Chapter 103: Subdued and defeated
"Qingyun is here, sit down quickly?"
Seeing Xu Qingyun come in, Xu Zhanjie was very happy and pulled him to sit down on the comfortable and spacious sofa next to him.
The conditions in the section chief's office are much better than those of Xu Qingyun.
It is similar to the comparison between the office of the webmaster surnamed Wu and the office of the deputy webmaster surnamed Yu in a popular TV series of later generations.
"Teacher, I have a general understanding of the case, and now I have several new discoveries to report to you."
Xu Qingyun explained everything about the investigation of the scene, the discovery of footprints under the bed and sticky marks on the cabinet, and the discovery of Gong Zhaolin's lies.
"Is there a big problem with Gong Zhaolin?"
Xu Zhanjie was stunned. He thought that Xu Qingyun needed time to familiarize himself with the case. Unexpectedly, in just half a day, Xu Qingyun found out so many things and even found a suspicious person.
"Yes, but there are still doubts about him. The next step is to continue the investigation, or..."
"No need to investigate, just interrogate directly"
Before Xu Qingyun could finish speaking, Xu Zhanjie stood up. It was he who ordered Gong Zhaolin to be imprisoned before going to Tianjin.
At that time, Hou Yishan pleaded for Gong Zhaolin, saying that he was deceived by Lu Dawang and accidentally revealed the case.
Xu Zhanjie locked him up for punishment. They were the intelligence department and the confidentiality regulations were the strictest. No matter what the reason, if you said something you shouldn't say, you would be punished.
What's more, Gong Zhaolin caused so much damage.
However, Xu Zhanjie agreed with Hou Yishan's statement that Gong Zhaolin was deceived. He originally wanted to lock up Gong Zhaolin for a period of time, then send Gong Zhaolin to a remote station and treat him as a model to warn others to keep secrets in the future.
At this time, the military intelligence department's intelligence work was very different from that during the military unification period.
Most of them follow the script and imitate the operation of intelligence agencies of Germany or other countries. There are things that should be there, but they are empty and unintentional. It can even be said that there is a lot of internal confusion.
For example, this kind of leak has also appeared in Tianjin Station.
Not to mention them, even during the all-out war of resistance, the military commanders still made many low-level mistakes and suffered a lot of losses.
"Yes, teacher."
Xu Qingyun nodded in agreement. He had the same intention in coming to report, but he was interrupted by Xu Zhanjie before he finished speaking.
Let’s interrogate first and see what Gong Zhaolin says. There are so many doubts. It will be easier to investigate after asking them clearly.
The Interrogation Section received an order to interrogate Gong Zhaolin and prepare for torture.
Torture and interrogation are two different concepts. After receiving a call from Xu Zhanjie himself, the interrogation department understood that Gong Zhaolin was in big trouble.
In the cell, Gong Zhaolin was taken out, and he was hung in the torture room without knowing what happened.
He was even more shocked when he saw Xu Qingyun coming in with the section chief.
"Section Chief, Team Leader Xu, what are you doing?"
Gong Zhaolin's voice trembled because he was frightened. The posture in front of him was obviously for torture. He was very aware of the horror of these torture tools.
"Gong Zhaolin, tell me honestly, how did you kill Lu Dawang?"
Xu Zhanjie asked first. Gong Zhaolin was startled and shook his head hastily: "Section Chief, I didn't kill Lu Dawang. It really wasn't me."
"You know our torture process, why are you still lucky after everything is like this?"
Xu Zhanjie yelled, and Gong Zhaolin became anxious and shouted: "Section Chief, it's not me. It's really not me. I was wronged."
"Shut up." Xu Zhanjie slammed the table, and Gong Zhaolin immediately shut up.
"No, why did you go to his room?"
Xu Zhanjie asked bitterly, Gong Zhaolin was stubborn and always had a tough talk.
Gong Zhaolin was startled again. He had entered Lu Dawang's room, but he had never told anyone. How did the section chief know?
“Torture.”
Xu Zhanjie lost his patience, and the person next to him immediately pulled out the whip in the bucket.
"Section chief, I said."
Gong Zhaolin shouted. His body was trembling slightly, his lips were dry, and his eyes were red. As soon as he opened his mouth, tears fell.
"Lu Dawang invited me to drink before and asked me about the mission. I told him that after the operation failed, I felt something was wrong."
"The captain asked us later and I told him. Then I asked Lu Dawang and found out that he had concealed the matter. I was very scared."
Gong Zhaolin spoke slowly, and Xu Qingyun suddenly asked: "Did you invite the guests, or did he invite them?"
"He really invited me, but he didn't bring any money. In the end, I paid the bill."
Gong Zhaolin replied that he was now cursing the eighteenth generation of Lu Dawang's ancestors and regretting going to eat that meal.
Why are you so mean-mouthed? In the end, he spent money and ended up in a mess.
Lu Dawang promised to pay him back as soon as his salary was paid, but unfortunately he died and the money was destined not to come back.
