cicada

Chapter 793 February 8

1937 8 Month 13 Day.

The Chinese intelligence agency's attack on the Japanese fortifications the day before completely angered the Japanese troops stationed in Shanghai. Scouts from the Navy's Special Marine Corps even entered Nanxiang openly.

The Chinese and Japanese armies no longer concealed it, seized favorable terrain one after another, and continued to advance the front, resulting in scattered and staggered positions, and the distance between the two armies was too close, so local skirmishes occurred from time to time.

Near noon, all employees of the Shanghai Special City Waterworks located on the outskirts of the city had been evacuated, and armed men in overalls could be seen patrolling the factory from time to time.

After Mr. Zhang's mopping plan was completed, Shanghai-based personnel from the Secret Service gathered here in batches. After all, at this time, it was too conspicuous for so many middle-aged men to appear in the urban area, which was not conducive to hiding.

Standing on the iron frame of the purification pool, Zuo Zhong frowned when he heard the gunshots ringing in the distance. This time it was really going to be a fight, and he didn't know if he could take Shanghai smoothly.

In the history of the previous life, Guo Jun's actions fell short in the end, turning a war of annihilation into a protracted war. After the Japanese landed from Hangzhou Bay, the entire Songhu fell.

Now that their Secret Service has done so much preparatory work, the national government has the upper hand in terms of military strength, equipment, and intelligence, and it should not repeat the same mistakes again.

But this matter is not certain, Guodang is like a big Xu Enzeng, who never disappoints in terms of losing the chain, and can always make low-level mistakes in unexpected places.

"Deputy Director, news from the city."

At this time, He Yijun came over and reported the latest information: "At present, the Guojun and the Japanese have entered a state of actual combat, and the Military Commission asked us to verify which side fired the first shot.

It is reported that at 9:15 in the morning, a part of the Japanese Marine Corps, disguised as a ronin, broke into the defense area of ​​the Tiantongan Security Headquarters and caused trouble. The guard fired a shot into the air, and the Japanese army fired at our army.

At the same time, the head of the [-]rd Regiment led the next battalion to search and advance to the Bazi Bridge. When the vanguard arrived at the west of the bridge, the enemy's outpost troops just arrived, and conflicts broke out between the two sides.

Due to the inability to get close to the investigation, neither the East China District nor our people could be sure which shot was fired first. District Chief Yu Xingle asked for instructions whether to destroy the combat records of the [-]rd Regiment and issue a password ban to the participants to prevent information from leaking. "

"No need."

Zuo Zhong sneered coldly: "Could it be wrong for us to shoot first? The Japanese occupied Xiaoliuqiu, Northeast China, Beiping, and Jinmen, and the Guo army just chose to take the initiative to counterattack in Shanghai.

It doesn't matter who shoots first, whether it's at Hongqiao Airport, Tiantong Nunnery, or Baziqiao, it can't change the premise of the devil's aggression, and it doesn't damage the justice of our resistance to aggression in the slightest.

Besides, the Japanese are not blind, how could there be no record of such a big firefight, just destroying the records of the 300rd regiment is useless, this kind of behavior of not having [-] taels of silver here makes us feel guilty.

Report directly to Jinling that it was indeed the Japanese army who fired provocatively at our army and provoked this dispute. The evidence was made up by the military itself. This matter has nothing to do with the Secret Service. "

Zuo Zhong didn't understand, it's time for life and death, why these insects still care about the so-called political influence and international perspective, don't they know that if they don't fight back, the country will be destroyed?And what about the pre-emptive strike?

Originally, according to Chief Zhang's plan, the siege troops would launch an attack at dawn on the 13th. With a sweeping posture, when the enemy was caught off guard, they would defeat the enemy's main force in one fell swoop and take down Shanghai as a whole.

But last night, not long after he came back from Nanxiang, the master of micromanagement suddenly called and asked all departments to suspend operations, ordering the military to wait for orders and avoid small-scale conflicts from triggering large-scale battles.

It turned out that after the Japanese army stronghold was swept away, the consuls of various countries formally came forward to mediate the Sino-Japanese conflict in order to avoid a war in Shanghai. The government that claimed to attack the government a second ago said that as long as the Japanese did not move, the Guojun would not move.

