Chapter 763: Painting a pie, I can do that too!

What?

Yan Guangkun?

Finally, he's been mentioned?

It seems like he's one of them. Oh, the others don't know.

'I go?'

'Yes. You go. Secret mission. Don't tell anyone else.'

'But...'

'He's one of them.'

'Which side?'

'The Reds.'

'Huh?'

Zhang Yong pretended to be dumb.

Li Boqi actually knew too?

Oh...

You knew Yan Guangkun was a Red and you still told me to bring him back?

Isn't this setting me up?

'Team Leader, Yan Guangkun is a Red, so if we bring him back...'

'No one else knows. The Chief only suspects. There's no concrete evidence. It's a busy time right now, and the Chief can't be bothered with this.'

'Team Leader, if you rescue a red and bring him back, aren't you afraid of getting into trouble?'

'I've already been tortured.'

'Er...'

Zhang Yong suddenly choked.

It seemed to make a lot of sense.

He and Cao Mengqi had indeed been internally screened before.

Because of Cao Mengqi's prickly, headstrong nature and his impetuous speech, Li Boqi had also been tortured. It seemed that there were still scars on his body.

Li Boqi wouldn't have just given up and simply started working for the Reds because of this.

They had already beaten him up, so if he didn't do something for the Reds, it would have been a waste of the beating.

But on second thought, this reason seems far-fetched.

'Are you scared?'

'Team Leader, are you a Red?'

'I have had contact with them before. But I have their lives in my hands. I can't get past this.'

'Team Leader, have you killed Reds?'

'Yes. Back then, I had just joined the Blues. I was still a minor figure. I followed the others on missions. I thought they were the enemy. I charged ahead recklessly. I took a bullet myself. But I also killed several of them. One of them was an important figure in their organisation.'

'This...'

Zhang Yong was silent.

So Li Boqi had such an experience.

Sigh...

A sigh...

All the original guesses were in vain.

Li Boqi was not a Red. He had even killed an important Red figure.

However, during a gunfight, who can control their own destiny? Li Boqi himself was also shot.

Perhaps, if he had hesitated for a moment, it would have been him who died.

He thought they were enemies...

The waves of history have washed away the sand, but who knows where the light is? Who knows which party is the future of China?

"So are you helping the Reds now as penance?'

'No. I just feel that there is no hope on this side. Maybe there is still a little hope on that side.'

'No hope on this side?'

'Look at the discount coupon in your hand.'

'What?'

Zhang Yong took out the coupon, puzzled.

It didn't seem to be anything special.

He hated those obscure characters...

'Civil officials love money, military officials love money, everyone loves money, it's no wonder we can't beat the Japanese.'

'This...'

Zhang Yong hesitated.

It felt as if Li Boqi was teaching him a lesson.

But...

What the other person said made a lot of sense. He couldn't refute it.

If a country, a nation, and the officials are all greedy and avaricious, then it is definitely hopeless. Corruption will erode combat effectiveness.

Therefore...

One should have some self-awareness.

Just stay here and continue to wreak havoc. Don't go and wreak havoc on other people's Red Parties...

'Where is Cao Mengqi?'

'Him? He doesn't like the Reds. He just wants to fight.'

'No. I'm asking where he's gone. I haven't seen him for so long.'

'He was taken to Guangzhou by the Governor.'

'Oh...'

'The Governor dislikes the idea of you and Cao Mengqi being together. He has decided to separate you.'

'Why?'

'Because Cao Mengqi can fight! He is a Huangpu graduate! He has qualifications and education, while the others are just his subordinates!'

'Oh...'

Zhang Yong was speechless.

Is Lao Cao that important?

It seems so...

After all, he is a Huangpu graduate! The older he gets, the more valuable he is!

With the full-scale outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japan, Huangpu graduates will become even more valuable. This is especially true of the first few classes.

As the war progresses, the Huangpu system will rise rapidly.

Basically, all the elite of the National Army are led by Huangpu graduates.

Although Lao Cao is not from one of the first few classes, he is the boss of the middle and lower levels of the Special Services Department. All the later Huangpu graduates are his juniors. And, starting this year, it is estimated that the head of the department will no longer be able to recruit Huangpu graduates. That will make them even more rare.

'Go get Yan Guangkun out.'

'And then?'

