Huo Yueze nodded and accepted the order, but then suddenly remembered something else and asked for instructions: "Oh, right, there's one more thing. We've received important intelligence about North China, provided by Lao Hong from Tianjin. The Red Army is about to launch a major operation."
Intelligence worth $26,000 is extremely valuable in the intelligence market. You should know that the price of buying blueprints from Yong Feng was only $5,000. Therefore, Huo Yueze had to report to Ning Zhiheng.
Huo Yueze then gave Ning Zhiheng a detailed report on the intelligence he had purchased from Lao Hong the day before, concluding by saying, "The Red Army is moving around frequently, and intelligence indicates that they will soon launch an attack on the Zhengtai Line."
Ning Zhiheng was immediately alarmed. This gathering had indeed yielded such important intelligence. It was a matter of great importance, and he had to intercept it to prevent its spread. He immediately asked, "How much did it cost? Was this information an exclusive purchase?"
"Old Hong asked for $26,000, and I bought it on the spot, but not outright. Normally, no one in the intelligence market but us would be interested in this kind of information. If we bought it outright, the price would be too high!"
In the intelligence market, if you want to prevent intelligence from being leaked and buy exclusive intelligence, the price will at least double. Right now, the intelligence department is not well-funded, and Huo Yueze is also calculating carefully and has not thought too much about it.
The reason he was willing to spend a lot of money to buy this intelligence was that, starting from the end of last year, an anti-Red wave began to rise within the Kuomintang, and large-scale military frictions occurred between the Kuomintang army and the Eighth Route Army in Shanxi. The Japanese army also took this opportunity to implement the "Cage Plan," causing serious difficulties for the Red Party's anti-Japanese base areas.
Therefore, Huo Yueze tried to find the weaknesses of the Red Party and provide them to the Kuomintang military as a reference.
But this was definitely not the result Ning Zhiheng wanted. He waved his hand and said decisively, "No, you contact Lao Hong immediately and buy out this intelligence. You have to hurry and not let him have a chance to contact other buyers. Also, have him continue to investigate the movements of the Japanese military. Don't try to negotiate the price; let him name his price."
"Yes!" Huo Yueze quickly nodded and accepted the order.
Ning Zhiheng then ordered, "This intelligence must be intercepted and not sent back to headquarters. Remember, all intelligence concerning the Red Party must be reviewed by me before it can be sent to Chongqing; otherwise, you will be severely punished."
"Yes, I understand. All intelligence from the Red Party must be reviewed by you."
At this moment, Ning Zhiheng stared intently at Huo Yueze, his expression growing increasingly serious. After a long while, he slowly said, "Yueze, you must remember that the country is in peril, and the nation is facing a crisis. The Japanese are our primary target. There are also different stances within the military government. Some people want to take advantage of the situation and fight amongst themselves, while others are genuinely willing to resist Japan and unite against external forces."
I can tell you clearly that my stance is the latter. Not only for myself, but I will absolutely not allow my subordinates to disregard national interests and do things that please our enemies and hurt our own people. You must remember this!
The Shanghai Intelligence Section was Ning Zhiheng's most important loyal force. As the head of the intelligence section, Huo Yueze's stance influenced the political direction of the entire intelligence section to a certain extent. Therefore, Ning Zhiheng had to make things clear beforehand to prevent Huo Yueze from being unaware of the consequences and doing something against his will. If he made a big mistake, it would be too late to regret it.
He wasn't worried that Huo Yueze might have ulterior motives. All the cadres in the intelligence department were Ning Zhiheng's core group, and everyone knew that Huo Yueze was Ning Zhiheng's trusted confidant, whom he had personally promoted. Huo Yueze's future and fortune were all tied to Ning Zhiheng, and he would never dare to disobey Ning Zhiheng's wishes. Otherwise, Ning Zhiheng would rather take ruthless measures to eliminate him than leave any hidden dangers behind.
This was the first time Huo Yueze had heard Ning Zhiheng speak to him in such a stern tone, and he became increasingly nervous. He quickly bowed and said, "This subordinate understands, and will certainly follow you to the death, and will never let you down!"
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