cicada

Since the Sino-Japanese War gradually entered a stalemate in 1939, after the Fifth Plenary Session of the Central Committee of the Kuomintang, someone began to passively resist Japan and actively oppose the Reds, wantonly spread and undermine public opinion on the joint anti-Japanese war, and proposed a strategy of preventing the Reds, limiting the Reds, and dissolving the Reds.

What is good at the top will be effective at the bottom.

The Kuomintang troops in the Kuomintang-controlled areas, especially around the border areas, repeatedly caused various frictions and tragedies in an attempt to eliminate the anti-Japanese armed forces in the northwest and under its leadership in exchange for Japan's concessions and consolidate its dominance.

从1938年12月至1939年10月，果军和晋绥军先后制造摩擦事件150多起。

For example, the "Boshan Massacre" and "Shenxian Massacre" were created in North China, and the "Pingjiang Massacre", "Xinji Massacre" and "Queshan Massacre" were created in central China.

A large number of underground party cadres, soldiers, and isolated people were arrested and killed. The situation of national unity in the war of resistance was in serious crisis. After hearing the news, overseas Chinese groups in Nanyang repeatedly inquired about the mountain city.

The other party said that this was a proactive provocation from the northwest and that the government did it out of necessity and had no intention of undermining the joint resistance against Japan.

In order to find out the truth, after leaving Chang'an, the Nanyang inspection and consolation delegation began to visit along the junction of the Kuomintang-controlled area and the border area, passing through Yaoxian, Tongguan, Henyang and other cities.

On the way, Xu Enzeng jumped up and down, organizing local party investigators and members of the Central Unification Committee to have "talks" with relevant personnel in advance, in an attempt to cover up the Kuomintang's behavior of provoking disputes.

Wu Chunyang also arranged for military commanders from various places to dispatch spies to create and destroy evidence at the friction site. One Division is an absolute expert in this field.

Under the guns of the Guo army and spies, insiders in these places either remained silent or confused right and wrong. The condolences group gradually believed the Guo party's statement.

Zuo Zhong watched from the sidelines without making any statement, nor did he undermine the Guo Party's attempt to cover up their crimes.

When they arrived at the border area and saw the situation inside the border area, Mr. Chen and others would naturally make their own judgment.

If the other party can become a rich man from the bottom, he will definitely not listen to one side or believe it. No matter how much others say, it is not as good as seeing it with his own eyes and hearing it with his own ears.

On this day, the condolence team's convoy ended its trip in Henyang and was about to go to the last investigation site-Hancheng. Unexpectedly, the convoy was stopped by a group of people dressed as ordinary people just after leaving the city.

These people were kneeling in the middle of the road, each holding a letter in their hands and shouting something loudly. Upon seeing this, Mr. Chen quickly asked Gui Youguang to stop the car and rolled down the window.

“The underground party is looking down upon human life, it’s unjust!”

"Robbing land in border areas is unacceptable."

As soon as the car window opened, I heard people shouting about injustice. This made Mr. Chen a little confused. He was not a government official, so what was the other party shouting about?

However, considering that the condolence group had a plan to investigate the underground party's policies, he was still prepared to get out of the car and have a chat, maybe he could get the truth he wanted from the people who blocked the way.

Xu Enzeng moved his fat body, opened the door and stood beside the car. He diligently blocked the upper edge of the door frame with his hand and made way for Mr. Chen.

Gui Youguang, Wu Chunyang and the accompanying small agents in the front row also got out of the car and quickly surrounded the crowd, checking their IDs and searching their bodies one by one to prevent any assassins hiding among them.

After confirming that there was no problem, Mr. Chen chatted cordially with the blockers one by one, and then his face became increasingly ugly.

According to these people, some of them are "good and rich farmers", some are "honestly run" merchants, and some are "respectable" village elders.

Without any reason, the border district government robbed them of the family property they had accumulated through "hard work" over generations, and held a public trial to try them.

Hundreds and thousands of acres of fertile farmland have been given to ignorant people. This is simply a crime.

At this point, the people blocking the way burst into tears one after another, as if they had been greatly wronged, and the members of the condolences group could not help but frown.

This is completely different from the underground party policy introduced by the Shancheng Northwest Representative Office and the condolence group. It can be said to be contrary to it.

