Chapter 46: Undercurrents

  Chongqing Luojiawan 19th Military Bureau Headquarters, although it is called the headquarters, in fact, only the A department of the Military Bureau and Dai Li himself work here. The A department is also known as the machine room, responsible for handling the most core confidential work, only responsible to Dai Li alone. The external office of the Military Bureau is located at Wanglongmen Huanan Guild Hall, where daily affairs are handled by Zheng Jieming and Mao Renfeng, who were fully authorized by Dai Li.

  That's why he didn't work there, Dai Li had his own ideas. Firstly, Luojiawan was close to the old man's Huangshan headquarters, making it convenient for him to visit and report at any time; secondly, working alone made it easier to see some people and handle some matters; thirdly, Dai Li enjoyed seeing the factional struggles among his subordinates, and his presence in front of them would suppress their "performance". If he stayed far away, some situations that were not normally visible would appear, which was probably the reason why onlookers are clear.

  Dai Li was hesitant about a top-secret telegram from Wang Tianmu, who was getting close to Zheng Jieming. This was a plot that Dai Li had laid out long ago. Over the years, Zheng Jieming had relied on his identity as a core member of the "Revival Society" (note 1) to build up his own power, and with the old man's attitude of not hearing or asking questions, Dai Li vaguely felt that the leader was tacitly allowing Zheng Jieming to expand his influence in the Military Bureau, in order to restrain himself and prevent him from completely controlling the Military Bureau. Therefore, Wang Tianmu's move had to be deeply buried.

  But Wang Tianmu has now given him a huge problem, an unknown little boy suddenly rose up in Shanghai, helping the Military Bureau's Shanghai station and Wan Mulin to successfully send Gao Zongwu and Tao Xisheng out of Shanghai, not to mention that he also effortlessly took down Li Shiqun's general Duan Baohu. Lin Xiaotang was a name that Dai Li had heard before, it was still last year when the Lintong training department was attacked, Mao Renfeng's report mentioned him. Although he did not intentionally show off his merits, the appreciation between the lines, Dai Li could see it.

  Originally, Dai Li had decided to heavily reward this young man, not only for his meritorious service during the Japanese attack, but also for helping him take advantage of the opportunity to cut off Zheng Jieming's Guangdong faction's infiltration in the training class. Both emotionally and rationally, he should have been rewarded.

  However, the mistake was that Lin Xiaotang was actually introduced to the Military Commission by Nie Shangyun and Tang Zong. This made Dai Li's impression of him greatly discounted.

  Nie Shangyun's name made Dai Li feel a severe headache. A greedy old man who clung to power, Nie was from the Whampoa Military Academy and had been one of Chiang Kai-shek's earliest followers. He had also worked with Hu Jing'an (Note 2) to organize the "Whampoa Alumni Association", which later became the precursor to the Military Bureau of Investigation and Statistics (MBIS). Dai Li had joined this organization as well, making Nie his senior. Later, Nie helped establish the Revival Society, where he was also a key member, earning Chiang's deep trust.

  It was only during the "Two Guang Incident" that Nie Shangyun's expedition was unfavorable, and his intelligence gathering point was searched, with some confidential documents leaked. The old man was furious and almost had him shot, but in the end, he spared his life due to his past merits. After that, he was put on hold and not reused.

  In just a few years, this person gradually emerged and somehow became associated with the Song family, slowly moving to the forefront and becoming a trusted aide to the President's wife. However, this person has great ambition, and despite his advanced age, his desire for power is increasingly strong. Recently, he even suggested to the old man that the intelligence work be divided into a "triangular structure", which would establish a new department outside of the military and central intelligence agencies, transferring some of the military's powers to the new department in order to balance each other out and make it easier for the leader to control.

  It's said that the old man was quite moved at the time, but this move shocked Dai Li and Xu Enzeng of Zhongtong, as well as the Chen brothers, who hastily used various connections to persuade the old man to hush up the matter.

  But Nie Shangyun did not give up, in these years, although he has been hiding behind the scenes, he controlled part of the Military-Uniform authority through his disciple Tang Zong, the old man also didn't say a word, seemingly very pleased to see this three-legged situation form, which made Dai Li gnash his teeth with hatred for Nie Shangyun, but could do nothing about it.

  Just like Lin Xiaotang's merits were completely erased because of Nie Shangyun.

  This time, with the incident in Shanghai, Nie Shangyun couldn't wait to get the news and asked Tang Zong to plead for Lin Xiaotang's credit. His desire to infiltrate Shanghai was evident. Dai Li didn't say anything on the surface but quietly used his power to give Lin Xiaotang a nominal position as a colonel consultant. The reason is simple, because Lin Xiaotang had Nie Shangyun's label on him.

  The letter of appointment had just been issued, and Wang Tianmu immediately sent a telegram. For a moment, Dai Li was at a loss whether to laugh or cry. Lin Xiaotang actually expressed his loyalty to him and was willing to serve as a dark chess piece beside Nie Shangyun.

  Dai Li was originally disdainful of Lin Xiaotang's repeated changes, but the content of Wang Tianmu's letter gave him a reminder. He hastily dispatched his confidant to investigate the true relationship between Lin Xiaotang and Nie Shangyun, and the result made him overjoyed. It turned out that Lin Xiaotang had only saved the old man once in Nanjing, and there was no unbreakable bond or emotional connection between them.

  This is where things get interesting, Dai Li thought to himself as he picked up the phone on his desk: "Tell Shen Zui to come see me immediately!"

