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Chapter 1311 Cooperation and Miscellaneous Matters

In early November 1941.

On the morning of the second day after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, the mountain city looked a little different than usual. Special editions were posted in front of all the major newspaper offices, and people were gathered in crowds.

The voice of the newsboy on the street announcing "Breaking News! Breaking News! Japan attacks Pearl Harbor and the war between Japan and the United States breaks out" echoed throughout the streets and alleys, and people rushed to buy newspapers and tell others.

Immediately afterwards, Mr. Lin of the National Government issued a declaration of war against Japan, Germany and Italy. On the same day, Britain and the United States also declared war on Japan.

The Republic of China has waited for this day for too long. The people in the occupied areas of Northeast China, North China, South China, and East China have waited for this day for too long. Countless people covered their faces and cried.

Anyone with normal IQ and understanding of the international situation understands the meaning behind this matter.

If the strength of the Republic of China is considered "one", then the strength of Japan is "five", and the strength of the United States in all aspects is at least in double digits.

With the support of such a powerful ally, the balance of victory in the war against Japan has tilted towards the National Government.

The scholars who had previously been spreading capitulationism suddenly transformed themselves into the most determined "war advocates". They wrote articles analyzing how Japan was bound to lose, and for a time, all kinds of evil were rampant.

However, some scholars secretly mocked it: It was rare in history that the War of Resistance against Japan was not declared until now, more than four years after the war.

As for the United States, after the Pearl Harbor incident, the whole country fell into an atmosphere of hysteria and could not extricate itself. Japanese Americans were the first to become the targets of revenge and emotional catharsis.

All Japanese Americans were viewed as enemy aliens and potential saboteurs and were placed under surveillance. The FBI, citing wartime laws, arrested tens of thousands of Japanese Americans for "protective detention" on the pretext that they were potential dangers.

Rumor has it that the United States is planning a full-scale retaliation against Japan, and American citizens have donated all iron products that can be used to manufacture weapons and equipment free of charge.

Roadside iron fences, old vehicles, and even children's water bottles and toys all became raw materials for artillery shells fired at the Japanese.

Of course, given the industrial strength of the United States, such actions have more symbolic significance than practical effect, but they prove that Americans share a common hatred of the enemy.

As all the news came in, the people of the Republic of China celebrated as if it were New Year's Day. Firecrackers became the best-selling commodity everywhere, and it seemed that defeating the Japanese was only a matter of time.

However, the Nationalist government had more important things to do, such as begging for aid from the United States.

Zuo Zhong, who was in Washington, DC, took on the heavy responsibility of conducting initial communication with the US side, and the talks lasted a full half month.

Within half a month, Zuo Chong and others not only met with many senior American officials, but also visited many factories and personally experienced the strength of the world's first industrial power.

Take steel production and the military industry as an example. Last year alone, the United States produced more than 4300 million tons of steel, manufacturing about 5000 fighter jets and 3000 tanks for Europe.

After collecting enough intelligence, Zuo Chong and his team boarded a US military seaplane, passed through South America, Nigeria, Cairo and India, and returned to the mountain city after a big detour.

On the way from the airport to Luojia Bay, Zuo Zhong recalled the gains of the trip while chatting with Wu Jingzhong who came to greet him.

Through Wu Jingzhong's narration, Zuo Chong quickly grasped the recent changes in Shancheng and the bureau. King Jin Jue was a thoughtful and smart man.

According to the other party, Li Qiwu has been quite high-profile recently and has intervened in the intelligence and operations systems many times, but was blocked by the heads of various departments.

A villain who has no ability and no prestige, who would obey him?

When Wu Jingzhong talked about Li Qiwu, his face was full of disdain, and he belittled the chief secretary of the Military Control Commission as worthless, while at the same time expressing his loyalty to Zuo Zhongda.

"Haha, Old Wu, you have to believe in Director Li's ability." Zuo Zhong waved his hand and smiled as he spoke "fair words" for Li Qiwu.

