The War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression Begins in Songhu

Chapter 653 Who Can Say It Clearly? (A long chapter of 7,600 words)

The city is large and well-planned, with beautiful, clean, and tidy streets.

Even though this city may not be as prosperous or populous as the famous Shanghai, it surpasses it in other aspects.

These are some of the initial impressions of Mo Shuiyan and the warehouse manager as they walked through the center of Changchun City.

The city was very large! It was a city that the Japanese called 'Xinjing' and claimed to be the number one city in Asia, and it was divided into 16 districts.

The planning was quite reasonable! As far as they could see, there were straight and wide roads.

On both sides of the road are rows of European and Japanese-style buildings, which house factories, hospitals, schools, banks, shops, gas stations, and various management agencies.

It can be said that almost all the facilities needed for a modern city can be found in the city.

It's beautiful and clean! Even though it snowed last night, the snow on the streets has been swept away quite cleanly.

They are either piled up on the side of the road where they don't get in the way, or they are directly transported away by vehicles.

In addition, the city had a large number of trees and shrubs, with a small garden every short distance; Changchun in 1942 truly lived up to the Japanese boast of being a 'garden city'.

Even Mo Shuiyan and the warehouse manager, two transmigrators from the modern world who were used to seeing big cities in the modern world, couldn't help but feel a sense of amazement.

After all, this was over eighty years ago, when technology and productivity were far behind.

Unfortunately, as the two ventured deeper into the city and saw more details, things took a turn for the worse.

It was discovered that this bustling city in Northeast China has absolutely no connection to the more than 30 million Chinese people who live and work on this land.

It's entirely based on their insane exploitation and leeching.

Because Mo Shuiyan and the warehouse manager could see that only Japanese soldiers, traitors, and their families were qualified to enter and live in those European and Japanese-style residences.

A group of people from Northeast China could only live on the outskirts of the city, in those chaotic slums.

They work as low-skilled factory workers, laborers at train stations, and sanitation workers sweeping the streets—dirty and tiring jobs that ensure the smooth operation of the city.

When walking on the road, they only dared to keep their heads down and walk silently by the roadside.

They didn't even dare to glance at the arrogant Japanese soldiers, fearing it would bring trouble upon themselves. Their numb mental state and trembling appearance infuriated Mo Shuiyan and the warehouse manager.

I almost couldn't hold back and started fighting on the spot...

It was around 10:30 a.m. when Mo Shuiyan and the warehouse manager were strolling around, quietly observing the city's roads and some important areas.

After returning, I plan to draw a city map from memory so that Hu Biao and the others can refer to it.

There's no way around it! These days, there's no such thing as an electronic map. These paper city maps are things that need to be kept strictly confidential.

Before we take action, we should at least understand the basic terrain of the city.

Therefore, one of their important tasks for entering the city today was to draw a map.

As for whether their stroll might attract the attention of the black dogs that are everywhere in the city, who might notice something amiss with their behavior and come up to question them, thus revealing their identities.

There's not much to worry about in that regard. For example, Mo Shuiyan and the warehouse manager are currently disguised as Japanese soldiers.

When the black dogs saw the two of them, they would only bow and scrape in greeting, but the two of them didn't even need to return the greeting; they simply raised their chins high and walked forward.

As they walked, they suddenly heard the shouts and curses of the Japanese soldiers, and the two quickly went forward.

Just around the corner, you'll see a middle-aged Japanese woman shouting and cursing while kicking and punching a man dressed as a fellow villager on the ground.

That old woman from the island nation was only 1.4 meters tall at most, weighed about 80 kilograms, and looked as thin as a chick.

The man, however, was a typical Northeastern man; one punch from him would surely send the Japanese woman flying.

But at this moment, all he could do was cover his head with his hands, curl up on the ground, and let the feet in wooden clogs kick him hard all over his body.

During this process, some fellow Northeasterners watched from the sidelines, but no one stepped forward to help; their eyes were filled with sorrow.

Not wanting, but not dare.

The reason that old woman from the island nation hit someone could be discerned from the loud curses she was shouting.

The man on the ground might have glanced at her, but the Japanese woman, feeling offended by the lowly Chinese, stepped forward and attacked.

Whether or not she actually saw it, or whether it was a misunderstanding, is completely irrelevant.

What do you call this? It means that these Japanese devils no longer treat the people of Northeast China as human beings. Sometimes, in their eyes, even breathing is wrong for the lowly Chinese.

After figuring out the situation, Mo Shuiyan felt inexplicably angry.

