Quickly conquer the martial arts world, and let your fists dominate the heavens!

Chapter 252 A Secret Report

As per Chen Zhan's instructions, the members of the Swallow Gate secretly entered Fengtian and went into hiding.

Although Chen Zhan gave the three the address of Wanhua Escort Agency, he also told them to contact them only in times of emergency or danger, and not to expose themselves.

Essentially, they are two parallel lines, so if one of them malfunctions, the message can still be relayed.

But unexpectedly, a problem did indeed arise.

As Chen Zhan had anticipated, the Japanese would take action when they saw that the Northeast was undefended, but no one could say for sure how they would do it. Even though Chen Zhan knew some history, who but a researcher could know the details?

Moreover, there's his unexpected intrusion, causing several battles in Fengtian. Even if the timeline remains the same, the Japanese will definitely have other plans.

Japanese martial arts were flourishing. When Chen Zhan killed someone in Tianjin, he moved to Fengtian. The Japanese brought in experts from Japan to deal with him, including three Grandmasters of Transformation Realm. This shows how powerful the Japanese were.

The crackdown on Wanhua Escort Agency was also sudden.

The Black Dragon Society and the Beichen Ittō-ryū masters suddenly appeared and slaughtered them all. Ding Lianshan happened to be there and could not stand idly by. He led Gong Shu and several disciples to escape. They left Fengtian, passed through mountains and forests, but were eventually found.

Their deaths were gruesome; the bodies of Gong Shu and Ding Lianshan were hung on the city wall.

Li San and the others only learned the next day that the Japanese were acting covertly, carrying out the massacre at night without the knowledge of the soldiers and civilians of Fengtian.

Based solely on the information Li San provided, Chen Zhan had no way of determining whether the Wanhua Escort Agency had encountered internal problems or whether the Japanese had found them through subtle clues.

However, there is one problem: if Ding Lianshan tries to escape with his men, he won't be able to get them out of the city, and he will also be killed.

The lack of any major commotion indicates that no large-scale troop or army has been deployed.

The Japanese Black Dragon Society and the Hokushin Kendo sect must have sent top-tier experts.

Otherwise, it would be extremely difficult to kill a top expert like Ding Lianshan in the dead of night.

Chen Zhan glanced at the paper and said to Ruan Zhi, "Go and call someone to meet at Jinlou."

As the two were talking, Ye Ningzhen and Xiong Hanshan also came out. Seeing Chen Zhan's solemn expression, they also fell into deep thought after looking at the paper.

Ruan Zhi went to call for help, and martial arts masters from both the north and south of Foshan arrived.

Inside the Golden Pavilion, Chen Zhan recounted what had happened in Fengtian.

It's not surprising that Chen Zhan was able to get the information; given Jinlou's financial resources, it's quite normal for them to have arrangements in Fengtian.

The crowd remained silent for a long while.

Li Guangpu said, "Alliance Leader, please tell us what to do. We will follow your instructions."

Gu Ruzhang happened to be in Foshan, so he naturally arrived as well. He nodded and said, "The Alliance Leader has a good understanding of Fengtian, so it is appropriate for him to make the decision."

Everyone present nodded in agreement.

Chen Zhan tapped his fingers on the table as he pondered that the current intelligence was far from sufficient.

On the one hand, it is unknown whether there is a traitor within the Fengtian Military Academy; on the other hand, it is unclear how many troops the Japanese have deployed, perhaps waiting for someone to walk into their trap.

If word got out that he was leading a large group north, the consequences would be unimaginable, given the hatred the Japanese had for him.

And what's even stranger is that the Japanese didn't leave any survivors.
This is completely unlike the Japanese style; they leave no survivors, no bait, and do not use torture to extract confessions.

"I'm going to Fengtian tomorrow. Don't reveal my departure. Everyone here is a sensible person. The Fengtian Martial Arts School was wiped out, most likely because there was an internal traitor. If news of my departure also leaks out..."

Chen Zhan didn't say anything, but everyone understood.

Everyone present wore a solemn expression.

There were only a dozen or so people present, and apart from Chen Zhanhua and his allies, they were all high-ranking members of various sects.

If the information can still be leaked, it means there is a major problem internally.

Gu Ruzhang raised an eyebrow: "Alliance Leader, shall I go with you?"

Chen Zhan shook his head: "I'm not in Foshan. You take charge of the overall situation. If anything unexpected happens, act accordingly."

Gu Ruzhang nodded and made no further requests.

He could sense an atmosphere of impending doom.

The people present were eating together, and before all the dishes had been served, a noise came from outside the Golden Pavilion.

"Alliance Leader, someone wants to see you."

"Wait a moment while I go report; we can't just barge in!"

"Someone broke into the building!" Chen Zhan peeked out and saw that it was the man who had been with Wan Laisheng before. He had very fair skin and was wearing a felt hat at the time, but Chen Zhan remembered his skin very well.

