Night of terror
"Secretary Qi, there is an urgent telegram personally translated by Xu Zuo. It was sent from the Wuhan Headquarters."
"Secretary Qi, there is also an urgent telegram from Wuhan to Chairman Xu."
"Secretary Qi, there's another urgent telegram."
"Secretary Qi, it's an urgent telegram again."
"Secretary Qi, urgent."
Five urgent, encrypted telegrams in an hour, and it was late at night. Qi Kejun frowned as he stared at the telegrams on the table. Anxiety was like a gust of wind that swept through every pore of his body. A fine chill gradually crept up his limbs. His intuition told him: Something terrible has happened!
Fortunately, it was his shift tonight. He opened the last drawer and found the advanced codebook that he and his comrades had worked so hard to obtain. All they had to do was crack the information on it.
Dodo—
The knocking startled him. He immediately closed the drawer and shouted for people to come in. The figure peeking through the frosted window was probably the former confidential clerk.
As he expected, it was the confidential clerk again. The clerk politely placed the new telegram on his desk: "Secretary Qi, thank you for your trouble."
The bright red top-secret seal pierced his eyes; this was already the sixth urgent telegram. Qi Kejun silently unbuttoned the collar of his Zhongshan suit. He told himself not to rush, to wait a little longer, just in case there were more.
He forced down all his anxiety, sat stiffly at his workstation, staring intently at the telegram in his hand, his desire to decipher it growing stronger with time.
He held back his eager hand. No, he had to decipher it in a relatively safe environment. If the clerk suddenly appeared, he would definitely become suspicious. Thinking of this, he picked up a pen and scribbled on a piece of white paper to distract himself.
Only when the pale letter was filled with scribbles did he realize that the clerk would not send any more telegrams. He cautiously locked the office door, immediately ran back to his workstation, retrieved his advanced codebook, and began to read through it word by word.
When the complete translation appeared on the paper, he felt his hair stand on end, as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.
The paper clearly stated: "Li Ming, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China, who is in charge of espionage activities, was arrested in Hankou."
Dawn is Zhang Tianhe's code name! Zhang Tianhe is not only the head of the Third Section, but also one of the heads of Xinxin Company. He knows the real names of almost all the undercover agents, including Qi Kejun.
But catching just one big fish wouldn't be enough to excite the Wuhan authorities to send six urgent telegrams in a row. Or perhaps it's a trap. If he immediately sent the message out, wouldn't he be falling right into the Nationalist government's conspiracy?
Still needing to examine the other contents, Qi Kejun steadied himself and began deciphering the other telegrams.
With each line translated, his heart raced faster; each line of text was evidence of Dawn's betrayal of the revolution.
Li Ming has submitted to the Central Committee and has a grand plan to eliminate the CCP, which needs to be presented to President Chiang Kai-shek in person.
The plan to suppress the bandits has been drawn up, and Li Ming guarantees that the Shanghai Communist Party headquarters will be wiped out within three days.
All CCP strongholds in Wuhan have been destroyed, and those who resisted have been executed on the spot. Li Ming requests a meeting with President Chiang.
Given the urgency of the matter, the Hankou authorities have ordered a search of all passenger and cargo ships, and ordered Li Ming to be immediately escorted to Nanjing to report the confidential matters to the President.
The final telegram: Special Commissioner Cai Jian stationed in Wuhan will arrive in Nanjing tomorrow to report to Your Excellency. Do not let anyone other than Your Excellency know, otherwise the plan to wipe out the CCP's underground organization in Shanghai will fail.
After reading the telegrams, Qi Kejun threw down his pen, closed his eyes in despair, and realized that Li Ming had truly betrayed him; he must have been exposed. Suddenly, a thought struck him like a bolt of lightning: No, if he had already been exposed, how could he possibly have been able to decipher these telegrams?
The telegram mentioned several times that Zhang Tianhe requested a meeting with President Jiang. Could it be that this traitor hasn't revealed his hand yet, in order to sell his comrades for a good price?
Dodo—
Another soft knock sounded on the door. Cold sweat poured down his face. Qi Kejun hurriedly put away the deciphered telegram. It seemed he had guessed wrong. They had come to arrest him. Maybe he should shoot himself before they broke in.
"Dad, open the door, Mom asked me to bring you a midnight snack." A soft, sweet female voice came from outside the door.
