Chapter 970
Zheng Yingqi is given a "heavy responsibility" from the sky; Zhang Jing in Min
Wang Tianfeng leaned back wearily in his chair, silently looking at the intelligence report in his hand.
This intelligence was sent to headquarters by mail by a veteran agent from the Shanghai area—most importantly, the agent's unit is currently stationed in Xuzhou, but the letter was mailed from Bengbu.
The content of the document gave Wang Tianfeng a sense of impending doom.
It mentioned two things:
First, more than ten days before sending the letter, this person discovered a case of communist collusion. A lieutenant colonel staff officer had secretly photographed the garrison map of the Traffic Police Corps. The Military Law Department of the Traffic Police Corps handled the case swiftly, and the staff officer involved was executed on the third day.
Second, he secretly exhumed the lieutenant colonel's grave and found that the body was not the correct one and that the body was not the result of a gunshot wound.
The first thing is that there are obviously many inside stories. The procedure for handling the captured Communist spy is seriously wrong. Normally, after obtaining a confession, the person's superiors and subordinates should be arrested. Even if it is destined to be fruitless, the infiltration channels of the underground party should be controlled to prevent it from happening again.
However, just three days later, the staff officer involved was executed by firing squad. It is no exaggeration to say that this was murder to silence him.
Clearly, this incident alerted the agent, leading to the second incident caused by his secret digging up of the grave.
Substituting one thing for another, deceiving the heavens to cross the sea!
Even in the most rudimentary execution process, at least two departments were involved, and a third department was needed to verify the identity of the person.
But despite the involvement of at least three departments, the person who should have been executed was replaced.
Therefore, it can be concluded with certainty that there is a deeply hidden underground party organization within the Traffic Police Corps!
But at this moment, Wang Tianfeng would rather not have come to this conclusion.
This period of time was truly agonizing for him.
Look at the various signs that have emerged during this period:
Ming Lou, the director of the Northeast Inspection Office, is a man whose true nature is hard to discern;
Mao Renfeng, who betrayed himself at a bureau meeting, causing the Zhang faction to fall apart, was he a human or a villain?
At the bureau meeting, Shen Zui was accused of a serious crime. Was it an angry outburst or a successful conspiracy?
Now, within the traffic police corps, which has been reorganized with Zhang Anping's support, such shocking news has been revealed.
Beset by storms!
From a single glimpse, one can see the whole picture. From what he saw, Wang Tianfeng felt that the foundation of the entire Party and the country was teetering on the brink of collapse.
Gently putting down the letter in his hand, Wang Tianfeng rose with a sense of loss, standing alone by the window, gazing at the night sky where not a single cloud could obscure the starlight, his heart filled with desolation.
Difficult, difficult, difficult!
For a fleeting moment, Wang Tianfeng really wanted to just leave.
But the weakness was only momentary; the fatigue on his face quickly dissipated, and he began to think about how to handle the matter at hand.
If it weren't for these matters at hand, he would have immediately rushed to Xuzhou without hesitation to personally investigate the collusion within the traffic police headquarters. But now he was bound by his military orders and it was impossible for him to leave Nanjing.
Who should we send?
A figure flashed through my mind:
Cai Jierong.
As the captain of the special operations team, Cai Jierong should have stayed away from all kinds of disputes, but he was dragged into the water by Wang Tianfeng and involved in the "internal struggle", which ultimately led to his being investigated.
If the special operations team hadn't been Zhang Anping's sharpest weapon, Shen Zui might very well have singled them out to make an example of them.
Fortunately, Shen was mindful of Zhang Anping's feelings and did not kill Cai Jierong. He only used the interrogation as a means of warning him. Now that Cai Jierong has regained his freedom, Wang Tianfeng is confident that he can control him.
Moreover, the cooperation during this period has left Wang Tianfeng with no doubt about Cai Jierong's loyalty, making him an excellent candidate.
