cicada

Chapter 1481 Miscellaneous Matters
"Co-pilot, the latest intelligence from Red Russia Station... damn it, the Americans have sold us out!"

Wu Chunyang stormed into Zuo Zhong's office, not even greeting Gui Youguang beside him, and handed over a coded telegram, angrily cursing the shamelessness of the Americans.

Zuo Zhong took the coded telegram and glanced at it. His expression instantly became complicated because the US government and Red Russia had reached a secret agreement in Yatal and invited Mr. Q from Britain to sign the agreement.

This agreement stipulated that Red Russia would participate in the war against Japan after Germany's surrender and the end of the European war, on the condition that Britain and the United States would guarantee the maintenance of the status quo in Montenegro.

In addition, Britain and the United States should support Red Russia in restoring its rights in the Far East before the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905, and southern Sakhalin Island and all nearby islands should be returned to Red Russia.

The Americans also promised that Dalian Port would be "internationalized," that the Soviet Union would have priority in handling the port, and that it would also have the right to lease Lushun Port as a naval base.

The most important railways in the Far East, the Chinese Eastern Railway and the South Manchurian Railway, were jointly operated by companies established by the Republic of China and Red Russia. The Republic of China retained full sovereignty over the region, but the interests of Red Russia had to be satisfied.

After reading the telegram, Zuo Zhong threw it on the table, snorted coldly, and ordered Wu Chunyang to forward the intelligence to the Attendant's Office, and demanded a second coded telegram.

"Yes, Vice-Captain."

Helpless, Wu Chunyang then delivered the good news: the American campaign on Iwo Jima was nearing its end, and the gateway to the Japanese mainland had been opened, though American casualties were quite heavy.

According to preliminary Allied statistics, the U.S. military suffered 7000 dead and more than 20,000 wounded in the battle, while the Japanese military also suffered more than 20,000 casualties.

Interestingly, the Japanese commander on Iwo Jima was an "old friend" of Zuo Zhong, the former commander of the Japanese Eighth Army, Imamura Hitoshi. History played a little joke here.

After the mission to assassinate Yamamoto was completed, Zuo Shige instructed Hasegawa Ryosuke to spread rumors implying that Imamura lacked the spirit of Bushido and was unsuitable to serve as the commander of Rabaul.

He did this only to disrupt the morale of the Japanese army, but unexpectedly, the Japanese high command believed him and actually reassigned Kuribayashi Tadamichi, the commander of the 2nd Guards Division who had historically caused huge casualties to the American forces on Iwo Jima, to a different post than Imamura Hitoshi.

As it turned out, Imamura Hitoshi was very spirited, using the tunnels on the island to kill a large number of American soldiers, effectively refuting the false information with concrete actions.

Tadamichi Kuribayashi also did a good job. The Allied forces, mainly composed of New Zealand and Australian troops, were unable to break through Rabaul, which had become a bloodbath.

It is said that almost every household in New Zealand and Australia has its national flag displayed in front of their door, which means that someone in the family died for the country. The Zuo family's "cuckoo's nest" plan is going very smoothly.

Wu Chunyang added from the side: "Based on the Battle of Iwo Jima, the Americans estimated that it would take two years and a million people to successfully occupy Japan, which is why they reached the above agreement with the Soviet Union."

"Bullshit!"

Zuo Chong cursed, saying that the Americans were only trying to drag Red Russia into the Far East war and didn't want to see Red Russia take the lead in post-war reconstruction.

After carefully putting away the second coded telegram, Zuo Zhong looked at Gui Youguang: "Was the River Kwai Bridge blown up? What is this important intelligence you mentioned?"

Gui Youguang honestly replied, "It was blown up. The British prisoners of war who were building the bridge tried to stop it, but I executed them by firing squad in accordance with battlefield discipline. As for important intelligence..."

As he spoke, he secretly glanced outside the door, then approached the desk, covered his mouth with his hand, and acted furtively.

"According to your secret orders, before blowing up the bridge, I had someone release the virus into the water supply of the prisoner-of-war camps in Australia and New Zealand... but during the retreat we encountered an escaped British intelligence officer."

In order to save his own life, this person revealed a crucial piece of information: the Germans had a secret laboratory in the Alps, with a very high level of secrecy.

