Chapter 243: The Father-in-Law and Son-in-Law Conspire

"Hong!"

Anderson chased after him.

"Anything else?" Hong Zhiyou asked with a smile.

"Come to my room for a couple of drinks."

Anderson hooked his arm around his shoulder and headed to the nearby barracks.

It was a single room.

On the bed were the remaining intimate garments of a woman.

Wine bottles, high heels.

It was a mess, in total disarray.

"Sorry, I had two girls over last night and haven't had time to clean up," Anderson said with a shrug and an apologetic look.

"Speak."

Hong Zhiyou kicked a wine bottle aside with his foot and pulled up a chair to sit down.

Anderson opened a bottle of good liquor from the cabinet, took a glass, and poured one for Hong Zhiyou, then leaned against the desk opposite him, tilting his head and raising his glass with a smile:

"Hong, there are some things the General finds inconvenient to spell out.

"Let me say them instead.

"You know our system; both of our factions have our own financial backers behind us.

"This kind of power struggle goes all the way up to the White House and down to every state, constantly entangling and undermining each other.

"Including the military.

"Arms exports, military aid, and the shipment of supplies are the interests of General Philson's faction.

"But now, opponents within the military want to take advantage of Du Lumen's passive attitude toward you all to reshuffle the General and his entire faction.

"And you are the perfect entry point.

"The upper echelons of the Nationalist Army are plagued by corruption, poor combat effectiveness, low morale, inflation, and a lack of resources.

"Everything is extremely unfavorable for the General's faction.

"Do you know who that James is?

"He has the royal family behind him; the British royal family has deep roots in our North America.

"Once James's report is submitted to the British Parliament.

"North America will simultaneously launch an investigation into military aid corruption, and General Philson will be the first to take the hit.

"If he falls.

"I won't be able to escape, and neither will you.

"You know, that will be international headline news, and your superiors will definitely need someone to take the fall.

"You.

"No, your stature is still a bit small; the one publicly implicated and dealt with will surely be your Station Chief Wu.

"Even if he wasn't involved at all.

"But because you aren't high-ranking enough, he is the only one who can take the blame.

"Therefore, James must die!

"This is your stance, and it is also our stance in counterattacking our opponents.

"Aid to the Nationalist Army must never be cut off!"

As he spoke, Anderson downed his drink in one gulp and flashed the glass at Hong Zhiyou.

"You don't need to scare me.

"And there is no need to use Old Wu to pressure me.

"Good luck to you."

Hong Zhiyou gave a cold smile and turned to leave.

"Hong, I didn't mean it like that.

"I also know you have many businesses, but think about it: once General Philson is interrogated and names you, no matter how extensive your connections are.

"Even if you can escape to Xiangdao.

"Is there anyone in Xiangdao who would dare to protect you?

"The British, us, Jiang—no matter where you run, they will be able to find you.

"You have no choice now.

"We are brothers; you saved me, and I just want to continue fighting alongside you, nothing more."

Anderson called out to stop him.

"Why don't you do it yourselves?" Hong Zhiyou countered.

"We can't afford to take that risk.

"If an assassination like this is traced back to us, our opponents and the British royal family will definitely blow it out of proportion, and I... we will collapse, and it might even implicate people inside the White House.

"The risk is too great.

"But you are very suitable; you can have a hundred reasons.

"For example, he was gambling, drinking and hitting people, or perhaps it was a crime of passion—isn't it normal for someone to get killed like that?

"At most, it would just be a diplomatic incident.

"When the time comes, we will provide you with some data and a defense.

"You can bite back at the international court, accusing them of slander and pointing out that they are deliberately smearing military aid.

"So, this is something only you can do."

Anderson explained as detailedly as possible.

"Understood.

"I will consider it carefully when I return, and I will give you an answer then."

After patiently listening, Hong Zhiyou did not rush to answer him.

"Good, I'll wait for your good news," Anderson said.

Hong Zhiyou returned to the station.

Wu Jingzhong was drinking tea.

"What were you doing last night?