He took a big step forward, ready to rush up and kick that old woman from the island nation away.

At this crucial moment, he found his sleeve being held tightly by the warehouse manager; and he heard a sentence that only the two of them could hear:
"Don't be impulsive, the mission is important, let's keep going; since they're not resisting, what can we do? Let's leave, out of sight, out of mind."

After letting out a long sigh, Mo Shuiyan could only forcefully suppress the anger in his heart.

In fact, Mo Shuiyan himself knew that no matter how well they disguised themselves, they had no identification documents and the Japanese language was quite difficult to understand. As soon as they opened their mouths, their identities would be exposed.

The only thing we can do now is, as the warehouse manager said, out of sight, out of mind.

As if they hadn't seen this scene, the two turned around and walked back to the main road to continue their journey.

However, before turning around, Mo Shuiyan stared intently at the Japanese woman's face for a few moments, making sure he completely memorized that extremely vicious look.

Mo Shuiyan made a decision at that moment:
"You bitch! You better stay home and behave yourself on the Lantern Festival and don't go out, or I'll make you regret ever setting foot on this land."

After walking a dozen steps, the two suddenly saw a black dog carrying a police baton running towards them.

Upon seeing the two of them, he didn't forget to force a smile even while running, took off his hat, and nodded to them in a fawning manner.

Upon seeing this figure, both men breathed a sigh of relief; they thought that even if they were arrested, at least the poor man on the ground wouldn't have to continue being beaten.

However, they soon realized they had been overthinking things.

Because what they heard was a sentence full of obsequiousness:
“Madam, please stop right now. Let me handle this little thing like hitting someone, so you don’t get tired. If you have something to do, please leave now. I promise to teach this damned guy a lesson.”

Then came the sounds of batons being swung and screams, indicating that the black-skinned dog had struck, and struck ruthlessly.

This time, even the warehouse manager couldn't help but turn around and take a few steps, staring intently at the black dog, a similar thought rising in his mind to Mo Shuiyan's earlier:
"You little brat! You better hope I don't run into you in a few days..."

******
At the same time, Annie, Mina, and Xiaobai got off a tram with the 'South Manchuria Railway Company' logo on its body and headed towards the largest shopping mall in the city.

That is, a department store called Baoshan Department Store, which was founded by Japanese merchants three years ago.

It's not that these three girls couldn't resist the urge to shop at such a crucial time, so they took the opportunity to buy some things.

Even though they had already heard on the way that this department store run by the Japanese had more than 600 kinds of goods for sale and was known by the Japanese as the largest department store in Manchuria.

The main reason the three of them came here was to gather information.

It is said that only Japanese soldiers, foreigners, and high-ranking traitors and their families from the puppet state of Manchukuo are qualified to enter the gate; and at this time of day, the people who are there are mostly women.

Therefore, this place is indeed an excellent place to gather information.

Shopping was merely a convenient way for them to conceal their identities.

Indeed, this was the case. When the three women came to a perfume counter, they saw two women who were clearly relatives of major traitors.

While trying on perfumes, they chatted casually.

Although they spoke very softly, it was not hidden from Annie and Mina, whose hearing was now exceptionally sharp due to their improved physical abilities.

One of the younger women, feigning nonchalance, asked:
"Mrs. Zhao, the victory celebration on the Lantern Festival will be held at Datong Square. It seems to be a grand event; I even heard from my husband that the Emperor will be attending as well."

So only those who receive an invitation can enter the inner area; otherwise, they can only watch from afar. I wonder if your Lord Zhao received an invitation?

Putting aside the woman's tone of voice, which was full of boasting, as if receiving such an invitation was a great honor for her family.

Little did they know that her short sentence revealed a great deal of information.

Not only did it let Annie and Mina know the location of the victory celebration, but it also let them know that the last emperor would be attending.

It seems like we can make a good plan and do something along the way.

Afterwards, under the guise of trying out perfumes, they eavesdropped for a while from a short distance, only to discover that it was all about that traitor keeping a vixen outside. After that, they gave up the idea of ​​eavesdropping altogether.

Anne spoke with a thick Osaka accent and casually bought a few bottles of perfume.

After that, I prepared to leave the mall and head to Datong Plaza to check it out in person, which could be considered as scouting the location beforehand.

Unexpectedly, after they had only gone a few steps and hadn't even reached the tram stop, Annie suddenly stopped in her tracks after seeing something.

Seeing this, Xiaobai lowered her voice and asked with unusual nervousness:
"Boss lady! Have the Japanese discovered us?"