Considering that they are also businessmen and landowners, and out of class standpoint, the members can't help but have doubts about the trip to the border area and don't know whether they should go.

After hearing the "complaint", Mr. Chen was very angry, but he was not impulsive. He took the complaint letter from one of them and took a look at it with a stern face.

When he saw Mr. Chen Keci's letter on the envelope, he was stunned for a moment. Keci was his name and had not been used for many years. Only his relatives and friends knew it.

The other party claimed that he was just an ordinary rich farmer. How did he learn about this?
Who told the other party the whereabouts of his group?
Someone is causing trouble!
Mr. Chen seemed to realize something. He glanced at the Fruit Party members with a half-smile, and slowly asked the blocker.

"I already know what you're talking about. By the way, who told you that Chen's academic qualifications are high?"

"this. this"

The "ordinary rich peasant" with a shiny face was hesitant and speechless. He subconsciously looked up at Xu Enzeng, but was frightened by the fierce look in his eyes and quickly lowered his head.

Gee, this job is too rough.

Zuo Zhong, who was watching the show, smacked his lips. If he wanted to frame him, he would have to find a few people to pretend to be underground party killers, and then some reporters would take photos and interviews, and finally publicly condemn him in the name of Mr. Chen. Just find a few people. There is a use for a fat man to complain.

Confusing right and wrong, calling a deer a horse is a technical job, and it requires paying attention to methods and methods. Zhongtong, Zhongtong, is really a weasel giving birth to cubs, and one litter is worse than the next.

Gui Youguang and Wu Chunyang also looked sarcastic. If anyone in the military command behaves like this, he will inevitably be punished. Isn't this treating people as fools?

After all, Mr. Chen is a kind person and does not want to embarrass anyone who blocks the way. After asking, he got into the car without waiting for a reply and said nothing.

Xu Enzeng, whose face turned red and white, followed him. After getting in the car, he lowered his head and pretended to be an ostrich. He hated the Central Unification agent who arranged this matter so much that he decided to send the agent to the enemy-occupied area when he returned.

Zuo Zhong also whistled and got into the car, and ordered Gui Youguang to drive with a smile. He had already watched the show, so why not leave?

It’s not a bad thing to see such a farce in the quiet northwest.

The car drove along the rugged dirt road all day. When he was still more than ten kilometers away from Hancheng, Mr. Chen suddenly turned his head and said to Zuo Zhong seriously.

"Team Leader Xu, I don't want to see what happened before happen again, otherwise Chen and the members of the condolence team will return directly to Nanyang."

Regarding this Major General of the Guo Army who had appeared beside the Chairman, Mr. Chen only knew that he was the team leader of the attendant room, his surname was Xu, and he was also the person in charge of this trip. He knew nothing else.

Originally, he had a good impression of the low-key Team Leader Xu. Even though he did not want to get close to government officials due to staying away from politics, the two of them would chat for a while when nothing happened. He never expected that the other party would arrange such a meeting. out. It's just a matter of framing the border district government, but the method is so clumsy. This is clearly treating the condolence group and the group as monkeys. Mr. Chen, who is calm on the surface, is already furious in his heart.

"Hehe, Mr. Chen misunderstood."

Zuo Zhong, who was studying the route, put down the map when he heard this, looked at Mr. Chen with clear eyes, and could not see any guilt, then raised his right hand and cursed.

"Xu swore in the name of his ancestors that if I arranged that incident, I would let Xu die under random gunfire and never be reincarnated."

Anyway, it was Xu Enzeng who did the thing, and no matter how vicious the oath was, it was fulfilled on the person named Xu. Zuo Zhong certainly had no guilty conscience.

Mr. Chen stared at Zuo Zhong's eyes, and nodded after a long time. His eyes could not deceive. He asked himself that he was quite good at recognizing people, so the other party must not be lying.

Since this matter was not caused by Team Leader Xu, there is only one possibility.

He glanced at the deputy director of the Central Military Commission on the other side and snorted coldly. These agents just love to do dirty things. No wonder they have such a bad reputation.

Had it not been for the Chairman's repeated requests that the investigation required intelligence support, he would never have allowed such a person to join the investigation team.

Xu Enzeng, who was dead in society, continued to act like an ostrich and huddled motionless in his seat, secretly praying to get to Hancheng as soon as possible. He couldn't stay in the car for more than a minute. It was so shameful!

