Cicada Moving

Chapter 1235 The culprit

Zuo Zhong roughly divided the people involved into three categories based on the existing investigation results.

 One is the staff of Jinlan Society.

 The second one is the members of the Jinlan Club including Zhong Xiao and Xiang Fang, the director of the Junwei Club who cooperates with Sima Linglong to test the official residence, and the police chief who tests He Yijun.

 The third is an unknown person who went to Hongdian for investigation.

Judging from the oral confessions, the first and second categories of personnel know very little information, and their roles are either as cover or as peripheral members of the spy organization, which can be discarded at any time.

The third category of people are Sima Linglong’s real accomplices. These people enter and exit the Jinlan Society through secret passages, and use this method to receive tasks and conduct meetings.

If you think of the espionage organization as a spider web, then Sima Linglong is the commander in the middle of the spider web, and the others collect intelligence knowingly or unknowingly.

This kind of structure that combines light and dark and alternates between fiction and reality has greatly enhanced the concealment of the spy organization. However, once Sima Linglong, as the core, is arrested or looses his words during interrogation, the entire spy organization will be exposed.

So, why did the enemy still set up the meeting point in Jinlanhui, knowing that Sima Linglong was in danger?

If you want to communicate and connect, the other party can completely place the connection point outside the Jinlan Club. Even if you use a mailbox, it is safer than this structure.

Zuo Zhong feels that figuring this out will be the key to solving the case, because everything anyone does is driven by internal logic, and it is impossible for an opponent to reveal such a big flaw for no reason.

As long as they find the internal logic, they can deduce the enemy's purpose and identity. Even if Sima Linglong doesn't speak, it is only a matter of time before the case is solved.

Gu Qi also thought of the reason. He put down his chopsticks with a look of regret on his face: "Deputy Sir, shouldn't we arrest Sima Linglong? We should follow her clues. The real spy must be shocked now."

Zuo Zhong shook his head: "The opponent this time is a bit strange and very cautious. If our actions are discovered, the opponent will probably choose to kill and silence us."

Gu Qi understood that the military commander currently only had witnesses. If the witnesses were gone, Sima Linglong would have a chance to escape guilt. This is worth noting.

While the two were talking, Wu Chunyang came in from outside. He shouted to the chef to order some food and sat down heavily on the stool.

"How is it? Zhong Xiao and Bian Jichao have made arrangements, right?" Zuo Zhong glanced at him and asked casually.

Wu Chunyang took the rice handed by the chef and started to stir-fry it, while replying: "It's been arranged. I told the guards to protect the two of them at all times to prevent any accidents."

From here we can see Wu Chunyang's caution and alertness. Obviously he also realized the importance of witness. The Juntong Detention Center is safe, but it is always right to be careful.

After a little rest on his stomach, Wu Chunyang asked about the results of the interrogation against Sima Linglong. Gu Qi introduced the situation. Wu Chunyang frowned and said with some doubts.

“According to Zhong Xiao’s confession, Sima Linglong’s training for them was very simple, even perfunctory. To perform tasks with this level of training is simply courting death.

Moreover, Sima Linglong seemed to be particularly concerned about business intelligence. Zhong Xiao once asked her why, but the other party did not give a reasonable explanation and only said that it was organizational needs.

 Some time ago, Sima Linglong also asked Zhong Xiao to collect details of the government's steel restructuring plan, such as the type and quantity of equipment purchased, etc. "

 Follow business information…Steel restructuring plan…Equipment procurement…

Zuo Zhong thought over and over about these key pieces of information, constantly combining, splitting, and reassembling them in his mind, trying to figure out the clues.

Could Sima Linglong be a commercial spy? It's unlikely. Commercial espionage organizations don't have the ability to study psychological control, and they don't dare to go head-to-head with official intelligence agencies.

 When she was arrested earlier, there was clearly a secret passage in Sima Linglong's room, but she left it alone. There is no such commercial spy in the world.

 In the final analysis, business intelligence activities are a gray business. Since it is a gray business, it cannot be exposed to the light. This is in contradiction with Sima Linglong's confidence.

By the way, Sima Linglong lived in exile in the United States and grew up there, and the United States is a commercial country. Could it be that the other party is a member of the American intelligence agency.

That's not right. Out of its own interests in East Asia, this current U.S. government agrees with the joint resistance against Japan, and it is impossible to disclose encirclement and suppression information to the Japanese.

etc! I seem to have made a mistake. The attitude of the US government is not equal to the attitude of all Americans.

 In the United States, there is a group of people who not only value business interests, but also possess strong economic and technological strength, and are even more keen on provoking wars.

A flash of inspiration flashed in Zuo Zhong's mind, and he had already guessed Sima Linglong's background. No wonder the other party dared to set the meeting point at Jinlanhui. It turned out that he was not afraid of being exposed at all!

He stood up suddenly and looked at He Yijun: "Yijun, go find Miss Kong Er right away. Plan B can be implemented."

Gu Qi and others present were full of questions about what Plan B was. While they were still wondering, He Yijun nodded and quickly left the canteen.

Without waiting for everyone to ask questions, Zuo Zhong smiled and said: "After eating, let's go to see the guests after eating, and people come away, you should entertain well."

After speaking, he strode towards the interrogation area. Everyone quickly put down their bowls and chopsticks to follow, guessing the meaning behind the words Plan B and Coming From Afar.

 Five minutes later, still in the interrogation room, Zuo Zhong saw Sima Linglong who was still calm.

Seeing Zuo Zhong leave and come back, Sima Linglong had a slightly surprised expression on her face. She looked at the newly-appeared Wu Chunyang, Song Minghao, and Gui Youguang, and spoke a probing question.

