Chapter 1391 The truth is so simple
"Drawing people from the immigration camp to help Brother Liu?" Ma Bo looked at the approval document handed over by Liu Shang, with an obvious look of confusion on his face. He had already understood the content of this batch of documents and Zeng Xiaowen's signature at the end, but he didn't understand why Liu Shang was so active in looking for things to do when he came to Majiazhuang. It is said that this official came from the capital city of Haihan. Logically speaking, when a capital official arrives at the place, he should order others to do things. Why does this man not take the ordinary path and plan to do everything personally?
"I plan to repaint the slogans outside Majiazhuang. This job is too slow for one person to do, so I plan to select some people from the immigration camp to help lift the ladder and pick up tools to do the hard work." Liu Shang explained with a normal expression. road. He knew very well that Mabo had no reason to refuse his reasonable request. The people in the immigration camp were free labor for Haihan, not to mention that he had the approval document from his superiors in hand. Of course, the reason why he found such a job was to avoid making Ma Bo wary, so he had already thought about how to persuade the other party to accept it.
Although Ma Bo did not refuse, he proposed another plan: "The people in this immigration camp are all stupid and clumsy, so I'm afraid they won't be able to help. If Brother Liu needs manpower, ask me to send a few smart long-term workers to provide it." How is your mission?”
Liu Shang smiled and rejected his proposal: "Thank you Brother Ma for your kindness, but those long-term workers under you still have to be stewards in the immigration camp. It will be inconvenient to take them away. I think it's better to just randomly choose a few in the camp." Just be young and strong. Anyway, this job is simple and you don’t need to be smart or capable.”
Seeing that Ma Bo seemed to be insisting, Liu Shang quickly seized the opportunity and added: "This is also what Secretary Zeng meant."
Ma Bo's eyes flickered for a moment, then he changed his words: "Since Secretary Zeng has also spoken, let's do what Brother Liu wants."
Liu Shangxindao, the cronies around this big shot are indeed quite powerful, and if they are moved out, they can suppress the local snake like Ma Bo. He is not worried that Mabo will go to Zeng Xiaowen to confirm the matter, because he has realized that the positions of the two people are most likely to belong to different factions.
After persuading Ma Bo, Liu Shang went to the immigration camp and counted several people, including several people he had specially noted down during the roll call in Ma Bo. Although Ma Bo was a little surprised by the list of people selected by Liu Shang, he ultimately did not stop him from taking these people out of the immigration camp. But after Liu Shang left with his people, Ma Bo also hurriedly left the immigration camp and went home.
Although Liu Shang was looking for an errand to cover up, since everyone was already in hand, this matter must still be done, otherwise it would easily make Ma Bo and Zeng Xiaowen suspicious. He took people to a material warehouse converted from a row of abandoned brick kilns outside Majiazhuang, picked up paint and other tools, and then came to the side of the village and started working.
Regarding how to write propaganda slogans on the walls of buildings, Liu Shang also received relevant skills training when he was in the Propaganda Department. His calligraphy level is still far behind that of Zeng Xiaowen, a scholar who has obtained academic qualifications. In fact, in the past, I have never actually done this kind of slogan writing work. However, he saw that the mottled slogans on the wall seemed not to be much higher than his own level, so he chose such a job to achieve his goal. Anyway, he is now the only official in charge of publicity in Majiazhuang who is responsible for these affairs. There is no other comparable target for the quality of slogan production, so there is no pressure at all.
Liu Shang selected a total of seven people from the immigration camp, five of whom were targets he had previously listed as objects of observation. Although these people looked very unfamiliar to each other, Liu Shang relied on his own experience to quickly realize that this strangeness was just a disguise. Although several people did not communicate with each other verbally, they were obviously conveying some kind of information through their eyes. Liu Shang believed that this showed that they were not only familiar with each other, but also had a tacit understanding. The most important thing is that he seemed to feel some long-lost but familiar atmosphere from these farmers from an immigration camp in the countryside of Shandong.
Before Liu Shang entered Haihan, he had been engaged in field missions in the Ming Dynasty intelligence agency for many years. He disguised himself as people with various identities and professions, and faced various targets in various environments. He has been able to work in this industry for many years without capsizing. The special skill he relies on for a living is not high personal force, but keen observation and extraordinary memory.