After chatting for a while, the convoy arrived at the gate of No. 29 Luojiawan. Everyone was surprised to find that the Military Control Commission headquarters was blocked by people, and there were sounds of quarreling coming from the door.

I saw a young man with a slicked-back hair and powdered face, dressed like a rich young man, parking his car in front of the gate of the Military Control Commission, pointing at someone and shouting at him.

After listening to this, Zuo Chong understood the whole story. It turned out that the two people were jealous of each other, Xiao Kai stole her love, and the victim was a small spy in the archives room.

Wu Jingzhong looked at Zuo Zhong, whose face was getting uglier and uglier, and thought to himself that something was wrong. He quickly explained, "Deputy Commander, I know about this matter. This person's family has a close relationship with a certain executive committee member. Director Li asked the bureau to handle it with caution."

While he was speaking, Zuo Zhong reached out of the car window and waved his hand as if to shoo away a fly. Gui Youguang, who was in the car behind, immediately jumped out and led his men to kick Xiao Kai and his entourage down.

The convoy started again and drove into the Military Control Commission compound. A group of spy chiefs stood respectfully in front of the building to greet the two deputy directors and several department heads.

The car stopped and Wu Chunyang opened the door for Zuo Zhong. Zuo Zhong did not get out of the car. Although what happened just now was a trivial matter, it must be dealt with seriously.

Otherwise, the brothers would be fighting in the front while these young men were insulting their wives and daughters in the rear, and the morale of the army would surely be shaken.

Zuo Zhong stepped over the car door with one foot on the ground, turned around and said coldly to Wu Jingzhong: "I'll give you two hours. I don't want to see this idiot in Shancheng again. If the executive committee member has any objections, let him come to me."

A mere businessman dared to block the door of the Military Control Commission and even dared to steal their support. This is outrageous!

If he didn't deal with him, people outside would think that Zuo was easy to bully. It didn't matter if he had an executive committee member as his backer. The military control center would deal with him. Wu Jingzhong was also very dissatisfied with Xiao Kai's behavior. He was just hindered by Li Qiwu and couldn't take action. He immediately took orders and left. Soon, several trucks rushed out of the military control center's gate.

The onlookers all looked excited, and the person involved had red eyes. He knelt on the ground and kowtowed heavily to Zuo Zhong's back.

The archives room is under the jurisdiction of the chief secretary. As his immediate superior, Li Qiwu not only did not help, but instead suppressed the matter. The young spy was already in despair, but he did not expect that Deputy Director Zuo would help him.

Zuo Zhong put this small matter behind him after dealing with it. He went straight to Dai Chunfeng's office without taking a rest to report to him the progress of the initial communication with the US side.

When Old Dai saw his favorite disciple, he smiled and stood up from behind his desk: "Shen Zhong, I'm glad you're back safely. Sit down and talk."

"Thank you teacher."

Zuo Zhong bowed and waited for Dai Chunfeng to return to his seat before he carefully sat down and began to report, which included many matters such as intelligence cooperation.

"Teacher, the day after the Pearl Harbor incident, the Americans notified the students to go to the White House, where they held talks with several senior American officials."

Dai Chunfeng nodded. He had already learned about this matter from the telegram, but for the sake of confidentiality, the specific details of the talks were not conveyed via telegram.

On the other side of the desk, Zuo Zhong smiled and said, "Mr. Hoover from the FBI said that he has heard of your name for a long time, and he said that if he has the chance, he will come to Shancheng in person to discuss cooperation between the two agencies."

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"Oh?" Dai Chunfeng's reaction was cold. No matter how famous Hoover was, he could not control the Republic of China. What he cared about was the terms of cooperation that had been reached.

Zuo Zhong straightened his body and said seriously: "Students have reached several cooperation intentions with relevant American institutions, involving many aspects."

He then explained these collaborations one by one, the most critical of which was military intelligence cooperation.

