Section 42 Rebel Intelligence

  "Director, just now a person wearing a mask ran up to me and handed me this paper and envelope, asking me to pass it on to you." Liu Mingjiu was watching the jubilant scene in front of the General Inspector's office when Mu De, the head of the Jianbei Police Station, came over and handed him a piece of paper and an envelope.

  Liu Mingjiu first opened the paper and took a look, then quickly opened the envelope, pulled out the letter inside, read it, and coldly smiled: "Hehe, they still can't help themselves, not even letting me have a good New Year's, well, don't blame me for not leaving them a way out."

  After finishing, he turned to Mu De and said: "Old Mu, the officer in charge of each department on duty at Linglong Tower will be called to my office immediately. The matter is extremely urgent, let them all come to me without delay, gather here within 15 minutes."

  Mude didn't know what had happened either, and could only respond with a sound before immediately leading his men to leave the General Inspectorate, gathering over a dozen police officers who maintained order, and dispersing in all directions to notify the persons in charge of each military unit.

  Liu Mingjiu received the urgent letter handed over by "Qianlong Xiaozu" No. 1, who was sent to infiltrate the Zhao family. Yesterday evening, Zhao Miaosheng brought at least thirty people into his home, all of whom were armed and affiliated with Wang Xiaojiaozi. Their target was to assassinate Liu Mingjiu, taking advantage of the empty military force and lax defense to launch a large-scale rebellion in conjunction with other wealthy families in the five towns who opposed Liu Mingjiu, using the protection of the courtyard as an internal response and Wang Xiaojiaozi's Ma Huizi armed forces as an external attack. "Qianlong No. 1" had been in the Zhao family for nine months, with Liu Mingjiu's financial support and his personal exquisite martial arts, precise marksmanship, and efficient handling of affairs, and had become the second leader of the Zhao family's cannon team (guard). He had thoroughly investigated the Zhao family and other families in the five towns. During these nine months, a large amount of evidence was sent to Liu Mingjiu's hands, establishing a detailed archive.

  At this time, although Liu Mingjiu gave a big holiday to various departments, he was not afraid of being unable to control these people. Hasibala dispatched 200 Mongolian cavalrymen to Ji Zhangzi, and Liu Mingjiu was closely watching the family of Zhao Er Gong's father-in-law, Ji Minchang, with good wine and meat. Hou Jingzhai of Dabaima Mountain Jinyun Fort and Jin Siliang of Tazi Mountain Fan Yun Fort also brought people to hide in Erdao Bay and Xiaode Camp respectively. The security teams from all over the country also secretly monitored each household of the Zhao family system, with at least 300 people remaining still, according to Liu Mingjiu's secret order. As long as they made any unusual moves, these troops could immediately take action to confront them face-to-face.

  Inside Linglong Tower Town, although it is the place where the military and police have the most days off, the 8th and 9th battalions are fully stationed in the barracks and are not allowed to go out. Each battalion has only approved twenty people's annual leave, and at this time, both battalions are also two hundred people waiting for orders. The teaching squadron also left more than one-third of six hundred people on duty, ready to move at any time. During the New Year period, the police were not given a full holiday, Liu Mingjiu followed the welfare policy of his own era and gave them triple pay. In addition, most of them have already become veterans of the Yi Army and the Security Corps, so they are used to military-style management, and more than three hundred people can be mobilized at any time to participate in actions. The Military Reclamation General Team has a standing militia team of one platoon or one company in each place, and only they have regular weapons. Before the New Year, Liu Mingjiu also secretly issued an order that during the Spring Festival, they are not allowed to leave without permission and must be on duty at all times. In addition, the Liuhe Escort Bureau has already sent out four hundred people to escort, but there are still eight hundred people left in Linglong Tower, and each team has a light machine gun. There are also twenty heavy machine guns and thirty mortars that have not been distributed to the troops yet. From the perspective of a more developed society in the future, Liu Mingjiu certainly understands that although the New Year is very important to the people, it is even more important to prevent lawless elements from taking advantage of the situation to cause trouble. Therefore, he has already made arrangements and can mobilize more than two thousand people inside the town and four hundred to six hundred people in other towns at any time. That's why after seeing the report of "潜龙一号", he smiled coldly and indifferently.

  "Director, everyone is here and waiting for you in the conference room." Mu De and Wu Tongjin, Luo Xiliang, and Han Geng, who had just been brought back from their homes, walked into Liu Mingjiu's office together and reported to Liu Mingjiu, who was standing at the door looking out at the lively scene.

  Liu Mingjiu turned around and walked out of the office with four people, soon entering a conference room on the second floor of the General Inspection Office that could accommodate 400 people. After glancing at the crowd, which had almost all arrived, Liu Mingjiu stepped up to the podium. Deputy Officer Ding Shaokuan, who was already standing on the stage, pulled open the map behind the podium after catching his eye and then walked down from the stage.

  Liu Mingjiu first picked up the teacup in front of him and took a sip, then raised his finger to point at the map: "Everyone, I really want all my brothers to have a good New Year's, but unfortunately someone won't let us have a peaceful year. Now, these places, there are some long-term bandits and traitors who are already working with Wang Xiaojie to prepare for our New Year's, to overthrow our nest. What do you say, can we let them succeed?"

