The Spy

Chapter 243 The Birth of Legal Currency
On the action team side, Lu Gaowa also made arrangements.

The two team leaders were people he brought from Nanjing. Fu Wenzhen remained in office. He performed well and was considered a relatively outstanding member of the Wuhan station action team, so he could remain in office.

Xu Qingyun only looks at personal ability and performance. The reason why he kicked those people out is because they did too much and had not committed any crime. Although he cannot say that he treats them equally, at least he does not discriminate against them.

It is human nature for everyone to take care of those close to them. Moreover, the people they brought to Nanjing are generally more capable than those from Wuhan Station.

Among all the people above the rank of captain in the two most important groups, intelligence and operations, only Fu Wenzhen remained in office.

Although Lu Jianhu became the team leader, he left the action team.

In the telecommunications group, the team leader and deputy team leader were all replaced.

They are small in number, have no teams, and are led by two team leaders.

Lan Jisheng's promotion to deputy team leader this time makes everyone understand that if you have abilities, don't hide them. As long as you show them, you will have the opportunity to move up.

New webmasters and old webmasters belong to two completely different categories of people.

No wonder the stationmaster caught so many Japanese spies and traitors just a few days after he arrived.

Zheng Jiming was also reappointed in the General Affairs Group.

General affairs are quite complicated, with many small leaders. The driver team, car team, material team, equipment team, accounting office, etc. all have responsible persons, and half of them have been replaced.

Xu Qingyun has been in Wuhan for some time. Dai Jieying and Yan Ming have both reviewed them. In addition, some people have performed well in the past few days, so they were asked to be responsible for these things.

All adjustments have been completed and the atmosphere at Wuhan Station has been completely changed.

It can be said that Wuhan Station has officially entered the Xu Qingyun era.

"Stationmaster Xu, these are all our elites, can you please ask for less?"

Outside the city of Wuhan, a colonel regiment commander was walking with Xu Qingyun with a bitter look on his face.

The Wuhan station is not fully staffed, especially the action team, which is short of many people.

The headquarters didn't have that many people to give him, so they asked him to recruit from the local army.

It is already November and it is a little chilly when walking outside.

"Captain Wang, I know they are elites. They can perform better with us. Please don't be reluctant to let them go."

Xu Qingyun said with a smile, even though he is a major, the other party is two levels higher than him and no one dared to be disrespectful in front of him.

He selected a total of twenty people for this regiment, all of whom were outstanding soldiers with the best performance in normal times.

In later generations, some people would be the top soldiers in the army.

Good marksmanship and good skills.

Xu Qingyun attached great importance to culture, and the twenty people selected must be literate. Several of them were graduates of military academies and were officers.

They started at a high point, and after arriving at the Military Intelligence Department, their development will not be inferior to that of the original veteran team members.

"I'm willing to release them, but I beg you not to ask for so many people. Ten, how about ten?"

Captain Wang smiled bitterly and said that it really hurt him to pick out his twenty best soldiers at once.

There were even his guards inside.

The order had been given from above, and he had no choice but to stop it. Although Xu Qingyun was young and of low rank, he was very capable and had arrested so many people right after he arrived. No one in Wuhan dared to underestimate him now.

"Captain Wang, don't be so stingy. Just twenty. I'll go to the fifty-first group to pick the rest."

Xu Qingyun responded with a smile, saying that this regiment had the best equipment, the strongest combat effectiveness, and the largest number of people selected here.

The remaining missing personnel will be supplemented by the other two regiments.

"Ok."

Captain Wang's lips trembled. The order had been given from above and he had no way to stop it. He could only watch Xu Qingyun take away all of his outstanding talents.

Some time ago, Xu Qingyun asked Lu Gaowa to investigate the situation of the soldiers stationed in the surrounding areas, mainly those who performed well and had ability.

A total of hundreds of people were found. The Military Intelligence Department wants the elites and chooses the best of the best.

Xu Qingyun knew very well that the headquarters did not have that many people to support him, so the most likely option was to let him replenish the staff locally. It would not hurt to make preparations early.

The action team was still short of about fifty people, and Xu Qingyun selected all of them in just two days.

