That evening, Ning Zhiheng sent a telegram to both headquarters and the Tan residence.
He recounted what had happened the night before last, but of course, he didn't mention his assassination attempt. His identity was very sensitive. If the two bureau chiefs knew that Ning Zhiheng had been assassinated, they would definitely ask the Shanghai station to abandon the assassination of Fujiwara Tomohito, the head of the Fujiwara Association. In this way, the Shanghai station might find out that Fujiwara Tomohito's identity was questionable, increasing the chances of being exposed.
As for this assassination, Ning Zhiheng had no complaints. From the perspective of the Shanghai station, it was not wrong for them to assassinate a high-ranking Japanese official who held a prominent position and controlled the black market. In fact, it did attract Japanese military forces and it was possible to complete the mission.
However, he encountered the cunning old fox Taro Sagawa, who didn't fall for his tricks at all, and ultimately failed.
Moreover, this assassination attempt wasn't entirely a bad thing. From another perspective, it served to protect Ning Zhiheng's identity. Who would believe that the Japanese nobleman whom the Chinese agent had gone to such lengths to assassinate was also a Chinese agent? This further confirmed the authenticity of Fujiwara Tomohito's identity.
Furthermore, Ning Zhiheng was not worried about anyone attacking him again. With his abilities, as long as he was not trapped in a desperate situation surrounded by the army with nowhere to escape, almost no one could pose a threat to him.
As for the Tan Mansion, it's even more impossible to say openly. Only two people had access to the telegrams: one was Zuo Rou, the head of the telecommunications team. For Zuo Rou, knowing that Ning Zhiheng had been assassinated would only increase her worries.
The other one is Huo Yueze, which is even more difficult to say, because even now, Huo Yueze doesn't know Ning Zhiheng's cover identity in Shanghai, which is Fujiwara Tomohito, the mastermind behind Shanghai's smuggling empire. This secret is known only to Yi Hua'an and Zuo Rou in Shanghai.
The next morning, the atmosphere in a conference room at the Chongqing Military Intelligence Bureau headquarters was unusually heavy.
The Director sat upright in the middle, with Huang Xianzheng sitting to the side. Wei Liangbi, the Director and Deputy Director of the Second Action Division, stood upright in front of the Director. Also in the room were Zhao Ziliang, the Director of the First Action Division; Bian Ze, the Director of the First Intelligence Division; and Gu Zhengqi, the Director of the Second Intelligence Division.
Generally, high-level secret meetings involve two directors and four directors from the Operations and Intelligence departments. Other departments are not qualified enough to participate.
Ning Zhiheng's intelligence was of great importance this time, so Wei Liangbi dared not neglect it and hurriedly informed Huang Xianzheng. The two of them reported the matter to the Director together, but the Director was furious and quickly convened this meeting.
As the bureau chief looked at the telegram in his hand, the hatred in his eyes was hard to conceal. He hadn't expected that more than a month had passed and Duan Tiecheng and Wang Hanmin would produce such a result.
Frankly speaking, the loss of so many operatives was insignificant to the Director; the Military Intelligence Bureau had plenty of manpower, and he could afford the losses.
What infuriated him was the incompetence of Duan Tiecheng and Wang Hanmin, who had wasted more than a month. What progress had the Japanese made in that time? Would the printing of the ten billion yuan be completed soon?
Furthermore, it thoroughly alerted the Japanese, making them more vigilant. After this incident, it would be even more impossible to launch a surprise attack on the Japanese printing base, making the subsequent missions even more difficult.
At this time, the Director was unaware that the gold in the Lian family's old house had been stolen. Gan Mingxuan was still on his way back to Chongqing, and Wang Hanmin and the others were afraid of being reprimanded by the Director, so they did not report the situation. Otherwise, the Director would have sent people to arrest the two men and deal with them severely.
"Duan Tiecheng is incompetent and timid, and Wang Hanmin is cowardly and hesitant. Both of them bear unshirkable responsibility for the failure of this operation. Zhongxin, what do you think should be done about this?"
When Huang Xianzheng heard the director's question, he knew that the director did not intend to severely punish the two men. They were the director's trusted subordinates. If he really wanted to take action against them, he would not need to ask him. He was just looking for a way to back down!
In fact, given the Director's personality, how could he easily let these two people go? But he also had his own considerations.
Duan Tiecheng had always been Bian Ze's deputy and a trusted confidant for many years. Their relationship was much closer than that with Zheng Hongbo before. Since Duan had made a mistake this time, Bian Ze would naturally have to deal with him accordingly. However, given the strict rules of the Military Intelligence Bureau, Duan Tiecheng would be severely punished, if not killed, this time!
The director's biggest concern was Wang Hanmin. The status and importance of the Shanghai station were self-evident. Previously, when Zheng Hongbo had his incident, he had forcefully prevented Ning Zhiheng from taking over and suppressed the power of the Baoding faction, and arranged for Wang Hanmin to take over the work of the Shanghai station.
This time, Wang Hanmin made another mistake. Should we really remove Wang Hanmin? If so, what excuse can we use to hold onto our position at the Shanghai station? Wouldn't the Shanghai intelligence department be able to take advantage of the situation and smoothly take over the Shanghai station?
No, we absolutely cannot do that! The work at the Shanghai station must be in our own hands; this is not open to discussion.
He asked Huang Xianzheng, partly to test whether Huang Xianzheng intended to interfere in the Shanghai station again.
If Huang Xianzheng advocates severely punishing these two people, it means he hasn't given up and is trying to expand the power of the Baoding faction again. In that case, the Director should be careful. If he advocates letting these two people go, it means everything is fine and he is willing to maintain the current balance. There is no need for the Director to be too wary!
Huang Xianzheng was astute and saw through all the scheming tactics. He understood the Director's intentions and knew that the Director was very wary of him. If he tried to force the issue, it would only provoke an overreaction from the other party, making him even more wary of him.
"Director, I believe that although this incident caused huge losses, it was not entirely without effect. At the very least, they successfully assassinated a Japanese intelligence officer and a traitor, which is an achievement. I request that you handle this matter accordingly!"
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