As the imperial court issued a strict order to suppress the Endeavor Society and the Youth Yongyue Society, huge waves were immediately set off in all nine states of the Ming Dynasty.
Whether it was just to deal with errands or to work hard for political achievements, the local officials did not dare to neglect and immediately organized manpower to attack everywhere.
The gathering places of faction members, the residences of faction leaders, the faction's assets, etc., were all raided and seized by the menacing Yi'an army and police without exception.
Vigorous suppression of these radical guys will inevitably lead to bloody conflicts. Physical resistance is considered the least serious, and resisting arrest with weapons is the most common.
Therefore, in the ten days and a half after the "Jimao Disaster", to exaggerate, the Ming Dynasty was full of smoke, and fierce gun battles also occurred in many prefectures and counties that used to be peaceful and comfortable.
For those born in the 100s and 20s of the Ming Dynasty, situations with so many casualties only existed in the stories told by their parents and grandparents. The most chaotic scenes that could be seen were the occasional confrontations between demonstrators and the government.
On October 26, in Pingding Prefecture, Shanxi Province, two agents from the Foreign Enforcement Factory were ordered to investigate the money and power transactions between the Endeavor Society and local officials. However, during the mission, they accidentally fell into a trap and were silenced and dumped in the wilderness.
After realizing that his companion had not returned for a long time, the other agent who stayed at the foothold was very alert, quickly moved his position, and issued an emergency warning code to his superiors.
Although according to common practice, he should escape immediately to ensure his own safety in this situation, the agent was probably unwilling or angry and had no choice to return without success.
He wrote the cause and effect of the investigation in detail and submitted it to the secret liaison office - in this case, no local government agency could be trusted. Then, after disguising himself, he managed to get close to several suspicious officials and successfully deduced the facts of the murder and silence.
Through excellent psychological tactics, the agent finally succeeded in instigating the rebellion of an official from the household department and signed and deposited it as a voucher. After that, he escaped unscathed and returned to the main site of the foreign factory in Taiyuan Prefecture.
Bad things often come one after another. When Datian heard about this matter, the same thrilling game was also going on in many places across the country.
On the 29th, Xiaofeng County, Zhejiang Province.
Xiaofeng County is located at the northern foot of Tianmu Mountain. It has undulating mountains and complex terrain. It can be said that the city is surrounded by mountains.
The autumn wind is howling, and in the evening, the western sky is dyed red by the rays of the sun, and wisps of the setting sun are scattered on Tianmu Mountain.
Chen Yifu and Wei Peng, agents from the Zhejiang office of the outsourcing factory, were now disguised as hunters and trekking on the rugged mountain trails.
For a long time, foreign factories have been conducting infiltration surveillance on major political parties. Many agents have changed their names and lurked in false identities. The same is true for the Endeavor Society and the Youth Brave Society.
But this is a game process. In the past few years, the two suffered great losses due to the cooperation of hidden agents inside and outside. Since then, they have learned lessons, greatly strengthened internal review, encouraged mutual monitoring, and severely punished traitors. Therefore, many agents had their identities exposed and were forced to flee. Most of the few remaining agents took the initiative to cut off contact with their superiors and remained silent.
Therefore, outside factories have not penetrated into the core decision-making levels of the two companies so far. The few people who have successfully lurked are only in the middle level at most, and have few opportunities to pass on information to the outside world.
This is also the reason why the Ming court was not prepared for the "Disaster of Ji Mao". After summarizing very little intelligence, the foreign factory headquarters could only roughly guess that these guys might cause trouble; and the foreign factory did not inform the local police of this news. agencies, because they believe that local police agencies are a mixed bag and can easily alert others.
The headquarters of the Foreign Intelligence Agency in Zhejiang has recently learned some information about the Youth Yongyue Society. It is said that it may have established a large secret base among the mountains northeast of Tianmu Mountain.
The site clerks carefully collected relevant intelligence and information, and found that the earliest relevant intelligence could be traced back to the beginning of last year, and there were two or three other pieces of relevant information after that, but no attention was paid to it.
This time, Chen Yifu and Wei Peng were ordered to come to find out.
Wei Peng was carrying a Ruifeng brand shotgun on his shoulder, with a dead hare and a dead pheasant hanging from the muzzle of the gun. He stopped and took out a kettle to take a sip and complained: "It was said to be in Nanyu Island and Changjiao Ridge. In this area, we’ve been wandering around here for a long time and haven’t even seen a ghost.”
