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Chapter 1219 Bian Jichao and Zhong Xiao

Gu Qi looked at the dejected Bian Jichao and said coldly: "What's your girlfriend's name and occupation? Have you revealed the encirclement plan to her?"

These three questions made Bian Jichao's face change again and again, but looking at the gloomy faces of the Military Intelligence Bureau agents, he had to give his name honestly.

"Zhong Xiao."

He then recounted the entire process of how the two met, in a story that was quite romantic.

"I met her when I attended a reception for students in Shancheng. She was a student representative of the Shancheng Normal School for Girls at the time, and I spotted her in the crowd at first sight.

It was a sunny day, the sun was shining in the auditorium. Zhong Xiao had long black hair and a navy blue school uniform that looked great on her.

There were many guards and security guards peeking at us at the time, so after the meeting I found an excuse to ask for her contact information so I could get to know her better.

Perhaps my behavior was too reckless. Zhong Xiao was so scared that he hid behind his classmates and it took him a long time before he dared to talk to me.

Commander Zuo, a girl as timid as her can't be a spy. Really, I can guarantee it with my reputation and future.

I have also met her father, and we had a very pleasant conversation. I am planning to find an opportunity to report this to my superior. At worst, I will just quit the attendant room."

At the end of his speech, Bian Jichao's expression became gentle, and the corners of his mouth unconsciously curled up slightly, as if he was caught up in some wonderful fantasy.

"Oh!"

Zuo Zhong slammed the table with force, his face gloomy. It was absurd that a lieutenant officer of the Guo Army and someone's personal guard was indulging in a love affair when the country was in danger.

He glared at Bian Jichao and shouted, "I'm not in the mood to listen to your bullshit love story. I just want to know whether you have ever leaked any information to her. Lieutenant Bian, don't lie, otherwise it will not only harm you, but also her.

This matter has been reported to the emperor. Without the leader's permission, do you think we dare to bring you back? Don't be optimistic. Your only way out is to tell the truth. Only in this way can you save yourself.

If not, I will immediately issue an order to have someone go to the girls' school to find Miss Zhong. You know the methods of our military control. What a beautiful female student will face when she enters the interrogation room? Do you need me to tell you?"

The Military Intelligence Bureau is a violent agency. Even though Zuo Chong repeatedly emphasized discipline, the military discipline of the Military Intelligence Bureau is much better than in history. There are no dirty things, but all the necessary means are still used.

When dealing with female suspects, methods of forcing confessions such as sitting on ice or taking leech baths are just appetizers. There are also more cruel methods, and the government has long been discussing this.

The lady even specifically questioned Lao Dai about this matter, but the Military Control Commission continued to do its own thing, and someone also turned a blind eye. After all, compared with rules, intelligence is the most important.

Bian Jichao, who was already panicking, heard that the Military Control Commission was going to arrest Zhong Xiao. When he thought of the inhuman torture that the other party would suffer, he immediately panicked and hurriedly defended Zhong Xiao and himself.

"Commander Zuo, Zhong Xiao has never asked me for any secrets. She is a simple student who is not interested in politics or military affairs. The subject we discuss most when we meet is literature.

I also always remember the confidentiality discipline and will never tell anyone the information I heard in the official residence. If you don't believe me, you can check the letters between me and Zhong Xiao. They are in my dormitory. "

"Someone, go to Lieutenant Bian's dormitory and keep it confidential."

Gu Qi immediately arranged for agents to collect evidence, but the purpose was not to prove Bian Jichao's words, but to extract information from Zhong Xiao's letters, such as handwriting, fingerprints, writing style, wording, etc.

By analyzing this information, analysts can determine a person's personality, education level, daily language, and writing habits.

The above results, combined with archives and past history, can maximize the Military Control Commission's understanding of the target, which will help the next step of the investigation.

Zuo Zhong was very satisfied when he saw Gu Qi's actions. After all, he was an old friend with whom he had worked together for many years and he knew what to do without his reminder.