  "Can't, can't." The officers below shouted in unison. Of course, by now a large part of them had been replaced by Liu Mingjiu's Eighth Company, Linglong Tower Security Team, which had been cultivated over the past year, and only a few of the original old soldiers remained.

  Liu Mingjiu turned around and looked straight at the platform below: "Alright, let's cut to the chase. They're planning a rebellion on New Year's Eve. It's currently 4 pm, which means we have more than three hours left. I'll assign tasks now. The cavalry team of the Teaching Corps will immediately dispatch fast horses to notify each department to surround and besiege the residences and strongholds of the Zhao family members involved in the rebellion. However, they must be cautious and keep a low profile. At 6 pm tonight, the battle will erupt on all fronts."

  "Yes." The captain of the 1st Squadron of the Cavalry Regiment, who was originally the deputy platoon leader of the 3rd Platoon of the 8th Company, Han Yijin, immediately stood up after hearing Liu Mingjiu's order, responded with a "yes" and quickly left the conference room.

  Liu Mingjiu continued: "The Linglong Tower is their main attack point. According to intelligence, Zhao Miaosheng and eight others have gathered more than 600 artillerymen and merchants at the Zhao family's large courtyard. We can now mobilize three hundred people from the Security Team, led by Zeng Xianchu, the training officer of the Linglong Tower Security Team, and Liang Zhenhan, the deputy director of the Security Affairs Department of the Patrol Office. You will lead your men to gather at the west side of the Zhao family's courtyard two hundred meters away before 4:30 and wait for orders. I will assign three Mark IV tanks from the Liuhe Pawnshop to you, and also give you three thousand rounds of ammunition that came with the guns.

  The three hundred people from the Police Bureau, led by Director Mu, Deputy Directors Guan and Sun, must gather at the east bank of the Liushi River on the east side of the Zhao family's courtyard before 4:30. When you arrive, first dismantle the three bridges for me. I will also assign three Mark IV tanks from the Liuhe Pawnshop to you, as well as three thousand rounds of ammunition that came with the guns.

  The two hundred people from the Military Reclamation Corps' Directly Subordinate Reserve Regiment, the two hundred people from the Engineer Battalion of the Instructional Brigade, and the one hundred people from the First Infantry Company must arrive at the north side of the Zhao family's courtyard before 4:30. Luo Xiliang and Han Xinfeng will be in charge of the northern line. I will assign five Mark IV tanks from the Liuhe Pawnshop to you, as well as five thousand rounds of ammunition that came with the guns.

  The Eighth Company, the Second, Third, Fourth, and Fifth Infantry Companies of the Instructional Brigade, the Artillery Company, and the Third and Fifth Companies of the Liuhe Battalion will be responsible for the frontal assault, which I will personally command. The Ninth Company, the Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth Companies of the Liuhe Battalion, led by Han Geng and Ba Ke Ba La, will be responsible for defending the town. I will assign three Mark IV tanks and three thousand rounds of ammunition to you.

  The Eleventh and Twelfth Companies of the Liuhe Battalion will temporarily convert into mortar companies and deploy sixty mortars in two directions, north and south. Before 4:30, all troops must take their positions, and the entire town will be under martial law. Anyone who comes out onto the streets will be arrested and thrown into the police station; we can deal with them later.

  All participating troops, after hearing the assembly signal, must complete their engineering constructions. After hearing the charge signal, all four lines will advance together and launch a charge at the Zhao family's large courtyard. Whoever misses this opportunity will be dealt with according to military law when they return, regardless of who they are. Do you all understand?"

  The officers and men of the military police guards under the platform stood up in unison, looking at Liu Mingjiu's majestic and refreshing figure, who answered loudly: "Understood."

  "Alright, now let's set off today. We're going to make all those who are watching us see that our territory isn't something they can just touch whenever they want. The first battle will be mine, and I must win. Brothers, today the people of Liu Town will be looking at you. Are you men or fools? Are you brave warriors or cowards? Today is the time for you to prove it to your ancestors." Liu Mingjiu said loudly, then turned around and walked down from the podium, walking out of the conference room. Those officers didn't hesitate either, quickly leaving the General Inspection Office and rushing off in all directions.

  Back in his office, Liu Mingjiu saw Zhao Bilin still sitting on the sofa in the bedroom and walked over. He reached out to pull her soft and boneless small hand, smiling and saying: "Lin, you follow Old Han now, go to the tower at Xizhenkou, this patrol station is the main target of attack for that group of people this time, I don't want you to get hurt."

  "Alright, I'll listen to you." Zhao Bihui heard that there was going to be a battle and saw all the officials she knew and didn't know from every town gathered at the General Administration Office, so she knew something big had happened. Although she was somewhat fearful, she believed even more in the man she deeply loved, who would surely win another victory.

  The entire construction of the six towns in Beihuan began to quickly change from jubilant celebrations, and after the rapid assembly of the military, police, security, and militia reserve teams, they brought out many heavy machine guns, mortars, and field artillery that the ordinary people had never seen before, rushing towards their respective targets. The ordinary people saw Liu Mingjiu for the first time, fully equipped with two revolvers holstered at his waist, walking at the very front of the 8th Company.