Chapter 978
Two Lines I Didn't Want to Hand Over
All doubts can be explained in one way:
Mingjing was released by Zhang Anping!
Only in this way can we explain why she appeared in the United States despite being dead, and also explain why she appeared near the hotel where the delegation was staying.
She came to see Zhang Anping!
This was a fatal mistake made by Mingjing. However, for someone who was not a professional agent and had spent seven years in a foreign country, Zhang Anping was one of the few people who could understand her completely. It is not hard to understand why he couldn't wait to appear when he learned that his old friend had gone to the United States.
Since Mingjing was released by Zhang Anping, why did he do it?
It is important to understand that eliminating Mingjing is the will of the Bureau Headquarters and the will of Boss Dai!
Mingjing himself was a red capitalist who provided significant financial assistance to the underground party.
Oh, and she also has a code name:
Katyusha!
As the head of the Shanghai district of the Military Intelligence Bureau at the time, what reason did Zhang Anping have to release Mingjing?
Based on the Anti-Japanese National United Front?
impossible!
Therefore, there is only one explanation:
Zhang Anping and Mingjing are comrades.
Only in this way can we explain why Zhang Anping did this.
So, Minglou...
Zheng Yi nervously re-examined the flyer in his hand. What role did Ming Lou play in it?
Minglou was Mao Renfeng's most trusted confidant, the head of the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics. It is understandable that he would surrender to the Communists when the Northeast was completely lost. But was he really just surrendering because he was desperate?
After the end of the War of Resistance against Japan, Zhang Anping went to the United States and used the wealth he had obtained from traitors and Japanese to pack up a large amount of second-hand military equipment. This equipment was transported to Northeast China, ostensibly to build an American-equipped military factory belonging to the Nationalist government. However, three years later, due to repeated disputes, the equipment failed to be put into construction and production.
Previously, Zheng Yi had perceived it as a result of internal strife.
But now, upon closer examination, what if this was... just a play?
Was it all a staged performance between Ming Lou and Zhang Anping?
Ming Lou was a key figure in Mao's faction. Despite the faction's repeated setbacks, Ming Lou remained utterly loyal to Mao Renfeng. Since Ming Lou was in league with Zhang Anping, what about those core members who remained as loyal as Ming Lou after Mao Renfeng's downfall?
Three locations and four stations!
The scandal that had previously erupted resurfaced in Zheng Yi's mind.
The three locations and four stations constitute one of Mao Renfeng's core territories. All the people in charge are key members of the Mao faction—key members who have remained loyal to Mao Renfeng through countless setbacks!
Zheng Yi previously thought that Wang Tianfeng was just nitpicking, but now it seems...
An unimaginable fear spread through Zheng Yi's heart. Wang Tianfeng was actually the only conscious person in the entire Security Bureau.
No matter how clear-headed he was, he could never have imagined that Zhang Anping, the only person he trusted, would actually be the deepest-hidden undercover agent in the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics!
Zheng Yi sat alone, slowly and laboriously processing the fear, shock, and confusion in his heart.
The district she trusted, the district she was loyal to, the district she almost believed in, was precisely the one who went against her.
【what do I do?】
Zheng Yi thought numbly, unsure how to face this enormous and terrifying truth—after connecting the mirror to the truth, she didn't think about exposing Zhang Anping's identity.
She sat there all alone for a long time, so long that some scoundrels, after observing her closely, finally decided to come and take advantage of her.
Thus, this scoundrel suffered the most unforgettable experience of his life... a brutal beating.
So much so that years later, he would still wake up from nightmares—how could a woman be so ruthless?
After giving the scoundrel who came to her door a good beating, Zheng Yi finally felt better. When the patrol officers arrived, she revealed her identity, instructed them to take the person to the Shanghai station of the Security Bureau, and then left the park, which she would never forget, with a stack of leaflets in her handbag.
However, even when she appeared at the restaurant entrance, she still hadn't figured out what to do about the future.
But she was ultimately a professional agent, and all her emotions vanished upon seeing Zeng Moyi.
She saw Zeng Moyi pacing back and forth in the hotel lobby. When Zeng Moyi saw her, she immediately hurried over and complained, "You've finally arrived? Why did you take so long?"
"Station Chief Xu said Shanghai is a bit chaotic—I'm so regretful for not sending anyone with you."
Hearing Zeng Moyi's self-reproachful words, Zheng Yi suddenly found it a little funny. This lady, who had received professional special agent training, probably didn't know her husband's true identity either.
I used to envy Zeng Moyi, but now I feel that Zeng Moyi is more pitiful.
Zheng Yi smiled gently: "I ran into a shameless scoundrel. I taught him a lesson and then took him to the police station."
Upon hearing this, Zeng Moyi blamed herself even more: "I was really careless, how could I have let you go out alone!"
