Ning Zhiheng never expected that Zhang Zhengkui, a military bigwig from the Baoding clique and a veteran general in the high ranks of the military government, would know about a nobody like him.
“That’s right. I joined the Military Intelligence Investigation Department in early October last year, following my teacher’s instructions. My senior brother, Wei Liangbi, also works in the Operations Section of the Military Intelligence Investigation Department. We are both the leaders of the operations team,” Ning Zhiheng replied respectfully.
At this point, it was no longer appropriate to refer to himself as "this humble servant." Since he was his own teacher, Ning Zhiheng naturally changed his address to "student," quickly shifting their relationship to a private one, which made all the difference.
Upon hearing Ning Zhiheng's answer, Zhang Zhengkui burst into laughter. He stepped forward and teased Ning Zhiheng, "My old subordinates all say that He Yongnian's ability to teach students to fight is so-so, but his ability to teach students to be spies is first-rate. He's talking about you two, isn't he! Hahaha!"
Hearing Zhang Zhengkui's joke, Ning Zhiheng couldn't help but feel a little helpless. He Feng had mentioned this matter to his fellow apprentices, and He Feng himself didn't want others to keep making fun of it. After all, in the eyes of regular soldiers, the identity of a military intelligence agent was not honorable.
However, Wei Liangbi and I became key members of the Military Intelligence Investigation Department in just a few years. In particular, my sharp edge made several high-ranking members of the department quite wary, to the point that the department head has started to suppress me. This has been rumored among the middle-level core members of the Baoding faction. Unexpectedly, even Zhang Zhengkui, a top figure in the Baoding faction, has heard this joke.
"I am ashamed that I was unable to follow the right path because I had no choice in the matter!" Ning Zhiheng replied in a low voice, his tone clearly revealing a hint of regret, as if he was quite conflicted about it.
Zhang Zhengkui's expression grew increasingly amiable. He also felt that this junior had abandoned the right path, bearing the name of a spy, and had made a great sacrifice for the interests of the Baoding Clique. Otherwise, if he had joined the military, his future would have been bright.
“You don’t need to worry too much. The Military Intelligence Investigation Department is a directly subordinate department led by the Chairman himself. It has various privileges and is an extremely important department. We must have our own people in it, otherwise there will be many things we can’t get involved in, and there will be great hidden dangers. Do you understand?” Zhang Zhengkui said in a deep voice, his tone very serious.
Ning Zhiheng immediately straightened his expression and answered loudly again, "Student understands, and will certainly stay at his post and live up to the expectations of his teachers!"
Hearing Ning Zhiheng's answer, Zhang Zhengkui nodded in satisfaction. Only then did he begin to inquire, "I just received a report that on your way here, you encountered a Japanese plainclothes squad and your troops annihilated them all. That was a brilliant battle!"
Ning Zhiheng quickly and humbly bowed his head and replied, "I was lucky enough to discover the enemy's whereabouts in advance, which allowed me to make arrangements and successfully launch the attack."
Zhang Zhengkui nodded, sighed softly, and said, "Now many of my troops on the right flank have been transferred to the central battlefield, leaving us with depleted forces. We are struggling to cope with the increasingly frequent landing attacks by the Japanese army and it is difficult to sustain our operations."
Japan has been sending small groups of plainclothes agents to infiltrate the country and attack our outposts, intending to destroy our artillery bases. Some time ago, they discovered the location of our heavy artillery. If I hadn't reacted in time, these precious weapons would have been bombed into a pile of scrap metal by Japanese planes. You must know that our only means of fighting back now is these artillery pieces, and we absolutely cannot afford to lose them.
Now the plainclothes police have expanded their operations to our rear areas, sabotaging roads and bridges, and attacking supply lines, posing an increasing threat to us.
However, we have never had an effective means against them, mainly because we cannot find their whereabouts. Even if we send a large army to encircle and suppress them, these plainclothes officers can disguise themselves as Chinese at any time, infiltrate towns and villages, and evade our search and capture.
"We sent fewer people, and these special agents are very capable, so they simply turned around and wiped us out. They've become a dagger stuck in my back, making me restless and unable to eat or sleep. Zhiheng, you've done a great job wiping out this plainclothes team; otherwise, the supplies wouldn't have been able to get through!"
Hearing Zhang Zhengkui's words, Ning Zhiheng understood why the army group commander in charge of a battlefield would specifically summon him, a mere major. It turned out to be because of the annihilation of this plainclothes team.
“Commander, this is what a student should do. My special agent brigade is composed entirely of rigorously trained agents. We may not have much experience in positional warfare, but when it comes to dealing with these Japanese agents, identifying Japanese spies, and conducting small-scale special operations, that is our forte. If you trust me, then leave these plainclothes teams to me. I will guarantee that I will wipe out all the plainclothes teams operating in the Pudong area within a month, so that I can have no worries about the front lines!”
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