cicada

Chapter 794 Air Strike
"Let the 87th Division."

In the hall of a factory house near St. John's University in Shanghai, more than a dozen radio stations were beeping, and the staff officers were walking with the wind. In front of a large-scale map of Songhu, Commander Zhang issued combat orders.

At this point in the war, the intentions of those "strategists" were half completed. That is, the main force of the Japanese army was attracted to East China, the international community began to condemn the Japanese army, and important factories in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River began to relocate.

What can be used as a price is that under the heavy artillery of the Japanese giant ships, the Guojun troops are disappearing rapidly at the scale of one company or even one battalion per hour, and young lives are turned into blood mud.

The literati dismissed it. In their eyes, a little human life is just a necessity to realize the freedom of the country and the nation. Of course, if they are allowed to go to the battlefield, it is absolutely impossible.

Looking at the deployment of troops on the map, Chief Zhang frowned. After more than ten days of fighting, the government's advantage is getting smaller and smaller, while the enemy's advantage is getting bigger and bigger. The battle in the urban area has fallen into a stalemate.

China and Japan began to fight for every house, every workshop, every road intersection, every wall, and even every pile of ruins. Fierce battles broke out everywhere.

In some places where the front lines are too close, the soldiers of the two armies can even hear each other's breathing. In this harsh situation, the military quality of the soldiers determines the outcome of the war.

Fortunately, the 36th Division, 87th Division, and 88th Division under the Ninth Army were developed from the original capital guard force. They are the most elite units in the national army and have received strict training from German consultants.

Otherwise, there is no need to fight this battle. You must know that the Japanese Navy Special Marine Corps is a highly professional force. Every ordinary soldier has many years of service experience and a high level of skills and tactics.

At the same time, the Ninth Army's strength advantage was not great. After the limited strength was dispersed in complex cities, how to organize each battle was the first thing the commander had to consider, and Commander Zhang was exhausted by this.

"Buzzing~~"

Just as he was having a headache for the attack and defense of a key position, the roar of the plane could be heard faintly outside, and the guard who had been standing at the window looked over with a serious expression on his face.

In the next second, a second lieutenant quickly ran to Officer Zhang and pulled him outside. Other guards rolled up maps, binoculars and other items and followed behind. Officer Zhang, who was interrupted from thinking, was furious.

"What are you doing?"

"Sir, the Japanese plane is coming."

"Whenever they don't come, let me go."

"This time is different, sir, please follow us to the air-raid shelter."

"Go and evacuate the staff."

"We are only responsible for your safety, sir."

The second lieutenant ignored Officer Zhang's order and used all his strength to take him out of the gate of the commune, and walked towards the park not far away. Others in the commune seemed to have not seen this scene and continued to do their work at hand.

It wasn't until the roar of the Japanese planes was getting closer that under the urging of the guards, these high-tech personnel in the Republic of China put down their earphones and phones, and lined up to evacuate outside.

They had just left the building when four heavy aerial bombs roared and fell from the sky. The turbine windmill fuze at the tail of the bombs spun crazily.

Ten seconds later, the aerial bomb with the plaster flag painted on it hit the concrete floor in the communal house, and the firing pin hit the cap, causing the primer to instantly detonate the detonator, which in turn detonated the main charge of the bomb.

At almost the same time, three other aerial bombs also fell in the surrounding area, and one of them hit the building. After a suffocating silence, several deafening explosions rang out suddenly.

Zuo Zhong, who was far away in the public concession, was adjusting the cuff of his shirt in front of the mirror. The coffee cups on the bedside suddenly made a clanging sound, and the chandelier above his head began to swing continuously.

The Japanese naval guns fired?
Zuo Zhong was startled, this situation had happened several times these days, so he quickly went to the window to look outside, and found several smoke columns rising from the northwest, and several black spots hovering in the sky.

After roughly calculating the location, he broke out in a cold sweat immediately. That was the direction of Huajie, which was now in the hands of the government. There was no need for the Guojun to bomb his own people. It must be the Japanese planes that were doing the air strikes.

At present, there is one and only one place, which is worthy of the enemy using such a powerful bomb, and that is Commander Zhang's Ninth Army Headquarters.

