cicada

Chapter 1379 Mysterious Cargo

Somewhere between Tobruk and El Alamein, Zuo Chong hid behind a sand dune and looked into the distance. A few dozen meters away there was a secret transportation channel opened by the Germans.

Three days ago, several German ammunition trucks turned from the highway into a side road, which attracted the attention of scouts.

Since there were no positions or military facilities in the direction the ammunition truck was heading, British agents analyzed the situation and concluded that the opponent's destination was most likely a secret ammunition storage point.

Zuo Zhong and others followed the traces of the ammunition trucks and indeed discovered an ammunition transportation channel hidden in the desert. A team of trucks passed by every few hours.

Judging from the depth of the ruts and the number of vehicles, the end of the passage is most likely connected to a German division-level ammunition depot.

After three days of tracking, the reconnaissance team arrived at Zuo Zhong's current location. In order to improve efficiency, FIRC members stayed in place to monitor while the British went to search the surrounding area.

The sun was high in the sky, and windy sand was blowing across the top of the dunes. The little spy covered in a camouflage net slowly crawled to Zuo Zhong's side like a caterpillar.

"Commander, we have discovered something."

Hearing the little spy's words, Zuo Zhong retracted his gaze, turned his head and uttered one word: "Speak."

"The British discovered a German ammunition storage point two kilometers northeast of the passage. It was very large, a semi-underground structure, with at least a company of guard troops."

Zuo Zhong had an idea and decided to go and see what was going on, but just as he was about to stand up, he saw a dozen trucks and two jeeps coming from the north, so he quickly lay down again.

What is puzzling is that the two jeeps were not the Volkswagen 82 bucket trucks commonly used by the German army, but Willys Jeeps.

Could it be a vehicle captured by the German army?

Zuo Zhong shook his head. It was not a wise approach to use enemy vehicles and uniforms on the front line. It was easy to get injured by mistake. Similar things had happened more than once in history.

He raised the telescope and observed the vehicles and traces while dictating to the young spy.

[Record, two Willys Jeeps, five passengers, wearing...]

Having said this, Zuo Zhong suddenly stopped, his fingers continuously turning the focusing screw, and several white faces in Allied uniforms were quickly zoomed in in the eyepiece.

Apparently the Germans and the British had the same idea, and Rommel was also sending people to conduct cosmetic reconnaissance of the Allied positions.

But this place is neither an Allied base nor a German command center. What are the German scouts doing here?

Zuo Zhong became even more confused and reported the unusual situation to the little spy and informed him of the condition of the truck.

[The crew of the Willys Jeep wore Allied uniforms and were suspected to be German agents or intelligence personnel. The British were reminded to strengthen their inspections]

[There are also ten Opel trucks, with ten drivers and escorts in the cockpit, and ruts, etc. Don't record them for now]

Zuo Zhong stopped reporting again. His brows were furrowed, his eyes fixed on the truck tracks. The depth was not right.

The ruts left by the trucks were much deeper than those left by all the previous vehicles, indicating that the cargo on the trucks was very heavy, even heavier than artillery shells.

Before he could figure out why the cargo was so heavy, the German convoy had already headed northeast, apparently heading for an ammunition storage point.

After thinking about it, Zuo Zhong ordered the young spy to forget everything he had just seen and leave the observation point quickly by himself.

After one hour.

Zuo Chong crawled forward in the sand under the scorching sun. A few hundred meters away, a German logistics base came into view.

There are no high walls around the base, only a barbed wire fence, and the internal situation is clearly visible.

The strange convoy just now was being repaired in the base. The drivers picked up standard fuel drums to refuel the vehicles, and the fake British soldiers also got out of the vehicles and started to move around.

Zuo Chong lay in a depression and pointed the telescope at the bed of the first truck, but unfortunately it was covered with canvas and he could not see anything.

He shifted his gaze from the first truck to the cars behind it, but still found nothing. It was not until he saw the fifth truck that the situation changed.

A hand holding a cigarette reached out from the gap in the canvas at the rear of the truck and flicked the ash. There turned out to be an escort sitting in the truck bed.

This phenomenon is very unusual. The German army's transportation procedures are very rigid, and goods and personnel are rarely mixed. What caused the German army to behave abnormally?

Zuo Zhong became more and more confused. At this time, the fake British soldiers saw someone smoking. One of them quickly walked to the back of the truck, snatched the cigarette butt, threw it on the ground and stomped it out.

Through the telescope, the smoke extinguisher's mouth kept opening and closing, as if he was cursing, and his expression was very angry.

Then, the rear canvas of all the trucks was lifted, and a group of German soldiers wearing light olive-colored uniforms and collar badges with black skull and crossbones jumped out of the vehicles and gathered.

Zuo Chong's pupils shrank. These escort personnel were not ordinary Wehrmacht troops. They had a name that made the Jews tremble in fear: the SS.

What on earth is being carried on the truck that has mobilized all these people?

The main responsibilities of the SS are counterintelligence, public order maintenance, intelligence gathering and surveillance. It is a two-system system with the Wehrmacht of the North African Corps.

The more he thought about it, the more confused he became. He simply stopped thinking about it and watched the opium exterminator lecturing the SS.