"Mr. Zuo, you are back so soon. Do you have any questions to ask me? Don't worry, I will tell you everything you want to know."

Zuo Zhong ignored the coquettish Sima Linglong, slowly sat down on the stool, turned around and said an English word to everyone. “elephant, do you know what it means?”

When Sima Linglong, who was a few meters away, heard this word, her face froze and returned to normal instantly, but her body leaned back in a defensive posture, and her originally slightly unrestrained attitude also slightly restrained.

This scene was watched by Gu Qi and others, and they knew that the deputy director's "elephant" sentence just hit the target's weakness.

 Just what is the connection between "elephant" and spies? Why did the target react so loudly after hearing this?

Having verified what he was thinking, Zuo Zhong did not rush to interrogate Sima Linglong. Now that he knew the other party's background, the rest of the matter was simple. He spoke slowly in the eyes of everyone.

“In 1874, the famous American cartoonist Thomas Nast published a cartoon in Harper’s Weekly, depicting an elephant and a donkey covered in lion skin.

In the cartoon, the elephant is frightened by the donkey. One is so big and strong, and the other is so short and thin. The former is frightened by the latter. Isn't it funny? "

Regarding this question, Gu Qi, Song Minghao and Gui Youguang chose to remain silent, but Wu Chunyang seemed to have thought of something and subconsciously looked at Sima Linglong who was trying to remain calm.

Zuo Zhong crossed his arms and told the background and actual meaning of the comics in a story-telling way.

“Actually, this cartoon reflects the political situation of the United States at that time and is related to the mid-term election of 1874. The donkey refers to the D party and the elephant refers to the R party.

 In Western society, elephants are usually regarded as symbols of strength, stability and wisdom, and have good memories. These qualities are considered to be consistent with the R Party, implying that the R Party values ​​tradition and history.

 So the elephant has gradually been officially accepted and widely used in the R Party’s logo and promotional materials, and has become a part of American culture. Am I right, Ms. Sima? "

Zuo Zhong asked Sima Linglong a question, and then, regardless of whether the other party answered or not, he continued to popularize American political culture with his subordinates, especially the party culture.

"The political ecology of the United States is different from that of the Republic of China. The D and R parties take turns in power. The current president of the United States is from the D party, while the R party is the opposition party. The two parties interact with the judicial institutions. Checks and balances.

This kind of political system ensures that no one is dominant, which looks good, but behind each of them there is a group of supporters, who actually dominate the domestic affairs and foreign policy-making of the United States.

Take the D Party as an example. Most of its funders come from the financial sector and emerging industries, such as the Morgan family, the Boston Group, the Citigroup, and the Chicago Group. They value international capital flows.

The supporters of the R Party are different. They are mainly composed of the Rockefeller family, the Mellon consortium, the DuPont family, the Cleveland consortium, and the Texas consortium, which are engaged in the steel, arms, and energy industries.

 Differences in interests and positions have led to irreconcilable conflicts between the two parties. For example, Party D hopes for a stable world order and has a friendly attitude towards the Republic of China to facilitate its capital activities.

The R Party is just the opposite. It is very keen on war and uses war to sell any goods. If there is no war, then they will create a war. The other party is also the biggest promoter of sending war materials to Japan.

The current U.S. president of the D Party is a well-organized strategist and has provided a lot of assistance to the government, but the R Party does not like the other party's diplomatic strategy. "

 Speaking of this, Zuo Zhong smiled slightly and asked Sima Linglong a question again with a cold light in his eyes.

“Miss Sima, I don’t know which family you take orders from, Eton? Hanna? Humphrey? Or Mather?”

 Gu Qi clenched his fist and smashed his palm, and figured out a lot of things in an instant. The reason why Sima Linglong was concerned about the steel restructuring plan turned out to be the request of his master.

 Eaton, Hanna, Humphrey, and Mather are all important members of the Cleveland Consortium. The Cleveland Consortium is the largest machine manufacturer in the United States, so it naturally wants a share of the restructuring plan.

　　The previous war between the national government and the Japanese was in a stalemate. The intensity of the war was getting lower and lower, and the Japanese side needed to import fewer supplies, which seriously affected the interests of R Party supporters.

So, when they learned that the government was about to encircle and suppress the northwest army, the R Party intelligence personnel added fuel to the fire and disclosed the encirclement and suppression information to the Japanese, destroying the joint anti-Japanese situation and making the war more intense.

As for how many people will die by doing this, it is not within the other party's consideration at all. Compared with the Japanese who go into battle in person, the well-dressed gentlemen on Capitol Hill are also one of the culprits.

Wu Chunyang looked at Sima Linglong coldly. A person from the Republic of China helped other countries create conflicts and harmed his compatriots. He should be killed!

Song Minghao and Gui Youguang also reacted. They both looked at Sima Linglong with unkind expressions, especially Gui Youguang, who clenched his fists.

 But unlike dealing with Japanese spies, the government needs the support of the United States. Even if they want to kill each other on the spot, they have to endure it.

 “Pa~Pa~Pa~”

Sima Linglong, who was sitting on the interrogation chair, straightened her back and clapped her hands gently, her handcuffs rattling.

“Deputy Director Zuo, your story is very good, but it won’t be long before I can leave here. Do you believe it?”

 Arrogant! Too arrogant!

Gui Youguang couldn't bear it any longer and stood up immediately, rolling up his sleeves and wanting to go over and show the other person some color.

Zuo Zhong raised his hand to stop the bald head and said softly: "Ms. Sima, you are so confident and only rely on the Americans, but will they definitely come forward?"

Sima Linglong did not answer, but smiled mysteriously. A few seconds later, the door to the interrogation room was pushed open, and a man walked in with a dark face.