As for the intelligence team, they had enough people they brought from Nanjing and no reinforcements were needed.

However, some other groups need to add some people.

We are also looking in Wuhan to add some outstanding talents, such as the telecommunications group, general affairs group, etc.

These people do not necessarily have to be soldiers, but they must have sufficient capabilities.

Especially in the telecommunications group, except for the team leader Fang Gaoyuan, everyone else is a technical talent.

All personnel have been replaced and Wuhan Station is fully staffed again. The newcomers are familiarizing themselves with the environment and all the systems here.

Especially the new members of the action team, they were a little bit unbelieving when they arrived at Wuhan Station.

There is meat in their daily meals?
Can those whose family conditions are not good be brought back?
In the corrupt Guo military, these are simply miracles.

"Team Leader, can you do me a favor?"

A new member of the General Affairs Group came to Zheng Jiming's office and spoke in a low voice with his head down.

He was recruited from outside. He knows how to do accounting and is quite good at it. He now works in the accounting office.

Accounting was the hardest hit area in the General Affairs Group, and almost all the previous people were wiped out.

"You said."

Zheng Jiming raised his head and looked at the new member.

"My family is in financial difficulty. My mother died young and my father is disabled and in poor health. But I am not married and do not meet the requirements for applying for canteen meals. Can you help me apply and see if you can give me one too? I want to take it back for my father. One portion is enough."

The new team member whispered, Zheng Jiming was a little surprised, it turned out to be such a small matter.

However, the problem he mentioned does exist. They are well treated now, but if they want to bring food home, they must have children.

The main purpose is to take care of their children, so this person does not really meet the requirements.

"No problem, you go back and wait for news, I'll go find the stationmaster now."

Zheng Jiming stood up. The new team member was stunned for a moment and bowed deeply: "Thank you, thank you, team leader."

The Military Intelligence Department is a secret service unit. He was very scared when he was selected. Before that, he did not work in the unit, but was just an accountant in a small hotel.

The innkeeper was very harsh on him and his salary was not high.

But he was really good at accounting. The reason I knew him was because I had requisitioned this hotel when I was working on a case before and had seen his accounting skills.

"Check it out. If he's telling the truth, you can give it to him."

After listening to what Zheng Jiming said, Xu Qingyun nodded immediately. This was not a big deal. When the policy was formulated before, the condition of having children was added to prevent everyone from taking advantage.

As it stands now, there are still loopholes in the system. If you are the only one at home and your parents are unable to work and have difficulty in life, you can give it to them.

"I thank you for him."

Zheng Jiming said happily, Xu Qingyun smiled and shook his head: "You don't need to report this kind of thing to me in the future. Since you are responsible for the review, you can make the decision yourself. There are such people in other groups. As long as it is really difficult, you can apply through them."

Xu Qingyun knows Zheng Jiming well enough to know that he will not use this power to enrich himself.

"Okay, thank you, Station Master."

Zheng Jiming nodded, understanding that this was Xu Qingyun's trust in him.

"Thank you, thank you, Team Leader. Thank you so much."

When the new team member got the news, he was so excited that he almost cried. People say that the secret service department is dark, but it seems that it is not entirely true. The Wuhan Station of the Military Intelligence Department is pretty good and the people here are very positive.

He already knew the assessment system. Although he had just arrived, he also wanted to do his job well and strive to get a bonus.

If he took more, his father's life would be better in the future, and he could even get married.

With this extra meal, my father can finally eat his fill and eat well.

The food at Wuhan Station is very good, better than what many families eat. They can only eat such delicious food during the Chinese New Year.

After his story spread, several more people came to Zheng Jiming to apply.

Zheng Jiming visited them personally and investigated their situations. If they were truly in difficulty, he would ask the canteen to prepare an extra portion for them. It was just one portion of rice, nothing serious.

Three people were approved again.

The canteen is the busiest place in Wuhan Station nowadays, especially for the new members of the action team, who look forward to going to the canteen for meals every day.

At first they were also depressed when they knew they were going to the secret service's operations department.

Although there are dangers in the military, being a spy is not only dangerous but also has a worse reputation. As a result, no one wants to leave after arriving.

