Chapter 145: Taking Precautions

Among Ning Zhiheng's subordinates, the top choice was naturally Sun Jiacheng. Now his most trusted confidant and a talent he had personally promoted, with great martial prowess and absolute loyalty, he was definitely someone Ning Zhiheng intended to take with him.

Wang Shucheng was also utterly obedient to him, always following his lead, and could be considered part of his inner circle. He had accumulated considerable merit over the past few times and received numerous commendations. With a little more effort this time, elevating his second-lieutenant rank by one grade and bringing him over to head an action team should be entirely feasible!

Action team member Zhao Jiang was also someone Ning Zhiheng was accustomed to using smoothly, mainly because this man was very quick-witted and adept at grasping Ning Zhiheng's intentions. This time, he could take the opportunity to claim credit for him, and promoting him to second lieutenant should present no problem, followed by assigning him the position of deputy team leader.

As for Shi Hong, he would have to be left out. Although he was also submissive to his commands, he was the confidant of Senior Brother Wei Liangbi and definitely would not follow him over.

However, this was already quite good. For Xiang Yan to make him this promise was already giving him an immense amount of face.

"Section Chief, you truly consider everything for me. To be honest, I am indeed short of a core team under my command, with only a few trusted men. If this promotion to a principal post succeeds, I really did intend to bring them along. Now that I have your word, I can finally rest easy!"

Xiang Yan was a colonel and deputy section chief, fully capable of making decisions regarding the transfers of a few junior officers. The fact that he was proactively showing goodwill this time—and to Ning Zhiheng, who was still only a captain—showed just how high a position Ning Zhiheng held in his mind.

Xiang Yan could already foresee that in the days to come, Ning Zhiheng's prospects would be limitless, making it wise to win him over generously at present.

Xiang Yan smiled and said, "These are all trivial matters. If you need anything in the future, you can come directly to me!"

Ning Zhiheng said happily, "Thank you for your care, Section Chief. Zhiheng will always keep it in mind!"

The two exchanged a smile, pulling their relationship closer by another notch. Only then did Xiang Yan speak: "Among my core people, Guo Xueyi has been with me the longest. He has followed me since the eleventh year of the Republic, enduring a great deal of hardship through thick and thin. Yet his luck has been poor; through twists of fate over the years, he has always missed out on principal positions. Now, at middle age, he remains a major. This time, I am wondering if we can help him take another step forward; otherwise, there will never be such a good opportunity next time!"

Only then did Ning Zhiheng understand why Xiang Yan had taken such a roundabout path today, proactively showing goodwill to him as a captain. While it was certainly due to recognizing his potential, the primary purpose was actually for Guo Xueyi.

"Of course, Major Guo is experienced, astute, and capable. He should have advanced long ago and taken another step forward. Zhiheng will follow the Section Chief's lead in everything and obey your arrangements!" Ning Zhiheng hastily replied.

Being worldly-wise, he naturally understood Xiang Yan's intentions: to manipulate the closing report in order to claim credit for Guo Xueyi and secure a promotion for this veteran subordinate.

Just like Wei Liangbi had done previously in the closing report for the Shadow Spy Group, writing extensively for Shi Hong and laying thorough groundwork, which ultimately succeeded in promoting Shi Hong by one rank and sparing him several years of arduous service accumulation!

Furthermore, this opportunity was simply too rare to miss. If he let it slip, there was no telling when another such golden chance would come along!

Ning Zhiheng had already obtained what he needed; any additional merit from this point onward would not provide much extra benefit to him. To be kind to others was to be kind to oneself—why not do a favor that cost him nothing? Besides, even if he objected, what good would it do? Xiang Yan was the colonel section chief in charge of operations, and ultimately, the final word rested with him.

Had it not been for the fact that Ning Zhiheng was highly regarded by the Director and Section Chief Zhao Ziliang, and Xiang Yan wished to avoid arousing resentment in him, he would not have bothered extending this courtesy to anyone else.

Hearing Ning Zhiheng's words, Xiang Yan was exceedingly pleased. What made this young man Ning Zhiheng most commendable was not merely his meticulous mind or his brilliant methods in solving cases.

Rather, despite his youth and deep background, he possessed not a shred of arrogance. His handling of matters was leak-proof and thoughtful, understanding the art of blending in with the world without causing difficulties for his superiors!

Xiang Yan slapped his thigh and laughed, "Very well! I will call Guo Xueyi right now and order him to arrest Tian Liqun immediately. Tian Liqun's identity is special, and capturing him with one's own hands is a merit that certainly holds weight!"

Guo Xueyi and Kang Shundong had been responsible for monitoring Tian Liqun since last night, and they had sufficient personnel at hand, making them naturally the most suitable operatives to execute the arrest.

Xiang Yan had laid the groundwork beforehand precisely to keep Ning Zhiheng from meddling, fearing that Ning Zhiheng's eagerness for merit might lead him to intervene in the arrest mission. After all, Tian Liqun was the target Ning Zhiheng had identified, and in the Military Intelligence Investigation Bureau, the ultimate taboo was cutting in halfway to snatch someone else's fruits of victory—such behavior would incur universal contempt! Even Xiang Yan could not afford to do something like that blatantly, which was why he needed to coordinate properly with Ning Zhiheng!