"A long time does not mean a wide area, we have only searched one-third of the land." The taciturn Chen Yifu looked around, then raised his hand and pointed to a dirt slope half a mile away: "It's time to prepare for camping. "
No matter where you are, experienced veterans are precious resources. It is a routine operation in all walks of life to maximize the use of limited human resources.
Wei Peng used to be a member of the Yuyao County Police. After changing jobs, he was successfully selected into a foreign factory and officially took office this year. Compared with him, a rookie, Chen Yifu, who had worked in a foreign factory for ten years, was undoubtedly a well-informed veteran.
The two of them brought waterproof canvas, blankets, and matches with them. In order to ensure that they were consistent with their pretend identities, these things were bought from second-hand shops in the county town before.
Spending the night in the mountains is actually a very dangerous thing. There is a big temperature difference between day and night, and poisonous insects and wild animals are infested. Sometimes an inconspicuous oversight can send a person to hell.
However, just as they were stacking branches and fallen leaves to make a bonfire in the lee of the slope, Chen Yifu suddenly saw something strange out of the corner of his eye.
He immediately said in a deep voice: "Stop! Don't move, look over there at ten o'clock."
"Ah?" Wei Peng, who was about to light a fire, put away the matchbox, then raised his head and looked intently.
I saw a group of figures, probably seven or eight people, moving slowly near the ridgeline about a mile away.
Because it was dusk now, the lighting conditions were not good, and the amount of light entering the old-fashioned monocular telescopes they carried was pitiful, so they could not see clearly clearly.
Chen Yifu turned around and asked, "You have good eyesight, can you see clearly?"
Wei Peng opened his eyes and observed hard for a while, then hesitantly said: "Most of them are young and middle-aged people, and their clothes are the same, and the color is the same or similar."
With keen insight and a little thinking, it is not difficult to come up with this judgment - the mountain road is not easy to walk, let alone in the evening when the visibility is not high? Middle-aged and elderly people can't do this, and who of the normal people would stay in the mountains in groups at such a late hour?
"It's really suspicious..." Obviously this group of people is not normal. Based on his years of experience, Chen Yifu even felt that they were the target this time. "Let's follow them. Be careful and don't follow too close."
"Okay."
In this way, the two of them followed the team and continued deeper into the mountains, maintaining a distance of about 150 meters.
Every time he walked about a mile, Chen Yifu would place a mark on the ground with stones and branches, or scratch the tree trunks he passed with a knife.
As it got later and later, the two of them couldn't help but worry - after it was completely dark, the other party could turn on the flashlight and light the torch, but they could not.
Walking on mountain roads in the dark is no less dangerous than walking up and down the highway with your eyes closed.
Where are these people going? Do we still want to follow?
"It should be soon." Chen Yifu said calmly.
It was getting late, and these people had neither prepared to camp nor turned on flashlights or lit torches, indicating that they were not far from their final destination.
Sure enough, when the setting sun completely disappeared below the horizon, the end point finally came into view.
This is a village hidden among the mountains, or a base is more appropriate. There are dozens of light spots dotted here and there, which should be lighting fixtures such as electric lamps and gas lamps.
If you look more carefully, you can vaguely see the people coming and going in it. There are more than thirty large and small houses in a radius of about several miles, surrounded by earthen walls and wooden fences about two meters high.
"You're in luck, you really found the right place!" Wei Peng was so excited that he couldn't hide his joy.
Compared with him, Chen Yifu's reaction was much calmer. He frowned slightly and remained silent.
What is the purpose of setting up such a large-scale camp among the mountains?
"It's dark and we can't see clearly. Let's find a leeward place to spend the night nearby and put the machete next to us."
Camping without making a fire undoubtedly increases the risk. God knows whether wild dogs or wolves will attack you.
"Maybe this is where they gather secretly. They are not stupid either. The strongholds in the city are easy to detect, so they will naturally leave a way out in the mountains." Wei Peng guessed.
"It's hard to say," Chen Yifu expressed doubts. "This scale is too big. Usually it doesn't need to be so big to accommodate a hundred people. Ten small rooms are enough."
"Yes, there are about thirty of them, large and small. I'm afraid it can't accommodate hundreds of people."
"Yeah. In exchange for keeping watch, you go to bed first and I'll keep watch for the first half of the night."
The temperature in the mountains dropped sharply in late autumn, and there was no bonfire for warmth. It was so cold that it was still freezing even if I was wrapped in a blanket in the leeward place.
After such a hard night, at around midnight the next day, when the first ray of morning light shone into the mountains, the sleepy two briefly moved their hands and feet, and then returned to an excellent hiding place nearby.
