The operator greeted him happily and suggested a cup of tea.

Li Guangyuan declined.

He complained twice, and then handed over the secret telegram sent by the center to Li Guangyuan: "Please provide further information." Who is behind the negotiations with the West after being denied? Where will the negotiations take place? Can I report the name of at least one participant? To understand the complexity of your current situation, keep in touch as often as possible. ”

Li Guangyuan handed over a secret telegram to the telegrapher. This is the first step in dangerous and complex countermeasures. He decided to start taking countermeasures, not waiting for the liaison. If the woman sent his telegram, it naturally implied that a liaison should be sent.

"I sent my men to the border area by ship at nineteen o'clock and four o'clock. For ideological reasons, she's working for Zhan Guoqiang, and for you, this may serve as a beacon of light on the people she's been ordered to befriend. I will stay with him on the road for two days, and then I will contact you abroad. For the sake of secrecy and for the sake of Zhan Guoqiang's fear that the Bolsheviks would know about this, please do not send a liaison officer when I go to the border area for the first time: you are going to deposit the money you are going to deposit into my bank account, please deposit it in your designated bank instead. ”

The passage about "that money" had not been agreed upon with the Center in advance, but the meaning of these words could be guessed by the superiors. Someone will go from Yan'an to the northwest to find her. She would verbally convey what he had to say, and he, Li Guangyuan, was determined to trust her completely.

But she didn't tell anyone who had been sent to the docks to connect with her. Three police cars and an ambulance were waiting for the ferry. People carried her down on stretchers; She's dead. Police found fingerprints of unregistered people on poisoned cups. Li Guangyuan used this cup when he sent her to first class. This is the man of number 76 who did the tricks. Li Guangyuan and she had just left the cabin to say goodbye to the deck, when a quick-witted, skinny man from Chang Kaishen's agent team sneaked into the cabin and took the cup. Half an hour later, a gram of deadly poison had been placed in the cup. In this way, if Li Guangyuan is determined to flee, then no matter where he is in the world, he will be pursued by the criminal police as a thug and murderer.

However, the next day, the deceased sent a telegram to Li Guangyuan from the border area at exactly the appointed time, saying that he had begun to do the work of the border people.

"It is impossible to get in touch with myself, he has just gone to meet with senior officials under a pseudonym. Discuss the conditions for unilateral peace on the Western Front. ”

This message, forwarded to Moscow, is true.

The newspaper authorities received an accurate report: On the same day that the secret telegram was received, someone did meet with Zhan Guoqiang at the consulate.

The director of the investigation bureau read the "top-secret documents" several times over the transcript of the conversation with the lawyer. A sumptuous meal was ordered in advance from the owner of the restaurant, and his people cleverly installed a special device on the table to record their conversation. The Bureau tapped the phones of all his friends in order not to make it difficult to complete his "special instructions".

Now that the two of them are having a hard time, he must understand what has happened to his powerful competitors, or potential allies in the struggle for survival. However, the leaders did not publicly accuse him for the time being, they have an extraordinary memory, and he always remembers what he used to do.

At this moment he flipped through some small pieces of paper, which were marked with the words "Top secret, only this one, should be destroyed". The content is a conversation of dangerous people for the United States.

Yes, it is.

It was the people behind them who did what they hated: he recognized the party that the enemy knew, set up an embassy there, and sat at a table with their leader; He recognized the right to participate in post-war affairs on an equal footing; He obstructs the necessary steps for big business to reserve for the West. The power of leadership has been elevated. Believe in legends, and Da is a politician taboo. The storyteller can finish telling the beautiful myth and walk away.

He called his assistant and instructed, "Man, I'm worried that our leaders are neglecting personal safety. Yes, Wang Wei is going to be finished, but he may be desperate when he is dying. I'm worried about our president, so, man, don't be afraid to bother, take a closer look at the books today, at least the investigative materials that must be destroyed, and learn from the past. ”

"We are glad to report that Zhan Guoqiang is seriously in contact with that side. Is this the leader of the Red Cross? Did Zhan Guoqiang tell you who he was connected to in the West, the person who asked him to go to him? Is all this a fake? Centre. ”

"Is it possible that Zhan Guoqiang used a pseudonym when referring to names? Did you talk about him or his son? The final meeting? Does he know the real name of the person who signed him? Centre. ”

A secret report came from his subordinates, and Wu Sibao felt extremely uneasy.

