Chapter 645: Starting from scratch

Wild Valley Tsuchimaro is dead?

No surprise. He was already almost dead.

I guess after arriving at the Security Command Headquarters, this guy still refused to confess. He might even have mocked a little.

Stubborn to the end. Just beg for a quick death.

So...

Anyway, the man is dead. The trail is cut off.

The Garrison Command is not good at detective work. If you want to continue the investigation, you have to look for yourself.

The problem is...

Zhang Yong is also very depressed!

Investigating a case is a very professional matter. What's the point of looking for yourself?

I don't know how to investigate a case!

I can't even read a file. And I'm faint of blood!

Really...

I'm faint of blood selectively...

However, when he arrived at the Garrison Command, he could not refuse.

If he doesn't know, then he doesn't know.

Since he's already here, he might as well get to work.

He has no choice.

'Have you found the bodies of the other people?'

'No.'

'In that case, the Japanese spy came prepared!'

'Yes.'

Zhou Yang nods angrily.

They've arrived at their headquarters and haven't found any clues.

This makes everyone at the Security Command Headquarters very frustrated.

There's no choice but to ask Zhang Yong to go again.

'It's easy to kill someone, but hard to dismember the body...' Zhang Yong suddenly blurted out.

It seemed like he had read it from a magazine at the back.

What exactly it said, he had already forgotten.

Anyway, these 30-odd officers should all have a bad ending. The chances of them being alive were very low.

They were killed. Then the bodies were hidden.

If they were simply dumped, they should have been found.

So...

the question came...

Why did the Japanese spies kill them?

Was it just a demonstration? It doesn't feel like it was that simple...

Killing Yang Hu was a demonstration.

Killing some captains and lieutenants was just psychotic...

Wait!

It seems that there were really psychopaths among the Japanese invaders.

There were quite a few of them...

'It seems that the Japanese invaders were trying to extract information from the victims.'

'Extract information?'

'Yes. The coroner's report said that there were signs of forced interrogation on each corpse.'

'So...'

'But the murderer was impatient. He didn't torture them for long before killing them.'

'Oh...'

Zhang Yong frowned.

Deducing clues to solve a case was really not his forte.

It felt like this kind of thing would be better handled by the police department. There were more experts at solving cases there.

However, Zhang Yong also understood. It was impossible for the Garrison Command to go to the police department. On the one hand, it was a matter of face. On the other hand, it was a matter of confidentiality.

As the saying goes, you can't air your dirty laundry...

Commander Qian is also a man who cares about face. Not to mention the face of the Chairman.

Commander Qian is the Chairman's right-hand man, and must consider many things when doing his work.

Suddenly, an idea struck him.

It seems that he can go to the police station to recruit people!

He is the leader of the Special Operations Unit of the Secret Society's Special Operations Department, and also the leader of the Secret Investigation Unit.

It seems that he is also a member of some joint investigation team.

He has quite a few titles.

Suddenly, he had an epiphany...

The Chief took all his subordinates away.

However, the Police Command gave him great authority. He was allowed to recruit people independently.

Independently...

Do you know the meaning of these two words?

To put it bluntly, it means that he set up his own faction!

It means starting a new business on your own!

The people I led before were all trained by the Fuxing Society. Their thinking was definitely influenced by the Fuxing Society.

For example, Cao Mengqi, Zhong Yang, Wu Liuqi and others. Although they were all very talented and very brave. They were also very proactive. However, they all carried the brand of the Fuxing Society. Their thinking had already been brainwashed by the Fuxing Society.

Even someone like Cao Mengqi, who was determined to break away from the Fuxing Society and lead the army, was actually controlled by the Society's ideology. He only talked about it, but in fact did not dare to put it into action. Because he knew very well that the Fuxing Society could only be entered but not left, and once you broke away, the result would be death.

This was the rule. It was also an unspoken rule.

No one could break it easily. No one even dared to break it.

Li Boqi did not dare to either.

He did not have the ability to do so.

If he broke away from the Fuxing Society, he would definitely be hunted down.

Without the protection of the Fuxing Society, he would also be killed by his many enemies. Li Boqi's enemies are probably similar to his.

When the Fuxing Society does something, no one is spared.

Even the head of the department offends people.

So, in the end, he dies without knowing why.

There is no doubt that if he, Zhang Yong, ever wanted to leave, he would also be in great danger.

Among his subordinates, is there a mole specially arranged by the head of the department?

The answer is yes. And Zhang Yong will never find out.

This mole could be someone like Feng Jizhong. He is usually unremarkable. You won't even notice him.