It's my daughter! Qi Kejun swallowed hard, his surging blood calming down slightly: "Wait a minute."
After carefully stuffing the deciphered letter into the envelope, he went to open the door for his daughter. As soon as she saw him, she asked with concern, "Dad, why are you all sweaty and your hands are cold? Have you caught a cold?"
His daughter held out a handkerchief to his forehead to wipe his sweat. Qi Kejun grabbed his daughter's hand, overwhelmed with sorrow, and shook his head silently. His child was still in school, yet he was the only one who knew about Zhang Tianhe's betrayal. He had to send the news out.
The daughter before him was the perfect messenger, so Qi Ke forced a loving smile: "Xiangxiang, I just found out that my grandmother back home is very sick. Can you help your father go to Shanghai to find your uncle? It might be the last time he sees him."
His wife had no brothers in Shanghai, and the child's maternal grandmother had passed away many years ago. Xiangxiang was stunned at first, and then immediately understood her father's hidden meaning: their hometown was the Shanghai headquarters, and their uncle was Comrade Li Shifa.
"Oh no! But what about you? You're coming with me." Xiangxiang also guessed that things were not going well.
"No, Dad's at work, he has a lot of official business to attend to." Qi Kejun pushed his daughter away without further ado. "I've calculated that there's one last train to Shanghai, I'll take you there!"
The father and daughter struggled inside the house. Xiangxiang tried to persuade Qi Kejun to leave with her, but Qi Kejun suddenly stopped and whispered to his daughter with a serious expression: "Tell your uncle that you left at dawn, that your mother is critically ill, and that you need to be transferred to another hospital immediately. Remember, this letter is very important and can only be given to your uncle."
Zhang Tianhe wouldn't arrive in Nanjing by boat until Monday morning at the earliest, so he needed to race against Zhang Tianhe!
After finally getting his daughter to the train station, he tried to take out his wallet to buy a ticket, but his hands were shaking and he couldn't get it out after two tries. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, warning himself not to panic. He was sure his daughter would be able to complete the mission successfully.
After watching the last train depart, Qi Kejun rushed to the fourth floor of the Central Hotel, to a secret communication point with a radio station.
He instantly sliced the map on the wall in half, intending to leave a warning signal for his comrades who were also lurking in CC.
Of course, he was also thinking about his comrade Gu Xiaojiang, who was far away in Tianjin. Taking advantage of the fact that no one was around, he immediately put on his earphones and sent out the code they had agreed upon in plain text: "Qiantang River tide, not suitable for crab fishing, return home immediately."
"Qiantang" was his code name, "Big Tide" meant that he was in big trouble, and Comrade Xiao Jiang's code name was "Basket". "Not suitable for crab fishing" was to tell him that his identity had been exposed and that he should quickly evacuate through the safe passage.
Now that he had done everything he could, shouldn't he retreat as well? He let out a long sigh and took out a handkerchief to wipe his fogged-up glasses, when he realized it was his daughter's embroidered handkerchief.
In that instant, Qi Kejun thought of his wife and children at home. If he left, Xu Qiao would definitely retaliate against his unsuspecting wife and children. Thinking of Xu Qiao's insidious methods, he shuddered. He had to go back and dig a huge pit for Xu Qiao...
As the stars faded and the streetlights dimmed, layers of morning mist rose on the Huangpu River. On what should have been a peaceful weekend morning, the Li family's gate was being pounded on repeatedly.
Li Shifa and his wife were woken up at the same time in the bedroom. They looked at each other and wondered who it was.
The knocking grew more and more urgent, as if it was trying to break down his front door. Li Shifa dragged his tired body, put on his bathrobe, and went to open the door. He wasn't wearing his glasses, so he squinted and saw Qi's eldest daughter under the light. Strange, why was his niece here at this hour?
Before Li Shifa could ask any questions, Xiangxiang darted into the house, closed the door behind her, and pulled Li Shifa to the study. Only then did she say seriously, "Uncle Li, Dad asked me to tell you that Tianliang (Dawn) has left (betrayed), and Mother (headquarters) is critically ill. He needs to be transferred to another hospital immediately. He also has a letter for you."
What?! Zhang Tianhe has betrayed us!
After reading the deciphered telegram, Li Shifa could not hear anything. His legs went weak, and his bulky body collapsed onto the sofa.
