Chapter 564: The Arms Depot

In fact, the second Japanese invader had long since woken up.

This guy was playing dead. Zhang Yong had known it for a long time. But he was too lazy to expose the other party.

He had captured too many Japanese spies now. He had long since become aesthetically fatigued. No, it was interrogation fatigue. He didn't cherish even one or two Japanese spies. He could do whatever he liked.

If he doesn't like it, he can just kill him. It's easier than squishing an ant.

'If you want to live, you have to give something of value.'

He gets straight to the point.

He goes straight for the jugular.

The Japanese spy is silent for a moment. Then he looks up.

'I know about Master You...'

'Know what?'

'His safe house.'

'What's in it?'

'I don't know. But this safe house is very important. There are several radios inside.'

'Oh?'

Zhang Yong's eyes light up.

Radios? More than one?

Good, this is good. What he needs most right now are radios.

Not just for himself. The Red Party might need them too.

In the current situation, radios are very sensitive equipment. You can't buy them even if you have US dollars. Foreign companies don't sell them.

The reason for this is that the Japanese are behind it all. They have blocked the sale of radios.

The Japanese are desperately blocking radios in North China, also to prevent radios from entering the three provinces in the east and being used by anti-Japanese elements.

'Where is it?'

'Dali Road. I don't know the exact address. There's a telegraph pole outside the door. A broken kite is hanging from the top of the pole.'

'What's the relationship between Gan Xiaoning and Master You?'

'They're not related. I learned this by accident. Master You is one of us. He's been in hiding for a long time.'

'Good! You can live.'

Zhang Yong kept his promise.

A few radios for a life, it's worth it. There may be a reward next time.

Dali Road...

It doesn't seem very far away, does it?

He immediately greeted Chen Gongpeng and then hurried off with a few men.

They soon arrived at Dali Road and found the telegraph pole with the kite on it.

The target was very clear.

Because the map showed that there was a weapon symbol inside.

In other words, there were weapons and ammunition hidden inside this house. It really was a safe house.

No one was in sight.

The nearby houses were also empty.

Strange, where did everyone go? Could it be that they all moved away because they sensed that the situation was not right?

That's good. We can mess around.

Even if we shoot inside, I don't think there'll be any reaction from the neighbourhood.

Of course, that's just a thought. We can't actually shoot.

Unlock the door.

Enter.

The target house is an old two-storey building. It really is a bit shabby.

There's a lot of black dust on the old furniture. It shows that no one has cleaned it for a long time.

If this were an ordinary thief, they might just look around, find that there's nothing of value, and probably leave in a huff.

However, Zhang Yong is not an ordinary thief.

He already knew that there were weapons and equipment inside. So he searched in great detail.

He followed the clues. He found the hidden space where the weapons and equipment were stored. It was in a dirty corner. No outsider would have guessed that there was a basement underneath this corner. Stamping on it hard, there was no hollow sound. Obviously, it was sealed with marble slabs.

After searching carefully, he finally found the mechanism. He opened it carefully.

'Creak...'

'Creak, creak...'

Sure enough, it was a thick marble slab that was moved.

Three metres long and one metre wide, if it was opened by brute force, at least six strong men would be needed to lift it.

Below was a dark storage room.

It had probably not been opened for some time. An unpleasant smell came from it.

After the smell had dissipated, he lit a flare and took a closer look. He didn't see any radios. Nor did he see any weapons. There were just some bricks and stones. In the corner were some scattered ocean dollars. There were also some scattered banknotes.

It seems that this old man was indeed very careful!

There was camouflage even inside the storage room. The scattered ocean dollars were a ruse.

If someone found these banknotes, they would probably give up and leave immediately. They would never suspect that there is more to this storage room. What is hidden underneath is the real treasure.

Remove the bricks and stones. Collect the banknotes. Then continue to open the next layer.

Wow, the next layer is also sealed with stone slabs.

Zhang Yong secretly suspects that Master You alone could never open the stone slabs.

In other words, this safe house was not just for him. At least five people would show up when needed.

It would take at least five people to move such a heavy stone slab.

Huff!

Huff!

Finally, the stone slab was moved.

'Got it!'

'Got it!'

The treasure hidden in the lower layer was successfully found.

Radios!

Three of them!

Weapons!

Lots of them!

The Japanese spy was right.

He did know some of Master You's secrets. He knew there were treasures here.

So no matter how secretive you are, you could still be betrayed by a pig. The same goes for the secret agent business. The worst thing is when your partner turns traitor.

In the future, Wang Tianmu and Chen Gongshu were both betrayed by traitors.

'Radios? New?'

'Yes!'

Zhang Yong looked down at the nameplate on top of the radio.