The food alone is much better than what they had in the army.

"Stationmaster, there's a call from headquarters."

Fang Gaoyuan brought the new telegram to Xu Qingyun's office. Zhao San was not there. The intelligence team was investigating clues and trying to find all the Japanese spies lurking in Wuhan.

Zhao San is very active. He is more familiar with Wuhan and is busy outside with his people.

"Put it here. I'll take a look at it later."

Xu Qingyun sent Fang Gaoyuan away and picked up the telegram after a while.

"Legal currency?"

After reading the telegram, Xu Qingyun shook his head slightly. The headquarters sent telegrams to all branches, announcing that the Fruit Party had issued paper money, asking them to monitor public opinion, check for hidden dangers, and prohibit anyone from causing trouble. If any signs were found, they must be dealt with in advance.

The Kuomintang wants to use paper money to forcibly exchange the people's dollars.

One dollar of the newly issued legal tender is equivalent to one dollar, so the purchasing power is still sufficient.

The people above were worried that ordinary people would be unwilling to use paper money, or that someone would take the opportunity to cause trouble, so not only the Military Intelligence Department but also the Party Affairs Investigation Department received orders.

Ensure the smooth issuance of legal tender.

"Yan Ming, come to my office."

Yan Ming was at the station, and Xu Qingyun called Lu Gaowa at the same time, and they both went to the office together.

"Headquarters has issued an order that the party has issued paper money, called legal tender. To ensure the smooth implementation of legal tender, we must monitor the thoughts of the people in Wuhan. If there are any rioters, they will be severely punished."

The orders from headquarters need to be carried out, and this thing must be done.

Yan Ming is the main one and Lu Gaowa is the auxiliary one.

The two groups work together to maintain the issuance of legal tender.

"Yes."

The two of them took the order together, and were not surprised by this.

A few months ago, Hou Yigong mentioned the issue of paper money to Xu Qingyun. During this period, the news had spread among the people and many people knew that paper money would be released soon.

Many people are indeed worried that a piece of thin paper cannot be compared to real gold and silver to make people feel at ease. But this time, the higher authorities issued a strong order to encourage the people to take out the gold bars in their hands and exchange them for legal tender. At the same time, all government departments and the military were required to use legal tender in the future.

Including their military intelligence department.

They will definitely have to take out some money to exchange, but not many people will actually exchange it.

Xu Qingyun is not stupid and will not exchange all his money into legal currency.

However, the legal tender was okay at the beginning, and the people accepted it quickly. The legal tender remained strong for a while. Although its purchasing power was weaker than that of the ocean, it was not too much less.

Once the all-out war breaks out, the legal currency will become a tool for the Kuomintang to reap wealth, and it will depreciate all the way until it becomes unbearable to look at.

Even to eat noodles, you had to bring several bundles of legal tender, so that in the end the Communist Party had to completely abolish this currency that had been used for more than ten years.

After assigning the task to them, Xu Qingyun did not ask any more questions.

He cannot stop the promotion of legal currency and will not waste too much time on it.

“Fiat currency, what is fiat currency?”

The news of the issuance of legal currency was finally made public. Notices were posted in various places and many people flocked to read the notices.

“It’s paper money.”

One person explained to him, and the person who asked the question before was still confused: "Hasn't there always been paper money?"

There are indeed some paper money in the private sector, but there are not many nationwide. Paper money is easy to carry and light, especially for small change, which makes it more comfortable to use.

"This time it's unified, the whole country uses the same currency."

The people around him continued to explain to him that many people did not understand, but they heard that they had to use dollars to exchange for paper money, and that the exchange must be made. From now on, only legal currency would be allowed in the market, and dollars were not allowed.

Many people were immediately unhappy and started cursing. Some smart people ran back home and hid the dollars to avoid forced exchange by the Fruit Party.

"Stationmaster, I think this is an opportunity."

In the Party Affairs Investigation Department, the intelligence team leader Meng Dahe came to the office and said to the station chief Ji Ancai with a smile.

"what chance?"