But why would the devil know the specific location of the headquarters? In wartime, this is top secret information.

Not to mention the ordinary officers and soldiers who participated in the war, even he, the deputy director of the Secret Service in charge of intelligence work, had never grasped it, and the reported information was all forwarded through the Jinling headquarters.

And as the war progresses, the headquarters will be adjusted from time to time in order to better command the front-line troops. Could it be that there are Japanese spies by Mr. Zhang's side?
Sitting down and thinking for a long time, Zuo Zhong looked at his watch, quickly put on his clothes, adjusted his expression and walked out of the villa, driving a semi-old Ford car into the road.

The street is still a bustling scene. Many people are discussing the previous explosion. Some say that the Japanese warship bombed, and some say that the Guojun arsenal is gone. All kinds of gossip are spreading among the citizens. .

It didn't take long for a shocking news to spread. The headquarters of the Ninth Army of the Guojun Army was attacked by devils. Commander Zhang Zhang was killed on the spot, and public opinion was in an uproar for a while.

The Guo army at the forefront of the battle also knew about this, and their morale inevitably declined. The Japanese took the opportunity to regain many key points, and the balance of victory slowly tilted towards the Japanese side.

Fortunately, Chief Zhang soon spoke to the outside world through the battlefield radio, asking the officers and soldiers not to believe the rumors, stating that he had retreated before the air strike, and he was not injured or killed.

In the ruins of a factory in Hongkou, dozens of soldiers squatting behind the bunker, led by the officer, listened carefully to the sound coming from a small speaker.

"Brothers, I am Zhang Wenbai. The devils are at their wit's end. If they want to defeat us in this way, we must not be fooled by them. I order, continue to attack and completely wipe out the Japanese.

If I unfortunately die in the country, the command of the Ninth Army will be handed over to Commander Sun of the 88th Division. I will be inferior to myself, not fighting until the last soldier, and never taking a step back. Anyone who dares to disturb the morale of the army will be dealt with by military law. "

Hearing this, the soldiers immediately cheered and threw themselves into a new round of battle with high ambition. The triumphant Japanese army was caught off guard, and the battle situation in Shanghai returned to the previous situation.

And Chief Zhang, who put down the microphone, was silent for a while and asked the adjutant next to him: "How are the casualties of the military personnel? Immediately send someone to the concession to find the best doctor. We must revive the wounded."

"There were heavy casualties. The staff of the staff stayed on until the last moment. Half of them were killed, and the remaining half were mostly seriously injured. 23 communication and security personnel died, 42 were seriously injured, and more than a dozen were slightly injured." The adjutant lowered his head.

Officer Zhang, who hadn't had a good rest for several days and nights, opened his mouth and slammed the table hard: "What are the surrounding guards doing? The enemy's precision bombing must require ground guides.

Is this how they protect the headquarters? Someone, I will kill the company commander in charge of the security work. This kind of dereliction of duty is not a pity to die. Report to Jinling immediately and ask the Secret Service to send people to support.

We must find out the leader of the devils, otherwise this battle cannot be fought. By the way, it is best to send that man named Zuo Zhong. They say that no spy can escape from him. I want to see if it is true. real. "

"Yes, Commander."

Following the adjutant's return order, a telegram was sent to the Communication Office of the Military Commission in Jinling, followed by internal calls to Qilu and the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics.

The original antiquated state machinery exploded with astonishing response speed during the war. In just a few 10 minutes, orders that took days or more than ten days before the war were quickly issued to the Secret Service.

Besides, Zuo Zhong left his residence and came to the electric company where he was pretending to be. He went out again after get off work near noon, drove around Shanghai for a few laps, and finally stopped outside a French restaurant.

"Sir, please come in."

Wearing a vest, Wu Chunyang stood at the door and greeted him warmly. He pushed open the door of the restaurant, smiled and welcomed him in, and handed out a note when the two passed by.

Zuo Zhong sat down on the table facing the door with a calm demeanor, flattened the note under the cover of the menu, and swept his eyes over it.

