Six people came down from the teleportation array in Suero City. The first two were Bai Yicheng, who was promoted to the second vice chairman of the committee not long ago, and Jiang Yitian, the deputy director of the Intelligence Department. He was in his early thirties, with a strong body and a neat aura in his every move. He was obviously a very efficient person. Like Peng Ziyi, the director of the Intelligence Department, he was a young and promising person. This time, because Peng Ziyi took on the responsibility of monitoring the imperial invaders, the work of internal investigation was handed over to him. The remaining four were also from the Intelligence Department's Operations Bureau, led by Tang Feng, who is now the director of the Intelligence Department's Operations Bureau. This was exactly the committee investigation team mentioned by Wang Jiyuan.
The news of the loss of Hei Mu Pass and the defeat of the guards spread to Hewan New City, causing an uproar. The committee considered that a thorough investigation should be conducted to avoid possible greater losses. Therefore, a special investigation team was established within a few days. The members of the investigation team were all elites of the intelligence team, and the team leader was the mature and steady Bai Yicheng.
Going to a frontline city to investigate such a sensitive incident would undoubtedly touch the nerves of many parties involved. Therefore, the committee members believed that although Bai Yicheng, who was experienced and popular, was not good at investigation and intelligence work, his qualifications and status could reduce a lot of friction. Moreover, he seemed to be a centrist with basically no faction, and was an acceptable candidate for all parties.
"Team Leader Bai, what do you think our first step should be?" Jiang Yitian asked.
"Of course, I'm going to meet Wang Jiyuan. This is his piece of land." Bai Yicheng said.
Wang Jiyuan attached great importance to the investigation team. When he learned that they were coming, he put aside his other work and met with them in the meeting room of the Provisional Government.
"Teacher Bai, I've finally waited for you." Wang Jiyuan stepped forward and extended his hand.
"Commander Wang, it was not easy for you this time." Bai Yicheng said, holding his hand tightly.
Wang Jiyuan led the group to sit down, and then said: "This is my dereliction of duty, and it is also a shame for the guards. We did not expect the enemy to be so powerful, and we gave them an opportunity to take advantage of us. The loss is really too great."
Wang Jiyuan's voice sounded very sad, and the people in the investigation team also felt heavy when they heard it.
"This incident has caused a huge response in Hewan New District. Now there is a sense of anxiety and anger from top to bottom. Just last night's memorial service, there was a fight and several troublemakers were taken to the police station," said Bai Yicheng.
"Fighting? Making trouble? Are we the time travelers?"
"Yes. A few people said some unpleasant things, so naturally there were people who protected you and refused to accept it, and then a fight broke out. You were all hot-blooded young people, and you must be feeling very anxious." Bai Yicheng said.
Wang Jiyuan looked down at the ground and said softly, "It's not their fault."
Bai Yicheng said: "In my opinion, the past two years have been too smooth. Many people have never suffered such a loss, and it is hard for them to accept it for a while. In addition, too many of our people have sacrificed. Have the specific numbers been determined now?"
Wang Jiyuan slowly said, "Twenty-six of our companions who traveled through time have died."
"There are two more people than last time we communicated!"
"Another one died last night. The rest of the wounded have been basically under control." Wang Jiyuan said, "These compatriots plus the local soldiers who joined later, the total number of casualties of the guards is more than 300."
These two figures caused everyone present to fall silent, and it seemed as if someone was whispering, "One-thirtieth."
Wang Jiyuan knew in his heart that this naturally refers to the proportion of sacrificed travelers to all travelers. This number has been tormenting him like a nightmare for the past two days. Many times when he woke up, he hoped that this was just a dream.
The room was silent for a while, and Jiang Yitian asked, "Commander Wang, what do you think of this matter now within the Guards?"
"There is no investigation result yet on this matter. I am afraid that giving opinions rashly may affect your investigation ideas. I don't want to mislead you for any reason." Wang Jiyuan said.
"There's no need to do this. I want to hear the real thoughts of the front-line staff." Jiang Yitian insisted.
Wang Jiyuan locked eyes with him for a few seconds and said, "We believe there is a traitor who is the one who helped the imperialists sneak in. After several calculations, it would be difficult for the imperialists to open the gate of Heimu Pass without internal cooperation.
"Are there any suspects?"
"Not yet. This is just a guess. There is no clue pointing to anyone."
"Then, Commander Wang, do you think it is more likely that the traitor came from our team, or from those people that Orgas left behind in Heimu Pass?" Jiang Yitian continued to ask.
Wang Jiyuan shook his head and said, "There are too few clues to say for sure."
Jiang Yitian rolled his eyes and looked directly at Wang Jiyuan and said, "Since there is no evidence of a traitor, is it possible that there was no traitor at all, but that the defense strategy arranged by those stationed at Heimu Pass was problematic, or that they did not respond properly, which ultimately led to the pass being breached by the enemy?"
Wang Jiyuan said calmly: "I can't simply summarize a war as a right strategy or a wrong strategy. The battlefield is a very complex environment, and you never know whether a certain response is the best choice.
What's more, our defense strategy this time was formulated by me long before we went to Suero. The main executors, the Second Regiment Commander Shi Hao and the Political Commissar Liu Xiang, both died in this battle. "
"The local administrative chief Xiao Chen, the independent battalion commander Huang Zheng, and the senior mage consultant Zhang Hong are all still here, aren't they? As far as I know, according to the current structure of the Guard Army, these people will have the opportunity to express their opinions and even lead part of the work, right?" Jiang Yitian asked.
"Both Xiao Chen and Huang Zheng were seriously injured. Huang Zheng's back injury was very serious and he has not had a chance to get out of bed yet. After Xiao Chen was sent back, he was in a coma and only woke up yesterday afternoon." Wang Jiyuan said.
Jiang Yitian said: "That means they are ready for investigation, right?"
Wang Jiyuan looked at him, narrowed his eyes slightly, and said: "You can start from the traitor's line. Xiao Chen and the others still need to recover."
"Although it may be a bit unkind to say this, both the committee and the public need results as soon as possible. We divided the work into two parts before we came. I will be responsible for investigating dereliction of duty, and Tang Feng will be responsible for investigating traitors. Commander Wang, don't worry, you can focus on fighting the imperialists, and leave these miscellaneous matters in the rear to us." Jiang Yitian glanced at Bai Yicheng after he finished speaking, and the latter nodded and said, "That's right." (To be continued)