliable?
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. Looking at Lu Dawei cowering like an ostrich in front of him, he was so angry that he kicked him to the ground.
"Lu Dawei, you call yourself a fellow townsman? Do you think you've lived up to my trust? A few gold bars and you've let someone buy your soul. If the Japanese gave you money, would you sell yourself out? Sell out the Generalissimo's army and the Kuomintang?"

Lu Dawei was overwhelmed with shame and wished he could disappear into the ground. He prostrated himself on the ground, kowtowing repeatedly.

“Mr. Dai, I was blinded by greed and failed your trust and guidance. I was truly wrong. I hope you will forgive me this time for the sake of our hometown. I am willing to atone for my sins by performing good deeds.”

"Wrong, or scared?" Dai Chunfeng sneered, turned around, and flung a piece of paper from the files on his desk into Lu Dawei's face: "You read it."

Lu Dawei picked up the paper with trembling hands. Upon reading it, he shook even more violently. He opened his mouth, but under Dai Chunfeng's stern reprimand, he finally managed to stammer out the following:

The Military Intelligence Bureau has six prohibitions.

First, no one is allowed to leave the organization without permission (enter standing, leave lying down);
Second, marriage is forbidden during the War of Resistance (those who marry without authorization will be imprisoned for four years without pardon. If both parties are military personnel, both will be imprisoned).

Third, members are not allowed to move freely outside (members are not allowed to contact other organizations without authorization, especially those from the Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics; those who travel privately to other organizations will be confined at best, and prosecuted for leaking secrets at worst).

Fourth, engaging in business is prohibited (competing with merchants for profit is unpopular; special personnel must be law-abiding and focused on their work).

Fifth, embezzlement and bribery are strictly prohibited (anyone who embezzles or accepts bribes exceeding fifty yuan will be sentenced to death).
Upon reading this, Lu Dawei was ashen-faced and drenched in sweat, unable to continue. The next clause stipulated that no one was allowed to go home or stay overnight without permission. Except for one designated day off per week, no one was permitted to leave the office to go home or stay overnight; violators would be severely punished.

Of course, family rules are family rules, but in practice, there are double standards.

Ordinary low-level spies, once reported and with conclusive evidence, would be severely punished immediately; high-level spies, however, were a different story.

The decision on this matter was naturally made by Dai Chunfeng, and sometimes it depended entirely on his mood. For example, last year, Yang Yueting, a female inspector at the Guiyang Post and Telecommunications Inspection Office, was executed on charges of embezzlement for stealing a 50-yuan bank draft. She was pregnant at the time, which can be described as a double loss.

"Recite it? Why aren't you reciting it? Sixty little yellow croakers could kill you a hundred times over!"

Lu Dawei wept bitterly, choking back tears as he said:
"Director, I was wrong. I'm willing to atone for my crimes by reporting Li Jue."

Just as Dai Chunfeng was about to say something, a guard knocked on the door and reported, "General Dai, Lu Shu'er is here and requests an audience with Director Zhang."

"Let him wait!" The guard was yelled at and quickly shrank back.

Seeing this, Zhang Yi spoke up at the opportune moment, offering words of comfort:

"Please calm down, Director. I have something to say."

"What do you want to say?" Dai Chunfeng said irritably.

Zhang Yi shook his head, seemingly wanting to say something but then stopping himself.

Distracted like this, Dai Chunfeng could only suppress his anger, and waved with disgust to let Station Chief Tong and Lu Dawei leave, ordering the guards to keep them under guard.

Once only he, Zhang Yi, and Deputy Jia remained in the room, he said rather irritably:
"Speak your mind, or shut up!"

Knowing he was angry, Zhang Yi didn't take offense and shook his head, saying:
"Please calm down, Director. In my humble opinion, this matter does indeed require careful consideration."

"What exactly are you trying to say, you fussing over and over again?"

"I'm afraid of alerting them and provoking them into a desperate act."

"You mean Li Jue? Even if he had ten times the courage, he wouldn't dare to lay a hand on me!"

Dai Chunfeng scoffed, feigning indifference, but inwardly he was in turmoil. After calmly considering the matter, he realized that Zhang Yi was right; it required careful planning and he couldn't act rashly.

First, we haven't yet obtained evidence of Li Jue's smuggling and trafficking activities. Relying solely on Lu Dawei's statement is insufficient; we need solid evidence.

Secondly, the entire investigation department was involved in this matter from top to bottom. Even if they successfully captured Li Jue, revealing these things would only give their opponents more ammunition to attack them, putting themselves and the Military Intelligence Bureau at a disadvantage.