I saw that it was written impressively: The headquarters of the Ninth Army was attacked by air, find the Japanese ground guides, urgent!
Sure enough, Commander Zhang's headquarters was attacked. Zuo Zhong casually ordered a steak. After the waiter left, he took out a cigarette case and took out a cigarette. With his right hand, he twisted a piece of paper into a roll and wrapped it quietly around the cigarette, lit it with a lighter. Take a deep breath.

The smell was really unpleasant, but he still pretended to enjoy it and exhaled the smoke, lightly flicked the ash into the ashtray, and glanced at the fully armed concession patrol team outside the store.

Since the war between China and Japan started, the concession area has been alarmed three times a day, and a small number of troops have been dispatched to maintain law and order, prevent spies and eliminate traitors, and there are far fewer gangsters who are extorting everywhere than usual.

That's the problem. It's the same in the peaceful concessions. The security around Commander Zhang's headquarters can be imagined, and the ground guidance must be carried out in an open area. As for the guards, it seems that this task is not easy.

After eating something casually, Zuo Zhong and Wu Chunyang looked at each other silently, put the banknotes on the table and walked out, he decided to go to the air raid site first, maybe he could find some clues.

It would be very difficult for ordinary people to get from the Chinese settlement to the concession, but it is relatively easy for the concession personnel to go to the Chinese settlement as long as they have an official identity certificate.

Zuo Zhong drove the car and saw many people sitting on both sides of the road along the way. He couldn't help but sighed deeply. At this time, the population of Shanghai was about 300 million, and the people who originally lived in the concession were 230 million.

As soon as the war broke out, nearly 100 million refugees fled from Nanshi, Zhabei and the surrounding suburbs to the foreign concessions. Of these 100 million refugees, only a small part could temporarily stay in hotels and relatives' homes, and the other 70 people lived in open spaces.

In the early days of the war, the orphanage run by the church received more than 200 abandoned babies within half a day, which shows the hardships of life for refugees.

Rather be a peace dog than a disorderly person, this sentence is very suitable at this moment.

The Indian policeman on duty in the distance saw the car approaching, raised a stick to drive away the beggars who were trying to beg on the window of the car, and bowed politely to Zuo Chong in the car.

Zuo Zhong nodded slightly and stepped on the accelerator lightly to leave this section of the road. As for getting out of the car to reprimand the other party, that's not what an intelligence officer should do. Kindness is a fatal weakness for an intelligence officer.

It took him 10 minutes to get close to the checkpoint. When he saw his American passport, the American military officer who led the team solemnly stated that the Chinese border is very dangerous, and it is best not to go there unless necessary.

In addition to sending regular troops to fight against the Guojun, the Japanese also recruited many rural soldiers (retired soldiers) and expatriates to form a so-called volunteer team, which went deep into the Chinese border to destroy it.

These people are fighting in the name of cooperation, but in fact they do all kinds of crimes by killing and stealing goods. When they meet rich people, they directly rush in to burn, kill and loot, which has caused several bloody cases.

Therefore, there is no place in China that is safe. When they see a car passing by, they are likely to rob, regardless of which country the driver is a citizen of.

However, after Zuo Zhong repeatedly stated that he needed to repair the equipment, the officer still chose to let it go and handed him an American flag.

Although the United States does not have the power and influence of the most powerful country after World War II, it does not dare to provoke anyone, provided that it does not seek death.

Zuo Zhong didn't refuse the other party's kindness, he hung the flag on the side of the car with a smile, and drove into the Huajie where gunshots continued without hesitation.

The car was driving on the desolate street, and there were ruins everywhere. Some people who were reluctant to leave stood in the ruins, numbly looking for the only remaining property or the corpse of their relatives.

The oppressive atmosphere made people feel breathless, Zuo Zhong speeded up expressionlessly, until he was stopped by a group of soldiers claiming to be from the 88th Division near the bombing site.

"What are you doing, documents."

An officer without a collar badge, whose military uniform was covered with gun oil, blood and holes, pointed his pistol at the car, and raised the crooked M35 helmet on his head to ask loudly.

