Black Flag Army

Three days later, Tian Mengxue and Li Laoshi found Di Xiong. Tian Mengxue said to Di Xiong with a sad face, "Brother Xiong! You are making it too difficult for me. I can't recruit any female students at all! The male students are very enthusiastic about signing up. We can recruit 15 students by picking one out of a hundred. But we can barely recruit three female students, and they are all prostitutes. We need to pay a large sum of money to redeem them first. Their qualifications are not very good."

Li said honestly, "It's mainly because everyone says that female intelligence agents who infiltrate the enemy have to sacrifice their beauty in exchange for intelligence. Good women definitely don't want to do this. Some poor refugees would rather work as laborers in factories than become trainees. This leaves very few people to choose from. Female trainees have to be loyal to the Justice Party, not afraid of death, and smart and beautiful. It's really hard."

Di Xiong thought of the invincible KGB Yan Zi and the American FBI female agent who used their beauty to exchange for intelligence. The same was true for the Military and Central Intelligence Bureau. He said: "This is not a legend, it is true. Compared with male intelligence agents, female intelligence agents have to give up their reputation and dignity and pay a huge price. However, there must be brave men under great rewards. You should issue a notice that any woman who registers for the intelligence school and passes the test can get a resettlement allowance of 300 yuan on the spot, and a salary of 30 yuan every month in the future. If she dies behind enemy lines, her family will be supported by the Justice Party. The elderly will be supported until the end of their lives, and the children will be supported until they are 18 years old and arranged a job."

Tian Mengxue opened her eyes wide: "Brother Xiong, you are too generous. Three hundred dollars can buy thirty young women at the refugee population market outside the east gate."

Li said honestly: "It would cost a lot to support the family members until the end of their lives! It's a pity that I'm not a woman, otherwise I would be the first to sign up."

Everyone laughed at this.

After the new recruitment notice was posted, it indeed caused a huge sensation among the Beihai Company and the more than ten factory employees under it. Many young women, despite their family's opposition, rushed to the registration office to sign up like crazy. The crowds of thousands of people caused a stampede, and more than a dozen people were injured. Of course, most of them failed the assessment.

"Next!"

The interviewer, Tian Mengxue, interviewed many people and said tiredly,

The next person to come in was Bian Zhimei. Tian Mengxue said coldly, "Why is it you? Aren't you a good cleaner? Are you also interested in the three hundred dollars?"

Bian Zhimei said: "My husband passed away, my parents are old and sick, and my two children are three and five years old. They all depend on my salary to live. The monthly salary of a cleaner is 300 copper coins, which is indeed higher than other companies, but it is not enough for me! A family of five can barely eat enough. If they get sick, they have no money to see a doctor and can only borrow money from everywhere. So I hope the interviewer can give me this opportunity."

Li Laoshi, who was always honest, suddenly said coldly: "If you don't have money, you can cheat. Anyway, you have cheated before."

Bian Zhimei was surprised to see Li Laoshi also sitting in the interviewer's seat, but then she put away her panic expression and said with a smile: "Brother Li is here too. I hope you can forgive me for my mistakes in the past."

Leng Hanbing, who was also sitting in the interviewer's seat, asked, "I remember when we were in Nankou Town, Yuan Baimao came to Nankou Town to cause trouble. As soon as he entered the company, he saw you, called out your name on the spot, and agreed to exchange you for 50,000 yuan. How did you two meet?"

Leng Hanbing sits here as the chief of the inspection department to prevent enemy spies from sneaking in.

Bian Zhimei blushed and replied, "After I was taken over by Yokota Ichiro, he not only abused my body, but also forced me to serve his guests. His guests included many officials from Changping County. Yuan Baimao, as the police chief of Changping County, was also one of Yokota Ichiro's guests."

After the interview, Tian Mengxue asked Li Laoshi: "Do you know Bian Zhimei? Have you ever been cheated of money by her?"

Li Laoshi nodded and said, "Six years ago, she was introduced to me and got engaged. She asked me for a hundred yuan in the name of a dowry, but a few days later she ran to Yanshan Town to marry Jin Xiaoshun. I asked her for money, but she said that she had spent it all on her mother's medical treatment and had no money to pay back. She also said that she definitely didn't have any money, and if you wanted to kill me, just use your strength. A hundred yuan may not seem like a lot now, but at that time I was pulling a rickshaw and my income was very low. This was the hundred yuan I saved after pulling a rickshaw for more than ten years. Without this money for marriage, I couldn't marry a woman. I am now forty-five years old and still a bachelor."