'Let him decide for himself. Go back to the other side or come back here. You don't need to worry about the rest.'

'Is he a creeper?'

'No.'

'How do you know?'

'He's not.'

'Oh...'

Zhang Yong thought, if he's not, are you?

But then he thought again, it's impossible. Li Boqi is not even red. How could he be a creeper?

It is weird to say the least. Who is this creeper?

Does it really exist?

It is making things so mysterious.

'But if someone else finds out...'

'Why do you want someone else to find out?'

'I...'

Zhang Yong suddenly choked.

He was speechless.

That's a good point.

But you, Li Boqi, know about this!

How do I know if you are not setting me up? What if you are setting a trap for me?

As the saying goes, you should never harbour evil intentions towards others, but you should always be on your guard against them...

'You figure it out yourself,' Li Boqi said. "You can get Yan Guangkun out, and yet no one can catch you out. Even if I report you to the Chief, you'll have a good excuse to get off. And if you're suspected, you'll have a way to escape. If you can turn the tables on me, that would be perfect.'

'No, Team Leader, that's too difficult," Zhang Yong immediately refused.

I'm a rookie!

I'm a new kid on the block!

You can't be so difficult right from the start!

You want to save someone, but you also have to clear their name and turn them against each other. Is that something I can do?

"You think it's difficult?'

'Very.'

'Then you can just wash your hands of it and wait to die!'

'No...'

Zhang Yong grumbled angrily.

Okay, Li Boqi is being mean again. Talking crazy.

Suddenly, I feel that this guy seems to be a bit self-destructive. He often walks on the edge of self-destruction. He often does dangerous things.

Sometimes, when he does something special, he acts as if he's afraid that no one else knows.

Fortunately, this guy is not a red. Otherwise, his boss is probably even more of a headache than Li Yunlong's boss.

This guy is practically dancing on the red line of the Fuxing Society...

'There's one more thing.'

'One more?'

Zhang Yong rolls his eyes.

Big brother, you can't do this!

Just the task of rescuing Yan Guangkun is giving me a headache. And now this?

I'm not a donkey in the production team...

'Where is Natasha?'

'Hangzhou.'

'Bring her to Shanghai.'

'For what?'

'It will be useful.'

'For what?'

'Just bring her here first. She has a set of emergency codes for remote contact. It will be very useful over there.'

'Over there again?'

'Aren't you in cahoots with them? What are you surprised about?'

'I...'

Zhang Yong was instantly defeated.

Damn it!

Li Boqi knows everything!

This old six!

It really is old six! So insidious!

I thought what I did no one else knew about! Who would have thought...

'Does the Chief know?'

'If the Chief didn't suspect you, why would he have taken everyone under you away before?'

'He suspects me?'

'He suspects everyone. Dai Yize. Zhou Weilong. Mao Renfeng.'

'So...'

'There are red undercover agents here, and there are also undercover agents from the other side. The Director arranged many of the undercover agents himself. No one else knows. Not even Mao Renfeng. The information they pass back is unknown even to Mao Renfeng.'

'This...'

'So, where are your informants? Where is your safe house?'

'I...'

Zhang Yong hung his head for the first time.

Okay. This time, I'm willing to admit my mistake.

I didn't realise the situation was so dangerous. The others really aren't fools!

If Boss Dai can be suspicious, what about Commander Qian? What about the others? Are they also suspicious? Even including the Chairman?

Alas, informants, safe houses...

It seems like I need to get serious.

The Chairman is too deep-seated, so I need to prevent him from taking a cloth bag and stuffing himself in at any time...

'Team Leader, do you have any informants?'

'Yes.'

'And the safe house?'

'Yes.'

'Forget I asked.'

Zhang Yong sulked and shut up. He had asked for it.

He secretly set a flag for himself, and as soon as he went out, he would go and get the informant and the safe house.

Suddenly, Li Boqi said again, 'But the key is not in these. The key is that you have the strength to bargain with the Director! The safe house can only protect your life. You can only use it when you admit defeat.'

'What do you mean?' Zhang Yong didn't understand.

'Why did the Director give in?'

'I don't know.'

'Because you have the ability to make him give in.'

'Why?'

'First, you can make money. Second, you can catch Japanese spies. Third, you have an escape route.'

'Third...'

'He doesn't want you to go to the Air Force.'

'Oh...'

