Chapter 52: The Mole in the 119th Division

While the various units in Huangzhou City were making intensive preparations for the impending battle, Ma Yuan officially assumed his new post.

As the Intelligence Section under the Staff Department of the 119th Division, its routine work normally consisted of gathering intelligence on the opposing enemy. However, amid such a critical juncture, an extra duty had been temporarily added to their workload: collecting confidential reports on internal personnel.

The incident involving Wu Cheng had made the various corps of the Zheng faction attach great importance to the issue of internal security. Under normal circumstances, this might not have been a major concern, but in wartime, a single spy could cause incalculable damage.

Shortly after taking office, Ma Yuan intercepted a piece of intelligence containing the deployment map of the 119th Division's internal defenses. It had been transmitted via a private telegraph machine, and the source of the transmission was the enemy stationed outside the city.

Aware of the gravity of the situation, Ma Yuan realized that a mole had infiltrated the 119th Division, and his primary task now was to ferret out this traitor.

Ma Yuan meticulously collected and reviewed all the intelligence reports dispatched by the Intelligence Section recently, paying special attention to who had authorized their release.

Before long, Ma Yuan narrowed his suspects down to three individuals: Hu Xihua, deputy commander of the 1st Battalion; Jin Qiyong, head of the Logistics Section of the Division Headquarters; and Peng Hai, deputy chief of staff of the Division Staff Department.

According to the collected records, these three were the only ones who had accessed relevant intelligence from the section around the time the intercepted leak occurred.

Wishing to learn more about these three men, Ma Yuan called Cheng Qian and Hou Lili together for a meeting.

"You two, especially brother Cheng Qian, I know you look down on me and think I got this position through connections. But since I am already in this seat, and you are now my subordinates, you must take my orders." Hoping that collective wisdom would prevail, Ma Yuan wanted to discuss the matter with them.

Cheng Qian narrowed his eyes slightly but said nothing further; in terms of rank, Ma Yuan was the head of the Intelligence Section.

Seeing that Cheng Qian remained silent, Ma Yuan continued, "As you know, our military is currently cracking down hard on moles. At a time of great battle like this, once someone leaks information, we will find ourselves in dire peril."

Hou Lili chimed in, "Section Chief Ma, do you have any leads?"

Ma Yuan went on, "That's right. Over the past two days, I have indeed made some discoveries. However, I am not very familiar with the 119th Division, so I wanted to ask the two of you to analyze the situation with me. No word of today's meeting is to be leaked to anyone outside."

"Through my investigation over the past few days, I've discovered that someone transmitted the 119th Division's military defense map via telegraph to the Mashan Allied Forces outside the city. I've also conducted a covert investigation, and suspicions have basically been narrowed down to three people: Hu Xihua, deputy commander of the 1st Battalion; Jin Qiyong, head of the Logistics Section of the Division Headquarters; and Peng Hai, deputy chief of staff of the Division Staff Department."

"These three had the greatest potential for suspicion around the time the confidential information was leaked. But I don't know much about them, so I wanted to ask you to help me understand them better."

Upon hearing Ma Yuan's words, Cheng Qian narrowed his eyes, a strange expression flashing across his face, though Ma Yuan failed to notice it.

Hou Lili spoke up first instead. "Section Chief Ma, I happen to know Section Chief Jin from logistics quite well. He has been with our 119th Division for five or six years, and has served as the head of the Logistics Section for two or three years. He is known for his upright character, and people hold him in high regard."

"Furthermore, as the head of the logistics section, Section Chief Jin is extremely conscientious in his work. He handles the logistical supply and dispatch for various units very well, and he has a spotless reputation within the division."

After listening to Hou Lili, Ma Yuan realized that according to this assessment, Jin Qiyong was virtually incapable of treason. Still, he asked, "Staff Officer Hou, does Jin Qiyong have any need to use the telegraph in his routine work?"

Hou Lili thought for a moment. "Section Chief Jin uses the telegraph quite frequently. He needs to coordinate logistics with other divisions to ensure our division's combat readiness to the greatest extent possible. He certainly has plenty of opportunities to come into contact with telegrams."

Ma Yuan turned to Cheng Qian. "Staff Officer Cheng, you have been in the 119th Division the longest among the three of us. You should know something about all of them, right?"

Cheng Qian had been in the Intelligence Section of the 119th Division for five years, and had served in the Zheng faction troops for seven or eight years. He was considered a veteran among the Zheng faction forces.

After a moment of contemplation, Cheng Qian said, "Section Chief Ma, it's not that I'm trying to undermine you, but while I do know something about these three men, my understanding is not profound. I can briefly share my thoughts."

"Staff Officer Hou has already spoken about Jin Qiyong, so I won't repeat it. As for Hu Xihua, the deputy commander of the 1st Battalion, I believe he is the least likely to be under suspicion."

"Back in the day, he followed Division Commander Huang Bai through numerous hard-fought battles, risking his life time and again. He possesses an extraordinary martial spirit and a forthright personality, intolerant of the slightest wrongdoing. Therefore, I believe he is the least likely person to be a spy."

Cheng Qian paused for a moment before continuing, "As for Deputy Chief of Staff Peng, I don't know him very well either. I only know that he originally served in the Zhaowei Army before joining our Zheng faction, where he won the trust of Army Commander Song Pu and became our division's chief of staff. However, if you want a detailed understanding, you could consult Division Chief of Staff Li Chenghai."

Ma Yuan fell into deep thought. He knew that regardless of which of these men was the spy, none of them were individuals he could easily move against given their current status. Moreover, according to the information from Cheng Qian and Hou Lili, none of them appeared to be the mole.

Pushing those thoughts aside for the moment, Ma Yuan asked Hou Lili to organize the files, intending to report the matter privately to Division Chief of Staff Li Chenghai.

When Huang Bai had assigned Ma Yuan to his post, Li Chenghai had told him privately that if he encountered any critical matters, he could report directly to him. Intelligence work, after all, concerned the life and death of the entire division and was of paramount importance.

While Ma Yuan was busy making waves, the Zheng faction troops inside Huangzhou City launched continuous harassment raids against the Mashan Allied Forces outside, driving the enemy to distraction. The allied forces even wanted to deploy their full strength for a decisive battle against the Zheng faction, but every time, the Zheng faction troops would tactically retreat back into the city at the critical moment.

Applying Zheng Zehai's tactics, the defenders of Huangzhou successfully pinned down the Mashan Allied Forces entirely outside the city, somewhat relieving the pressure on Bozhou City.

Two or three days later, the Mashan Allied Forces far away in Bozhou engaged the Zheng faction's 15th and 18th Corps stationed inside the city, signaling the official outbreak of the long-delayed Bozhou Campaign.

The Mashan Allied Forces attacked Bozhou City from three directions, while Zheng Li divided his two corps into three parts to mount a defense. In an instant, the entire city of Bozhou was engulfed in the flames of war.

Meanwhile, after reporting the battle situation in Luzhou City, Zheng Zehai did not rush back to Bozhou, but instead remained in Luzhou to rest for quite a few days. As for Zheng Zeliang, he set off for Pingling City the very day after his conversation with Zheng Zehai, seeking assistance from the Zhaowei and Guowei armies.