On top of a long tree.
A passenger ship flying the Japanese flag was sailing down the river. Passengers stood by the fence. Some were taking pictures with cameras, while others were talking quietly while pointing at the scenery on both sides of the river.
Among the crowd, Zuo Zhong and Gui Youguang, dressed in Japanese suits, stood on the bow of the boat. They observed the surrounding situation and whispered in Japanese.
"President, we can dock in two hours. It is said that Anqing's inspections are very strict now. Should we disembark early? There is a small dock not far away."
Gui Youguang asked slightly worriedly. The deputy director only took him with him on this mission. In case of danger, he could not guarantee the other person's safety.
Zuo Zhong touched the sanitary moustache under his nose and shook his head slightly: "There is no need to do anything extra. We are legal merchants who came to the Republic of China for inspection. Just check. Besides, there must be Japanese spies on the ship. If we disembark early, we will be suspicious."
As he spoke, he turned his head and raised his chin. Several businessman-looking passengers were walking around the side of the ship. When the passing Japanese crew members saw these people, they all moved out of the way.
The Japanese who can show off their power are taboo, and the identity of the other party is definitely not simple. He is either a military policeman of the Japanese military, or a special high school member of the police station in the occupied coastal area.
Gui Youguang glanced at the words and replied calmly: "There are no obvious traces of military training. They should be people from the special high school. This group of people has been very active recently and arrested many brothers from occupied areas. Underground┴ The party also suffered a lot."
Zuo Zhong narrowed his eyes. When it came to the Special Higher Education Institution, an institution that would be mentioned repeatedly in later generations, it was not as powerful as imagined.
On the battlefields of the Republic of China, Japanese intelligence operations were mainly led by military intelligence agencies, such as Mei, Lan, Bamboo, and Chrysanthemum agencies.
After all, the full name of the Special High School Division is Special High Police. It originally belonged to the Japanese police. Later, this department was added to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs embassy and consulates for internal surveillance and information gathering. Hase Ryosuke, a loyal minister of the Japanese Empire, This was the position he held when he first arrived in the Republic of China.
The word "police" in its name clearly clarifies the nature of the special higher education course. It belongs to the Japanese government and is part of the civil service system. In the Japanese power structure, civil servants in the political circles He and the military attachés were not in harmony with each other and even secretly competed with each other.
Until the war between China and Japan began, in order to monitor the ideological trends of the people in the occupied areas, suppress anti-Japanese words and deeds, collect intelligence, destroy anti-Japanese organizations, arrest and interrogate agents, monitor the words and deeds of traitors, and instigate rebellion and induce surrender, the Japanese established police stations He took the special higher education course and accepted the dual leadership of the military and the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
However, because Plum, Orchid, Bamboo, and Chrysanthemum are temporary agencies, many Japanese spies joined the establishment of the Special High School Course because they needed to obtain a "legal" status, so they gave people the impression that the Special High School Course is everywhere. Of course, the Special High School did a good job in counter-espionage.
According to the latest intelligence from the military command, in North China, the Special High School is collaborating with local gangsters. Taking advantage of the large number of traitors, they have captured many intelligence personnel of the Kuomintang and underground parties. Their strength cannot be underestimated.
Just as he was talking, a person who was suspected to be a member of the Special High School stood beside Zuo Zhong and the two for a while. He heard that the two were speaking Japanese and discussing business. After confirming that there was nothing suspicious, they left quietly.
Zuo Zhong and Gui Youguang glanced at each other secretly, and their hearts tightened. The Japanese were indeed very tight on guard. This was still on the ship, and the interrogation in the city would only be stricter. It seemed that they had to be careful in this operation.
Half an hour later, the passenger ship slowly docked at a wooden trestle. Several passengers walked off the ship carrying large and small bags. They were then surrounded by a group of plainclothes agents who suddenly appeared, and the sound of crying could be heard.
Gui Youguang took a breath and was terrified. The Japanese had indeed set a trap. Compared with before, the occupied area now felt a bit like a dragon's pond and a tiger's den.
"You see, from now on, tighten your nerves in your head, think twice before doing anything or saying anything. We have no chance to make mistakes." Zuo Zhong took out a cigarette and handed it to the other party and said calmly.
"Hai Yi, President, how are we going to carry out this mission? According to the intelligence, Station Commander Cai Shengchu is being held in the Anqing Gendarmerie. That place is heavily guarded and it is difficult to rob people directly."
Gui Youguang took the cigarette and muttered with a frown. With his limited wisdom, there were only three steps to rescue: rush in, rescue people, and retreat. But that was the military police, not a place where you could come and leave whenever you wanted. .
Zuo Zhong rolled his eyes at the other party. He was too lazy to talk nonsense with this simple-minded guy with well-developed limbs. Operating in enemy-occupied areas requires brains. If he didn't need a human shield that could block bullets, it would be enough for him to do it alone this time. .
At this time, the ship set sail again, and the wind in the face became stronger and stronger. The big bald man shrank his head, leaned to the left furtively, and asked in a low voice.
"President, I heard that you asked the General Secretary to allocate a sum of money to Tokyo a few days ago. Do you want to redeem Station Master Cai from the Japanese?"
With a bunch of spies staying together, there are naturally no secrets in the intelligence agency. Gui Youguang can be considered a middle-level military commander. It is not strange to know the dynamics of the General Affairs Office, but this guess is a bit bizarre.
Redemption coming?
With whom to redeem, Japanese locusts?
Hearing such an outrageous question, Zuo Zhong couldn't take a breath and almost choked to death. After finally catching his breath, he glared at the bald head, then stared into the distance and stopped talking.