This is not because the army is disorganized. Due to the rampant sharpshooters of the devils, all the troops entering the theater have removed their obvious military rank marks, and only rely on the badges on their chests to identify their ranks, arms, affiliations, and positions.

If it is really like the protagonists in later generations of film and television dramas who don the collar badges of colonels and lieutenant colonels, wandering in the front line in a grand manner, it will take a long time to have a meal.

The battlefield is the cruelest and most efficient survival school, because those who cannot learn will die.

Zuo Zhong glanced at the other party's badge, and slowly took out his ID and handed it over: "I am an engineer of a foreign company with American capital. There is a machine in the suburban factory that needs repairing. Please let me go, Mr. Officer."

"Factory? The factory is shut down. There is no machine to be repaired. I think you are the devil's spy. Brothers, arrest people." The officer rolled up his sleeves and issued an order viciously.

A few soldiers rushed forward without saying a word, pulled the car door, and raised the gleaming bayonet. One of the soldiers made too much movement, causing the unique Y-shaped leather strap of the 88th Division to slip off his shoulder.

The short soldier pulled back his straps nervously and hopped slightly. The German-made 1924 standard Mauser rifle in his hand trembled slightly. He looked like an inexperienced recruit.

"Don't shoot, I'm coming down."

Zuo Zhong, who was kicked out of the car, frowned, took out all the dollars in his wallet, and pointed to the pass-through certificate to explain: "I am an American citizen, not a spy, if you don't believe me, look at it.

This money is just for me to invite you to drink. Although I have a foreign nationality, my heart is Chinese. I have never lagged behind in donations from the labor force. This time I returned to China to build the country. "

He couldn't help but put the money in his hand to the leading officer, then raised his hands and stepped aside, signaling that he was not threatening.

The officer looked at the banknotes, his stern face slowly relaxed, walked to the side of the car and checked the interior of the car and the trunk, and found that there were no suspicious items except for some tools.

So this person put the money in his pocket calmly, handed back his ID, and said in an official tone: "So it's a patriotic overseas Chinese, then it's okay, you can go to the factory area along this road.

If someone checks again, you will say that the Military Law Department of the 88th Division has already checked, so that they don't have to search, and go back to the concession as soon as they finish repairing the machine. "

"Okay, thank you."

Zuo Zhong took the ID and thanked him, turned around, got in the car, started the engine and left the checkpoint. After driving a few hundred meters, he looked in the rearview mirror with a serious look in his eyes.

After driving for a while, more and more Guojun troops were withdrawn from the front line to rest and recuperate. He went around a few times and was stopped again.

The headquarters was bombed by the Japanese, and so many of their comrades died. Many Guojun soldiers were filled with evil spirits, and naturally they would not easily let go of a suspicious-looking person.

Fortunately, Zai Zuo reported the name of the lieutenant he met in Nanxiang Town, and the soldiers blocking the way believed that he was one of them. After making a few field phone calls, he led someone to escort him to the headquarters.

Perhaps it was stimulated by the air raids. Commander Zhang's new headquarters was quite imaginative. Looking up at the four big characters of Xinmin Bathing Pool, Zuo Zhong didn't know what to say. He was really afraid of well ropes after being bitten by a snake for ten years.

However, the bathroom has solid walls, few windows, and a large space. It is indeed very suitable as a command post, which is more conducive to concealment. Few people would think that the center of the Ninth Army would be located in such a place.

After a rigorous search, he quickly met Officer Zhang again through his old acquaintance, the lieutenant. As soon as he saw this lieutenant general of the Guo army, Zuo Zhong immediately made a request.

"Mr. Zhang, please send someone to search around the former headquarters immediately. There are spies posing as members of the 88th Division. This matter may be related to the bombing. This is the information and location of the other party's badge.

When arresting them, try to capture them alive. They can enter and exit our army's defense area as if no one is in the land. They must have mastered the password and the basic information of the Ninth Army. This source of information is worthy of in-depth investigation.

After catching the person, check the belongings. The one with a stack of dollars is the target. I left a mark on one of the corners. You see, as long as the fragments and the gaps match, it means that the catch is correct. "

As Zuo Zhong said, he carefully held a corner of the US dollar bill and put it on the table, then took out a pen and paper and began to write. Instant memory is the basic skill of a professional spy.