"No need to stop him, let him come up."

The martial arts disciples at Jinlou tried to stop him because they knew Chen Zhan was upstairs discussing matters with the leaders of various sects.

But Chen Zhan said something that made him put down the stick.

The man in black with a pale face remained silent as he rushed to the fourth floor, where he saw Chen Zhan and Gu Ruzhang.

Gu Ruzhang knew him; he had always been by Wan Laisheng's side, but he had never introduced him, only calling him Lao He.

The person who came took a few steps forward and made a few hand gestures.

Chen Zhan then realized that the man was mute.

Chen Zhan didn't understand the meaning of the gesture, so Gu Ruzhang stood up and stepped forward, saying, "Old He, leave it to me."

Old He looked around cautiously, seeing that everyone was familiar and there were no strangers. He then took out a few pieces of paper from his chest and handed them to Gu Ruzhang.

Gu Ruzhang turned his head and said, "This is an urgent report from Brother Wan." He didn't look at it and gave it directly to Chen Zhan.

Chen Zhan didn't stand on ceremony; the handwriting on the several sheets of paper was messy, but the content was extensive.

After Chen Zhan finished reading it, he handed it to Gu Ruzhang, and then everyone passed it around.

After everyone finished reading, they fell silent again.

The secret report contained a lot of information, but almost all of it was related to the Japanese. Wan Laisheng also had doubts about some of it, but given Chen Zhan's understanding of history, it must have been done by the Japanese.

A few things,
First, the Japanese became even more unscrupulous in their encroachment on Northeast China's resources. Using the South Manchuria Railway as a tool, Japan monopolized the railways, mines, and ports in Northeast China.

They have already started openly robbing people, and firefights frequently occur in Northeast China.

At the same time, Japanese companies purchased agricultural products from Northeast China, such as soybeans and sorghum, at low prices, squeezing out Chinese national capital and making the Northeast economy heavily dependent on Japan.

Secondly, over the past year, the Kwantung Army has been secretly expanding its forces, with a large increase in troops. It is impossible to calculate the exact number, but based on what the local people have seen, it can be estimated to be tens of thousands, as well as various tanks, heavy artillery and other heavy weapons. Secret military fortifications have also been built in Shenyang, Changchun and other places.

At the same time, spies were dispatched to various parts of Northeast China to draw military maps, gather intelligence on the Northeast Army's deployment, and formulate detailed combat plans.

The purpose is already obvious, and everyone knows what the next step should be.

Third, they have begun spreading rumors in Northeast and North China.

"The withdrawal of the Northeast Army from the Northeast means abandoning the region. If war breaks out, the Northeast will be locked in a stalemate, and the Nationalist government will be powerless to support it."

These three events plunged Northeast China into a terrifying atmosphere. Because the Northeast Army lacked sufficient troops within its borders, it had to tolerate the Japanese in every way, but even so, the Japanese still frequently provoked it.

It seems that they are just waiting for an opportunity to break the deadlock and officially start the war.

But neither the high-ranking officers of the Northeast Army in Fengtian nor the common people could tolerate it, because if they were angered and war broke out, they would be the first to bear the brunt of the Japanese artillery fire.

If it's a situation where death is inevitable, death itself cannot save anyone.

Nobody wants to make that kind of sacrifice.

Wan Laisheng's intelligence also includes many highly questionable events.

Ten days ago, high-ranking officers of the Northeast Army stationed in Beiping were assassinated, resulting in the deaths of three staff officers and one army commander.

The young marshal was also startled and broke out in a cold sweat, but fortunately he had someone protecting him.

Those who died were all staunch anti-Japanese fighters.

The pro-Japanese faction remained unscathed.

Upon receiving the news, Wan Laisheng immediately went to Beiping to investigate. The secret report that came this time mentioned that the two men might have had affairs with the Japanese.

However, no specific information was found.

Furthermore, the Japanese were also present in the Central Plains War.

Taking advantage of the warlord conflicts, Japan secretly contacted the factions led by Yan Xishan and Feng Yuxiang, using the promise of arms and loans as bait in an attempt to gain their recognition of Japan's special status in North China, with the intention of carving out an independent country!
However, the alliance quickly collapsed, and its objectives were not achieved.

However, Japanese spies secretly dispatched to various regions were still active, conducting intelligence gathering and localized infiltration.

Wan Laisheng speculated that the main purpose was to monitor the movements of warlords, assess the military strength of various local warlords in the country, and if given the opportunity, to carry out assassinations and directly provoke warlords to fight each other.

That's the end of the story.
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P.S.: (I changed the date at the end of yesterday's chapter; it's now May 31st.)
(I noticed that the beginning of this paragraph was a bit dull, so I sped up the pace later on.)
(End of this chapter)