Spying

56 Flaws Exposed

On a day in late October, a C-47 transport plane landed at Xuzhou Airport amidst the deafening roar of its engines. A group of high-ranking National Defense Ministry staff officers in full military dress uniforms descended from the aircraft one by one, the plum blossom insignias on their lapels glinting sharply under the sunlight. They then crossed the long asphalt runway and boarded the military vehicles dispatched by the Xuzhou Bandit Suppression Headquarters.

A fierce, desolate wind swept across the wilderness, seeping through the gaps in the car windows with a shrill whistle.

Li Helin and Ren Shaobai’s vehicle closely followed those of the Minister of National Defense and the Chief of the General Staff. After traveling over ten miles, they arrived at the headquarters office building.

The Xuzhou Bandit Suppression Headquarters convened a combat conference. In addition to the key officials from Nanjing’s National Defense Ministry, attendees included Bai Chongxi, Commander-in-Chief of the Central China Bandit Suppression Forces; Liu Zhi, Commander-in-Chief of the Xuzhou Bandit Suppression Forces; Deputy Commander Du Yuming; Qiu Qingquan, Commander of the 2nd Corps; Huang Baitao of the 7th Corps; Huang Wei of the 12th Corps; and Li Mi of the 13th Corps—all of whom had traveled from their respective garrisons to formally discuss the strategic plan for the Xubeng Campaign.

When Ren Shaobai followed Li Helin into the conference room, he was met with a gathering of the Nationalist Army’s top brass.

From the omniscient perspective of later generations, it might seem that by the autumn of 1948, the Nationalist government was already on its last legs. Yet in reality, despite the imminent conclusion of the Liaoshen Campaign, Chiang Kai-shek still hoped to turn the tide by engaging in a decisive battle with his main forces in Xuzhou. Moreover, the so-called elite troops of the Nationalist Army were not merely a hollow reputation.

Shen Tong’s blind date, that man surnamed Zhou, had once been mocked by Zhu Yanjun with the remark, “How could a distinguished scholar-general like Huang Wei have a subordinate like you?”—a taunt that struck a nerve and left him fuming with guilty embarrassment. The reason it hit home was precisely because Huang Wei, the commander of the 12th Corps, was renowned for his strict discipline and exemplary leadership. During the War of Resistance, he led his troops in the Battle of Shanghai, where one of his regiments fought to the last man, refusing to retreat even as their position was reduced to a sliver of land.

Hu Qian, Ren Shaobai’s classmate from military academy, had been assigned to the 3rd War Zone immediately after graduation and participated in the Zhejiang-Jiangxi Campaign. The theater’s chief of staff at the time, Huang Baitao, later became his commanding officer in the 25th Army. Just a few months earlier, Hu had stormed into the National Defense Ministry’s 4th Department, which handled supplies, demanding an explanation—all to protest the unfair treatment of the newly formed 7th Corps, which included the 25th Army among its five divisions. Though the 7th Corps was a motley force, Huang Baitao was, after all, a decorated general who had fought warlords and the Japanese, even receiving the Blue Sky White Sun Medal.

Qiao Mingyu, who had once been with the Military Intelligence Section, abruptly abandoned his promising career in intelligence years ago to serve under Qiu Qingquan, the so-called “Madman Qiu,” in the 5th Corps. This elite Central Army unit rose to fame during the 1938 Battle of Kunlun Pass, where they annihilated Japanese Major General Nakamura Masao. It was after this battle that Qiu Qingquan earned his moniker for his ferocious combat style. Even among the gathering of renowned generals at the defense conference, he exuded an air of unshakable arrogance. When the question of a full retreat from Xuzhou was raised, he declared with unyielding fervor, “Not only must we hold Xuzhou—we must use it as a base to reclaim lost territory!”

Thus, the National Defense Ministry’s strategy was settled: to defend the Yangtze, they must hold the Huai River; to hold the Huai, they must concentrate their forces along both sides of the Jinpu Railway between Xuzhou and Bengbu and swiftly engage in a decisive battle.

And now, the next question was:"Where will the Communist forces attack first upon entering the Xubeng Line?" Li Helin stood before the concrete wall of the conference room, behind him a large map of the Xuzhou and Bengbu regions was pinned, marked with the intersecting assembly areas of the Communist East China Field Army and Central Plains Field Army. "Or rather, which of our sequences present here?"

This was a report Li Helin had long awaited, and the most crucial military briefing since his promotion to acting director of the Second Department. Every word he spoke was the result of careful deliberation.

"Based on our aerial reconnaissance, radio signal monitoring, and undercover agents in the field, the Communist forces are currently assembled as follows—" His finger traced across the map. "First, the East China 3rd Column, Liangguang forces, and Ji-Lu-Yu district troops southeast of Kaifeng; second, the Shandong Corps' 10th and 13th Columns in Teng County; third, the 1st, 6th, and 9th Southern Shandong Columns in Linyi. So far, the largest concentrations are at Kaifeng and Linyi—with Kaifeng having slightly more—and these two locations flank Xuzhou directly to the east and west."

