cicada

Chapter 1324 Beautiful Man

In Shanghai, the Military Control Commission’s safe house.

Zuo Zhong leaned on the sofa, looked at Tongsuo opposite him and said softly: "You heard what I just said, are you willing to accept this task?"

Tongsuo pondered for a long time after hearing this, and nodded: "Deputy Commander, it is the duty of a soldier to obey orders. I will do everything possible to infiltrate the American intelligence agency."

He said it lightly, but his tone was extremely firm. The little guy who made a living by stealing a few years ago has now grown into a qualified intelligence officer.

Recalling the scene when he first met the other party, Zuo Zhong felt very emotional. He paused and solemnly explained the difficulties.

"This is a long-term lurking mission that will take more than a decade, decades, or even a lifetime to complete. I must hear your true thoughts."

Tongsuo grinned and made a nonchalant joke: "If you hadn't brought me into the military, I would have starved to death. I just hope that Americans won't be as stingy as the Japanese and even use military bills instead of salaries."

The conversation ended here. Zuo Zhong walked out of the safe house, got in a car and headed for the train station, with Wu Chunyang following him.

At this time, half a month had passed since Zuo Zhong and Melrose had talked. The operation to seize Japan's new fighter jets was officially launched, and all the personnel were divided into two groups and went to the mission site.

The first group was led by Zuo Chong himself. They first went to Shanghai to change their identities and then took a train north. Their destination was kept secret for the time being.

The leaders of the second group are Gui Youguang and Wu Jingzhong. They will depart from the island city and disembark in Guandong Province by cruise ship. Among the members is Colonel Gao of the Air Force.

Colonel Gao is from Northeast China and is an elite pilot of the Guoan Army. He can provide professional advice for the operation and serve as backup and redundancy for the operation.

If the puppet Manchukuo pilots were unwilling to surrender, with Colonel Gao around, they could at least steal a new aircraft.

Colonel Gao was very excited when he learned that he had to return to Northeast China. It had been ten years since he left his hometown in 1931 when he went south to seek a way to fight against Japan despite his family's dissuasion.

For the past ten years, he had been missing that piece of black land day and night. This time he finally had the opportunity to go home. Colonel Gao accepted the invitation of the Military Control Commission without any hesitation.

Zuo Chong thought of the jubilant Colonel Gao and shook his head slightly. At this time, the car stopped in front of the train station and the agents pushed open the door and strode in.
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"Woooooo~~~"

A few whistles sounded, and the steam train slowly stopped in the wilderness with thick smoke. The workers on the train jumped off and began to repair the lines that had been destroyed by the guerrillas.

Currently, trains traveling from Shanghai to the north have to pass through two railway lines: the Shanghai-Nanjing Line and the Tianjin-Pukou Line.

The Shanghai-Nanjing line was quickly restored due to its short distance and proximity to the city for easy maintenance, even after several wars.

But the Jinpu Line is different. It is more than 1,000 kilometers long and passes through several provinces. A large number of lines are located outside the city and can be easily damaged.

Originally, it took about 30 hours to get from Jinling Pukou to Tianjin, but now there is no fixed time and the speed depends entirely on luck.

For example, Zuo Zhong and his group have been on the bus for more than two days and have not yet left Su Province. They have stopped more than ten times in just two hundred kilometers.

Taking advantage of the time when the car was parked, the Japanese military police on board checked the passengers' documents and luggage. Whenever they encountered a suspicious person, they would knock him down with the butt of their gun and take him away.

The crying and shouting sounded through the door into the first-class carriage. Zuo Zhong gently flipped through the Japanese book in his hand without any change in his expression, and the same was true for Wu Chunyang next to him.

A few minutes later, two military police wearing white armbands walked into the private room where Zuo Chong was. Wu Chunyang signaled them to stop, handed them an ID and whispered an introduction in Japanese.

"We are from the Photo Weekly. This is Editor Shimazu. Please do not disturb Mr. Shimazu's rest. This is my letter."

