cicada

"There is news from the mountain city, Dai Chunfeng."

"In accordance with the orders from our superiors, we have made the following deployments..."

"Radio detection needs to be stepped up."

"Yes."

Two voices could be heard faintly in an inconspicuous courtyard of the border area. The light of an oil lamp cast faint shadows on the windows. Eighth Route Army soldiers carrying rifles were walking back and forth everywhere inside and outside the courtyard walls.

The dim moonlight shines on the sign on the left side of the courtyard gate, and the words "External Liaison Bureau of the Border District Diplomacy Office" written in black paint are particularly conspicuous.

Of course, this is just an external name. Internally, this is the residence of the Fourth Bureau of the Ministry of Social Affairs, which is responsible for the intelligence analysis of the entire border area. It is the core business department of the Ministry of Social Affairs.

A few minutes later, Vice Minister Li walked out of the yard, glanced at the direction of the temporary residence of the Guo Party and the condolences group, frowned and slowly walked away.

The other side of the station.

Zuo Chongzheng had a very pleasant conversation with Cui Hongyong. The rest of the Shannan guerrillas was about to end and they would return to the Japanese-occupied area in a few days, so Cui Hongyong came to visit them.

"Team Leader Xu, thank you for the weapons you provided. With them, it will be much easier for us to fight the Japanese."

Cui Hong raised his hand and expressed his gratitude to Zuo Zhong for giving the guerrilla submachine guns, grenades and ammunition before the battle. He had a warm smile on his face, but he didn't mention returning it. He didn't know whether it was intentional or he had forgotten it. .

Zuo Zhong's expression was half-smiling. From the corner of his eye, he noticed that the other party was looking at him nervously. He raised his hand and handed over a cigarette and sighed.

"Instructor Cui, it's not that Xu is stingy, but these weapons are the property of the government, and the gun numbers are all registered. It would be better for you to return them as soon as possible."

Cui Hongyong immediately became anxious when he heard that he wanted to return the weapon. He stood up and lit a cigarette for Zuo himself and replied with a smile.

"Oh, we are a family. The border area is also under the leadership of the national government. Why talk about each other? If Team Leader Xu goes to Jin Province again in the future, Mr. Cui will definitely treat you to a drink."

As expected of an instructor, the level of theory is high, and he managed to get things done in a casual way. He wanted to exchange Thomson and M24 grenades worth thousands of dollars for a meal of local wine. Otherwise, people from Shanxi Province can do business. .

Zuo Zhong took a slow drag on his cigarette and asked a very practical question: "Instructor Cui, even if the submachine gun is given to you, you can't replenish the ammunition."

Cui Hong slapped his thigh with excitement: "Isn't it a coincidence? The Jinsui Army has a lot of 11.43 caliber bullets. The Taiyuan Arsenal made a lot of them back then. As long as you are willing to spend money, you can buy as many as you want. .”

As early as 1927, Yan Baichuan's arsenal began to imitate the Thompson, called the Jin-made Thompson, also known as the Type 900 submachine gun, with a monthly output of .

Although the arsenal was occupied by the Japanese after the fall of Taiyuan, bullets were small and easy to carry. The Jinsui Army took a lot with them when they fled, and they were hard currency on the black market.

Seeing Cui Hong's expectant eyes, Zuo Zhong smiled bitterly, stopped talking about weapons, and chatted with him about the situation in Jin Province.

In fact, he had no intention of getting the things back after he gave them away. It was just an act. After all, he had been tricked so many times. It would be too suspicious if he did nothing.

After chatting for a while, Zuo Zhong suddenly asked a digression: "Listening to what Mr. Cui said, you should have read books. How come you joined the underground party?"

Hearing this, Cui Hongyong's smile gradually disappeared, his mood suddenly dropped, and he seemed to fall into memories. After a long time, he talked about his past.

"Cui is from Beiping and studied in a university. When the Japanese attacked Beiping a few years ago, all my family members died in the shelling. I was the only one left. Thanks to the treatment of the church rescue team, otherwise It has long since become a pile of loess.

Team leader Xu, you asked me why I joined the underground party. Then what should I join, the fruit party? If it weren’t for your chairman, how could Northeast China be lost, how could North China be lost, and how could my family die? "

Cui Hongyong threw the cigarette butt on the ground, stamped it out and twirled it, his tone was very angry and his eyes were red.

"Sorry, it was Xu who was abrupt."

Zuo Zhong smiled bitterly and expressed his apology, and then continued to ask about the location, strength, weapon configuration of Japanese strongholds in various parts of southern Shanxi, as well as the name of the commander, command style, etc.

Cui Hongyong knew some of this information and some did not, but he still told Zuo Zhong in as much detail as possible without hiding anything.

According to him, after the war started, the guerrillas used a mobile and flexible method to eliminate many Japanese in a piecemeal manner and established stable base areas and local management institutions in the Japanese-occupied areas.

However, since the beginning of the year, the party troops have made many provocations and even cooperated with the Japanese army in encircling and suppressing the guerrillas. They lost many soldiers and base areas. When they got angry, they smashed the table with their fists and made a clanging sound.

This was pointing at the monk and calling him bald. Zuo Zhong had no choice but to say some nonsense about how the enemy should be united to resist Japan. He was scolding someone bloody in his heart again.

When the Allies and the Axis Powers have not yet been completely formed and the United States has not participated in the war, the Kuomintang has restrained itself from doing this kind of thing. After something happens next year, someone's reactionary actions will become even more rampant.

After silently greeting someone, Zuo Zhong and Cui Hongyong came to the door. After the two shook hands, Cui Hongyong strode away and quickly disappeared from Zuo Zhong's sight. Taiyuan, 1st Army Headquarters.

