After hearing Hong Shijie's explanation, Ning Zhiheng and the others finally understood the whole story. Fortunately, Hong Shijie himself was innocent; otherwise, Ning Zhiheng would not have been so lenient.
Ning Zhiheng pondered for a long time before slowly speaking: "A survivor of a hundred battles, and a comrade-in-arms, you have your reasons this time. However, your hesitation and delay in action caused you to miss the opportunity, and you cannot escape this responsibility. You are hereby removed from your position as action team leader and will not be promoted for one year. Do you accept this?"
Hong Shijie quickly nodded and said, "Thank you for your leniency, station chief. I will certainly repay my debt and do my best to take Fu Yaozu's life."
Ning Zhiheng's punishment was already considered lenient. In any case, given the serious mistake that occurred during the operation, regardless of the reason, Hong Shijie had to accept punishment and be removed from his position as the head of the operation team. This was not harsh.
As for Hong Shijie's military rank, because the intelligence station had promoted him twice in a row, Hong Shijie was on the promotion list and had already been promoted to captain. It was impossible for him to be promoted to major in a short period of time, so not being promoted within a year was hardly a punishment. Hong Shijie was extremely grateful.
Ning Zhiheng waved his hand and said, "There's one more thing you need to do. According to your account, Xu Yongchang didn't shoot you at the scene, probably because he still cherishes the bond between comrades. Try to contact Xu Yongchang and find out his specific situation. We might need him!"
"Yes!" Hong Shijie nodded in acceptance.
Sun Jiacheng then stepped forward and untied the ropes binding him, saying softly, "You were lucky this time. In future operations, you must not hesitate for a moment in situations like this, even if he is your former comrade-in-arms. If the other party had been more ruthless than you, you would be a corpse by now. We special agents cannot be soft-hearted!"
"Yes, Captain! This operation failed, and it's all my responsibility. I will definitely learn from this lesson and never make the same mistake again!" Hong Shijie quickly nodded in agreement. He knew that the failure of this operation was caused by his momentary hesitation, which implicated Sun Jiacheng. He felt quite guilty and secretly made up his mind to atone for his crime by personally dealing with Fu Yaozu, this traitor.
Ning Zhiheng then ordered Huo Yueze, who was standing beside him, "You have two things to do now. First, immediately create a buzz in the major newspapers of the concession, saying that Fu Yaozu was assassinated because he colluded with the Japanese, betrayed his country, and advocated for the enemy. He said that it was done by patriotic anti-Japanese heroes who eliminated traitors for the country. The focus should be on exposing the identity of the Japanese representative, so that everyone knows that Fu Yaozu is a traitor who sold out his country."
"Yes," Huo Yueze quickly nodded in agreement, "And the second thing?"
"Investigate Xu Yongchang immediately. Have Hongyi investigate. He's a member of the Green Gang, so it should be easy to find him. Find out what kind of person Xu Yongchang is, and see if he has any family. Fu Yaozu escaped punishment because of him, so I'll use this knife to take back Fu Yaozu's dog life. Qiu Ming's bullet can't have been taken for nothing!" Ning Zhiheng then ordered.
Ning Zhiheng's mind raced. He guessed that Fu Yaozu must be terrified at this moment. To save his life, he would surely have arranged a large number of bodyguards to protect him. If he were to forcibly attack, it would be troublesome and exhausting, and there would inevitably be casualties. Now that he knew Xu Yongchang's identity, he might as well make a move on this. It would be best to win him over and let Xu Yongchang do it himself. He was by Fu Yaozu's side and had just saved Fu Yaozu's life, so he must be very trusted. If he carried out the assassination, Fu Yaozu would definitely not escape this calamity!
Of course, this is only Ning Zhiheng's idea. Whether it is feasible depends on the specific situation after the investigation. If Xu Yongchang refuses to cooperate, then he should not blame himself. Even if he was once an anti-Japanese soldier who made contributions to the country, if he is willing to work for a traitor, Ning Zhiheng will not show any mercy.
At Ning Zhiheng's command, all personnel at the intelligence station sprang into action. Huo Yueze went to investigate Xu Yongchang and create momentum in the newspapers, while Sun Jiacheng investigated Fu Yaozu's situation. Another operation targeting Fu Yaozu was about to begin.
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