With the truth finally revealed, Ning Zhiheng compiled Xia Bin's confession, quickly wrote a case report, and went to the headquarters of the Military Intelligence Bureau to report to the director in person.
"Xia Bin spoke up?"
In the office, the bureau chief took the case report but did not open it. Instead, he placed it on the desk, stood up, and gestured to Ning Zhiheng. The two then sat facing each other on the sofa.
"He opened up. In just two hours, the kid confessed everything. Xia Bin, codenamed Modou, was captured by the Japanese army during the Battle of Nanjing. He surrendered and betrayed them after enduring torture. Ji Yongyan, codenamed Heishan, whose real name is still unknown, was a member of the Japanese Special Higher Police. The two of them were in single-line contact. Based on their confessions, we found a Citibank deposit slip in a secret compartment in Xia Bin's house, containing a full $30,000. This was the money he received from selling intelligence twice. We also found a German-made miniature camera, which Xia Bin used to take the photos and videos of the intelligence he collected."
The bureau chief nodded, then asked, "Was Song Anxian involved in this?"
Although he had promised Vice Minister Song that he would let Song Anxian go and not pursue the matter, he still needed to be aware of Song Anxian's identity so that he could take precautions and control her in the future.
Ning Zhiheng hesitated for a moment, then shook his head and explained, "According to Xia Bin's confession, Song Anxian only met Ji Yongyan by chance. Moreover, in my judgment, Song Anxian's position in this intelligence team is indeed superfluous. It was because of Song Anxian's appearance that we were able to find out about Xia Bin. To be honest, it was this woman who ruined their plans, so I don't think Song Anxian is their accomplice."
At this point, Ning Zhiheng cautiously added, "This was all due to my mistake in the investigation. Fortunately, the Director took the blame for me, otherwise things would have been very difficult to handle!"
The bureau chief was very satisfied with Ning Zhiheng's sincere attitude. He leaned back on the sofa and said with a relaxed expression, "I have that much responsibility. I can't let you run all the way back to Chongqing to be the villain. But this is not your fault. Song Suyuan joined the revolutionary party and the Tongmenghui in his early years. He was afraid of implicating his family, so he changed his name and switched the two characters 'Yuansu'. He also kept his family situation a secret and never talked about it with anyone. This situation lasted for a long time, so few people outside knew about his relationship with Song Yuankui. He didn't say anything, and I didn't know either. Don't worry about it too much!"
There was a reason for this, no wonder even an experienced person like Shao Wenguang made this mistake.
The officer then asked, "You've already started searching Xia Bin's house. Is that a big operation?"
Ning Zhiheng was taken aback, but he quickly understood what the director meant. The director wanted to suppress the impact of this matter.
"This morning, Song Anxian was arrested in public, followed by a thorough search and the sealing off of her residence. This action was definitely a bit excessive. What do you mean...?"
The bureau chief waved his hand, somewhat disappointed, and said, "After returning from your place today, I thought of another possibility. If we can't reach an agreement with Song Suyuan, I plan to take a step back and pardon Xia Bin and his wife for their espionage crimes, and turn them into our intelligence agents. This way, we can protect them, save face for Song Suyuan, and have Xia Bin work for us, passing on false information that is favorable to us to the Japanese. Actually, this is not a bad idea. But now, your actions are too big. With the intelligence capabilities of the Japanese in the Chongqing area, they will find out sooner or later about your arrest of Song Anxian and the seizure of Xia Bin's residence. So my idea won't work."
The director's plan was indeed feasible. The original intention was to negotiate a compromise with Song Suyuan, but the more he thought about it, the better he felt it was. However, it was too late to make arrangements now. Xia Bin's wife had been arrested and his residence had been sealed off. The Japanese would naturally assume that Xia Bin had been exposed, and it would no longer be feasible to use him to transmit false information.
Ning Zhiheng certainly didn't want the bureau chief to do that either. He had spent so much effort investigating this case not only to uncover Xia Bin, this mole who posed a great threat to the country, but also to gain political achievements and benefits. The leak case was a major case that had reached the highest levels of government. As the person in charge of the investigation, his own benefits were obvious, and his subordinates were also waiting for this great achievement to be rewarded with promotions and titles! If the bureau chief were to handle it discreetly and suppress it, the effect would be greatly diminished.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel secretly glad that he hadn't arrested Song Anxian overnight and had waited until the next day to take action. Otherwise, the bureau chief might have really done that, and he would have suffered a huge loss.
Ning Zhiheng quickly said with a serious expression, "Director, Heishan is refusing to talk now, and it's hard to say what the outcome of the interrogation will be. If he doesn't cooperate, this matter won't work."
Ning Zhiheng's reasons were convincing, leaving the bureau chief speechless. However, the bureau chief was also aware of Ning Zhiheng's ulterior motives. He mentioned it briefly but did not insist further. After all, the next round of operations would still rely on this general, and it would be inappropriate to interfere or attack him too much.
"However, your idea is excellent. If we can pass on false military intelligence to the Japanese and lead them by the nose, it will be of great benefit to our next military operation. Since Xia Bin is out of the question, I have a good candidate here. I wonder if you, Director, would be interested?"
Ning Zhiheng's next words greatly surprised the bureau chief. He looked at Ning Zhiheng with suspicion and asked, "You have someone in mind? Tell me more?"
Ning Zhiheng stepped forward and explained carefully, "I have someone in my hands named Liang Shi'an. He is currently a staff officer in the Military Commission's Conscription Department. He served in the combat troops in his early years and was later transferred to the Military Commission. Now that Xia Bin has been captured, the position of operations staff officer in the operations department has become vacant. If we can transfer Liang Shi'an from the Conscription Department to the operations department to replace Xia Bin, this matter has a very good chance of success!"
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