In the bushes on the reverse slope of the hill, they could peek at the stronghold below from a distance.
The reason why they were so sure was that they immediately recognized the red and black flags flying in the camp, which were the flags of the Youth Brave Society.
Chen Yifu took out a small and compact camera from the bag he carried on his body, and after focusing it, he "clicked" several photos one after another.
This is a spy camera developed by Tianjin Minglang Mirror Industry Company in response to the secret requirements of the Foreign Intelligence Factory and the Metropolitan Government Intelligence Office. It is small in size, only slightly larger than an egg. It has a 16mm film, an F4.5 aperture, and is generally For use by Secret Service personnel.
After a while, the camp gradually became lively, shouts and gongs and drums sounded, and people kept coming out of the houses in a hurry.
They formed a queue and went to a large shed one by one. They filed in and came out, each carrying a wooden model of a gun.
Later, more than 300 people lined up in the middle of the camp, divided into five parts, arranged neatly, and then began to practice under the shouts of more than a dozen "instructors."
"I'll go! You're so brave to train as a private soldier here." Wei Peng was shocked.
"It's quite impressive." Chen Yifu with a serious expression recalled: "It is known that the Yongyue Society has recruited and absorbed many retired soldiers. It seems that they rely on them to train their party members."
"In ancient times, it would have been to confiscate the Yi clan's family."
"That's it. We have to go back for questioning as soon as possible."
The place was found, photos were taken, and the specific situation was investigated. Considering that the danger was too high, the two of them did not intend to stay any longer, so they evacuated.
There is actually such a stronghold in Tianmu Mountain. There is no doubt that this is a serious violation of the law and would have to be cleared in normal times, let alone the current suppression of the Endeavor Society and the Yong Yue Society.
Three poles high in the sun, when the two were walking through the mountain trails, they unexpectedly ran into a group of people.
12. Three young men and seven laden mules and horses were advancing slowly. They were the team transporting supplies to the stronghold in the mountains.
Because both parties had seen each other, hiding would appear suspicious, so Chen Yifu and Wei Peng could only bite the bullet and continue walking naturally.
When the two sides passed each other, the person in the team said, "Hey, hunter, what are you two doing here?"
Chen Yifu, who was smiling, replied: "Let's get some game."
"A chicken and a rabbit, you two are not very good at it."
"Have a laugh."
Both sides went their separate ways, and it seemed that this encounter was about to pass without incident.
But at this moment, a strong man in the team stopped everyone.
"Those pheasants and hares are not new, they don't look like they were hunted today. Hurry, chase them and intercept them."
As a result, Chen Yifu and Wei Peng, who had just breathed a sigh of relief, suddenly felt their hearts in their throats.
Presumably thinking that they had been exposed, the two of them ran away without hesitation.
On this trail full of bleak autumn scenery, two people were running away and five were chasing each other, and the sound of yelling and cursing filled the mountains.
"Damn it! It's a government spy, chase him quickly!"
"Don't let them get away!"
I don't know who fired first, and the chase instantly turned into a gun battle.
"Bang bang!"
Wei Peng fired twice with the Ruifeng brand double-barreled shotgun, knocked down one person, and then threw the heavy thing aside.
Chen Yifu was hit by a pistol bullet in his right arm and was bleeding profusely, but he still insisted on firing back with his left hand.
The two ran for a long time, and they didn't dare to slow down until they were about to leave the mountain. It was already noon.
the next day.
After the film was delivered and developed, after learning the specific situation, the Zhejiang head office of the external factory immediately reported the situation to avoid long nights and nightmares, and soon received an order authorizing the cleanup.
In order to prevent the other party's spies stationed in local government agencies from leaking information, this operation also specially mobilized troops from the neighboring Ningguo Mansion across provinces.
More than a dozen agents and three teams of Yi'an troops arrived overnight and raided the secret stronghold hidden among the mountains.
The two sides exchanged fire for a long time, for a full hour and a half. Yi'an's army suffered 18 and 7 casualties, and the other side suffered more than 40 casualties.
After that, the confrontation lasted for half a day and a night, before these more than 300 young people bravely overcame the socialist party members and finally surrendered.
After a detailed inventory, the agents of the Foreign Intelligence Factory counted more than 400 long guns, more than 200 short guns, more than 100,000 rounds of bullets, more than 500 kilograms of explosives, as well as printing machines and a large number of notices.
The deputy envoy of the Zhejiang Ancha Division could not help but sigh: Last year he was still laughing at France (such a thing happened), but now it has happened in the country. It is really dumbfounding.
(End of chapter)
