Chapter 153: Failure Means Death!
Actually, he didn’t know that this matter really had something to do with him.
During this period, the Beiping intelligence station had repeatedly established merit and received quite a bit of praise from above, but the Tianjin Station had always been quiet, and the superiors were naturally very dissatisfied with this.
They had finally obtained some intelligence that the bacteria expert Bingze Shisanfu would pass through Tianjin on his way back from the front lines, and they planned to assassinate Bingze Shisanfu to claim some merit.
But who would have thought that the intelligence was sold out by a traitor inside!
Now it was bad; not only did they fail to get praise from the superior, but they also got a thorough scolding.
Although the traitor was exposed due to leaking the intelligence, it was already too late by then.
If there hadn’t been the Beiping Station for comparison, the superiors wouldn’t have been so angry; after all, rooting out the traitor in the team could be considered making up for the merit, and at most they’d get a scolding.
But now with Beiping for comparison, it was no longer just a matter of a scolding.
Boss Dai directly said that they couldn’t even handle this small matter properly and were simply useless!
As for this station chief, if he could do the job, he should; if not, he should step down and let someone capable take over!
This really put Wu Jingzhong on the spot and made him lose a tremendous amount of face.
So, gritting his teeth and stamping his foot, it was just assassinating Bingze Shisanfu; if he couldn’t kill him in Tianjin, this old man would chase him to Beiping and kill him!
But this created another problem: they were somewhat familiar in Tianjin, but in Beiping, they were completely in the dark!
Charging in so rashly to carry out an assassination in unfamiliar territory would simply be suicide, right?
So, he requested assistance from the superior.
When the telegram reached Boss Dai, he pondered for a moment and then approved this action.
Bingze Shisanfu was a bacteria expert and was carrying battlefield bacteria experiment data.
The bacteria war had caused the Kuomintang quite a few losses, and this bacteria experiment data absolutely could not be allowed back with Bingze Shisanfu.
At this time in Beiping, the intelligence station had been destroyed and was in shambles, really unable to support another major action, so when Wu Jingzhong proactively requested the action, Boss Dai naturally wouldn’t refuse.
Thus, Wu Jingzhong immediately brought his men into Beiping City in batches.
After arriving here, he inquired around everywhere; he urgently needed a local tyrant to help him.
It wasn’t long before he found a target, and that was Cao Weida.
The reason for selecting Cao Weida was simple: he knew many Japanese officers in Beiping, wasn’t inherently bad, and wasn’t a die-hard traitor.
So, he arranged a hero saves the beauty scenario, wanting to establish a relationship with Cao Weida.
Unfortunately, Cao Weida was far too vigilant and didn’t fall for it at all.
Just as he was still thinking about how to contact Cao Weida, Boss Dai’s telegram arrived again, informing him of Bingze Shisanfu’s recent situation and the Japanese Army’s plan to hold a victory propaganda event.
At the same time, it also gave him information on Cao Weida, so he could contact Cao Weida if needed.
Only then did he realize that Cao Weida, who was thriving in Beiping, was actually one of their own!
So, he went straight to the door, laying everything out plainly without even any disguise.
Cao Weida naturally didn’t know these things, but he didn’t think too much about it either.
What he was thinking was that if he helped Wu Jingzhong complete the task this time and saved him, how much benefit it would bring him in the future.
As a transmigrator, he knew all too well the power Wu Jingzhong would have after the victory in the War of Resistance.
The future Tianjin Station Chief of the Military Statistics Bureau, a warlord of the party-state!
This thigh was quite thick!
How thick?
A regiment commander with real power in the 94th Army, backed by an army chief of staff.
But Wu Jingzhong only needed to say a light word to decide whether he would be a “major military corrupt official” for reselling military supplies and beating Confidential Bureau personnel, or a “War of Resistance hero” who bravely killed the enemy and was seriously wounded!
The fate of a regiment commander with real power was just up to his whim.
One could see how immense his power was.
If he could save the other party, would he forget this life-saving grace after liberation?
Thinking of this, Cao Weida looked up at the other man again; at this moment, Wu Jingzhong sat with a steady expression and straight back, and even without any other movements, he exuded an imposing pressure that commanded respect without anger.
Wu Jingzhong had firm faith in his youth, following the Kuomintang in striving to save the nation, throwing himself into revolution heedless of life and death.
During the War of Resistance against Japan, he fought with knife and gun, fearless of death, rising step by step through his merits.
Looking at Wu Jingzhong now, who was determined to complete the task even at the cost of his life, he was completely different from the Wu Jingzhong in his mind who lusted after power and wealth.
“Station Chief Wu is even willing to throw himself into death, while I, Cao, feel truly ashamed!”
“Rest assured, I will do my utmost to help, and you just wait for my good news.”
He already had a plan in mind; he didn’t want to take this on himself—he had a better way.
Back at the police station, just as he was about to arrange for Little Ear to find someone to clean up that second-entrance siheyuan in Sesame Hutong, he heard a burst of footsteps approaching.
Looking toward the sound, the visitor turned out to be Ono Shiota.
“Ono-kun, what brings you here? Please sit, please sit.”
