At 8:00 p.m., in the conference room of the Ministry of Military and Political Affairs, the directors of the various departments under the Ministry, the generals from the General Staff, and the deputy directors of the Party Affairs Bureau and the Secrecy Bureau packed the room to capacity.
Chen Xiu wore a large hat that obscured the upper half of his face. He spoke in a muffled, strained tone: "Gentlemen, this afternoon I received a telegram from Director Li of the Beiping Headquarters. The Investigation Mission sent to Beiping some time ago was attacked by an unknown enemy. Everyone from Director Jiang down—over 200 people in total—has been killed."
Before Chen Xiu had even finished speaking, the room erupted into chaos. Everyone was stunned by the news. It is no exaggeration to say that even when the Japanese invaders first struck, the National Government had never lost so many high-ranking officials in a single stroke.
Chapter 271