cicada

Chapter 1263 Xu Enzeng is weird

In a hotel in the French Concession, Zheng Tingbing was chatting with Xu Enzeng and Shen Dongxin. Although Zheng Tingbing and Xu Enzeng were both veteran spies in the Kuomintang intelligence system, their relationship was not harmonious. They were in the same industry but were enemies.

Just as the three of them were feeling the atmosphere becoming increasingly awkward, Zuo Zhong arrived with Gui Youguang. They all walked into a secret room that was guaranteed to be safe and began to exchange the information they had.

"Old Xu, have you found out about the situation between the Officers Club and the Judas businessman's residence and the Hardoon Garden? Are there any Japanese agents around?"

Zuo Zhong first asked Xu Enzeng a question. To be honest, what he was most worried about in this operation was the other party. After all, the Central Bureau of Investigation had a tradition of failing to deliver, and it was not the first time that they had messed up their mission.

Xu Enzeng didn't expect Zuo Zhong to be the first to ask him. He was stunned for a moment and looked embarrassed: "You have to ask Director Shen about this. I was not responsible for yesterday's investigation, right, Director Shen?"

As he said this, he looked at Shen Dongxin with a pleading look. It was really embarrassing for a deputy director to have to ask his subordinates for help.

Shen Dongxin was helpless and could only reply: "I personally went around yesterday. Whether it was the Officers Club or the Judas businessman's house, there were Japanese secretly guarding, and there were quite a few of them."

"Really?"

Zuo Zhong asked back calmly. Chang Gu's existence was top secret. Xu Enzeng and Zheng Tingbing were not trustworthy, so he was not going to reveal too much information to them.

"Yes."

Shen Dongxin said seriously: "According to my observation, there are at least hundreds of Japanese agents outside the Officers Club. These people are well disguised and speak fluently in various local dialects.

If they hadn't stayed on the side of the road for a long time and their movements had never exceeded a hundred meters from the club, it would have been difficult for outsiders to notice anything was wrong. I was almost spotted by them during my reconnaissance."

Zuo Zhong listened to his friend's introduction and tapped his fingers on the table. The above content seemed to prove the vigilance and even professionalism of the Japanese, but he saw the weakness of the Japanese from it.

A few years ago, if Japanese spies wanted to protect or infiltrate a target, they would never act so amateurishly and be easily discovered.

It can be seen that after a series of wars, not only the National Government was exhausted, but Japan was also exhausted. Including the intelligence system, it has begun to be short of manpower, and this situation will become more serious as time goes by.

The end result is that minors and the elderly in Japan will be pushed onto the battlefield as cannon fodder, even women will have to work in factories, and the entire country will be rushing towards an endless abyss.

However, this is a good thing for the National Government. Zuo nodded and motioned Shen Dongxin to continue. He wanted to know what arrangements the Japanese had made along the way and any discrepancies between the information and that provided by Hase Ryosuke. This was the purpose of his trip.

In order to explain it more clearly, Shen Dongxin took out a map of Shanghai and placed it on the table. He pointed to a location in the Japanese-occupied area and began to report. This place was the location of the Japanese Army Officers Club in Shanghai.

"The distance from the Officers Club to Hatung Garden is nearly nine kilometers, and there are 14 large intersections and countless small intersections on the way, which makes it easy to launch an attack.

But both sides of the road are within the Japanese sphere of influence. If a firefight breaks out, Japanese reinforcements will arrive in ten minutes at most, and there may be tanks and armored vehicles."

Xu Enzeng and Zheng Tingbing frowned. A head-on firefight with the regular army was the last option. After all, agents were not professional combatants and were inferior to the army in terms of firepower or training.

Gui Youguang asked another question: "Director Shen, are there any loopholes in the Officers Club itself? Can it be poisoned or attacked by force?"

"Not very realistic." Shen Dongxin shook his head. "The Officers Club is near the military camp, and the entry and exit inspection is very strict. The sentry will even verify the authenticity of the documents over the phone when seeing a stranger.

It's hard to get in openly, and it's also hard to get in underground. The Japanese have activated an independent sewer system in this area, which is completely isolated from the municipal pipe network. That place is simply a turtle shell."

Listening to Shen Dongxin's complaints, Zuo Zhong's heart sank. This was a new situation. The information provided by Changhe did not contain any information about the sewer.

On the other side, Shen Dongxin spoke again: "The situation in the Hartong Garden is similar. The security is tight inside and outside. There is a squadron of elite Japanese troops stationed nearby. There are antennas on the marching tents. They should be equipped with radio stations."

Xu Enzeng's back was covered in cold sweat. He wanted to fly away from Shanghai immediately. The Japanese were so well prepared. If they went to disrupt the secret talks, they would be walking into a trap.

Although Zheng Tingbing's expression was calm, his feet were moving under the table. He was actually more panicked than Xu Enzeng because he knew that Dai Chunfeng had no good intention in asking him to carry out the mission.

Zuo Zhong sensed the two men's timidity, and the force of his knocking on the table suddenly increased. He looked up and asked, "Where is the Judas businessman's mansion?"

Shen Dongxin placed his finger on a street on the map. "The residence of the wealthy businessman Judas is right next to the police station. It is only one kilometer away from the Hatun Garden. There are seven intersections where we can launch a surprise attack, provided that the British and American garrisons and police officers a few hundred meters away do nothing."

