The mysterious third party

Chapter Ninety-Four: The Mysterious Third Person

The city of Xuzhou was in a state of panic. She had a great responsibility to bear, and thinking of this, Qingcheng's mood became depressed again. Hu Yukun had given his life to protect the organization's secrets, and Li Yamei had sacrificed her face to help the organization transmit intelligence. She deeply felt how close death was to her.

If Comrade Yamei had been any less vigilant, his men at the Shanghai station would probably be singing "The Internationale" in prison, waiting to be executed.

As for the cockroaches back home, the comrades in the Fourth Division will continue to follow up, so she doesn't need to worry too much.

Wait a minute, a question flashed through Qingcheng's mind. The Lark's position was too low, even Team Leader Dai looked down on him. So, was he, a courier, qualified to use the secret code? The first plaintext telegram was more in line with the Lark's identity. It required both disguise and no encryption, and using a civilian radio station could avoid suspicion.

Moreover, by then Hu Yukun and his team had already cracked the police station's code. The coded telegrams from the ten-man group to the police station were like subtitles on a movie screen, completely transparent.

In contrast, Principal Chiang's purge plot was more than ten times more serious than Chief Dai's search and arrest. Could we possibly achieve a great victory solely through these guerrilla workers behind enemy lines? Of course not! Power grows out of the barrel of a gun; all the work and sacrifices of intelligence personnel were for protecting our base areas and our own workers' and peasants' armed forces.

The scrambled code book of Hao Mi had to be memorized by brute force, and Hu Yukun couldn't make another copy of the scrambled code book in such a short time. Therefore, the final messenger of the intelligence already knew about Hao Mi. That anonymous comrade bore the bloodshed alone, but no one could help him share the burden.

Kiyosumi felt that they shouldn't be dwelling on who was impersonating Iron Shoulder; even if the telegraph operator wasn't the Lark, he was still their good comrade.

So Qingcheng's thoughts returned to the initial question: Was the lark a traitor? Where were Zhao Nanshan, the factory manager of Chunmiao Printing Factory, and his bodyguard Caitou, who were his subordinates?

Because of the appearance of an unknown third comrade and the personnel changes at Hu Yukun's place, Cai Tou was likely specially sent by Hu Yukun to protect the factory director's safety. It seems that her initial theory has to be completely overturned, and she has to look at this matter from the perspective of a spy.

Both Nine Ears and Chunmiao Printing Factory were under surveillance. If she were Team Leader Dai, she would be the first to raid these two important figures, taking them down simultaneously at 3:05. Theoretically, around 3:00, everyone should be at home sleeping, but in reality, the factory manager of Chunmiao Printing Factory was at the factory, not at home.

Old Wang told me that Director Zhao's house was also searched, but the director and his wife were nowhere to be found, and they didn't find any useful information in anyone else's home. Someone must have tipped off the secret agents that the director was at the printing factory, so the agents launched a second raid there; otherwise, they would have conducted a city-wide manhunt.

After Nine Ears betrayed them, he betrayed his superior Hu Yukun and his subordinate Bailingniao. Hu Yukun should also be part of the second wave of attacks, tentatively scheduled for 3:20.

Then Jiuzhier was sent by the secret agents to find Comrade Yamei to escape from Xuzhou. Comrade Yamei also gave a warning. The time was probably between 3:20 and 3:30.

At this point, the real "Iron-Shouldered" Hu Yukun should have already sacrificed himself, transmitting important intelligence before his death, estimated at 3:30.

Forty-five minutes after the raid, at 3:45 a.m. a comrade sent a message: Nine Ears has betrayed us, Hao Mi has encrypted the message.

That same evening, at 19:53, Comrade Yamei sent a message: "The Nightingale has betrayed us. Haomi has encrypted the message."

A week ago, the Central Military Commission received the codebook sent by "Iron Shoulders".

Three days ago, my hometown received important intelligence, including the attack deployment map, from "Iron Shoulder." Why did it take so long to transmit the most important information, when the deployment map is far more important than the codebook?