"Uncle Li, why don't you take your aunt and siblings and retreat first?" Xiangxiang grabbed his arm, urging him to leave quickly.
Xiangxiang's shouts pulled Li Shifa back from the brink of collapse. He suddenly stood up and paced back and forth in the room. Zhang Tianhe had betrayed them, and he intended to turn his sword against his former comrades.
What should we do? What should we do? He can't just run away and abandon all his comrades at the Shanghai station; that would make him no Communist.
Ah! Find Wang Renyong! However, this thought was immediately rejected by Li Shifa. Today was not the rendezvous day, so where could he find Wang Renyong?
Walking to the window, the cold air instantly cleared Li Shifa's mind. The young girl reflected in the glass reminded him of another equally young girl—He Qingcheng.
By the way, find Comrade Xiao He. She is the emergency liaison for the Deep Blue Group. She has the authority to contact her superiors in case of an emergency.
"Xiangxiang, your uncle needs you to do something too. Go outside, turn left and walk 300 meters, then turn right and walk about 100 meters. There's a phone booth there. Call your sister Cheng right now and tell her to find Yugong and declare a state of emergency as soon as possible. Cut off all contact with anyone related to Zhang Tianhe immediately." Seeing that Xiangxiang hadn't moved, Li Shifa shouted anxiously, "Hurry up!"
Only then did Xiangxiang seem to wake up from her dream. She rushed out, and the few steps from the study to the bedroom felt like a heavy shackle on Li Shifa's feet. Last time, the betrayal of a station chief almost destroyed the entire Shanghai station, and this time it was the person in charge who betrayed them.
The Shanghai headquarters had just begun to show signs of improvement and recover some strength after much hard work, but this devastating disaster will completely shatter the intelligence network that our comrades have painstakingly built.
Zhang Tianhe not only knew the identities of his comrades on various covert fronts, but also had a thorough understanding of all the meeting points, code words, and even the temporary residences of all the central leaders.
If we let things continue as they are, our underground organization will be destroyed, thousands of comrades will fall into enemy hands, and the shadow of April 12 will not have dissipated yet, and Shanghai will once again be plunged into bloodshed.
After washing his face, Li Shifa's mind became clearer. Without even saying goodbye to his wife, he grabbed his briefcase and disappeared into the dimly lit street. He couldn't just hand over the baton of passing on information to Comrade Xiao He and leave it to him; he had to go find Wang Renyong too. Zhang Tianhe was in too much danger!
Early-rising larks sang their songs in the half-lit sky, while in the distant horizon, a lonely eye gazed upon the crowd.
The room reeked of smoke. Qingcheng wiped her forehead, her hand covered in cold sweat. If she hadn't carefully memorized the address, she would never have imagined that there would be a transportation hub in the card and chess hall.
The place was too smoky and chaotic, so Qingcheng held her breath and searched for the person in charge of the transportation station in the card and mahjong parlor. After passing a few mahjong tables, she saw a middle-aged woman with a fair complexion sitting inside a door leading to an inner room. She was smoking a thin pipe, her hair slicked back with grease, and she was handing out chips to the gamblers with her big feet up.
After the gamblers left in high spirits, Qingcheng mustered her courage, clasped her hands in a fist and asked, "Sister, how much do you sell these chips in a pack?"
"Young man, if you don't understand the rules, don't try to impress others. I only sell my cards to acquaintances. You look unfamiliar. Who introduced you?" The middle-aged woman, speaking in a soft Wu dialect, glanced warily at Qingcheng, then casually exhaled a smoke ring from her red lips.
“Naturally, I was introduced by an acquaintance. Sister Jing, take a closer look and see if I look like an acquaintance. Can you sell me seven five-yuan tokens?” Qingcheng immediately exposed her identity.
Upon hearing "seven five-yuan notes," Sister Jing's eyes flickered slightly, and she crackled with the counting chips in her hand: "Seven notes? That's a bit too few for an acquaintance. How about I buy thirteen?"
“Good sister, thirteen doesn’t sound good, it sounds like an insult. How about we round it up to twenty?” Qingcheng bargained in reverse, actually revealing the password.
"Of course, please come inside if you have a large order." Sister Jing flicked her cigarette ash, gracefully rose, and lifted the curtain.