“No! We’re not going to Datong Square yet,” Annie replied, before Xiaobai could ask, “Where are we going?”

Annie had already instructed Mina: "You guys stay outside and provide backup, I'm going over there."

After Mina nodded to indicate that there was no problem, Annie walked alone toward a decent-sized Shandong cuisine restaurant not far away.

The above scene occurred because Annie saw a very special mark on the corner of the wall at the entrance of the Shandong restaurant.

If other people saw this mark, they would probably just think it was a child's playful doodle.

However, during her previous time travels, Annie had many connections with Boss Dai, so she naturally knew that this was a code used by the Military Intelligence Bureau to urgently contact nearby colleagues.

It is a code that only high-ranking personnel can know.

So what exactly made the Kuomintang agents lurking in Changchun risk exposure to draw out such a coded message?

She thought of this without much thought:
It must be the Military Intelligence Bureau! Or perhaps it's the bald-headed principal; they must have something important to discuss with me.

Then another problem arose: the Japanese Special Higher Police and the Mei Agency were both very powerful. Had this code been exposed yet? Was the code in front of them a trap? Annie wasn't sure.

Anne didn't hesitate much and walked across, risking it being a trap...

Thirty minutes later, in a private room on the second floor of a Shandong restaurant, a man with a red face and thick neck, dressed as a chef, but actually a high-ranking member of the Military Intelligence Bureau in Changchun Station, appeared.

He addressed Anne, who sat at the head of the table, with a respectful whisper:

"Director An! That's the situation."

The bald-headed principal wants you to go to Russia immediately. Once you arrive, it would be best if you could immediately go to Australia to form an army and then go to the Bataan Peninsula to help.

If you don't want to go, that's fine too; you can just stay and help out at the Russian family's house.

Anyway, the bald-headed principal said, "A wise man avoids dangerous situations. Regiment Commander Hu and you are all pillars of the nation; you absolutely cannot let your lives be ruined in this kind of place."

After hearing the above explanation, even with Anne's composure, she felt a strong urge to curse.

So, after entering the Shandong cuisine restaurant, she secretly made a special gesture to the owner, and soon the person in charge came to the private room to meet her.

Then he told Annie that the reason the Military Intelligence Bureau's Changchun station had taken such a risky approach to find her was, besides the fact that she already knew Uncle Sam's family wanted Hu Biao and his comrades to join the fire brigade on the Bataan Peninsula.

It seems that the Russian family was also recommended by the military observer sent during the Battle of Nanning.

They wanted to use Hu Biao and others as a makeshift rescue team, hoping to salvage the situation as a last resort.

Specifically, the battlefield they needed to participate in was probably one of the combat plans launched by the Russians in the Volkhov River basin in order to break through the Lehården encirclement. They were tasked with having Hu Biao and his team guide the "steam roller" tactics.

Although the Russians have been beaten to a pulp by the Germans, even a starved camel is bigger than a horse.

In order to get Hu Biao's help, they offered the bald principal a fairly good reward; even if it couldn't compare to Uncle Sam's generosity, it was probably still very tempting for him.

Thus, the above was the order to send them to the Russians' home as soon as possible.

There's a saying that you can go anywhere in the Northeast, but don't stay there too long.

After hearing these statements, Anne was furious. What did they mean by "absolutely not going to this kind of place" and "it's fine if you don't want to go to Bataan Peninsula"?

Bald Principal, are you just going to pretend you can't see the more than 30 million compatriots in the occupied Northeast?

They were given the choice between the two options, so shouldn't we thank them?
As for why the other party didn't call her Chief of Staff An, but instead called her Section Chief An.

Although Boss Dai had long realized that Annie, whom he had placed next to Hu Biao, was no longer a puppet he could control.

However, in order to maintain a connection and facilitate future cooperation, Annie was not expelled from the Military Intelligence Bureau.

Instead, Anne was promoted. Now, Anne is the nominal head of the Operations Division, a key department of the Military Intelligence Bureau.

To be honest, the head of the headquarters' operations department is a position that, even by a slight margin, would be considered high-ranking within the entire Military Intelligence Bureau system.

Shen Zui, one of the four top generals of the Military Intelligence Bureau, was only promoted to major general and director of the General Affairs Department this year.

Although Annie was annoyed by the bald principal's intentions, she was also very clear that the man in front of her was just a messenger.

Getting angry and cursing along with him is pointless and only makes you look bad.

The most important thing is to find a way to make the people at the Changchun station of the General Staff work for them.