"That woman is bad luck; Boss Dai's fortune was so strong and he still went down—are you trying to follow in the Boss's footsteps?"

Seeing Hong Zhiyou, he frowned in displeasure.

"Master, I had no choice.

"Ma Hansan has a premonition that Li Zongren might not be able to hold on and wants to run; he sent Liu Yuzhu to ask me about the market in Xiangdao.

"I know this woman.

"She is very greedy and has great ambition.

"I spent all night last night persuading her, talking about deploying assets in Xiangdao.

"Once Ma Hansan listens to her, his assets will be shipped to the island we bought.

"By then, we just need to trip them up and keep those two in Beiping.

"That money in Xiangdao will become ours.

"Ma Hansan, after all.

"He is as wealthy as a nation; even if he doesn't trust Liu Yuzhu and only ships one-tenth of his property over, it will be enough for our children to live on for a lifetime."

Hong Zhiyou laughed.

Once he heard it was about making money—and big money at that—sleeping with a woman or anything else became trivial, and Wu Jingzhong beamed with joy again:

"That's right.

"The money Ma Hansan has embezzled is likely more than the family fortune of the Chairman himself.

"This man knows too much; I don't see any chance of him walking out of Beiping alive.

"That is all ill-gotten wealth, the blood and sweat of the common people.

"If we don't collect it, it will surely be funneled to North America by the Jiang, Song, Kong, and Chen families; if it falls into our hands, no matter how it's spent, it stays within our own pockets.

"This is a good deed that earns great merit."

"Yes, yes, the student thinks so too.

"Ma Hansan's money—it would be a waste not to take it.

"If we were even a little slow to act, it would be a disservice to our own conscience."

Hong Zhiyou nodded solemnly, looking like he had been taught a lesson.

Don't let his wings grow too strong; in front of Old Wu, he was always humble and respectful.

"Mm.

"Master, there is one more thing I want to report to you."

Hong Zhiyou glanced at him; after the good news, it was time for the bad.

He told him about the matter entrusted by Philson.

Unexpectedly, Wu Jingzhong did not feel shocked or uneasy; on the contrary, he was very calm.

"Dealing with the Americans—this was bound to happen sooner or later."

"The infighting within a single party is already like this, let alone the struggle between two parties."

"At least half of the military aid the Americans give us every year is embezzled or resold by their own officers."

"And the arms dealers, they are counting on us to keep fighting so they can sell weapons."

"If the military aid is cut off, the arms dealers and the military lose their source of wealth."

"They will definitely dig in their heels on this."

"If you get too deeply entangled with them, a day like this was bound to come sooner or later."

Wu Jingzhong said, having anticipated this long ago.

"Master, this James is coming with ill intent; once this fuse is lit, Pearson will likely end up in prison, and I will be in a lot of trouble then."

"He doesn't dare make a move and hopes we can resolve this matter; what do you think?"

Hong Zhiyou asked for guidance devoutly.

Having an elder in the house is like having a treasure.

Wu Jingzhong was undoubtedly an expert at playing schemes and tricks.

"This matter is not as difficult as it sounds."

"The Jiang family is more anxious than us about cutting off military aid; isn't Lady Jiang currently lobbying in North America?"

"I heard she might even give a speech at their Congress."

"This James must definitely be killed."

"The key now is who will do the killing?"

Wu Jingzhong keenly grasped the core issue.

He paused, then pointed at Hong Zhiyou and frowned:

"This person absolutely cannot be you; you are the child's father and the support for Wu Rui's future, so you must remain 'completely unaware'."

"Forget about the Americans talking to you."

"I will call Pearson and take this job over."

"Master..." Hong Zhiyou felt an inexplicable sense of being moved.

"If you take the lead and something goes wrong, I'll lose my head along with you."

"It's better to keep you out of it."

"Anyway, since Wu Rui has the child, and at my age, I have no worries left."

"You just watch from the sidelines for this matter."

Wu Jingzhong said with a squinting smile.

"Yes, Master!" Hong Zhiyou's mood became inexplicably heavy.

