Ning Zhiheng frowned upon hearing Liu Datong's words. From what he said, it seemed that Liu Datong had arrested these thugs, but later released them.
He immediately asked, "Since you arrested these people, why did you release them? You caused all this trouble, and Zhiming almost lost his life."
Upon hearing this, Liu Datong quickly explained, "More than a month ago, because of Zhiming's matter, I ordered the arrest of those street thugs. Originally, I wanted to teach these bastards a lesson and send them to jail for a few years. But as soon as they were locked up, the Second Intelligence Division of the Military Intelligence Bureau called us and said that these people were their external informants and asked us to release them. You instructed us not to reveal the identities of your family members, so I thought it was best not to make too much of a fuss. In addition, the Military Intelligence Bureau urged us to release them. But I didn't expect that they would dare to retaliate again."
Liu Datong's words immediately startled Ning Zhiheng. How did this matter get involved with the Military Intelligence Bureau again?
"Second Intelligence Division? External informants? Who made the call?" Ning Zhiheng asked again.
"He's a group leader from the First Intelligence Section of the Second Intelligence Division, named Qian Zhong!"
As soon as Liu Datong spoke, Ning Zhiheng and Wei Liangbi exchanged a glance, both somewhat surprised.
As for Qian Zhong, he was an old acquaintance of theirs. When Ning Zhiheng first joined the Military Intelligence Bureau, he uncovered the Japanese spy Huang Xiansheng and overturned a wrongful conviction. It was Qian Zhong, who was then the head of the intelligence group in the intelligence section, who handled the case. In order to keep the peace and for the benefit of the Military Intelligence Bureau, Ning Zhiheng and Wei Liangbi covered for Qian Zhong. However, Qian Zhong was a greedy fellow. After the matter was settled, he wanted to keep the money from the two men as hush money. This angered the two brothers, who went directly to his door and used various means to extort five thousand US dollars from him. The two sides parted on bad terms and never had any contact again.
In fact, Qian Zhong later thought of finding an opportunity to turn the tables. After all, at that time, the intelligence section held the top position in the Military Intelligence Bureau, and he himself was considered a confidant of the section chief, holding some real power. How could he be willing to be blackmailed by these two brothers?
However, things didn't go as planned. After this incident, Ning Zhiheng's rise was unstoppable. With his dazzling performance, he quickly rose through the ranks of the Military Intelligence Bureau. In just a few months, he became the major and action team leader of the Action Section, wielding great power and becoming the sole executor of the Action Section. Moreover, the Action Section quickly became the top department of the Military Intelligence Bureau.
Coupled with Ning Zhiheng's ruthless reputation, all of this made Qian Zhong completely give up on the idea. He even deliberately avoided them, fearing that the two brothers would remember the past and come looking for trouble again.
So over the years, Qian Zhong gradually disappeared from Ning Zhiheng and Wei Liangbi's sight. The two of them almost forgot that Qian Zhong existed. They never expected to hear his name again today.
Ning Zhiheng couldn't help but curse, "Qian Zhong? He actually got involved with him, that bastard!"
Wei Liangbi had been in Chongqing all along and knew a little about Qian Zhong's situation. After listening, he couldn't help but laugh and said, "Qian Zhong isn't doing so well now. The Director also thinks he's not ambitious enough. He hasn't been promoted in the past few years and is still just an intelligence team leader. However, the Second Intelligence Division is in charge of internal affairs. It's common for them to keep some outsiders under them to gather information."
Ning Zhiheng wasn't surprised. Back then, weren't Liu Datong and the others his outsiders? They had done a lot for him. But since they had offended him, he couldn't care less. Not to mention these thugs, if Qian Zhong himself were involved, Ning Zhiheng would take his life.
Liu Datong continued, "I investigated these people before. They are some local thugs and gangsters. They formed a gang on Shunyuan Street in Yuzhong District, called Shunyuan Hall. They opened several opium dens and casinos near Shunyuan Street and recruited a lot of people. They have a lot of influence in that area."
The "Muddy Water Brothers" mentioned by Liu Datong are a type of the Pao Ge Society, a unique gang organization in Sichuan with members spread across all levels and sectors of society.
However, the Gelaohui (袍哥会) did not have a national organization, or even a regional organization. Each Gelaohui branch existed independently, without any dependence or affiliation. Sometimes, there was one branch in a town, a township, or even a street in a city. The threshold for joining was unbelievably low. A group of people could find a place to hang out and call themselves a Gelaohui family. There were countless branches of the Gelaohui in Sichuan.
Therefore, during the Republic of China period, the Gelaohui was the gang with the most members in the country, but it was also the most loosely organized. At its peak, leaders of various military and political circles in Sichuan Province also set up branches and identified themselves as members of the Gelaohui.
These secret societies were divided into two types based on their professions and the nature of their behavior. One type was the "clean" secret society, whose members mostly had legitimate professions, stable property, reputation, and were law-abiding, righteous, and polite. They were mostly intellectuals, enlightened gentry, and young students.
Another type is called the Hunshui Paoge, whose members are complex, including bullies, bandits, robbers, and people from all walks of life. They do all sorts of evil deeds. In Sichuan, where bandits were rampant, most of the members were Hunshui Paoge.
The same was true in Chongqing. After the Nationalist government moved its capital, in order to ensure social order in the wartime capital and the political environment of the central government, Chiang Kai-shek ordered the cleanup of various local gangs in Chongqing. Under the strong suppression of the central army, many large gangs were shut down in a short period of time.
However, as a deeply rooted social force in Sichuan, the Gelaohui (袍哥会) was extremely resilient. They quickly transformed themselves, cooperating with the Nationalist government and becoming its henchmen and enforcers, attached to various powerful departments.
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