To his surprise, he discovered that the radios were not made by the Japanese themselves. They were made by the Americans. They were made by General Electric.

These American radios had a very high power output. They were actually 15W radios.

That was quite something. All three radios were big boys with a power output of 15W. They were not the usual 3W or 5W radios.

Why were 15W radios considered big boys?

It was mainly because they had a very high power output. The transmission distance was very long. It could go halfway around the world.

Let's put it this way: a radio with 15W of power, if placed in Shanghai, can already get in touch with distant Moscow. That's a distance of 8,000 kilometres!

It's also no problem to send a signal directly from Shanghai to New York. Many foreign embassies and consulates use this kind of radio with 15W of power.

There is no problem at all with domestic communications.

'Batteries.'

'I see.'

Zhang Yong nodded.

A high-power radio requires a lot of batteries.

It may be difficult for people in the future to understand, but in 1935, the large batteries used in gas stoves and gas water heaters were actually incredibly precious.

How precious? They were strategic!

Strategic!

Strategic!

I'll say it three times to make sure you get it!

A small battery was actually a strategic material! Both sides strictly controlled it.

Batteries and electron tubes are the basic equipment to keep the radio running. They are also consumables.

China could not produce them domestically. They had to be imported in their entirety.

You can't buy them in shops. They're only available through special channels.

Many underground fronts often pay a high price, even with the loss of lives, to deliver a few batteries.

How many batteries do we have?

Ten boxes! Each box has six. That's 60!

Sixty!

Sixty!

That's enough for a radio to last for years.

Quick, devour a box.

Even if you're space is tight, you must hide a few. They're strategic goods!

In addition to the radios, there are also a large number of weapons below.

Compared to the radios, the weapons are quite ordinary.

There are rifles.

There are also pistols.

The rifles are mostly Mosins. There are about a hundred of them. Although they are casually stacked on the ground, they are in good condition.

I casually picked up two and looked at the barrels. The rifling is still very neat. It can almost be assumed that they have not been used much.

In addition, there are also twelve Czech-style light machine guns. All of them have 20-round magazines.

They are all new too. The quality is very good.

Then there are the bullets. There are also 20 boxes of them. Each box contains around 1,000 rounds. In total, there are more than 20,000 rounds.

Is this a safe house?

Of course not. This is an armed stronghold!

Once the Japanese invade Beiping, the Japanese spies lurking in the city can immediately take up these weapons and create chaos in the city, collaborating from within.

How can they fight?

There is no way.

With the Japanese infiltrators in such a state, how could there be any chance of victory?

The Japanese invaders had indeed spent a huge amount of manpower, resources and money in order to conquer Beiping. No wonder the Japanese cabinet felt overwhelmed. The military had invested a bit too much.

At that time, the Japanese invaders probably didn't expect the 29th Army to be so weak. They would be easily defeated.

After all, during the Xifengkou battle, the 29th Army had shown courage and a spirit of sacrifice that the Japanese invaders could not underestimate.

Who knows...

Then the Japanese soldiers just drifted off. They couldn't see themselves anymore.

The three high-powered radios, along with the remaining batteries, were of course all taken away.

Chen Gongpeng was rubbing his hands together with excitement.

He was originally under the command of He Jifeng. He had fought alongside He Jifeng. Later, he was transferred to the Wuyuan Pistol Regiment directly under the military department.

When it came to this He Jifeng, Chen Gongpeng was beaming.

They were both fearless.

At Xifeng Pass, they all swung their machetes.

Now, the 109th Brigade commanded by He Jifeng was stationed in Wanping City, less than a kilometre from the Japanese invaders. It was a tense situation, one that could erupt at any moment.

The famous Lugou Bridge was within He Jifeng's garrison area.

From Zhang Yong's perspective, it was worth it to supply He Jifeng with as much weapons and ammunition as he needed. This Brigadier General He was really fierce! He was absolutely awesome at killing the Japanese invaders!

'Do you think Master You has other strongholds elsewhere?'

'I guess so.'

Zhang Yong narrowed his eyes. He was itching to get started.

Although they didn't seize any goods this time, weapons and ammunition were also treasures!

In times of war, weapons and ammunition were more important than money.

Only with guns can you protect your money.

Otherwise, it's like a child walking the streets with a gold brick, and the consequences are imaginable.

'So, we...'

Chen Gongpeng was eager to try.

He didn't really care about money. But he really liked weapons and ammunition.

That was the nature of a soldier.

Seizing enough weapons and ammunition to equip an entire reinforced company in one go, Chen Gongpeng was of course delighted.

If he could seize a few more strongholds like this one, it would not only greatly reduce the hidden dangers within Beiping City, but also allow him to replenish a certain amount of weapons and ammunition.

