Chapter 1067
The Difference Between the Player and the Pieces
For others, it was the Lunar New Year, but for Qiu Ning, these three days were exceptionally difficult to endure.
For Zhao Weiheng, the matter was just a "minor episode"; the real trouble was the two jobs he was handling.
The first set of tasks was assigned by the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics, consisting of two parts: a list and the infiltration and instigation of dissent.
The second plan was his real mission: a rescue!
Although he and Chai Ying had finalized the rescue plan, he now had to rewrite the names of one comrade after another in red pen. Facing these bright red names, a thought would occasionally pop into his mind:
What if the plan fails?
Then he is the executioner who ended the lives of so many comrades!
The immense pressure kept Qiu Ning awake for three days straight.
Ninety-four people!
After three days of verification, he copied down the names of ninety-four people one by one with a red pen. Among them were steadfast comrades of our Party, progressive democrats who originally worked for the prosperity of China, and young, passionate students with bright futures who chose to fight against corruption.
Ninety-four people in total!
After finishing the last stroke, Qiu Ning realized that his body was soaked in sweat.
We absolutely cannot let them succeed!
Looking at these bloody names, Qiu Ning secretly made a vow.
After securing the list, he did not immediately report to Mao Renfeng, but instead chose to go home to shower and rest.
Tomorrow is the day the list will be handed over to Mao Renfeng—and tomorrow is also the time for public opinion to erupt!
But Qiu Ning underestimated Mao Renfeng's urgency. He had barely arrived home when his "madam" said with a grave expression:
"Mao Renfeng called—four calls in just ten minutes!"
He urged you to call him back as soon as you got home.
Qiu Ning's heart skipped a beat, and an ominous premonition arose. Suppressing his unease, he dialed Mao Renfeng's number.
After the call connected, he said in a tired voice, "Director, it's me, Qiu Ning."
He thought that Mao Renfeng would at least offer a few perfunctory greetings upon hearing his tired voice, but to his surprise, Mao Renfeng went straight to the point: "Has the list been released yet?"
Upon hearing Mao Renfeng's words, countless thoughts swirled in Qiu Ning's mind. After a brief deep breath, Qiu Ning replied:
"We have a general range, and we need to refine it again before we can finalize it."
"Hmm? No need for selection! Just use the existing list to choose people—escort them to Yuhuatai and execute them tonight."
Qiu Ning was stunned. The public outcry wouldn't break out until tomorrow!
He hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Isn't this too rushed?"
"News has come from the Attendant's Office that Acting Attendant-in-Chief Li has just signed the order, which will be sent over tomorrow. This matter cannot be delayed any longer, understand?"
Qiu Ning had no choice but to reply:
"Yes! I'll go back to the station immediately and get started!"
After hanging up the phone, Qiu Ning paced back and forth anxiously.
It's just that what I feared most has come to pass!
The execution is tonight, what should we do?
The woman living with him as his wife had already realized that the situation had changed, and she asked urgently:
"Old Qiu, has the situation changed?"
"Yes, Mao Renfeng ordered me to execute these comrades tonight."
The woman was shocked: "What should we do then?"
"I must return to headquarters first—you go find Comrade Chai Ying immediately, report the intelligence to her, and tell her there's no time to wait for public opinion to build up; she must find a way to leak the information to the Guangxi clique right away!"
"You must tell Comrade Chai Ying that we absolutely must not go through the Attendant's Office!"
The fact that Mao Renfeng was able to learn about the news so soon after Li Dai, the acting chief of the Imperial Attendants' Office, signed the order clearly shows that the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics has infiltrated the area. If the information had come through the Imperial Attendants' Office, it would not have escaped Mao Renfeng's notice.
"I understand—you must be careful!"
……
After hurriedly returning to the headquarters of the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics, Qiu Ning went to the safe to take out the list—he had prepared for the worst, so he planned to remove some comrades from the list.
It sounds simple, but it's an extremely cruel and ruthless act, because no matter what choice he makes, he'll probably never be able to get over that hurdle in his heart for the rest of his life.
But in the worst-case scenario, this is precisely the only thing he can do.