Thirdly, there was the seized embezzled money. He intended to keep it for the Military Intelligence Bureau's expenses, but if the old man found out, he would misunderstand and think he had ulterior motives. After all, arresting Li Jue required the old man's approval. Even after arresting someone, they wouldn't be executed immediately; instead, they would be taken to the mountain city for trial by a military court. If the old man saw Li Jue's confession, how would he explain himself?

Finally, and most importantly, as Zhang Yi said, this is the garrison of Li Jue's 25th Army Group, where his cronies and henchmen are everywhere. He himself is still in the lion's den. If he alerts the enemy and provokes them into a desperate act, the consequences would be unimaginable.

With this in mind, Dai Chunfeng decided to employ a delaying tactic and devise a strategy gradually. He glanced at Zhang Yi and asked:

"Yunyi, do you have any good ideas?"

"Openly repair the plank road while secretly crossing the Chencang pass!"

"Be specific."

"The previous plan to investigate Jiyaxuan remains unchanged. First, find out if there is any gold there, and how much. Once we have conclusive evidence, we will immediately report to the Chairman and have him order Commander Gu of the Third War Zone to summon Li Jue to the war zone headquarters under the pretext of a meeting. We can arrest him on the way."

"That's not appropriate!" Before he could finish speaking, Dai Chunfeng interrupted him, "The problem is that we don't know the exact amount of gold. Too little is insufficient to convict him, but if the amount is huge, it will cause problems once it's reported."

Zhang Yi understood the implication, but pretended not to understand: "So, what does the Director mean?"

"Let's wait for the results first," Dai Chunfeng said after a moment of silence. "The most urgent thing is that we must leave this place of trouble immediately."

"Won't walking in such a hurry arouse Li Jue's suspicion?"

Dai Chunfeng sneered and said casually, "Suspicion is inevitable. After all, he has a guilty conscience, otherwise he wouldn't have had his brother-in-law bribe Tong Xiang. Since he doesn't want Tong Xiang to continue investigating, we might as well grant his wish and just shoot those soldiers. It will both make an example of them and lull him into a false sense of security."

He let out a burp as he spoke, the result of the alcohol catching in his throat. He took a sip of the water that Deputy Officer Jia handed him and was about to continue speaking when there was a knock on the door. Director Gong had returned.

Dai Chunfeng was somewhat surprised. Director Gong was ordered to inspect the feng shui of the mountains and find a feng shui master, and he had already gotten results so quickly?

He quickly asked, "How did it go? What did the feng shui master say?"

Director Gong sighed and said, "We couldn't find a feng shui master, but I heard that there is a Haihui Temple nearby. The temple is famous for its fortune sticks, and there is an old monk named Liaochen who is very good at interpreting them. It is said to be very accurate."

"Monks can tell fortunes?" Dai Chunfeng was skeptical. He was a firm believer in feng shui and therefore not a big Buddhist, but his elderly mother was a devout Buddhist. After a moment's hesitation, he asked:
"Is it far?"

"It's just a few hundred meters away."

“Then let’s go take a look.” Dai Chunfeng nodded, then looked at Deputy Officer Jia, “Bring Station Chief Tong and Lu Dawei along as well, and see if Buddha can forgive them.”

"Yes." Lieutenant Jia understood that this was to prevent the two from leaking information and alerting the enemy.

Since the temple was not far away, there was no need to take a vehicle; the group walked there under the protection of guards. Zhang Yi was also pushed along by a guard.

Haihui Temple was first built in the 18th year of the Tianjian era of the Liang Dynasty, which was during the reign of Emperor Wu of Liang in the Southern and Northern Dynasties. It was renamed in the first year of the Fu era of the Song Dynasty, and it has been several hundred years since then. Compared with the magnificent temples on both sides of the Yellow River in the Central Plains, Haihui Temple appears small and insignificant, but due to the chaos of war, its incense has continued to burn.

There were no worshippers in the temple at the moment. Guided by Director Gong, Dai Chunfeng went directly into the main hall, first offering three sticks of incense as was customary, and then drawing a fortune stick from the box. He drew the forty-eighth stick, which read:
Day and night I am with my beloved, though I am defeated, I am still honored to serve the Emperor.

Suddenly a strong wind arose overnight; the wind was the rain, and the rain was the wind.
This is an unlucky divination slip, and its interpretation can be summarized in two sentences:
When things are going well, that's when hidden worries are brewing.

(End of this chapter)