Zheng Yi changed the subject: "Madam, I've found out some information—this isn't the place to talk, let's go upstairs."
After saying that, he pulled Zeng Moyi upstairs. Zeng Moyi didn't seem to care about the news, but instead kept blaming herself and Zheng Yi.
The incessant complaints didn't annoy Zheng Yi; instead, she felt even more sorry for Zeng Moyi—she was clearly an outstanding agent trained by the Special Service Department in its early days, but years of being a wife and mother had turned her into a mere ornament.
Zheng Yi made this judgment because she felt that since Zhang Anping was an undercover agent, and Zeng Moyi was of no benefit or help to his infiltration mission, she believed that the other party was completely unaware of the situation.
Of course, this analysis is still based on the premise that the two knew each other, which was something Dai Chunfeng deliberately did back then.
Well, as Zhang Anping's secretary, Zheng Yi naturally knew very well how Zhang Anping and his wife met and got married—wait, what does this have to do with being a secretary?
After entering the room, Zheng Yi took out the stack of flyers she had collected from her handbag and handed them to Zeng Moyi:
"Madam, look at the news—the situation is more serious than we imagined."
Zeng Moyi glanced at it briefly, then her expression changed drastically. "Underground Party propaganda leaflets? Zheng Yi, how could you collect these things?"
Zheng Yi shook his head:
"The Party-state's newspapers don't tell the truth anymore, but you can still find the truth in the underground party's propaganda leaflets—don't worry, the Shanghai station won't cause us any trouble because of this."
When she said the last few words, Zheng Yi paused noticeably. After finishing her sentence, she turned to pour water, but her expression became unusually gloomy.
She had just realized it—Shanghai was the economic heart of the Party-state and also Zhang Anping's core stronghold.
But the underground Communist Party in Shanghai was so brazenly distributing leaflets—was it really because of Zhang Anping's order to act cautiously?
Or……
The underground Communist Party in Shanghai, infiltrated... had long since changed its colors!
If it were just the latter, Zheng Yi wouldn't have had such a gloomy expression.
She had thought of a question:
The district chief she trusted, was loyal to, and admired was extensively recruiting underground party members within the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics. It was even possible that a large number of underground party members were hidden in opposing factions such as the Mao and Zheng cliques. But why didn't he ever think of himself?
In every decision I've made, I've always prioritized the Party and the State over the Central Committee!
Using the excuse of drinking water, Zheng Yi hid the gloom in his heart, turned around and looked at Zeng Moyi. Seeing Zeng Moyi frowning as she looked at the brochure, Zheng Yi suddenly felt disheartened for his earlier sympathy for her.
She sympathized with Zeng Moyi because Zeng Moyi was unaware of the true situation of the person beside her.
But what right did she have to pity him? She had given him her loyalty, faith, love, and everything else without reservation, yet he had never considered making her one of his own—"I never dared to ask to possess you, but in your eyes, I, who am so loyal to you, don't even have the right to be your comrade..."
None of them?
At this moment, Zeng Moyi was obviously unaware of Zheng Yi's thoughts. Looking at the leaflets that Zheng Yi had brought her, and seeing the decisive victory our army had achieved, the fact that she could only frown was a testament to her extreme restraint!
It is important to understand that when Zeng Moyi and her generation of underground party members chose to embark on this rugged, bumpy, and arduous path, they had a deep belief in the future, but they also had a deep belief that they would not live to see that day. However, their bones would pave the way to hope, and their souls would become flickering fireflies, dispelling some of the fog for those who came after them.
But right now, our Northeast Field Army has taken control of the Northeast, and many of the Kuomintang's elite troops have been completely annihilated in the Northeast—victory has never been so within reach!
In this situation, how could she possibly take the time to carefully observe a secretary she didn't consider a threat?
She firmly believed that Zheng Yi would shield Zhang Anping from the deadly attack when danger struck—how could she, so agitated at this moment, possibly keep a close eye on such a secretary?
After a long while, Zeng Moyi put down the brochures about Northeast China and extreme hardship, and said with a somber expression:
"Why is the Northeast like this...?"
Zheng Yi had already concealed her emotions when she said this. Facing Zeng Moyi's deep confusion, she said softly:
"The Party-state still has millions of troops. As long as the passes are blocked, the Communist army in the Northeast will not be able to get in."
Zeng Moyi remained silent, simply tossing aside the propaganda leaflets about the war in Northeast China and Jinan, and began reading other content.
The more I looked at her, the more sorrowful her expression became.
But in her heart, she was shaking her head:
The Kuomintang was already beyond redemption, plundering the people's wealth with the gold yuan and trying to control prices with an iron fist... but in the end, it fell victim to the resistance of its own people!
