Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Changjin Lake, a Hundred Battles, a Hundred Victories

Chapter 166 The Kite No Longer Breaks Its String
Upon hearing the other person's name, Chen Ming suddenly realized that he remembered a TV series he had watched before called "Kite".

The drama features a Communist Party agent named Zheng Yaoxian, codenamed Kite, who infiltrated the Fuxing Society, the predecessor of the Military Intelligence Bureau, in 1932.

Nicknamed Sixth Brother of the Military Intelligence Bureau, or Sixth Devil.

Based on the fact that Zheng Yaoxian was shown as their own green on the map, Chen Ming was already quite confident.

"I never imagined that the world I've come to would not only have 'Bright Sword' and 'Snow Leopard', but now even 'Kite'. I wonder what other familiar faces I'll meet," Chen Ming thought to himself.

Zheng Yaoxian stared blankly at Chen Ming after he asked for his name, seemingly puzzled.

However, he did not disturb Chen Ming's thoughts. This was a person he admired and respected who had commanded one major battle after another on the battlefield, making the Japanese devils cry for their mothers.

He was a hero and a comrade whom Zheng Yaoxian sincerely admired.

If he hadn't been a member of our Party infiltrated into the Military Intelligence Bureau, he would have joined the cause of resisting the Japanese invaders, just like countless compatriots who traveled thousands of miles to the Eighth Route Army's base areas.

After a while, Chen Ming finally spoke up: "Zheng Yaoxian, a good name. The team you lead is very elite. It's not an insult to the name of the Military Intelligence Bureau that Boss Dai has someone like you under his command."

"Colonel Chen Ming, you flatter me. It is anti-Japanese heroes like you who I should admire. I was just a nobody," Zheng Yaoxian said.

His words were full of sincerity, without the slightest hint of pretense.

"Everyone has their own expertise. That's why I've been relying on you for my safety these past few days. The Japanese hate me to the core and want to assassinate me 24/7."

Chen Ming said with a smile, without a trace of worry in his tone, showing no regard for the Japanese soldiers.

This calm and composed demeanor earned Zheng Yaoxian's even greater respect.

"Comrade Weilun, give me one of the gifts we brought," Chen Ming said to one of his entourage members.

This is the comrade Li Weilun, who was dispatched by headquarters to accompany Chen Ming this time and is well-versed in business.

Originally, his family was in the textile industry, but after the invaders came, Li Weilun resolutely sold his family property and used the money to buy supplies to join the resistance against Japan.

Deeply disgusted by the corruption of the Nationalist government, he chose to join our party.

"clear."

Li Weilun took a long, exquisitely packaged box from his entourage, opened it, and took out a command knife.

This is a field officer's sword that the Independent Detachment seized after annihilating the Kawasaki Battalion. It doesn't have any special meaning, but it's perfect as a stepping stone.

Chen Ming is currently under constant surveillance by the Military Intelligence Bureau.

If Boss Dai knew that Chen Ming had given a Japanese officer's sword to the Kuomintang agent he had just met today, he would know Chen Ming's purpose.

"Mr. Zheng Yaoxian, this is a field officer's sword that I captured after leading my team to annihilate a Japanese battalion. I'm presenting it to you today as a gift to express my gratitude," Chen Ming said with a smile.

Zheng Yaoxian stared blankly at the officer's knife in Chen Ming's hand, not understanding Chen Ming's meaning.

Zheng Yaoxian, a member of the Military Intelligence Bureau, knew very well the value of the Japanese officer's sword. If he were to sell it, it would definitely fetch several thousand silver dollars, and there would be a lot of people vying to buy it.

“Protecting anti-Japanese heroes is my duty. I cannot accept your gift,” Zheng Yaoxian quickly refused.

“Mr. Zheng Yaoxian, you don’t need to be so polite. I have many more Japanese military knives of this caliber. It’s just one knife, nothing special,” Chen Ming said.

Upon hearing Chen Ming say "there are still many," the quick-witted Zheng Yaoxian immediately understood why Chen Ming had given him a sergeant's sword.