  Shen Zui was substituting for a training class when he received the news and immediately rushed to Dai Li's office in Luojiawan. During this period, Shen Zui's mood was very excited, the progress of the training class was going smoothly, through his contact with the trainees, he had won over a group of young people into his camp, of course, after Yu Le Xing reminded him, Shen Zui had already noticed his previous shortcomings and after arriving in Chongqing, his methods became much more low-key and secretive.

  Moreover, through his further observation, Shen Zui gradually became familiar with Dai Li's work habits. Every day after finishing the substitute class, he would return to the first department to go to work without missing a single day. After work, he would simply stay in the department to work overtime, so that when Dai Li needed to look up materials, Shen Zui could recite them accurately without having to flip through them. This made Dai Li appreciate him even more. Two days ago, he was officially appointed as the deputy director of the General Affairs Department, which also marked his true becoming one of Dai Li's trusted confidants.

  Shen, drenched in sweat, ran to the door of Dai Li's office. He knew how particular Dai Li was about his subordinates' appearance. Hurriedly, he took out a handkerchief and comb from his briefcase, tidied up his hair and wiped away his sweat, adjusted his Zhongshan suit and knocked on the door before entering.

  Dai Li was quite satisfied with Shen Zhi's speed, but he didn't praise him. Instead, he got straight to the point and stated the purpose of finding Shen Zhi - his impression and views on Lin Xiaotang.

  He was taken aback, he had not expected Dai Li to find him for this reason, but still answered very succinctly: "Excellent martial arts skills, extremely vigilant, strong adaptability, quite strategic, values loyalty, but sometimes prone to acting on emotions!"

  Dai Li nodded and bowed his head in thought for a moment, putting Wang Tianmu's telegram on the table, indicating that Shen Zui take a look. "After you've read it, tell me your opinion!"

  After Shen finished reading, his eyebrows furrowed: "Loyalty is not the issue, I think he has two reasons for doing this. Firstly, when Lin Xiaotang first arrived in Shanghai, he was alone and unsupported, especially since the Shanghai station couldn't provide him with any support, so he urgently needed to rely on some power to develop; secondly, if he wants to develop in Nanjing, he needs to get our recognition, only then can he speak smoothly. In this regard, Nie Shangyun's side is clearly not as good as yours, Director Dai! Based on these two points, he could only choose to rely on Director Dai!"

  Dai Li nodded slightly, apparently agreeing with Shen Zui's view. "Your meaning is that this person can be used?" ?? Counter-attack Republic's special agent 46

  "Yes! Nanjing was originally a blank slate, rebuilding it is difficult, since Lin Xiaotang is willing to be the pioneer and he has the ability too, let him do it. If it's done well, we are the orthodox ones after all, we can take back Nanjing Station at any time, he won't be able to resist the whole country with just one corner of land. But this matter must be kept secret, especially from Nie Shangyun's side, we must do a good job in keeping it confidential and strictly prevent any news leaks!"

  Dai Li listened with a poker face, closed his eyes and pondered for a moment before speaking: "It's settled then. After the Spring Festival, you'll go to Nanjing to see him. This person has big ambitions, needs to be knocked into shape, and we need to strengthen our control over him, especially in terms of funding, equipment, and personnel. From now on, all matters related to contacting him will be handed over to you, only the three of us, including Lin Xiaotang, will know about it, including Wang Tianmu's affairs, I don't want anyone else to know!"

  For three consecutive days, Shanghai had gloomy weather, with large thick dark clouds covering the sky, and a damp smell mixed in the cold wind, that chill almost penetrated to the bone marrow.

  Li Shiqun and Zhang Xiaolin sat in the warm and cozy room, Zhang Xiaolin was silent, fiddling with the two jade peach kernels in his hand, making a crisp and mellow knocking sound.

  Li Shiqun looked at Wu Sibao opposite him: "Bring the man up!"

  Yu Jianfeng was led into the warm pavilion with his eyes covered, and perhaps due to the large temperature difference between indoors and outdoors, he involuntarily shivered, with fine sweat beads appearing on his forehead.

  Wu Sibao removed the black cloth covering his eyes and had Yuan Xiong sit down in the position opposite Li Shiqun and Zhang Xiaolin.

  Yu Jianfeng rubbed his eyes and looked clearly at the two people in front of him, suddenly becoming flustered.

  "Does Mr. Yuan recognize us?" Li Shiqun raised his teacup, gesturing for Yuan Jianfeng to have some tea.

  Yu Jianfeng's face turned pale, and he nodded slightly.

  "We asked Mr. Yuan to come without any other meaning, I heard that on the night when Duan Baohu had an accident, you were with him?"

  Yuan Jianfeng's hands shook and the teacup fell to the ground, shattering into pieces. He immediately knelt down: "It has nothing to do with me, I only knew about Duan Baohu's situation afterwards. Before that, I just helped him recognize a few people."

  "Oh? Which ones?" Li Shiqun's tightly furrowed eyebrows slowly relaxed.

  Yu Jianfeng lowered his head, his voice as small as a mosquito: "Gao Zongwu, Tao Xisheng and the people who escorted them!"

  Li Shiqun suddenly stood up, and Zhang Xiaolin's jade peach kernel in his hand was also clenched tightly: "Who is it?"

  "That man is called Lin Xiaotang, he's my university classmate. He and Ma Qixiang are very close, I don't know how he ended up in Shanghai, that's all I know, nothing else!"

  Zhang Xiao Lin let out a cold laugh and suddenly stood up: "It's easy to handle if we know who it is!" After saying that, he bowed his head and turned around to leave.

  Li Shiqun looked at Yuan Jianfeng kneeling in front of him: "Mr. Yuan, there will be many places to rely on in the future, you know what to do, right?"