Then, Zuo Zhong slowed down his tone and asked Bian Jichao about Zhong Xiao's family background, trying to find something suspicious.

The purpose of slowing down the tone was to give Bian Jichao a positive feedback. For a young man like him who lacks social experience, being too tough will only make him completely collapse or trigger rebellion. The correct way to pry open the other person's mouth is to use a combination of soft and hard methods.

Sure enough, after finding that Zuo Zhong was no longer so aggressive, Bian Jichao sat back in his chair and told everything he knew.

"Zhong Xiao is a native of Shancheng, 19 years old this year, with an older brother and an older sister. She is the youngest child in the family, and with her cheerful personality, she is quite loved by her parents.

The Zhong family was also a well-known wealthy family in the city. They owned thousands of acres of fertile land, dozens of shops in the urban area, and several cargo stores and docks.

Uncle Zhong told me that the Zhong family donated tens of thousands of dollars to the front line, so how could Zhong Xiao be a spy? You must have made a mistake, sir."

Bian Jichao's expression was sincere. In his opinion, a female student with a clean background and such a good family background could not possibly have anything to do with a spy.

Gu Qi, Wu Chunyang and Song Minghao all frowned when they heard this. He turned out to be a local of Shancheng, and from a wealthy family. He really didn't look like a spy.

Intelligence work is not like buying groceries and eating. Personnel must be trained, but young ladies from wealthy families usually seldom go out, and their whereabouts are easy to track down. This is a bit contradictory.

Unless the Zhong family is like the Pang family they investigated in Jinling, the entire family is a nail planted by the Japanese many years ago (Section 654), and was only recently activated. Song Minghao asked first, with a very polite attitude: "Lieutenant Bian, how many years has the Zhong family settled in Shancheng? Are all the relatives still here?"

Bian Jichao didn't understand the purpose of his question, and replied after thinking about it carefully.

"According to Zhong Xiao, the Zhong family came to Shancheng City and settled there in the late Ming Dynasty. I don't know where they were originally from, but they certainly have relatives."

Everyone in the Military Control Commission remained silent. This was not right. First, if the Zhong family were Japanese spies, the only possibility was impersonation, but lurking for hundreds of years was simply not realistic.

Second, when the Japanese spies pretended to be the Pang family and lurked in the Republic of China, the first thing they did was to eliminate the relatives and friends of the Pang family, and they even used bacterial weapons to kill and silence them.

But the urban area of ​​Shancheng is not a remote countryside with many people and eyes. It is impossible for the Japanese spies to hide their occupation of the nest from the Zhong family's network of connections.

After a long silence, Gu Qi discussed with everyone in a low voice: "Let's send someone to investigate the Zhong family first and see the result. These are just Bian Jichao's one-sided statements, and the facts still need to be verified.

I'm sure we've run into an old enemy. To be honest, the underground party is very noble and doesn't do anything seductive. It's the Japanese who love to use such tricks the most."

After finally finding a clue, Gu Qi didn't want to let it go easily. Besides, why would a grown lady like Zhong Xiao date Bian Jichao? It couldn't be really because of love.

Although Bian Jichao is the leader's personal bodyguard and seems to have a bright future, a bodyguard is not a royal guard and will definitely leave the official residence when he gets older. With the Zhong family's background in the mountain city, they can definitely find a son-in-law with a better status and future.

From this, it can be inferred that the Zhong family is indeed suspected of being involved in espionage. As for whether the other party is an underground party or a Japanese, it is not important at all. Gu Qi just wants to catch the mole who leaked the information and secure his position as deputy director.

Wu Chunyang nodded after listening: "Yes, the Japanese spies have been very low-key in the past six months, and most of the people who have emerged are traitors and small characters. There must be something wrong when things are abnormal. The devils can't be so honest.