After understanding the implication, he said, "Yaoxian, you are unworthy of this honor."

After delivering the officer's sword, Chen Ming and his entourage entered the hotel.

After arranging for people to provide close protection for Chen Ming, Zheng Yaoxian went to Boss Dai's office.

"Sixth Brother is back? You followed that Communist Chen Ming the whole day. What do you think of him?" Boss Dai asked after seeing Zheng Yaoxian return.

Zheng Yaoxian did not speak, but placed the officer's knife that Chen Ming had given him on Boss Dai's table.

Boss Dai showed no surprise at the appearance of the military knife.

His informants are everywhere, and everyone has been informed of everything that happened in front of the hotel today.

“This is a military knife that Chen Ming gave me, but from what he said, it should be a gift for you,” Zheng Yaoxian said.

Boss Dai glanced at the military knife and wrote down a number on a piece of paper.

"Keep the military knife. Give this to Chen Ming of the Communist Party; he should know what it means."

After saying that, he handed the note to Zheng Yaoxian.

Zheng Yaoxian opened it and saw that it contained the number three.

"clear."

"You still haven't answered me. What do you think of Chen Ming, this Communist?" Boss Dai continued to ask.

“He’s a very capable Communist,” Zheng Yaoxian said.

Mr. Dai was somewhat dissatisfied with Zheng Yaoxian's answer.

"Sixth Brother, you must understand that the Japanese devils are nothing but a minor ailment; the Communist Party is the real threat to the Party and the country."

“The student understands. The student is just lamenting that such a capable general became a Communist and could not be used by the Party and the country,” Zheng Yaoxian said.

"It's good that you understand," Boss Dai said. "Alright, you can go now. I'll think about it."

Zheng Yaoxian left.

Meanwhile, Boss Dai was calculating in his office how much money he could make.

It has been 42 years now, which is the time when Mr. Dai began to make money like crazy.

Boss Dai is no good. He talks about serving the country and calls others parasites, but in reality, he's competing to see who can sell corruption and make a fortune from the national crisis.

Based on this, Chen Ming gave Zheng Yaoxian a cleaver as a stepping stone.

The Military Intelligence Bureau (MIB) now wields considerable power, controlling wartime smuggling networks and leveraging its privileges to establish a nationwide black market smuggling network.

They not only engaged in smuggling in the Kuomintang-controlled areas, but also colluded with the Japanese and traitors to smuggle goods and profit from the national crisis.

If they wanted to exchange the largely useless military knives for medicines to save the soldiers' lives and weapons and ammunition to fight the Japanese in the mountain city, they couldn't get past Boss Dai.

Rather than letting him sell strategic materials to the Japanese, it would be better to exchange those materials for useless military swords and use them to fight the Japanese.

In a residential house in a mountain town.

Several Japanese Special Higher Police agents gathered together and had a heated discussion.

"We fell into the Kuomintang's ambush this time, losing so many of the Empire's elite, and we didn't even get to see Chen Ming of the Eighth Route Army. It's a disgrace!"

"There's no other way. The higher-ups have given a death order: we must kill Chen Ming, the empire's greatest enemy, in the mountain city. We have to carry it out, even if we know it's a trap set by the Military Intelligence Bureau. We have to take the gamble."

"But now that the assassination attempt has failed, the Chinese soldier Chen Ming has been placed under tight protection, and the hotel is now filled with Kuomintang agents, making another assassination attempt almost impossible."

"We must find a way. This is our only chance. If we let this empire's greatest threat escape, we will never have another chance."

"As you know, the Independent Detachment Headquarters in China has always been a forbidden area for the Special Higher Police. No matter how many agents we send there, they never return," a Japanese soldier said dejectedly.

"But now we have lost a third of our available personnel, especially combat personnel, which are less than half of what they used to be, leaving us severely understrength."

"We must find a way. If we can't kill Chen Ming, the empire's greatest threat, in the mountain city, we will all be sinners against the empire."