Ok?
Qiu Ning's expression changed slightly before inserting the key.
The strand of hair he left on the safe was gone!
Suppressing the pounding in his heart, Qiu Ning opened the safe and examined it closely. He discovered that the file containing the list had indeed been moved—although the other party had deliberately restored the original position, the extremely subtle changes still did not escape his notice.
Did one of our own comrades do it?
Or... was it done by other agents of the Security Bureau?
If it's the former, then it's easy to talk about.
But what if it's the latter?
Qiu Ning was caught in a dilemma—he realized he had made a big mistake.
He had previously told Mao Renfeng that the list still needed to be carefully selected.
If the latter did it, does that mean Mao Renfeng already knew about the list?
If you want to simplify things yourself...
Reason told him that he should notify the security department immediately.
The first principle of infiltration is to prioritize your own safety!
But emotion prevailed over reason—he chose to gamble that it was his comrades who did it.
So he pretended not to have noticed that anyone had opened his safe.
……
The Zhang family.
Zhang Anping answered the phone.
“District Chief, he didn’t notice.”
"I see."
After hanging up the phone, Zhang Anping shook his head helplessly. Qiu Ning had ultimately acted on emotion!
There is a distinction between professional and non-professional intelligence officials.
Take Mao Renfeng and Qiu Ning for example. The former is a self-taught political strategist who rose to power through political maneuvering and is a typical example of a non-professional.
The latter, Qiu Ning, was a genuine professional spy—although he was promoted rapidly due to Mao Renfeng's patronage, he had extensive experience working at the grassroots level and was a typical professional spy.
The two are very different.
Take stealing secrets from the other party as an example.
If a skilled person were to steal secrets from Mao Renfeng's safe, Mao Renfeng would certainly not be able to detect it.
Because he lacks professional competence!
But Qiu Ning was different. As a professional spy, he failed to notice any traces when his confidential information was stolen from his safe—this was his biggest mistake!
Zhang Anping could understand why Qiu Ning acted on emotion, but understanding did not mean accepting it.
If I hadn't been watching over him, Qiu Ning would have suffered a major setback this time!
That's right, the spy who stole the secrets from Qiu Ning's safe was instructed by Mao Renfeng!
Of course, in some ways, Qiu Ning's judgment was correct—the person who opened his safe was indeed his comrade.
Yes, and at the same time, he was Zhang Anping's "needle".
On New Year's Eve, Zhang Anping pointed at Mao Renfeng's nose and said:
There's a Communist Party member between us!
Mao Renfeng knew that Zhang Anping could not be a Communist, and he knew even more that he was not a Communist either.
But would Wang Tianfeng really make baseless accusations?
You should know that a Minglou has already emerged from his side!
Learn from your mistakes!
How could Mao Renfeng not understand this principle?
The matter at hand, if it were to be discovered by the underground party, would certainly cause trouble. Therefore, while he seemed to be giving Qiu Ning more authority, he was actually keeping a close eye on him in secret.
From his perspective, the underground party's undercover agents would be eager to take action in the face of this matter, and he would be able to take the opportunity to expose them.
But after three days of observation, Mao Renfeng found nothing but calm; no underground party members had emerged.
There are no undercover agents in the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics?
He was even accused by Wang Tianfeng with his life on the line, how could there not be an undercover agent!
Therefore, in order to alert the enemy, Mao Renfeng secretly sent his confidant to "steal" the list from Qiu Ning's safe.
Of course, the composition of his trusted confidants is somewhat complicated...
He was one of Zhang Anping's informants planted beside Mao Renfeng, but his true identity was that of an underground member of the Communist Party of China, lurking within the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics.
According to Mao Renfeng's idea, a professional agent like Qiu Ning would definitely discover that the safe had been tampered with. When the security department intervened, it would alert the enemy. He believed that the underground party was not taking any action because Qiu Ning was doing a very good job of keeping secrets, so he would alert the enemy by having the security department intervene!
But when the script reached Qiu Ning, he acted on his emotions and chose to gamble!
This gamble almost ruined Zhang Anping's entire plan!