"When I asked you just now, why did you say he paid for it?"
Xu Qingyun asked again, and Gong Zhaolin finally told the truth. If he continued to conceal this matter, the whip would be whipped out immediately.
"I don't dare to invite him, for fear that you will doubt me."
Gong Zhaolin whispered that Lu Dawang was under serious suspicion. If he invited Lu Dawang to dinner, he might not even be able to clear himself out by jumping into the Yellow River.
It is very likely that he will be used as a scapegoat by then, so he lied just now.
"What did you do in his room?"
Xu Qingyun stared at him closely. Gong Zhaolin did not dare to hide anything anymore: "I noticed that something was wrong with him. I was afraid that it would implicate me, so I wanted to go to his room to check to see if I could find some evidence to make a case. I just arrived. After a while, he went back to the dormitory, and I hid under the bed in desperation.”
"I saw him moving the cabinet, so I squeezed in so hard that he wouldn't see me. Then he didn't know what he took from the back of the cabinet and left."
What he said was correct. Judging from the prints under the bed and the footprints on the wall, he was indeed curled up at the time.
"What did he get?"
"I didn't know. I didn't dare to come out until he left. I was afraid that he would come back again, so I went back without daring to search. As a result, news of his death came out the next day, and then I was imprisoned."
Lu Dawang was found to be a suspect and died before he could be monitored and investigated, and Gong Zhaolin was not monitored.
Whether this is what he said or not, Xu Qingyun can only confirm it after investigation and verification.
But one thing is for sure, there was something hidden behind the cabinet.
"Are you sure it's Lu Dawang who's coming back?"
Xu Qingyun continued to ask, and Gong Zhaolin nodded: "I'm sure, I recognize his shoes and pants. I could see his legs under the bed at that time."
"Why don't you take the initiative to explain this?"
Xu Zhanjie asked suddenly. He would not believe Gong Zhaolin's words easily. Now he wanted to listen to Gong Zhaolin's excuses first.
"Section Chief, I'm really scared. If you don't believe me and think of me as a traitor, wouldn't I die unjustly?"
Gong Zhaolin was still crying, with runny nose and tears.
He regrets it very much now. If he had spoken out earlier, even though there was a possibility of being wronged, it would have been better than now.
He didn't know how the section chief and team leader Xu found out this, but when asked, he said that the situation was obviously more unfavorable to him.
"Torture." Xu Zhanjie suddenly shouted.
Gong Zhaolin raised his head sharply. He had already confessed, but the section chief still tortured him?
How did he know that because of his concealment, Xu Zhanjie now had no trust in his words? Just now Xu Zhanjie subconsciously believed that he was quibbling.
There was no way he could escape this pain.
Gong Zhaolin was beaten so much that he cried like a ghost and kept begging for mercy. Xu Zhanjie was already a section chief and had already become as hard-hearted as iron. He vowed not to give up until the truth was revealed.
"Chief Xu, fainted."
Not long after, Gong Zhaolin couldn't hold on and fainted.
"Walk him up and continue." Xu Zhanjie said coldly. The torturers forced Gong Zhaolin to wake up and continued the torture in another way.
"Stop pricking, I said."
During the finger pricking session, Gong Zhaolin finally couldn't hold on any longer and began to explain.
He said that he was instigated by the Japanese and asked Lu Dawang to spy on him.
When he said that he took the initiative to invite Lu Dawang to dinner, Xu Qingyun's eyebrows twitched slightly.
According to what the restaurant owner said, Gong Zhaolin's previous explanation was correct. It was indeed Lu Dawang who invited him, but he didn't bring any money.
The sudden change of account at this time is inconsistent with the previous investigation.
Xu Zhanjie didn't think much about it. When he saw Gong Zhaolin's explanation, he immediately asked: "How did you kill Lu Dawang? Who is your contact?"
"I gave him the poison."
Gong Zhaolin said feebly that the poison was yes, but when asked what food he used to poison it, he said it was steamed buns.
Asked him about his online address, he didn’t know where it was, he only knew the code name, and the description of his online appearance was very popular.
When the autopsy results came out, Gong Zhaolin was already in a cell. He didn't know exactly what Lu Dawang had eaten.
"Teacher, wait."
Before Gong Zhaolin finished explaining, Xu Qingyun suddenly shouted, and Xu Zhanjie immediately looked at him.
"Teacher, please come out."
Xu Qingyun took Xu Zhanjie out of the torture room and expressed his suspicions.
"Is he still lying?" Xu Zhanjie's eyes widened.
"Teacher, I don't think so. It's possible that he was beaten into submission."
The punishment is too painful, and some people cannot bear it. In order to temporarily avoid the physical pain, they say whatever they want.
If it really turns out to be a trick, things will be even more troublesome.
It's possible that his previous confession was true and he was not a traitor.
"Is there any way you can verify it?" Xu Zhanjie asked proactively.
"I'll try."
