Ning Zhiheng's words immediately reminded the Director that, for various reasons, it was common for Chongqing government officials to flee. Some couldn't endure the hardships, some couldn't stand the constant air raids and bombings by the Japanese army, and many more were going to join the puppet government in Shanghai. This was political opportunism. Since they had no future with the Kuomintang anyway, they might as well try their luck with the puppet government and see if there was any other development!
The bureau chief nodded heavily, deeply agreeing, and said, "You're right. It's very possible that these people would use Wang Hanmin's family members as a gift to the puppet government. I'll immediately have Gu Zhengqi investigate and find out who left Chongqing last night. Once we find out who kidnapped Wang Hanmin's family members, we can blockade and arrest them at various checkpoints and bring them back."
However, Ning Zhiheng was not so optimistic. Over the years, quite a few Chongqing officials had defected. These people were not ordinary people; they had considerable influence in government departments and were capable of finding a way out for themselves. Besides, the puppet government should also have arrangements. The chances of bringing them back based solely on the search efforts at the checkpoints were very slim. Moreover, if the other side acted quickly enough, they would probably have already entered the Japanese-occupied territory by now. By the time they found them, they might already be in Wuhan.
The Director was actually aware of this, but he wanted to take remedial action; he couldn't just do nothing and let it escape!
He sat in his chair, his brow slightly furrowed, and asked again, "Zhiheng, the current clearing operation seems to be lagging behind. There's been no progress in the past few days. Is there no news of Silver Fox at all?"
Since the arrest of the observation team, the Second Operations Division has become much less active. No Japanese spies have been captured in recent days. This would be normal for other departments, but for Ning Zhiheng's Second Operations Division, especially when compared with the previous results of the crackdown, it is quite noticeable.
Ning Zhiheng quickly replied, "Indeed, nothing has been found. The Japanese intelligence agencies have completely abandoned intelligence operations and gone into a state of complete dormancy. I've released people out these past few days and searched the Yuzhong District. We're currently searching the Yuxi District, but we haven't found anything yet!"
The bureau chief sighed and waved his hand, saying, "Perhaps I was a little too hasty. To be honest, it is truly outstanding that you have accomplished this much in just over a month. It has far exceeded my expectations. If we really can't find Silver Fox, we don't need to force it."
Upon hearing this, Ning Zhiheng was afraid that he would bring up the internal purge again and ask him to take over the work ahead of schedule, so he quickly said, "The so-called eradication of evil must be thorough. Please give me a little more time. I guarantee that I will capture Silver Fox in a short time and completely wipe out this force."
But the director shook his head and said with a serious expression, "I'm afraid we can't worry about that now. There are some things you don't know. Wang Hanmin's betrayal and defection to the enemy has completely exposed the Shanghai station to the sight of the Japanese and No. 76. I'm not even sure if we can escape this calamity."
More importantly, Wang Hanmin's harm was not limited to Shanghai. Just this afternoon, the two National Salvation Army battalions I handed over to him, totaling over a thousand men, were surrounded by the Japanese in the Jingze area. Under a surprise attack, the entire force was wiped out!
"What?"
Ning Zhiheng couldn't help but exclaim in surprise. This was completely beyond his expectations. The losses were enormous!
"Furthermore, I also planted some spies in Shanghai. These people were all outstanding agents whom I carefully selected from various parts of Central and North China. They were infiltrated into all walks of life in Shanghai through various connections. Originally, I wanted to consolidate Shanghai as a key location and increase Wang Hanmin's power. But now I can't hold onto it. Alas! One wrong move and the whole thing is lost. All my hard work has gone to waste!"
At this point, the director couldn't help but put his hand to his forehead, feeling his temples throbbing. He was filled with sorrow and his mood was extremely gloomy.
Upon hearing this, Ning Zhiheng immediately realized that the spies the Director had mentioned had been closely monitoring Wang Hanmin's every move since Wang Hanmin entered Shanghai, when both sides were suspicious and wary of each other. This led him to discover several intelligence agents that headquarters had prepared for Wang Hanmin. This situation continued until his own Military Intelligence Bureau was established and an agreement was reached between him and the Director, at which point the surveillance on Wang Hanmin and the Shanghai station was lifted. As a result, Ning Zhiheng was unaware of the subsequent development of several more intelligence agents.
When Ning Zhiheng heard the bureau chief mention this matter, he knew that he would have to take action. Sure enough, he heard the bureau chief continue, "These spies are all lurking in Shanghai. Now the Shanghai Station is trapped in the French Concession, and their fate is uncertain. They can hardly protect themselves. Zhiheng, your intelligence department has great strength in Shanghai. Can you rescue these people?"
Ning Zhiheng pondered for a moment, then looked troubled. He said, “Chief, Wang Hanmin has been arrested for over two days and has now been confirmed to have defected to the enemy. If he has already handed over this force to the 76th Division, even if these people haven’t been arrested, they are probably already under the surveillance of the 76th Division’s agents. If we contact them now, wouldn’t we be walking into a trap? Besides, if they were in the concession, I could take strong measures, but in Shanghai, we don’t have that capability. Moreover, the intelligence section has a crucial mission in Shanghai, bearing the heavy responsibility of intelligence gathering and material transportation. If it fails, the losses will be enormous!”
Ning Zhiheng was unaware of the specifics. He didn't know that Wang Hanmin, for the sake of his family, hadn't revealed everything to Li Zhiqun. These intelligence agents hadn't been exposed yet, so Ning Zhiheng was still unwilling to act rashly, lest he get burned and ruin his own life. He knew that without him in Shanghai, the intelligence department would be hard-pressed to withstand any storms, and he couldn't take that risk.
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