Therefore, not only Zhong Xiao and other members of the Zhong family need to be investigated, but also several generations ago. The urban area of ​​Shancheng was a big city in the previous dynasty, and the relevant household registration files should be very complete, so we can start from this aspect.

Zhong Xiao's thoughts, political inclinations, and social networks at school should also be included in the scope of investigation. Even if she is fine, it does not mean that the people around her are fine. The Japanese spies are best at building relationships."

Song Minghao next to him expressed his agreement. Based on past experience, once the Japanese became obedient, it would not take long for something to happen, and it would be a big one.

While listening to the opinions of the three people, Zuo Zhong looked at the anxious Bian Jichao, and thought about the other party and Zhong Xiao in his mind. He inexplicably felt that the process of their acquaintance was somewhat familiar.

After a while, he said in a deep voice: "Let's do it this way. Whether it's a dissident or a Japanese, we'll deal with it after we catch him.

But we need to spread the word to the outside world first, saying that Bian Jichao is going to the front line on a business trip, to temporarily calm Zhong Xiao and not to alarm the only suspect. "

At this point, Zuo Zhong turned around and asked, "Lieutenant Bian, could you please write a note to tell Miss Zhong that you are leaving Shancheng for a while? Is that okay?"

Although it was just a question, his tone revealed that he could not refuse. Bian Jichao certainly understood that Zuo Zhong was not discussing with him, so he hurriedly nodded and agreed.

"Okay, Lieutenant Bian, go back to your room and rest. We'll call you if we need you."

Zuo Chong waved his hand and had Bian Jichao taken away. He quickly interrogated the remaining suspects, but no valuable clues were found. Zhong Xiao was still the only breakthrough at present.

After sending away the last target for interrogation, a young spy entered the room, cleaned up the cigarette butts on the table, and opened the window. A gust of cold wind blew into the room through the window, and the four drowsy people instantly became alert.

Tightening his collar, Zuo Zhong divided the investigation work. Just like the arrangement made at the headquarters before, Wu Chunyang's first department was responsible for tracking, wiretapping and other investigative operations; Song Minghao's second department was responsible for personnel screening and document review; Gu Qi was in charge of the overall situation, and he stayed in the rear.

With clear orders, the Military Control Commission's huge intelligence machine began to operate, and a large number of spies and informants conducted an extremely detailed investigation around the Zhong family and Shancheng Normal Girls' School.

All of Zhong Xiao's experiences since birth, including his family, educational background, social relationships, and daily words and deeds, have been dug out one by one, waiting to be investigated and verified.

Several old servants of the Zhong family, old neighbors, and classmates of Zhong Xiao were secretly brought back to the Military Control Commission. Their confessions will be cross-checked with the investigation results to find out the loopholes.

On the other hand, the affairs in Jiangnan were also coming to an end.

The Northwest proposed 12 post-disaster measures, including revoking the demobilization order, restoring the freedom of several military commanders, releasing all captured personnel, punishing relevant persons in charge, providing pensions to casualties, etc.

These conditions were obviously political means, and the Kuomintang did not really expect the Kuomintang to accept them in full. In fact, this was not the case. The two parties soon fell into a stalemate, and the situation in the Republic of China became increasingly unstable.

At this moment, the Japanese short-sightedness came back again. Taking advantage of the confrontation between the northwest and the mountain city, they jumped out and launched an attack on the Guo army in the north.

At this point, cooperation in the war of resistance became the mainstream again. In the end, although someone did not agree to all the post-war measures, he did agree to minor issues such as no longer targeting the "New Plow News" and issuing travel permits to underground party members entering the border areas.

In response to the request to expand the army in the northwest, someone responded ambiguously with "as long as you follow orders, everything will be fine", but did not mention the supply of food, wages and weapons.

The dust has settled on this matter, allowing someone to focus on the internal affairs of the National Government. The Military Control Commission's investigation into Zhong Xiao and the Zhong family has also gradually deepened, and the time for reckoning has come.