Having finished, Li Helin scanned the room, awaiting feedback.

"So what's your assessment?" Du Yuming asked.

Liu Zhi, as commander-in-chief of the Xuzhou Bandit Suppression Headquarters, spoke up: "Given the current enemy disposition, Su Yu's forces will likely attack in two prongs—the first targeting the 2nd Corps to the east, and the second the 13th Corps to the west."

Li Helin had indeed considered this possibility, but he remained standing. Clasping his hands before him, he continued: "I was thinking, if I were Su Yu..." He turned and fixed his gaze on another part of the map. "There's a third prong—the 7th Corps, targeting the line between Xin'an and the Grand Canal. He's the type to fight a major campaign. If he combines the three columns of the East China Field Army in Linyi to attack the 7th Corps while using other units to pin down our main forces closer to Xuzhou, the Communist forces could create an encirclement, advancing toward Xuzhou from all directions."

The conference room fell into prolonged silence until Liu Zhi spoke again: "Would Su Yu really have the audacity for that? To launch such an attack, he'd need to wait until his forces link up with Liu Bocheng's troops. Acting Director Li, don't elevate him to godlike status—you're giving him too much credit."

Liu Zhi's remark successfully drew laughter from the others, easing the tense atmosphere.

"Of course, our intelligence operations are ongoing," Li Helin continued. "Moreover, we have a special channel—an agent codenamed 'Heishui' within the 9th Column of the East China Field Army. His mission is to ascertain the movements of Su Yu's units. Any changes will be reported to the Second Department, and we'll conduct further analysis accordingly."

With that, he concluded his remarks and returned to his seat.

"You've been quite hard to pin down lately, constantly rescheduling. At this rate, we'll miss the Yangcheng Lake crabs." Lu Peng remarked across the redwood round table in the private dining room to Ren Shaobai seated opposite.

The "Lao Zhengxing" restaurant on Shandong Road specialized in Shaoxing cuisine. With many Zhejiang natives in Nanjing, any Zhejiang eatery that thrived naturally had its merits. Take their drunken crab alone—"Lao Zhengxing" used aged Shaoxing yellow wine that seemed more flavorful than others', even the color a brighter amber hue.Ren Shaobai busied himself with cracking open crab shells while saying helplessly, "Meetings all day, meetings everywhere—eight meetings a day. I can barely clock out on time, let alone eat at regular hours."

"Seems like you're really struggling," Lu Peng remarked, though he was referring to Ren's simultaneous use of hands and mouth to eat the crab. Lu Peng himself deftly wielded specialized crab tools, swiftly extracting the roe and meat before scraping them into a shell, drizzling vinegar over it, and sliding it toward Ren.

Looking up with a smile, Ren asked, "What? Need a favor?"

"The last time I came to you, nothing came of it. Seems even your senior brother can't get you to lift a finger now," Lu Peng said.

Ren frowned slightly before feigning sudden realization. "Oh! You mean that explosion—wait, no. Didn't you say the car bomber and the one who killed Security Bureau Director Yang were the same person? But the bullet that hit Yang matched the ones found at Okamura Neiji's assassination site. So the culprit was already... at Yuhuatai—" He tilted his head back, mimicking a gunshot impact.

At the same time, Lan Youyin's words echoed in his ears—"Ren Shaobai, you'll deceive everyone... You'll never be genuine again." A wave of nausea washed over him.

Lu Peng happened to turn away to wipe his hands with a towel, missing the subtle shift in his supposedly most familiar junior's expression. By the time he looked back, Ren had already rebuilt his flawless facade.

Pushing the crab shell back toward Lu Peng, Ren said, "With other foods, having someone else prepare them is fine. But not with crab. The flavor only comes when you crack and eat it yourself. If someone else does the work, it's like chewing wax—not crab at all, but something entirely different."

Rolling his eyes, Lu Peng retorted, "Always so particular," before picking up his chopsticks to eat. "The Silkworm Keeper wasn't the shooter—or at least, not the only one."

"What do you mean?"

"There should be another spy under his direction. Didn't your department interrogate him?"

"Only got the codename '1207.' Sigh, if even you couldn't extract anything... Our counterintelligence team is useless. Why else do you think the professor wants to poach you? Really not interested?"

Lu Peng paused, avoiding a direct answer. "This year's crabs don't seem as plump as last year's. Don't you think?"

"Can't remember last year's."

They shared a knowing smile, dropping the subject.

"That Lan Youyin from First Department—you've known her for a long time, right?" Lu Peng suddenly asked.

Having finished the crab body, Ren moved on to the claws, crunching them between his teeth before mumbling, "Mhm, you could say that."