Zhang Yong understood.

In the final analysis, you need to be strong to make yourself strong.

It is because he has special abilities that in the end, the department head had to give in.

Otherwise, he would wholeheartedly join the Air Force. By then, his achievements would have nothing to do with the department head. Hehe. Of course he wouldn't want to. So in the end, he had to tactfully show his goodwill.

Take your leave.

Come out.

I feel like my courage is back.

Li Boqi had revealed so much information, and Zhang Yong was instead becoming more and more worried.

He was scared that this was Li Boqi's final confession.

In spy dramas, if someone confessed like this, they were most likely about to receive their meal ticket...

'No...'

'No...'

Zhang Yong patted himself on the head.

Li Boqi had informants and a safe house, so even if something happened, he could hide.

'Team leader!'

'Team leader!'

People kept saying hello along the way.

Zhang Yong looked up at the sky. It was a clear day. The sun was shining brightly.

However, he felt a hint of foreboding. Perhaps it was just his mood.

Normally, he was not a sentimental person. But he had been affected by Li Boqi's words. Alas, his resolve was still not strong enough...

'Team Leader Zhang!'

Suddenly, he heard Jiang Yiying's voice.

Zhang Yong tilted his head. It was indeed Jiang Yiying. She was accompanied by Li Jingzhi.

He hurriedly brought his thoughts back to the present.

Indeed, the consequences of being distracted were serious. He hadn't even noticed that someone had come up to him.

If they had been assassins, he would have been finished.

'Team Leader Jiang,' Zhang Yong nodded.

'I have some additional information. Do you have some time?' Jiang Yiying spoke quite bluntly.

'Yes,' Zhang Yong replied, 'where shall we talk?'

'Let's go back to our telecommunications department!'

'Okay. Please.'

'Please!'

The three of them returned to the telecommunications department.

Ling Yan was also there. The information was ready. Apparently, she had arranged for Jiang Yiyang to come.

Zhang Yong took a thick folder. Inside were telegrams intercepted in recent days. Some of them had been translated. They were all bits and pieces of information.

How much is a piece of cotton cloth from Hankou...

How much is a catty of rice from Guangzhou...

Tung oil from Changsha...

etc. Tung oil?

Zhang Yong unexpectedly found some information that interested him.

He read it carefully. He discovered that the Japanese invaders had mentioned in the telegram that the price of tung oil in Changsha had recently risen continuously. The reason was a reduction in supply.

His mind raced.

'Is there any more information about tung oil?'

'Yes,'

Ling Yan quickly found it.

Zhang Yong took it over and read it carefully. It was that the price of tung oil in Hankou had also risen.

The Japanese invaders had inquired in great detail. The telegram also contained very detailed information. The price had risen because someone was hoarding the goods. It had been bought up at the source.

'Liao Panxi?'

'That was fast...'

Zhang Yong nodded thoughtfully.

It seems Liao Panxi has started. The price of tung oil only started rising a few days ago.

If you calculate the time, from Liao Panxi's preparations to her starting to make the acquisition, and then the reaction in Changsha and Hankou, it was about this time. Xiangxi is an important tung oil producing area. The output is high. The purification technology is good. Liao Panxi should have started there.

However, there are many bandits in Western Hunan. I hope she is careful. She is based in a big city. She can just arrange for a middleman to make the purchases. I will remind him from time to time. And if possible, arrange for some armed forces to be by her side...

I suddenly remember the battle along the Xiangjiang River...

It seems that there are many remaining Red Army soldiers...

I pat myself on the head.

Where did I get that idea?

"So, what information have you got?'

'This.'

Jiang Yiyang sorts through a stack of documents.

Zhang Yong took it over. He looked at it. He found that it was all about the prices in Guangzhou.

Rice prices have gone up...

Cotton prices have gone up...

It seems that all prices are going up...

'What is this...'

'The army there is stockpiling supplies in large quantities.'

'Preparing for war?'

'Yes.'

'I see.'

Zhang Yong suddenly understood. He understood what they wanted to do.

They had analysed the core intelligence, which was that preparations for war were already in full swing in Guangdong and Guangxi.

Before the troops move, the provisions must go first.

If a war is to be waged, then supplies must be stockpiled in advance.

Massive stockpiling of supplies will inevitably lead to price rises and shortages in the market. This will eventually be reflected at the retail end.