The two gendarmes stood in awe when they heard this. "Photo Weekly" was a subordinate agency of the Cabinet Intelligence Bureau, mainly responsible for propaganda on war and national policies, and most of its members were intelligence personnel.

But the name of "Photo Weekly" alone was not enough to make the military police so respectful. What really scared the two men was the surname Shimazu.

The Shimazu family once ruled the Satsuma domain and had strong military and political influence. They had close ties with many daimyo and were still the top noble family in Japan even after the Meiji Restoration.

One of the gendarmes opened the certificate and examined it carefully to make sure that the stamp and seal were correct. He handed the certificate back with both hands and bowed to Zuo Zhong who was reading a book to apologize.

"I am so sorry. Please show me your certificate, Lord Shimazu. I am sorry for the limitations of my duties."

"idiot!"

Wu Chunyang shouted angrily and raised his hand to slap the other person, but Zuo Zhong put down the book in his hand and spoke out to stop him.

"Well, the empire needs loyal warriors. Hand my letter to this lieutenant."

Then Zuo Zhong asked curiously, "Where did you receive your training? Was it the Tokyo Rear Service Training Institute?"

"Hai!"

The military police bent even lower. Ordinary people would not know what the Tokyo Rear Service Training Institute was, but out of duty, they still took the certificate.

Just like the previous memo, the military police did not find any flaws, which made him completely let down his guard. He randomly checked a few accompanying personnel and then respectfully left.

Not long after, the Japanese train conductor who received the news came to say hello and enthusiastically asked everyone what they needed.

Wu Chunyang said a few words to send this horse P spirit away, and then smiled at Zuo Chong. The next trip should be much quieter. Sure enough, perhaps in order to leave a good impression in front of the staff of "Photo Weekly" and "Mr. Shimazu", the Japanese military police's inspections became much more civilized in the following days.

When the train arrived in Tianjin, Zuo Zhong and his companions changed to the Zhengtai Railway and got off at Baocheng Station. It was not until then that the spies knew that their destination was this city famous for its donkey meat.

Wu Chunyang looked at the gray street and asked Zuo Zhong: "Sir Shimazu, where are we going?"

Zuo Zhong had a smile on his face and waved his hand fiercely: "Military Police Commander, set off quickly."
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A county town somewhere in central Hebei.

A handsome waiter watched Zuo Zhong put the donkey meat into his mouth and asked with a slightly expectant tone: "Sir, how does it taste?"

Zuo Zhong took a bite of the donkey meat and chewed it twice. A smile appeared on his face and he gave a thumbs up: "It's delicious. It's worthy of being the most famous donkey meat restaurant in the area."

At other seats in the store, Wu Chunyang and the little agents lowered their heads to eat, and the hall was filled with the clinking sound of bowls and chopsticks colliding.

"As long as you are satisfied, just tell me if you need anything." The waiter put down the plate and prepared to leave.

"Wait! What do you do? Where are you from? Where are you going? Just stay still."

Outside the door, a man with a strange skeleton and an unprecedented rat-like beard walked into the store with his eyes slanted, and his eyes as big as green beans glanced at everyone.

6◇9◇Book◇Bar

Wu Chunyang was frightened by the man's appearance, and slapped him hard in the face, making the rat-bearded man spin several times on the spot.

"Ouch!"

The man with a rat-like beard covered his face and wailed. His right hand reached for the gun box on his waist, but before he could touch the gun, several pistols were pointed at his forehead and back. He was so scared that he begged for mercy.

"Have mercy! Master Ba, have mercy! Every wrong has its perpetrator, and every debt has its creditor. I will take my brothers to find the Black Vine Lady."

Seeing this, the waiter and the restaurant owner hid behind the counter. The young man in a long gown who came with the man with the rat-beard at the door felt his legs go weak and he ran away with his feet greased.
"Okay, let him go and wait for his owner to come." Zuo Chong wiped the corners of his mouth with a handkerchief, his voice flat.

