Chapter 281: The Missing Patrol

Something happened at the Garrison Command?

I don't think so. The Japanese invaders shouldn't be so arrogant as to dare attack the Garrison Command!

Since the last time a Japanese spy attacked the Garrison Command, the Garrison Command has already arranged for double security. Unless it's the regular Japanese army, it's impossible to get in.

Could it be that another Japanese spy has been discovered? Has important information been leaked again?

'What is it?'

'Let's meet and talk. I'll pick you up in front of your office.'

'Okay!'

Zhang Yong agreed.

He called Yang Zhi. He gave him a few simple instructions.

Soon afterwards, Zhou Yang arrived. He also brought a platoon of guards.

All of them were armed with Hana guns. There were 30 of them. They were divided into two trucks.

Zhang Yong was full of doubts.

Is this going to be a war?

'What's going on?'

'A Baoshan County Security Corps patrol has gone missing.'

'What do you mean?'

'A squad of nine men on patrol never returned. No sign of life or corpse.'

'Is that possible?'

'It is now suspected that they have been killed.'

'Nine men? Was there a gunshot?'

'No.'

Zhou Yang was distressed.

That was the strange thing.

Nine soldiers have gone missing, and there was no gunshot. This is very frightening.

If the other party killed them with cold weapons, it fully shows that they came prepared.

Their strength is very powerful. They didn't even give the soldiers a chance to fire warning shots.

'Where is the security team from?'

'Baoshan County.'

'Is it the security team or the regular army?'

'It's the original 66th Division. It's actually the regular army. They're just wearing the uniforms of the security corps.'

'Go and take a look!'

Zhang Yong frowned inwardly.

Are the Japanese invaders so rampant? Is there such a powerful assassination force in Baoshan County?

Nine soldiers of the regular army did not even have the opportunity to shoot the alarm? Could it be that it was not a Japanese spy who made the move, but the Japanese invaders' regular army?

'Wait!'

'What?'

'Is it enough to bring a guard platoon?'

'Don't worry. An enhanced battalion of the 87th Division has already been deployed to Baoshan County.'

'Oh. Then it'll be fine.'

Zhang Yong was relieved.

The 87th and 88th divisions were arguably the most elite of the German-equipped divisions.

In terms of equipment and combat effectiveness, they were second to none in the Nationalist army. It would be ridiculous if an elite battalion could not control the situation.

So they got into the car and drove all the way to Baoshan County.

Sure enough, the atmosphere here was a bit serious. Soldiers with guns stood at attention everywhere.

In addition to a battalion of the 87th Division, it turns out that Baoshan County also has a security regiment stationed here. It is said to be a regiment in formation. In fact, it is also a battalion. About 500 people.

Baoshan County originally had a national army stationed here. There was a full regiment.

Because the east side of Baoshan County is the Wusongkou Wharf. It is the estuary of the Huangpu River. The geographical location is very important.

However, in the 128 War of Resistance against Japan four years ago, although the Chinese army won, it was still a defeat. In the end, an unequal treaty was signed.

According to the unreasonable demands of the Japanese, the national army could not station regular troops in the entire Shanghai area. Only security guards could be stationed. This included Baoshan County. All regular national army troops had to be withdrawn.

This demand was extremely unreasonable. Especially for a place as strategic as Baoshan County. But Chiang Kai-shek still agreed.

The national army withdrew from the entire urban area of Shanghai. The Japanese marines stationed themselves in Hongkou.

However, Chiang Kai-shek was an expert at petty intrigue. After the National Army withdrew, he immediately had them change into the uniforms of the Security Corps and re-enter the city.

The Japanese: !@#¥%...

I didn't expect that.

So, later, the Battle of August 13 was very hard-fought, and the Japanese felt that they had been bullied.

You said you would withdraw. But you just changed your clothes and came back in. Haha. Do you take us Japanese for children? Among them, Sugiyama and others were the most annoyed. They felt that they had been deceived by Chiang Kai-shek.

So when the August 13th War broke out, Sugiyama and others immediately felt that their chance had come. This time, they would definitely defeat the Chinese. So they desperately deployed troops and generals in an attempt to take revenge. Then, as they fought, they suddenly realised that the Nationalist army was actually very easy to fight against. It was not at all as difficult to deal with as the 19th Route Army had been. So, unexpectedly, they captured Nanjing.

According to Zhang Yong's information from the street literature of his previous life, the Japanese invaders did not have a detailed plan for attacking Jinling at the time. In other words, they did not expect to take Jinling so quickly. It was all the frontline troops attacking all the way, charging forward, and then they reached Jinling. Then the National Army panicked and Jinling fell.

Then the Japanese discovered that, hey, China is easy to fight. Hurry up and fight. Hurry up and make a plan to destroy China within three months. Eat this big piece of meat. But then they didn't realise that the fighting got harder and harder. Gradually, they couldn't swallow it anymore. They got indigestion. They were stuck. They were dragged into a deep quagmire. Eventually, they were exhausted.

'No abnormalities have been detected.'

'The patrol also took weapons and ammunition before setting off.'

'There were nine rifles. 270 rounds of ammunition.'

'They have searched a 30-kilometre radius around Baoshan County. They have found nothing.'

'Some people say that the patrol seems to have been heading north. But this has not been confirmed.'

Zhou Yang knows the details.

He doesn't need to pay attention to the details of the communication. What he needs to pay attention to are the Japanese invaders.

Strange, no sign of them.