"Gentlemen, the time has come to serve His Majesty the 'Heavenly Locust'," a Japanese soldier said, standing up.

Upon hearing this, all the other Japanese soldiers stood up and took the oath.

Inside the hotel.

For the past few days, Chen Ming has stayed in the hotel and hasn't gone anywhere else.

He knew that the Japanese were plotting to kill him, and that his hotel was surrounded by countless red dots—Japanese spies and agents. He knew that if he went outside, he would inevitably face endless attacks.

Chen Ming was a man who valued his life. The revolution had not yet succeeded, so how could he be allowed to perish here?

Zheng Yaoxian then handed Boss Dai's note to Chen Ming.

Chen Ming wasn't very knowledgeable about business matters, so he entrusted the entire process to Comrade Li Weilun.

It can only be said that professional matters should be handled by professionals. Comrade Li Weilun lived up to the important task entrusted to him by the organization, successfully securing more profits and turning three into two.

Don't underestimate the power of a simple change in the number one; it can directly or indirectly save the lives of thousands of soldiers.

"Comrade Weilun, you've worked hard these past few days," Chen Ming said sincerely.

Upon hearing this, Li Weilun quickly replied, "For the sake of the revolution, all the hardships are worthwhile."

There was not a trace of falsehood in Li Weilun's words.

During these few days, he had to navigate between various forces, which was both dangerous and arduous. He almost died several times from assassination attempts by the Japanese.

But he felt it was all worthwhile, and he felt very fulfilled every day.

The organization entrusted him with such an important task. He carried not only his own burdens, but also the responsibility to dedicate himself to the great revolutionary cause. Even if he had to sacrifice himself for it, it would be worthwhile.

All he asked for, if he were to sacrifice himself, was to complete the important task assigned to him by the organization before he died.

A day later, under the organization of Allied representatives, negotiations began regarding the Japanese reconnaissance planes that had been captured.

During the negotiations, various important figures appeared one after another.

I cannot go into the specifics.

All that is known is that after the event, the Allied forces will transport a batch of medical supplies and some production technology to the base.

The Eighth Route Army will hand over the captured Japanese aircraft to the Allied forces.

Chen Ming made a request: the supplies must be delivered before the aircraft can be delivered.

This was Chen Ming's way of preventing Shancheng from detaining him.

By taking advantage of the Allied forces' urgent need to obtain Japanese aircraft and flight data, they prevented Yamashiro from easily detaining them.

The battalion commander is good at internal warfare but incompetent at external warfare.

For the sake of their international reputation, even after failing to win over Chen Ming, they still had no intention of detaining him.

He was furious at what had possessed Chen Ming, that he could refuse such extremely generous offers and be so determined to follow the Communist Party.

Chen Ming would never be recruited by the captain. He was trusted by the organization, so how could he possibly get on this broken ship of Shancheng?
However, although he failed to win over Chen Ming, he was not discouraged and still used the tactic of sowing discord.

Thus, the three gold beads and three horizontal stripes on Chen Ming's collar turned into a plum blossom star.

At the same time, they took this opportunity to publicize Chen Ming's achievements to the media, emphasizing Chen Ming's rank in the National Revolutionary Army.

If winning him over doesn't work, then we'll try to sow discord. As long as Chen Ming is suspected within the Eighth Route Army, we'll still have a chance to win him over.

Unlike Li Yunlong, Chen Ming was not an unregistered resident with no official status.

Although the independent detachment's organizational structure was not recognized by the Nationalist Army, Chen Ming personally held a military rank.

He was a legitimate, officially employed cadre, unlike Li Yunlong and Ding Wei, who were completely unregistered.

So there's no problem with this promotion.

Of course, headquarters was aware of this promotion, and the instruction they received was just one sentence: "Eat the sugar-coated shells, and fire the cannonballs back."

The headquarters knew perfectly well what tricks the mountain city was playing.

Chen Ming is a good comrade; he wouldn't doubt his comrades because of such methods.

