ebookland Chapter 1153 Demanding Power
Chapter 1153 Demanding Power
"Just giving me an empty title won't do. I'm not used to using other people. You know better than I do what kind of people they are, whether it's the Party Affairs Investigation Section or the Military Intelligence Bureau. If I use them, it'll probably be the same as before. I need to transfer several special agent companies south."
Li Shaoyi's intelligence bureau had specially trained personnel for this, which is why he made such a request. The higher-ups had already considered Li Shaoyi's request; they had always trusted their own people, especially since Li Shaoyi's men had done a remarkable job in the area after the fall of Shanghai, inflicting considerable losses on the Japanese.
"Regarding this matter, you should submit a report and discuss it after the Ministry of Military Affairs holds a meeting. You know we're in a delicate period right now, with troops from various regions moving into Hankou. It's not impossible for your troops to come, but in terms of numbers..."
After Vice Minister Wu finished speaking, he hung up the phone. This path wasn't completely blocked for Li Shaoyi, but it had to be followed according to procedure. You can't act according to your own preferences. If you do, Hankou will instantly become like Huangpu River. Even if you aren't appointed as the Hankou city defense commander, you might appoint yourself, just like last time, putting the entire Nationalist government in a very passive position.
"Commander Li, what do you think of my situation?"
Seeing Li Shaoyi hanging up the phone and deep in thought, Director Xu didn't want to interrupt him, but several minutes had already passed, and the Japanese hideout he had uncovered needed to be raided. If things dragged on, it might cause unnecessary trouble.
"Call your people in charge of this matter over here. Let's have a meeting and see what happens. We'll try to start the operation tomorrow morning. Your people will assist, and I'll transfer the rest from the guard company of the artillery regiment."
Most people would probably jump up in anger upon hearing Li Shaoyi's words. What do you mean by "my people as assistants"? It was clearly my people who worked tirelessly on this matter to achieve this result. And now you're kicking my people aside and putting your own in charge? Isn't this just stealing the credit?
However, Director Xu showed no dissatisfaction whatsoever; he immediately agreed. These Japanese spies were all desperate criminals; a slight misstep could mean losing our lives along with them.
He knew very well how capable Li Shaoyi's men were. Our men were simply not in the same league as Li Shaoyi's. Some credit could be claimed, but if your life was threatened, would you choose credit or your life?
Li Shaoyi had Director Xu bring all his men over to check if any of them were Japanese spies. After all, Li Shaoyi himself possessed sensory abilities; if red appeared under the feet of these people, then they would all have to be arrested.
At 1 a.m., three large rooms at the air defense command headquarters were vacated, and all the people had arrived. Li Shaoyi stood at the door, watching one person after another walk in, but he still managed to pick out three people from among them.
"Commander Li, what's going on?"
When Li Shaoyi was arresting people, Director Xu didn't say a word. He knew very well that you shouldn't interfere when your superiors are doing things. He understood this principle, but now that the people had been arrested, he needed to get to the bottom of things. He still had to deal with his subordinates when he got back.
The Party Affairs Investigation Section is a powerful department that frequently arrests people outside. But now, one of their own people has suddenly been arrested, and it's even someone from the headquarters' action team. This needs an explanation.
“These three people are not suitable. They are all connected to the Japanese. They are your people. I will give you face this time. You should hurry up and interrogate them. I will only give you one hour. After the interrogation, it will be a test for you. If you can't get anything out of them, then I'm afraid I will find someone else to cooperate with me on this matter.”
Li Shaoyi was known for his strictness, but Director Xu hadn't expected him to start testing him now. All three men had worked under him for a considerable time, one of whom was even his former classmate.
They've helped him a lot over the years in various ways. Could it be that the Japanese have even infiltrated his classmates? Although he knows the Japanese have a very strong infiltration ability, these people have also done a lot of good things against the Japanese.
However, these people had long heard of the strength of the 72nd Army's intelligence bureau. They had fought tooth and nail with various Japanese intelligence agencies in Pujiang, ultimately forcing the Japanese agencies to concede defeat. Therefore, Li Shaoyi likely had prior intelligence. Director Xu dared not delay and immediately set up a temporary interrogation room with his men, determined to extract information from the three men.
Meanwhile, his men began searching the social movements of the three men and their residences. Before Director Xu had even finished his interrogation, nearly a truckload of evidence had been brought in. Two of them could be proven to have been bribed by the Japanese; direct evidence against the third man was not found, but some Japanese newspapers were discovered at his residence, some of which contained very useful clippings.
Forty minutes ago, the people from the Party Affairs Investigation Section thought Li Shaoyi was just causing trouble and arbitrarily arresting their people. But now, seeing the evidence before them, they were speechless. They were people who recognized and respected heroes, so all they could say was, "Commander Li is awesome!"
We're always shouting about catching Japanese spies, but it turns out they're right here among us. Even Director Xu feels embarrassed. He originally asked Li Shaoyi to cooperate in arresting the Japanese spies, but it turns out there are three Japanese spies right under his nose. If these three aren't dealt with, the upcoming arrest operation might fail before it even begins.
Li Shaoyi wanted to meet these people because he feared there might be Japanese spies among them. "We don't care if you fail, but now that our 72nd Army is involved, this operation must succeed; failure is not an option." Therefore, a thorough internal investigation was conducted first.
As dawn broke and everyone in their departments started work, the news about this matter spread barely. People said that Commander Li had an extraordinary eye, and any Japanese spy who passed in front of him would reveal their true identity...