With that in mind, she first said casually, "Understood! We'll make arrangements as to when we go to the Russians' house."

There's a little bit of work to be done here, and I'll need to trouble the guys at Changchun Station.

As she spoke, Anne reached into a handbag and pulled out a thick wad of US dollars, all in denominations of 100.

With this stack of cash so thick, it must be worth at least ten thousand US dollars.

What's quite amazing is that although the Japanese are now at war with Uncle Sam, it doesn't affect the status of the US dollar as a hard currency at all.

Compared to military scrip, Japanese currency and legal tender were far more useful.

More importantly, the members of the Kuomintang's military intelligence station in the occupied area of ​​Changchun were living a very frugal life; this sum of more than ten thousand US dollars may not seem like much at first glance, but it was quite astonishing in terms of current purchasing power.

The man's eyes lit up when he saw the money; he wanted to grab it immediately.

Only after thinking of something did he suppress the urge to reach out, and he groaned inwardly:
"Director An, you may not know this, but although our Changchun Station is a Class A station, it was, after all, the headquarters of the Kwantung Army and the puppet state of Manchukuo."

Under their suppression, the Changchun Station's strength is very limited, and it usually focuses on intelligence gathering.

"If you really intend to disrupt the Japanese victory celebration, we simply don't have enough manpower."

Faced with such a statement, Annie said magnanimously, "No problem! You won't need to lift a finger. Just provide us with some intelligence and maps in the next few days, and help us purchase some less sensitive supplies."

"After this is done, we'll give you another two hundred thousand dollars, as a treat for the brothers to drink."

Hearing that he wouldn't have to participate in the fight, the man breathed a huge sigh of relief; especially after hearing that there was still 200,000 US dollars, he seemed to be injected with adrenaline.

Just kidding! That much money is enough to buy their lives, let alone drink them.

He immediately made a firm promise that he would not let Director An and Regiment Commander Hu down.

In truth, seeing these people agree, Annie secretly breathed a sigh of relief; with the help of these local bigwigs, they were more confident in their next move.

In the following time, Annie had someone invite Mina and Xiaobai, who were waiting outside, in so they wouldn't have to suffer in the cold outside.

Then, he discussed with the man everything, including what supplies they needed to purchase for the Changchun Military Intelligence Station, where they needed to be transported, and how to draw more detailed maps.

They even used some military scrip and Japanese money as funds for this procurement.

Anyway, they brought a lot of these things with them, but they never had a chance to use them before.

Just as the discussion was nearing its end, a burst of rapid gunfire suddenly rang out from outside the restaurant, along with Blackie's signature whistling.

Annie, along with Mina and Xiaobai who were happily eating Shandong cuisine, all felt a sudden jolt in their hearts.

A gut feeling surged within me: Oh no! The others who entered the city together have been exposed…

Annie and the other two's intuition was correct; indeed, a member of the time-traveling team had been exposed; more accurately, it was the group consisting of Lao Yu, Lao San, and Xiao Cui that had been exposed.

The reason they gave for revealing their secret was somewhat laughable.

To be more specific, the time needs to be adjusted back to about ten or twenty minutes.

With a hiss, the third brother, dressed as a merchant from Yanji, put down his wine glass and gave a big thumbs-up to a middle-aged shopkeeper.

He said, "Not bad! This wine is good."

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged shopkeeper replied with great pride, "Of course! Don't you know who owns our distillery? It's none other than Lord Zang, the Minister of Civil Affairs of Manchuria."

"Even if you had enough Japanese dollars elsewhere, you couldn't buy so many good products."

Old Yu, Lao San, Xiao Cui, and the others nodded in agreement with what the middle-aged shopkeeper said.

The main reason was that they only learned after entering the city that the Japanese army's brutal rule over Northeast China went far beyond simply prohibiting the villagers from eating rice and wheat flour.

Even sorghum and corn, which are brewing materials, were included in the Japanese's state procurement program and given priority in the production of military alcohol.

After the outbreak of the Pacific War, private brewing was further restricted, and countless breweries went out of business; it was no easy thing for ordinary people to get a drink.

Fortunately, after some searching, they found this distillery with a powerful traitor as its backer.

With the Japanese money they carried, they could easily buy enough shochu that was slightly inferior in taste but definitely strong enough.

After exhaling a strong smell of alcohol, Old Yu said to the middle-aged shopkeeper:

"Manager Zhou, then it's settled. We'll order two thousand catties first, and we'll come to pick up the goods tomorrow morning. Consider this money a deposit."

Please also help me get the exit permit.