But at the critical moment, he could shoot himself.

And that would be the end.

It can be said that as long as the Chief of Department arranges someone, they can never be 100% clean.

Therefore, you can only recruit and train your own people.

Only someone you have personally trained is relatively clean. This minimises the danger.

If someone you trained yourself betrays you, they are a traitor.

There is a fundamental difference between a traitor and an undercover agent.

Someone sent by the boss is an undercover agent. Killing yourself is almost without psychological burden.

However, if it is someone you trained yourself, you must overcome the psychological barrier before you can kill yourself. It is as if he could not kill Li Boqi.

He was trained by Li Boqi. He is considered a student of Li Boqi.

In this era, words like loyalty and gratitude still carry a lot of weight. To be ungrateful and betray one's master is insane.

When Chiang Kai-shek first captured his saviour and intended to kill him, even his wife couldn't bear to watch. In the end, they allied with Hu Zongnan and others to release the man. Otherwise, in 'Sword of Light', no one would be able to control Li Yunlong....

digression.

No wonder the department head didn't seem very happy when I reported to him.

It seems like it's confidential. In fact, the department head is aware. I may become too powerful to control. By then, it may really be hard to control.

But he can't change the complicated situation.

He once suggested using people from the Fuxing Society to participate in the secret investigation team. But Commander Qian rejected it out of hand.

Are you kidding me!

The department head was still breastfeeding when Commander Qian went to war.

With the little mind he has, how could Chief Zhang fool Commander Qian? How could Commander Qian give Chief Zhang the chance to meddle in the adjutant's office? Don't even think about it!

Okay, okay, okay.

After coming to his senses, Zhang Yong's mood immediately improved.

He will work hard to reorganise the team.

Although at the moment it is a ragtag group, once it is reorganised, it will truly be his own personal army.

No one else's orders will work except for his, Zhang Yong's.

He must make this happen.

He turned to Liu Bo and said, 'Lieutenant Liu, long time no see.'

'Chief Zhang, long time no see. I thought you had already forgotten Commander Yang!' Liu Bo's smile was obviously insincere.

'I dare not. I dare not,' Zhang Yong replied perfunctorily.

In the garrison headquarters, he only had one big boss. It was Commander Qian. He only recognised Commander Qian.

Commander Qian's thighs were the best to hug. His character was also considered to be quite good.

According to information from later generations, Commander Qian was not very talented. But he was considered a good person.

By that I mean he would not stab you in the back.

But Yang Hu would.

If you made a mistake, Commander Qian would forgive you. He would not throw you out.

But Commander Yang would, hehe. It was dangerous anyway.

Besides, he and Commander Qian shared a common interest.

What was that?

Making money.

Commander Qian was also a master at it.

If history hadn't taken a different course, Commander Qian would have been in charge of the Air Force for a while.

His wife was a woman after all, and couldn't take charge directly. So, the director and secretary-general of the Aviation Committee were actually both Commander Qian.

It so happened that during this period, a large sum of money went missing. His political enemies reported it. The president was furious and ordered an investigation. In the end, Commander Qian took the blame. He admitted that he had embezzled the money. As for the real destination of the money, it was actually with his wife.

'You come with me!'

'Yes!'

Zhang Yong followed Zhou Yang.

As for Liu Bo, all he could say was, 'Sorry, I don't know you anymore.

We don't see eye to eye.

I'm only going to hug Commander Qian's leg. You understand.'

They turned through the corridors.

Security was tight.

There were soldiers with loaded guns everywhere.

Fortunately, it wasn't a show of force against him. There was no need for it.

After all, his secret investigation team had not yet started work. The more than 30 missing officers had not yet been completely found.

The point is, Zhang Yong believed that Commander Qian was not the kind of person who would resort to such underhand tactics.

If he wanted to punish someone, he could simply give an order. There was no need to use underhand tactics.

'We're here.'

'Thank you.'

'Be careful what you say in front of the Commander.'

'Understood!'

Zhang Yong straightened his clothes.

Fortunately, he was now wearing a Zhongshan suit. It was kind of a uniform.

It suddenly occurred to him that his secret investigation team should also order several hundred Mao suits immediately!

The dark Mao suit looked very smart.

But...

He suddenly thought of the group of bald men...

Never mind...

The Mao suit was smart. But what was the point of matching it with a group of bald men?

It was incongruous...

People would laugh...

'Report!'

'Enter!'

Zhou Yang opened the door. He led Zhang Yong in.

Inside was a large war room. Maps were hung on the walls. In the centre was a huge sand table.