Although Qiu Ning's emotional outburst almost caused a major problem, Zhang Anping's years of management within the Bureau of Secrecy had significantly increased the margin for error—there was certainly a way to remedy the situation.
He dialed a phone. ...
Headquarters.
Qiu Ning is making a difficult decision—there are a total of 95 people on the list, and apart from Zhao Weiheng, who is just there to make up the numbers, the other 94 people are all difficult for him to choose from.
Even if he has a strong nerve!
After all, drawing a name is tantamount to pushing others toward their deaths.
The unspeakable guilt nearly drove Qiu Ning to the brink of collapse.
But he...can't!
After a long, long time, Qiu Ning picked up her pen and crossed out the first name:
Yuan Nong.
He could never forget how this comrade had remained silent during two days and two nights of interrogation.
After erasing the name "Yuan Nong," he felt no relief, but rather an overwhelming sense of heaviness.
The second name...
It was difficult to define for a long time.
The knocking sounded just as he was in a dilemma.
Qiu Ning was startled and instinctively hid the list before saying "Come in." He thought it was his secretary who came in, but to his surprise, it was the deputy director of the security department who walked in.
"Director Qiu."
Qiu Ning suppressed his doubts: "Director Sun, is something the matter?"
Deputy Director Sun didn't answer, but solemnly closed the door. He then quickly walked to Qiu Ning and sat down. Immediately afterward, under Qiu Ning's slightly narrowed gaze, he reached out and made a strange gesture:
"I've finished reading the book I borrowed from you last time—the annotations on page 91 were a real eye-opener for me! Director Qiu, you truly have insightful views!"
Qiu Ning stared at the other person in astonishment.
This was the secret code—he did indeed have a book that Chai Ying had taken, and she had even asked him to make a note on page 91.
When someone meets him using this set of words and predetermined gestures, it means that this person is an absolutely trustworthy comrade.
But why is the other party suddenly acknowledging me now?
"I wouldn't call it a brilliant insight, just my own opinion—" Qiu Ning responded while rapidly pondering the reason. Suddenly, he shuddered, realizing why the other party had urgently requested a meeting. After making a gesture of recognition, he nodded slightly and said solemnly:
"Deputy Director Sun, there's something I'd like the Security Department to investigate discreetly!"
Deputy Director Sun understood perfectly well that it must be because of this matter that the higher-ups had reassigned him to recognize Comrade Qiu Ning.
He said, "Please give your instructions, Director Qiu."
"My safe has been tampered with!"
“I’m not sure how many documents have been viewed, but one list has been moved, so it’s definitely been tampered with—I hope the security department can investigate.”
"Don't make a big fuss, just do a covert investigation to avoid causing panic."
Deputy Director Sun exclaimed in surprise, "How is this possible?!"
Qiu Ning said in a displeased tone, "Deputy Director Sun, would I, Qiu, fabricate something out of nothing?"
“It was Sun who lost his composure—Director Qiu, don’t worry, I will immediately send someone to investigate secretly.”
After seeing Deputy Director Sun off, Qiu Ning took a break to drink water to hide the excitement in her heart.
I've made a mistake in my own judgment; it's a big problem!
Fortunately, the organization sent Deputy Director Sun to salvage the situation.
So, the one who changed the list... was Mao Renfeng?!
Qiu Ning's heart was filled with excitement, and she realized that she had been presumptuous in thinking that she had won Mao Renfeng's trust.
After suppressing his excitement, he scanned the office, but after a thorough search, he found no location where listening devices were installed. However, he dared not be careless any longer.
After a moment's thought, he took out the list and examined it, then took a deep breath and dialed the number for Mao's residence.
"Director, it's me, Qiu Ning."
"I'd like to talk to you about the list—there's someone I'd like to cross out."
“Yuan Nong—this man was interrogated by Zhao Weiheng before. Because of Zhao Weiheng’s imprisonment, I’m worried it will cause trouble in prison. If we execute him, I’m afraid people will say we did it on purpose.”
“Okay, then I won’t cross it out—” After a pause, Qiu Ning said, “Director, there’s something else I feel I need to report to you.”
