Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 446, Section 442: Espionage Elimination of Traitors; Civilian Semiconductor Radios Sell Well in Europe and Asia
Jinan City.

Three operatives who arrived by nighttime parachute and infiltrated the city have begun their official work.

They split up, disguised themselves, and lay in wait in the city under different identities.

On the third night after the parachute landing, a secret meeting was held.

The meeting was chaired by the head of the underground Communist Party in Jinan.

"Let me first share some recent good news. The Anti-Japanese United Army in North China has recaptured Pinggu, Jixian, Qian'an, Yutian, Leting, Lulong and other county towns. On the southern front, the National Army is also locked in a stalemate with the Japanese army on the south bank of the Yellow River, and the Japanese army that attacked Wuhan has temporarily retreated to Jining."

This news was a great encouragement to the underground workers in Jinan who persisted in their work behind enemy lines.

But there are also dissenting voices.

A young student said angrily, "This was achieved at the cost of millions of people being displaced. The Yellow River has breached its banks, and vast areas have been flooded. Once the water recedes, the Japanese will attack again. But those flooded farmlands cannot be cultivated anymore; today there will be no harvest. What will they do?"

The news of the Yellow River breaching its banks has reached Jinan, a truly heartbreaking event.

The underground party leader also expressed his indignation: "Yes, their breaching of the dikes can only delay the Japanese offensive, and such behavior will inevitably be condemned by the people. But now, we cannot just curse these injustices; we must also find ways to support the war of resistance."

Everyone's emotions calmed down, and they listened to what the person in charge had to say.

He pulled out a photo.

“I got this from the newspaper. The person in the photo is Ma Liang, the chairman of the Jinan Maintenance Committee. He is the number one traitor in the city. We plan to start with him.”

(Ma Liang, Chairman of the Jinan Maintenance Association)

The photos were passed around among the people.

At the same time, the underground party leader spoke up to introduce this person's background.

"Ma Liang, this fellow, practiced martial arts in his youth, becoming a disciple of Ping Jingyi and learning Shaolin Luohan Fist. Later, he joined the Beiyang Army, and during the Beiyang government era, he was stationed in Jinan, becoming the garrison commander of Jinan. In 8, the May Fourth Movement swept the country. At that time, he was appointed by the Beiyang government as the martial law commander of Jinan, leading troops to suppress those patriotic people. This guy was ruthless; in order to gain merit, he arrested and killed patriots. At that time, people of insight throughout the country were indignant and jointly demanded that the Beiyang government punish him, but nothing came of it. Later, the Zhili-Fengtian Allied Army occupied Beiping, and he lost his backer, so he lived in seclusion in Jinan. Until last year, when the Japanese occupied Jinan, this bastard suddenly appeared and became the chairman of the maintenance committee."

After a pause, the underground party leader continued, "He has been operating in Jinan for many years, with numerous subordinates, and boasts that he is a powerful ally of the Japanese. Currently, many of his men are roaming around Jinan, secretly searching for people who resist the Japanese. Once they find someone, they will arrest them. Many civilians have already been arrested as a result. We must find a way to execute him to warn the other traitors and lackeys in the city."

The group then began discussing the plan.

"This guy has been showing up on the street every day lately, acting like a dog. He's surrounded by a lot of traitorous bodyguards and even has Japanese soldiers protecting him, so it's impossible to get close to him."

"We should use a long spear to shoot him from a distance."

A rickshaw driver-looking underground party member shook his head: "It's difficult. I've observed him. He's a former soldier, cunning and vigilant. Although he appears on the street, he always arranges for his henchmen to search nearby houses first. Every time they go out, those men take the opportunity to plunder the people's wealth. If we hide our rifles in nearby houses, we're afraid his men will find them."

At this point in the discussion, everyone was at a loss for what to do.

The enemy is powerful, and the Jinan underground party only has these people at the moment. It will be extremely difficult for them to kill the major traitor Ma Liang.

At this moment, an underground party member who had parachuted in spoke up: "I have a way."

Everyone looked at him.

He explained, "During training, we were issued some special equipment. One of them, I think, is very suitable for the current situation."

As he spoke, he took out a pen gun and showed it to everyone.

"This is called a pen gun. It looks just like a pen, so it won't arouse suspicion even if you hang it in your shirt pocket. Not only is it small and easy to hide, but it can also fire special bullets. These special bullets are similar to pistol bullets, and they can be fatal to enemies within 20 meters. It should be easier to use it against Ma Liang."