An hour and a half passed quickly. Thick black smoke was rising from the chimney of the passenger ship, roaring as it stopped at the No. 2 Inland Pier in Anqing. Before the ship even docked, heavily armed Japanese military police surrounded the pier.
Zuo Zhong came to the gangway and lined up. He glanced at the No. 1 River Pier next to him and saw two Japanese Navy river gunboats parked in the port from a distance, with the rising sun flag flying high at the mast.
Looking at the shore again, there are several barbed wire fences from Pier 1 to the south gate of Anqing. There is not a single private house inside, so it should be designated as a naval garrison for the Japanese.
These situations are consistent with the intelligence from Japan's Anqing garrison that Zuo Zhong has read, indicating that the intelligence previously sent back by the Anqing Station is highly credible, and also means that the rescue operation has become more difficult.
Cai Shengchu was only being interrogated initially in Anqing, and sooner or later he would be taken to Jinling or Shanghai. Since land transportation was unsafe and Anqing Airport had not been repaired, the Japanese could only use waterways to send him away.
If they want to rescue each other, they must either take action between the gendarmerie and the dock, or find a way from the ship. If they choose the latter, the two gunboats at the dock will become the biggest obstacle.
Before the war between China and Japan, in view of the dense water network in the southern part of the Republic of China, the Japanese Navy specially developed and produced this small and medium-sized gunboat for regular patrols and low-intensity battles on inland rivers.
Even though its displacement is only a little over 25 tons, it is equipped with an 80mm mortar and heavy machine gun. Its firepower is definitely sufficient on the Changjiang, and it cannot be dealt with without heavy weapons.
It seems that the first step of the rescue plan must be implemented as soon as possible, Zuo Zhong thought, and then secretly retracted his gaze to follow the team off the passenger ship, but was immediately blocked by two military police.
One of them looked alertly and held the Nanbu pistol at his waist. The other second lieutenant motioned for him to show his ID and began to cross-examine.
"Name?"
"Kaichiro Minami."
"Are you Japanese?"
"Hai, from Osaka."
"Profession?"
"President of the Chamber of Commerce."
"When did you come to the Republic of China? Where are you going?"
"I landed from Jinmen a month ago and traveled in North China for many days. This time I transferred from Henan Province to Qicheng to Anqing. I plan to take a short rest before heading to Shanghai."
After asking a few questions casually, the Japanese second lieutenant checked the document over and over again. He found that the guarantor column had the personal stamp of a brigade commander of the North China Front Army. He immediately returned the document politely and gave a few reminders at the end. .
"Rebels have been very rampant recently. Please try not to go outside the city, otherwise we cannot guarantee your safety."
"Thank you."
Zuo Zhong took back the certificate produced by Ryosuke Hase and made a 30-degree bow. His attitude was not very respectful, but it still gave the other party face.
As a wealthy man who can obtain the seal of a high-ranking military official, this attitude is in line with the order of Japanese social hierarchy when facing a second lieutenant.
Soon Gui Youguang also passed the inspection smoothly. As soon as the two of them walked out of Pier 2, they were blocked by a group of rickshaw drivers. They each got into one. The bald man reported the name of a hotel, and the driver raised the crossbar. Running forward.
As the rickshaw drove through the narrow streets of Anqing, Zuo Zhong suddenly noticed some people squatting on the roadside with their backs tied behind their backs. He couldn't help but frowned. What were the Japanese doing? So he asked the rickshaw driver in unskilled Republican dialect.
When the coachman heard the Japanese questioning him, he did not dare to hide anything and told everything he had heard.
It turned out that due to the conflict between Japan and Russia, public security in various parts of Northeast China deteriorated rapidly. A large number of workers fled from the mines affiliated to the Kwantung Army, and many places were in urgent need of labor.
There were only so many people outside the pass, and they couldn't catch many, so the Japanese targeted the people in the occupied areas inside the pass and decided to recruit tens of thousands of workers from Hui Province.
Among them, several hundred people were assigned to Anqing. These people on the roadside were all strong laborers captured by local traitors. They would soon be transported to the Northeast by freighter by sea.
Zuo Zhong remained silent after listening. Labor was another crime committed by the Japanese during the Republic of China. More than ten million workers left their homes and performed forced labor at bayonet and gunpoint. Only a handful of them were able to return home safely.
According to the driver's account, Wang Duzhai, the president of the local maintenance association, contributed a lot to this matter. The other party's son surrendered to the Japanese in Tianjin after the Lugou Bridge Incident. The father and son became "good citizens" together, and they were indeed "good citizens". Father and son go into battle."
Not to be outdone, Anqing's puppet county magistrate and police chief recruited a large number of people through deception and coercion.
When the coachman said this, he probably thought that the man behind him was the master of this gang of traitors, so he closed his mouth, lowered his head, and pulled the car towards the hotel without saying a word.
Keeping this information in his heart, Zuo Zhong stopped asking questions and concentrated on admiring Anqing City. It was also his first time to come to this city.
As the capital of Hui Province during the Republic of China, Anqing was not big, but its business was prosperous. Even after the destruction by the Japanese, the prosperity of that year can still be vaguely seen.
The rickshaw stopped and went, and after passing through half of the city, it slowly stopped in front of a Japanese hotel. Zuo Zhong and Gui Youguang paid and got off the car. Under the guidance of the doorman, they went to the front desk to register. When they passed the gate, they happened to meet a person. A drunken Japanese officer passed by with a bottle in his hand.
(Happy Children’s Day~~~)
(End of chapter)