Tian Mengxue said angrily, "Isn't this a scoundrel? She is such a piece of shit. One hundred dollars is a huge sum of money now. I felt sorry for her when I heard about her tragic experience, but now it seems that she deserves it. Such a woman must not be admitted to the intelligence school."

Leng Hanbing said: "But she performed the best in all the tests. There is a kind of woman who is born to act. Bian Zhimei is such a woman, and being able to act according to circumstances is precisely one of the most important conditions for an intelligence agent."

Li said honestly: "I will not sacrifice public interest for personal gain. If you think she is suitable to be an intelligence officer, I will not object to accepting her as a trainee."

Tian Mengxue said: "It's really a dilemma. Forget it. I don't want to worry about this anymore. Let's leave it to Mr. Di to decide."

Tian Mengxue reported the interview and test situation to Di Xiong, then handed him three documents and said, "These are the materials of the three female students who passed the test, namely Bian Zhimei, Xian Yuji, and Cha Jingfeng. The others failed."

Di Xiong said, "Aren't they exactly the 'Three Phoenixes of Changping'? It seems that a person's name can be called wrong, but the nickname cannot be called wrong. The 'Three Phoenixes of Changping' are indeed worthy of their reputation. Being selected from thousands of candidates is a manifestation of strength. Let them enter the intelligence training school. The vacancies of other students can only be filled from male students."

Li said honestly: "Including the three prostitutes from the previous brothel, there are a total of six female students and twenty-four male students. There are too many wolves and too little meat."

Tian Mengxue said: "This Bian Zhimei cheated Li Laoshi of his money. Can such an immoral person be used?"

Di Xiong laughed and said, "She can cheat people out of their money, which is a skill. In other industries, you may need to be ethical, but spying is the most unethical thing."

Di Xiong asked again: "Isn't this Cha Jingfeng the mistress of Kawashima Naniwa? Why did she appear in Baotou? Could she be a spy for the Japanese?"

Tian Mengxue said: "Cha Jingfeng was also forced to be Kawashima Naniwa's mistress. Because she was trained as a spy by Kawashima Naniwa, she knows a lot about espionage and can speak fluent Japanese. More than two months ago, when Liu Zhendong led his men to attack the Ghost Shadow Gang headquarters, it was under her guidance that they opened the hidden safe, took out a large sum of money, and captured more than a dozen beautiful Japanese geishas. These geishas were knocked unconscious and taken to Baotou, and then placed in the newly established massage center. Now they are helping us make a lot of money every day. Because Yokota Sakurako is also Kawashima Naniwa's mistress, Kawashima Naniwa has a lot of money and property stored in the Ghost Shadow Gang headquarters. Cha Jingfeng was taking things for Kawashima Naniwa at the time, but she was also caught by Liu Zhendong."

It was the anniversary of Li Laoshi's father's death. After get off work, Li Laoshi bought some offerings at the incense and candle shop on the commercial street outside the north gate of Baotou. When he returned to his two-bedroom, one-living-room apartment, he had just put down the offerings when someone knocked on the door.

When Li Laoshi opened the door, he saw Bian Zhimei with a smile on her face. Bian Zhimei was wearing a bright pink coat, with white powder and lipstick on her face. Although the cosmetics she used were of inferior quality, she was a beautiful woman, and she looked even more attractive when dressed like this.

Li Laoshi guessed her intention and said coldly, "How dare you come to me? Don't you know? I have been wanting to kill you for the past six years."

Without Li Laoshi's consent, Bian Zhimei entered the room without hesitation, quickly closed the door, and fastened the bolt. Then she said to Li Laoshi with a smile: "I know you want to kill me, so you came to my door today, and I didn't tell anyone before I came. You can kill me now and bury the body, and no one will know."

Li Laoshi said coldly: "Why should I bury the body? I also want to use your heart and liver as a drink. Today is my father's memorial day. He was seriously ill that year. You cheated me of all my property and I had no money to treat his illness. He died of pain. Do you think you should kill me?"

Bian Zhimei put away her smile and said with a sad face: "I'm sorry, I didn't know that there would be such serious consequences at that time. Not only should I be killed, but I should be cut into pieces. It's only right that you dig out my heart and liver to eat with your wine."

Li said honestly: "Since you said so yourself, then I will really dig out your heart and liver. It will be a good opportunity to offer an extra sacrifice in front of my father's spirit tablet."