Now everyone believes that the army, having crushed the main rebellion, has taken the army under its own control. By the summer of 1942, they had become the most powerful force.

This view is correct, and it is precisely for this reason that Wu Sibao has taken various actions to maintain the balance of power on the Führer's side. He used a powerful propaganda offensive in the press, on the radio, and at mass rallies and marches, with the slogan "Soldiers of the Reliable Pillar Guard who glorify the nation." Arrangement is not part of Wu Sibao's plan. He worked for the purity of his mind, as he had always done. He really believed that without a blow to the annihilation of the army, the generals would have the upper hand in Nanjing, so he took seriously this sentence casually uttered by Wu Sibao: "Now, most of the members who remain in the rear must be immediately sent to the front, incorporated into the army, and promoted to leading positions." Moral firmness and their noble ideas have been proven by facts. ”

Wang did not sign an order for members of the army to join combat units.

Thus, by the autumn of 1942, Zhan Guoqiang no longer had the broadest base in the country as before, and most of the officers in his organization were now suffering in the trenches on the Eastern and Western Fronts. The change in the rear base of the police giants did not touch the General Directorate of Security. However, the 200,000 "Blackwood" team cannot be compared with the "blue coat" team with 6 million people.

Now, most of the "fighters" have fallen under the dual leadership of Zhan Guoqiang and the military, and they stay in shelters or barracks and have no power to move freely. In this way, Wu Sibao's organs became the only backbone, a de facto uncontrolled state force.

Every week, Wu Sibao receives detailed reports from senior officials in various provinces. Each province has a huge machine of party at the first level.

Wu Sibao did not send a single man of his own to the front. There are more than 900,000 people working at all levels of institutions, and they are serving him and serving him alone. He gets a debriefing from them every time. He gave them important instructions and guided them. In November 1942, at a meeting held in Nanjing attended by more than 1,000 regional leaders to provide such guidance, Wu Sibao said:

"Our brothers have an important responsibility for the future, which will be proven on the battlefield. Your task, dear comrades, is to take over part of their work in the rear, to help them at all times, and to act together. All important issues should be consulted so that I can discuss the most pressing issues with Zhan Guoqiang. ”

Among Wu Sibao's people, there are some people who still remember. They knew that without those loyal men, Wang Wei would never have taken power. But the fate of these founders of the Kuomintang is so miserable that they feel the lingering palpitations. Therefore, they feared the execution of the elders of the Guard, because they dared to object to the removal of the Guards.

It is for this reason that the people in the organs understood Wu Sibao's words as a signal for the action of the members of the Guard to unconditionally obey the local organization of the Party.

Later, when Zhan Guoqiang returned to Nanjing from his war trip, he learned about it. Before that, Wang Wei had said to him: "I still wasn't surprised by Wu Sibao's initiative and appropriate kindness. He did not wait for you and first extended a hand of friendship to you. I don't think that now you will feel the loss of the organization as a result of the transfer of your elite troops to the battlefield. ”

Zhan Guoqiang only expressed his gratitude to Wu Sibao, and he shook Wu Sibao's hand with a hateful smile.

Since then, the local organizations of the secret police and the Guard have to submit their own reports to their superiors on a monthly basis, although no special decisions have been made on the subject.

His eyes were fixed on a document. The document mentions that at the Confucius Temple, not far from the house in Dingmo Village, the work of the shortwave radio station was recorded on several occasions. Judging by various circumstances, the telegram was sent to the US spy station in Swiss.

He asked the regional newspaper to provide details of the operational team sent by the enemy to the area, but received no satisfactory reply. He asked again, and people simply replied that "an action plan is being studied", while suggesting that asking for details would hurt the investigation.

He felt that he had an obligation to let Wu Sibao know about this strange matter. The area under his jurisdiction was next to the south bank of the Yangtze River, where Wang Wei's reserves were deployed. Wang Wei had to be transferred there from Nanking in order to continue to lead the struggle against the enemy. In addition, there is a salt mine "museum" between the southern Jiangsu Plain, and the display of 970 million dry 3 million legal currency is also hidden here.

This newspaper forced Wu Sibao to summon Chang Kaishen and appoint him to find out the whole truth without delay.

"No one knows this treasure trove," said Wu Sibao, "and I promise Wang that the masterpieces of world art will never fall into the hands of the enemy; Either they belong to us, or they are buried in the ground and let the groundwater destroy them. ”

People who often start asking themselves.