The cunning look in the eyes of the few people he selected from the immigration camp in front of him was not a trait that rural farmers should have. Liu Shang couldn't help but remember that he used to work in teams with his colleagues, and they would often speak when it was inconvenient to do so. Communicate through silent means such as eyes, mouth shapes, gestures, and movements. If this kind of communication method is to convey information smoothly, both parties receiving and sending information must understand the meaning of standardized actions.
The intelligence agency of the Ming Dynasty has two teams, factory and guard, each with its own standardized code system, which Liu Shang has certainly learned. Although he has hardly used these methods since he entered Haihan, he clearly remembers everything that should be remembered, and has not forgotten these basic skills as time goes by. So when he noticed that someone was communicating with others through a silent method that he knew, he immediately felt a warning sign in his heart.
"I didn't expect that after traveling thousands of miles to Shandong, I would still meet my colleagues!" Liu Shang sighed secretly in his heart, but the expression on his face did not change at all. He had already thought of why Ma Bo was wary of his arrival. If he were the director of the immigration camp and there were Ming spies hiding in the camp, he would probably be as sensitive as him.
But under the circumstances here and now, Liu Shang clearly knew that it was impossible to stage any drama of recognition by his peers. If he tried to expose the identity of the other party, the most likely situation would be that he would be immediately recognized by these people. Drag him into a corner and choke him to death or simply break his neck. Otherwise, he would immediately try his best to kill anyone who knows his identity. It has nothing to do with hatred, it's just a professional requirement.
Although he also specially selected two local refugees, if something happened, he would not put his hope of survival on such irrelevant people. The purpose of selecting these two outsiders was just to not let Ma Bo get up. Just too much suspicion. So far, there is no evidence to prove that Ma Bo is related to these people, but Liu Shang believes that his intuition is not wrong. The people Ma Bo is trying to cover up are probably the Ming Dynasty spies lurking in the immigration camps as refugees. .
But this truth is not good news for Liu Shang, even if he clearly knows that these objects of observation are most likely his colleagues. The true identities of these people have brought new troubles to Liu Shang. If he takes the risk to contact these people, he will most likely be silenced directly by the other party. To put it another way, even if we can gain the trust of the other party, so what? Are you providing these Ming spies with Haihan’s military and political intelligence? No, Liu Shang can be sure that it will not have any effect, because when he was training before leaving the Ming Dynasty, he deeply remembered a rule that he must not trust anyone who claims to be one of his own and takes the initiative to provide information. Because those who do this are almost all intelligence agents who betrayed the Ming Dynasty and joined Haihan. Their job is to act as barbs to trap latecomers who enter Haihan. I don’t know how many people fell into this method. Only in the end did they conclude Such lessons have been learned.
And if you want to be a double agent between Daming and Haihan, it is not an easy task. Liu Shangke has personally witnessed how powerful the Haihan Security Department is and how terrifying the Ming Dynasty Yamen is. He is willing to accept the arrangement and come to this distant Shandong. In his heart, he wants to take this opportunity to temporarily stay away from the dangerous area of Sanya and completely escape from the past. The idea of identity.
Although Liu Shang still retains the curiosity and adventurous spirit of an intelligence officer in his heart, as he lurks in Haihan for longer and longer, his way of thinking about problems becomes more rational. As a Haihan official, it was a very unwise choice for him to take the risk of exposing his identity for a past that no one knew about. He made it clear that he just wanted to dig out the truth, not let himself become a burial object of the truth. This step was enough for now, and the next thing he needed to consider was how to stop and escape, rather than continue to be trapped in it.
Of course, Liu Shang would not consider the option of exposing the other party for the time being. He couldn't explain at all how he discovered the other party's true identity. While reporting on the other party, he might also involve himself. Naturally, he had to be careful to avoid such unnecessary risks.
While Liu Shang was drawing line drawings on the wall with charcoal, he was also wondering about the stance of Zeng Xiaowen's warning to him. He did not believe that the cronies around Chen Yixin were also spies of the Ming Dynasty. If the intelligence work of the Ming Dynasty had progressed to this level, there would be no use for him at all.