Li Laoshi dragged Bian Zhimei to the altar where the spirit tablet was placed, tied her to a pillar with a rope, took out a sharp knife and put it on his mouth, then unbuttoned Bian Zhimei's clothes, revealing her snow-white chest, and found a towel, ready to cover her mouth.

Seeing that he was really going to do it, Bian Zhimei couldn't help but get nervous and said quickly: "Wait a moment, I have something to say."

Li Laoshi took off the sharp knife from his mouth and said, "If you have any last words, just say them out."

Bian Zhimei asked: "Do you have a wife now?"

Li said honestly: "You cheated me of all my money back then. How could I afford to marry a wife? I'm still single now."

Bian Zhimei said, "Don't you think it's a pity to kill me like this? If you don't mind my dirty body, I can be your mistress and you can kill me when you are tired of playing with me, okay? I owe you my life first. After I enter the intelligence school and complete half a year of study, I will go to Outer Mongolia to make some contributions to the Justice Party. You can let me live for one more year at most, and then you can kill me, okay?"

Li said honestly: "I understand that you want to go to school for three hundred dollars, but why do you have to make contributions to the Justice Party before dying? Are you loyal to the Justice Party? Do you understand the Justice Party?"

Bian Zhimei said: "I know that I have committed serious sins, but if I die now, my parents and children will have no one to take care of them. If I make some contributions to the Justice Party, according to the regulations in the enrollment notice, my parents and children will be raised by the nursing home and orphanage run by the Justice Party after my death, and I can die with peace of mind."

Li said honestly, "You are indeed a scheming woman. When you came today, I knew you wanted to use my backdoor to get into the intelligence school and use the honey trap to deal with me. If you become my mistress as you said, I will sleep with you more often and fall in love with you over time. Maybe I won't be willing to kill you. You are a spy behind the enemy lines in Outer Mongolia, and you are in danger of death. Maybe I won't have the chance to kill you, and you will be killed by the enemy."

He took out a silver dollar and said to Bian Zhimei, "Your life or death will be decided by my father's spirit in heaven! I will put it on the ground and spin it. When it stops, if it is heads, I will do as you say. If it is tails, it means my father's spirit in heaven will not forgive you, so I will kill you now."

The silver dollar started spinning on the ground. Bian Zhimei stared at it, her face covered in sweat from nervousness. She only breathed a sigh of relief when it fell face up on the ground.

Li Laoshi untied her ropes, wiped the sweat off her face with a towel and said, "So you are afraid of death too! Just now I heard you talking about death without fear, I thought you were not afraid of death."

Bian Zhimei smiled and said, "Who would choose death if they could live? I knew from the beginning that you were a good person and you would not be willing to kill me."

Li Laoshi suddenly hugged her tightly in his arms, walked to the bedside, and said, "Since you are here today, I will definitely not let you go. This doesn't count as taking advantage of a beauty, right?"

Bian Zhimei smiled and said, "Of course not. I volunteered to come here to atone for my sins. You can ride on it and gallop around as you like."

...After the incident, Bian Zhimei woke up from her coma and opened her eyes. She saw that it was already dark. Li Laoshi got dressed very tiredly and got out of bed. He said to her, "You have been admitted to the school. You can register tomorrow."

Bian Zhimei said: "Thank you, I know you must have spoken well of me to the top leaders of the Justice Party, because I don't even know the others."

Li Laoshi lit a cigarette and asked, "Why did you choose Jin Xiaoshun? At that time, he was just a repairman in a textile factory, and his income was not higher than mine."

Bian Zhimei said, "I told you not to be angry. After all, you were 39 years old at the time, and Jin Xiaoshun was only in his twenties, younger and more handsome than you. Of course, this was also your luck, otherwise it would not be him but you who would be killed by the Japanese. Of course, I was only 18 years old at the time, and I was ignorant. I did not expect you to achieve what you have today, so I was willing to be your mistress."

Li said honestly, "You were not seen by others when you came, right? As a school instructor, it's not good to be with a female student, so try not to let anyone know."

Bian Zhimei said: "I wore a mask when I came here, and I took it off when I got to the door, so no one would see it. I know this is a secret and I won't let anyone know."

Some people in later generations listed the beauty trap as the first of the Thirty-Six Strategies, because many men could not resist the temptation of beauty even if they saw through the beauty trap. Li Laoshi is a typical example.