While talking, the convoy drove into the outer towns of Hancheng. According to the plan, they would stay here for one night and start the investigation of Hancheng early tomorrow morning.

Zuo Zhong leaned on his seat, tilted his head and stared at the seemingly peaceful street outside the window, but the pupils looking at him suddenly shrank and he said coldly.

"Leave at a steady speed, don't stay, and notify the brothers to be alert."

As soon as he said this, the co-pilot Wu Chunyang slowly pulled out a Thomson and placed it on his knee. He gently pulled the bolt with his left hand and was ready for a firefight.

Gui Youguang, who was driving, flashed his lights several times. All members of the military command in the convoy were on alert. The convoy maintained its original speed and passed quickly, quickly leaving the town behind.

Xu Enzeng was extremely nervous by this scene and looked around slyly. However, Mr. Chen was not afraid at all, but asked curiously.

"Team Leader Xu, are there any enemies?"

Zuo Zhong did not answer. This was a rare opportunity for practical combat, so he signaled Mr. Chen not to be anxious and asked Gui Youguang and Wu Chunyang if they had seen the problem.

Faced with this problem, not only Mr. Chen, but also Xu Enzeng looked confused.

This town seems to be no different from other towns in the Republic of China, except that it has more shops and a larger population than ordinary towns.

But Hancheng is an ancient city with thousands of years of history. It has been an important hub on the west bank of the Yellow River since ancient times. It is normal for there to be many people and many shops.

Wu Chunyang carefully recalled the pedestrians, shops and vehicles on the street, his mind was running at high speed, and his eyes lit up after a moment.

"There is a problem with the fruit stall owner on the corner. He doesn't say anything when customers come. Instead, he looks at the road. Team leader, he is spying on us."

Although it was just a sweep and the observation window was only a few tens of seconds, Wu Chunyang still found flaws among hundreds of suspicious persons.

Immediately afterwards, Gui Youguang also gave an answer.

The big bald man didn't find a specific target, he just felt that the atmosphere in the town was a bit wrong. This was an intuition developed from long-term field work.

There was nothing wrong with their answers, but Zuo Zhong was still dissatisfied. This was far from his observation, and he immediately scolded them with a sullen face.

"I see that you have gone back further and further. Of all the flaws, you have only found one. It is worse than some trash. Come back and practice hard for me!"

After being angry for a while, he ignored Xu Enzeng who was gnashing his teeth, crossed his arms and spoke slowly.

"Besides the fruit stand, there were obviously three other people who were amiss. The first one was a middle-aged male guest sitting at the table in the hotel lobby.

This person ordered a table of wine and food, but only touched the food in front of him, leaving the other dishes untouched. Isn't this suspicious?

There is also the clerk standing at the door of the store next door. There is nothing wrong with his disguise. The problem is what he is doing after the customer enters the store. He does nothing.

Who would do this kind of business? Such a helpless guy would be fired after only one day of work. This is also very abnormal.

The third one who is best hidden is the patrolman at the intersection. This man seems to have no flaws at first glance, but his expression betrays him.

Mr. Chen, you have lived overseas for a long time, mostly in the Republic of China, and have rarely had contact with people in the market. Do you know what a real patrol officer is like? "

As he spoke, Zuo Zhong suddenly looked at Mr. Chen and asked, then continued without waiting for the other party's answer.

“I’m impatient, irritable, muddle along, looking for every opportunity to be lazy, instead of directing traffic like I just did.

Of course, this can be explained by the fact that the other person has not been a patrol officer for a long time and still has the heart to do things, and has not infected the bad habits of other veteran police officers.

However, the other person looked to be in his 30s, and there was no unfamiliar or nervous expression on his face. He was definitely not a newcomer. "

After Zuo Zhong's explanation, Mr. Chen suddenly understood, Xu Enzeng was dumbfounded, Wu Chunyang looked annoyed, and his bald head bared his teeth in embarrassment.

Now that it is certain that the condolences group has been targeted, the only question left is how to arrange the following itinerary.

If those suspicious persons are enemies, their whereabouts have been exposed, and they are likely to be attacked. Whether to leave or stay, they must make an idea as soon as possible.

Zuo Zhong thought for a while, looking at the vague outline of the city in the distance, a flash of inspiration flashed in his mind, and he immediately reported his address to Gui Youguang.

(End of this chapter)