If Shancheng thinks he can corrupt a loyal revolutionary fighter with such petty tricks, he is sorely mistaken.

Afterwards, Chen Ming stopped the Allied representative.

"Mr. Smith, please wait a moment."

"."

An hour later, Chen Ming, Li Weilen, and Smith parted ways, satisfied.

On the way back, Li Weilun smiled and said to Chen Ming:
"I never expected these foreigners to be so bold; they'd sell anything for money."

“Of course, they are a capitalist country. If they have money, they would even dare to sell the rope to hang themselves,” Chen Ming said.

"Yes, but their country is indeed powerful. They even dared to say that if we can afford it, they can even ship a fresh ice cream from across the ocean."

"I wish our country had such powerful productivity," Li Weilun remarked.

"It will happen. One day, we will surpass Western capitalist countries, achieve a great rejuvenation, and stand at the top of the world again," Chen Ming said confidently.

Chen Ming's confidence inspired Li Weilun, filling him with excitement.

A strong nation and prosperous people are the aspirations of countless patriots!

Not long after Chen Ming and the others left, Commander Yan also left Representative Smith's office with a satisfied expression, clearly having obtained what he wanted.

With Commander Yan's trip to the mountain city having achieved its purpose, it meant that Chen Ming could embark on his journey back to the base.

After his trip to the mountain city, Chen Ming was well aware of the Japanese invaders' madness.

He has survived countless assassination attempts in the past few days.

One after another, Japanese agents rushed to their deaths, while Zheng Yaoxian steadfastly fulfilled his duty as a "bodyguard," smiling as he reaped the lives of the Japanese soldiers.

After witnessing the madness of the Japanese soldiers, Chen Ming made up his mind to go back and go with Commander Yan.

With this life-saving expert by my side, my safety is greatly guaranteed. Surely Shancheng can't possibly kill Commander Yan too.

On the eve of leaving the mountain city, Chen Ming met Zheng Yaoxian again, and this time he gave Zheng Yaoxian a fountain pen.

No one suspected anything this time; Zheng Yaoxian simply regarded it as a parting gift.

Boss Dai, on the other hand, was busy counting his money.

This time, he not only used the Japanese's willingness to do anything to assassinate Chen Ming as bait, but also dealt a heavy blow to the Japanese spy system in the mountain city, earning him a commendation from the battalion commander.

They also made a considerable amount of money, a truly fruitful outcome.

However, after Zheng Yaoxian returned to his residence and carefully examined the fountain pen that Chen Ming had given him, he suddenly realized something was wrong.

In a very hidden place, two small characters were carved: "Comrade!"
Zheng Yaoxian felt a chill run down his spine. He realized that his concealment skills were not good enough and that his identity had been discovered.

He maintained a single-line contact, with only one person knowing his identity, while the others remained unaware.

But then, I felt a deep sense of comfort.

Chen Ming's word "comrade" made him feel that all the hard work and grievances he had endured over the years were worthwhile.

The fountain pen was naturally specially made by Chen Ming, which reminds me of the later part of "Kite," where Zheng Yaoxian suffered a tragedy because he couldn't prove his identity.

Comrades who dedicate themselves wholeheartedly to the country should not have met such an end, and Chen Ming wanted to change this tragedy.

This pen is the proof.

If Chen Ming could live to see that time, he could prove Zheng Yaoxian's identity and make him his comrade again, which would make up for Chen Ming's regret.

P.S.: I've been warned, and some readers don't like reading this either, so I'll end it here. Starting tomorrow, we'll re-enter the main storyline. Also, there will be a separate chapter later explaining some things that can't appear in the main text.

By the way, I've moved out of the school without air conditioning. Get ready for a flurry of updates from now on! Also, thank you to the generous readers "Far Away From Me" and "A Little Distant" for their private donations. He's a long-time reader of mine; before my last book was even published, he donated three generous donations to commission a character, and I ended up abandoning the book after only 60,000 words.
(End of this chapter)