【inappropriate!】
But just as the decision was being finalized, Wang Tianfeng stopped in time—Cai Jierong was probably being watched by someone in secret, and once he left Nanjing, it would inevitably arouse the vigilance of certain people.
The underground party organization within the traffic police corps is very likely connected to the "Katyusha" line. If this arouses suspicion, it will be extremely detrimental to the investigation.
After rejecting Cai Jierong, Wang Tianfeng pondered for a long time but couldn't find a suitable candidate. There were actually many candidates, but the agents of the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics headquarters made Wang Tianfeng feel that they were hard to distinguish between human and ghost, so he dared not make a decision rashly.
he?
Wang Tianfeng's gaze quietly fell on the envelope on the table.
This secret agent, while in Xuzhou, specifically had the letter sent from Bengbu, demonstrating his unwavering vigilance.
Most importantly, the other party also discovered the underground party organization within the traffic police headquarters, and their loyalty... is beyond question!
“Zheng Yingqi…”
Wang Tianfeng murmured the name, feeling that it was a brilliant move!
A few days later in Xuzhou, Zheng Yingqi received a secret appointment from the headquarters of the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics:
Major, leader of the Special Intelligence Group of the Traffic Police Corps.
Upon receiving the letter of appointment, Zheng Yingqi felt that his fellow villager was simply a... genius!
How could a fellow countryman who was just loafing around in the U.S. be so sure that the letter he sent to the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics as requested would be given an "important mission"?
[This guy, isn't he afraid of causing problems with the identity he forged for me?!]
……
The discovery of an underground party organization within the traffic police corps, while intensifying Wang Tianfeng's sense of unease, also inadvertently brought him a sense of relief.
There are underground party organizations everywhere, but if the traffic police corps, which is organized at the military level, is a monolithic entity, he would feel that it is hiding something big.
He was so obsessed that he even began to suspect that something was wrong with Xu Baichuan.
But this well-timed "whistleblower letter" actually put him at ease.
As a result, his vigilance relaxed slightly, and he then devoted all his energy to the counter-espionage work at the bureau headquarters.
Wang Tianfeng genuinely wanted to follow the rules, but after ten days or so, he had gained virtually nothing—he had collected a lot of random clues and was tracking all the suitable leads, but he couldn't see any hope of success.
He even had the illusion that the current headquarters of the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics was in good health and with everyone working together harmoniously.
This is obviously an illusion—the underground party's goal is definitely to wait until they can outlive the current situation and eventually die.
The underground party members could endure it, but Wang Tianfeng, who only had eighteen days left, couldn't.
Finally, Wang Tianfeng refocused his attention on Mingtai.
He made a decision that was highly likely to cause controversy:
Arrest them!
Mingtai was a lieutenant colonel in the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics, and a key officer cultivated by Zhang Anping. His elder brother was the director of the Northeast Supervision Office. The shock caused by Mingtai's arrest was unimaginable.
But Wang Tianfeng couldn't care less about that now; he had to use Mingtai to break the situation Katyusha had created.
After Mingtai was imprisoned, he was initially only questioned. Faced with various traps in his questioning, Mingtai answered flawlessly. However, after three days, Wang Tianfeng, whose patience had run out, finally ordered him to be tortured.
The order had barely been given and hadn't even been carried out on Mingtai when the interrogation room urgently notified Shen Zui—just as the torture was being administered, Shen Zui, who was now at odds with Wang Tianfeng, angrily led his men into the interrogation room.
"Wang Tianfeng, are you insane!" Shen Zui was furious. "You're going to torture a lieutenant colonel from the Security Bureau based on your own delusions?"
If he were just an ordinary lieutenant colonel, torture would be acceptable, but Mingtai's identity is far too complex; it's a matter of life and death.
Faced with Shen Zui's anger, Wang Tianfeng chose to ignore it and simply issued the GFB's order—for the remaining two weeks, this was his absolute authority.
