Spy game? Stop guessing, I really am an undercover agent!

Chapter 151: Throwing bricks to attract others
Awaiting further assassination orders? Zhao Lijun frowned.

Could it be that they are sending some kind of special envoy?

"Station chief, have you received any new instructions from your superiors?"

"I don't think the failure of this operation is that simple."

Xie Zhipan said in a deep voice, "I have always thought that we are the hunters and Tang Shaoyi is the prey."

"Now it seems that the Japanese used him as bait to lure us in."

"We are the prey."

Zhao Lijun closed the telegram, staring at Xie Zhipan, and said, "The boss told us to conduct a self-investigation and await the next assassination order."

"Captain Xie, do you think I can still trust you?"

Xie Zhipan's expression hardened: "Station Chief, if you think I have a problem, you can execute me now."

"Okay." Zhao Lijun reached into the drawer and pulled out a Browning pistol, pointing the muzzle at Xie Zhipan's forehead.

Xie Zhipan looked at Zhao Lijun quietly, his expression extremely calm.

"Click," Zhao Lijun released the safety, seemingly about to pull the trigger the next second.

"Facing imminent death, don't you have anything to say?"

Xie Zhipan shook his head, his eyes still firm.

"Click," Zhao Lijun pulled the trigger, but no bullet was fired.

“You’re lucky to be working under me. If you were working for Boss Dai and something like this happened, the whole team would be in serious trouble.”

Zhao Lijun said slowly, "I didn't kill you because I trusted you."

"But up to now, I still can't find a reason for your betrayal."

“You were specially transferred here from the training class in Hunan by the boss. You’ve only been in Shanghai for a little over a month. It’s impossible for you to gain the Japanese’s trust in such a short time.”

"The assassination attempt on Tang Shaoyi involved almost 80% of the Shanghai station's manpower. The Japanese definitely need to find an absolutely reliable inside man, and you are not qualified."

"The stationmaster is wise..." Xie Zhipan subtly flattered him.

"There are only five people who know the truth. Besides Deputy Station Chief Yu, there are only Mao Qiuying and Lü Tao."

"Captain Xie, who do you think is more suspicious between these two people?"

Xie Zhipan pondered for a moment and said, "It's hard to say. Team Leader Lü and Team Leader Mao have more seniority than me and have worked on the intelligence front for longer. I don't know how to put it."

Zhao Lijun pondered for a moment and said, "Lü Tao has been stationed in Shanghai for longer than I have."

"He was already there when the Fuxing Society set up its intelligence office in Shanghai. If an old man like him wanted to betray us, he would have done so long ago."

"It's even more impossible for Mao Qiuying. She's from Jiangshan, Zhejiang Province, and her cousin is Mao Sen, who works in the Military Intelligence Bureau."

"Within the Military Intelligence Bureau, their faction is the most loyal of the loyalists, so she has even less reason to betray them."

After he finished speaking, the room fell into a brief silence.

"Why don't we try a simple method and see?" Xie Zhipan said in a deep voice, "I'll lead my men to kill Tang Shaoyi again..."

"You can tell both of them the address and the time."

Zhao Lijun frowned. "You mean, to throw out a brick to attract jade..."

Xie Zhipan nodded: "This is the most effective method. Once we confirm that the problem lies with the two of them, the rest will be easy."

“Station Chief, rest assured, if we're certain the intelligence hasn't been leaked, I can make this a real operation and take action directly.” Zhao Lijun tapped his fingers rhythmically on the table, seemingly confirming the feasibility of Xie Zhipan's suggestion…

After a long pause, he nodded vigorously: "Okay, I'll design a top-secret plan that only the two of us know, and see if any fish will take the bait..."

Xie Zhipan bowed respectfully: "The stationmaster is wise..."

It was late August of the 27th year of the Republic of China.

The Japanese advance on Wuhan was halted by Commander Xue's troops along the De'an-Ruichang line.