Seeing Ning Zhiheng's attitude, Xiang Yan felt reassured and picked up the phone to notify the surveillance post at the Minsheng Newspaper Office. By this time, Tian Liqun should already have arrived at work there!

"Is that Xueyi? The Director has given instructions to arrest Tian Liqun immediately! Yes, yes, don't hold back! Be careful and ensure nothing goes wrong! I await your good news!" Xiang Yan gave detailed instructions before hanging up the phone.

Then he picked it up again, calling Shi Hong and Chu Guang to order them to arrest Su Yu. This time, the three subordinates he had brought along could all share in a bit of the credit for the arrests of Tian Liqun and Su Yu. It could be said that their hard work over these past few days had not been in vain, and everyone had ultimately reaped the benefits!

Seeing that Xiang Yan had arranged everything, Ning Zhiheng knew he had no tasks for the moment. Meng Lesheng, who had been captured, had just passed the critical danger zone and was still in no physical condition to endure interrogation under torture, leaving him with no current recourse.

After chatting with Xiang Yan for a little longer, Ning Zhiheng took his leave and stepped out of his office.

He hurried directly to the office of Deputy Director Huang Xianzheng and, after being announced by Secretary Yu, was granted an audience.

Huang Xianzheng was not at all surprised by Ning Zhiheng's arrival. He smiled and said, "What, you couldn't sit still after just a few days? Rest assured, I have already communicated with the Director regarding your matter, and he has agreed to assign you a principal post. The Director's impression of you is exceptionally favorable; the moment I brought it up, he agreed to the arrangement without much thought!"

Hearing Huang Xianzheng confirm the matter personally, Ning Zhiheng was overcome with joy. He smiled and said, "With your standing with the Director, such a trivial matter is easily within reach! Zhiheng is here today primarily to report the case details to you, Director!"

Hearing this, Huang Xianzheng felt immensely gratified. Not everyone was permitted to intervene in the cases of the Military Intelligence Investigation Bureau, and many classified intelligence files were barred from view even for senior figures at Huang Xianzheng's level.

Specifics regarding major Japanese spy cases remained top-secret to outsiders who had not participated in the investigations. As an up-and-coming talent of his own faction, Ning Zhiheng coming to report the progress of the case—even though Huang Xianzheng was not particularly interested in the minutiae—demonstrated a clear and proper attitude through the very act itself!

"Good, then tell me about it. How is the case progressing now?" Huang Xianzheng's interest was evidently piqued.

Ning Zhiheng provided a detailed account of the investigative work over the past six days, even thoroughly recounting today's summons by the Director!

"Well done, Zhiheng! Another major stroke of work! Excellent! Haha! You've captured another radio transmitter and cipher book! This is a solid, substantial merit! Your appointment is now set in stone, absolutely secure!" After listening to the narrative, Huang Xianzheng showered him with praise, eagerly inquiring about the details before finally nodding and laughing heartily!

"Zhiheng, your performance this time has been too remarkable. I am proud of you! Sometimes I wonder, how on earth did a rigid, stubborn man like your teacher manage to produce students as astute and capable as you and Liangbi?" Huang Xianzheng teased with a laugh.

He genuinely could not fathom how He Feng, who had always been taciturn, stern, and inflexible, had produced students who were one and more worldly-wise and shrewd than the last. It simply defied reason and science!

Ning Zhiheng smiled and replied, "Although Teacher appears uncommunicative on the surface, he was never all that stern with us in private. You were comrades-in-arms for many years, Director, so you should know this well!"

Huang Xianzheng nodded and said, "That is indeed true. Your teacher is one of the few sensible people among our cohort. He knows everything; he simply has his own steadfast principles. To be honest, I have always admired him."

Knowing He Feng's character intimately, Ning Zhiheng nodded repeatedly in agreement with Huang Xianzheng's assessment.

"Director, the truth is, I came here today because there are still a few matters I wish to consult you about," Ning Zhiheng said.

Huang Xianzheng pointed a finger at Ning Zhiheng, smiling triumphantly, "I knew it—you still had something you wanted from me. Those little schemes of yours cannot be hidden from me!"

Ning Zhiheng chuckled helplessly, "Nothing can be hidden from the Director! I was just talking to Deputy Section Chief Xiang, and he mentioned that once I take up the post of action team leader, I can transfer my current subordinates over to assist me."

"That is a good thing. This Xiang Yan is quite sensible and very capable when it comes to getting things done!" Huang Xianzheng nodded approvingly upon hearing this.

"However, once I truly head an action team, I must have a core of capable personnel under my command. The trouble is, I have only been with the Military Intelligence Investigation Bureau for a little over half a year, and the number of available men I can use is truly limited. I wanted to consult you on how I should handle this."

"Haha, Zhiheng! If I didn't know for a fact that you are just a newly graduated student, I would genuinely suspect you were a veteran bureaucrat!" Huang Xianzheng stroked his forehead, beaming with smiles!

He continued, "You are coming to me to ask for personnel! Rest assured, even if you hadn't brought it up, I was going to mention it to you. This time, our Baoding faction has also taken in new personnel. Since you are just beginning to open up your domain and there are many vacant positions under your command, you can have first pick, and I guarantee you will be satisfied!"