Spy wars start with lurking Secretary Hong

Chapter 482 Old Qiu Won't Live Long

Security Bureau, Director's Office.

Miao Futian picked up the phone on the table, his fingers spinning rapidly on the dial, making a clicking sound.

"Come to my office."

The phone was slammed shut as soon as he finished speaking.

Soon, the office door was pushed open, and Chen Jingyu strolled in slowly with his hands in his pockets.

Seeing his listless appearance, Miao Futian gave a half-smile and asked, "What's wrong? Not in a good mood lately?"

Chen Jingyu slumped onto the sofa and let out a long sigh.

"Director, please stop teasing me."

He raised his hand and rubbed his temples, his face full of annoyance.

"Although Zhang Chunyuan used to make things difficult for me in every way, he still had to be mindful of your feelings and dared not go too far."

"Now look what's happened, Qiu Daqiang has arrived, that guy is carrying Director Ma's imperial sword directly."

"He reports directly to Director Ma now; our Security Bureau is practically his backyard."

Chen Jingyu grew angrier as he spoke, took out a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and took a deep drag.
He treated everyone in the bureau like cattle, always acting mysteriously, and no one knew what he was up to.

"Sigh, it seems like we've all become sidelined idlers."

Miao Futian slowly poured him a cup of tea and pushed it towards him:
"They are the emperor's disciples, so we can just bear with it."

He suddenly changed the subject, his eyes revealing a shrewdness like that of an old fox.

"But I think this old Qiu is just a grasshopper in autumn, he won't be able to jump around for many more days."

Chen Jingyu's hand holding the teacup froze in mid-air. He knew that Miao Futian was always shrewd and never spoke without a purpose.

He immediately leaned closer and lowered his voice: "Director, what do you mean by that?"

Instead of answering, Miao Futian asked, "Why is Lao Qiu so powerful now?"

Without hesitation, Chen Jingyu replied, "Is that even a question? Of course, it's because Ma Wendong values ​​him and promoted him."

“That’s right.” Miao Futian nodded, then asked, “Then why did Ma Wendong give Lao Qiu such an important position?”

"They want to use Lao Qiu to deal with Hong Zhiyou, right?" Chen Jingyu replied.

Miao Futian picked up his teacup and gently blew on the steam.
"That's the situation, but you have to see things clearly."

"You need to know the inside and out, what kind of person Ma Wendong really is."

"He's not a madman like Shibuya Saburo. He's the son-in-law of Ōmura Takuichi, and his headquarters are in the South Manchuria Railway. He came to Harbin for one thing: to make money."

"Think about it, would a businessman whose mind is full of money be interested in something as thankless as catching red notes or fighting the Anti-Japanese United Army?"

"Have you heard?" Miao Futian suddenly asked with a smile.

Chen Jingyu was stunned for a moment: "What?"

“Last night, Ma Wendong released Hao Guifang.”

Miao Futian stared at him and said, enunciating each word clearly, "What does this mean?"

Chen Jingyu's mind raced, and his eyes lit up instantly.

“It means…” he drawled, his tone filled with sudden realization, “that Hong Zhiyou and Ma Wendong are far from being at each other’s throats. They… they’ve reached some kind of tacit understanding!”

"That's my guess." Miao Futian nodded approvingly.

Chen Jingyu followed up with his analysis: "That's right! Ma Wendong and Hong Zhiyou are businessmen at heart. There is only interest between them, not right or wrong."

"The conflict between Shibuya Saburo and others stems from a clash of beliefs and ideologies that is irreconcilable."

"Anyone who thinks that Ma Wendong came to take Hong Zhi's life is sorely mistaken."

"Actually, this principle is not hard to understand." Miao Futian snorted coldly, his tone filled with disdain. "It's just that some people are so arrogant that their eyes are blinded by greed."

Chen Jingyu immediately understood: "Old Qiu... is attached to appearances."

"He took a trivial matter as a big deal, and saw himself as the vanguard of the anti-flood and anti-piao movement." Miao Futian's tone was icy. "He thought he had found a powerful patron, but in reality, he was courting death."

