Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 347, page 345: Interrogating a Japanese Special Higher Police spy and taking over the Taiyuan garrison.

The sudden change in the bronze cauldron made Fang Wen realize that in addition to replenishing energy and improving his own abilities, this thing also had the function of bringing good fortune and warding off evil.

Where does the danger come from?
There are only three people in the room: myself, Kuang Anming, and Gong Xiuneng.

Kuang Anming is his brother-in-law, and Gong Xiuneng has proven his loyalty through his actions during this period; it couldn't be them.

By the way, the bronze tripod changed just as the guards came to report that someone from the 72nd Division had come to visit.

It seems the problem lies with those people.

Fang Wen remained calm and said, "Take them to the reception room. I'll be there in a bit."

After the guards left, Fang Wen immediately instructed Gong Xiuneng: "The 72nd Division is stationed in the Zhoujiashan area west of the city, about 50 li away from here. It's a bit strange that they sent someone to find me at this critical moment. Go and investigate."

"Yes."

Gong Xiuneng accepted the order and went out. He called a squad of soldiers from the guard platoon of the next regimental headquarters to go with him. When they arrived at the camp's reception room, he pushed open the door with a big smile on his face.

"Brothers, you must be tired from the journey. The commander has some things to attend to, so he asked me to greet you first."

As he spoke, Gong Xiuneng was also sizing up the four men, who were dressed in Jin army uniforms: a company commander and three soldiers.

There are no obvious flaws in its appearance.

The way he said it was a bit strange.

Although they were from the Shanxi army, they didn't speak with a Shanxi accent; instead, they answered in a northern accent.

Gong Xiuneng feigned surprise: "Aren't you guys from Shanxi?"

The leading officer replied, "Yes, we're from Hebei. We escaped here a few years ago, so we decided to join the army and at least get some food."

That answer is understandable.

But Gong Xiuneng did not let his guard down because of this.

With a broad smile, he called out to the outside, "Make tea for the brothers of the 72nd Division. They've come all this way, and you don't even offer them a cup of hot water?"

The guards outside brought over a pot of hot tea and several porcelain bowls, which they poured for the four men.

Gong Xiuneng started chatting with a smile, his words always steering towards the Battle of Xinkou.

These people were actually able to keep up with the conversation.

But what they said was very one-sided, which made Gong Xiu feel very strange.

Finally, he went out and returned to the regimental headquarters, reporting to Fang Wen: "Regimental Commander, these people have a northern accent. When asked about the Battle of Xinkou, they can say a few words, but something feels off. It's like they're speaking vaguely, as if they didn't experience it firsthand."

Fang Wen whispered, "They have a northern accent and know about the Battle of Xinkou, but not comprehensively. There's definitely something wrong with them. They're probably not from the 72nd Division. Arrest them, and I'll find a way to make contact with the 72nd Division."

Gong Xiuneng acted immediately, leading the guards in a sudden attack that subdued the four men.

Meanwhile, Fang Wen contacted the city and informed the command center of the situation.

Soon, the command headquarters replied that the 72nd Division had not sent anyone over at all; however, several soldiers had gone out the previous night and had not returned.

It seems that those soldiers from the 72nd Division are likely doomed, as their uniforms have been put on these imposters.

Fang Wen then interrogated the four imposters.

At the garrison of the 4rd Battalion of the Independent Regiment, four imposters were bound hand and foot to their chairs.

Gong Xiuneng's face was fierce: "Tell me honestly, who are you people?"

The man in the company commander's uniform was still stubbornly insisting: "There must be a mistake. We are from the 72nd Division. We are brother units that have fought together. Don't make false accusations."

Gong Xiuneng dislocated the man's shoulder joint and said coldly, "You guys really dare to do this. You killed someone last night, and today you came here wearing their clothes and equipment, trying to infiltrate our base. Now you still want to deny it."

The dislocated shoulder caused the man to break out in a cold sweat, but even so, he remained silent.

Gong Xiuneng then turned to the other three and performed bone-dislocating techniques on them one after another.

Finally, an unbearable scream rang out.

Even so, Gong Xiuneng did not stop and continued to use his skills.

The immense pain caused the four to lose their senses, and their screams were mixed with all sorts of strange words.

Fang Wen, standing outside the door, recognized the language as Japanese.