Therefore, it is impossible to deceive a large-scale war.

A shrewd intelligence agency can determine a lot of useful information by analysing the other party's market economy.

However...

Wait!

Why did they come to see him?

This economic intelligence analysis has nothing to do with him!

He only arrests Japanese spies...

'For me?'

'Yes.'

'Thanks!'

Zhang Yong put the intelligence away.

None of this was top secret. There was no security classification.

It would be useless for them to report it. No one cared about this. No one would even pay attention.

In their eyes, only he was different.

Only Zhang Yong might change a little. They also wanted to make achievements.

Most people want to improve. This is certain.

The problem is that the professional barriers in the telecommunications department are very high. It is difficult for outsiders to get in, and it is also difficult for those inside to get out.

If you want to make a contribution, you have to decipher important information or capture important radio stations. It seems that the latter is more of a field operation. The telecommunications department is just a subordinate. Intelligence analysis is never the business of the telecommunications department. Otherwise, what is the intelligence department for?

But obviously, the intelligence department is not interested in economic intelligence.

For example, at this moment in time, Zhang Yong is not interested in this economic intelligence. Instead, he is impressed by the Japanese radio station.

There is a trench dug, and there are really a lot of Japanese spy radios. They really have a lot of free time. They actually have the heart to send so much fragmented intelligence. Needless to say, there is only one thing to say: there are so many radios that they are rusting. I really want to get some. It is such a waste for the Japanese spies to use these radios to send this intelligence...

'I'll take it, I can use it.'

'Thank you!'

'You'll get the credit when the time comes!'

'Thank you!'

Ling Yan and Jiang Yiying saw Zhang Yong off.

It was clear that they were really looking forward to it. Zhang Yong had successfully painted them a picture of what was to come.

Haha, painting pictures, I can do that too!

They thought they could use Li Jingzhi as a connection to get Zhang Yong to help them get credit. Zhang Yong also hoped to use this connection to find out more information.

The telecommunications department is a core department. It has a lot of confidential information.

Li Boqi just reminded him that the undercover agent arranged by the department head has been passing information back.

What is the channel for passing information?

Radio must be one of them. And the telegrams must be sent to the telecommunications department.

It is very likely that Ling Yan will receive them personally. Then they will be secretly translated. Or they may not be translated. They will be submitted directly to the department head. Then the department head will translate them personally.

The department head is from the sixth class of the Whampoa Military Academy, and he knows how to translate telegrams himself.

So...

Go the long way.

The telecommunications department even has a red undercover agent! That's the real deal...

Get the information. Go straight out the door.

Get ready to go outside for a stroll and catch a few more Japanese spies for interrogation.

Following the normal routine definitely won't work, so you have to do things the unconventional way...

Suddenly, the map prompts that two acquaintances have entered.

One is Gu Bafeng. The other is Li Shiqun. Well, these two guys are still lurking nearby.

They must have just arrived. Someone must have been watching Goose Lane and noticed that Zhang Yong was back. They immediately reported it. As a result, these two guys came right back.

Oh, they're like gum!

This trick was originally Zhang Yong's invention, but I didn't expect someone else to have learned it too.

Hide?

No way.

These two guys are also in the same business.

Zhang Yong might be able to hide alone. But with so many people, it's absolutely impossible.

What to do?

Meet the challenge head-on.

He led a large group of people directly to meet them.

The two sides soon met face to face.

'Shaolong!'

'Team Leader Zhang.'

'Team Leader Li.'

Zhang Yong greeted the other party with a smile.

He acted as if he knew how to play along. He was as smooth as butter and as sharp as a knife. I, Zhang Yong, can do that too!

"Team Leader Zhang, are we going to investigate now?'

'The boss gave the order. I dare not disobey!'

'Okay. We'll go along too. We'll help you out. If you need anything done, just let us know.'

'Okay. I won't be ungrateful.'

Zhang Yong didn't beat around the bush either. You, Li Shiqun, are the one who said it! You volunteered to run errands.

If there is really something to run errands about later...

Huh?

He suddenly remembered something.

Li Boqi reminded him that to get back at Yan Guangkun, it would be best to find someone to take the blame...

Perhaps...

Li Shiqun could be considered?

Yes!

He's the one!

Talented people are hard to come by!

Who else but him!