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Chapter 1325: Jin-Cha-Ji

Late at night, at the Huangcheng Office, Hei Teng was walking around the office with his hands behind his back, his face full of anxiety.

Although the identities of those "Photo Weekly" reporters have been confirmed by the Baocheng Gendarmerie Command, the sudden arrival of so many unfamiliar faces still made Hei Teng a little suspicious and wary.

Soon, the office door was opened from the outside and Captain Jia, who had a peerless appearance, walked in. He wiped the sweat off his face while taking credit from Hei Teng.

"The Black Vine Lady and the bun seller have settled down here. They went to sleep as soon as it got dark. There was no other movement."

"Baka!" Hei Teng cursed and corrected, "It's a weekly photo magazine, not a bun seller. Captain Jia, has the other party come into contact with strangers?"

Captain Jia bared his yellow teeth and replied flatteringly, "No, the hotel was surrounded by my detective team, not even a grasshopper could fly out."

"Yoshi~~"

Hei Teng breathed a sigh of relief. Perhaps he was overthinking it. No matter how bold the underground party was, they would not show up in the county town so openly.

After thinking about it, he whispered an order to keep monitoring. The monitoring would stop when the people from Photo Weekly left the jurisdiction.

At this time, a Japanese soldier knocked on the door and handed Hei Teng a secret message: "Mr. Director, your classmate called back and said that the Photo Weekly does have intelligence personnel carrying out missions in North China."

After hearing the news, Hei Teng was completely relieved, so he put the matter aside for the time being and continued to study how to target the increasingly rampant underground party.

The next morning, Zuo Zhong and his group left the hotel and headed out of the city. Several detective team agents followed the team stealthily, including Captain Jia.

"Editor Shimazu, do you want me to deal with those guys at the back?" Wu Chunyang glanced behind him and asked Zuo Chong in a low voice.

It would be hard for them not to notice such a clumsy surveillance. Wu Chunyang even suspected that this was a special means of temptation.

Zuo Zhong smiled and shook his head gently: "Go and teach these guys a lesson, but don't kill them. After you're done, tell them that we're going to investigate the bandit area."

Upon hearing this, Wu Chunyang turned around and left, and surrounded the sneaky followers with his little spies. He slapped the traitors several times and scolded them harshly.

Captain Jia walked away with his face covered. Before leaving, he bowed and nodded to Wu Chunyang and said something shameless. His shamelessness was rare in the world.

After making sure that he was clear, Zuo Chong led his men to the land temple in the west of the city, and met Mr. Shi, the man mentioned in the note from the previous night, a middle-aged man in a long satin gown.

Mr. Shi looked the Military Control Commission members up and down for a long time, and then said the secret code: "I heard that the price of tea has increased recently. What is the price of Biluochun in the Jinling market?"

Wu Chunyang got Zuo Zhong's permission and immediately replied: "Sir, I remembered it wrongly. Biluochun fell by two points this month. Are you the shopkeeper Shi?"

The codeword was correct. Mr. Shi said nothing more and walked towards the northwest. The agents hurriedly followed him. There was no unnecessary communication between the two sides.

From morning to noon, the group bypassed Japanese strongholds and artillery towers and gradually approached the underground party's Jin-Cha-Ji base.

As they got closer to the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei base area, the Military Intelligence Bureau agents discovered that the expressions and even the mental outlook of the people had changed, and they were full of vitality and hope everywhere.

When it was late at night, the team stayed overnight in a village. Mr. Shi greeted the villagers familiarly and gave some candies to the children who were watching the fun.

Seeing this scene, Wu Chunyang couldn't help but sigh: "The underground party's means of winning over people's hearts are really clever. Such a scene would never happen in Shancheng. I really don't know what the future will be like."

Zuo Chong was not surprised at all. Without the support of the people, there would be no Jin-Cha-Ji base area, and the underground party would not be able to gain a foothold under the noses of the Japanese.

After a while, Wu Chunyang asked two questions: "Deputy Commander, is this operation related to the underground party? Also, will the Japanese verify our identities with Photo Weekly?"

"Yes." Zuo Zhong explained: "We'll talk about the details when we get there. Don't worry, Shimazu did come to the Republic of China, but he was dealt with by Nobita long ago."

Nothing happened that night. After dawn, the team set off again and soon entered Fuping County.

Fuping is located in the south of Laiyuan County, on the eastern foot of the north-central Taihang Mountains and the upper reaches of the Daqing River. It is the intersection of two provinces, four cities and nine counties. It is known as the "throat of Hebei and Shanxi" and the "barrier of western Beijing".

Since 1937, Fuping has become the central area of ​​the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei base area. The Japanese regarded it as a thorn in their side, but they were never able to completely eliminate it.

A few hours later, in Chengnan Village, 35 miles south of Fuping County, Zuo Chong met Mr. Du, the head of the Northern Branch of the Border Region Social Department. The two shook hands and greeted each other.

"Mr. Zuo, you have worked hard on the journey. I have heard of your great name for a long time. The commander will be here soon. Everyone, please have a good rest first."

"Haha, you're too polite, brother. Your report on 'On the troops, local security and intelligence work' is very well written and very inspiring to our Military Control Commission." The two old intelligence officers got together and immediately began to test each other. The report that Zuo Zhong mentioned lacked the word "white area" in the title.

This report summarized the underground party's intelligence work experience over the years, especially its work experience in the Kuomintang-controlled areas. A considerable part of the content was related to the Military Control Commission, and Zuo Zhong was mentioned repeatedly in the report.

