cicada

Chapter 1405 The whereabouts emerge
On a small hill near the Rabaul base, Zuo Zhong stood on the top of the mountain and watched the planes take off from the runway. The fleet circled over the airport and then flew to the northeast.

That direction was exactly the location of Trut Island, the base of the Combined Fleet. Thinking of the important meeting that the military police major mentioned when he stopped Yamamoto last night, Zuo Zhong seemed to be thinking about something. He stayed for a moment and turned to leave.

That afternoon, Zuo Zhong and He Yijun appeared near the airport, strolling around and talking in low voices.

When they reached a row of shops outside the airport, He Yijun signaled Zuo Zhong with his eyes. Zuo Zhong turned his head slightly and saw a Western-style bar not far away.

It is worth noting that there is a cherry blossom and anchor flag flying in front of the bar, which is the symbol of the Japanese Naval Aviation Force.

This is normal. Japan's Western-style bars only serve foreign liquors such as whiskey and cocktails. Most of the customers are intellectuals and foreigners. Japanese naval officers who are deeply influenced by the West like to frequent such occasions.

"Let's go in and take a look."

Zuo Chong said something in Japanese and walked over. He Yijun followed him and the two entered the bar one after the other.

This bar called Yamato is not big, with only a dozen tables inside. There are several chandeliers with green shades on the ceiling, and the light is a little dim.

In a corner of the shop, an old gramophone was playing Showa songs. It sounded eerie and the air was filled with a strange smell mixed with cologne, tobacco, alcohol and moldy wood. Everything seemed like a last glimmer of the "civilized Japan" before the war.

The waitress in a dress immediately came forward to greet Zuo Chong and his companion when she saw them, led them to a small table and sat them down, and took out a menu and recommended drinks and side dishes.

Zuo Zhong casually ordered two cocktails and glanced at the empty bar. It was not business hours and there were only a few waiters chatting in the room.

"Mixia, Kobayashi gave you a 10 yen tip last night. These pilots are really generous."

"No, I have already paid it back to Kobayashi-kun. He has a brother and sister to support back home, and his salary needs to be sent home."

As she spoke, Meixia, with her big eyes, looked at a photo on the wall, her eyes full of tenderness.

Zuo Chong glanced at the photo and found that there were several Japanese officers in flight suits. Apparently, the one named Xiao Lin was among them, and he was quite popular among the waitresses.

It is understandable that in the Japanese military's rank system, officer-level pilots were treated extremely well, had money, and high social status, and were naturally favored by the opposite sex.

While Zuo was thinking, the waitress's conversation continued. The subject of discussion was still the pilot, and the content gradually became ambiguous.

"Before each expedition, pilots always have endless energy. Am I right, Meixia?"

"Riko, Kobayashi-kun is a gentleman. We were just chatting in the hotel, we didn't do anything. I'm worried about his safety."

"Don't worry, Mixia. Kobayashi-kun is the admiral's pilot. He won't be in danger."

"Yes, Mixia, just like before, we will soon see Kobayashi-kun returning triumphantly at the bar."

The corner of Zuo Chong's mouth twitched. Even children wouldn't believe that they were going to a hotel to chat. However, a lot of useful information could be analyzed from these conversations.

First, Kobayashi might be the pilot of Yamamoto's private plane or escort plane. Second, Kobayashi and the fleet members would come to the bar and hang out with the waitresses before and after each expedition.

After taking a sip of the cocktail, Zuo Zhong turned his eyes away from the photo, thinking silently in his mind, and began to perfect his next plan.

A few days later, several planes landed at Rabaul Airport. Not long after, several jeeps left the airport and stopped in front of the bar. A group of Japanese naval aviation officers jumped out of the car and rushed into the store cheering.

This scene was seen by Zuo Zhong who was in the bookstore opposite the bar. He turned to He Yijun and said, "Yizi, we can go visit Mr. Yamamoto."
-
On the third day after the plane landed at the airport, Zuo Zhong, He Yijun and Yamamoto played bridge in the officers' club, just like when the three of them first met in Temasek, except that the other person was replaced by Imamura Hitoshi from Mikawa.

After playing a few games, Imamura asked casually, "Shimizu-kun, I heard that the food you purchased has been shipped from Malaya?"

"Hai." Zuo Zhong threw out a card and explained the general situation: "A total of 10,000 tons of rice. From now on, at least 1,000 tons of food will be delivered to Rabaul every month."

Yamamoto, who was sitting in the main seat, nodded slightly. Food was the key to maintaining morale. Without food, even the most elite army would not be able to fight for a long time.

In order to show his importance, he reminded Imamura Jun: "Imamura-kun, New Britain Island is too humid. It is best to properly store the grain after processing."

"Don't worry, Mr. Yamamoto. The engineers are already building an underground warehouse that can withstand heavy bombs. I want to turn New Britain Island into an impregnable fortress in the Pacific. If the Americans dare to come, they will surely be beaten to a pulp."

Imamura Jun spoke loudly again and wanted to give a detailed introduction to the status of the underground defense facilities, but was interrupted by Zuo Zhong.

"Mr. Imamura, these secrets are not something a businessman like me should know. Today we will only talk about business and romance, not military affairs, hahaha." Zuo Zhong said with a smile.

Yamamoto was very satisfied with Shimizu Mato's self-awareness. As for Imamura Hitoshi's remarks, he simply nodded in response without making any further comments.