"How long exactly? Elaborate."

Ren raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Just gathering intel." Lu Peng caught the unintended implication and quickly added, "I'm wondering if she might be '1207.'"

"What?" Ren looked genuinely surprised. "Why?"

"She appeared too frequently during our capture of the Silkworm Keeper. So I tried to get her fingerprints for comparison—sent someone from your ministry to her office to swipe a pen she'd used—"

"You have another 'informant' in the Defense Ministry besides me?" Ren interrupted.Lu Peng said, "What do you mean by 'eyes and ears'? I don't have that kind of ability. I just asked someone for a favor. You were in Xuzhou at the time, otherwise I would've asked you."

Ren Shaobai scoffed but felt a chill run down his spine. He hadn't realized Lu Peng's suspicions about Lan Youyin had reached this extent, and how could Lan Youyin have been so careless as to let someone steal something right from under her nose?

Fortunately, Lu Peng's next words eased his mind somewhat: "Although the fingerprints didn't match those on the rifle found at Black Tortoise Lake... I still have this intuition that she's not as simple as she appears."

Ren Shaobai used the tip of a crab leg to scoop out the white meat from both claws, dipped it evenly in the ginger-vinegar sauce with his chopsticks, and slowly ate it before replying leisurely, "Of course she's not simple. Didn't you tell me two senior Party members signed her Party membership application?"

"I'm not talking about her Party status. I mean before she joined the Party—I just find it strange. She graduated from the Foreign Languages Department of Jinling Women's University, right? Why would she take the exam for the Sino-American Institute to work on cryptographic calculations and decryption? After the war, her parents returned to Southeast Asia, so why did she stay in mainland China?"

"You seem to know her quite well already. What else do you need to ask me?"

"All that's just from her file—nothing more than ID documents and a resume, dead words on paper. But you've actually interacted with her. Come on, just tell me about how you knew her back then. It's not like you'll lose a piece of flesh—why be so secretive?"

"Who's being secretive?" Ren Shaobai glared at him. He finally finished the entire crab and picked up a towel to wipe his hands meticulously. The towel had been soaked in chrysanthemum leaf water, instantly masking the lingering fishy smell of the crab.

Then, unhurriedly, he began recounting from over a decade ago when he first entered university. He explained how drama clubs were all the rage in Nanjing's high schools and universities at the time, even performing publicly. Central University preferred staging works by domestic playwrights like Tian Han, Hu Shi, and Ouyang Yuqian, while Jinling Women's University, with its many foreign teachers, mostly performed foreign plays—Zola, Ibsen, Strindberg...

"Hey, hey, hey, don't bombard me with these names. I don't know any of them. Can you skip to the main point?" Lu Peng interrupted.

"Didn't you ask me to elaborate? I'm just getting started," Ren Shaobai retorted matter-of-factly.

Lu Peng had no choice but to motion for him to continue.

Of course, he wasn't just curious about what Lan Youyin was like ten years ago. He was trying to find "flaws" in Lan Youyin's past from those who knew her back then—like her academic environment or any unusual experiences that might have led her to become the "1207" he suspected her to be.

His reasoning was sound, except for one mistake: the assassin he had been searching for all along was not the same person as "1207."

Ren Shaobai adjusted his glasses and continued meandering in circles—a skill he had honed during his time at the Fourth Department of the Ministry of National Defense, though Lu Peng didn't know this. After much rambling, he finally got to the part where Lan Youyin performed in plays on stage, drawing crowds of students from surrounding universities...

"Hard to imagine she used to be the type who loved the spotlight.""How is that showing off?" Ren Shaobai disagreed. "But it's true, if she had gone to Shanghai to make movies instead of Chongqing later on, she might have had a promising career. She seems like the type who excels at anything she does."

Lu Peng couldn't help but laugh. "Your opinion of her is rather high..." But then, a thought flashed through his mind, and his teasing smile froze on his face.

"What's wrong?" Ren Shaobai asked.

Lu Peng stared at him, his voice slightly altered. "Tell me, can a person's fingerprints change?"

"What do you mean?"

"Lan Youyin's current fingerprints don't match the fingerprint symbols on her ID," Lu Peng said, his eyes gleaming with excitement. "At first, I thought it might just be a mistake by the person who registered them—these things do happen. But what if the fingerprints on her ID aren't hers at all? You said you first saw her eleven years ago, but didn't you only realize you were nearsighted after failing the Central Aviation School entrance exam—"

Before Lu Peng could finish, Ren Shaobai already understood what he was implying.

"She was playing a foreign woman on stage, with a wig and makeup. You were far away and didn't have glasses. How can you be sure the Lan Youyin you saw back then is the same person you later got to know?"

Ren Shaobai was stunned. He felt the crab he had just eaten, along with the sour vinegar, churning in his stomach. If he opened his mouth now, he would vomit it all out.