Wu Chunyang asked the spy to let go of the man with the rat-beard, and then he bent over and said, "Yes, sir."

The shopkeeper blinked and came up to the waiter: "Why do these people look like ghosts to me? Ugh... like Japanese. Tell me, what are they here for?"

The waiter still smiled and shook his head, saying, "How should I know? I only know that Captain Jia is in big trouble this time, and Lady Black Vine will be here soon. Shopkeeper, please go back to your room and hide."

Speak of the devil, and he will appear. Kurofuji, who had fought with Nojiri at Hayashi Fuichiro's wedding, rushed into the hotel with a group of Japanese soldiers.

"Raise your hands and surrender immediately. I promise not to harm you. The Japanese locust army says one thing to your face and another behind your back. They do the same thing."

Hei Teng adjusted his glasses, which were thicker than the bottom of a bottle, tilted his head and spoke sternly to Zuo Chong and others.

The rat-bearded man felt like he had seen his own father when he saw Hei Teng. He hugged his thigh and howled, "Mr. Hei Teng, these people must be the Eighth Route Army. I almost couldn't see you anymore."

Wu Chunyang thought, what is going on here? One thing in front of others, another behind their backs? Was this devil wrong, or was he deliberately making things difficult for them? Without figuring it out, he threw the documents on the table.

Hei Teng pulled a few times but couldn't get rid of the plaster on his leg. He could only stretch out his arm to pick up the certificate from a distance, hold it in front of his eyes, and read out the contents loudly.

"Photo Weekly reporter..."

He slammed the letter shut, and his expression changed several times in just a few seconds, showing shock, fear, and suspicion.

The certificate was real, but why would a reporter from Photo Weekly come to such a place? Hei Teng didn't know whether he should believe the other party.

Zuo Zhong, who was in the middle of the crowd, did not turn around and said, "You are Mr. Hei Teng from the Huangcheng Office, right? If you have any questions about our identities, you can verify them with the Baocheng Military Police Headquarters."

Hei Teng was shocked and believed the identity of the person who came. He turned around and ordered the Japanese soldiers to collect their guns and sent someone to contact the gendarmerie headquarters. He then walked carefully to Zuo Chong and waited for news.

The reason for his reaction was that the people of the Republic of China and even ordinary Japanese officers were unaware of the existence of the "Huangcheng Office".

In 1938, the Japanese North China Front Army established a secret committee with the aim of eradicating underground party ideology and eliminating anti-Japanese consciousness.

The head of the committee was the chief of staff of the North China Front Army, and its members included the heads of various departments of the general staff, the ministers of the gendarmerie and police forces, as well as personnel in China from the consulate, the Asia Development Board, the North China Development Corporation, the North China Transportation Corporation and other agencies.

Because its office address was near the imperial city of Peking, it was known to the outside world as the "Huangcheng Office". It had branches in all counties and cities in Hebei Province, and the identities of its members were kept highly confidential.

For example, Hei Teng’s public identity is the head of a secret service agency, but how could a county town have a secret service agency? His real position is an external intelligence officer of the Huangcheng Office.

The person who came could reveal such a confidential matter in one sentence, so he must have connections with the senior military or intelligence agencies. Thinking of this, Hei Teng secretly looked at Zuo Zhong and his attitude became more respectful.

Not long after, the Japanese spy who went to verify his identity returned to the hotel and whispered something to Hei Teng. After listening, Hei Teng bowed to Zuo Zhong again to apologize, and then left with the dog-skin plaster.

After seeing off the uninvited guest and making sure the environment was safe, Zuo Zhong lifted the plate on the table with his index finger and lightly hooked it with his little finger. A small piece of paper landed in his palm. When he unfolded it, there was a line of small words on it.

"Tomorrow morning at 8 o'clock, at the Land God Temple in the west of the city. No one will be waiting after the time. Shi."