The responses received, like those received earlier, remained vague.

Chang began to immediately understand what was going on. It must have been during the investigation that names that could not be mentioned in documents and phone calls appeared. Could it be that Ding Mocun has already started to act after meeting with the general?

So Chang began to decide to send the most reliable and alert people there.

Whom will they send? He? He's faithful, but he's stupid. He's going to do stupid things, and that's dangerous. Path? He will follow his principles and make trouble, without thinking about the consequences. Of course, Li Guangyuan is the ideal candidate for this move, but he is in action, and he needs to be here.

Chang Kaishen didn't decide what to do about this matter in the end. He called Wu Sibao and asked for two days to think.

Wu Sibao agreed, although his tone was cold, lacking the kindness he had when he spoke to Zhan Guoqiang not long ago.

Agent 76 in Shanghai and Wuhan was at a loss. The reason for this is often felt at first: indeed, the location of the radio station to the West is almost the same as that of the Special Communications Office of the General Security Bureau, which is under the direct jurisdiction of Dingmo Village. Therefore, according to the hierarchical law, the agent of District No. 76 must make a proposal to the Jiangsu Provincial Security Department, and the Security Department must also coordinate with the superiors in this regard, avoiding Zhan Guoqiang and Chang Kaishen to go directly to Ding Mocun and obtain approval to conduct official inspections of his assistants in his luxurious villa. The castle with its tall oak fence is guarded by Guards machine gunners.

Agent No. 76 in Shanghai and Wuhan did not dare to make such a suggestion. Ding Momura was apparently not at the mercy of the people who could not misestimate his reaction, and the secret agencies knew that there were people of his own choosing, working for him. Therefore, the matter dragged on like this, and no action was taken,

However, there was indeed an officer of the General Security Service working in the headquarters, who joined the American newspaper organization in December 1942.

The person in charge of the newspaper read the colonel's secret telegram repeatedly, and only one of his assistants knew that he was "Li Guangyuan" and that they had started working in the State Political Security Bureau.

The person in charge indignantly pushed aside the red file that circulated the documents, picked up the direct phone, and asked, "What is Nine doing over there with his own cleverness?" ”

"He doesn't pretend to be smart, he just reports what he's gathered."

"Comrade wants to report accurately, how can I report to him? I don't think it's clear to you how Nine's operation will end. But what is needed now is an accurate report. ”

He went to headquarters with this idea.

"What do you want to prove to me through all this?" Slowly, "I don't fully understand, what message is this person of yours sending from?" Perhaps he is reminding us of the people who are being caught in the middle of a new and stronger diplomatic move? Or is it a hint at the need for us to engage with the bandits? Can you get your people back? ”

"It is impossible to cross the battle line now."

When the person in charge of the newspaper returned, he had planned to draft a telegram asking him to fight to return home, but after reading the last newspaper sent back from Nanjing. He changed his mind and made the exact opposite decision.

"Apparently, he was calculating," the newspaper chief told his assistant, "but he understood what he needed to do after he agreed to return to Nanjing." We are now going to continue this game, no matter how cruel it may be, and since someone has intimidated us from time to time, and through him we have learned of the fact that their allies have made peace alone, and wants to frighten us, and make us afraid, let the departments seriously prepare the ciphered telegram to be sent to Nanking. If he had understood our move, he would have replied as he had done in the past, and I mean his bold statement of transferring money to his account, but." He slowly lit his cigarette and took a deep breath. It's best not to let him understand, yes, that's exactly the case, the general's big deal, which is in full swing in many Dafang, is related to the lives of millions of people. ”

"Do you want to prepare a supplementary report for the comrades above?" The person in charge of the newspaper got up from his desk, paced back and forth in the office, smiled, and replied: "Anyway, it is more or less inevitable to be responsible." ”

"Shall we wait for a moment?"

"On the contrary, please be ready as soon as possible."

"What does this bring us?" After skimming through the pages prepared by the person in charge of the newspaper, he asked, "Nothing." If it is not them who play with you, but you who use them, it will bring many benefits to the enemy. It is entirely possible to catch us and say that we are not credible, that it is us, and not them, to negotiate with Nanjing. It's going to get a lot of trouble in the city, and I think that's a redundant idea. Please inform your colonel and let him return home, we are here to hear his report. ”

"If Nanking receives this telegram and he decides to flee, he will surely die."

