That afternoon, Li Zhiqun rushed back to Nanjing to seek help from Yingzuo Yushu. Luo Xingchao continued to preside over the work of the Special Agent Headquarters and specially dispatched Wei Minglang, the captain of the Second Action Brigade, to arrange capable people to protect Yu Xinhong and assist him in handling the finances of western Shanghai.

Ten days later, Li Zhiqun rushed back to Shanghai. This time, he put in a lot of effort and did his homework, and finally got the support of Yingzuo Yushu. Naturally, he was overjoyed. As soon as he returned to Shanghai, he asked Yu Xinhong to start arranging this work.

Time flies, and it was early August in the blink of an eye. Ning Zhiheng was also busy arranging the counterfeit currency plan. The design of the Central Reserve Bank coin had been completed, and Ito Teppei had successfully persuaded his assistant, Tanimura Hiroshi, to join the counterfeit currency plan and begin carving and printing plates.

He Siming finally figured out all the details of the printing process through various means and came to Mulan Academy to report the situation to Ning Zhiheng.

"I have made some preliminary progress. This time, the Central Reserve Bank of China (CRBC) is issuing three denominations of banknotes: one yuan, five yuan, and ten yuan, as well as four smaller denominations of auxiliary coins. This is the ink ratio for printing the CRBC banknotes. As for the paper, it uses the same raw materials as the paper used for military scrip, namely watermarked paper produced in Japan. I am currently investigating the specific place of origin and manufacturer, and I will have news soon..."

Ning Zhiheng listened quietly to the report. He Siming had done a very meticulous job; it could be said that all the aspects that could be considered had been implemented.

“Okay, I estimate that once the Central Reserve Bank coin is listed, it will start to depreciate soon. Those auxiliary coins have no value for counterfeiting. Tell Ito Teppei that he only needs the engraving plates for five and ten yuan. The printing press purchased from the United States has also been installed. It can be said that everything is ready except for the final step. Once the core engraving plates are in place, we can start printing immediately.”

He Siming nodded and said, "According to Chiba Masahito, the Shanghai branch of the Central Reserve Bank is almost ready and will be officially established by early next year at the latest. When the Central Reserve Bank coin is launched into the market in large quantities, we can take advantage of the situation."

However, Ning Zhiheng was not so optimistic. He shook his head and said, "It's not that easy. The Nanjing government is a mere puppet, and the Central Reserve Bank has just been established. It has no foundation among the people, and the credibility of the Central Reserve Bank coin is too low. If it is put into the market, it will be difficult to gain the recognition of merchants and citizens. More importantly, within the Shanghai concession, our government's four major banks are even less likely to accept it. At that time, the Nanjing puppet government and the Japanese will definitely take strong measures to promote the Central Reserve Bank coin. Only when they have finished their work will it be our turn to act."

He Siming had always trusted Ning Zhiheng implicitly and obeyed his every command. Upon hearing Ning Zhiheng's analysis, he nodded and said, "This is Shanghai after all. If the Japanese use force, the four branches in the concession alone will probably be unable to stop them. So, what do we need to do next?"

"Just do nothing and wait for the results. The main job of the intelligence department is to transport supplies and collect intelligence. If you do these two things well, that will be a great achievement. Don't worry about anything else."

He Siming nodded in agreement, and then continued to report: "There is another matter. The Nanjing Special Higher Police reported that just six days ago, the Japanese military base in Xiaguan, Nanjing, was attacked by the Nanjing Station of the Military Intelligence Bureau. A military research institute was bombed, but the military also captured several Military Intelligence Bureau agents. At present, there is a lot of tension in Nanjing, and people are arresting Military Intelligence Bureau personnel in Nanjing. It is said that the Nanjing Station suffered heavy losses."

Military Intelligence Bureau Nanjing Station!

Ning Zhiheng pondered to himself, since the last withdrawal from Dong'an Town, Nanjing Station had been quiet for a long time, but now it has started to operate again, but the target is not the Japanese or the traitors of the puppet government, but the Japanese military base. Why would Nanjing Station choose to attack such a Japanese defense stronghold?

He frowned and asked, "A military research institute? Do you know exactly what it does?"

He Siming shook his head and said, "This has not been confirmed. I have no information channels in Nanjing. If you want to inquire, you need to contact the military's intelligence department."

Ning Zhiheng immediately rejected the idea: "No need for that. That would be too obvious. Besides, the Nanjing station risked attacking a military stronghold. It must have been under orders from headquarters. Headquarters would naturally know the specific reasons. If I want to inquire, I can just ask headquarters directly."

"But there's no need for that. If I ask, headquarters might think I'm intentionally interfering with Nanjing's intelligence work, which would only cause trouble. You just need to pay attention to receiving messages."

Ning Zhiheng was well aware of the Director's thoughts: he wanted to both use and guard against the Shanghai Intelligence Section. Previously, if the situation hadn't been critical, Ning Zhiheng would not have been willing to interfere too much in the work of the intelligence station.

Moreover, his intelligence work in Nanjing was beyond his reach. He had only just made some arrangements there, and none of his intelligence agents had been put into key positions. Unless he went to Nanjing in person, they would not be able to play a significant role for the time being.

"Understood!" He Siming knew that the relationship between his Shanghai intelligence section and the Chongqing headquarters was delicate, so he didn't ask any more questions and reported one last piece of intelligence.

"I just received the latest news from the Naval Attaché's Office. It is said that the intelligence department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has made a major blunder and lost important top-secret military documents near the high seas near Hong Kong. Currently, the intelligence departments of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Central and Southern China have been instructed to make up for the loss at all costs. This is quite a big deal."

Upon hearing this, Ning Zhiheng asked in a deep voice, "The intelligence department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs? Do they know what military data has been lost?"

“There are two sets of technical drawings!” He Siming replied.

He had his own intelligence network in Shanghai, and he was extremely well-informed. As long as it involved intelligence in the Shanghai area, unless it was top secret, it would be difficult to escape his notice.

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