In the past, he had been on guard against Wu Jingzhong at every turn.

Now that he thought about it, from the moment Wu Rui became pregnant, they had already become a family.

Truly sharing honor and disgrace, living and dying together.

"Master."

"Do you know who James's girlfriend is?" Hong Zhiyou asked after collecting his thoughts.

"Who?" Wu Jingzhong asked.

"Mei Yingxue!"

"She has another identity: an external operative for British Intelligence, and it is highly likely she will be the signatory James is looking for this time."

"She will sign that forged report on the corruption of the National Army and the scarcity of domestic resources in the capacity of a Bureau of Investigation colonel's wife to increase its persuasiveness."

"Of course, there will definitely be high-level officials bought off by the British in the Ministry of National Defense who will sign it as well."

"So I suspect she is probably even more anxious to get married than Li Ya right now."

Hong Zhiyou said.

"Good, she even almost deceived me."

"I thought she came back to pick on Yu Zecheng and incite Li Ya to take revenge on you and me."

"I didn't expect her to be hiding so deeply."

"She is seeking her own death!"

Wu Jingzhong raised his eyebrows and said loudly with his hands behind his back.

"Perhaps this is our opportunity." Hong Zhiyou said.

"Let Jiang Jianfeng take the lead on this matter."

"Li Ya's girlfriend is an operative selling out national interests; no matter what, he has to be the one to take the fall for this."

"Let me call Jiang Jianfeng first to sound him out."

Wu Jingzhong stood up, walked to the telephone, and dialed the headquarters' number:

"Connect me to the No. 2 Residence."

"Old classmate, it's Jingzhong."

"It's like this, my station just uncovered a major international espionage case; someone is attempting to fabricate data domestically to disrupt and stop military aid through the British Parliament and the North American Congress."

"The situation is very urgent, and the circumstances are very unfavorable for our party and our army."

"General Pearson..."

After stating the facts, he listened carefully to Jiang Jianfeng's instructions: "Yes, yes."

"I will fly to Jingling immediately to report to you and the Leader in person."

"Okay."

"Goodbye."

Hanging up the phone, Wu Jingzhong pointed at the desk and said: "Jiang Jianfeng was very shocked after hearing this and asked me to fly to Jingling immediately to discuss countermeasures."

"Zhiyou."

"If this matter is handled well, it might be a great merit."

"Blessings and misfortunes are intertwined."

"Call Li Ya and Yu Zecheng over."

"Yes, Master." Hong Zhiyou said.

Even having lived two lives, no matter how much intelligence or information he possessed, in real political struggles, especially in front of an expert like Wu Jingzhong, he could only remain a novice.

And Wu Jingzhong was the anchor for the entire station and the entire family.

Soon, Hong Zhiyou and Yu Zecheng walked in.

"Given the current war situation, the higher-ups have summoned me for a meeting; while I am away, the station's affairs will be fully handled by Deputy Station Chief Yu," Wu Jingzhong instructed.

In fact, with a deputy station chief, he could have left without saying a word.

The reason he was so solemn was to let Li Ya know that he had traps waiting for him later.

Hong Zhiyou personally saw Wu Jingzhong downstairs.

"Once I receive clear instructions from Jiang Jianfeng in Jingling, I will contact Pearson."

"Stay away from people and matters as much as possible for these two days."

"We will discuss the specifics together when I return."

"Also, the matter of Ma Hansan transporting the money must be handled quickly; he is a thousand-year-old fox, and if you miss this opportunity, it won't come again."

Wu Jingzhong instructed in detail.

"Yes, Master." Hong Zhiyou nodded.

Just back in the office.

Li Ya, dressed in a Zhongshan suit with his hair slicked back, knocked on the door twice and walked in:

"Brother, are you busy?"

"Not busy."

"I was just looking for someone to play chess with," Hong Zhiyou said with a smile.

"I don't know how to play chess."

"I'll just keep you company and chat," Li Ya said with a smile.

"Coffee or tea?" Hong Zhiyou asked.

"Tea!"