The well-established strategy changes again and again, military and state affairs are like playing house, how can we not make people worry, but what can a colonel worry about? There is a saying that kills a thief if you want to kill a thief, but you can’t bring it back to heaven. Such circumstances.

Zuo Zhong waved his hand helplessly: "Forget it, let's not talk about this, you can send the report as I said, I will go to the interrogation room to see, so that those spies will not be beaten to death by that guy Gui Youguang."

After speaking, he left the purification pool and walked towards a tall building made of cement. It used to be the warehouse of the water plant, but now it has been converted into a temporary detention center by the Secret Service.

Stepping into the dark doorway, he walked slowly into the small room, just in time to see the big bald head "massaging" the least injured spy - hitting the hammer heavily on the opponent's knee.

There was only a click, and the thigh broke in response. The target who was tied to the tiger stool was trembling all over, tears, saliva, and nose gushing out all at once, but he still shouted in disbelief.

"I'm a member of the Cao Gang in Shanghai. I went to Nanxiang just to watch the fun. Why arrest me? You soldiers are not capable of beating the Japanese, so you take out your anger on us ordinary people. What kind of heroes are you?"

Hearing the other party's refusal, several small spies were about to get the tongs, turned around and saw the deputy director came, and hurriedly bowed their heads to say hello, Zuo Zhong didn't speak and looked at the bruised and bruised interrogation target with a pensive expression.

This person does not have a southern accent, and his speech has the taste of the Pingjin area, and he has no fear of torture. He is much tougher than ordinary traitors, but he doesn't look like he has received intelligence training.

Professional spies would not be so amateurish, they could even make mistakes in their dialect, if not, the Military Law Office would not be able to catch these people, and those bastards are better than each other, talking about counter-espionage, haha.

To put it bluntly, even if the real spy stood in front of him holding a sign, they might not be able to catch him, so what is the background of this person, just thinking about it, the torture began again.

"Hey, Niang Niang speaks northern mandarin, and she told me that she is a member of the Cao Gang in Shanghai?"

Gui Youguang didn't listen to the explanation at all, he raised his hand and smashed it expressionlessly, and soon one of the person's legs turned into meat paste, and the huge pain made him faint.

Before it was over, a pot of pepper water was poured on his head and wound. The man who called himself Cao Gang let out an inhuman roar, and the two-finger-wide cowhide rope almost broke free.

In a trance, the spy thought that the young man who came in seemed to have a lot of status, and felt that this kind of second-generation ancestor must be a child with no knowledge of the world, so he immediately spit out fragrances and tried to anger the other party, wishing to die.

"Little boy, look at you..."

"Hey, I told you a long time ago that the interrogation requires skill, and beating alone won't do it."

Zuo Zhong was not angry, and pointed at the half-dead interrogation subject: "Find a mad dog, and if he doesn't tell the truth, let him watch his own leg being swallowed by the dog, I want to see how hard his mouth is.

If you can't ask, just feed the dog and find the next one. I don't have time to grind my teeth with a few small characters. Remember, you must ask who is behind the scenes before dawn tomorrow. Chief Zhang is not a good-tempered master. "

Hearing that the target was going to be fed to the dog, Gui Youguang licked his lips excitedly, and signaled the little spy to prepare according to the order of the deputy director. After working in interrogation for so long, he really hadn't tried this trick.

Only then did the spies at the side understand that the other party was not a chick, he was clearly a smiling tiger who eats people and doesn't spit out bones. If he didn't tell the truth, he would definitely not be able to live. He was not afraid of death. He was afraid that life would be worse than death.

Thinking of this, this person no longer hesitated and shouted loudly: "Sir, I recruit, I am Chang Yuqing's subordinate, I wanted to make a living, but who knew that this old boy took refuge in the Japanese.

He ordered the young man to go to Nanxiang to find out the movement of the imperial army. As a result, not long after we entered the town, we were caught by the army men, and we hadn't had time to report. "

It was Chang Yuqing again.

This dog traitor.

Zuo Zhong frowned, and after thinking for a while, he suddenly asked the spy: "I heard that your accent is from the north, from Jinmen? No wonder you have such a hard mouth. Why, do you regard me as the county government office that "please hit"?"