"It is said that all of Germany's military technology originated from this place. This Englishman was in charge of related reconnaissance missions before being sent to Asia. As a result, he was captured by the Japanese as soon as he arrived in Temasek."

Wu Chunyang, who was eavesdropping, pursed his lips. It's just a secret laboratory. What country doesn't have one? Even a backward country like the Nationalist government has a few. Is it really necessary to care so much?

Zuo Zhong didn't take it seriously until Gui Youguang mentioned a place name, "Tunguska①". Upon hearing this, he suddenly sat up straight and gestured for the bald man to explain in detail.

"Yes, co-pilot."

Gui Youguang licked his lips and whispered, "The British found out that in 1908, a mysterious explosion occurred in Tunguska, Russia. The then German Emperor sent a secret expedition to Red Russia to investigate."

"No one knows what the expedition did, only that they brought back a lot of boxes, which were sealed in caves after the war."

"The current German government has opened up the cave and recruited a large number of scientists to set up a laboratory, codenamed [Bienenstock], located in a monastery in the Alps."

"The British and Americans are very interested in that area and have sent people to investigate more than once. The British intelligence officer we met was one of them. Vice-Minister, should we send someone to take a look?"

Zuo Chong squinted, appearing calm, but his heart was in turmoil. Bienenstock, German for "mother nest".

Does "mother nest" refer to the birthplace of German technology?
He raised his hand to interrupt Gui Youguang's narration, got up and walked to the wall of the office, where a world map was hanging.

Looking at the Tunguska region on the map, Zuo Zhong crossed his arms and pondered silently. After a long while, he made a decision: he had to send someone to see what was in the mother nest.

"There is light! You must immediately select a group of capable personnel and personally lead them to Germany."

Zuo Zhong turned around and gave the order, then asked where the British intelligence officer was. There were some things that could be done, but no one could know about them.

Gui Youguang chuckled and made a throat-slitting gesture. Regardless of whether the information from the laboratory was true or false, he would not let the intelligence officer return to England alive.

Hours later, several transport planes took off from Shancheng Airport, bound for India, carrying a group of KMT "logistics officers." After dealing with this matter, Zuo Zhong resumed his daily work routine, reviewing official documents, executing prisoners, and occasionally taking a stroll in the city with He Yijun; time flew by.

On March 28, 1945, the Military Intelligence Bureau received a notice from the Joint Office of the Central Government, the Republic of China, the Bank of Communications, and the Farmers Bank, requiring the head of the Military Intelligence Bureau to attend an economic conference.

In the afternoon, Zuo Zhong and Gu Qi strolled into the conference room, and the attendees greeted them respectfully.

Among the crowd, Vice Minister Yang of the Ministry of the Interior and Bai Wenzhi, the Chief of the Shancheng Police Station, were the most enthusiastic. The latter currently also serves as Vice Minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Chief of Police Administration; otherwise, he would not be qualified to come here.

"Hey, it's been a while since we've seen you two lately. How about we go out for a couple of drinks after the meeting?"

Bai Wenzhi pulled out a chair for Zuo Zhong, casually extending an invitation, his old face beaming like a dog's tail.

Zuo Zhong didn't stand on ceremony, sat down with his buttocks slumped down, and nodded: "Alright, then you'll have to pay for it, brother. By the way, why did the Fourth Joint Headquarters call us over here?"

Vice Minister Yang, who was greeting Gu Qi, glanced around and whispered, "I heard that the gold exchange rate has changed, and the higher-ups are afraid of causing chaos, so they convened this meeting."

This guy truly lives up to his reputation as the top informant in the Nationalist government; his information network is incredibly extensive. He can find out things that even the Military Intelligence Bureau doesn't know.

After Gu Qi sat down, Vice Minister Yang craned his neck to reveal to the three that two days earlier, Premier Song of the Executive Yuan had convened officials from the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank twice to discuss the issue of raising gold prices, but no decision was made due to differences of opinion.

Zuo Zhong lost interest after listening, leaned back in his chair and yawned. This matter had nothing to do with the Military Intelligence Bureau. At worst, he could just send a few junior agents to keep an eye on the bank.