Xu Enzeng was completely desperate. There were three locations in total. The Japanese either deployed heavy troops or used the military and police forces of the International Settlement to protect them. What could he do now? Seeing that no one was talking, Zheng Tingbing broke the silence. He asked if he could bribe the International Settlement through connections or money to let the police station turn a blind eye.

The method was a good one and might have worked a few years ago, but the Japanese were now powerful and their intelligence network had long since infiltrated every aspect of the concession. It was a pipe dream to hide the secret from the other side, so Zuo Chong decisively gave up this plan.

Then, he glanced at Xu Enzeng and suddenly asked, "Old Xu, Dongxin went to investigate, so what were you doing there? You weren't going to Paramount to look for women, were you?"

Unbridled laughter suddenly broke out in the room. Gui Youguang and Zheng Tingbing didn't care about Xu Enzeng's face at all. They laughed so hard that they fell forward and backward. Deputy Director Xu's hobby was well known to everyone.

Xu Enzeng's face was tense, and he said seriously, "Don't try to tarnish my innocence. Long before the war, the Central Bureau of Investigation had already deployed a capable intelligence team in Shanghai. This time when I come to Shanghai, I will naturally go to inspect it."

Well, that's true. No matter how useless the Central Bureau of Investigation is, there is always Zhu Liu as the director. Zuo Zhong knows very well that his old principal is very capable and he must have made some arrangements in advance.

Restraining his smile, Zuo Zhong asked Xu Enzeng whether the secret forces of the Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics could provide assistance for the operation. As expected, Xu Enzeng gave a negative answer, saying that the Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics was developing slowly under the heavy encirclement of the Japanese and was unable to support the operation.

Gui Youguang glanced at Xu Enzeng with disdain, his eyes full of contempt and suspicion. After three or four years of development, couldn't the Central Intelligence Agency in Shanghai even do such a small thing? This was just fooling fools.

Zuo Zhong naturally knew that there was something fishy in Xu Enzeng's words, but since the other party had already admitted his mistake, what else could he do? He could only let Xu Enzeng go and warn everyone.

"Everyone, although the Republic of China is large, no piece of land is redundant. Since you and I have accepted this mission, we must be prepared to serve the country loyally and not let the Pufferfish Plan succeed at any cost."

He looked at the rest of them seriously, his tone extremely harsh. The fact that the Jewish people’s plans had failed in history did not mean that they would fail this time.

Once the Jews gain a foothold in the Republic of China, with the entire Jewish world as their backing, it will be difficult for the National Government to drive them away. He will never allow the suffering that the Palestinians will suffer in the future to happen to the people of the Republic of China.

Xu Enzeng, Zheng Tingbing, Shen Dongxin, and Gui Youguang said yes either solemnly or perfunctorily. Zuo Zhong looked at Xu and Zheng and gave the order to act.

"I decided to raid the Hartung Gardens on the day of the secret meeting. As long as we act quickly enough and allocate some manpower to block the Japanese reinforcements, the operation is likely to succeed."

Without waiting for everyone's reaction, Zuo Zhong directly called Xu Enzeng's name: "Old Xu, notify your personnel in Shanghai and have them launch a desperate attack on the Japanese troops outside."

Xu Enzeng's face turned green. What desperate attack? This was clearly killing someone with a borrowed knife. They lost their commander-in-chief and the commander of the meritorious army. All the good things in the world were taken away by that little bastard named Zuo.

"I'm different"

He wanted to object, but was interrupted by Zuo Zhong with a wave of his hand as soon as he opened his mouth.

"No need to say more, I am the person in charge of this operation. Anyone who disobeys orders will be severely punished!"

In order to support Zuo Zhong's words, Gui Youguang took out a pistol and stared at Xu Enzeng fiercely. His meaning was only one: if you dare to object, I will shoot.

Facing the murderous bald man, Xu Enzeng decisively followed his heart, patted his chest and promised that he would strictly abide by the order and send personnel to delay the Japanese army.

Afterwards, Zuo Chong assigned corresponding tasks to everyone. For example, Gui Youguang was responsible for the attack, himself and Shen Dongxin were responsible for the support, and Zheng Tingbing got the good job of staying in the rear.

After the meeting was over, Zuo Zhong walked out of the room with others. On the way out, he pretended to casually ask Shen Dongxin something, and Shen Dongxin immediately became alert.

"Dong Xin, when you went on the reconnaissance yesterday, didn't you take a good look around besides the mission site? This is a foreign land."

Hearing Zuo Zhong's words, Xu Enzeng also cast a curious look. Shen Dongxin smiled slightly and said that the mission came first and he had no intention of sightseeing. Xu Enzeng pursed his lips and walked away quickly.

Watching Xu Enzeng's fat body disappear at the end of the corridor, Shen Dongxin suddenly lowered his voice and said to Zuo Zhong: "Be careful, the Xu guy might play some tricks."

After saying that, Shen Dongxin chased after Xu Zheng and the others. Gui Youguang, who was standing aside, approached Zuo Zhong, stretched out two fingers and gestured a walking motion to test him.

"Vice-chairman, Xu Enzeng seems to be acting. Do you want to send someone to follow him?"

“No need.” Zuo Zhong first rejected Gui Youguang’s proposal, then smiled mysteriously: “Isn’t it a good thing that someone is exploring the way? Tell our people not to act rashly and wait for the next instruction.”