Ning Zhiheng couldn't help but look at Shi Liqun with new respect. This man was truly well-educated, not only with solid Chinese skills but also possessing highly professional meteorological knowledge, and he also knew English. Such a person was indeed a rare talent in this era, but unfortunately, he served the Japanese and became a traitor.
Ning Zhiheng asked, "How long have you been with the Lin family? How much time do you usually spend attending classes at the Lin family home? Do you live at the Lin family home?"
Shi Liqun honestly replied, "I have been with the Lin family for just three months. I usually go to the Lin family for classes at 8:30 in the morning, have lunch and rest there at noon, and return to my residence at 5 pm. I rest on Sundays."
"Lunch break? You have your own room at the Lin family's house?"
“There is one, but I only stay there for a midday rest. I don’t usually stay there. After all, it’s the Lin residence, heavily guarded, and it’s impossible to let outsiders stay overnight.”
Yes, that's Lin Zhen's home!
Ning Zhiheng pondered for a moment. He also couldn't believe that if the Japanese knew that Shi Liqun had actually managed to infiltrate Lin Zhen's home, how could they possibly miss such a good opportunity? They couldn't possibly just let him do meteorological observations; that would be too wasteful of resources.
"Explain clearly what intelligence activities you conducted and what classified information you obtained during this period. I warn you, your team's superior, Matsuda Jiro, was arrested last night, otherwise we wouldn't have found you. If your testimony doesn't match his testimony..."
At this point, Ning Zhiheng kicked the bucket at his feet and said coldly, "This is just the lightest punishment. I will make you go through all the tortures. I guarantee you won't even be able to die if you want to."
Upon hearing this, Shi Liqun trembled and quickly explained, "I really haven't had any access to any classified information. I haven't been with the Lin family for long. The Lin family has treated me quite well and paid me well, but I don't have any intelligence capabilities. The Lin family has many adjutants and guards who keep a close watch on me. Moreover, I am only responsible for teaching the young master of the Lin family. I don't have much to say to General Lin, so I can't say that I have obtained any classified information."
At this point, Shi Liqun's eyes suddenly twitched to the upper left corner, as if he had remembered something, but he quickly returned to normal.
But none of this could escape Ning Zhiheng's eyes. Even those highly trained professional agents were exposed in Ning Zhiheng's eyes, let alone such a half-baked novice.
Ning Zhiheng smiled coldly and said to Pei Mingyuan, "It seems that Mr. Shi, you still haven't taken my words to heart. What you said is quite different from Matsuda Jiro's testimony. Perhaps Mr. Shi doesn't know my identity. I am Ning Zhiheng, the director of the Second Operations Division of the Military Intelligence Bureau, who is in charge of this operation."
Upon hearing this, Shi Liqun's eyes widened in shock. Although he was not involved in intelligence work, he was familiar with the name Ning Zhiheng. He never expected that this ruthless star would personally come to him today.
Ning Zhiheng continued, "Your observation team has a total of fourteen members, yet I personally went to arrest you. Why do you think that is? Mr. Shi, I'm giving you one more chance. You'd better seize it, or I guarantee you'll regret it. Answer my question again: what classified information did you obtain?"
In fact, Matsuda Jiro's confession did not mention anything about Shi Liqun obtaining classified information. It is clear that he was hiding something. Perhaps Zhao Jiang did not pursue this issue too much during the interrogation, since Matsuda Jiro was only responsible for observing the weather and not for intelligence gathering.
So Ning Zhiheng was just trying to bluff Shi Liqun, and sure enough, Shi Liqun's true colors were revealed. Under Ning Zhiheng's intense gaze, he quickly couldn't hold on any longer. His lips trembled, and he finally said, "There is a situation, but I don't know if it counts as classified information."
Ning Zhiheng's spirits lifted upon hearing this. If Shi Liqun had indeed stolen confidential information from Lin Zhen, then he would have another trump card in his hand, and he could also negotiate terms with Lin Zhen when they met.
Ning Zhiheng glanced at the others around him and then waved his hand, signaling, "You all go out."
Zhao Jiang and Pei Mingyuan quickly nodded in agreement and led the other team members out of the room.
After watching everyone leave, Ning Zhiheng turned to Shi Liqun and said, "Alright, you tell us what you have to say."
Shi Liqun hesitated for a moment, but still honestly said, "Just ten days ago, in the afternoon, when I was teaching at the Lin family's house, two generals from the National Revolutionary Army came to visit. While they were chatting in the living room, I happened to pass by the side door and overheard a few words of conversation inside. The content was that on the battlefield in northern Jiangxi, the National Revolutionary Army's 57th Division and two other divisions, whose specific numbers I don't remember, planned to launch a general offensive on October 4th to encircle and annihilate the Japanese 106th Division, which was surrounded. The battlefield in northern Jiangxi would create another great victory at Wanjialing."
"What?" Ning Zhiheng's expression changed drastically upon hearing this. He grabbed Shi Liqun by the neck, his voice turning extremely fierce, and asked, "What was the date that day? Did you pass on the intelligence?"
Shi Liqun's neck was pressed so hard by Ning Zhiheng's hand that he almost couldn't catch his breath. Only when Ning Zhiheng let go was Shi Liqun thrown onto a chair. After a long while, he nodded and answered hesitantly, "It was on the 2nd of this month. That night, when I submitted the weather observation records to the team leader, Miyamoto Yama, he asked me about my situation at the Lin family. I casually mentioned this, and then he turned around and left. That's when I realized that this news must be very important."
Hearing this, Ning Zhiheng really wanted to strangle the bastard in front of him to death!
At the beginning of the month, the situation on the Jiangxi-northern battlefield in Changsha changed significantly in favor of the Chinese. Three divisions surrounded the exhausted Japanese 106th Division in the Ganfang area, and the division could have been annihilated. However, on October 3, the day before the general offensive, the 106th Division suddenly launched a breakout operation without warning. Moreover, the direction of the breakout was completely unexpected. Instead of turning back east towards Wuhan, they chose to break out westward. This sudden action caught the Chinese army completely off guard. As a result, the 106th Division broke out in the gap between the two divisions, and then captured the poorly defended Shijie. They bypassed the encirclement of the main Chinese army and withdrew to Wuning on October 5, finally managing to escape unscathed.
If the 106th Division had broken out just one more day later, and the Chinese army had launched a general offensive, the two sides would have been locked in a fierce battle and would have lost the initiative to attack. They would have been forced to fight a war of attrition with the Chinese army. As expected, the 106th Division, which was already exhausted and outnumbered, would have been worn down and killed on the battlefield.
As a result, the Chinese army missed a great opportunity by just one day, letting the Japanese special division escape, which was a great pity for the Chinese military.
But now Ning Zhiheng realized that the culprit behind all this was none other than the insignificant half-baked guy in front of him, Shi Liqun!
What an ironic joke! Something that even seasoned, experienced agents couldn't do was inadvertently accomplished by a weather observer who had no intelligence work skills and could only read the weather. The indirect damage caused was almost incalculable.
"You bastard!"
Ning Zhiheng punched Shi Liqun in the cheek. Even though he deliberately held back, the punch still made Shi Liqun dizzy. He felt as if a heavy hammer had hit his face. Half of his teeth came out with blood, and he immediately fell into a coma.
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