Are people still robbing fiat currency these days? If you rob too little of it, you won't have enough money for bullets; if you rob too much, you can't carry it all. It's even more useless than a chicken rib.

Not long after, Minister Yu of the Ministry of Finance, Vice President Bei of the Republic of China Bank, and the Director of the Central Bank's Business Bureau came in and announced something.

With someone's approval, starting tomorrow, the price of gold will be increased from 2 yuan to 3.5 yuan per tael of legal tender.

The meeting room erupted in uproar. The party and state officials were furious, and some even cursed, wishing they could tear Minister Yu and his entourage apart.

In 1943, in order to get out of the financial predicament, withdraw the legal tender, and stabilize prices, the Nationalist government sold off the gold held by the Central Bank, plus the gold purchased with loans from the United States, to the market.

Last year, the Nationalist government authorized the Four Offices General Office and the Central Trust Bureau to handle gold savings business, stipulating that every 2 yuan of legal tender deposited could be exchanged for one tael of gold.

Now that gold has been raised to 3.5 yuan per tael, it's equivalent to the legal tender depreciating by nearly half. How can the officials who hold the most legal tender accept this?

Isn't this just sucking their blood and eating their flesh?
Zuo Zhong was also anxious. He still had more than 30 million yuan in legal tender in his safe house, but he hadn't spent a single penny due to his busy official duties.

At the original price, this money could be exchanged for 1500 taels of gold, but after the change, it's only worth a little over 800 taels. How can this be allowed!

Looking at the chaotic meeting room, Minister Yu of the Ministry of Finance felt a headache coming on. He said a few words casually and left in a hurry.

Seeing that the person in charge had left, the attendees gradually stopped discussing, exchanged glances, and then walked out together, with Zuo Zhong and his group leading the way.

With such a big incident, they definitely couldn't have a meal. Zuo Chong returned to headquarters, called He Yijun, and went to a villa in the city. They moved a lot of suitcases out of the house.

When the two arrived at the headquarters of the Republic of China Bank with half a truckload of suitcases, it was long past closing time. However, contrary to usual practice, the bank was still processing gold savings transactions as usual, resulting in a long queue outside.

Zuo Zhong spotted Gu Qi, Wu Chunyang, Vice Minister Yang, Bai Wenzhi, and others in the crowd. They nodded knowingly to each other, and no one spoke.

When it was Zuo Zhong's turn, the bank clerk counted the money and asked him to provide his name and address, but did not check his identification, clearly just going through the motions.

Without a second thought, Zuo Zhong skillfully shifted the blame: "Just remember Mr. Xu, the address is Chuandong Normal School (Headquarters of the Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics)."

In another bank a few hundred meters away, Xu Enzeng solemnly told the clerk, "My surname is Zuo, and I live in Luojiawan. Write that down quickly."

The next day, newspapers revealed that the price of gold savings had increased by 75%, and the public finally understood why banks had been open all night. Public opinion accused someone of fraud, and the scandal quickly spread throughout the country.

Under pressure from all sides, someone was "furious" and ordered the Military Intelligence Bureau to thoroughly investigate the matter. The investigation results were released two days later.

A certain arms smuggler in Chongqing colluded with the director of the General Affairs Department of the Ministry of Finance. The two conspired to exchange more than 2 million taels of gold in advance, which was equivalent to more than 70 billion yuan in legal tender.

Such behavior was utterly heinous, and killing them would not appease public anger. So the two culprits were executed by firing squad that same day.

As for why a businessman and a department head have more than 700 billion yuan, that's a state secret and cannot be disclosed to the public.

After this incident, countless small and medium-sized depositors went bankrupt. Da Chen helplessly joked that the Nationalist government had helped the underground party turn the people into "proletariat".

Soon, a phenomenon of panic buying and hoarding emerged in the Kuomintang-controlled areas, creating wave after wave of speculation.

The outcome of the battle was decided at this moment. Zuo Zhong handed over some of the gold to the organization through Lao K, and this gold could play a greater role in the hands of the Northwest.

Meanwhile, Gui Youguang led his men to the mountainous region of southern Germany, where he was surprised to find that another group of people had also set their sights on the secret laboratory.

① This book contains no supernatural elements.