Having silently calculated that the distillery would make a considerable profit from this deal, the manager readily agreed.

It was agreed that the money and goods would be exchanged between the two parties the following morning.

Because there were other supplies to purchase, Lao Yu and the other two did not linger and took their leave.

As he left, he noticed that there was still more than half a bottle of the liquor he had just tasted. Old Yu casually picked it up, plugged it with a wooden stopper, and stuffed it into his pocket.

Thinking about the long night ahead, and how cold and boring Lotus Mountain was, he figured that having a drink would help him sleep better.

His idea itself was not problematic; the real problem was that after the three of them went out, Lao Yu accidentally bumped into a passerby.

The person who was hit was a Japanese woman wearing a kimono. Old Yu knocked her down onto the ground.

Old Yu immediately wanted to step forward to help the other person up, apologize, and even offer some money as compensation, since the mission was important and he couldn't cause any trouble for no reason.

Unexpectedly, the woman's face was strangely familiar, and she was staring intently at Lao Yu.

More accurately, she was looking between his legs, her eyes initially filled with anger, then growing increasingly fearful, as if she had recognized something.

It was this familiar look of fear that made Lao Yu suddenly realize what was happening:

"Damn it! Isn't this the Japanese woman who was only wearing a pair of socks and sharing a room with two Japanese soldiers during the night raid on Jiamusi City?"
After Xiaocui put on makeup, her appearance changed drastically. She shouldn't have been recognized, so what gave her away?

Just as Lao Yu was completely baffled, the Japanese woman pointed at them and shouted at the top of her lungs:
“Grab them, they are thugs from Hu Biao’s gang.”

Amidst the piercing screams, Lao Yu, Lao San, and Xiao Cui all lifted the hems of their clothes, pulled out pistols, and opened fire.

However, their target was not the woman, but a dozen or so Japanese patrolmen who happened to be passing by.

Two Browning M1911 pistols and one Browning M1910 pistol emptied their magazines in a very short time, and the entire squad of Japanese soldiers was taken down.

Perhaps some of them are not quite dead yet, but they are definitely no longer capable of moving.

Old Yu was just about to change to a new magazine and shoot that Japanese woman dead.

Upon seeing the black dog rushing towards them from afar, the third brother forcefully pulled on Lao Yu's arm and shouted:
"Don't linger, let's go!"

Somewhat helpless, Lao Yu had no choice but to let go of the Japanese woman with whom he had an inexplicable connection, and he, Lao San, and Xiao Cui ran in a sorry state toward the distant slums.

Only by successfully escaping there, and taking advantage of its complex terrain, would they have any chance of escaping alive...

About ten minutes later, on the other side of the city, Mo Shuiyan and the warehouse manager were still strolling around, familiarizing themselves with the city's routes.

Suddenly, a series of rapid whistles rang out. Turning around, I saw more than twenty Japanese soldiers and fifty or sixty black dogs appearing from both ends of the street.

Both ends were blocked, and passersby also stopped them on the spot.

Seeing this scene, the two men, though they hadn't heard any gunshots, knew that other team members must have been exposed, which had prompted the Japanese to launch a large-scale search.

Regardless of who had accidentally revealed their presence, the two looked around and found that there wasn't a single alleyway nearby. It was as if the Japanese had conveniently cornered them.

The only possibility of escaping is a small park not far away.

He immediately flew towards the small park, but soon after, he heard warnings like "Stop!" and the sound of gunfire behind him.

Seven or eight minutes later, the two, with nowhere else to escape, hid behind a bush in the small park, watching as a black dog came searching them.

The bushes weren't large, but the key was that the footprints they left behind were clear, making it impossible for them to hide.

Mo Shuiyan and the warehouse manager exchanged a glance and found that each other's eyes were full of determination. It seemed that they had decided that even if they died here today, they would kill as many Japanese soldiers and black dogs as possible to make it worthwhile.

However, the black dog suddenly stopped, turned its head, and shouted into the distance:
"They're not here; they must have run off over there."

Then, he silently said a few words to the person with open mouth, which, judging from the lip movements, should have been 'take care', before turning and leaving.

Looking at that figure from behind, the warehouse manager and Mo Shuiyan remained silent for a long time.

Because this black dog was the one the warehouse manager had previously resolved to kill—the one who helped the Japanese women beat people.

For a moment, the two felt extremely complicated. It can only be said that in such an occupied area, among those compatriots struggling to survive.

Who is good, who is bad, who is human, who is ghost—who can really say for sure…

(End of this chapter)