In fact, Zhao Dengyu's 37th Division was very poorly equipped. It was not comparable to the main force like the 51st Division.

The 109th Brigade commanded by his old superior He Jifeng was also in urgent need of ammunition. If there were weapons to replenish, that would naturally be even better.

At this moment, even one more bullet would be a good thing.

The question is: Should we arrest Mr You?

I don't think we can easily convince this Japanese spy to cooperate. We might scare him off.

In the end, Zhang Yong decided to sweep the streets.

Just like in Shanghai, he would sweep past bit by bit.

He would start with the Sihai Money Exchange.

This place was shady. He was not afraid of doing it. He would claim that Han Lemao had done it.

Who is Han Lemao? You can figure it out for yourselves!

But Chen Gongpeng objected.

He shook his head.

'I can't deal with all those people inside.'

'We don't have any special connections. Only one person can go in at a time. We're no match for the people inside.'

'Going in is a death sentence.'

Chen Gongpeng made his position clear.

Zhang Yong: ...

Okay. That's true.

Although, the Four Seas Money Bank is really tempting. But...

'Do you have a car?'

'Yes.'

'Then let's go do some other work now.'

'What about them?'

Chen Gongpeng had a pretty good idea of Zhang Yong's style of work.

This guy often does things half-heartedly. He doesn't finish what he starts. He said he was going to the Four Seas Money Bank, but ended up arresting Gan Xiaoning and a few others.

He arrested them, interrogated them, and then said he wouldn't say what to do with them, and now he wants to go do something else.

It's exhausting. Really. Chen Gongpeng was a bit at a loss.

Fortunately, he had been on the battlefield and had learned to adapt. Military men take orders as their vocation.

If there are conditions, you must go.

If there are no conditions, you must create conditions and go.

'Release.'

'Release?'

'Yes. Release.'

'Then...'

Chen Gongpeng had no choice but to release the man.

Zhang Yong said there was nothing to be sorry about. There were so many spies, so why keep them for food?

Release them and let them grow a little, and maybe the next time they are caught, they can be cut a second time. That was what happened to Kitakata Taro. He was cut over and over again.

No doubt about it. Prepare the vehicle. Then set off.

Master You's range of activities is very extensive.

What Zhang Yong is looking for are houses with weapons symbols. But there are no people in them.

As a result, there is a target soon.

Inside a two-storey building on Taiping Street, there are also numerous weapons symbols.

Good guy, is there a lot of weapons and ammunition hidden here too?

Look around. There are quite a lot of people living here. But no one lives in this building.

Waving his hands, he uses his skills to pick the lock. He enters.

To his surprise, the place is surprisingly clean. There is only a thin layer of dust on the table.

It is clear that someone must have taken care of this building. It could have been the Japanese invaders. Or it could have been the workers hired by the Japanese invaders. But either way, it shows that this building has not been abandoned. It must have been a special target of care.

So, could it be the place where the Japanese spies hid their weapons? Zhang Yong is not sure.

There were weapons and ammunition. But who owned it? Zhang Yong really didn't know.

What the hell! Just dig it all up.

If it's in my hands, it's mine.

When others investigate, they follow the clues. He went straight to the melon. Then he looked for the vine. Or it didn't matter if he couldn't find the vine. He had the melon anyway.

Following the map, they found the very well-hidden basement.

Dig!

Light the torch.

'Ah...'

Chen Gongpeng let out a gasp.

Clearly, even with his extensive experience, he was surprised.

Zhang Yong was suddenly curious.

What was in there?

He poked his head in to take a look.

Then he too let out a gasp.

Holy cow! Inside the cellar were a dense array of Maxim heavy machine guns!

Zhang Yong: ...

Damn, that's too much!

The Japanese invaders even had Maxim heavy machine guns.

What were they planning to do?

Next time, they might even bring the Italian cannons.

My, my, there are 20 Maxim heavy machine guns! All brand new. They even have serial numbers.

'They belonged to the Northeast Army...'

Chen Gongpeng's excitement gradually faded.

All the sophisticated weapons of the Northeast Army had fallen into the hands of the Japanese invaders. And the Japanese invaders had transported them to Beiping and hidden them here.

Twenty Maxim heavy machine guns!

That's enough to form a machine gun company. A heavy machine gun company.

You can imagine the casualties the Chinese army would suffer if the Japanese used these heavy machine guns.

It's chilling to think about.

There was also a lot of ammunition, 50 crates full! More than 50,000 rounds!

Is this a stronghold?

It's an arms depot!

It's terrifying.

It's shocking.

Contact was immediately re-established with the 109th Brigade.

This time, the commander of the 109th Brigade, He Jifeng, came in person with his men.