Shinozuka Yoshio and Doihara stood in the war room wearing military uniforms, holding damage assessment photos and a piece of intelligence to circulate to each other. The staff members exited the room knowingly, leaving only two old Japanese in the room.

"Doihara-kun, it seems that the resistance camp has not been fatally damaged, and the Nanyang Chinese have not been wiped out."

Yoshio Shinozuka shook off the aerial photos taken by the 1st Army Air Force. From the photos, it can be seen that order has been restored in the border area. This result made him very disappointed, he said regretfully.

"My First Army is fully prepared for mobilization. As long as something happens to the top leaders of the underground party, the imperial army can march in and completely eliminate these guys. What a pity.

The losses of the advancing team also exceeded expectations. Hundreds of rigorously trained imperial warriors were killed. Doihara-kun, I underestimated the enemy, and the base camp should be dissatisfied again. "

Yoshio Shinozuka had a headache when he thought that Tokyo's reprimanding telegram would appear in front of him at any time. Baga, those people didn't know what the situation was like on the front line, they only knew how to hold them accountable.

Doihara looked at the information carefully. After his old friend finished speaking, he folded the documents neatly and put them in his pocket. He raised his head and spoke warmly to comfort him.

"Don't worry, Shinozuka-kun, the slight loss to the advancing team is worth it. This game is not over yet, let us wait and see.

I really hope that the mission in Jin Province can be concluded as soon as possible. Chang Gu in Shanghai is about to get engaged. As an old boss, I must be there to congratulate him. "

"Oh? Is it the long-sleeved Ryosuke Hase who is good at dancing?"

Yoshio Shinozuka was a little surprised. He had heard of this name both in his hometown and at the North China Expeditionary Force Headquarters. It was said that this man was quite business-minded and had close connections with the senior officials of the Imperial Army, Navy and even the Locust Tribe.

"Yes, it's him."

Doihara got into a good conversation, and after getting on and off the sofa with Shinozuka Yoshio, he whispered: "Hasgu's family background is very ordinary, and there is great resistance to promotion. Not only that, there are many people who covet his wealth.

I then introduced him to a distant relative of the Locust clan as my fiancée. The woman was from the lineage of King Higashino Minuhiko. Their marriage had just been confirmed. With the help of the Locust clan and my own efforts, Mr. Hase had a promising future. "

It turns out that this is what happened, Yoshio Shinozuka nodded, but the fact that the dignified Imperial Lieutenant General actually acted as a matchmaker is really surprising. I am afraid there is something behind this matter that is not that simple.

Hase Ryosuke is the head of the Hase Agency and a famous big businessman. He has connected with many imperial military and cabinet ministers. If he has a Locust clan background, he will indeed have a bright future. No wonder Doihara is so enthusiastic.

He smiled and said: "Congratulations to Doihara-kun. If I have time, I will go to Shanghai with you. It would be good to get to know more young talents like this.

When the war is over and the mission of the soldiers is completed, the empire will be dominated by locusts and civilian officials. Making more friends now will be a hugely profitable investment for you and me. "

Doihara laughed loudly. This old friend of his was indeed a wonderful and smart man. What he said was worthy of his words.

It's just that what he wants is far more than that. Tojo can become the Prime Minister of the land. There is no reason why he can't, even the position where one person is lower than ten thousand people.

Suppressing his excitement, Doihara picked up the tea cup and toasted Yoshio Shinozuka. He looked towards the west with a deep look, not knowing what he was thinking.

Two days later.

After many days of in-depth visits, the consolation group confirmed that the news about the underground party they had heard in the past were all rumors, and also confirmed that the hope of the Republic of China lay in the border areas.

Here, not only the leaders are honest, frugal and approachable, but other cadres are also very strict in management and simple in style. Anyone who embezzles more than 50 yuan will be dismissed from his post, and anyone who embezzles more than 500 yuan will be shot directly.

The political atmosphere is very different from that in mountain cities. People are encouraged to be equal to each other. The relationship between the people and officials is good and they are like relatives. Everyone works hard in construction and achieves remarkable results.

Zuo Zhong saw this in his eyes and reported to Dai Chunfeng through the radio every day. He also reported all the details of his exchanges with the underground party, including the emergence of Japanese spies in the border area.

There is a saying that loyalty is not absolute, which means absolute disloyalty. In times of crisis like this, you should act more cautiously.

The problem is that the continuous reports led to one result. One message after another from someone urging the condolences team to return to the mountain city, almost catching up with Wanyan Gou's twelve gold medals.

In the message, someone spoke sincerely about the help provided by the Nanyang Chinese during the former president's time, hoping that the condolences group would not be "blinded" and come back soon.

But Mr. Chen and the others didn't want to leave, and the spies couldn't really kidnap the person back. Dai Chunfeng had to strictly order Zuo Zhong to pay attention to every move of the condolence group, and agreed to allow him to carry out limited business "exchanges" with the underground party.

If possible, it is best to develop a Japanese spy into a double agent, let the other party serve the national government, and allow him to pass on intelligence from the border area to the Japanese when appropriate.

This morning, Zuo Zhong had just sent yesterday's briefing to the headquarters when Vice Minister Li came again without warning and brought some news.

——The secondary screening of the 509 people has been completed, and a total of 81 suspects have been found. The Japanese spy who installed the radio guidance device near the guest house is likely to be among them.

In order to find this person faster, Vice Minister Li came to invite the national government, or to be precise, "Team Leader Xu" to have direct contact with these suspects, just as he said when we left last time.