After a moment's thought, Takasaki Shigeo said, "Silver Fox wants to use our informants in the Military Intelligence Bureau to find out who is in charge of the Yi Dong case. What do you think?"
Matsumoto Yiyuan thought for a moment and said, "The Military Intelligence Bureau is responsible for counter-espionage work in the Second Intelligence Division. This department has always performed poorly and has no outstanding figures. Its intelligence capabilities are not worth paying attention to."
However, since Silver Fox has requested it, we can give it a try. And this request isn't difficult to fulfill. Although our positions within the Military Intelligence Bureau aren't high, this kind of information isn't top secret, so we should be able to find out. However, I don't think this is the reason for our two consecutive failures.”
In the year following its establishment, the Military Intelligence Bureau expanded its personnel extremely rapidly. With the expansion of its power came many unfavorable factors. As the entry threshold was lowered, various forces intervened, and many pawns entered the Military Intelligence Bureau. Of course, there were also Japanese spies, but because they had only been in the bureau for a short time, they were not yet able to enter key core positions and obtain the most confidential intelligence.
However, finding out who the officer in charge of solving the Yi Dong case was is still not a problem.
Takasaki Shigeo also felt there was no problem, so he nodded and said, "Then notify the Mountain Magpie Group to call on their members in the Military Intelligence Bureau to find out who is in charge of investigating the Yi Dong case and collect personal information about this person. We need to have a good understanding of our opponents."
"Understood!" Matsumoto Yoshiyuki nodded in agreement.
After arranging everything, Takasaki Shigeo's face was somber and he seemed to be in a bad mood. He had just returned to Wuhan when he was given this devastating news.
He slowly walked to his chair, sat down wearily, and couldn't help but sigh. His voice was sorrowful as he said, "Inoue was one of my longtime subordinates. He could have stayed in the Nanjing military headquarters, but I insisted on transferring him to Wuhan and then sending him to Chongqing to lie low. I never expected..."
Seeing Takasaki Shigeo's unusual expression, Matsumoto Yoshimoto knew that he was indeed unable to control his emotions, so he stepped forward to persuade him: "Takasaki-kun, in our line of work, it's inevitable to encounter such things. You should try to take Inoue-kun's matter more easy."
Takasaki Shigeo's gaze remained sorrowful. After a short while, he straightened up and asked with renewed spirits, "Let's not talk about this anymore. In the few days I was away, was there anything unusual?"
"Abnormal situation? No, everything is proceeding as usual, receiving and processing various political and military intelligence. Our intelligence network is very efficient now, especially the 'Ephemeral Flower' project, which is progressing very smoothly. After half a year of effort, it has now developed into twenty-one members, and its intelligence gathering capabilities are getting stronger and stronger. It sends back a telegram every once in a while, and it is all very valuable intelligence. We made the right move!"
Matsumoto Ichigen became increasingly excited as he spoke. The "Ephemeral Flower" plan was a major operation he had proposed and devised. The specific content involved using a newly developed drug, dissolving it in high-quality opium, disguising it as opium, and smuggling it into Chongqing. Then, valuable targets from various social strata would be selected to induce them to use the drug and become quickly addicted, thereby achieving the goal of winning them over, corrupting them, and ultimately controlling them. Like a snowball rolling downhill, the intelligence network would rapidly expand its members, collecting various military, political, and economic intelligence. Due to the special circumstances in China at present, the plan had been extremely effective after its implementation, and this "Ephemeral Flower" plan had always been one of Matsumoto Ichigen's proudest achievements.
Knowing that Matsumoto Yiyuan could talk endlessly about the "Ephemera" plan, Takasaki Shigeo couldn't help but smile slightly and wave his hand, saying, "You are in charge of the Ephemera plan yourself, so you don't need to report to me. I'm asking you if there's any information about other intelligence groups?"
Matsumoto Yoshimoto chuckled, realizing he'd been showing off a bit, and quickly said, "No, really. Oh! By the way, there's some good news!"
Takasaki Shigeo perked up and quickly asked, "What good news? Tell me!"
“Three days ago, on the same night that Silver Fox called, the Black Mountain Group also sent a telegram. They have collected the latest intelligence on the Chinese military’s deployment in Changsha. It should be a contingency plan. I have arranged for the Wind Transport Group to receive the film. If all goes well, the intelligence can be transmitted from Yichang tonight. This is very important military intelligence. We can ask General Yuan for credit again.”
Matsumoto Yoshimoto couldn't help but show a smug look on his face. The Chongqing intelligence network was doing better and better, and had obtained important military intelligence on several occasions in the past year, which greatly helped the front-line operations and earned praise from General Uehara on many occasions.
However, upon hearing Matsumoto's words, Takasaki Shigeo's expression changed drastically. He stood up abruptly, his tone suddenly becoming urgent as he pressed, "Are you sure it's the Black Mountain Group?"
Seeing Takasaki Shigeo's expression, Matsumoto Yoshimoto's heart skipped a beat. He nodded and replied, "It's the Black Mountain Group! I'm sure!"
Takasaki Shigeo's expression grew increasingly serious. He stood up, lowered his head, and walked a few steps around the room.
"What's wrong? Is something the problem?" Matsumoto Yoshimoto asked, puzzled.
Takasaki Shigeo glanced at his assistant, unsure how to explain.
The intelligence network in Chongqing was quite complex, with the most special groups being the five intelligence groups that Takasaki Shigeo specifically took over from the Shanghai Special Higher Police.
Takasaki Shigeo learned a secret from the military: during the capture of Nanjing, the Shanghai Special Higher Police captured a group of important prisoners of war and successfully turned them into defectors, placing them in various important departments of the Chinese government.
Upon hearing this news, Takasaki Shigeo was overjoyed. He went to great lengths and made every effort, even using his relationship with Uehara Junpei to exert pressure on the Shanghai Special Higher Police, eventually forcing them to hand over the five intelligence groups and bring them under his command.
Because these five informants were all personnel from important departments of the former Chinese government, they had high starting points, strong concealment capabilities, and enormous value, and Takasaki Shigeo had high hopes for them.
Later, one of his informants stayed in Wuhan for special reasons and went undercover. However, to his disappointment, before he could pass on any important intelligence, he was discovered by Chinese agents, his identity was exposed, and he and his contact were quickly eliminated, which he found quite regrettable.
Fortunately, the other four groups had already infiltrated Chongqing. As expected, these four informants quickly obtained key positions, and their intelligence value rapidly increased. Among them was the Black Mountain Group, which had infiltrated the highest military department in China, the Military Commission.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