However, because of his strange accent and unclear voice, Fang Wen couldn't hear him clearly.

He said to the soldiers of the guard platoon, "Go and bring Fujimoto Teruya here."

The two soldiers left, opened the other side of the barracks, and brought out Fujimoto Teruya, who was being held inside.

Fujimoto Teruya asked in surprise in Chinese, "Did my family come to ransom me?"

"The commander wants to see you." The soldier said coldly, pushing Fujimoto Teruya forward.

After a while, Fujimoto Teruya came to Fang Wen.

Feeling somewhat dejected, he became obedient as soon as he saw Fang Wen and Gong Xiuneng, standing ramrod straight and not daring to move.

Especially Gong Xiu Neng, Fujimoto Teruya didn't even dare to look at him.

Fang Wen said kindly, "Would you like better treatment as a prisoner?"

"Yes, sir. Can you notify my family?" Fujimoto Teruya replied quickly.

"We just captured four Japanese spies who were trying to infiltrate the camp. Do you think they're here to rescue you?" Fang Wen asked.

"Rescue me?" Fujimoto Teruya was stunned. He knew his own limitations. He was not in charge of the Fujimoto family. Paying money to ransom him was already the limit. Sending someone to rescue him was definitely out of the question.

Moreover, it's best not to get involved in this kind of thing, or you'll definitely suffer the consequences. Fujimoto Teruya quickly replied, "Impossible, absolutely impossible. I'm not that important, sir, you must be mistaken."

"Then come with me and listen to what they have to say."

Fang Wen led Fujimoto Teruya to the interrogation room, where the four spies inside were already delirious and shouting incoherently from the pain of their dislocated hands.

After listening for a while, Fujimoto replied, "It seems like they've been specially trained. They kept shouting in the Kyoto dialect words like 'perseverance' and 'loyalty'."

It turned out that he was undergoing self-hypnosis to resist torture.

Fang Wen looked at Gong Xiuneng: "Not enough force."

Gong Xiuneng immediately entered the room, using not only the bone-dislocating technique but also the tendon-separating technique.

The body has its limits.

Especially when the nervous system is also subjected to torture.

In fact, to prevent these people from biting their tongues and committing suicide while in a state of muscle loss, Gong Xiu even dislocated their jaw joints.

When Fujimoto Teruya saw this scene again, he broke out in a cold sweat.

He was thankful that he had confessed in time, otherwise he would have suffered such pain.

He couldn't help but say, "Sir, could you let me talk to them? Maybe it will be effective."

"Okay. Gong Xiuneng, release the one on the far right and take him to the next room."

Gong Xiuneng restored the spy disguised as a soldier and dragged him to the next room.

There, Fang Wen and Gong Xiu were able to stay in a position where the spies could not see them, and communicate with them through Fujimoto Teruya.

Fujimoto Teruya brought over a glass of water, attempting to feed it to him.

At the same time, he said in standard Japanese that Fang Wen could understand, "Don't insist anymore, you can't take it. They have more tricks up their sleeves, this is just the beginning."

The man opened his eyes, looking lingering fear.

"I can't hold on much longer. Who are you?"

"Fujimoto Teruya, a pilot of the Kwantung Army Air Force, was captured by the Taishan Independent Regiment after his plane crashed."

"So it was you. I saw your name on the list of the dead."

"They think I'm already dead?!"

Fujimoto Teruya was immediately shocked.

If he is declared dead in battle, no one in his family will be able to redeem him. He knows very well that a person who dies bravely in battle is more valuable than a living person.

Panicked, he felt he had lost all hope.

Gong Xiuneng, who was standing opposite him, reminded him that if he had no value, things could turn out badly.

Teruya Fujimoto didn't want to experience those painful punishments, so he decided to create some opportunities for himself.

He actively engaged in conversation with the spy. "Let's talk about your case first. You've been captured, and you must confess something to alleviate your suffering. Otherwise, the torture will continue."

"I know I can't make it to the next round, I don't want to die."

"Then let's say something useful."

After hesitating for a while, that person finally made a decision.

"I am an undercover agent from the North China branch of the Special Higher Police. I was transferred to the action team last month."

Fujimoto Teruya looked up at Fang Wen.

Fang Wen and Gong Xiuneng emerged from the shadows behind and sat opposite the prisoners.