Let me tell you, this is the Secret Service, so I don't want you to be fierce and fierce. Besides, if you were really embarrassing, you wouldn't ask for death just now, so you pretend to be a tough guy here.

If you want to get out alive, tell me honestly, how did you meet Chang Yuqing, when did you come to Shanghai, and where is that old guy now, you only have one chance. "

The so-called "please fight" in his mouth refers to the fact that when the county magistrate was handed over, all the gangsters from Jinmen would rush to the county office, shouting voluntarily, please fight, hoping that the county master will be fulfilled and other cruel words.

If the county magistrate refused to fight, then they would not want to disperse, but it is unrealistic to beat hundreds of gangsters all at once. The only way to decide who can get a beating is to draw black and red lottery.

The rule is that if you get a red ticket, you don't have to be beaten. If you get a black ticket, on the contrary, the gangsters all hope that they can get a black ticket.

Moreover, this thing can be passed down from father to son. The more black tickets in the family, the higher the status in the world. This is the reason why Jinmen gangsters fight fiercely. The two gangs negotiate regardless of who is more or less.

It depends on who is more ruthless to oneself, who stabs oneself a few times, digs out the flesh of the body and weighs it, which is commonplace.

Combining the target's accent and the characteristics of not being afraid of torture, Zuo Zhong guessed that the other party should be a member of the Jinmen Cao Gang, not the Shanghai Cao Gang. The Shanghai gangsters are not so stubborn.

"Father, you are right."

The spy was stunned for a moment, lowered his head and replied honestly: "The young one is indeed from the Cao Gang in Jinmen, and escaped after making a big mistake with his brother a few years ago, and met Chang Yuqing in the Northeast.

That old bastard said that the Japanese are here to help us and let us do things for him. I know he is lying to me. The Eight-Power Allied Forces did a lot of harm to Jinmen, but we have no food and clothing, so we can only listen to him. .

At the end of July, Chang Yuqing said he was going back to the customs. Not long after, the devils transported the big guy to Shanghai on a freighter. After arriving, everyone was not allowed to come out at the pier for eating and drinking. I saw him again a few nights ago.

I really don't know where he is, this old boy doesn't believe anyone, he never says where he lives, and he doesn't allow anyone to discuss it, sir, I'm willing to take the blame and do meritorious service, don't feed the man to the dog, okay? "

"The rest of them are your companions, right?" Zuo Zhong didn't answer directly, but gave the other party a cold first look: "Don't say I won't give you a chance, persuade them to surrender, and spare you."

"Nothing, don't worry."

Once they surrendered, the unscrupulousness in this person came back again, and they felt that they had endured for so long, and they were already worthy of the three melons and two dates that Chang Yuqing gave, which was not considered disrespectful.

Zuo Zhong didn't bother to speak, he waved his hand to let the spies who lost a leg be taken down, and stared at the bloody tiger stool, lost in thought.

The Japanese are pressing every step of the way, the traitors are the minions of tigers, the government is as cowardly as a mouse, and someone is hesitant. If this continues, the government may end.

As a loyal minister of the party and the country, it seemed that he had done something, and he made up his mind to pay attention. He told Gui Youguang a few words and left the water plant.

That night, Shenbao, which has many readers in Shanghai, published an anonymous article, pointing out that peace is hopeless now, sacrifices are at the last moment, and we can no longer retreat lightly.

The Chinese are certainly unwilling to provoke, but since the enemy is oppressing everywhere, they must no longer stick to the two words of defense and resistance in strategy, so as to avoid repeating the mistakes of the Northeast Campaign and the Great Wall Campaign.

You must never be passive defensively forever. You must understand that the place of this battle is on your own territory. The more you advance, the less losses you will suffer from the people, and the less losses you will suffer from patriotic businessmen.

So who is a patriotic businessman? Anyway, the four big families think they are, especially when the Japanese are eyeing their assets. I heard that there were several phone calls into the Qilu that day.

I also heard that someone scolded his mother Xipi immediately after answering the phone, broke several teacups, and ordered the Secret Service to monitor the news media in Shanghai to find bad elements with ulterior motives.

There is a saying that only magic can defeat magic, and Zuo Chong has seen it.

