Chapter 791: The Tightening Spell

Shocked.

Really.

Feeling. There are still talented people in the Red!

No wonder they can sit on the world in the future.

Something that I could never figure out on my own was revealed by the words 'Kurimoto Ao'.

No wonder Yosuke Yamaguchi had to die.

Because he was a man of Prince Chichibu Yōhito.

This Yamaguchi Yosuke, whose real name is Mori Usamaru, planned the kidnapping.

Why did he plan this kidnapping?

Of course, he wanted to embarrass the current ruler. He wanted to make him lose face.

And indirectly, he wanted to harm Emperor Hirohito.

It can be said for certain that behind Yamaguchi Yosuke, there were other planners.

For example, according to historical records, there was Yamashita Hōbun.

There are also others who have not been revealed.

They were all supporters of Hirohito. But none of them came forward. Instead, they conspired in secret. Quietly pushing forward the plan to replace the emperor...

Wait.

Zhang Yong suddenly thought of something.

Could he fabricate a plan of the tanuki? Specifically targeting Hirohito?

As the name suggests, the plan of the tanuki is to replace Hirohito with Hirohito.

This is not unfounded. It is based on facts.

After the unconditional surrender of the Japanese invaders, MacArthur was once prepared to replace Hirohito with Yongren. But Hirohito decisively bowed his head and admitted his mistake. He made a very lowly gesture. MacArthur finally let him go. He continued to let him be the emperor. Yongren returned disappointed. In the end, he died inexplicably.

Some sources say he died of poisoning. Others say he died of depression.

In short, he died an unnatural death.

Was he murdered? There is no evidence.

But when you consider the 5,000-year history of China, there must be something fishy going on.

All the battles for the throne have been bloody and strange. The truth may never be known.

Okay, I can make something up again.

Who was behind the 'replacement of the prince with a raccoon dog' plot? It was MacArthur, of course!

He just moved the time forward by ten years.

I'm sure MacArthur won't have any objections. He was unanimously voted the best foreign military commander. What's there to say about taking the blame?

Of course, a name like Operation Civet Cat is definitely not acceptable. It sounds like something the Chinese would come up with.

We need to come up with a different name. How about Operation Iris? Or Operation Cornflower?

'You're surprised?'

'Surprised at what?'

'Why I know the name Mori Usamaru.'

'Indeed.'

'He hung around the concession for a while. I arrested him myself. Of course I know.'

'I see.'

'Please.'

'Thank you!'

Zhang Yong led the team out of the concession.

Kurimoto Ao watched his departing back and nodded thoughtfully.

It was a matter of reciprocity.

Since Zhang Yong had given Red a lot of benefits, naturally Red would also help him within his abilities.

Being friends...

It was just right. The information about Mori Usamaru was what Zhang Yong needed.

If he wanted, he could do a lot by following this thread.

It just depended on whether Zhang Yong could seize it.

Over here, Zhang Yong led the team back to the pier without incident.

The work of dismantling the bales of cotton continued. They worked through the night. They still hadn't finished.

However, the ocean that had been cleared away earlier had already been boxed up and transported back by truck by Zhang Ping, who had deployed personnel from the air force base. Basically, it had all been transported.

Zhang Yong's mood was not affected by the sight of the mountains of ocean.

It really is true that out of sight is out of mind!

Upon learning that Zhang Yong had returned, Zhang Ping immediately came out.

He hardly slept last night. He still has dark circles under his eyes.

'Shaolong,'

'Have you finished counting?'

'Almost.'

'Good,'

Zhang Yong nodded.

He didn't ask for the exact number. He was afraid that he would be shocked again.

Although there is a base of 100,000 US dollars here, it is still a huge loss! As for Xuan Tiewu's side, he didn't see it himself...

Who knows, Zhang Ping has already excitedly reported it:

'350,000!'

'350,000!'

'Shao Long, do you know? It's a whopping 350,000 taels of silver!'

Zhang Yong: 'Er...'

Please don't keep emphasising it, okay? It hurts.

I tried hard to think and it seemed like I had also made a profit of 100,000 US dollars. 100,000 US dollars is a little more than 350,000 taels of silver. A little more...

Gradually, I managed to control my emotions. I pretended to be completely unconcerned.

'I've already reported it.'

'Oh...'