Unless... what the comrade received from Hu Yukun was not the final intelligence but merely a rendezvous method, and the final intelligence would not be delivered for more than half a month, and the comrade was just carrying out the rendezvous task on behalf of Hu Yukun.

Hiss—Kiyoshi felt a dull ache in the wound on the back of his head.

The constant buzzing around her made Qingcheng feel nauseous. Suddenly, her ears felt blocked, and the buzzing in her head amplified, like thousands of cicadas chirping mournfully, giving her a splitting headache.

“…Comrade, comrade, what’s wrong?” Someone was calling her, but the voice seemed to come from across a waterfall and mountain stream, somewhat ethereal.

"Qingcheng!" Wang Renyong's loud voice was like a pair of strong arms, pulling Qingcheng, who was drowning, back from the bottom of the pool. The muffled feeling in her ears gradually subsided, and Qingcheng found that Old Wang was looking at her anxiously, while her whole body was ice cold, and cold sweat was pouring from her forehead and palms.

How could this happen? What was I doing just now? Qingcheng closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths. Her mind was still blank. Only the pain in the back of her head reminded her that something was wrong with her body, and the aftereffects were more serious than she had imagined.

"Qingcheng, I'll take you to the hospital." Old Wang helped Qingcheng up without any room for argument.

"No need, leader. I've seen a doctor. It's just a post-concussion syndrome. I'm fine." Qingcheng finally remembered the suspicious point and reported to Lao Wang, "The final intelligence wasn't given by Hu Yukun. Instead, someone risked their life to deliver the intelligence after his sacrifice. There was a third person who went to the rendezvous in place of Hu Yukun to get the attack deployment map."

Wang Renyong looked around with concern, and after seemingly confirming that Qingcheng was alright, he replied, "Don't worry about this for now. Wu Hao asked me and the Third Division to organize a rescue operation for Bailingniao as soon as possible. He was arrested by Team Leader Dai in the name of Su Te."

Even though Lao Wang found it unbelievable, the order had just been given by Wu Hao himself, so he had to carry out the rescue mission. Wu Hao also required them to have enough men and resources.

Huh? Qingcheng felt her mind was still a bit muddled. Wasn't the lark just an ordinary courier? Why did Wu Hao have to personally give the order to rescue her? What was all this about?

Old Wang bitterly remarked that Wu Hao was able to accurately state Bai Haoyue's identity information. Theoretically, Wu Hao shouldn't know so much about the background of a low-level courier. Therefore, he guessed that this person might be a mole planted by Wu Hao, or he might really be a special agent.

Unfortunately, due to organizational discipline, Lao Wang didn't dare to ask any more questions.

However, Kiyosumi felt something was off. The reconnaissance camera she used to uncover Sut, which she initially thought was just an excuse for Team Leader Dai's killings, turned out to be a real person. Could it be too much of a coincidence?

If Bai Haoyue really is Su Te, then that old identity should be kept absolutely secret. Even Lao Wang wouldn't know, let alone the people of Xuzhou.

"Bai Haoyue is Su Te's identity, how would Team Leader Dai know?" Qingcheng asked, frowning.

According to inside information obtained by Comrade Shi Gong, it was a mole planted in the Soviet area by Team Leader Dai who discovered that Bai Haoyue's archived background was suspected of being whitewashed, and that he might not have attended Jinling University, but rather the Soviet Union's Oriental University.

It turned out that Lao Wang also knew that there were pests within our ranks, so Qingcheng told Lao Wang about her and Section Chief Ouyang's speculations about the transfer station.

"Damn cockroaches, they've crawled into our house. We'll have to drag them out and stomp them to death sooner or later," Wang Renyong said angrily.

So Team Leader Dai doesn't have any solid evidence! Qingcheng said worriedly, "In this situation, theoretically, we should conduct a secret rescue and stick to the fact that he is just a courier, instead of making a big fuss and involving the comrades from the Second and Third Sections. It's like announcing to the world that Bai Haoyue is a special person."

Old Wang shook his head, his face full of confusion. Could it be that Wu Hao was so eager to save people that he lost his mind? But whether Bai Haoyue was a traitor or not was still in doubt.