On August 8, the Chinese Air Force, which had been fighting for a long time, was ordered to attack and repeatedly bombed the enemy's land strongholds. On the same day, Jinling issued the "Statement of Self-Defense and Anti-Japanese War", announcing the implementation of the natural right of self-defense to fight against the invaders.

At 5:[-] p.m., the besieging troops officially launched an attack after the air force bombed. The bloody curtain of the war had already begun.

晚上7时，军委会电令调防长安的第36师火速开赴沪上参战，沿途一切车辆通通让路；又令正由江城增援华北的第18军第11师、第14师、第67师转向苏城输送。

目的是尽快将87师、88师、95师、56师、独立第20旅以及上述部队全部投入到沪上争夺战中，彻底将日本人的驻军赶下海。

The "Central Daily", the party's throat media, finally shyly issued a statement on the second day after the start of the war: Since the leader decided to go to war in Songhu and took the initiative to attack, he must have a strategic intention.

In this regard, the literati and writers in the government jumped out to praise that Shanghai is the center of economic gravity, and it depends on the outlook of China and foreign countries. Therefore, it does not hesitate to sacrifice any sacrifices and fights tenaciously, and the achievements are especially great.

Secondly, it is a good idea to use the Battle of Songhu to attract the Japanese army, reduce the pressure on our army in North China, disrupt the Japanese army's combat plan, and gain the initiative.

Furthermore, using strategy to promote political strategy, using the Battle of Songhu to implicate the interests of various countries in Shanghai, prompting the United States, Britain and other major powers or international organizations to intervene and mediate, so as to achieve the peaceful goal of resolving Sino-Japanese disputes and safeguarding existing sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Finally, instead of fighting the Japanese army in the North China Plain, it would be more advantageous to use the rugged terrain of lakes, marshes and mountains to offset the advantage of the enemy's mechanized troops in the Yangtze River Basin.

Even if the war cannot be completed as scheduled, the stalemate can also be used to transport the materials from the factories in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, retreat to the established defense positions, and prepare for long-term defensive operations.

These words sound good, and the frontline soldiers are working hard, but the actual battle situation is not ideal. Although the siege situation has formed, the progress is very slow.

Within a few hours of the start of the battle, the Guo army firmly seized the favorable opportunity when the main force of the Japanese army had not yet arrived in Shanghai to attack the enemy first, and relied on the cover of the air force to besiege the Japanese strongholds entrenched in Hongkou and Yangshupu.

The Ninth Army, formed by the 36th Division, 87th Division, and 88th Division, went through many fierce battles under the leadership of Chief Zhang. Using the detailed information passed by the Secret Service, it basically wiped out all the outer strongholds of the Japanese army and suppressed the remaining Japanese troops. Naval Special Marine Corps Command and other positions.

The Japanese army was at a disadvantage in numbers and lacked heavy weapons, so they could only rely on solid obstacles to block the passage and use chariots as mobile fortresses.

The artillery shooting also failed to achieve the expected results due to the solid target. On the afternoon of the 14th, the brigade commander of the 88th Brigade of the 264th Division was hit by Japanese artillery shells while commanding operations at Jiangwan Girls' School, and died heroically on the spot.

The army fought hard, and the navy was even worse. Even with the mobilization intelligence of the Japanese navy given by Hase Ryosuke, the national navy was almost wiped out in the face of an enemy with huge sea and air superiority.

The only bright spot on the battlefield is the air force,

On August 8, the Chinese Air Force, which had known for a long time that the Japanese naval aviation was coming to attack Jianqiao Airport, led the fourth brigade led by Zuo Zhong's old acquaintance, the senior high school, to take off against 14 enemy planes and scored a 16-6 victory.

Still on the 14th, the deputy captain of the 2nd Brigade of the Air Force bombed the cruiser Izumo. Unfortunately, the Izumo was not sunk.

However, local advantages cannot change the overall battle situation.

On August 8, because someone was dissatisfied with the progress of the Songhu Battlefield, he sent Chief Chen, the chief of the Civil Engineering Department, the Deputy Chief of Military and Political Affairs, as the commander-in-chief of the former enemy in the third theater.

On the 21st, the 36th Division once attacked Huishan Wharf, an important stronghold of the Japanese army. The battle became fiercer and fiercer each time.