The bright red seal on the order infuriated Shen Zui, yet he was powerless to do anything about it and could only utter harsh words:
"When the district commander returns, let's see how you explain this to him!"
News of Mingtai's torture spread rapidly, even reaching Northeast China in the first instance.
This was precisely the result of Mao Renfeng's covert instigation. Although Mao Renfeng completely betrayed Wang Tianfeng at the bureau meeting, Wang Tianfeng's words became seeds of suspicion that took root and sprouted in Mao Renfeng's mind.
At this moment, Wang Tianfeng imprisoned and tortured Mingtai. From Mao Renfeng's perspective, this was an excellent opportunity to test him.
To test Minglou and find out if he was in cahoots with the Communists.
It's common knowledge that Ming Lou protects his brother. Now that his brother is imprisoned, will Ming Lou come to Nanjing?
If he doesn't come under the pretext of urgent military affairs, Wang Tianfeng's suspicions are very likely to be confirmed, and Mao Renfeng will have to find a way to secretly eliminate Minglou.
Fortunately, Minglou... has arrived.
That night, Minglou took a private plane from Northeast China to Nanjing and appeared at Mao Renfeng's house overnight.
Upon seeing Mao Renfeng, the travel-worn Minglou couldn't help but exclaim, "Director, Wang Tianfeng is going too far!"
The word "director" made Mao Renfeng pause in surprise.
Back then, he suffered defeat after defeat at the hands of Zhang Anping. At his worst, the entire Mao faction was falling apart. But Minglou stood behind him from beginning to end, calling him "Director" again and again, and helped him out of the dark clouds of repeated defeats.
Looking at Minglou at this moment, Mao Renfeng couldn't help but feel heartache and said:
"Minglou, why do you look so haggard?"
Minglou is a genuine rich kid who usually pays great attention to his image and takes excellent care of himself. But now his skin is dark, his eyes are bloodshot, and his usually shiny hair is extremely dry.
"The situation in the Northeast is dire, I..." Minglou sighed sadly, then seemed to come to his senses and said indignantly:
"Director, Ming's loyalty is as clear as day. Has Wang Tianfeng gone mad? He actually pointed his finger at Ming and openly declared that Ming is a communist sympathizer!"
"Don't let the rumors bother you. I've already addressed this matter at the bureau meeting—if you, Minglou, are a communist sympathizer, then wouldn't I, Mao, also be a communist sympathizer?"
Despite Mao Renfeng's attempts to appease him, Minglou remained furious.
"Director, he's already imprisoned and tortured my third brother! His true intentions are not what they seem, can't you see?"
"He came for me! Otherwise, why would he target my third son!"
Mao Renfeng said helplessly:
"I know! How could I not see it? But this is Zhang's family matter, what am I supposed to do? What do you think I can do?"
Hearing this, Minglou's anger subsided. He glanced around instinctively and then lowered his voice, saying:
"Director, I dare to ask you... something!"
Mao Renfeng's heart skipped a beat, and she lowered her voice as well: "You speak!"
"The Northeast... I'm afraid we can't hold it anymore." Minglou murmured, "The Communist army failed to capture Changchun before, which boosted morale throughout the Party and the country. At that time, our department felt that there was still much to be done in the Northeast. But according to the intelligence that the Supervision Office has now, the Communist army is poised to attack Jinzhou and close the gates!"
"I am worried that if the Communist army attacks Jinzhou, the Northeast Army will most likely abandon the city and move away."
Mao Renfeng hissed and exclaimed in surprise, "Has the situation in Northeast China deteriorated to this extent? No, that bastard surnamed Zhang went to the United States to ask for help. Given his relationship with the Americans, military aid might not necessarily not come, right?"
"Director, so what if military aid comes? Can it even be delivered? The higher-ups want the Americans to intervene directly, but the Americans aren't stupid. If they were going to intervene directly, why haven't they made a move yet?" Minglou said.