Gong Xiu can continuously put pressure on the other party, while Fang Wen plays the role of relieving this pressure.

He said gently, "This is a good start. As long as you tell me what you know, I promise you won't be tortured again. Gong Xiuneng, you agree, right?"

Gong Xiuneng replied at the opportune moment: "I will absolutely obey the commander's orders, but if he lies or hides anything, I will deal with him in new ways."

The combination of soft and hard tactics broke down the spy's psychological defenses.

The main problem was that the pain had exceeded his training tolerance limit; it was terrifying.

In order to avoid suffering, he confessed voluntarily.

"My name is Morimura Isamu. In 1934, which is the 15th year of the Republic of China, I was assigned to infiltrate Cangzhou under the alias Tian Yong and run a tea shop there. My organization was the Special Higher Police Section, North China Branch."

Seeing that the other party's explanation was satisfactory, Fang Wen interrupted, "Tell me about the Special Higher Police. What departments does this organization have? What activities does it mainly engage in?"

Since Morimura Yuji had already told everyone, he no longer intended to hide it.

He answered Fang Wen's questions accordingly.

The Special Higher Police (THD) was originally under the Japanese Ministry of Home Affairs and was an agency responsible for dealing with domestic incidents. However, as Japan needed to invade China and the Far East, its functions were gradually changed, and it became an agency specifically responsible for espionage and intelligence activities during the invasion of China.

Yuichi Morimura was among the first batch of spies sent to China by the Special Higher Police. He had been infiltrating the country for over a decade and had collected a large amount of intelligence on the North China region.

This year, the full-scale invasion of China broke out. Because their hideout was occupied, these undercover agents gradually went out into the open and became accomplices of the invading army.

Later, an assassination squad came to Tianjin.

A group of capable individuals were selected from the Special Higher Police's northern branch to participate in the operation, and Morimura Yuji was thus chosen to participate in this assassination mission.

As for the target of the assassination, it was Fang Wen.

Hearing this, Fang Wen was quite calm. He had been in danger ever since the bombing of the Izumo five years ago, so he didn't feel anything special.

Gong Xiuneng was very nervous and immediately pressed for more information.

"Besides the four of you, who else is in the assassination squad? Where are they?"

Morimura Isamu quickly replied, "There were 10 of us who parachuted into Xinkou by transport plane. After learning about the situation of your battle, we blended in with the refugees who were unable to escape and came to Taiyuan City. Later, we tried to carry out assassinations in the city, but there were too many troops, so we couldn't get close. We decided to split up. Kawai Hiroshi led us to kill the four men from the 72nd Division who had deserted their posts and entered the city for pleasure. We disguised ourselves as them and looked for an opportunity to carry out direct assassinations. The remaining six men are still lying in wait in the city, looking for other opportunities."

There were still six in the city. Gong Xiuneng, the guard, was very nervous: "Do you know where they are?"

"I don't know," Morimura Yuji replied.

His expression seemed normal, but Fang Wen, whose mental strength far surpassed that of ordinary people, still noticed a hint of unnaturalness.

wrong.

Fang Wen immediately realized the problem.

Did Japanese spies come to Taiyuan just to assassinate me?
The death of Fang Wen in the Battle of Taiyuan will not have any significant impact.

However, if something happens to the command center in Taiyuan, the entire defense of Taiyuan will become leaderless.

It seems the remaining six are plotting an even bigger conspiracy.

He said coldly, "Is there something you haven't explained? What exactly did the others do?"

Upon hearing Fang Wen's words, Morimura Yuji's expression changed drastically.

As Gong Xiuneng approached, he hurriedly said, "I said, I really don't know where they are, but I know they are carrying out a new mission of the Special Higher Police to sabotage the command center in Taiyuan City."

After obtaining crucial intelligence from the prisoners, Fang Wen immediately began to analyze it.

In Taiyuan today, all the high-ranking officials have fled, leaving only Fu Zuoyi, the Taiyuan garrison commander, as the highest-ranking officer.

It's likely that those people are targeting him.

My arrival has changed some aspects of the future. Could this lead to some negative consequences?

For example, this Japanese Special Higher Police special operations unit should not have been in Taiyuan.

It would be terrible if they succeeded in causing destruction in Taiyuan!