Li Ya answered without thinking.

"Captain Li, why are you dressed so formally today? I still think suits and green socks suit you better, making you look younger."

"Uniforms are always a bit old-fashioned."

Hong Zhiyou said with a smile.

"For work, it's better to be formal."

"Secretary Liu has collected all the money, right?"

Li Ya asked.

"Collected, don't worry; since Ma Hansan took the money, he definitely won't talk nonsense."

"I called and asked; Song Fei and the others have already been released."

"Wait for half a month."

"Even if he brings it up, this wind will have passed; if you deny it flatly, he won't be able to do anything."

Hong Zhiyou said.

"With you as my guarantor, I can rest easy."

"Sigh."

"Back to having empty pockets again."

"Brother, let me ask you something. I see you have quite a few women around you, like the Station Chief's daughter and Miss Mu; they both come from prominent families and are proud, arrogant people."

"How do you make them so devoted to you?"

Li Ya raised his eyebrows, quite puzzled.

Think of him, a dignified Lieutenant Colonel, first abandoned by Xiao Yunxian, and now being led in circles by Mei Yingxue.

Then look at Hong Zhiyou.

The women at home are all loyal, and he can pick wild flowers outside as he pleases.

His business dealings are also booming.

Compared to him, he himself is simply on the ground while the other is in the sky.

"Brother, it's not as good as you think."

"I have more worries than you do."

"Women, they burn through money."

"You see me looking quite glorious, but my pockets are always empty."

"And one more thing."

"If you want to keep a woman's heart, the key is to..."

Hong Zhiyou leaned into his ear and whispered with a smile.

"I want to too, but what if she follows some religion and won't be with you?" Li Ya raised his eyebrows and squinted, sighing.

"Bullshit!"

"How come I've never heard of such a religious rule?"

"This is just an act. Take a look at her chest; does that look like she's never touched a man?"

"She is just playing you."

"Besides, when in Rome, do as the Romans do."

"Men, you just have to take them firmly."

Hong Zhiyou said.

"Fine, I'll listen to you." Li Ya nodded.

He was no pushover.

Not to say he only takes advantage of others, but he was definitely not the type to let others take advantage of him easily.

He had thought he found true love, so he accommodated Mei Yingxue in every way.

But now.

A bowl of pork intestine noodles made everything clear.

Naturally, there was no need to spoil her anymore.

"Many thanks for the advice."

Li Ya patted his backside, stood up, and left.

"Walk slowly, Captain Li."

A faint smile appeared on the corner of Hong Zhiyou's mouth.

Next, the showdown between Li Ya and Mei Yingxue would be very exciting.

He was not worried about Li Ya's acting skills.

His only thought was to help Li Ya create an illusion that he loved Mei Yingxue even more.

Only then would Mei Yingxue become increasingly bold and greedy.

Once she wanted to use Li Ya to commit treason.

Given Li Ya's temperament, it was entirely possible for him to assassinate James.

Hong Zhiyou believed that with the wisdom of the Station Chief and Jiang Jianfeng, they would certainly come up with a perfect countermeasure.

Wu Jingzhong returned at seven o'clock that evening.

He called Hong Zhiyou directly to his home.

"Zhiyou, this matter is very troublesome to handle," Wu Jingzhong said.

"Please speak, Teacher," Hong Zhiyou said.

"Jiang Jianfeng and the Generalissimo's meaning is very clear: James must disappear to thwart the attempt to sabotage military aid."

"But this order is not easy to issue."

"If the Generalissimo issues it, what if James doesn't die, or the British make a big scene?"

"Right now, there is already a headache over constitutional government."

"Li Zongren is very likely to use this matter to collude with the British, as well as the forces behind North America, to threaten the Generalissimo's position."

"Furthermore, I cannot accept it openly."

"If I accept it, given the Generalissimo's suspicious nature, he will definitely silence me afterward."

"To protect me, Jiang Jianfeng did not issue the order either."

"Now that they are silent on this matter, we can only solve it ourselves."