Suddenly, the wound on the back of Qingcheng's head started to ache again, as if being pricked by needles, making her afraid to use her brain too much.

On the way back, Wang Renyong explained the situation at the Military Commission to Qingcheng. The codebook was smuggled out of Xuzhou by a representative from the Soviet area on someone's behalf. He was also asked to send it under the name of Tiejian. The representative did not know the mailing address of our Shanghai station, so he first sent it to the Military Commission office in Shanghai, and then handed it over to the Fourth Section.

"Who commissioned you?" Kiyosumi asked casually.

"The lark, the bright moon." Wang Renyong's answer was unexpected yet reasonable to Qingcheng.

"Wasn't he reported as a traitor? How could the Soviet representative still dare to accept his things?" Qingcheng looked at Wang Renyong with suspicion.

“We haven’t officially announced it yet. We’ve just instructed the liaisons in each district to cut off all contact with him. But this representative only managed to escape from Xuzhou City thanks to Bai Haoyue’s connections, so the representative believes he hasn’t betrayed us,” Wang Renyong continued to explain.

It turned out that the Soviet-controlled area's army lacked weapons and wanted to purchase arms through the black market. However, if the Soviet-controlled area's representatives placed the order directly, it might arouse the suspicion of secret agents.

Wu Hao then used his network of connections to contact his old classmate, Commander Qin, who was a classmate of Qin Qulu at Nankai Middle School and had maintained contact with him privately. Moreover, Commander Qin had sympathized with the plight of our Party and this wasn't the first time he had provided weapons to the Soviet area.

Then Commander Qin placed a large order with the Red Flower Society in Xuzhou. It wasn't unusual for officers of the Nationalist army to privately buy and sell weapons, so the Red Flower Society accepted the order.

But Commander Qin was only temporarily borrowed, and he couldn't make the decisions on important matters alone. If word got out, the one who would suffer would be Gao Junxiao, the leader of the bandit suppression team, which would be very unfair to Commander Qin.

Therefore, in order to gain Gao Junxiao's support, Commander Qin stepped in to facilitate cooperation between the two sides, essentially asking him to turn a blind eye and tacitly approve.

As they had guessed, one of the organization's negotiators was indeed Uncle Hao. The person who had arrived at the mountain earlier than them that day was Gao Junxiao, who had driven two representatives from the Soviet area.

Gao Junxiao had Commander Qin give command before the battle, creating the illusion that he was also on the front lines. In reality, he secretly slipped out and negotiated with representatives of the Soviet area at Uncle Hao's house.

To show our sincerity, we proposed that Uncle Hao's militia help Gao Junxiao suppress the bandits. Gao Junxiao originally wanted to cooperate with the locals so that he wouldn't have to show his face. He would definitely take the benefits if there were any.

In business, the best outcome is mutual benefit and a win-win situation. The cannons in the back were also given to Gao Junxiao by the Soviet Area representatives as a bonus, hoping for a pleasant cooperation.

Unexpectedly, a ten-man squad suddenly appeared. If Team Leader Dai knew that there was an armed organization belonging to our side on the mountain, he would definitely do everything in his power to wipe them out.

Fortunately, Gao Junxiao followed Qingcheng's lead and took responsibility for the base's affairs. He was credited with the military merits, the heads, and the artillery, and of course, he also had to take full responsibility for the base's cleanup.

When talking about this, Wang Renyong praised Gao Junxiao highly. Gao Junxiao did a great job. He removed all the doors, tables, chairs, and wall bricks from the base so cleanly that even the foundation bricks were taken away.

It's said that he took the materials to repair the trenches. If Gao Junxiao retires from the army, he can form a demolition team. He's just "professional".

Bah! You're getting more and more ridiculous. If you want to demolish a house, go demolish it yourself. Your skin is thicker than a city wall. Why don't you take a good look at your own face first? Anyway, you, Wang Renyong, are just a smooth talker. You can make the dead sound alive. Ah Xiao is so young, he won't retire from the army yet. Qingcheng hadn't finished cursing in her mind.