At dawn on August 8, Japanese Army General Matsui Iwane led all the 23rd and 3th Divisions, and one brigade each from the 11st and 1th Divisions to land in Wusong, Shizilin, and Chuanshakou under the cover of sea and air firepower.

Without waiting for a rest, they attacked Baoshan, Luodian, and Liuhe on the left flank of the Guo army, and at the same time attacked Chuansha and Pudong on the right flank of the Guo army. Threat to the army flank.

The High Command hastily formed the 15th Army Group, and strictly ordered the 98th and 11th Divisions under its jurisdiction, as well as the 67th and 14th Divisions that had just arrived in Jiading, to rush to various places to fight against the enemy's landing, but the accident happened again.

Since none of the 15th Army units reached the designated position, the Japanese army captured Luodian. After learning about the situation, Commander-in-Chief Zhang of the 9th Army ordered the 36th, 87th, and 88th Divisions in the urban area to hold their positions.

急令教导总队第2团阻击张华浜之敌，第78师调1个旅支援吴淞，抽出第98师大部向宝山、杨行、罗店推进，98师直属部队和第11师阻击登陆之敌人。

The tragic bloody battle at Luodian began. The frontline officers and soldiers fought bravely without fear of artillery fire. They used their flesh and blood to delay the powerful Japanese offensive, greatly curbing the enemy's rapid advance to the inland, and even retaking Luodian.

However, after most of the troops rushed to the Songhu battlefield, they rushed into battle without a full rest. They didn't even complete the basic fortifications, and lacked basic logistical support. Many officers and soldiers couldn't even eat a full meal.

Seeing this situation, the citizens of Shanghai erupted with strong patriotic enthusiasm. Whether in the Chinese or foreign concessions, countless people prepared meals and handed them to the logistics team organized by Boss Du, who risked their lives and sent them to the front line.

Fundraisers, speeches, parades.

Workers, students, farmers, small handicraftsmen, and capitalists all acted to do their part for the survival of the nation.

In the early morning of August 8, on the second floor of a villa at No. 27 Hede Road in the public concession, Zuo Zhong held a coffee cup and looked into the distance. The gloomy skyline flashed light from time to time, illuminating the dark clouds.

It wasn't thunder, but the large-caliber artillery of China and Japan were firing. This situation has been going on for several days. Judging from the current situation, it may continue for a longer period of time.

Since the day of the 13th, gunfire, gunshots, and death have become part of the life of Shanghai citizens. Many people have changed from fear to indifference, and then from indifference to numbness.

In addition to donations and material donations, the work that should go to work, the class that should go to class, the business of the big world is better than usual, and countless people are hesitant and helpless.

The intelligence personnel of the Secret Service in Shanghai also started the second phase of the mission, which is to use forged identities to create as many activity tracks as possible, so as to confuse possible future investigations.

The Japanese intelligence agency is not a vegetarian, and it will be too late for them to lurk after Shanghai falls. If you want to take root in this world, you must make preparations in advance.

For example, Zuo Zhong's current identity is an engineer of an American electrical company, with high salary, flexible working hours, certain social status, and frequent business trips, which is suitable as a cover identity.

This villa is rented. It covers an area of ​​more than 3000 square feet and is luxuriously decorated. The most wonderful thing is that there is a wine cellar that has not been approved by the Ministry of Industry and Bureau, which can be used as a secret room with a little modification.

The owner of the house is a British businessman who has been doing business in Australia all year round. As long as the money is sufficient and the house is not set on fire, the other party does not care who you are or what you are doing in Shanghai.

"Jingle Bell……"

Suddenly the bedside phone rang, Zuo Zhong put down his coffee and picked up the receiver, listened quietly to the other person for a while, then smiled and said that he would be there on time tomorrow, exchanged a few words and hung up the phone.

Just at this time, the red sun was rising and the visibility was gradually improving. Several Japanese naval bombers swaggered over Shanghai, and the pilots wearing goggles kept looking at the ground through the hatch cover.

Not long after, three dazzling reflections flashed past in a certain area in the northwest of the city. The nose of the lead plane flying in the front sank slightly, and the body deflected to the right and quickly dived down.

(End of this chapter)