Xu Qingyun didn't refuse. You can try it out to see if he has surrendered. If he was performing, the results would naturally be different.
But it's really a performance. I can only say that his acting skills are very good and he can withstand these painful punishments. He is another Kawada.
Unless he is Japanese, there is no such possibility for a traitor.
"Okay, you come to the trial."
Returning to the torture room, Xu Qingyun asked a doctor to be called to treat his injuries.
It was Dr. Li who came. He was secretly surprised when he saw that Gong Zhaolin was covered with injuries. When he learned that it was the result of Xu Zhanjie and Xu Qingyun being tortured together, he couldn't help but sigh. He didn't expect that this young man who looked immature could be so ruthless.
He was not in Tianjin. If he had seen the tragic situation of the spies in Tianjin, he would probably have more to think about.
In Tianjin, the half-hour set meal has long been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and even the webmasters have followed suit.
"Gong Zhaolin, where are you from?"
"Reply to Team Leader Xu, I'm from Anqing, Hui Province."
Gong Zhaolin replied weakly. The medicine was applied on his body to make him feel better, but the severe pain still eroded his body all the time.
"Anqing is a good place. Where is your hometown? Where did you go to primary school?"
Xu Qingyun continued to ask. Xu Zhanjie didn't understand the meaning of asking these questions, but he didn't interrupt.
After asking for twenty minutes, Xu Qingyun suddenly changed the question: "What did you say you like to wear online?"
Gong Zhaolin was stunned for a moment, and when he saw Xu Qingyun looking directly at him, he said in a panic: "Black, no, blue robe."
What he just said was indeed a blue robe, but now he said it wrong.
"What was the information you gave him for the third time?"
Gong Zhaolin just explained that he had leaked the information and had provided it five times. Xu Qingyun didn't ask anything else and just asked the third time.
"When I think about it, it seems to be training class information."
He made a mistake again. He did provide information about the training class, but the information just now was provided for the second time.
Xu Zhanjie was holding the confession he had just written. When he heard his answer, he immediately understood that there was something wrong with Gong Zhaolin's answer. What he said now was different from what he had just said. He had not remembered his confession just now.
You can guess the reason. Just now he had no choice but to make it up casually. He didn't have a deep impression after saying it, so he would make mistakes when he asked again.
"When did you enter Lu Dawang's room?"
Xu Qingyun sighed slightly and asked again. Gong Zhaolin quickly told a time, which was exactly the same as before.
"What color pants and shoes were Lu Dawang wearing at that time?"
Gong Zhaolin answered quickly and was consistent with his previous confession.
Xu Qingyun asked ten more questions in a row, accounting for half of the confessions before and half of the confessions after the punishment.
Xu Zhanjie looked slightly dull as he read the confession.
Of the ten questions, all the questions before the torture were correct, but three of the questions after the torture were wrong.
Three out of five questions were wrong, a 60% error rate.
There is even a completely new statement.
"Qingyun, let's go out."
Xu Zhanjie understood the problem. Xu Qingyun's guess just now was correct. Gong Zhaolin could not withstand the punishment and surrendered.
"Teacher, what he said before may be true. He was just out of fear and had a sense of luck. He wanted to find out and make meritorious service on his own, so he didn't take the initiative to confess."
After coming out, Xu Qingyun first said that there were many doubts about Gong Zhaolin. If what he initially told was all the truth, these doubts could be answered.
However, his subsequent explanation was full of loopholes.
"You're right, I'm a little impatient."
Xu Zhanjie sighed because he felt deceived and felt angry, and no longer believed anything Gong Zhaolin said.
Fortunately, Xu Qingyun was there to help him correct it in time.
If the investigation is carried out according to what Gong Zhaolin told him, it will be a waste of time and may allow the real traitor to escape.
"Teacher, the torture is correct. At least the real situation can be clarified. I suggest locking him up first. Based on his explanation, I will continue the investigation. If everything was staged by him, he will be allowed to endure the most painful punishment."
Nothing is absolute. Xu Qingyun will not subjectively conclude that Gong Zhaolin has no problem until the truth is found out.
"Okay, what are you going to investigate next?" Xu Zhanjie nodded.
"Fang Laibao went to the post office and is expected to be back soon. Yan Ming went to Lu Dawang's hometown and will be back tomorrow. After he comes back, I asked him to go to Anqing to investigate Gong Zhaolin's situation. Is it the same as what was told and whether he was raped by the Japanese Possibility of people impersonating.”
Xu Qingyun said slowly, while Xu Zhanjie's eyes lit up.
He had known for a long time that the student thought about the problem comprehensively, but he didn't expect that he thought so much this time, even thinking about impersonation in advance.
"Okay, just check it like this."
Xu Zhanjie nodded in agreement. He did not interfere in the investigation of the case. Xu Qingyun did better than him. At this time, he was even more convinced that bringing Xu Qingyun was the most correct decision.
Guaranteed Chapter 1.
(End of this chapter)