The underground party leader thought for a moment, then shook his head: "No, using it for assassination would put the person carrying it in great danger."

The proposal was rejected, and the meeting failed to reach a conclusion.

After the meeting, the underground party leader left the residential house where the meeting was held.

He went alone to a shop on Quancheng Road, put on arm sleeves, took out his ledger, and skillfully started using the abacus.

After settling the accounts, he instructed the shop assistant to close the door.

Then, he went back to his room upstairs, took out a small transistor radio, opened the back cover, and inserted a round tube.

Because of the insertion of the circular tube, the semiconductor radio became a miniature receiver, capable of receiving special frequency signals within a 3-kilometer radius.

This is the receiver of Fang Wen's pocket-sized agent transmitter.

It can not only receive signals, but also send messages. Simply connect the connecting wire at the end of the tube to the message key. However, the radio waves it sends can only be sent to specific frequencies.

With a gentle press of the transmitter button, the wireless signal is sent out.

Meanwhile, on the other side of Quancheng Road, inside the Hengda Bank, a young man wearing glasses and a suit was talking with a Japanese officer next to him with a big smile.

It was written in Japanese.

"Ikeno-kun, how were the stir-fried double crisp and sweet and sour carp yesterday?"

"I prefer carp. In my hometown, people like to eat fish, but mainly sea fish, and it's even better to eat them raw."

"Really? I'll definitely visit Ikeno-kun's hometown sometime."

"There will be opportunities. You are a good citizen, work hard for the Imperial Army, and you will not be treated unfairly."

The officer patted the young man on the shoulder, smiled, and left.

As he watched the officer's retreating figure, a flash of disgust and murderous intent crossed the young man's eyes.

He glanced at his watch and realized it was time, so he quickly opened his door.

Upon entering the room, he immediately locked the door and retrieved a hidden pocket transmitter, battery compartment, and another transistor radio from behind the desk.

He also opened the back cover of the transistor radio and inserted the round tube.

When turned on, the radio emitted a static sound.

He listened intently, memorized the signals, and translated them.

[Prepare to assassinate Ma Liang. Your cooperation is appreciated if possible.]

After thinking for a moment, he put his finger on the pocket transmitter and sent out radio waves.

The Japanese don't trust Ma Liang, so we can use a counter-espionage plot to make them suspect him of acting on two fronts. If they do suspect him, we can use this opportunity to eliminate Ma Liang and his traitorous gang.

This reply delighted the underground party leader.

The Hengda Bank, located at No. 33 Quancheng Road, has now been occupied by Japanese military intelligence and is outwardly known as "Luoyuan Mansion".

Internally, it was referred to as the "Wushan Team" of Unit 1415.

This organization recruited a group of people who were proficient in Japanese and had studied in Japan to serve as their translators and intelligence personnel.

Among the three people who parachuted from Fang Wen's plane to Jinan behind enemy lines was a young man named Wen Haochen. After landing, he was taken into the city alone by the underground party leader, and the two became one-way contacts. No one knew that Wen Haochen had actually joined the Japanese army's intelligence agency in Jinan under the guise of a Japanese student.

Upon entering, they conducted a thorough search. Wen Haochen's luggage contained a miniature radio transmitter that was hidden very well and was not discovered. He was thus able to bring it into the Luoyuan Mansion without any problems.

Wen Haochen has now decided to use a counter-espionage scheme to sow discord between Ma Liang and the Japanese devils. All of this is being transmitted to his single-line contact via a miniature radio transmitter.

After deciding on the plan, Wen Haochen began looking for opportunities.

A day later, he learned that a high-level meeting would be held in Jinan by the Japanese military leadership, the contents of which were unknown.

Wen Haochen immediately used a miniature radio transmitter to report the situation to his contact person.

Having received the intelligence, the underground party leader left the shop and began to carry out the plan.

They combined it with another powerful tool provided by Fang Wen: a listening device that could eavesdrop on 15-minute recordings.

Knowing the location of the meeting.

That night, they sneaked into the conference room and hid the eavesdropping device inside.

The next day, a meeting of high-ranking Japanese military officers stationed in Jinan was held, and underground Communist Party members nearby used radio devices to remotely activate listening devices.

In this way, without anyone noticing, the tape recorder in the bugging device recorded 15 minutes of the meeting.

That evening, the underground party members secretly entered the meeting room again and removed the bugging device.

