"Sir, it's like this. I just received a secret order from Chief Dai, asking us to send capable personnel to Xi'an to secretly arrest a suspect." Zhao Yuanliang said.
"Sir Dai? Who does he want to arrest?" When Lu Ming heard the word "Xi'an", his heart was in doubt.
"A commander of the Northeastern Army, named Hao Boxiang, was the man who was captured by the Communist army and then released back." Zhao Yuanliang said.
"Why catch him?" Lu Ming asked confused.
"I also have questions. Chief Dai said that he was instigated by the Communist Party to rebel and was brought back to bewitch Deputy Commander Zhang. So let us send people to Xi'an to arrest him secretly. If we can't catch him in Nanjing, we can
Carry out assassination." Zhao Yuanliang said.
"How could this happen? Isn't this a riot? The young marshal is the most protective of his shortcomings. How could he allow others to arrest his people?" Lu Ming felt that this matter was not that simple.
"I think that's the case, so I came to you in a hurry. What do you think we should do? It's no good if we don't go. We can't get a job with Chief Dai." Zhao Yuanliang stamped his feet anxiously.
"Then you send someone first, but be sure not to act rashly when you arrive in Xi'an. I will discuss with the young marshal how to resolve this matter." Lu Ming thought for a while and said.
"I'm afraid that the young marshal will kill all my people when he gets angry. This is still a small matter. If the superiors continue to refuse to admit their fault and put all the blame on me, then I will have to be pulled out as a scapegoat."
As Zhao Yuanliang spoke, sweat broke out on his head. There were masters on both sides who could not be offended, and they could not escape.
Lu Ming nodded. This kind of thing is completely possible and has happened before.
Dai Li did not use people from Xi'an Station, but transferred people from Shanghai Station, so that he would have to default on the debt after the incident was discovered. If it didn't work, he would say that the people below acted without authorization and pass all the blame on the people below.
.
Killing someone with a borrowed knife and putting the blame on someone else is a common tactic in officialdom.
What surprised Lu Ming was not this. What surprised him was why Dai Li had the courage to send people to Xi'an to secretly arrest the leader of the Northeastern Army.
Anyone who dares to do this is simply riding on a tiger's head and stroking its beard, living impatiently.
Lu Ming thought about it and felt that this must be a secret order issued by Mr. Jiang himself, but it was forwarded and executed through Dai Li. Dai Li alone would not have the courage.
The military circles of the Republic of China government were different from the Japanese military circles. There was no tradition of committing crimes, and Dai Li did not have the authority to order.
"Write down the names and looks of the people you sent and tell me them. When they arrive in Xi'an, tell me their addresses. I will arrange the rest," Lu Ming said.
"Sir Lu, will this end up involving me?" Zhao Yuanliang asked with a grimace.
"Don't worry, I'm doing this to protect you. No matter how the matter is resolved in the end, nothing will happen to the people you sent, let alone you." Lu Ming assured.
"Sir, you are kind to Yuanliang." Zhao Yuanliang quickly bowed and bowed.
"Uh, brother, you don't have to be so polite. By the way, what units are monitoring the Marshal and the Northeast Army now?" Lu Ming suddenly asked.
"It's mainly agents from the Shaanxi Provincial Party Headquarters and the Xi'an Station. I don't know if there are other people sent to monitor them," Zhao Yuanliang said.
"That's good. Now Dai Li asks you to go to Xi'an to perform a mission. You just take this opportunity to ask to share information with them. Let me know immediately if there is any situation." Lu Ming said.
Zhao Yuanliang stood at attention, performed a military salute, finally breathed a sigh of relief, wiped the sweat from his head, and hurried back.
Looking at his leaving figure, Lu Ming fell into deep thought.
Lu Ming still couldn't figure out why Mr. Jiang issued this secret order.
Hao Boxiang was indeed captured by the Red Army and released. The Central Daily News also reported this incident, but Hao Boxiang did not surrender.
The Red Army released him just because they wanted him to deliver a message to the young marshal. He himself was not guilty, so why should they arrest him or even assassinate him?
Did he have some kind of deal with the Red Army? Did he come back to persuade the young marshal to form an alliance with the Red Army?
At least Mr. Jiang thought so, otherwise he would not have issued this secret ruling. If there was no evidence to prove that Hao Boxiang had become a lobbyist for the Red Army, executing him would likely trigger a strong backlash from the Northeastern Army.
Whether it is a secret arrest or an assassination, it is impossible to keep it secret. Now that Xi'an is under the control of the young marshal, the agents from the Shaanxi Provincial Party Headquarters and the Xi'an Station do not have the guts to play against the young marshal.
Lu Ming felt that this incident was a signal and the young commander must know the news.
He went upstairs to his office. Liu Qiwen was already working. When she saw him coming in, she hurriedly stood up and saluted.
"Sir, there is an urgent message on your desk," she said.
"OK."
Lu Ming took off his coat, and Liu Qiwen came over to catch it and hang it on the hanger in the corner.
"Who sent the urgent call?"
"I don't know, it's a code and it hasn't been translated," Liu Qiwen said.
As soon as Lu Ming heard it, he knew that it was from agents cooperating with the Qiantian family. Only their telegrams had to be translated by Lu Ming himself using a special set of codes.
Lu Ming returned to his desk, opened a locked drawer, took out a code pad, then compared it with the code pad and quickly translated the message.
Three of the five sons are on their way, but two of them have been burned and cannot be obtained.
Lu Ming looked at the message and sighed.