Based on this judgment, Liu Shang could basically confirm that Zeng Xiaowen and the people he identified were not in the same camp, but why did he secretly warn himself not to get too involved in the immigration camp? Could it be that Zeng Xiaowen already knew the inside story of the immigration camp and wanted to control the situation for some reason, so he came forward to greet him?
Liu Shang didn't know that his guess was infinitely close to the truth, but since Zeng Xiaowen had expressed his position in front of him, no matter what his reasons were, Liu Shang felt that it was best not to deliberately violate his advice. .
Liu Shang's mind was not entirely focused on the work in front of him, so in this half afternoon, he had not even finished the line draft of the first slogan, and the progress was quite slow. When he was about to finish work, Ma Bo turned over and watched for a while, and then pretended to ask Liu Shang if he wanted to go home for dinner. Liu Shang naturally wanted to keep a distance from Ma Bo as much as possible at this time. He immediately said that he had to rush to work and just go to the canteen to make dinner by himself.
After sending Ma Bo away, Liu Shang procrastinated for a while. As soon as he announced the end of work, Zeng Xiaowen also came. Liu Shangxin said that the two people might have staggered over deliberately, but he still greeted Zeng Xiaowen politely. Zeng Xiaowen asked about the personnel arrangements and work progress, but heard Liu Shang say that these people were transferred from the immigration camp, and his expression changed slightly and returned to normal.
Liu Shang specially paid attention to Zeng Xiaowen's expression while talking. Although this change was subtle, it still caught his eye. Liu Shang became more and more certain that Zeng Xiaowen knew the situation in the immigration camp, but for the sake of self-protection, he would not break the window paper.
People who were transferred from the immigration camp would naturally have to go back after work. Liu Shang was not worried that these people would take the opportunity to escape. They hid in the immigration camp, of course, just to hide their identity. They would not reveal their identity unless absolutely necessary. Moreover, it is also a rare opportunity for them to be able to legitimately observe the operation of Majiazhuang.
In the next few days, Liu Shang continued to work step by step. Apart from the two-day publicity event, he spent the rest of his working time leading a team to paint slogans outside Majiazhuang. The last time the Haihan Army did this work was almost a year ago, and this time a civilian official led the team, which also attracted some people passing by to watch.
The slogans used by the military here were basically military-themed, such as "Resolutely annihilate all invading enemies", "Recognize the situation clearly, remain vigilant, and fulfill the mission", "Promote the prestige of our military and cast a This type of "our military soul". However, as the situation changes, the Haihan occupied area faces less and less external military pressure, and immigration and trade gradually become the main theme in the occupied area. Slogans with strong iron-blooded atmosphere are no longer so suitable to appear in the occupied area. It's a populated area.
Among the propaganda work that Liu Shang is responsible for, the transformation of outdoor slogans in the occupied areas of Shandong is also one of the contents. Therefore, his application to organize this work in Majiazhuang was not just a whim. In fact, he used it as a cover to achieve the purpose of exploring the inside story of the immigration camp.
The first slogan Liu Shang completed was very characteristic of Haihan - if you want to be rich, build roads first. This was also the first slogan Liu Shang learned after being recruited into the Haihan Propaganda Department.
Liu Shang had a profound understanding of the significance of building roads during his time in Haihan. Especially the railways dedicated to trains, Liu Shang has always been amazed by their high transportation efficiency. Although this kind of railway is expensive and has high requirements on terrain and cannot be built everywhere, the Haihan people still invested heavily in building a coastal road network extending in all directions on the island, connecting various cities and counties through wide and smooth official roads. At the same time, it is extremely convenient to transfer people and goods between sea and land.
After arriving in Shandong, Liu Shang found that the transportation-first approach to infrastructure construction was also implemented here. A lot of manpower and material resources were invested in the early stage to build roads connecting key nodes such as Fushan Copper Mine, Majiazhuang, Zhifu Island, and Fushan County. , connecting the occupied areas together, and the military used this to control the situation in this area.
(End of chapter)