They listened to a 15-minute recording.

It was mentioned that the Japanese army was preparing to launch a large-scale search operation in Jinan, targeting the hidden organizations within the city.

This includes members of the underground Communist Party who have already been exposed, as well as members of the Kuomintang's Jinan station.

Immediately, the underground party began its relocation and notified the Kuomintang's agents at the Jinan station.

This resulted in the citywide manhunt being completely ineffective; all the targets that had been identified for capture simply vanished.

This situation enraged the high command of the Japanese army stationed in Jinan. They believed that someone must have leaked the news in advance, or even tipped them off.

Among those attending the meeting that day were Japanese officers, officers of the puppet army in Jinan, and Ma Liang.

All of these people were disarmed and imprisoned, where they were subjected to severe interrogation by the Japanese.

They naturally dared not admit it, but during the subsequent investigation, the Japanese military police found some weapons and equipment of unknown origin, as well as Japanese military supplies, in Ma Liang's yard.

This man was now unable to defend himself and was eventually shot by the Japanese.

His men were also arrested by the Japanese army, and the Jinan Maintenance Association was dissolved that same day.

The above describes the effects of the actions taken by the Jinan underground party using the espionage equipment provided by Fang Wen.

Of course, the telegram Fang Wen received was not so detailed, but the general situation was similar.

This gave Fang Wen great confidence in his military equipment.

At the same time, he also realized a problem.

For espionage equipment, miniaturization is not necessarily the most important factor; ease of concealment and disguise is paramount.

For example, during this operation, he felt that miniaturized radio transmitters might not necessarily be able to evade the Japanese search.

However, if these devices are hidden in some commonly used devices, they are less likely to be suspected.

For example, integrating the transmitting and receiving devices into a consumer semiconductor radio that is about to be launched on the market.

Isn't this the best cover? As long as this product sells well and circulates in the market, it will be readily available, allowing operatives behind enemy lines to use its hidden backdoors for more convenient intelligence transmission.

Fang Wen believes this idea is more practical.

He immediately began making improvements.

Integrating espionage devices with a semiconductor radio—a project that seems difficult—is actually not complicated.

Fang Wen used his mechanical senses to conceive and draw a new structural diagram.

In the structural diagram, the device in the right third of the space of the semiconductor radio is actually not in use under normal circumstances.

However, once the intelligence agents open the back cover and connect the specially made device, they can activate the circuitry and make that part of the device functional.

Then, intelligence agents would remove some seemingly useless components from inside the semiconductor radio and assemble them into a miniature transmitter, thus turning the semiconductor radio into a spy station.

With the help of Fang Wen's supernatural abilities, this ingenious idea came to fruition, and he immediately set about changing the production process.

The modified production line, contrary to its previous slackness, has started full-scale production.

After a large number of products were produced, they piled up in the warehouse.

After reaching a certain scale, Fang Wen went to Europe to communicate with representatives of three American consortia and jointly established an American company called "Zhongxing Electric".

Suddenly, Star Electric appeared and began launching a small and practical radio in Europe and Asia.

This portable radio, only ten centimeters long, is much lighter and more compact than current crystal radios.

It was very popular as soon as it was launched.

What surprised people was that the company launched its first sales campaign simultaneously in various regions.

Large quantities of semiconductor radios were distributed throughout Europe, and people bought them because they were of good quality and inexpensive.

This radio was used on the streets of Paris, in Germany, and even by both sides in the Spanish Civil War.

Meanwhile in Asia, a cargo ship flying the American flag docked in Yangon and then departed to pass through the Strait of Malacca on its way to Manila.

In Manila, Star Electric sold its first batch of transistor radios.

Subsequently, this batch of goods appeared in Hong Kong and Guangzhou, and a small number of semiconductor radios also ended up in the hands of officers in the occupied territories because the transport ships were intercepted by the Japanese Navy.

In just one month, due to its extensive distribution and the inherent appeal of the product, the semiconductor radio became a hit in Eurasia.

People adopted this highly practical radio as an essential tool for listening to the radio every day, gradually replacing the old-fashioned crystal radio.

Little did they know that this semiconductor radio was actually a covert piece of spy equipment.

If possible, Fang Wen would not reveal this secret, and would not tell anyone until the end of the war.

But it was useless for him to know this secret. After completing the sale of the first batch of civilian semiconductor radios, Fang Wen sent a telegram to his contact, Bai Yunfei.

(End of this chapter)