The underground defense facilities were the work of the Eighth Army, so it was not convenient for him to ask about it, otherwise the crazy people in the General Staff would start talking nonsense in the base camp again.

After playing for a while, Zuo Zhong casually mentioned that Shimizu Itsuko was going to Malaya to handle the grain business. Yamamoto smiled and didn't take it to heart. Imamura Jun was very enthusiastic and offered help: "The army just happened to have a transport plane going to Temasek to deliver supplies. Miss Itsuko can take this plane to Malaya."

Zuo Zhong and He Yijun did not reject Imamura Jun's kindness. They thanked each other together. Then the game continued. Yamamoto was lucky and won several games in a row. He was worthy of being the gambling god of the navy.

Another week passed, and a Japanese transport plane carrying He Yijun and two small agents flew to Temasek. In addition to supervising the factory construction every day, Zuo Zhong also played a few rounds of bridge with Yamamoto from time to time. Time passed quickly.

In early April 1943, at the end of a card game, Zuo Chong said to Yamamoto as usual, "See you next week", but Yamamoto shook his head apologetically.

"Qi Shui-kun, it may take some time before we can meet. I am not in a position to reveal the specific reasons."

Zuo Chong expressed his understanding with a smile and politely said goodbye. The moment he walked out of the door of the Officers Club, his expression turned cold.

At a previous banquet, Yamamoto mentioned a mysterious island and said that he would visit the local area in the near future. He should be referring to this trip. This is the best time to take action.

But before that, he must figure out where the mysterious island is. He hopes He Yijun and Lao Gu will not let him down. A trace of anxiety flashed in Zuo Chong's eyes.
-
In a cafe on Temasek Street, Ho Yat-kyun sat opposite Margaret from the Special Operations Executive (SOE).

Margaret held the cup in her hand and moved her lips slightly: "There is information about the islands in the South Pacific. London has sent someone to Shancheng. The information is not too new, but it is very complete."

Although the former British Empire has declined, its heritage remains, especially the navy. For example, the British Naval Hydrographic Office possesses the most detailed ocean intelligence in the world.

The origins of this department can be traced back to the eighteenth century. It is a professional organization responsible for hydrographic surveys, nautical chart drawing, coastal and island topographic surveys, resource investigations and other tasks in global waters.

He Yijun took a sip of coffee, thanked Margaret softly, and then turned to look out the window.

At the same time, the Military Control Commission headquarters in the mountain city was bustling with noise, and the large office of the Intelligence Department was even more noisy. Hundreds of agents were looking through and checking information with their heads down, while Wu Chunyang was shouting loudly on the side.

【Raise your hands if the island society is a matriarchal clan! 】

As soon as Wu Chunyang's voice fell, a large number of arms were raised in the office, followed by reports.

[Yes! Pohnpei Island]

[Yes! Truk Island]

[Yes! Kosrae Island]

[Yes! Bougainville Island]

[Yes! Malaita Island].
The young spy loudly called out the place names, Wu Jingzhong wrote down the names of the islands on a large blackboard, and then the person shouting became Song Minghao.

[Islands where residents eat sweet potatoes as their staple food, raise your hands! 】

The sound of flipping through documents filled the air as the spies searched through the vast amount of information to find islands that met the screening criteria. Soon, the sound of reports rang out again.

【Guadalcanal Island】【Pohnpei Island】【Bougainville Island】【Tarawa Island】【Maleta Island】【Nauru Island】.
Wu Jingzhong wrote down the names of the second batch of islands and drew a circle at the places where the two screening results overlapped.

On the other side, Wu Chunyang discussed in a low voice with several Central University geology professors for a while and gave clues for the third round of screening.

[Raise your hands if there are signs of copper mines on the island! 】

[That is, places with island arc volcanic belts, green rocks or copper rust soil, and significant geothermal activity]

It has to be said that the British are worthy of being the former maritime overlords. The detail of their maritime intelligence collection is astonishing. After many rounds of screening by the little spies, two islands that met all the conditions surfaced.

Gu Qi, who had not spoken a word the entire time, took the document and read it through. He then ordered Wu Chunyang in a deep voice, "You personally deliver the information to Melos. Be careful not to reveal the source of the information or how it was obtained."

"Yes." Wu Chunyang replied happily and walked out of the office with the documents.

Seeing him leave, Gucci thought for a while and left the screening site. A few hours later, a [commercial] telegram was sent to New Britain Island.

It was two days later when Zuo Zhong, who was thousands of miles away, received the telegram. This was only because he had a good relationship with Imamura Jun, otherwise this commercial telegram would have to undergo at least several days of review.

Using the code book to decipher the hidden information, the names of two islands appeared in front of Zuo Zhong: [Bougainville Island] and [Maleta Island].

So where is Yamamoto going?
Rabaul is 400 kilometers away from Bougainville Island and 1000 kilometers away from Malaita Island, both of which are within the range of Mitsubishi G4M Type land attack aircraft and Zero fighters, and both places are southeast of Rabaul.

In other words, they could not determine Yamamoto's destination based on the course and direction.

Zuo Zhong tapped the table with his fingers and his eyes moved back and forth between the names of the two islands. Finally, he made a decision. Since he couldn't tell them apart, he would just start from both places at the same time!