The Kenta family only tried to steal the bodies of three agents. While they were being transported, the other two bodies had been incinerated and could not be obtained.
Liu Qiwen didn't ask too much. All messages that had to be translated by Lu Ming in code were top secret. That was information that only Lu Ming knew.
Lu Ming put the code pad back in the drawer and locked it.
He called the Marshal's office in Xi'an, but the Marshal was not in the office. The secretary on duty said that the Marshal was out of town.
Lu Ming reported his name and asked his secretary to report it to the young marshal. He was waiting for the young marshal's call back, no matter what time, he was waiting.
"Did something happen again in Xi'an?" Liu Qiwen asked.
"Not yet. Why do you say something happened again? Nothing happened in Xi'an?" Lu Ming asked in return.
"Don't you know, there are reports in the newspapers every day about various troubles caused by the Northeast Army. Some people are even worried that the Northeast Army may mutiny." Liu Qiwen said.
"Is there such a big movement? The mutiny is probably not over yet. The young commander has control over the Northeastern Army." Lu Ming said.
Lu Ming actually felt guilty when he said this. Mutiny was a common occurrence in the old warlords' armies. It might be fine in the morning, but they might mutiny at noon, and in the afternoon they might be bribed by other warlords and become someone else's army.
Lu Ming has enough confidence in the young marshal's prestige in the Northeastern Army. The biggest problem of the Northeastern Army now is still missing his hometown.
Five years without seeing parents, children, brothers and sisters, and the future is far away. For a traditional Chinese, one can imagine the mental torture of this day.
"Find out all the recent reports about the Northeastern Army for me. I want to take a closer look." Lu Ming said.
In the past six months, first because of Du Juan's incident, and then because of the spies' accidents one after another, Lu Ming paid little attention to domestic affairs, especially various reports about the Northeastern Army. Lu Ming almost selectively ignored them.
He always felt that most of these reports were false and simply fabricated out of reporters' curiosity.
But if the JoongAng Ilbo also had many reports like this, it would be different.
The JoongAng Ilbo is the spokesperson of the government, and their reporting stance is on the government's side.
Lu Ming read all the news reports about the Northeast Army and frowned.
The tidbits about the young marshal and the Northeastern Army reports from some second- and third-rate newspapers were indeed negligible. Most of these reports catered to readers' curiosity, but several reports from the Central Daily News aroused his attention and uneasiness.
A reporter from the JoongAng Ilbo vaguely hinted in several news reports that there were signs of division within the Northeastern Army and the possibility of mutiny.
However, as far as Lu Ming knew, although the Northeast Army had the problem of unstable military morale, it was far from the level of mutiny. If there was any news about this, he would have known about it a long time ago. After all, neither the Xi'an Station nor the Shaanxi Provincial Party Headquarters were
Those who eat dry food.
What is this indicating?
This shows that someone is secretly manipulating news reports and creating tension. So what is the purpose of doing this?
Could someone deliberately induce mutiny among some members of the Northeastern Army?
Thinking of this, Lu Ming broke out in a cold sweat.
Lu Ming already had a rough guess as to why Mr. Jiang insisted on sending the Northeastern Army to Xi'an instead of sending the Central Army to deal with the Red Army.
Mr. Chiang did not send the Central Army to Xi'an, ostensibly to take care of the Northwest Army led by General Yang Hucheng, indicating that the Central Committee had no intention of annexing Xi'an or disbanding the Northwest Army.
But sending a young marshal to lead the Northeastern Army to Xi'an would not arouse the suspicion of General Yang Hucheng and his troops?
The Northeast Army is a man without a family. Will he take the opportunity to seize Xi'an and the northwest as his own territory?
Lu Ming was certain that General Yang Hucheng and his men would have such worries.
Could it be that the higher-ups want the Northeastern Army and the Northwest Army to have a fierce battle, and finally the Central Army will come in to clean up the mess, separate and disintegrate the two armies, and reorganize them into other units?
It is difficult to say that Mr. Jiang did not have such an intention, because this was his best method, and almost all warlords, large and small, were defeated by this trick.
However, what everyone did not expect was that the young marshal and General Yang Hucheng got along harmoniously. As soon as the young marshal arrived in Xi'an, he made it clear that he had absolutely no intention of seizing Xi'an. Although the two armies had some minor frictions, they could still live in harmony on the whole.
This is of course also because the Northwest Army is weak and unable to do anything to the Northeast Army. Since the Northeast Army has shown enough goodwill, the Northwest Army will naturally respond with more goodwill, but to say that it is unsuspecting is definitely to deceive itself.
The expected "Zhang Yang fight" did not happen, and the script drawn up by Mr. Jiang seemed to have failed.
Therefore, Mr. Jiang took another move and sent people to secretly arrest Hao Boxiang or assassinate him. The purpose was not Hao Boxiang himself, but to stir up chaos within the Northeast Army.
The transition from chaos to turmoil will induce a mutiny in a section of the Northeastern Army. This is the ending of the script. It doesn't matter whether you followed the script in the middle or not.
Once a mutiny occurs, the Central Army will enter Xi'an in the name of counterinsurgency and eliminate the Northeast Army and Northwest Army, so that Xi'an can be completely brought under the control of the central government.
Lu Ming couldn't help but be secretly frightened as he thought about it.
Although these are all imagined or deduced by him alone, what if he accidentally guesses them correctly?
Lu Ming thought of Minister Song hurriedly coming over to raise funds for the young marshal. Did he also hear some rumors, or did he see through this situation like himself?