"The Americans can't be relied on! If Jinzhou is attacked, abandoning it and evacuating will be the only option."
Mao Renfeng tentatively asked:
"So you want to..."
Minglou said fiercely, "I think Shen Zui is right—Wang Tianfeng keeps saying this person is a mole and that person is suspected of being a communist sympathizer. I think he is the real communist sympathizer!"
"Isn't he trying to get me? I think we should just resign from our position as director of the Northeast Inspection Office and hand it over to Wang Tianfeng!"
"The Northeast is probably lost. We should withdraw at the right time and dump the mess on the Zhang faction!"
Mao Renfeng finally understood Minglou's thoughts—Minglou was going to "run away"!
This result left Mao Renfeng both amused and exasperated, and she even cursed Wang Tianfeng as a bastard in her heart.
Influenced by Wang Tianfeng, he was very suspicious of Minglou. He originally wanted to test Minglou by taking advantage of Mingtai's arrest, but he did not expect that Minglou had no interest in the mess in Northeast China.
He was so eager to get rid of this burden!
And this result proves that Wang Tianfeng's words were pure nonsense!
If Minglou were a communist, he should have clung to his position as director of the Northeast Inspectorate at this time, as this would have been more conducive to the underground party's efforts to recover the Northeast.
But Minglou now sees this position as a hot potato and even wants to use the opportunity to get rid of it. Is this the behavior of an undercover agent?!
"Let me think about it!"
Mao Renfeng was tempted. He could take this opportunity to hand over the position of director of the Northeast Supervision Office to Zhang Xi. Then all the subsequent troubles would be Zhang Anping's responsibility. Why is this guy always haunting us even though he's not in the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics?
He got up and paced back and forth, pondering the pros and cons, and the more he thought about it, the more he felt that it was worth doing.
The question of whether the Northeast could be defended was actually decided from the very beginning:
We can't hold on!
In the vast Northeast, hundreds of thousands of troops were trapped in three cities. Throughout the history of warfare, there are very few cases where this situation could be reversed.
But the Nationalist government was in a dilemma – firstly, if it abandoned the position, how many of its hundreds of thousands of troops would be lost during the retreat?
Mobile warfare is the PLA's forte!
Secondly, the officials in the Northeast were also afraid of taking responsibility and insisted on sticking to their positions. In addition, the Americans offered incentives, making it difficult for the Nationalist government to make a decision.
The situation is now clear. Even without Minglou's emphasis, Mao Renfeng knows that the abandonment of the Northeast is a foregone conclusion.
"Okay! Let's do it this way!"
He finally made up his mind and agreed to Minglou's suggestion.
Taking advantage of Wang Tianfeng's actions against Mingtai, Minglou was removed from his position as director of the Northeast Supervision Office, and Zhang's faction was made to take the fall.
They can use this as an excuse to retaliate against Zhang's faction.
Minglou was overjoyed, as if he had been completely relieved:
"Director is brilliant! This time, Wang Tianfeng has really shot himself in the foot! Great news, a really great news!"
Mao Renfeng couldn't help but laugh out loud. Minglou truly lived up to his reputation as the person he trusted most, always able to "turn the tide" at crucial moments.
The two talked for a while longer. Mao Renfeng noticed that Minglou was distracted and knew he was worried about Mingtai. So he took the initiative to release Minglou and let him go to the headquarters to visit him. Knowing that Mingtai was being tortured, he warned him:
"Lou, your brother is being tortured right now, and he looks... definitely quite miserable. When you see him, please don't lose your composure."
"Wang Tianfeng's arrogance won't last long. When the time comes, he'll be meat on a chopping block, at our mercy. We'll take ten times the price!"
Minglou's expression was initially gloomy, then he said angrily:
"It's Mingtai's own fault for following Zhang Anping! It'll let him see Zhang Anping's true colors!" (End of Chapter)