“Someone has been in my office and opened my safe! I can’t be sure if other documents have been stolen, but I’m sure the list has been stolen.”
"I've already spoken with Deputy Director Sun of the Security Department. Will they conduct a secret investigation? Oh? You mean a high-profile investigation? That might... alert them!"
"Yes! The Director is right! I understand! I will communicate with Deputy Director Sun immediately."
After hanging up the phone, Qiu Ning's expression showed a hint of lingering fear that she could hardly suppress.
It really was made by Mao Renfeng!
What a brilliant move to startle the snake—I almost became that snake myself!
He was filled with lingering fear; if the organization hadn't intervened at the crucial moment, he would have been in deep trouble.
It doesn't matter if something happens to me, but it might alert the enemy and lead to a rescue. But if I were to die, I would never be able to atone for it!
……
The Mao family.
After hanging up the phone, Mao Renfeng muttered to herself:
"What's the big deal about killing a mere underground party member? Qiu Ning is certainly cautious in his actions!"
"I knew it! How could I possibly fall into the same pit twice? This time, I definitely didn't misjudge you!"
"However, the underground party has not made a move..."
"It seems the underground party's informants may not be on my side!"
Thinking of this, Mao Renfeng found it amusing. Since they weren't on his side, they must be with Zhang Anping—and even if Zhang Anping had spies around him, they were all being held captive at Outpost No. 3!
"No wonder the underground party hasn't made a move this time. Did I save that Zhang guy this time?"
Mao Renfeng was extremely regretful. If he had released Zhang's people on the 29th, wouldn't that have meant that he could have caught Zhang's people in the act of colluding with the Communists?
What a pity, what a pity!
Mao Renfeng, who was secretly lamenting his misfortune, was unaware that:
An agent from the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics received orders from his superiors to evacuate!
Evacuate?
This member of our party, who was hiding in the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics, was puzzled by the sudden evacuation order.
I am both a spy planted by Zhang Shih-hao, a major agent, within Mao's faction, and a trusted confidant promoted by Mao Ren-feng. I just did some dirty work for Mao Ren-feng...
Why are you telling me to evacuate?
List?
These two words came to his mind.
Then a sense of powerlessness washed over me; the organization most likely intended to expose the list through the newspapers.
But... it's too late!
Tonight, these butchers of the Kuomintang will strike at the comrades on the list...
……
The Attendant's Residence.
The fuming old man, Huang Jianxia, met with Li Dai, the chief attendant.
His straightforward nature led him to skip the formalities with Li Dai's chief attendant and instead present several photographs to the emperor.
"Chief Attendant Li, what do you mean by this?"
"On one hand, they asked me to organize civilians to send goodwill over there, while on the other hand, they secretly ordered the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics to carry out a ruthless attack!"
"What do you take me for?!"
Li Dai, the chief attendant, frowned. Was this another blunder by the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics?
He picked up the photos on the table, and a list immediately caught his eye. He then looked through the other photos and found that they were all lists.
He asked in a low voice, "Mr. Huang, please calm down—do you mean the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics is going to execute the people on the list?"
Old Master Huang said angrily, "Otherwise what? I've received word that the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics has already brought him in! If nothing unexpected happens, he'll be executed by firing squad at Yuhuatai soon!"
"Li Dai's chief attendant, you swore to me that you were wholeheartedly seeking peace—is this your attitude?"
Finally, he commented:
"Two-faced!"
Li Dai, the chief attendant, was somewhat withdrawn after being scolded by Old Master Huang, but he could understand Old Master Huang's anger—it was he who had asked Old Master Huang, a veteran of the Tongmenghui, to act as a mediator in an attempt to restart peace talks.
As a result, we kept messing things up on our end!
"Don't worry, Mr. Huang! I will give you an explanation for this!"
After Li Dai, the chief attendant, finished speaking, he summoned his adjutant:
"Immediately lead the troops to the Yuhuatai execution ground!"
"Stop the Secret Service from carrying out the execution—by any means necessary!" (End of Chapter)