At the end of 1937, with the fall of Jinling, Jiangcheng (Wu ~ Han) became one of the few large cities in China that had not yet fallen.
Although the Nationalist Government nominally moved to Dushan City (Chongqing), most of the military and political agencies did not move westward immediately, but moved here first.
The mountain city has become the de facto military, political, and economic center. There is a reason why Baldhead chose this.
Jiangcheng is located in the Jianghan Plain. It was one of the top ten largest cities in the Republic of China, with a population of more than 2 million. The entire city is divided into three parts by the Yangtze River and Hanshui River: Wuchang, Hankou and Hanyang.
Historically, it is also known as the Three Towns of Jiangcheng, among which Wuchang is the political center, Hankou is the center of commerce, and Hanyang is an important industrial town.
Especially after the completion of the Guangdong-Hankong Railway and the Beijing-Hankong Railway, Jiangcheng has become the gateway to the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River and an important hub for transportation between the north and south of China.
The strategic significance of Jiangcheng is that it is not only the last line of defense in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, but also the transfer point for many important materials on the way westward for the Nationalist Government. Its strategic position is very important.
So Zuo Chong, Song Minghao, Wu Jingzhong, Gui Youguang, and He Yijun took a boat from Shanghai around Guangdong Province, then took a train to Jiangcheng, and were inspected countless times along the way.
The prosecutors include those from the military, the local party headquarters, the police, and even the trash from the secret service headquarters.
It can be seen that the situation at the rear is not too optimistic. If it were not for the orders from the top, these people would never be so active.
After sending away a group of military police who tried to extort money by using the name "Counter-espionage and anti-traitor", Zuo Zhong and others walked out of Wuchang Railway Station and headed to No. 33 Pingyue Road separately.
That was the secret service's office in Jiangcheng. After Dai Chunfeng settled in the mountain city headquarters, he still came to Bald Head. As a close minister of the emperor, he was afraid that he would lose his "holy favor" if he stayed too far away.
For special agents who often do dirty work, once they lose the support from above, it means death is not far away.
Lao Dai naturally didn't want to end up like Mao Xiang, the first commander of the Jinyi Guards in the Ming Dynasty. It was said that he spent more time in Bald Road in the middle of the mountain than in his own residence.
Sitting on the foreign rickshaw, Zuo Zhong quickly observed the street scene of Wuchang. The ground made of stone strips was somewhat uneven. The rickshaws were divided into two rows, each walking on one side. There were many pavements, and there was a constant flow of pedestrians.
It is indeed the most prosperous inland city in the Republic of China. However, due to the war, there are also signs of warfare in addition to the prosperity. For example, there are armed soldiers on duty at all intersections.
There are still many civilians filling sandbags and digging and building fortifications. Obviously, the easy fall of Jinling has taught the government a lesson.
It is not too late to make amends. As long as the army and the people work together, the government can still fight the Japanese in this heroic city where the first shot of Xinhai was fired.
Thinking of this, Zuo Zhong turned his head and looked at the riverside in the distance. He saw that the dock was crowded with people, soldiers on defense and ordinary people doing business mixed in. The scene seemed a bit chaotic.
This made him frown. If he guessed correctly, there must be Japanese spies and traitors hidden here, which would not be a good thing for future wars.
As the first modern force in Asia, the Japanese army will not just follow the Guo army to death in the mountains of Gan and Hui provinces. It will inevitably launch a three-dimensional offensive against Jiangcheng with its air force and navy.
Especially when the Guo army and navy are completely lost, the Yangtze River coast will be the main battlefield for the two armies. If there is no control like the dock, there will be big problems!
While he was thinking, the foreign car parked outside the door of a three-story foreign-style building. There was a sign on the door of the Second Logistics Office of a certain division.
After all, it is a secret agency. When the Secret Service was in Jinling, it was kept secret from the outside world, even though many officials and people knew that Hong Gong Temple was the nest of the secret service.
Now in Jiangcheng, it is no exception. People come and go in places like the Logistics Department every day. In addition, division-level troops are like crucian carp crossing the river in Jiangcheng, which is very suitable for covering secret intelligence activities.
Looking up at the small building, Zuo Zhong stepped in and met Lao Dai's secretary Li Wei as soon as he entered.
The two of them had not seen each other for several months since they parted ways in Jinling, and it was inevitable to exchange pleasantries when they met again.
After a couple of useless digressions, Li Wei said that Dai Chunfeng was in the office on the first floor, and then walked ahead to clear the way for Zuo Zhong.
Zuo Zhong secretly laughed in his heart, Lao Dai was really worried about his life. In peacetime, the other party would like to set up his office on the flagpole on the rooftop to show his status.
Faced with the indiscriminate bombardment by the Japanese, they stayed on the first floor closest to the air raid shelter. If they weren't afraid of being laughed at, they would probably live in the basement.
He suppressed a smile and watched Li Wei knock on the door of an office at the end of the corridor, with a serious expression on his face.
"Enter."
Dai Chunfeng's voice sounded in the room.
Li Wei stood at the door and pushed it open, raising his hand to signal Zuo Zhong to come in. He had no intention of going in. He knew that what the bureau chief and the other party were talking about must be confidential, so it was better to listen less.
Zuo Zhong smiled and nodded to him, walked in with goose steps, stopped one meter in front of Dai Chunfeng's desk, raised his right hand to his forehead, gave a military salute and shouted loudly.