"However, before leaving, Jiang Jianfeng gave me a hint, allowing me to establish an Inspection Division under the Agricultural and Mining Bureau of the Ministry of Industry in the name of anti-corruption."

"Do you understand what this means?"

Wu Jingzhong asked with a smile.

"I understand."

"Baiting the fish."

"It seems you and Jiang Jianfeng have tacitly agreed on Captain Li," Hong Zhiyou understood instantly.

"Yes."

"Jiang Jianfeng still values Li Ya highly."

"Li Ya's girlfriend is committing treason; if he doesn't eliminate this woman himself, he cannot fulfill his duty."

"Moreover, Li Ya's reason is the most sufficient and appropriate."

"If the Americans are helpful and can protect him and secure the military aid, then Li Ya is a hero of the Party and State, and Jiang Jianfeng will have glory on his face."

"If they cannot protect him, he still has room to maneuver."

"His girlfriend cheated, he was enraged, and killed in a fit of passion."

"Isn't that quite good?"

"It won't be dragged into major national affairs or diplomatic incidents."

"What you need to do is find a way to get photos of that woman and the foreigner having an affair, to give Li Ya a helping hand."

"And give him some motivation for a crime of passion."

Wu Jingzhong knitted his brows and pointed out with a smile.

"Teacher's insight is high; the student will definitely arrange it properly," Hong Zhiyou nodded and said.

"As for that Fiersen, I have already called him in Jingling."

"I told him not to look for you; I have taken full responsibility for this matter."

"Sigh, I'm tired after a day."

"Your mistress is going to North America tomorrow to take care of Rui Rui, and they will be back soon."

"I will also be able to hold my grandson."

"It's getting late, go get some rest."

Wu Jingzhong ordered with a smile.

He was in a pretty good mood; Jiang Jianfeng was able to think of protecting him at such a time.

This old classmate was worth the friendship.

"Alright, thank you, Teacher. Please rest early," Hong Zhiyou bowed and withdrew.

The next day.

Wu Jingzhong called all the officers to the conference room.

"I have just received instructions from Jiang Jianfeng and Headquarters to conduct anti-corruption inspections on the Ministry of Industry. Our Jinhai Agricultural and Mining Bureau is to establish an inspection department, a division-level unit."

"In the past, external division-level positions were generally held by Lu Qiaoshan."

"Now that he is gone, and Zecheng has to assist me in managing station affairs."

"I think it is more appropriate for Captain Li to hold this position. Vice Station Chief Yu, what is your opinion?"

Wu Jingzhong looked at Yu Zecheng with a smile.

"I have no objections."

"Since it is Jiang Jianfeng's instruction, it is most appropriate for Captain Li to hold it," Yu Zecheng expressed his agreement.

"Good, then Captain Li shall hold the position," Wu Jingzhong said.

"Many thanks to the Station Chief and Vice Station Chief Yu for your trust. I will certainly keep a tight watch on the Agricultural and Mining Bureau," Li Ya accepted the order happily.

It was certainly related to Jiang Jianfeng's instructions.

More importantly, the Agriculture and Mining Bureau is a lucrative department; he is currently strapped for cash, so this is the perfect opportunity to skim some profit.

Killing two birds with one stone.

The meeting adjourned.

Li Ya first took the headquarters' documents and went to the Agriculture and Mining Bureau to arrange the formation of an inspection team.

He was busy until the afternoon before Li Ya finally returned to his office.

He drank a cup of tea, rubbed his brow to clear his head, picked up the phone on his desk, and dialed a number:

"Hello, is this Mr. Xie?"

"I am Li Ya, is it convenient to meet?"

"Good, the usual place."

Li Ya had tried investigating Mei Yingxue, but it was too slow; furthermore, his connections abroad were not extensive, making it very difficult to find information on Mei Yingxue's past.

But for Xie Ruo, it should not be a problem.

This person knows many intelligence peddlers in high-end circles.

He can even obtain telegrams from Ma Xieer abroad.

He reckoned that inquiring about Mei Yingxue's past should not be an issue.

(End of chapter)