Commander Qian was standing in front of a map, deep in thought.

'Come here.'

'Yes.'

Zhang Yong walked over, puzzled.

He saw that there were many red arrows on the map in front of Commander Qian.

The arrows pointed to a blue circle.

'Can you see anything?'

'We are going to attack and retake Hongkou?'

'Oh? You can see that?'

'I can.'

'Good, good!'

Commander Qian is delighted.

He had thought he would have to explain it to Zhang Yong!

He never expected Zhang Yong to understand it. That's good. That's good.

Zhang Yong admits frankly.

He did understand it at first glance.

This is the National Army's plan to attack and try to destroy the Japanese army in Hongkou.

Although there are no specific names of the troops or more detailed explanations, he understood it at first glance.

Because this is the basic operational plan for the August 13th Battle of Shanghai next year.

The Songhu War of Resistance was initiated by the Nationalist army. The goal was to eliminate the Japanese marines stationed in Hongkou. The total troop strength was about 7,000.

The Nationalist army concentrated the most elite troops from three armies and six divisions, about 50,000 people. They tried to achieve a quick victory. However, things did not go as planned. The Nationalist army failed to achieve victory. The war became a stalemate. Then the Japanese army sent in reinforcements like crazy. Huge artillery and warships also rushed to the support. Then the Japanese army gained the upper hand. The Nationalist army was forced to commit more troops. The Japanese also put in more troops. Then the Japanese landed from Hangzhou Bay. In the end, the National Army was defeated and lost Songhu. Then they lost Jinling. It was a crushing defeat.

Was there a problem with the plan?

Of course not.

There was nothing wrong with the plan.

The person who made the plan was Commander Qian. Or Director Qian.

Three armies, six divisions, 50,000 men, were assembled to attack the Japanese 7,000. The ratio of forces was 7:1. It could be said to be very secure.

But why did it fail in the end?

Was it because the National Army was incompetent? Of course not.

At the beginning of the war, the three armies resolutely carried out orders. They fought valiantly.

So what went wrong?

It was because their combat effectiveness was not good enough.

Reality is cruel. The 50,000 National Army soldiers just could not defeat the 7,000 Japanese soldiers.

Because there was a huge generation gap in terms of combat effectiveness. Note that it was a generation gap. It was a difference of one or two generations in terms of combat effectiveness. The two sides were simply not from the same era. The combat effectiveness of the Japanese invaders was three-dimensional. The combat effectiveness of the National Army was limited to the ground.

The Japanese invaders had aircraft, huge ships and cannons.

The Japanese invaders were supported by cruisers with a maximum caliber of 203 mm. Later, battleships with a caliber of over 300 mm arrived to provide support.

Giant cannons of over 300 millimetres!

One shell would basically wipe out an entire platoon of the Nationalist army.

If the formation was dense, half a company might be blown up.

There was also the all-weather suppression from aircraft.

The Nationalist army only had land-based artillery. The largest calibre was only 150 millimetres. They were also under the close scrutiny of Japanese aircraft, and were basically wiped out. It was of little use.

How could they fight?

They couldn't.

Objectively speaking, at that time, in the plains, no Chinese army could win against the Japanese invaders.

Facing the combined firepower of land, sea and air, the land troops alone could not withstand it.

The only way was to buy time. After the Japanese occupied the plains, they began to fight in the mountains. Only then was it possible to take advantage of the mountainous terrain and gradually engage the Japanese in a war of attrition. Eventually, the Japanese were worn down. In fact, the Japanese were indeed worn down. Overwhelmed. Desperate. Desperate enough to take risks. And ultimately led to their demise.

But now, it seems that no one has yet realised this harsh reality.

Or they don't want to think about it.

Everyone thinks that with 50,000 men against 7,000, they will definitely win.

Zhang Yong dares not speak out.

No one would believe him if he did.

He is now just a small agent. He just needs to do his job.

'Sit.'

'Yes.'

Zhang Yong sits down at the edge of the sand table.

Because there is only a stool here.

Commander Qian also sits down. Pointing at the sand table, he speaks bluntly.

'There will definitely be a war between China and Japan.'

'Yes.'

'We must strike first. Expel all the Japanese invaders stationed in Hongkou.'

'Yes.'

'The Japanese invaders probably realise this too. That's why they've been acting crazy lately! They've even dared to demonstrate against us. They've arrested our people and killed our people. These bastards! We can't let them get away with it! Zhang Yong!'

'Here!'

'Capture those bastards and punish them severely on the spot.'

'Yes.'

Zhang Yong solemnly agreed.