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Chapter 1221 "Jinlan Society"

"So, Zhong Xiao introduced a fake father to Bian Jichao?"

Inside the office, Zuo Zhong looked at Gu Qi and Song Minghao and asked, his expression full of confusion.

This kind of thing is not uncommon in later generations, but it is quite rare in the Republic of China. Zhong Xiao's method is too low-level. He is treating their Military Control Commission as fools.

Once the encirclement and suppression intelligence is leaked, Bian Jichao will definitely be investigated, and the Zhong family will definitely come into the sight of the Military Control Commission. Doing so will only increase their own suspicion and will be of no use.

But Zuo Zhong thought again, if he hadn't noticed the flaw in Bian Jichao's cufflinks, Zhong Xiao might not have been discovered.

Even if she was discovered, Zhong Xiao could still say that she did it to make Bian Jichao happy, and there was no government law that prohibited finding someone to pretend to be a relative.

Zuo Chong thought about Zhong Xiao's possible excuses, but he always felt that something didn't make sense. The other party acted too blatantly, as if he was not afraid of being investigated at all.

"Yes, Vice-President."

Song Minghao nodded: "In order to verify the confession, we went to the restaurant where Bian Jichao and Zhong's father met to find eyewitnesses. There are multiple witnesses who can prove that the so-called Zhong's father is an imposter."

After he finished speaking, Gu Qi summarized: "Based on the existing evidence, there must be something wrong with Zhong Xiao, but who her superior is still needs to be investigated."

  "Then investigate." Zuo Zhong's eyes sharpened and he said firmly.
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At night, a red shop near Zhongfu.

Wu Chunyang picked up the lunch box and took a few mouthfuls of buckwheat rice and green cabbage. This was the daily diet of the people in the mountain city. As for rice and flour, that was not something that the "red shop owner" could eat.

After chewing the choking buckwheat and swallowing it, Wu Chunyang turned to look at the monitoring personnel: "How many calls did the Zhong Mansion receive and make after the target returned home?"

"Three."

The monitor put down his chopsticks and replied without thinking, "One call is from Zhong's mother who wants to play mahjong tomorrow, one is from Zhong's father discussing business with someone, and the other is from Zhong's relatives and friends who called to say hello."

Without hesitation, Wu Chunyang issued an order: "Let the Second Division investigate these three people. I want to know all the information about them."

As he was speaking, the green light on the monitoring device flashed a few times. The monitoring personnel hurriedly held the headphones, turned on the recording switch, and listened to the conversation content with full concentration.

Wu Chunyang also quickly stepped forward and picked up the spare headphones, stood aside and listened attentively, and soon two female voices were heard from the headphones.

The younger voice belonged to Zhong Xiao, and the other was a stranger. The two had a brief conversation on the phone.

"Miss Zhong, tomorrow is the day of the Jinlan Society reunion, please attend on time."

"Okay, President Sima."

"Then I will wait for Miss Zhong. By the way, this gathering is to collect medicines for the officers and soldiers on the front line. Miss Zhong had better make some preparations."

"Thank you, President Sima, for your reminder."

The call was immediately hung up. Listening to the noisy sound of electricity, Wu Chunyang put down his headphones and frowned.

  What kind of organization is the Jinlan Society?

Who is President Sima?

Why is there no record in Zhong Xiao’s file?

When the commander had doubts, a small spy immediately went to investigate. Relying on the Military Control Commission's intelligence network in the mountain city, the relevant information was quickly delivered to the surveillance point. Wu Chunyang was very surprised after reading it.

"You said Miss Kong Er is a member of the Jinlan Society?"

Wu Chunyang had a solemn expression and asked his subordinates again and again, because the reputation of this Miss Kong was really not good, and could even be said to be notorious.

Back in Jinling, the other party shot and killed a traffic policeman who was on duty on the street. This incident caused a sensation, but in the end, the Kong family only paid some money to settle the matter.

