Jian Zhengping was the chief steward of the Second Operations Division and a close confidant of Huang Xianzheng. He was far superior to Wei Jiamu in terms of position and status. He usually treated Wei Jiamu quite well and took good care of him in terms of supplies. Wei Jiamu had always been respectful to Jian Zhengping, so arranging this matter was not a problem.
Half an hour later, Hou Shifei secretly entered the interrogation building and, under Wei Jiamu's personal arrangement, entered the solitary cell of the criminal Jiang Chou. He completed the interrogation in no time and then quietly left the interrogation department to report the situation to Jian Zhengping again.
"Section Chief, we've got it all figured out. It's exactly as I found out. Guangyao Trading Company is Jiang Chou's business. He's been using his position to smuggle and trade electrical materials, making huge profits. Wan Guangji is just a front. As for that house, it's full of valuable stuff. There are antiques he's collected over the years, and a safe with a large amount of cash and gold bars. The cash is about $20,000 and £4,000, plus seventeen large yellow croakers. And in Guangyao Trading Company's warehouse, there's a brand new Ford sedan he just bought, which he was going to give to his superior. It's incredibly valuable!"
Upon hearing Hou Shifei's report, Jian Zhengping jumped up immediately. This was a windfall!
He couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement, and said with a smile, "Tsk tsk, Bao Hong is too ruthless. He's not afraid of eating so much and dying from overeating."
Hou Shifei then asked, "Section Chief, the people around Bao Hong are all corrupt. With so many officers around, how could Director Ning bring himself to do it?"
Jian Zhengping gave a cold laugh and explained, "Don't worry about it! The more people involved, the happier Director Ning will be. Actually, you haven't figured out the trick. Do you really think that my accusation against Bao Hong is just about corruption? You're being simplistic!"
Don't you know the situation in the Second Operations Division? Although Director Ning is the head, he has never had his own power within the division. Even Director Wei has an intelligence section under him, but Director Ning only has two action teams under Zhao Jiang and Nie Tianming. To be honest, this is definitely not normal. If this continues, won't it be a case of him being sidelined?
"The moment Director Ning took charge, he immediately promoted his old subordinates and repeatedly commended them for their achievements. What was he trying to do? Naturally, he wanted to expand his own power and gain more influence. In just half a month, all the officers in his two action groups were promoted, their ranks lifted, and now they were about to take over. But all the positions were already filled. What would Director Ning do? Of course, he would make room for his subordinates to rise to higher positions."
Hou Shifei suddenly realized: "So he wants Bao Hong's position as the head of the Third Section?"
“That’s right! According to my estimation, Director Ning’s original plan wasn’t necessarily to target Bao Hong. It was just a matter of who would be foolish enough to run into the line of fire. In fact, even without the Bao Hong incident, he would have found an excuse to transfer a section chief to make room for his old subordinates. But now it doesn’t have to be so troublesome. I gave him this excuse. In this way, Director Ning can expand his forces, I can recover from the previous negative impact, and you can bring down Bao Hong and join Director Ning’s ranks. We will all benefit greatly. This is worth doing!”
Jian Zhengping, as expected of a seasoned and shrewd official, had already planned everything out.
That evening, at the Wuhan Military Intelligence Department, Takasaki Shigeo stared at the telegram in his hand for a long time without saying a word. His assistant, Matsumoto Itsuki, sat opposite him with a terribly gloomy face. The two sat facing each other, and the room was eerily quiet.
Finally, Takasaki Shigeo slowly spoke up, saying, "Overnight, all members of the Rose Group were arrested. The Ephemeral Flower Project, into which so much effort was put, has completely failed. The losses are too heavy. When General Uehara returns, I don't know how to report to him."
Matsumoto Yoshimoto was heartbroken. The Ephemeral Flower Project was a major project he designed and was responsible for executing. It had always been very effective and was one of his proudest achievements. However, this telegram struck him like a thunderbolt, causing him immense heartache.
He said in a deep voice, "Black Mountain Group, Trade Wind Group, Pine Stone Group, Camel Hump Group, and today's Rose Group—in just over ten days, the Chongqing intelligence network has suffered such a heavy blow. What exactly happened?"
"The message from the Mountain Magpie Group is that half a month ago, the Military Intelligence Bureau appointed Ning Zhiheng, the director of the Second Action Division, to take charge of the operation to wipe out our Chongqing intelligence network. As soon as he took office, he cracked down on our intelligence group many times. His methods are terrifyingly sharp. I am really worried that our intelligence network will suffer even greater losses."
“Ning Zhiheng! I once heard you say that he is the most outstanding counter-espionage expert in the Military Intelligence Bureau.”
Ning Zhiheng was originally one of the top officials in the Chinese intelligence agency. The Japanese had been collecting information on him. Moreover, Takasaki Shigeo had recently inquired about Ning Zhiheng's situation. Therefore, Matsumoto Ichigen, as his assistant, also knew something about him.
"Indeed, Ning Zhiheng has always been known for his counter-espionage skills within the Military Intelligence Bureau. Before the full-scale war, he wreaked havoc on our underground intelligence network in Nanjing, capturing almost all of our early agents who had infiltrated the city. It's fair to say that we suffered a near-total loss, making him a formidable foe. Fortunately, after the establishment of the Military Intelligence Bureau, due to factional reasons, he was relegated to the Second Operations Division and no longer involved in counter-espionage work. He has always kept a low profile and rarely appeared in public. However, we did not expect that our intelligence operations would be so frequent, leading the Military Intelligence Bureau to reappoint him to lead the work. In just half a month, he has caused us such significant losses. Such an opponent is truly terrifying!"
Takasaki Shigeo collected a lot of information about Ning Zhiheng, but this ordinary information was not a secret within the Military Intelligence Bureau.
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