'Minister Min is very happy. I reported to Madam in the morning. Madam is also very happy.'

'Oh...'

'In the afternoon, Madam and Chen Nade will fly to Longhua Airport.'

'Oh...'

'This sum of money will show Chen Nade and convince him that we are capable of paying the salary.'

'How much is Chen Nade's salary?'

Zhang Yong asked curiously. Later generations have the information. But I forgot.

Anyway, the salary was quite high. All the hired pilots from the United States were paid very well. They were paid three times as much as the Chinese pilots.

If Chen Shanben was paid 50 taels of silver a month, the American pilots were paid 150 taels.

150 taels a month, that's 1,800 taels a year.

For ten pilots, that's 18,000 taels a year. It's still very expensive.

The Air Force is really an extremely expensive branch of the military.

Not only are aircraft expensive, but so are pilots. Training is also expensive.

The navy is expensive for warships. Manpower costs are not as high. Except for naval aircraft pilots. They are also considered pilots.

Training pilots is much more difficult than manufacturing aircraft. Especially skilled pilots are 'fuelled' with petrol. It also takes a very long time. It cannot be done overnight. The more you fly, the longer it takes, and naturally the more skilled you become.

In the latter stages of World War II, both the Japanese and the Germans still had aircraft. But they couldn't find enough pilots.

The pilots they had trained before had been exhausted. Newbies had trouble even getting into the cockpit. Not to mention fighting. They were just waiting to be slaughtered.

The Japanese showed this very clearly in the Pacific theater and in the Mariana Air War.

They were completely on the defensive. They couldn't even fend off the attacks. Not to mention fighting back.

That was in June 1944!

The war was not yet over, and the Japanese carrier pilots were already vulnerable.

'The initial salary was 1,500 yuan per month.'

'Oh...'

Zhang Yong said that his memory was correct.

It seems to be that much. 1,500 yuan per month. And Chen Nai-fu refused to accept fiat currency.

It must be said that Chen Nai-fu also had people advising him. They told him that fiat currency was prone to devaluation. Only foreign currency was eternal. Of course, if it were US dollars, that would be fine.

However, money is needed to buy a horse's bones. It's worth it.

If you don't pay a salary that's attractive enough, who will work for you?

As the war against Japan raged on, the pilots of the Nationalist Air Force were largely killed or injured.

It seems that people like Gao Yuanhang had already died. The pilots who followed were seriously lacking in skills. They were no match for the Japanese planes in the sky.

So the Nationalist government had no choice but to ask Chennault to go to the United States to recruit pilots.

Lured by the high salaries, many American pilots arrived and joined the fight.

In the early days, the salary expenditure was still very high. The Air Force was under enormous pressure.

Money was needed everywhere. There was a shortage of money everywhere.

The years 1939, 1940 and 1941 were the most difficult three years for the Nationalist Air Force.

However, with the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, the situation improved slightly.

The United States greatly increased its assistance to the Nationalist Air Force. A large number of aircraft and pilots were obtained.

After the Flying Tigers rebuilt the 14th Air Force, they were paid according to the salaries of other US air forces. The pressure was greatly reduced.

The logistics of the air force were also borne by the United States. The Nationalist government was finally relieved.

However, in general, there was a severe shortage of money for a long time in the future.

Alas...

Get money!

Get money!

Take someone to check the other warehouses.

There is also a weapon symbol in Warehouse 9. It may also be hiding pistols and the like.

Zhang Yong was too lazy to do it himself. He simply called the labourers over to help. It also earned him some extra money.

Sure enough, the labourers who were chosen were very motivated. They worked very hard. Unfortunately, there were no yellow dots inside. Perhaps the red colour had not yet penetrated this side.

Suddenly remembering something, he checked the map. He discovered that the previous two yellow dots were no longer there.

He looked around, intentionally or unintentionally. Indeed, he did not see the two people from yesterday.

What were they doing here?

Collecting their goods?

What goods?

'Bang!'

'Run!'

'Run!'

Suddenly, someone inside the warehouse screamed.

Zhang Yong turned his head and looked over. He saw that the labourers inside seemed to have been attacked.

Chen Hai and the others thought there was an ambush and immediately drew their guns.

The others also drew their guns.

In the end, it turned out to be an accident. One of the labourers was almost hit.

Zhang Yong was puzzled.