"Think about it, if we exchange our silver dollars for legal tender, there will definitely be many people who are not happy about it. They will secretly hide their silver dollars. I will find a few fat sheep, keep an eye on them, and when the time is right, we will raid their homes and say that they are opposing the Party's policies, hoarding and using silver dollars privately. When the time comes, they can just hand over some of the silver dollars, and the rest will be ours, right?"

Ji Ancai's eyes suddenly lit up, it was indeed a good idea.

Ji Ancai is greedy for money. He will never give up any way to make more money, especially when the reason is so good this time.

Not to mention the common people, even he would not exchange all the dollars into legal tender.

Who knows what legal currency will look like in the future?

If you really want to exchange, gold bars are the most suitable.

Pounds or dollars are fine, as many people have confidence in the new currency.

"Okay, do it right away, and don't look for someone with a strong background."

Ji Ancai agreed. He could imagine that many people in the society would secretly hoard large amounts of money. He would not offend high-ranking officials, but would instead look for those who had no background.

As for ordinary people, they won’t look for it either.

How much money do these ordinary people have? If you want money, just find rich people to get it.

A group of people in the city of Wuhan are bound to suffer.

At the Wuhan station, many people from the intelligence team and the action team went out, and Xu Qingyun also saw the first legal currency.

The printing is quite good, very beautiful.

"Webmaster, if we really send this thing out in the future, it won't be as good as the ocean anyway."

The new money was sent by Zheng Jiming. They had to exchange it, otherwise they would not be able to buy things in the market in the future. Today he went out of his way to exchange it for one thousand French francs.

"This is the party's policy and must be implemented."

Xu Qingyun kept a few of them. He would need them for more than ten years, but he would not keep the legal tender in his hands forever. He would have to exchange them for US dollars or gold in the future.

These two things are the most valuable.

His business is good. Ma Xiangshun is still in Chongqing. The store there has already opened, and he is continuing to purchase properties.

He bought a lot in the early stage, and the housing prices in Chongqing even went up a bit because of his massive purchases.

Following Xu Qingyun's instructions, Xu Fuzhong used the business bank as collateral and borrowed some money from the bank, which he also sent to Ma Xiangshun to continue purchasing houses and land. Xu Qingyun is now a big landlord with many houses and land in Chongqing.

Ma Xiangshun built houses on some of the land and kept them temporarily, neither renting them out nor selling them.

He had no idea why the young master did this. He was simply following Xu Qingyun's orders.

The issuance of legal tender by the Guo Party has one benefit for Xu Qingyun.

It is easier to get loans with legal tender, and banks really need to lend money now. Ma Xiangshun received a telegram from Xu Qingyun and went directly to banks in Chongqing to get loans. He would take as much as they were willing to give.

You can use your property in Chongqing as collateral and then buy a house.

In Nanjing, the director was in his office with a gloomy face.

After the notice of issuing legal tender was issued, few people went to exchange it even in Nanjing, let alone other places.

He knew best how much the old man valued legal tender.

More people must be mobilized.

It is difficult to arrest people now because the deadline has not arrived yet. Once the deadline arrives and those who do not exchange the money are reached, we will forcibly confiscate the money in their hands.

The international silver price has been rising, and several large families are trying to collect silver in exchange for foreign exchange.

If the party doesn’t collect the money from the people, where will the money come from?
They could exchange paper money for dollars and buy a lot of weapons and equipment. By then, the Red Party would be destroyed in no time. With money, they would have the foundation to fight the Japanese and even take back the Northeast.

It’s not that the old man doesn’t want to take back the Northeast, he just doesn’t dare.

But if he really had the confidence to fight against the Japanese, he would definitely do so.

I have to say, the ideas are all very nice.

If the party is in its present state, the confiscated silver will fall into private hands and will be of no help to the country at all.

Wuhan, Japanese Concession.

"Mr. Tsukino."

A man knelt on the floor and bowed respectfully to the person in front of him.

"I asked you to come back because I got an order from the chief section chief to find a way to get rid of Xu Qingyun."

Tsukino is forty years old, a little older. He is the head of intelligence for the Japanese Special High Police in Wuhan. After learning that Xu Qingyun had arrived in Wuhan, Tsuchihara gave an order to Wuhan, asking all intelligence personnel to lie dormant.