“Haha, I heard you were back, so I came over.” Ono Shiota smiled and walked in, gesturing for the others to leave before closing the door. “I’m here to tell you some good news this time.”
Cao Weida’s heart skipped a beat—was it what he thought?
He personally poured him a cup of tea and asked with a puzzled expression, “Ono-kun, what good news?”
Ono Shiota said with a face full of smiles, “At 8 p.m. the day after tomorrow, Commander Miyamoto will hold a banquet at the Tokyo Hotel, and many prominent figures and reporters will attend. We’ll need to allocate some patrolmen to assist with public order management.”
“In the entire police station, you’re the one I trust the most, so I want you to take charge of this.”
Tomorrow night, Tokyo Hotel, banquet
Cao Weida was speechless.
Wasn’t this too much of a coincidence? Wu Jingzhong had just told him to figure out a way to take on the matter, and before he could even start, Ono Shiota had directly dumped it on his head?
What kind of good news was this!
With a plan in mind, he naturally didn’t want to take it and politely declined, “Ono-kun, forget it. Taking a few men to show off might be fine, but having me lead the team for public order maintenance—how could I have the ability for that?”
“If something goes wrong and delays the officers’ big event, I couldn’t bear the responsibility. You’d better have someone else do it.”
Wu Jingzhong and his group were targeting the banquet; this banquet would definitely turn chaotic no matter what anyone thought.
Ultimately, whether the action succeeded or failed, everyone involved would end up covered in dirt.
He didn’t want to get involved with this matter at all, not even a speck.
“Well…” Seeing that Cao Weida didn’t seem to be just pretending to decline, Ono Shiota could only drop it.
Thinking about it, it made sense; Cao Weida had gone from patrolman to patrol officer in just one or two months, with no experience organizing personnel actions, so having him responsible for security work was indeed putting him in a tough spot.
“Alright then, since Cao Sang isn’t interested, I’ll find someone else to handle it.”
“Thank you for your understanding, Ono-kun. Oh, and don’t forget the Beiping Hotel tonight.”
Mentioning the Beiping Hotel, Ono Shiota’s eyes lit up immediately—he was still enamored with the foreign girls there!
After chatting a bit more, Ono Shiota, who still needed to think about the co-defense person in charge, got up and left. After he left, Cao Weida propped his chin and thought for a moment before calling Little Ear:
“The day after tomorrow, I’m taking a third concubine. Go find people to clean up that courtyard in Koudai Hutong.”
“Oh wow, Big Brother Cao, you’re taking a concubine! Congratulations! I’ll go arrange it right away!” Little Ear cupped his hands in congratulations and was about to leave when Cao Weida stopped him.
“Wait, have Nijo Hutong cleaned up too.”
Little Ear’s eyes widened a bit. “Big Brother Cao, are you taking two concubines?”
Cao Weida laughed and cursed, “Why so chatty? Just go clean them up.”
After sending him off, Cao Weida quietly pondered what weapons to provide for support.
On the other side, a temporary safe house.
Creak~~
The wooden door gently closed, blocking out the outside sounds.
Inside the room, Wu Jingzhong unbuttoned his collar and strode into the temporary office area.
The little devils were frantically dropping poison gas bombs on the front lines, causing tremendous losses to the Kuomintang Army, with many soldiers tortured to death by the poison gas.
Now, the little devils’ bacteria experts had gone to the front lines to collect real combat data; if this data was sent back to Harbin, the next batch of poison gas bombs produced might have even greater power and harm.
This mission was extremely important; it could have been completed in Tianjin originally, but it was sold out by a traitor, which really made him furious for a while.
The superior’s scolding was still ringing in his ears, and the bacteria expert’s real combat data was another tight curse binding his mind—he was already prepared to sacrifice for the country.
Sunlight streamed through the window into the room, where specks of dust could be seen drifting freely.
He sat with a grim face, his fingertips tapping on the tabletop, making a rhythmic tapping sound.
The attendant stood solemnly to the side, pen tip already on the notebook, waiting for instructions.
After a short while, Wu Jingzhong spoke: “Quickly scout around the Tokyo Hotel; have Group One start action.”
“Group Two, scout withdrawal and support routes; make sure to thoroughly check all the hutongs around!”
“Intelligence personnel, based on the scouted intelligence, formulate the most reasonable action plan!”
“Each group’s liaison, keep information flowing smoothly without a moment’s slack!”
“Communications group, be ready at all times; report any news immediately!”
After saying this, Wu Jingzhong’s gaze was piercing as he swept over everyone in the safe house: “This action—success or die trying!”
“The brothers on the front lines are fighting desperately against the little devils’ machine guns and cannons; we rear personnel can’t let the front-line brothers look down on us!”
The special agents who came along stood solemnly and responded: “Yes!”
Seeing his subordinates standing at attention and full of vigor, Wu Jingzhong felt somewhat gratified; this action was not only to collect some interest for the compatriots who died at the hands of the little devils’ bacteria expert, but also to reduce sacrifices for the frontline soldiers!
If it failed, there was nothing to say.
But if it succeeded, it would be a great merit!