Officer Zhang was so angry that his face was livid. The Japanese blew up his headquarters, and then sent people to pretend to be the Guojun. It was simply too deceiving.

But how did Zuo Chong know that the other party was a Japanese spy? He frowned and asked this question. There was nothing to be ashamed about, after all, countering spies was not his specialty.

Zuo Zhong put down his pen, stood at attention and replied, "Report to Mr. Zhang, the opponent's disguise is perfect. There are no problems with clothing, weapons, language, and accent, but there is only one flaw exposed."

The devil's carrying equipment is the Zhao [-]-style backpack, which is very hard and easy to slip off. The Japanese army will develop a habit after using it for a long time, that is, to return the backpack to its original position with a light jump.

When the other party was checking me, someone inadvertently made this action. Although the Y-shaped harness issued by our army has the same shortcomings, it is impossible and unnecessary to do this because there is no weight-bearing equipment behind it.

What's more, the 88th Division is a model army, with good pay and treatment. In addition, you are very strict in running the army. I have never heard of people robbing people's property, especially the property of American friends, so I believe that these people must not be real soldiers. "

Zuo Zhong flattered him a little, which is also true. This is the head of education in Huangpu, a standard professional soldier, upright and beyond reproach.

"Come on!"

Chief Zhang didn't seem to hear his flattery, and he ordered the most elite spy company to gather together, and issued two orders.

One is to arrest spies, and the other is to inspect all stragglers.

It is impossible for the Japanese to send only one team to the Guojun defense area. Whether it is to collect intelligence or destroy, the number of operators must reach a certain number, otherwise the success rate will not be high.

After receiving the commander's order, more than 100 tall soldiers like wolves and tigers jumped onto the truck and rushed to the predetermined position with a murderous look.

Zuo Zhong was also relieved. All the members of the secret service company were veterans who had experienced actual combat. In other units, they were at least squad leaders and platoon leaders. Their combat effectiveness was not inferior to that of the Japanese.

There will be no problem if they catch the spies. No matter how powerful the spies are, there is only a dead end in the face of a large-scale arrest by the regular army. Spies like 007 only exist in picture book stories.

On the other side, Chief Zhang sat down amidst the sound of the rumbling guns, took a few documents and looked at them. He had the courage of a famous ancient general who would not change his face when Mount Tai collapsed in front of him.

He didn't speak, so Zuo Zhong couldn't move naturally, so he could only look up at the map on the wall, thinking about how to find the Japanese ground guides.

Bombing is not an ordinary operation, and the requirements for target positioning are very high. Guides usually use light, special buildings, natural landscapes, and bright objects to guide bombers.

A few years ago, when the Secret Service tracked spies, it used colorful flags to command the pilots. Considering the security situation of the headquarters, this can be ruled out. No spy is stupid enough to stand at the entrance of the headquarters and wave a flag.

The possibility of buildings and natural landscapes is also very small. There are no mountains or lakes around the headquarters, and the shape and number of floors of the buildings are similar. It is easy to confuse the target, and the Japanese will not do this.

Then only the light guides, and the light can be divided into fire, reflection, smoke and other visible light sources, but still the same sentence, how stupid it is to light a fire in a heavily guarded headquarters.

Therefore, the safest and most concealed way is to use reflection to place the lens in a specific position, even if the person is not on the scene, it can still guide the direction of the bomber.

After confirming the Japanese guidance method, Zuo Zhong turned his eyes on the map, and was about to suggest to Commander Zhang to send someone to fully inspect the buildings around the former headquarters, when a shout came from outside the door.

"Go in!"

He turned his head and saw that the soldiers of the "88th Division" were tied up and pushed in. The officer who received the banknotes was beaten black and blue. When he saw him, his eyes turned red and he gritted his teeth.

"Hehe, hello, let's meet again. Let me introduce myself. I am Zuo Zhong, deputy director of the Secret Service. Welcome."

Zuo Zhong smiled slightly, revealing his white teeth.

(End of this chapter)