No Japanese invaders have been found within a radius of 200 metres.

None in the suburbs.

So enter the city.

Finally, something was discovered. A red dot appeared.

It gradually got closer. It turned out to be a chubby middle-aged man. About forty years old. It seemed that he was quite wealthy.

'Who is that person?' Zhang Yong asked.

'Boss Pan. His name is Pan Yonghua. He is the number one wealthy merchant in Baoshan County,' Zhou Yang introduced.

'What kind of business does he do?'

'Silk. Porcelain. He sells it to foreigners.'

'Oh,'

Zhang Yong was thoughtful.

Was this Pan Yonghua connected to the case of the missing security team?

It was unclear. For the time being, it didn't seem like the time to expose him. Mainly because there was no evidence. It was also unlikely that the other party would confess in the short term.

Damn, so many Japanese spies!

There were traces of Japanese spies everywhere.

Then he tried to cheer up again. If there were no Japanese spies, what could he do!

This Pan Yonghua is the wealthiest merchant in Baoshan County. He must be very wealthy. He must have tens of thousands of dollars. We have to extort a fortune from him.

'Report!'

Suddenly, a lieutenant rushed over to report to Zhou Yang.

He said that Pan Yonghua had provided an important clue. He had seen the patrol of the security team at Baihepu. Nine people. That's right. All of them were carrying guns.

'Baihepu?' Zhou Yang frowned.

Zhang Yong silently took out a paper map and looked for Bahepu on it.

It turned out to be quite far from Baoshan County. It was in the east. Almost 20 li. That's 10 kilometres. The patrol team actually went 10 kilometres away?

Combining the previously discovered information, it seems that the patrol team did go north.

The problem is, they were walking!

Walking 10 kilometres away?

From any perspective, it seems very strange. There were no checkpoints along the way?

'What kind of place is Bahepu?'

'A stretch of mudflats. A reed marsh.'

'Something's up.'

Zhang Yong frowned.

He was sure Zhou Yang had thought of it too.

Mudflats. Reed marsh. Perfect for an ambush.

Nine people, sneaking into the middle of the reed marsh, would be like nine cows entering the sea, completely silent.

It's September, and the reeds haven't yet completely withered. They're still very dense. Hide a few people in there. Who would see them? They'd be dead meat.

In another two months, the reeds will be completely dry. Set them on fire...

I dare not think of the consequences.

'I'll arrange for the troops to search!' Zhou Yang also has a headache.

Nine people disappearing into the reeds is impossible to find.

Unless they send out a few hundred people.

Without hesitation, he ordered the entire security regiment to go. He told the battalion of the 87th Division to remain in position.

'Get in the car!'

'Let's go!'

He took the security platoon and headed for Baekhwapo first.

The security regiment had to walk. It would take three hours.

There was a road here too. But it was a muddy road. It rained a lot in summer and autumn. The road was full of potholes. It was not an easy journey. The two trucks at the back had it especially hard.

They finally arrived at Bahepu. Sure enough, they could see the reeds from afar, as tall as a person.

Well, it was a complete natural maze!

Zhang Yong felt that there was no way to find it.

If it were a living person, there might be a mark on the systematic map. But there was no trace of the dead at all.

'Something's wrong,'

Zhou Yang suddenly said. His face then turned gloomy.

Zhang Yong also recognised it. The sea breeze carried a hint of blood. It was quite obvious.

Sure enough, as they got closer, they saw a corpse.

It was wearing the uniform of the security team. Next to it was a Hanyang rifle lying on the ground.

'It's someone from the security team,'

Zhou Yang waved his hand, telling the soldiers in the guard platoon to disperse. They kept a careful watch.

Zhang Yong was even more cautious.

He noticed that this soldier from the security team had been fatally shot once.

The bullet had hit the soldier in the chest from behind. It was a very precise shot.

This meant that the murderer was a very good shot.

Most likely, a rifle was used. A long-distance shot.

The terrain here is complicated, and the precise shot left the nine soldiers completely unable to fight back.

At the same time, because this area is sparsely populated, even if there was gunfire, no one is estimated to have heard it.

The sea breeze blows, and the reeds rise and fall.

It's complicated.

I'm worried that there may be enemies hiding inside.

Fortunately, the system map shows that there are no other living people within a radius of 200 meters. There are no red dots either.

This is slightly reassuring. But one can't let one's guard down.

'It's a 7.9 rifle bullet,'

Zhou Yang says, digging the bullet out of the corpse.

It's not a Japanese 38-calibre rifle. It's a bullet from the most common Mauser rifle series.

The exact specifications are 7.92*57 mm.

Judging from the quality of the bullet, it's probably made domestically. After being shot into the human body, the bullet has cracked a little. This shows that the quality is not very good.

Of course, the bullet doesn't tell the whole story.

The Japanese invaders could also use the 79 rifle. The Japanese invaders could also get their hands on a Mauser rifle.

'This is the last one to be killed.'

'He tried to escape from the reeds, but failed.'

'Look at his feet, they're covered in mud from the mudflats.'

'The murderer must have been hiding in the reeds and shot him. He killed the others first, and then this one last.'

Zhou Yang makes a simple analysis.

Zhang Yong agreed. Shot in the back. The bullet came from inside the reed swamp.

So the question is, what was this patrol soldier doing in the reed swamp? This was not within their patrol area. They shouldn't have been here at all.

Suspicious.

Did he come here to commit suicide?