"I've seen the bureau chief. Deputy Director Zuo Zhong of the Secret Service has completed his mission and is here to return."
Lao Dai, who was working on documents, immediately raised his head when he heard these words. He stood up, walked to Zuo Zhong with a hearty laugh, patted him on the shoulder, looked up and down and nodded.
"It's good that you are back safely, Shen Zhong. You also did a great job on the mission in Shanghai. You defeated the Japanese conspiracy to undermine the financial order of the government in one fell swoop.
The chairman of the committee is very satisfied with this. Two days ago, he asked when you would arrive in Jiangcheng and planned to personally award you, a great hero, a medal. "
"Thank you to the leaders and directors for their concern. I will do my best in my humble position to strive to make new contributions to the party and the country."
Zuo Zhong shouted slogans with excitement on his face. "It doesn't cost any money anyway. If Lao Dai and Bald Tou like to hear it, then he can just say it."
As for whether the awarding of honors will allow him to advance to another level in the Merit Forest - no need to worry about too many debts, no need to worry about too many lice, just do whatever you like.
"Well, come on, go over and talk."
Dai Chunfeng happily accepted the flattery, invited Zuo Zhong to sit down in the reception area, and asked about the details of the plan to destroy the counterfeit banknotes.
The focus is on the process of contacting and communicating with the underground party. Sure enough, the struggle between faiths is the issue that the top leaders of the party are most concerned about.
Zuo Zhong did not hide anything and told everything he had said to Ban Jun, including what he had done in the bookstore to persuade the other party to change his ways.
There is no doubt that among the agents who accompanied him that day, 100% had Lao Dai's spies. This kind of internal monitoring is almost an open secret in the Secret Service.
"kindness……"
After hearing this, Dai Chunfeng gave a gracious expression and said with an unusually stern expression: "It's better to get rid of die-hard elements like this if there is a chance. If the two parties cannot do it directly, then we can borrow the help of the Japanese.
Shen Zhi, sooner or later there will be a battle between us and them. This is a life-and-death contest that does not allow for a trace of hesitation or womanly kindness. "
Perhaps thinking of how he was nearly blown up by an underground party mine in Jiujiawei, Lao Dai looked like he was gritting his teeth and his eyes were filled with murderous intent.
How did Zuo Zhong answer? Naturally, he kept saying yes, saying that he was sworn in with the underground party, but after saying a few words, he changed the subject.
"Teacher, I asked Gu Qi to establish a counterfeit Japanese yen banknote factory in Yamashiro. I have reported this to you. In this operation, we captured Saburo Shinoda, an expert at the Osaka Mint.
Based on the other party's understanding of the Japanese yen, it is only a matter of time before the factory copies the fake Japanese yen, but how to use these counterfeit banknotes to gain profits is a difficult problem.
Taking into account the international perspective, the Secret Service cannot directly use counterfeit banknotes. It is best to distribute them to other forces, firstly to deceive others, and secondly to win over more collaborators.
Ban Jun suggested to the students that they should exchange antiques or hard currencies such as gold and silver for Japanese yen. I immediately refused after hearing this, but he said that this was a private transaction and had nothing to do with the underground party. "
At this point, Zuo Zhong quietly observed Dai Chunfeng's expression and found that he showed no signs of anger, so he cautiously tested it.
"Shanghai and Jinling were lost. After the government moved westward, the revenue dropped sharply. All departments lacked funds. The military salaries of so many personnel in the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics and the Secret Service all depended on your efforts.
This is by no means a long-term solution. We must have a stable source of income, otherwise it will be a matter of time before we are choked by others, such as Er Chen and Xu Enzeng. They have long wanted to see your jokes, teacher. "
In addition, it is said that Minister Song likes calligraphy and painting by celebrities very much. If you can establish a good relationship with him through this channel, it will be of great benefit to you without any harm.
Based on the above reasons, I deduced that I need to ask you for instructions. I neither agreed nor refused. I will listen to you on what to do specifically. "
"Don't say anything about this beforehand."
Dai Chunfeng thought about it for a while, then raised his hand to stop Zuo Zhong from continuing. It is certainly a good thing to have a good relationship with Uncle Guo, but the specific operation must be carefully thought out and cannot be rushed.
He glanced at the direction of the gate and spoke of another matter: "Shen Zhong, the current situation in Jiangcheng is not good. There are Japanese spies everywhere in the city, providing guidance and air defense intelligence for Japanese bombers.
According to preliminary understanding, a number of Japanese intelligence agencies including the Japanese Navy, Army, Tokyo Police Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Internal Affairs, Xiaoliuqiu Governor's Palace, and Koryo Governor's Palace were involved.
The chairman of the committee was very worried about this, for fear of repeating the mistakes of Shanghai and Jinling, and asked the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics to clear out the Japanese intelligence forces as quickly as possible and cooperate with the frontal battlefield.
I will leave this task to you. According to the leader's instructions, you can directly command all Jiangcheng's police, intelligence, and military police systems. The deployment of the following units does not need to go through the city defense headquarters.
Anyone and any agency involved in the case will be treated equally. If there is any obstruction, you are allowed to kill first and report later, even if it is a relative of the emperor. Everything must be done from a perspective that is conducive to the war.
You must make good use of this Shangfang sword, and you must use it with caution. The sword is most threatening when it is about to fall. If it falls, it will have no effect. Do you understand? "
"Yes, students understand!"
Zuo Zhong stood up suddenly and replied seriously.
