Yesterday we said that although Sorge already knew that Zhang Chong was in charge of the "Niulan case" after many inquiries, the experienced Sorge believed that Zhang Chongkou said that there was no basis for it, and it was necessary to come up with real evidence. This evidence is to let Zhang Chong hand over a note written by Niu Lan from the prison to prove that Niu Lan is indeed in Nanjing.
Sorge
Why did Sorge make such a request? Of course, Sorge knew that this matter was not easy, as a high-ranking official of the Kuomintang secret service, Zhang Chong was quite trusted by Chiang Kai-shek, and he was also the director of the Niulan case. If you leak the news of the Niulan couple, and do not say anything else, the indirect responsibility will definitely not run away. But Sorge believes that only by letting Zhang Chong hand over a note written by NiuLan himself can he prove that Niulan and his wife are indeed in Nanjing. With this conclusive evidence, the Comintern was able to launch anti-Chiang Kai-shek protests. Otherwise, it would not be possible to strike at the key points of the Nationalist government, and Chiang Kai-shek might even secretly execute Niu Lan and his wife, and then declare to the outside world that he did not know Niu Lan and his wife at all. So, will Zhang Chong hand over such a piece of common evidence of guilt to Sorge's hands?
Zhang Chong
In order to find the whereabouts of niu lan and his wife, Sorge's intelligence team coincidentally found Zhang Chong, director general of the investigation section of the Organization Department of the Kuomintang Central Committee. Not only did he reveal to Sorge that the Niulans were indeed imprisoned in Nanjing, but he happened to be in charge. But in order to confirm the truth of the news, Sorge sent a message to Zhang Chong and asked him to bring out a note written by Niu Lan from prison to prove his claim. Just when everyone thought that Zhang Chong absolutely could not risk killing his head for the sake of his fellow countrymen's friendship and handing over such a voucher to the Communist Party, a few days later, a news came that surprised everyone, and Zhang Chong agreed to do so. However, he also has a condition, what condition?
In his reply to Sorge, Zhang Chong said that the handwriting can be sent at a cost of thirty thousand US dollars. In other words, Sorge would have to pay thirty thousand dollars to get the note from Niulan. Thirty thousand dollars, which was an astronomical amount at the time. This amount was equivalent to the entire salary of an ordinary worker who had worked for more than sixty years at that time, and the total amount allocated by the Comintern to the CCP every month for its activities was only twenty-five thousand us dollars. So, should you spend such a large sum of money to change a note? This sparked a heated debate within the intelligence group.
Mr. and Mrs. Cowlan
Some people believe that Zhang Chong's demand is clearly intended to take advantage of the opportunity to extort. He said he could get a note, but who could pack a ticket? It is not impossible to get money and send a fake note. Moreover, if he is really the supervisor of the NiuLan case, perhaps this is just a trap set by the Kuomintang agents, hoping to use this to smooth the vine and sweep us away.
But some people also say that if we do not pay this money, we will lose a perfect opportunity to rescue the Niulan couple, and if the Niulan couple dies because of the loss of thirty thousand dollars, it will bring irreparable losses to the Far East Bureau of the Communist International.
After some careful consideration, Sorge decided that the money should come out. The reason why Zhang Chong did not refuse his request shows that he intends to maintain certain contacts with the Communist Party, and as a senior official of the Kuomintang secret service, he should not risk his future for tens of thousands of dollars.
In order to reassure everyone, Sorge said another idea. He believes that there may be another reason why Zhang Chong proposed such a high price tag, that is, he also wants to find out who he is dealing with.
Finally, Sorge told the comrades in the intelligence group: Is money important, or is the life of the Niulan couple important? You can't get evidence without money, you can't get evidence without risking, and political transactions can't be calculated with money. If Zhang Chong took the money and sent the note, then we had both Niu Lan's note and the equivalent of bribing Zhang Chong and making him our intelligence officer.
Shanghai in the 1930s
Listening to Sorge's analysis, the members of the intelligence team finally agreed to buy the note. So Zorg immediately reported to the Moscow headquarters and demanded that thirty thousand dollars be sent as a special fund for the rescue of niulan and his wife.
Subsequently, the Moscow headquarters approved Sorge's request, but considering the huge amount of money, it was very unsafe to send money through the bank, so the Comintern made double insurance, sent two old German Communists as traffic officers, each carrying 20,000 US dollars, from Siberia to Harbin, and then from Dalian to Shanghai by boat. In the end, the funds were smoothly transferred to Sorge's hands.
What's next for Sorge? Can the Niu Lan couple be rescued as a result? Please continue to pay attention to tomorrow's "Hubei Satellite TV Big Reveal" headline number.