From then on, a curse word spread among the Guo Party. The most vicious words used by both sides during a quarrel were "You will run into Miss Kong Er when you go out today!" This shows the lethality of this witch.

However, no matter how arrogant and domineering the other party is, he will always have to talk about marriage with a man when he reaches the appropriate age. The lady had planned to introduce Chief Hu to Miss Kong Er.

Commander Hu, of course, knew her background. The brave general was frightened out of his wits, but he couldn't refuse her directly. So he had to consult Chief Dai about some clever tricks to make her give up.

For example, when Miss Kong came to visit, Officer Hu deliberately took the spoiled young lady around everywhere, completely disregarding any gentlemanly manners and letting her walk with him in high heels for the entire day.

After a few times, Miss Kong was really furious and had nothing good to say about Commander Hu. The matter was left unresolved and Commander Hu escaped.

There are many things like this. Wu Chunyang doesn't want the case to have anything to do with this person. First, he is afraid of trouble. Second, if there are spies around Miss Kong, the consequences will be very serious.

The Madam liked Miss Kong II very much and often took her to important occasions. No one would be on guard against a royal relative, and her status gave her access to many secrets.

The little spy who came to deliver the information had a bitter face and whispered back, "Yes, Director, Miss Kong Er is the vice president of the Jinlan Society, and the president is a woman named Sima Linglong.

The Jinlan Society has a high threshold for membership and operates in a low-key manner, so it was not under our surveillance before, and there was no such entry in Zhong Xiao’s file.”

"Tell me about Sima Linglong and the Jinlan Society."

Wu Chunyang replied expressionlessly without blaming the other party. The Military Control Commission was well-informed, but the mountain city was so large that it was impossible to cover everything.

The spy who escaped the disaster put his heart back in his stomach and began to report the intelligence he had gathered. "Sima Linglong, female, born in 1910, native of Beiping, a noble of the previous dynasty, her husband is a colonel of the Guo army, they have a son and a daughter, the boy is five years old, the girl is three years old, there are no elderly people in the family.

Her husband died heroically in the battle in Shanghai and was posthumously awarded the rank of major general. Sima Linglong followed the army to the mountain city and opened the Jinlan Club, a female salon mainly for government officials and military officers’ families.

Wu Chunyang was very dissatisfied after hearing this. The information was too general and lacked details. He couldn't help but scold out of disappointment.

"That's all? How do you do your job? Where are the membership files of the Jinlan Society, the organizational structure, and the activity records? Do you still need me to teach you such simple things?!"

The young spy lowered his head and dared not look at him, explaining, "Director, the members of the Jinlan Society are all women, and all of them are wives of officials. New members must be recommended by three or more old members, so it is difficult for our people to infiltrate."

Wu Chunyang asked in return: "Is it harder than breaking into the northwest?"

The young spy stopped talking. Most of the female spies in the Military Control Commission were technical and logistical personnel. There were very few female spies on the front line, and they were not familiar with the officials. They really had no way to infiltrate the Jinlan Society.

After scolding his men, Wu Chunyang concentrated and thought for a long time, then ordered a group of people to investigate Sima Linglong from the side, and notified Song Minghao's Second Department to verify the other party's background.

If there is a problem with the Jinlan Association, Sima Linglong is most likely to be involved in espionage. Although Miss Kong is unruly, she will never sell out her country. After all, if the national government is gone, she will have no benefit.

At the same time, Wu Chunyang thought of someone who might be able to help them infiltrate the Jinlan Society without arousing Sima Linglong's suspicion.

"anyone there?"

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door downstairs. Wu Chunyang raised his hand to signal the little agent not to speak. He walked to the corner of the stairs and looked carefully towards the door.

On the first floor of the Red Shop, a man who looked like a butler stood by the counter and started chatting with the shop owner who came to greet him. From the accent he spoke, he sounded like a local.

The man said he wanted to order a batch of porcelain for the owner and provided detailed drawings. The shop owner skillfully quoted the price and processing time. The other party nodded and said he wanted to see the workers' craftsmanship.