Unfortunately, he was still a step too slow, and the entire group was wiped out.

Tu Yuan finally realized how powerful Xu Qingyun was.

"Yes."

The man took the order. He was not an intelligence agent, but he was an operative and very skilled.

Assassination is his forte.

He knew who Xu Qingyun was, the chief of the Wuhan Station of the Military Intelligence Department, and a very powerful Chinese agent.

He feels more accomplished when killing people like this.

"The Chinese are promoting a new currency. The Military Intelligence Department must monitor all places. Xu Qingyun's protection is at its weakest right now. Remember, you must kill him with one strike. Don't give him any chance to react. After killing him, return to the Japanese Concession immediately. I will find a way to get you out."

Tsukino continued to give orders. The man in front of him was an expert in action, who had fought with the best expert in Japan before. Even though he failed, he held on for a long time.

His marksmanship is also excellent.

"Understood, sir, rest assured, I promise to complete the task."

"Go."

Tsukino nodded, and the man stood up. He was wearing a kimono and wooden clogs. In the Japanese Concession, most people dressed like this.

Dressing like this will make them more confident.

The issuance of legal tender made Tsuchihara realize the opportunity. The Military Intelligence Department would definitely receive the task and most of the people would be sent out.

This is their chance, otherwise Xu Qingyun would have been at Wuhan Station all along. There are so many action or intelligence team members in the station, and his people are very active.

"Secretary Yuan, the Guo Party forcibly issued banknotes."

On the other side, Guo Shisheng was meeting with Secretary Yuan. He had already dealt with Fu Wenzheng's issue. Fu Wenzheng received his signal and lay low for the time being.

Fu Wenzhen understood that the organization was doing this for his own good, and that the current intelligence from the Military Intelligence Department was not what they needed. In addition, Xu Qingyun had already demonstrated extraordinary means, so his safety became the top priority.

But if there is an emergency, he will take action, such as if their comrades are exposed.

"I already know that they want to force the people to exchange their currency. I am worried that some people will be harmed by them."

Secretary Yuan sighed. The Communist Party could issue paper money, but they had to confiscate the silver from the people.

He could imagine that many people would be unwilling to exchange their money, and would eventually have their dollars forcibly taken away from them, and would not even be able to exchange them for paper money.

"This is bound to happen. Just look at what they do on a daily basis."

Guo Shisheng said angrily that he didn't know how many people would suffer this time. This was how the Guo Party was, and they always put their own interests first.

"I hope the legal currency can be stable. If the money in people's hands is exchanged and the legal currency cannot be maintained, it will be a disaster for the whole country."

Secretary Yuan is the secretary after all; he sees more issues and looks further ahead.

At present, many people in the market have begun to exchange dollars for other things, such as food, cloth and other necessities.

Some people even melted down their dollars and made them into silver jewelry to avoid having their money forcibly confiscated.

The people do not trust the legal currency, and given the nature of the Communist Party, it is almost impossible to prevent the legal currency from depreciating.

"Secretary Yuan, if the Guo Party is unpopular, is there anything we can do?"

Guo Shisheng asked quietly, and Secretary Yuan immediately shook his head: "No, this is an extraordinary period. The spies from the Party Affairs Investigation Department and the Military Intelligence Department must be watching us. Our people cannot make any unusual moves."

The Kuomintang regards them as its biggest enemy and will certainly eliminate them first. Anything done at this time may be discovered by the spies.

"I understand."

Guo Shisheng was just mentioning it. He also knew that it was very dangerous now, but this was a good opportunity. If they could let go, they would definitely be able to win over a lot of like-minded people.

"I will inform our people to try to exchange some French currency first and keep a few dollars for emergency use."

Secretary Yuan said slowly that if they did not exchange the money, they would definitely be caught and the losses would be greater. If they exchanged part of it, they would have the exchange certificate and could avoid it this time.

It depends on how many smart people there are. They will exchange some first and never leave it at all.

Otherwise it would be giving opportunities to the evil people.

The bad guys are not just spies, there are also a large number of police and security personnel.

(End of this chapter)