Ninety-Two, Reconsideration

In the leadership compound in Zhongnanhai, in the same conference room where the question of Wei Hua’s cooperation with the army had been discussed before, a group of people was holding a meeting. Today there were fewer of them than last time, and the vast majority were military generals in uniform. Only one or two were government officials. The Second-Generation Leader sat at one end of the conference table, looking at the assembled senior generals, most of them already advanced in years, and asked:

“The cause and course of events are already clear to you. What I want to ask now is this: what do you think? Should this plan go ahead? Should Wei Hua carry it out, or should we take it over ourselves? And if we are to assume responsibility for it in place of Wei Hua, what problems need to be resolved?”

“Our view is that the plan must be carried out. The purpose of founding New China was to make the Chinese nation stand up. Are these overseas Chinese in Indonesia not our own compatriots? Back then, during the War of Resistance Against Japan, these Chinese compatriots, together with our Indonesian compatriots, donated money and supplies to support the war effort. How many children of overseas Chinese returned home to join the resistance? How many of them sacrificed their lives? Have we all forgotten? Can we forget this and tell the families of those overseas Chinese who died in Indonesia that we cannot look after their loved ones? At that time we had no ability, and now we have no chance of sending troops directly. But this plan is feasible!” said one of the generals.

“We believe Wei Hua’s general plan is sound. It would be difficult to carry it out on our own; we can cooperate with Wei Hua. The sailors he needs, in our view, can be provided. I think the reason he wants these sailors is to have our own men crew the cargo ships and secretly transport members of the resistance organizations. If all the sailors are our own Chinese, then secrecy will be much greater. Our idea is to draw a group of soldiers from the navy, have them retire, and assign them to China Ocean Shipping Company, then sell both the men and the ships to Wei Hua. Wei Hua recently bought quite a few ships from the Greek female ship magnate, and the crews aboard those ships all work for him now. We can do the same, and it will not draw attention from anyone else. In that way, the transportation problem can be solved.”

“As for the training camps, Wei Hua’s idea is better. We cannot place the camps inside the country, nor can we let the resistance organizations know that it is we who support them. That way, if the operation is exposed, we avoid diplomatic disadvantage. So we should follow Wei Hua’s idea and establish the camps somewhere in Central Africa. Aren’t there our aid projects there? We can use the pretext of foreign aid to build them in remote places. There should be no problem. And since the members of the resistance organizations are all Chinese, with our aid workers as cover, they will not be easy to expose. As for the trainers, of course they should come from our military. As for weapons, we think it would still be best to have Wei Hua buy them on the black market. To be honest, our equipment is inferior to that of the Americans, the Germans, and the Soviets. The people in the resistance organizations are already in great danger, so their equipment should be the best,” said another general, laying out the military’s general view.

“Wei Hua, this young man, is indeed remarkable. At least on the question of national righteousness, he is worth our learning from and praising. I also believe this plan must be carried out. Let your General Staff refine it and take responsibility for implementing it. Send two people to Wei Hua’s side to handle the liaison between Wei Hua and you, as well as directing the plan’s progress. Once our people are at Wei Hua’s side, pay attention: Wei Hua must have many things he does not want us to know. Do not investigate matters that have nothing to do with us.”

The Second-Generation Leader’s words settled it: Indonesia would have hard days ahead.

A week later, Bai Jianjun returned to Hong Kong. After arriving, he hurried to Wei Hua’s home at Repulse Bay and found him there, saying breathlessly:

“Your plan has been approved by the higher-ups! The detailed arrangements will be handled by someone else who will contact you separately. This operation will be carried out jointly by you and the domestic military. The higher-ups are sending two people to take charge of it. Isn’t your company recruiting worldwide? Add two more positions: one as your personal secretary, one as your driver. You’re a rich man now—driving yourself everywhere is hardly dignified. And you don’t even have a personal secretary; you should have one by now. These are their names.”

Bai Jianjun handed Wei Hua a slip of paper. On it, the driver’s name was Ding Peng, and the personal secretary’s name was He Xiaoya.

“Why are you sending two people to my side? To keep watch over me?” Wei Hua asked.

“Not to monitor you. They’ll be there to help you carry out the plan. After all, in an operation like this, you’re an outsider; they’re the real professionals. That way you can focus on your own work. Also, in a couple of days, the mainland ocean shipping company will come to talk to you about a deal. They’ll be selling you two cargo ships at a very low price, so don’t miss it. Take the crews as well, but the salaries must be the same as those of foreign sailors!”

Wei Hua knew this was the mainland’s crew.

Sure enough, not many days later, Deep Blue Ocean Shipping Company bought two cargo ships from China Ocean Company, and the crews were also hired by Deep Blue Ocean Shipping Company. Ding Peng and He Xiaoya appeared beside Wei Hua as driver and personal secretary, respectively. They had been recruited through the company’s hiring process, and their identities were fully capable of passing scrutiny from all sides. No one knew they were special personnel from the mainland military. With the support of the mainland military, Wei Hua’s plan began to move much faster.

On April 20, Wei Hua took He Xiaoya and flew to Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia. After getting into A Liang’s car, Wei Hua introduced her to him:

“A Liang, this is Miss He Xiaoya. She is now my personal secretary. If you have any issues here in the future, you can contact her directly.”

“Hello, Miss He! Very pleased to meet you! I’m Ge Liang—you can call me A Liang,” A Liang said in self-introduction to He Xiaoya.

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