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Chapter 1323 Discussing the details of the operation
"Five million US dollars, 100 tons of weapons, ammunition and medicines." Zuo Zhong put forward the conditions after hearing Melos's question.

As the saying goes, ask for a high price and pay on the spot. Whether it is money or materials, the numbers quoted by Zuo Zhong are higher than the plan. As for whether the Americans will agree, it depends on their determination to get the new fighter jets.

In fact, Zuo Zhong still underestimated the generosity of Americans. After hearing this, Melos agreed after just a little thought, with a very calm expression.

"No problem, but this is beyond the authority given to me by Congress. I need to report this to Washington."

Zuo Zhong had only one thought in his mind: Damn, I reported too little. A rich man is a rich man. I should have doubled it earlier.

But now that the words had been spoken, it was not a good idea to raise the price. Zuo Zhong sucked his teeth in regret and was stunned for a long time before he replied awkwardly.

"Okay, I'll wait for your good news. Please reply as soon as possible. If the Japanese divert the planes, we will lose this best opportunity."

Melrose shrugged. He believed that Washington would agree to this. As long as they could gain naval and air superiority in the Pacific region, the money and supplies would not be a big deal.

a few days later.

A telegram was sent from the United States to the Sino-US Cooperation Office. After reading it, Melrose immediately called Zuo Zhong and the two sides began talks in the conference room.

"Zuo, five million dollars in cash will be delivered to you within this month. The weapons, ammunition, and medicines you need have also been packed and shipped. Let's talk about your plan."

Melrose lit up his cigar and took a puff. His nonchalant expression, coupled with the United States Naval Academy commemorative ring on his finger, made him look like a nouveau riche.

Zuo Chong has always been respectful to his financial sponsors. He changed his previous indifference, eagerly handed the ashtray to Melrose, and told him about his plan.

"My people will instigate the puppet Manchukuo pilots at Wanggang Airport through Liu Guotai, and they will fly their planes to defect at the right time. The Japanese guards at the airport will be dealt with by the gang and my subordinates."

According to the information provided by Liu Guotai, the Japanese had very strict management over the Third Flying Squadron, and the puppet Manchukuo officers and soldiers were often beaten and scolded, and therefore they all felt resentful.

As long as they are guided properly, the success rate of persuading these people to defect is very high. Even if the other party is unwilling, the Military Control Commission is confident that they will have no other choice.

After listening to Zuo Zhong's story, Melrose studied the telegram from Harbin Station again and raised three questions.

First, the puppet Manchukuo pilots of the Third Flight Squadron had never come into contact with new aircraft, let alone the ability to fly them to defect.

There are differences in controllability, engines and power systems, flight instruments and system layout, weight and center of gravity, and aerodynamics between different aircraft, and changing flights requires relearning and adaptation.

However, the Japanese prohibited the puppet Manchukuo pilots from approaching new aircraft. Without solving this problem, the plan would be just a castle in the air and would not be feasible.

Second, the performance data of the new aircraft is unclear, and its speed and range are unknown, so the escape route cannot be planned.

Wanggang Airport is 2,000 kilometers away from the nearest Kuomintang-controlled area. Where should the plane land after taking off? You can't just find a random place to make an emergency landing.

3. How to avoid the Japanese pursuit.

Once problems arise at Wanggang Airport, the Puppet Manchukuo Air Force and even the Japanese Army Air Force will definitely be deployed in full force. No matter how powerful the six new fighter jets are, they cannot defeat hundreds of aircraft.

In response to Melos’ first question, Zuo Chong gave an answer with a detailed action plan.

As early as when he decided to seize the Zero fighter, he had thought of the difficulties that would be encountered in the process and also thought of solutions.

But this method is a bit complicated and difficult to explain, so let Melos watch it himself. Zuo Chong doesn't want to waste his breath.

As for the second question, Zuo Zhong spread out the map of East Asia, drew a straight line on it with a ruler, and said at the same time.

"Mr. Mellors, Liu Guotai said that the new aircraft was transferred from Kobe to Wanggang Airport. The distance between the two cities is 1500 kilometers."

Map working is the basic skill for military and intelligence personnel. Using a scale, Zuo Zhong easily calculated the straight-line distance between Kobe and Wanggang Airport.

Melos' eyes flashed, and he guessed what Zuo Zhong was going to say next. He took out a compass and a military map of the Republic of China and drew a circle on the map.

The center of this circle is Wanggang Airport, and the radius is 1500 kilometers, which is the maximum range of the new aircraft, at least the maximum range that can be determined at present.

Looking at the military map again, the latest spheres of influence of the Japanese and Guo troops are marked with different colors, which is very intuitive.

Glancing at the area enclosed by the circle, Melrose frowned. Except for Red Russia and Mongolia under its control, all the places the new aircraft could fly were Japanese-occupied areas.

He looked up at Zuo Zhong and asked in a deep voice: “Zuo, I have to remind you that if we fly the plane to Red Russia, we will get nothing.

The Red Russians are very greedy and will never hand over the new aircraft they have already obtained. In the words of you Republic of China people, you will get nothing."

The smile on Zuo Zhong's face did not diminish. He tapped an area on the map with his finger, signaling the other party to take a closer look at this place.