"How many people are involved with Hong Zhiyou? Isogai Rensuke, the Prince, and Murakami, Wei Huanzhang, and others."

"If we were to vote him out, it would be a huge, earth-shattering event."

"At that time, the entire upper class of Harbin will be involved, and neither you nor I will be able to escape."

"Ma Wendong is a smart man. Would he not have thought of this? Would he take such a huge risk for Qiu Daqiang?"

Chen Jingyu nodded repeatedly: "Yes."

"Actually, I've thought about it for several days and still can't figure it out."

"Old Qiu was able to come down from the mountains unscathed and live a life of luxury entirely thanks to Hong Zhiyou's intervention. He was also Gao Bin's informant, so logically, he had no reason to turn around and accuse Hong Zhiyou."

Miao Futian's face revealed a mocking smile:
"Humans are selfish."

"Old Qiu is the kind of person who has a narrow mind and is short-sighted."

"He probably thought that by taking down Hung Chi-yau, he could rely on Ma Man-tung to rise to the top and take the position of police chief that he had always dreamed of, or even my position."

He waved his hand, bringing the topic back on track.

"I called you here because Director Ma gave me instructions."

"Old Qiu got a red ticket; it's said to belong to a very important person."

"Director Ma means that you will be the deputy interrogator and supervise Lao Qiu's interrogation throughout the entire process."

Miao Futian emphasized, "We must never again allow cases like Zhang Chunyuan's, where confessions were forced out of us under torture and signatures were coerced."

Chen Jingyu was completely stunned, his face full of bewilderment.

what is this?
In dealing with Shibuya Saburo, I clearly stood on Hong Zhiyou's side.

Logically speaking, one should be grateful that Ma Wendong, the newly arrived director, doesn't see him as a thorn in his side and try to get rid of him.

How come... he's been entrusted with such an important task?
He wanted to put himself in charge of supervising Lao Qiu, whom he trusted most?

"Director, what...what does he mean?" Chen Jingyu asked, raising an eyebrow.

Miao Futian chuckled dryly: "You'll have to figure out the intricacies of this yourself."

Chen Jingyu stood up, full of doubts, and had just reached the door.

"Wait a minute," Miao Futian called out to him.

"Director Ma has one more thing to say."

"Report any developments in the interrogation directly to him; you don't need to report to me."

Old fox!
Chen Jingyu returned to his office and did not rush to the interrogation room.

He sank into the sofa, crossed his legs and propped them up on the coffee table, then pulled out a cigarette from his pocket, shook it out, and lit it.

Amidst the swirling smoke, he squinted and fell into deep thought.

It took a tremendous amount of effort from Boss Dai to secretly infiltrate the upper echelons of Harbin.

There were clear instructions before departure.

They lay low, waiting to make a great contribution when the country was restored.

Chen Jingyu wanted to laugh when he heard that.

What does it mean to have performed a miraculous feat of restoration?
This instruction is utter garbage!
Intelligence operatives, if they don't take action and achieve anything, are they just waiting for a meteorite to fall from the sky and kill the Japanese, so that we can finally achieve liberation?
He was a member of the Kuomintang's Military Intelligence Bureau, not someone who came to watch the Japanese soldiers perform a brutal massacre of their compatriots.

So when Wu Jingzhong came to Northeast China and painstakingly built the Manchuria Station, Chen Jingyu approached him without hesitation.

He knew even better that Hong Zhiyou was one of his own.

A truly intelligent and resourceful person who has the potential to climb to the top in the murky waters of Northeast China.

Compared to secretly gathering trivial information in the Security Bureau, protecting Hong Zhi is far more valuable.

Now that he and Hong Zhiyou are in the same boat, Ma Wendong's arrangement is quite intriguing.

There are two meanings to this.

First, it's a test of oneself.

Secondly, does he want to use himself to check and balance Lao Qiu, and indirectly protect Hong Zhiyou?
The newly arrived director did not want to destroy Hong Zhiyou.

Or rather, he simply didn't want to get involved in any messy stuff related to red tickets.

But given his status, there are many things he can't say or do openly.