After the vehicle was refueled and the lecture was over, the SS soldiers all climbed onto the truck. Zuo Zhong took this opportunity to finally see the inside of the car clearly.

Contrary to what one might have imagined, there wasn't much cargo in the truck bed. There were only a few small wooden boxes placed separately on the floor.

Zuo Chong thought for a moment, and he seemed to guess what the cargo was.

Gold! Lots of gold!

The cargo is so small and the ruts left behind are so deep that only high-density gold can do it.

No wonder the Germans sent the SS to escort them, and even went so far as to dispatch this fake British army to perform a disguised reconnaissance mission to escort them.

Countless pieces of information flashed through Zuo Zhong's mind. As far as he knew, Rommel was not only fighting in North Africa, but also found time to do some [side jobs].

Mr. Desert Fox used force to plunder a large number of treasures, gold coins and jewelry from local indigenous chiefs and wealthy businessmen.

The Allies once reported an intelligence report that earlier this year, the British army intercepted a German speedboat in the waters of Corsica.

When the Germans on the boat saw that they could not escape, they blew up the boat. After interrogating the crew, they learned that the speedboat was loaded with jewelry worth millions of dollars.

A senior German official also made a drunken remark, claiming that the secret vault of the African Corps contained more than 90 steel boxes filled with gold, with a total value of about $3 million.

Zuo swallowed hard. Considering the purchasing power of the U.S. dollar, $3 million in this era was an astronomical figure.

Based on the US military aircraft carrier calculation, this money can build 4 Essex-class or 7 Independence-class, or 38 Casablanca-class.

Can the Germans spend all this money of the people? Zuo Zhong's expression gradually distorted and his eyes turned red.

No, for the sake of world peace, this money must be placed in the hands of the Zuo family!

Zuo Zhong quietly left the observation point and called the small spy who was accompanying him. He planned to leave a few people to follow the SS to see where the other party went with his gold.

But before he could say anything, the British came over. British agents never completely trusted FIRC and often monitored them intentionally or unintentionally.

Realizing that there were a few more pairs of ears around him, Zuo Zhong decisively gave up his original plan and issued a new order.

"There are SS soldiers on board, following the convoy."

Since the British are seeking death, it is not his fault. Once the destination of the golden convoy is determined, that will be the day of the British's death. A strong murderous intent burst out of Zuo Zhong's eyes.

When it comes to $3 million, only the dead can keep a secret. Fortunately, the Military Intelligence Bureau agents on this trip are all elderly, otherwise he wouldn't even be able to trust his subordinates.

The young spy received the hint and turned around to carry out the order, while winking at the others.

The British knew nothing about this and had no objection when they learned that the SS was following the convoy. They were also curious about why the SS appeared in the desert.

In the days that followed, people from both sides, with different thoughts, followed the German convoy and went deeper into the Sahara Desert.

During this period, the commander of the British team discussed with Zuo Chong and wanted to report the matter to the Alamein headquarters, but was sternly rejected by Zuo Chong.

The reason he gave was that the situation was unclear and contacting the headquarters rashly would expose his position.

The British commander was unable to refute after hearing this, so he kept radio silence and followed the Germans in the desert for a whole week.

Finally, the German convoy drove into a canyon deep in the desert. Several Type 3 tanks were parked at the entrance of the canyon, blocking the way for Zuo Chong and others.

Faced with this situation, the British asked for a report again, and Zuo Chong objected for the second time.

"Gentlemen, we cannot pass on ambiguous information to the headquarters. I think we should wait for the convoy to leave and then find a way to capture a prisoner for interrogation."

"The Germans are behaving suspiciously. The supplies that Himmler's minions are escorting must be very important. We must find out what the cargo is and where it has gone."

Zuo Zhong looked serious when he spoke, and the words "selfless" were almost written on his face.

The British reconnaissance personnel looked at each other and reluctantly accepted the suggestion. After all, Zuo Chong was the leader of the team, at least on the surface.

The sun set and rose again, and the next morning, the convoy that had disappeared for a long time appeared before everyone.

After unloading the heavy gold, the German trucks drove very fast and headed deep into the German defense zone.

That evening, the Germans selected an open area as their campsite, and the time had come to capture prisoners.

Before the operation, Zuo Zhong convened the team for a brief meeting. He proposed that FIRC capture prisoners and the British would be responsible for cover.

In addition, the operation must be covert, and it is best to create the illusion that the prisoners have accidentally been lost to avoid alerting the Germans.

The British side agreed that it was normal to get lost in the desert due to the lack of reference points and the complex and changeable climate.

After the plan was made, Zuo Zhong led his men to the vicinity of the German camp, ready to take action before dawn. This was the time when visibility was the lowest and people were most tired.

Time passed, and soon it was midnight. The wind became louder and louder, like the howling of ghosts and wolves.

Zuo Chong accidentally glanced at the horizon, only to see that the bright moon had disappeared. Under the dim moonlight, a dark "sand wall" was rushing towards the camp.

sandstorm!

Seeing this, the Germans rushed out of the tents shouting, some started their cars, and some collected supplies, but it was too late.

Almost in an instant, strong winds blew sand and gravel through the camp at a speed of tens of kilometers per hour.