Inside the room was a wooden table and four long benches. A statue of Guan Yu was placed on a low cabinet, which was usually worshipped by families who engaged in shady dealings. The rest of the decorations were very ordinary.
However, when Qingcheng followed Jingjie into the darkroom, she discovered that it was a completely different world inside. On the desk was a green radio tuner and undeciphered telegrams.
"Comrade, what kind of help do you need?" Sister Jing asked bluntly, holding her pipe.
Qingcheng said solemnly, "Please, Sister, find Yu Gong immediately and tell him that Yu Gong moved the mountain. I have an urgent report to give, concerning the survival of the Shanghai headquarters, it's extremely urgent!"
Jingjie's expression shifted from playful to serious: "Your code name?"
Peony.
Neither of them said anything more. Jingjie turned on the frequency with one hand and put on her headphones with the other. Amid the beeping of the buzzers, Qingcheng's mood became increasingly uneasy. She didn't actually know where Lao Wang was, and she dared not activate the main transportation station. Lu Hai had left too deep a shadow on her.
The advantage of this site is that it was personally established by Lao Wang, and there is only one-way contact with him. The staff are all locals recruited, and only a very small number of comrades in the Second Section know about it, making it extremely secretive.
After sending the telegram, Sister Jing was covered in sweat. She took a handkerchief off her clothes, then suddenly remembered something. She waved the handkerchief and called her two sons, Dapeng and Xiaopeng, and instructed them to go to each station to find Wang Renyong.
Among them, Dapeng, who was fifteen or sixteen years old, was the same pancake-selling boy who had helped Lao Wang keep watch on Fourth Road before. The boy had grown a lot taller than a year ago and was now taller than her.
"Comrade Peony, we can only wait now. Let me pour you a cup of tea." Sister Jing got up, took out a tea canister, and kindly brewed a cup of hot tea for her guest.
Qingcheng took the cup and nodded in acknowledgment: "Thank you, Sister Jing."
"Don't worry, I'll wait outside. I'll let you know as soon as I have any news." Sister Jing picked up the basket again and sat inside the door to distribute the tokens, just like before.
Outside, gamblers were shouting and yelling as they tossed dice, the clatter of mahjong tiles mingling with laughter and curses. Inside, Qingcheng held her cup silently, her ears tingling. The steam from the cup seemed to fog her eyes. She could wait, but she feared the organization couldn't afford to.
But she couldn't find Wang Renyong, and there was nothing she could do. A deep sense of powerlessness washed over her, and her chaotic thoughts drifted from the French workers' march to the bloody night at the Shiliupu Wharf...
Boom—
A flash of lightning streaked across the window. Qingcheng looked out and saw oppressive dark clouds covering the sky, making her already gloomy mood even more so.
People were finally able to take a break and go out for fun on the weekend, but their plans were disrupted by a rainstorm.
Just then, a familiar figure of a boy darted out from the alleyway. Xiao Peng, braving the large raindrops, rushed back to the chess and card room: "Mom, I'm back."
After closing the door, Sister Jing helped the child dry his hair while asking him to report. Xiao Peng told the two that Wang Renyong was last seen at the police station in the International Settlement. According to the comrades there, the Jiangsu Provincial Party Committee had assigned him a task, and Wang Renyong might leave Shanghai for Suzhou.
What if Lao Wang isn't in Shanghai? Qingcheng's tense nerves tightened, and Jingjie sighed along with her.
“However, we arrived right after Mr. Wang. He had only left the police station less than ten minutes ago, so he probably hadn’t even left Shanghai yet. My brother went to look for him in the direction Mr. Wang left in,” Xiao Peng quickly added.
"Little rascal, don't burp when you talk, it scared me to death." Sister Jing tapped Xiao Peng's head, and the child smiled shyly.
“Little brother, take me to the intersection where Wang Renyong left, I want to go look for him too.” Qingcheng excitedly grabbed the child’s wrist.
"Sit down!" Sister Jing said forcefully, pressing down on Qingcheng's shoulder. "My boss went to intercept him, and I also sent messages to other transportation stations. They will give you the password when they see Xiao Wang. Don't rush. What if you disappear again after they find Xiao Wang? Wouldn't that be a waste of time?"
What they said made sense. Qingcheng could only suppress her agitation and keep telling herself not to rush. It was okay, we would definitely find Wang Renyong. As long as he didn't leave Shanghai, we would definitely be able to stop him.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com