Melos was confused and looked down again. He suddenly uttered a sigh. He had just overlooked another color on the map, which was the bright red color representing the border area. The main sphere of influence of the border area was in the northwest, but it also had scattered bases in North China, and they were intertwined with the Japanese territory. One of the places called Laiyuan was within the maximum range of the new aircraft.

Laiyuan...

Melos scanned the map and found that this place was southwest of Peking, surrounded by mountains on three sides, and was a strategic location.

What is strange is that the Japanese failed to occupy such an important location in its entirety, and the vast rural areas were under the control of the Northwest Underground Party.

Since deciding to cooperate with the National Government, how to deal with the relationship with the Northwest Underground Party has become an unavoidable problem for the U.S. government.

Some members of parliament felt that the Northwestern Underground Party should be treated with the same attitude as the Red Russians. To be more specific, prevention should be more important than cooperation, and the Red movement should never be allowed to spread in East Asia.

The rest of the congressmen believed that the enemy of my enemy is my friend and that the most important thing for the United States right now is to defeat the Japanese. Based on this goal, everything can be negotiated.

Melos himself had no ill feelings towards Xibei, and was even very curious about him. After hesitating for a few seconds, he tentatively asked Zuo Chong.

"Zuo, do you mean to fly the new aircraft to Laiyuan? Will the Northwest Underground Party seize the aircraft like the Red Russians did?"

"And as far as I know, they have no planes or airports, and Laiyuan is very close to the Japanese, so it's not a good place to land."

Zuo Zhong's expression remained unchanged as he slowly replied, "Although Northwest and Red Russia believe in the same doctrine, Northwest is more trustworthy than Moscow and keeps its word."

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"As for Laiyuan being too close to the Japanese-occupied area, this is not a problem at all. It is just a transit airport. After refueling, the planes can fly to Shancheng or other Kuomintang-controlled areas."

"The underground party's organizational and mobilization capabilities are far beyond your imagination. It is easy for them to build a temporary field airport in a short period of time."

Melos closed the action plan. If the plan in it could be successfully implemented, his first problem would be solved.

Combined with Zuo Zhong’s answer just now, the operation only had one last difficulty left: how the plane could avoid the Japanese pursuit.

In response, Zuo Zhong only said two words: "Monde!"

"Monte?" Mellors asked doubtfully.

"Yes." Zuo Zhong did not keep anyone in suspense and said confidently:
"After taking off, the plane flew southwest, giving the illusion of flying directly to the Kuomintang-controlled area, then suddenly turned west midway, and then headed south to Laiyuan when approaching Mengdi."

"The area this route passes through is mostly uninhabited, which not only reduces the chances of the aircraft being discovered, but also confuses the Japanese, making them think that the Red Russians were responsible, thus buying time for secondary refueling."

Melos did not jump to conclusions. He first drew a rough route on the map, then carefully looked at the terrain along the way, and a smile gradually appeared on his face.

To the west of Wanggang Airport is the Greater Khingan Range, and further west is the grassland. Between Mengdi and Laiyuan are also mountains and wastelands, perfectly avoiding densely populated areas.

There is only one risk on the entire route, Zhangjiakou, but the aircraft can avoid it by slightly adjusting its altitude or route, which does not waste much fuel and has little impact on the operation.

After thinking for a while, Melrose became more and more excited and asked the Military Control Commission to implement the plan as soon as possible, preferably before the Pacific Fleet recovered its strength.

Zuo Zhong put pressure on the other side to be patient. This operation would be carried out in the Japanese-occupied area, so preparations must be sufficient and not rushed. Besides, he had to go to the Eighth Route Army Office to seek help from the underground party.

Although Melrose wanted to oppose it, he finally shut up. The US was only responsible for paying the money and did not have much say in the actions.

In the following half month, the spies in Harbin were on high alert because an unknown radio signal appeared repeatedly.

In front of the Harbin Police Department, Gao Bin (appeared in Section 683), who had fought against the Military Control Commission, walked out of the office building. He looked at the snowflakes falling from the sky and got into the car.

(The former site of the pseudo-Harbin Police Department, taken by the author during his travels)

"Chief, the electronic reconnaissance vehicle still has no results. The enemy is very cunning and changes its position every time it sends a message." The traitor who was driving reported.

In the past few years, Gao Bin has been promoted from the head of an ordinary senior section to the deputy chief of the special agent section by betraying and harming his compatriots.

After hearing what his men said, he closed his eyes and made arrangements: "Closely monitor those who have come to Harbin recently. Let the brothers be alert. Harbin will not be peaceful for much longer."

The sudden increase in telegraph communications and the mysterious whereabouts of the enemy both indicated one thing: someone was going to do something in Harbin.

Gao Bin went over the opponents of the Special Service Department in his mind and felt that the most likely opponent was the Military Control Commission.

The unknown signal was obviously sent by a high-power radio station. In Harbin, the only forces capable of equipping such radio stations were the Military Control Commission and the Red Russians.

But after the Sorge case, the Red Russian agents went into a dormant state and rarely clashed with the Japanese and the Secret Service. Instead, the people in the mountain city became more and more rampant.

So what exactly did the Military Control Commission want to do? Thinking of his last experience, Gao Bin decisively ordered to raise the alert level of all key agencies in Harbin to prevent sabotage by the Kuomintang agents.