The goods in this warehouse were sacks of rice. They were all in sacks. A sack seemed to weigh 50 catties.

For those labourers, the weight of 50 catties was actually nothing. How could an accident have happened?

'Team leader, we found a mortar!' Chen Hai hurriedly reported.

'Huh?' Zhang Yong frowned.

Mortar?

This warehouse actually has a mortar hidden in it?

No way!

Who would be so stupid as to hide a mortar in here?

They think the warehouse on the dock is their own backyard! It's barely acceptable to hide a few guns, but you actually hid a mortar?

That's too much!

He walked over. The crowd dispersed.

Zhang Yong went to the innermost part. Sure enough, he saw a mortar.

The parts were in a state of disrepair.

The barrel and base plate were separate.

The caliber was 82 millimeters. The quality of the workmanship didn't seem to be made domestically.

There are some runic markings on it. Take a closer look. It's in English. There are also words like U.S.A. Huh? It's from the United States of America?

Continue checking. The more you look, the more it looks like an 81mm US-made mortar.

What was the model again? Was it an M1? But there's no model number on it. I guess it should be.

This is amazing.

It's actually an imported US-made 81mm mortar.

The biggest feature of this type of gun is its long range. The maximum range is over 3,000 metres. It is even longer than the Japanese 92-mm infantry gun.

The maximum range of the Japanese 92-mm infantry gun is only 2,800 metres!

If it were placed in an infantry company, it could face off against the Japanese 92-mm infantry gun.

But no shells were found.

'Continue!'

'Yes!'

The labourers moved all the surrounding rice.

Sure enough, two artillery shells were found hidden inside a bag of rice. Wrapped in rice, they were not easy to spot.

A closer look at the shells revealed that they were indeed made in the USA.

Zhang Yong was furious.

Who on earth would hide artillery shells in rice?

This is rice! It's food! How could you waste food like that!

Damn it!

After the initial anger, he quickly calmed down.

Okay, let's investigate the basic situation first. Find out who the consignee is. What if we can follow the clues?

However, the results of the investigation were unpleasant.

The rice in Warehouse 9 has been stored for three months. But it has never been picked up.

The consignee is a person named Zeng Xiaofang. It seems to be a woman. But there is no specific identity information. After asking around, no one knows which Zeng Xiaofang it is.

The bill of lading shows that the weight of this batch of rice is 800 tons. That's 1.6 million catties.

'Has the pick-up date passed?'

'It's been five days.'

'Fine. We'll deal with it ourselves. Take it all back.'

Zhang Yong waves his hand.

Rice is always in demand. Food is the most important thing for the people.

It so happens that the Air Force has been expanding all the time. It needs a lot of food. These 800 tons of rice will be used as military rations.

'Team leader, I found a drawing.'

'What?'

Zhang Yong took it. It turned out to be another rough map of the Presidential Palace.

The base map was exactly the same as the one they had seized before. But there was also a difference. There were a lot of detailed annotations on it.

There were a lot of small circles. Zhang Yong judged that they should indicate people.

In other words, where there were small circles, there should be office areas. Or rest areas.

In fact, it wasn't just Chiang Kai-shek who lived and worked in the Presidential Palace, there were also many other people. A lot of bigwigs were in there.

For example, Wang Jingwei, He Yingqin, Chen Cheng, Kong Xiangxi, and so on.

Frown.

Damn, the Japanese spy is looking for trouble again.

Originally, discovering a mortar was no big deal. At most, it could be considered arms smuggling.

This kind of thing, Zhang Yong could investigate or not.

There was even no big problem with not reporting it.

He has so much on his plate right now, how can he possibly manage it all?

But when you find another sketch of the Presidential Palace, that's a different matter.

Not only do you have to report it, you also have to continue investigating.

As it turned out, there may really have been a small group of Japanese spies who wanted to shell the Presidential Palace.

These Japanese spies were also very resourceful, and they even managed to get their hands on American-made mortars. The range is a full 3,000 metres! You can fire them from a long distance.

Of course, the accuracy was completely random. Unless there was a report from an observation post.

An observation post? Strange thoughts flashed through his mind. Unfortunately, he didn't catch them.

He tried to recall them, but couldn't.

'Shao Long, what's going on? It's so lively?'

Zhang Ping came smiling.

Then he saw the mortar. And the drawings.