Fang Wen didn't want this to happen, so he immediately set off for the city.

He and Gong Xiuneng disguised themselves as ordinary officers and, under the guise of patrolling the city, followed the patrol force of the Third Battalion of the Independent Regiment into the city.

The patrol entered Taiyuan City and took up duty on the main streets. Fang Wen, disguised as the officer in charge, led the patrol to the garrison headquarters.

The place became busy as it became a command center, with officers coming and going.

Because of the overwhelming number of officers coming and going, the guards at the gate did not conduct any checks.

Seeing this, Fang Wen was somewhat worried, wondering if the Japanese special operations team that was carrying out the sabotage operation had infiltrated the area.

He ordered the troops to provide protection outside the garrison headquarters, and then he led Gong Xiuneng inside.

Upon entering the garrison headquarters, Fang Wen went straight to the third floor, where he was stopped by guards at the stairwell.

Fang Wen breathed a sigh of relief upon learning that someone was watching over the place, and then revealed his identity.

"Fang Wen, commander of the Taishan Independent Regiment, requests to see Commander Fu."

After the guards reported back, Commander Fu's bodyguard came over, looked at the unfamiliar face in front of him, and said, "You're not Fang Wen, someone come here."

Before he could finish speaking, Fang Wen ripped off his human skin mask: "I am Fang Wen. These are just some tricks of the trade. Please excuse my poor performance."

The guard officer finally relaxed: "Commander Fang, what are you up to now?"

“The situation is urgent, I need to see Commander Fu,” Fang Wen replied.

"Come with me."

The guards led Fang Wen into the operations room.

There, Commander Fu was talking with several operations staff officers.

"As the Japanese army approached Shiling Pass, the original positions were no longer sufficient to intercept them, and the northern positions were moved to the northern suburbs of Taiyuan."

"The troops that withdrew from eastern Shanxi, except for the 27th Route Army and the 17th and 27th Divisions which had already retreated to the eastern suburbs of Taiyuan, were all intercepted by the Japanese army and forced to retreat southwest of Yuci."

"Commander, the original plan has been completely disrupted. They only sent the 68th Division, the 71st Division, and the Independent 7th Brigade to provide support, while the other troops have moved south to guard against the Japanese advance."

Commander Fu looked at the map without saying a word.

Fang Wen learned about the current situation in Taiyuan City from these conversations.

Most of the plans discussed at the previous military conference have not been implemented.

Furthermore, the high-ranking officials in the city had already left, and the Jin-Sui and Central Army had either moved south to deploy defenses or retreated to the opposite bank of the Fen River west of Taiyuan City for defense.

The existing defensive forces in the northern and eastern suburbs were simply unable to stop the attack of the two Japanese divisions.

Currently, the city only has 9 battalions of the 35th Army, the 1st Independent Brigade, the 213th Brigade, the Taishan Independent Regiment, and the Provisional 7th Division.

These troops will defend Taiyuan City and fight against the 5th Division to the north, the 20th Division to the east, and other Japanese troops that follow.

The situation is very critical.

At this moment, Commander Fu saw Fang Wen and spoke up, "Commander Fang, as you can see, Taiyuan is in grave danger. Are you willing to join me in defending this isolated city?"

The term "isolated city" sounds a bit ridiculous. Just two days ago, everyone was united in their determination to overcome the crisis, but now things have turned out like this.

Fang Wen did not hesitate to reply, “Commander Fu, the Taishan Independent Regiment and the Provisional 7th Division are willing to stay and defend the city. But I have something else to report. The Japanese Special Higher Police sent a secret operation team to infiltrate Taiyuan City. I captured four of them. After interrogation, one of them confessed that there are six more people lurking in the city. They are planning to sabotage the Taiyuan City command center. We must find them.”

Upon hearing Fang Wen's words, Commander Fu replied, "The city's security is now the responsibility of your Independent Regiment. I hereby appoint you as the Taiyuan City Garrison Commander, who can dispatch the city's military and police to cooperate in the operation and find those spies."

Fang Wen received authorization from Commander Fu and gained jurisdiction over the garrison of Taiyuan City. He immediately went downstairs to begin his operation.

He had to find the six spies before the Japanese army attacked the city, otherwise he wouldn't have time to deal with them once the fighting started.

(End of this chapter)