In late July, after the Japanese army breached the gateway to Jiujiang, the four divisions responsible for attacking Jiangxi split into two routes.

The 106th Division, led by Division Commander Junroku Matsuura, was ordered to attack De'an, a key point on the Nanchang-Jiujiang Railway.

Matsuura Junrokuro originally thought that this operation would be as smooth as the previous attacks on Hukou and Jiujiang.

Who knew that after advancing less than ten kilometers, in Shahekou Town, the 106th Division encountered the 8th and 64th Armies deployed by Commander Xue.

The two sides immediately engaged in fierce fighting.

After seven days of repeated fighting, the 106th Division suffered heavy losses, with more than 2,000 dead and wounded.

The Sakamoto Regiment, responsible for the attack, numbered over 3,600 men. At this point, the regiment had suffered a staggering 60% casualties.

This is the first time since the Japanese invasion of China that a combined force has suffered more than half its losses.

Of course, the 106th Division was not one of the seventeen Class A divisions of the Japanese army; they belonged to the Class B division category.

However, such losses were unacceptable to Matsuura Junrokuro. After receiving the 106th Division's telegram requesting reinforcements, the 11th Army Commander Okamura could only order the 106th Division to suspend its offensive and have the 101st Division take over the positions, while the 106th Division rested on the spot.

On August 20, the Japanese 101st Division, led by Division Commander Masayoshi Ito, crossed Poyang Lake and the following day broke through the defense line of the 53rd Division of the 25th Army, capturing Xingzi.

Upon seeing the arrival of reinforcements, Matsuura Junroku felt confident that he was in charge again. He immediately ordered the follow-up Hata Detachment to replace the Sakamoto Regiment as the main attacking force, intending to join forces with the 101st Division to capture De'an.

Just as the 106th Division was rearranging its battle plans, the 9th Division reported a victory, having captured Ruichang.

To ensure the safety of the Japanese army's westward advance route, Matsuura Junroku expressed his willingness to cooperate with Ito Masayoshi.

On August 27, in the early morning, the 106th Division launched another fierce attack on the First Army Corps' positions.

The 101st Division aimed to launch a strong attack on the Lushan side, intending to cross the Lushan defense line and attack De'an from the rear.

However, Commander Xue quickly saw through this plan and deployed the 25th Army and the 66th Army on the only route the 101st Division could take to attack De'an.

Relying on the mountains, they formed a V-shaped defensive line. When enemy artillery fire came, the troops would retreat to the rear, and when the artillery fire stopped, the troops would immediately return to their original positions.

After several such attempts, the 101st Division was unable to breach the Lushan defense line at all.

On August 26, the Japanese 101st Division, led by Regiment Commander Kunigoro Iizuka, launched another general offensive against the Lushan defense line.

At this moment, Liu Xu's 33rd Division of the 25th Army, which was defending the side of Lushan, keenly discovered the location of the Japanese command post.

Yang Ling, commander of the 3rd Regiment of the 33rd Division, risked his life to lead his guard battalion down a cliff on the back of the mountain using ropes, and led more than 100 troops to storm the enemy command post, killing the regimental commander Iizuka Kunigoro on the spot...

Kunigoro Iizuka's death also led to the failure of the 101st Division's plan to storm Mount Lu. The 106th Division, without reinforcements, was also caught in a stalemate on the main battlefield.

On August 30, the 8th Division, which originally planned to advance westward, saw that the two Class B divisions on the Nanxun line had failed to achieve the expected results. The division commander ordered the brigade commander, Maruyama Masao, to attack from the right flank to assist the 106th Division in capturing De'an.

The fighting power of the Japanese Class A divisions was indeed terrifying. They broke through the Minshan defense line in just one day, and Yu Jishi, the commander of the 74th Army, hurriedly sent troops to reinforce them.

At this time, the 106th Division received a reconnaissance report from the 3rd Air Group.

There's a small path near Mount Lu that leads directly to the rear...

(End of this chapter)