The U.S. government hopes that the National Government will hand over the moles lurking inside Japan and regularly exchange military intelligence, especially intelligence on the Japanese Navy, which the United States urgently needs.

ONI (Office of Naval Intelligence) proposed that China and the United States could establish a joint intelligence agency to be responsible for intelligence exchange and coordination and to strengthen the collection and analysis of intelligence on Japan.

To this end, OSS (Office of Strategic Services, the predecessor of CIA), ONI, and FBI were willing to provide assistance to the Military Control Commission in electrical equipment, new torture instruments and technologies, code breaking, and meteorological research.

At this point, Zuo Zhong lowered his voice slightly: "Teacher, please forgive me for acting on my own initiative. I rejected the assistance of new torture instruments and technologies, but I increased the efforts to introduce electrical equipment."

Dai Chunfeng was a little confused. The Americans' interrogation equipment was very advanced, and most of the electric chairs used by the Republic of China's military and police were imported from the United States. Why did Zuo Chong refuse this assistance?

But Old Dai did not rush to speak. He wanted to hear Zuo Zhong's explanation. No one knew his student better than him, and there must be a reason why the other party did this.

Seeing that Teacher Bianyi didn't say anything, Zuo Zhong carefully considered and said, "American interrogation relies on equipment and is superstitious about technology, but lacks skills.

Before we came back, the FBI captured a Japanese spy. They tried various methods but failed to pry open his mouth. Finally, the students asked Youguang to try.

As a result, within ten minutes of entering, the Japanese spy confessed. Instead of wasting time asking for equipment, it would be better to take the opportunity to ask for more technology. "

As he spoke, Zuo Zhong's expression revealed a hint of disdain, as if he looked down upon the Americans' interrogation skills, but the real reason why he rejected the interrogation equipment and technology was not that.

The joint intelligence agency that ONI was going to form was later called the Sino-US Special Technical Cooperation Office, or SACO for short.

This notorious spy agency did not perform well in the war against Japan, but instead killed many underground party members. The familiar names such as Zhazidong and Baigongguan are the "masterpieces" of this agency.

The birth of the Sino-US Cooperation Office was inevitable; this was the general trend. Zuo Zhong could only find ways to prevent the Americans from interfering in the Military Control Commission's interrogation work, and by the way, get some good things from the Americans. Even if the Military Control Commission could not use them, they could be given to the Northwest as technical reserves.

Hearing Zuo Zhong's answer, Dai Chunfeng nodded in agreement. If this was true, there was really no need to introduce American interrogation equipment and technology.

Old Dai thought for a moment, then suddenly asked, "What do you think about handing over the mole, Shen Zhong?"

"The mole is our trump card and must not be handed over to the Americans easily." Zuo Zhong first confirmed this basic principle and then added in a low voice.

"Students have decided to gradually reveal the existence of the copper lock to the Americans, firstly to show our sincerity, and secondly to make plans for the post-war period. What do you think, teacher?"

The Republic of China and the United States will be allies for decades. Tongsuo has a clean foundation. If he cooperates well with the Americans, he will have a chance to join OSS, ONI and even the future CIA.

When the Cold War began, it was impossible for the U.S. intelligence agencies to abandon such an experienced and reliable Asian intelligence officer.

Zuo Zhong has too many plans in his mind that need to be implemented. Perhaps many years later, Tongsuo will become the key figure who determines the outcome.

However, Tongsuo must seek his own opinion on this matter. If the other party is unwilling, then he can only think of other ways. The undercover work needs to be completed voluntarily, otherwise it would be tantamount to giving performance to Hoover.

Dai Chunfeng did not comment upon hearing this. He looked at his watch and found that it was still early, so he immediately took Zuo Chong to the Huangshan official residence to meet someone to report on their work.

The report lasted for several hours until nightfall. The senior officials of the Nationalist government who attended the meeting dispersed in twos and threes, and Zuo Zhong also returned to the Luojiawan headquarters exhausted.