Chapter 101: West Pole Lunar Sea

Excellent!

Yu Ping'an's expression was exceptionally serious. He cleared his throat and read the telegram aloud.

"Section Chief Dai to Yu, Xie, Ke, and Mao at Hangzhou Xiongchen Building. Regarding the information that officers of the Hangzhou Garrison Division have colluded with the Japanese, they shall be severely punished without leniency. All suspected individuals involved shall be arrested first, escorted to Nanjing, and dealt with according to military law after investigation. This order—Chiang Kai-shek, Chairman of the National Government Military Commission."

Solemnly putting away the telegram, Yu Ping'an looked around at everyone. "The Chairman attaches great importance to this matter and has granted us the authority to act expediently. You all need to understand, with greater power comes greater responsibility. For tomorrow's arrests and subsequent actions, no one is to make any mistakes. If anyone causes problems, the Chairman won't need to intervene; the Chief will handle it."

Everyone patted their chests, repeatedly vowing that no mistakes would occur on their part. Cheng Qianfan, as the 'first-line' contributor who discovered the Japanese agents' whereabouts, despite his insufficient rank, was greatly looked after by Yu Ping'an, who allowed him to guard and observe in the meeting room. At this moment, hearing the telegram from Principal Chiang in Nanjing, Cheng Qianfan was secretly shocked. He truly hadn't expected the matter to directly alarm the 'Leader's' residence in Nanjing.

After he reported to Yu Ping'an, Yu Ping'an telephoned the Chief in Nanjing. The Chief then telephoned the Aide-de-Camp's Office at the 'Leader's' residence. Chiang Kai-shek, upon learning of the matter, ordered the Aide-de-Camp's Office to reply to Dai Chunfeng. Chief Dai then replied to Hangzhou Xiongchen Building. In less than an hour, telegrams went back and forth several times, and finally, the 'Leader's' instructions reached Xiongchen Building. This demonstrated the importance Nanjing attached to the matter.

Cheng Qianfan could probably guess why Nanjing attached such importance to the matter. Although the National Government had nominally unified the entire country, Chairman Chiang's Central Army only effectively controlled provinces such as Henan, Hebei, Anhui, Zhejiang, Fujian, Jiangsu, Suiyuan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, and Chahar. Among these, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai were the National Government's financial lifelines. Zhejiang, in particular, was Chairman Chiang's hometown and could not be compromised. The military was further regarded by the 'Leader' as the unshakeable foundation, so Nanjing was naturally highly vigilant and enraged by the Japanese infiltration of the Hangzhou military.

Cheng Qianfan did not know that when Yu Ping'an telephoned Nanjing, Chief Dai was accompanying someone at the 'Principal's Residence' of the Central Army Officers' Academy. The accompanying telegrapher presented the telegram from Hangzhou Xiongchen Building to Dai Chunfeng. Dai Chunfeng personally presented it to Principal Chiang. Chiang Kai-shek was furious and dictated a telegram directly, sending instructions to Hangzhou Xiongchen Building. Traditionally, although the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics also had the right to monitor the military, it was subject to many restrictions. This instruction from Chiang Kai-shek granted the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics at Hangzhou Xiongchen Building the authority to 'act first and report later' concerning military officers, specifically allowing them to 'arrest anyone on suspicion,' which was very rare. Therefore, many high-ranking officials of the Bureau, including Yu Ping'an, could not hide their joy.

Everyone acknowledged the order and departed. Yu Ping'an waved, and Cheng Qianfan quickly came over. "You discovered this intelligence, and you know the situation best," Yu Ping'an said as he walked. "I have informed Group Leader Wan and Captain He. You will lead your team to participate in the operation, ensuring its absolute success."

"Understood, Director. Thank you," Cheng Qianfan said, barely containing his excitement, quickly stating, "I will do my utmost to cooperate with Group Leader Wan and Captain He to complete the mission."

Cheng Qianfan said 'cooperate,' not 'obey.' Yu Ping'an glanced at him but said nothing. Cheng Qianfan knew this was Yu Ping'an's 'special favor.' Leading a separate team in an operation and having a degree of independent operational authority as an ungraduated cadet was a very rare opportunity. If the operation succeeded smoothly, Cheng Qianfan would have a brilliant record of independently leading a team to complete a mission.

Principal Chiang's addressing Chief Dai as 'Section Chief Dai' also made Cheng Qianfan truly realize for the first time the 'Leader' of the National Government's emphasis and special regard for the Chief. 'Section Chief' was Dai Chunfeng's position three years prior when he concurrently served as Section Chief of the Nanchang Provisional Headquarters' Investigation Section. When addressing subordinates, Principal Chiang would use their official title, nickname, or address them as brothers, according to the person and occasion, following certain conventions. For individuals like Chen Cheng and Xue Yue, he would directly call them by their courtesy names: Cixiu, Boling. For He Yingqin and Li Zongren, he would add "brother" after their courtesy names: Brother Jingzhi, Brother Delin. For Li Jishen and Cheng Qian, he would add "Mr." after their courtesy names: Mr. Renchao, Mr. Songyun. For Bai Chongxi and Liu Fei, he would directly address them by their official titles: Deputy Chief of Staff Bai, Undersecretary Liu. For Hu Zongnan, he would call him Brother Zongnan. Only for Dai Chunfeng did he use his old title from three years prior, when Dai Chunfeng served concurrently as Section Chief of the Nanchang Provisional Headquarters' Investigation Section, addressing him as Section Chief Dai. For an old superior to address a subordinate by an old position signifies closeness and marks them as a trusted confidant.

Cheng Qianfan did not rest in the Xiongchen Building dormitory. He left Xiongchen Building overnight and went to his team's safe house. Yu Ping'an had created an opportunity for him to 'achieve new merits' again. He felt excited but acted with even greater caution.

"Sir."

"What's the situation?"

"No abnormalities. 'Subject A-6' went to the 'Happy Paradise' nightclub after work, returned to the hospital dormitory an hour ago, and hasn't left since."

"What about Hengrun Teahouse?"

"A'da is watching with two others. The phone hasn't rung, so there should be no abnormalities there either."

Cheng Qianfan breathed a sigh of relief and nodded. Among this provisional team, he was most satisfied with Haozai. He was very meticulous in his work and also clever.

"Sir, there's something I haven't had a chance to report to you yet," Haozai said.

"What is it?" Cheng Qianfan asked. Just then, he heard muffled sobs coming from the inner room. "What's going on?"

Cheng Qianfan's expression changed drastically. His first thought was that these fellows weren't being honest; perhaps they had brought a woman in to fool around. They were incredibly brazen.

"Sir, do you remember when 'Subject A-6' prescribed the wrong medicine and caused a patient's death?" Haozai quickly explained.

"Who's inside?" Cheng Qianfan strode into the inner room and saw a middle-aged man in a long gown tied there, his mouth gagged with cloth. Seeing someone enter, his eyes filled with terror, and he whimpered.

"About half an hour ago, this person was loitering outside the doctor's dormitory, holding a rock, intending to smash a window. Your subordinate was worried he would mess things up and took the liberty of apprehending him. I hope you'll forgive me, sir," Haozai said cautiously.

"Make him behave," Cheng Qianfan frowned.

Haozai gestured with his chin, and an agent stepped forward, subjecting the man to a beating and threats. He indeed quieted down.

"Tell me, what's the situation?" Cheng Qianfan asked in a deep voice as he came out of the inner room.