He was instantly stunned.

'This, this, this...' He was so nervous that he stuttered.

'Keep it confidential,' Zhang Yong said sternly.

'Yes, yes, yes!' Zhang Ping replied hastily. Cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

Goodness, mortars, rough drawings...

What was someone going to do?

Bombard the Presidential Palace?

My God!

He didn't dare think about it!

His first reaction was to report it immediately.

Madam was staying in the Presidential Palace that night! If it was bombarded with mortars, what would happen?

Let's put it this way: they all know very well that the Air Force's status is above all others because of Madam's care.

If anything happens to Madam, the Air Force's status will definitely plummet.

So, he was very nervous.

'You can report it to the higher-ups. But be careful not to cause a panic,' Zhang Yong said slowly.

'I, I, I'll go now. Right now,' Zhang Ping took a deep breath repeatedly. But he could never calm down.

This matter was too serious. It concerned the future of the Air Force. How could he remain calm?

Zhang Yong, on the other hand, gradually calmed down.

It was as if he had no memory of this.

Later-era sources also did not say that the Jinling Presidential Palace had ever been shelled by Japanese spies.

Therefore, even if it was not his own existence, the Japanese spies' plot to shell the building should have been disrupted by someone else. He had merely happened to be in the right place at the right time.

In other words, the shelling had not actually happened. Therefore, there was no need to be nervous.

As for the flapping of butterfly wings and such, it was not certain...

'Report, two more shells have been found.'

'Understood.'

Zhang Yong is very calm. He speaks lightly.

It's not a big deal. It can be dealt with later. Why not go deal with Yan Guangkun first...

'Shaolong!'

'Shaolong!'

Zhang Ping rushes back.

Zhang Yong nods. He walks out.

'What's wrong?'

'Director Min wants you to answer the phone.'

'Okay.'

Zhang Yong answers the phone. He doesn't think much about it.

I guess Minister Min wants him to pay more attention and continue investigating. To ensure safety and so on.

The instructions of the leaders are more or less the same. He just needs to listen.

He arrived at the office of the inspection team. Picked up the phone.

'Minister Min.'

'Zhang Yong, you immediately put down all the work you are doing and investigate this matter with all your strength.'

'What matter?'

'What else could it be? Someone tried to shell the Presidential Palace!'

'Ah, I see.'

'Report to me directly, morning and evening!'

'Huh?'

Zhang Yong was suddenly stunned.

Crap. Report in the morning and evening? Report twice a day?

Oh dear. This is obviously not the time to do anything else, and he can only investigate the mortars!

The problem is, he really isn't good at investigating things!

He catches spies by completely opening a blind box. He opens it and whoever comes out is the spy. It might work in one try. Or it might be all wrong.

It's unpredictable!

It's useless to report twelve times a day.

But he can't say that. The other party is the deputy minister of the Air Force Ministry!

Put simply, this is equivalent to the deputy commander of the Air Force. Before Zhou Zhirou returned to China, Minister Min was the number one person in the Air Force.

Of course, this is on the surface. Behind the scenes, there is also Madam and Commander Qian.

'You wait.'

'What?'

Zhang Yong was stunned.

What do you mean, wait? Are you threatening me?

Hey, you're threatening me? Have I done anything to you? And tell me to wait!

I'm not scared of you...

Then he realised that when the other party said he should wait, they meant wait in the obvious sense. It wasn't a threat.

'Yang Lichu will come to see you right away. He'll contact Madam directly.'

'Ah...'

Zhang Yong's head grew heavy.

He was done for. He wouldn't get away this time.

Yang Lichu was the real deal!

He was dead...

'I have ordered the elite of the Air Force's 4th Regiment to take the train from Hangzhou to Shanghai to join you.'

'What are they here for?'

'To help you, of course!'

'Oh, thank you!'

Zhang Yong tilted his head and thought about it, as if I had someone.

But soon he understood what Minister Min meant. It was necessary to use our own people in the Air Force.

Oh, that's fine.

Transfer the 4th Air Force Regiment. The fox is powerful because of the tiger.

Everyone around him wears a Zhongshan suit.

But the 4th Airborne Police Regiment is different, they wear military uniforms. Sometimes, military uniforms are more intimidating.

He hangs up the phone.

He feels that the good times are over.

Sigh...

Better get back to work.