This is a regime that is completely corrupt from top to bottom and inside to outside. How could a few people or a group of people possibly turn the tide?
After putting down the flyers about the price limit, Zeng Moyi looked at the last one. When she saw the subtitle, "[The Murderer! The Brutal Executioner Zhang Shih-hao!]", her brows furrowed, and her displeasure was very obvious.
After reading all the content, she hesitated for a moment before asking Zheng Yi:
"Is this... just nonsense?"
“Anping takes great care of Mingtai. If it were for the revenge for his sister’s death, he wouldn’t trust Mingtai so much, would he?”
"Since Minglou has sided with that side, what he said must be... a smear campaign, right?"
Faced with Zeng Moyi's three questions, Zheng Yi said softly:
"Propaganda always involves exaggeration. We spread fake news all the time here, and it's definitely the same over there."
Zeng Moyi nodded slowly, but the doubt in her eyes was still obvious, clearly still shocked and stunned that Zhang Anping had actually assassinated Mingjing...
……
Just as Zeng Moyi was "shocked," a person hidden in the darkness was also examining the flyer in front of him.
Like Zheng Yi, this man also knew that the underground party's propaganda leaflets were more reliable than the Nationalist government's newspapers. Now, only able to survive in the dark, he could only learn about the war through the propaganda leaflets continuously distributed by the underground party.
At this moment, looking at the contents of the flyer, he was filled with deep confusion.
Minglou actually led an uprising at Shenyang Station!
"A smokescreen?"
He was extremely puzzled.
In his mind, Minglou was undoubtedly a member of the underground Communist Party, but the leaflets in his hand clearly stated this fact:
Minglou was never a member of the underground party, but he was ultimately forced to revolt when the enemy was at the gates because of the ruthlessness of Mao Renfeng, whom he was loyal to, and because he could not avenge the killing of his sister. Even after the uprising, he still had to vehemently denounce Zhang Anping.
"I...I was really wrong!"
He bowed his head once again upon seeing the contents of the flyer.
His head used to be so proud; bowing his head was extremely rare for him.
But recently, he has been bowing his head time and time again.
After confirming that Minglou was a member of the underground Communist Party, he believed that the Northeast's secret service system was completely corrupt.
But what about reality?
He believed that the secret service system in Northeast China would betray friendly forces as the Communist army launched its offensive.
But the results were completely contrary to his certainty.
The Northeast Security Bureau system, which had completely collapsed, had three core stations: Changchun, Shenyang, and Jinzhou.
The secret stations in Jinzhou were completely wiped out after the fall of Jinzhou. It is said that, at the critical moment of Jinzhou's demise, the special envoy Xu Zhongyi executed the station chief, appointed by Minglou and who had been passively resisting, and then shouted:
"We are highly valued by the Party and the country. Now that Jinzhou is in danger, we have no choice but to fight to the death to serve the Party and the country!"
After the impassioned shouts, Xu Zhongyi mobilized all the field and office staff, arming them all, intending to fight to the death alongside the Jinzhou defenders, waiting for the reinforcements trapped at Tashan.
result……
They had barely managed to arm themselves when the People's Liberation Army stormed into the city. The Jinzhou Station organized a suicide squad, which was then completely annihilated.
Although they were completely wiped out, their actions were affirmed by the headquarters of the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics, and Xu Zhongyi's farewell telegram had even been conveyed to the entire Bureau of Investigation and Statistics.
Returning to Changchun Station—although Qi Siyuan of Changchun Station was incompetent and slow to realize the uprising of the 60th Army, he fulfilled the duties of a Kuomintang soldier. In the end, he retreated into the bank with the commander to hold it. Ultimately, he had to surrender and was captured because of the commander's surrender. Although he did not go into hiding as required, nor did he, like Jinzhou Station, ultimately go all out.
However, his behavior can be described as worthy of the Party and the State.
After all, under the overwhelming tide, every individual is but an ant.
The only Shenyang Station was an uprising—more like a surrender when all other options were exhausted. The Shenyang Station did not participate in any attacks on friendly forces; all personnel simply gathered there to await the People's Liberation Army's takeover.
Indeed, this is the greatest disgrace for the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics, because they surrendered without a fight!
But this also proves one thing:
Minglou was not a Communist—otherwise, he would have turned his sword against his allies at a crucial juncture during the Shenyang uprising.
Faced with this final result, the person completely doubted the meaning of life.
If Minglou hadn't been forced...
If I had prioritized the bigger picture back then, I wouldn't have tried to single out Katyusha...
In the dimly lit room, the man shed tears of regret.
For a long, long time.
He muttered to himself in a hoarse voice:
"Anping, give me a little more time. I will definitely find out who Katyusha is. When that happens... I'm willing to atone with my life." (End of Chapter)