As for being appointed as the deputy judge, Ma Wendong knew very well that he couldn't just stand by and watch Lao Qiu pin the blame on Hong Zhiyou.

This was exactly what Ma Wendong wanted.

Thinking of this, Chen Jingyu stubbed out his cigarette and got up to walk towards the interrogation room.

……

Inside the interrogation room, a strong stench of blood mixed with the smell of sweat filled the air.

Fu Jun, hanging on the rack, was covered in blood, his disheveled hair covering most of his face, only his eyes still revealing an indomitable fierceness.

Old Qiu slowly walked in, carrying a food tray.

He looked at Fu Jun's miserable state, but a smile remained on his face:
"Old Fu, we're old friends. You know better than I how tough life was for the Anti-Japanese United Army, even dogs couldn't make ends meet."

"Look at me again." Old Qiu deliberately dusted off his suit.

"White rice every meal, and plenty of meat and wine."

"After eating and drinking to our hearts' content, we go to the brothel to sleep with the prettiest women. Isn't that a wonderful life?"

As he spoke, he placed several fragrant dishes and two bowls of white rice from the rice drawer onto the interrogation table.

He then took out another wine jug and filled it with Fu Jun's favorite liquor, baijiu.

The aroma of wine instantly filled the air.

"Come on, have a drink to warm yourself up."

Old Qiu pretended to push the wine bowl away.

Fu Jun spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva and cursed, "Shameless scoundrel! Traitor! Dog of a traitor!"
"I should have shot you, you bastard, when I was on the mountain!"

Old Qiu sneered and sat down nonchalantly: "Stop talking nonsense. Whether you're hungry or not, whether you miss women at night, only you know."

He picked up a piece of fatty, juicy braised pork and stuffed it into his mouth, eating until his mouth was full of oil.

"With just those few broken guns from the Anti-Japanese United Army and the 'brilliant guidance' of those idiots from the Manchurian Provincial Committee, do you really expect to defeat the Japanese?"

Stop dreaming.

"Actually, we all know very well in our hearts, so why do you needlessly risk your life?"

Old Qiu picked up his wine bowl, took a sip, and let out a satisfied sigh.

"Old Fu, I'm only giving you this advice because we're old friends. Don't be ungrateful."

He pointed at Fu Jun with his chopsticks.

"I just want to know two things."

"First, what exactly do you want to do by coming down the mountain this time?"
"Secondly, I know about the germ warfare incident. Your main force didn't suffer any losses at all. Someone must have tipped you off in advance."

Old Qiu's eyes turned cold.

"At that time, on the mountain, only Hongzhi and I knew that the medicine was poisonous."

"Tell me, is that person Hong..."

Before he could finish speaking, the door to the interrogation room was pushed open.

Chen Jingyu walked in carrying a folder, patting it absentmindedly: "Old Qiu, did I disturb you?"

Old Qiu put down his wine bowl and frowned: "Is there something you need?"

Chen Jingyu smiled.

He walked slowly to the table, pulled out a chair, and sat down by himself: "I've come to help you interrogate the prisoner."

"No need, I'm better at interrogating criminals than you are," Old Qiu decisively refused.

"According to the rules, the daily affairs of each department of the Security Bureau must be reported to me, the director of the secretariat, and then I will compile them and submit them to Director Miao."

“Especially in cases like torture, a deputy interrogator must be present, and the entire interrogation process must be recorded.”

Chen Jingyu looked at Lao Qiu and spoke slowly and deliberately.

"Old Qiu, you're new here, so you might not be familiar with many of the regulations."

He pushed the folder in his hand over.

"These are the regulations. I brought them to you specifically. You can take a look at them first."

"In addition, considering that you may not be used to it or may not remember it all at once, I have decided to participate as a co-juror throughout the entire process."

"That way, if you encounter any inconvenience, you can ask me anytime, and I can offer you assistance."

Old Qiu's face darkened:

"Hehe, Old Chen, if you want a drink, I can treat you another day. As for the interrogation, there's no need for you to come. There are some things that are not convenient for outsiders to know."