This was as it should be. The shop owner took him around the shop with a smile. The man went through all the processes and then stopped behind a worker who was painting.

"Master, your skills are really important. Where are you from?" the man asked after looking for a while.

The painter walked back to Jujing Town without even looking up, speaking the Gan dialect with a mountain town accent. The man was very satisfied and turned around to hand the deposit to the shop owner. He arranged a time to pick up the goods and prepared to leave.

Before leaving the store, he glanced at the rice bowl that the worker had placed on the ground. A few grains of buckwheat stuck to the mouth of the bowl were particularly conspicuous. The next moment, the man quickened his pace.

"Director, do you want to send someone to follow him?"

Watching the other person walk away, a young spy suggested that the sudden appearance of a person in the middle of the night was suspicious no matter how you looked at it.

Wu Chunyang's eyes were deep, and he shook his head gently: "No need, keep an eye on Zhong Xiao, if the other party is really here to explore the way, there must be someone watching around."

Investigating a case is like sorting out wool. You just need to grasp the most important one or two threads. You must make choices and never be led by your opponent.

The Red Shop returned to peace, and the young spies used the makeshift telephone lines to report the situation back to the headquarters.

After receiving the notice, the large office of the Second Department became lively, and a frontal photo of Sima Linglong was posted on the blackboard in the corner.

Gu Qi and Song Minghao personally supervised the battle and urged the spies to collect intelligence. Various information from the military, police and civil affairs systems continued to gather and collide.

As dawn approached, the Second Department initially gained control of the Jinlan Society's information through secret questioning, retrieval of files, phone and letter sending and receiving records, and inquiries into house rental, water and electricity information.

There were some more text records and photos of many famous ladies in Shancheng below Sima Linglong's photo, and the organizational structure of the Jinlan Society slowly emerged.

This salon, which is mainly composed of women, has more than 30 members, all of whom are direct relatives of senior military and political officials.

There is evidence that the Jinlan Society is divided into three levels: the first level is the president and vice president, the second level is the secretaries, and the third level is ordinary members.

The president is naturally Sima Linglong. Her parents died of illness in the second year after the founding of the Republic of China. She lived with her grandparents since she was a child and later went into exile overseas. Her specific experiences are unknown.

At present, we only know that Sima Linglong has appeared in Hong Kong, Malaya, Yokohama, London, the west coast of the United States and other places. Because the time is too long, the Military Control Commission's overseas intelligence capabilities are unable to verify them one by one.

In the 20th year of the Republic of China, Sima Linglong's grandparents died in Washington. She returned to Beijing alone and met her future husband through an introduction.

After her husband was killed in battle, she met a senior military advisor named Major General Wei Hui in Nanjing, and the two became very close.

Later, Sima Linglong got to know Miss Kong Er through the other party. She vigorously promoted the idea of ​​female independence and gained Miss Kong Er's trust in a short time.

In the same year, the Jinlan Society was established at No. 14, Dexingli, in the urban area of ​​Shancheng City, and Miss Kong Er was invited to become the vice president. At that time, a newspaper reported on it, calling it a great feat of liberating the thoughts of women in the Republic of China.

From then on, the name of the Jinlan Society became increasingly famous in the upper class society of the mountain city, and many family members of government officials applied to join. However, the entry requirements of the Jinlan Society were strict, and only those with prominent family backgrounds could join.

To be eligible for the position of an officer, one must have a direct relative with the rank of major general or deputy minister or above in the family, or pay a membership fee of more than 10,000 yuan, such as Zhong Xiao.

Even ordinary members of the third level must have at least a colonel-level officer or a department-level official in their family. Otherwise, let alone joining the organization, you can't even get through the door.

The matter was of great importance and involved many people. If so many wives of officials made a fuss, Dai Chunfeng would have to retreat. Gu Qi and Song Minghao did not dare to make a decision on their own and quickly reported the matter to Zuo Chong.