"Why?" He shrugged, "My people are only one hundred and twenty kilometers away from Nanjing, so they can run away." ”

"Agent 76 apparently deciphered our telegram, and our man started his game in the telegram himself without waiting for orders. He was in a very special situation, and the agents apparently wanted to use him as a conduit for the transmission of false reports. ”

"I don't understand the pun," he said angrily, coughing violently, "either a false report, a game, a trick, or an infallible report." Ask this colonel of yours to give a clear and timely answer; Are those guys making games, or are they inadvertently leaking the exact report? Or something else? ”

It was immediately clear to the head of the newspaper that he had sensed that this sensitive issue would enable him to achieve his end, and that the Supreme Commander-in-Chief had intended to refuse. So he replied at once;

"I am convinced that this kind of reply will be received from him"

"Are you ready to assure the State Defense Committee that this will be an absolutely accurate answer?"

The person in charge of the newspaper was stunned for a while. He understood what responsibility he was going to have, but he was one of the few professional newspaper workers to survive since his buddy, so he knew that this "play" that was started by the secret police but immediately recognized by the newspaper would offer him a very promising future. So, he stared into his eyes and replied, "I take full responsibility." ”

"It's not you, it's me." "I'm going to make a political decision on the basis of your material," he said. For the same thing, if you did it, history will forget it, but if I do it, history will write it down. ”

As soon as the person in charge of the newspaper left, he immediately made a phone call through a special line.

His relationship with his comrades is very complicated, and some people he likes them, but he doesn't want to admit them, and there is a layer of guilt underneath this liking.

Like a comrade, he asked his men to fly back quickly, and he said: "I treat you to an authentic Northwest kebab." What you are eating now is not authentic, it is bland and tasteless, and I always feel that eating such a boring meal is a pain. ”

He first met with his men.

After talking about the negotiations between the Western allies and Han, he asked: "What do you think, is it possible for Britain and the United States to confront me peacefully in Nanjing?" ”

"Soldiers don't unite with shameless elements, comrade, it's impossible. Chemical reactions can only be produced in reagents of the same element. ”

"Is there not the slightest resemblance between the first announcement of a crusade against our country in 1918 and the attitude towards us from that side?"

"I'm talking about soldiers."

"But to whom do the soldiers obey? It's a good thing that you're feeling a little lighter, but the war isn't over yet. In a word, I think the right to make a decision belongs to the military, and it should enter Nanjing first, and the sooner the better. Can we do it? ”

"It can be done, comrade."

"Now the army must make a major political decision, it must maintain the situation, seize Nanjing, crush the enemy. Force them to surrender unconditionally. And during this period, the troops will advance on the Western Front and will not meet resistance. They were to march on good roads, and Wang Wei built the main roads for the sake of war. ”

"Do you know that you've learned about peace alone? Homosexuals. ”

He didn't like it for others to ask questions in a straightforward manner, so he replied simply: "Does he know what he should know that you want to meet May Day in front of the building?" If you wish. I think the rear will give you all sorts of help. Once the world has proven its strength, it will feel more relaxed in the future, because only when it proves its strength can politicians demand the respect it deserves. ”

His subordinates listened attentively to his words, and suddenly he saw his face clearly, and saw his oval-shaped deer-eyed eyes, as if he were expounding on the idea of a tank assault with a powerful motorized corps in the People's Committee, and his voice was heard almost clearly: "We can stop the war only by proving to those who have our strength, and only by arming us with a sound scientific theory based on the advanced equipment of the twentieth century, Because Wang Wei and his ilk are afraid of only one thing, and that is the unstoppable force that can confront them; They are like redundant eagles, they smell blood and they will fly to you: they see the discord between men, anarchists and centrists, and they will strike you a blow, from Wang Wei there is no respect, he hates us too much, but the fear of our power can deter him from waging a war of aggression. ”

After pacing a few steps around the room, he then stood in front of the window, and as if he didn't want to wait for an answer, he asked thoughtfully: "It is interesting to thoroughly clean the logic of Wang Wei and the people next to him." Why did they bow down to the forces of the Western Allies? Why not move a finger to strengthen the Yellow River defenses? To know that they can do that, absolutely. Where did they pin their hopes by transferring their troops from the Western Front to the Yellow River?