"Old Qiu, this is the Security Bureau. I am the director of the secretariat, and I am responsible for the daily work."

Chen Jingyu's smile remained unchanged, but the weight of his words had increased.

“In terms of rank, I’m your superior. If you’re not comfortable with the word ‘help,’ we can use ‘guidance’ instead.”

guide!

Old Qiu's anger flared up instantly.

He slammed the bowl down on the table with a loud bang.

"Chen Jingyu, you were the first to jump out when Zhang Chunyuan was reviewing the red tickets last time."

"It's the same again! Are you hiding something?"

Chen Jingyu smiled, a smile that held a profound meaning.

Old Qiu is shrewd enough, but unfortunately, he doesn't quite understand the rules of the workplace.

"Old Qiu, last time Zhang Chunyuan was tortured into confessing and framing his colleagues, which ultimately led to the extermination of his entire family."

Chen Jingyu's eyes suddenly turned cold.

"Old Qiu, you don't mean to follow in the Zhang family's footsteps, do you?"

He leaned forward slightly, staring into Lao Qiu's eyes: "With me here, I can keep an eye on things for you, so you don't accidentally go down a dead end or a crooked path."

"Or are you determined to frame me today? Is that why you find me, the deputy judge, an eyesore?"

Old Qiu was speechless with anger at his words, his face turning ashen. He pointed at Chen Jingyu and shouted, "You!"

Chen Jingyu ignored him and snapped his fingers toward the door.

"Someone is coming."

A clerk walked in carrying a tape recorder and skillfully placed it on the table.

Chen Jingyu leaned back in his chair and gestured with his chin towards Lao Qiu.

"Old Qiu, we can begin our interrogation."

Old Qiu's chest heaved violently as he stared intently at Chen Jingyu, but in the end, he couldn't utter a single word.

He slammed his hand on the table and stood up abruptly.

"Keep a close eye on him!"

"No one is allowed to touch the prisoners without my orders! Otherwise, don't blame my gun for being merciless!"

After saying that, he glared at Chen Jingyu, opened the door, and left angrily.

Chen Jingyu sneered inwardly, "A dying man is utterly foolish!"
……

In the afternoon, just as Hong Zhi was about to leave work, Zhou Yi called him back.

"Let's chat for a while."

Once inside the office, Zhou Yi closed the door, his expression grave.

"When an important comrade from the mountain came down to collect grain, he was betrayed by his entourage."

"Now, the person has fallen into Lao Qiu's clutches and is very likely to be detained in the Security Bureau."

Zhou Yi continued, "This comrade is named Fu Jun, and he's the number three in the Fourth Brigade. Old Qiu arrested him, most likely because of the drug incident last time."

Hong Zhi exhaled a smoke ring: "If he's after the medicine, then he's courting death."

Zhou Yi pondered for a moment, and immediately understood his meaning.

He nodded: "Old Qiu has already tasted the sweetness of being an official and enjoying a life of luxury. I heard that he is now very powerful in the Security Bureau and has surpassed Miao Futian."

"They're trying to use you as a pledge of loyalty so they can climb the ranks. They're quite ambitious."

Hong Zhi rolled his eyes at him.

Zhou Yi is a bit like Lao Yu; he always likes to subtly stir up trouble from time to time.

Zhou Yi continued, "There are two things to do now."

"First, how do we get Old Fu out?"

"Secondly, the anti-traitor squad should also take action. We need to find a way to lure Lao Qiu out. Of course, we also need to consider whether doing so will put you in danger."

In order to protect Hong Zhiyou and avoid arousing excessive suspicion from Shibuya Saburo, Political Commissar Zhou postponed the assassination of Lao Qiu.

Now, they have to consider the same thing.

"can."

Hong Zhi nodded.

"However, we need to let this matter ferment further."

"Ma Wendong is a very steady person. He only cares about the interests of the South Manchuria Railway and himself."

"People like him wouldn't want to deal with a madman like Shiro Ishii."

"Old Qiu wants to investigate this matter..."

Hong Zhi flicked his cigarette ash and laughed disdainfully:
"He won't live much longer."

……

(End of this chapter)