As for Mr. Du himself, the Military Control Commission was more familiar with him. He had served as the director of the Yunyang Office. All students who entered the border area through Chang'an had to be examined by him.

Under Mr. Du's sharp eyes, many Military Intelligence Bureau spies were exposed and "escorted out of the country". Before leaving, they were educated on the underground party's policies and guidelines, which made the Kuomintang government suffer.

Hearing Zuo Zhong's words, Mr. Du did not respond. He pointed at the door of the guesthouse and said, "Mr. Zuo, you are too polite. Come on, let's go in and talk."

After saying that, he nodded to Mr. Shi again. Mr. Shi did not speak to Zuo Chong. He lowered his head, pushed down the brim of his hat, and disappeared from everyone's sight.

Seeing this, Mr. Du laughed and said, "Don't mind, Mr. Zuo. Lao Shi is just like that. He had a lot of dealings with you in the southwest back then, and he still has some ideas that he can't get around."

After hearing this, Zuo Zhong looked embarrassed. The Guo Party had done a lot of "good things" in the southwest. Mr. Shi did not stab them in the back, which showed that he was politically conscious and aware.

After the verbal confrontation, Zuo Zhong and Mr. Du walked into the guesthouse together, followed closely by Wu Chunyang and a group of small spies.

At noon, the Military Intelligence Bureau and Mr. Du had lunch in the canteen of the guesthouse. Then the two sides talked about the movements of the Japanese army in North China and exchanged some intelligence.

As the conversation got excited, Zuo Zhong gestured to Wu Chunyang to talk about the changes in the Japanese military intelligence agencies in North China, on the grounds that this would be helpful for the next action.

Wu Chunyang didn't think much about it and selectively told some of the intelligence he had collected, such as that the Japanese high-ranking officials intended to disband the Huangcheng Office and integrate it into the special investigation team of the Second Section of the General Staff of the North China Front Army.

For example, there were news that the Japanese army established the Lu Ren Mansion in Jicheng, Shandong Province, the No. 2 Mansion in Taiyuan, and underground party prisoner training camps in various places.

Mr. Du listened with a smile on the surface, but he was extremely shocked in his heart. Through this information, he gained a deeper understanding of the intelligence gathering capabilities of the Military Control Commission.

As he was speaking, several men in the uniforms of the Eighth Route Army strode into the room. The one leading them had a firm gaze and regular features. He had the fortitude of a soldier and the bookish air of a scholar.

Zuo Zhong knew that this person was Mr. Xiang, the head of the Jin-Cha-Ji base area, and he quickly stood up and saluted: "Hello, Deputy Division Commander Xiang."

Mr. Xiang used to be an instructor at Huangpu Military Academy and had a lot of experience. Not to mention Zuo Zhong, even Dai Chunfeng would have to stand at attention and say hello, instructor, when they saw him.

However, Zuo Chong did not call Mr. Xiang the commander-in-chief, but used the title given by the National Government, because the National Government did not recognize the so-called Jin-Cha-Ji base area title.

Even though this is a small matter, it is a question of stance and we must not be careless. Someone is notoriously petty.

Mr. Xiang was a straightforward person. After returning a military salute, he sat down on the stool. Then he took off his hat and looked at Zuo Zhong with a kind smile on his face.

"Mr. Zuo, our superiors have conveyed your request to us. As long as it is beneficial to the anti-Japanese cause, all the soldiers and civilians in Shanxi, Chahar and Hebei are willing to cooperate with this operation unconditionally."

He paused, then changed the subject and said, "But there are no planes in either Jin-Cha-Ji or the border areas. How are we going to refuel the Japanese new fighter planes after they arrive? This is a matter that can only be left to you to solve."

Wu Chunyang suddenly realized that their mission was to pick up Japanese fighter planes, but how could the Japanese fighter planes come to the underground party’s territory? Could it be that the Japanese pilots had defected?

Zuo Zhong also sat down on the stool and answered the other party's question: "Please provide the deputy division commander with a radio. After I contact Shancheng, the fuel and other equipment will be delivered soon."

He raised his eyebrows towards the deputy commander, made eye contact with Mr. Du, and then readily agreed to Zuo Zhong's request.

"Thank you, Deputy Division Commander." Zuo Zhong bowed slightly to express his gratitude, and then talked about another matter: "I wonder how far your party has progressed in the construction of the temporary airport?"

"Well." Deputy Division Commander Xiang hesitated for a moment and said, "Mr. Zuo, you may not know that the battlefield services in our base are all paid. The construction of the airport requires the recruitment of a large number of civilians. I'm afraid you will have to bear the related expenses."

Zuo Zhong felt helpless. The other party was trying to attack his rich man, but the money was paid by Americans, so he didn't need to save money for Melos.

So, Zuo Zhong waved his hand and said generously: "No problem, I will have someone allocate a special fund of 100,000 US dollars to the border area, to the deputy division commander, is that okay?"

Satisfied with the deputy division commander, he took out a map of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei region, spread it on the table, and pointed between Fuping County and Laiyuan County with his hand.

"This place has a flat terrain, hard soil, and few residents nearby, making it very suitable for a temporary airport. The airport can be built in just half a month."

Zuo Zhong looked at the map, but his thoughts drifted to the Northeast. He didn't know whether Gui Youguang, Wu Jingzhong and Colonel Gao were doing well in Harbin.