Old Wang started teasing Qingcheng again. He had said before that Gao Junxiao had handled more artillery vehicles than Qingcheng had walked more roads. He realized that the artillery vehicle thing was just a charade. However, he was still sensible and told Uncle Hao not to get close to the base anymore and not to use the new weapons recently, leaving everything to him.

A sense of pride welled up in Qingcheng's heart; Gao Junxiao had always been a reliable man. However, Qingcheng didn't get the answer she wanted and was ultimately somewhat disappointed. It turned out he was repaying his senior brother's favor of lending him troops, not because of her.

Old Wang then went back to talking about the Soviet Area representatives. They were already waiting outside Xuzhou City, just waiting for the trading day. Who knew that Commander Qin would take matters into his own hands and, under the cover of darkness, empty the small warehouse of the Military Industry Bureau.

To prevent bandits from entering, the city gates of Xuzhou were locked at night. Since he didn't have the Red Flower Society's channels, he couldn't transport the goods out at all, so they could only be piled up in a temporarily rented empty house.

There was no other way; the original plan was scrapped. The representative could only ask Commander Qin for the address and go to that empty house to guard the weapons. He also asked the Soviet area to send five more comrades to help move them, but before the helpers arrived, Team Leader Dai came first.

Commander Qin's good intentions backfired. Qingcheng was both amused and exasperated. He had originally wanted to save the organization money, but in the end, he couldn't even transport a single gun. He might as well have been ripped off and bought the Red Flower Society's services.

Wang Renyong sighed and continued to recount the story. The representative risked his life to find Qin Qulu again, and the two finally decided to transport the weapons out of the city as originally planned. The Soviet area representative went outside the city to meet them first. They carried the weapons to the bandit suppression team in several batches, and five comrades who helped them also went out of the city with the main force.

Just as Qingcheng had figured out one thing, she got stuck on another: "Wait a minute, I understand about buying weapons, but what about Bai Haoyue? How did he get involved?"

Wang Renyong shook his head: "I don't know. We'll have to wait until we rescue Bai Haoyue and let him tell us himself. According to reliable intelligence, he has already been secretly escorted to Nanjing."

"Boss, there's something I forgot to mention. Team Leader Dai has also been forcibly recalled to Nanjing by Principal Jiang. This time, he will likely be personally escorting them. If we go to rescue him, we'll be walking into a trap," Qingcheng said with a worried frown.

"Oh my, Comrade He, now that you're a江湖人 (jianghu person, meaning someone from the martial arts world), your information network is even better!" Wang Renyong's eyes were filled with surprise as he focused on Qingcheng.

"Boss, stop joking." Qingcheng explained the whole story in a serious tone. Team Leader Dai cut off the supply of goods to the Military Industry Bureau. When Master Kui got angry, he used some tricks to get a minor director of the Military Industry Bureau out and sent him to Nanjing to accuse Team Leader Dai of privately forming an army and coveting the weapons in the warehouse.

Originally, the Military Industry Bureau was full of scions of powerful families. When the heads of these families heard that their own children were about to be persecuted to death, they all rushed to President Chiang Kai-shek to complain, distorting the truth. President Chiang Kai-shek, probably influenced by those powerful figures, issued a decree of amnesty and urgently summoned Team Leader Dai back to Nanjing.

After hearing Qingcheng's explanation, Lao Wang suddenly realized: "So that's why Team Leader Dai was reluctant to go back to Nanjing. He was forced to return by his master for a reprimand."

"Team Leader Dai is a smart man. He can only play all the cards he has in his hand in the hope of quelling the principal's anger. Bai Haoyue is like a piece of braised pork in his hands, delicious to everyone. Maybe Team Leader Dai is just using him as bait." Qingcheng said meaningfully.

However, one thing is certain: if Bai Haoyue and Wu Hao have a one-way communication, there must be a secret connection between them, and he is most likely the one who sent the attack map.

Now it depends on how Lao Wang plans to rescue people, since his subordinate factory manager Zhao Nanshan hasn't shown his face yet.