stonecrandall Chapter 160 Qianjiang Airport
Chapter 160 Qianjiang Airport
Qianjiang has two airports.
Qinghuwa Field Airport is located in the west of the city. It does not handle passenger transport and is exclusively for the use of the Japanese army. Occasionally, transport planes will land, carrying fuel, shells, pilots, and all personnel and supplies related to combat.
The defense of Qianjiang city was the responsibility of the 18th Independent Brigade under the command of Kaoru Kazuma, with approximately 7000 men. Based in Qianjiang, the brigade was responsible for the defense of four areas: Qianjiang, Mianyang, Hanchuan, and Tianmen, and was subordinate to the 11th Army of the Japanese Army.
In central Hubei, the Third Division was stationed in Yingshan, the Fourth Division in Jingshan, and the Fortieth Division in Wuchang, supporting each other to form an arc-shaped defense circle in western Wuhan.
The Japanese military garrison headquarters was set up in Qianjiang city, which included an infantry company, a cavalry squadron, and an artillery detachment.
More than fifty soldiers were stationed at the outer Tianguan stronghold to control the water transport line.
The puppet army was quite large, with Zhu Bingkun's brigade having more than 2000 men and Li Zhengqian's regiment having more than 800 men, responsible for guarding the strongholds. The Japanese army focused on mobile patrols and supervising the puppet army.
The Qinghuwa field airfield was next to the town. The surrounding people were either driven away or killed by the Japanese army. The area was deserted for dozens of miles, with only 500 to 1000 people coming and going in the town.
These people were regarded as obedient citizens by the Japanese army and were allowed to stay in the town to open shops, specifically to serve the airport soldiers on their days off.
The streets were filled with Japanese restaurants, izakayas, geisha houses, brothels, theaters, and teahouses. Some old shops continued to operate, while new shops opened, creating a distorted prosperity. All that circulated were Japanese military ration coupons.
The other airport is located more than 50 kilometers southeast, about 8 kilometers from the north bank of Honghu Lake, and is called Qianjiang Airport.
The surrounding villages were not completely wiped out, but they were desolate, with only elderly people living alone remaining. The young people either joined the army, became puppet soldiers, or fled. Every village had a maintenance committee, and each village had only a few dozen households.
This airport had passenger planes, but ordinary people couldn't board them. It was exclusively used by people of status in the Japanese puppet regime and their families, for flights to and from Japanese-occupied cities such as Nanjing, Shanghai, Dalian, Beijing, Harbin, and Jilin. It was the main airport for the internal circulation of Japanese military political affairs. There were no fighter planes on the airport.
Yan Shuo wanted to attack Qinghuwa Field Airfield.
He led Li Gang, Wang Qiang, Zhao Lie, Zheng Fei, Jiang Ju, and twenty soldiers into the town under the guise of a merchant caravan.
Along the way, we were checked at Japanese and puppet checkpoints no less than five times, but fortunately, the military pass was useful.
Yan Shuo had no shortage of such things. He raided the Japanese printing plant in Yangshupu Industrial Zone, which contained nearly 20 billion military ration coupons. They were all brand new and unnumbered, enough for him to use as many as he wanted.
The checkpoint sentries and squad leaders who had received the tickets were all very enthusiastic. They not only let people pass, but also took the initiative to help push the cart and cut in line.
The team members disguised themselves as grooms and waiters, and did not carry any contraband. The six horse-drawn carts were filled with grain, dried meat, cloth, as well as foreign liquor, sake, white liquor, red wine, and tea.
Japanese agents love these kinds of edible and drinkable supplies and wish they could bring them every time. In addition, the customs clearance documents that Yan Shuo used were opened with the help of Ji Chuan from No. 76. Although they were not very useful in Qianjiang, they saved a lot of trouble. Of course, they also spent a lot of money.
The group headed straight to the Laiyun Restaurant, which was set up by the intelligence team, and went up to the second floor to a window seat facing the street.
At midday, with no other guests on the second floor, the team members sat down to rest and eat.
Yan Shuo looked at Lin Guodong in front of him and got straight to the point: "Tell me, what happened?"
Lin Guodong, pale-faced, bowed and replied, "Reporting to the commander, one of our informants was discovered and followed by Japanese agents. When the intelligence officers were exchanging information, a traitorous puppet soldier saw them. That man found their behavior suspicious and reported it. That night, when we took action, the Japanese didn't have time to save the plane and blocked our reinforcements halfway back, attacking us from both sides. Team Leader Gu Han was held back because he was covering our retreat. Otherwise, we would have been wiped out long ago."
Yan Shuo's eyes darkened: "Do you think I believe that reason?"
"Commander, it's the truth, I wouldn't dare lie." Lin Guodong hurriedly added, "The intelligence officer is newly recruited, but very reliable. His parents were killed by the Japanese army. He's serious about his work and has a strong drive to kill Japanese spies."
Yan Shuo nodded: "Tell him to come see me."
"Yes!" Lin Guodong hurriedly went downstairs and quickly brought the intelligence officer up.
"Report, sir!" The intelligence officer was a young man of about nineteen years old, strong and not very tall, wearing a short jacket and cloth shoes, standing upright.
Yan Shuo glanced at him, saw the green badge, and relaxed, asking, "What's your name?"
"My name is Zhuang Xin!" the young man shouted back.
"Relax, this is enemy territory, keep your voice down. How old are you?" Yan Shuo's tone softened.
"Nineteen and a half years old, sir!" Zhuang Xin lowered his voice, his eyes showing restraint yet excitement.
How long have you been working?
"4 months!"
"What skills have you learned?"
"I've just been following informants to make meetings and run errands. I haven't learned to shoot or any espionage skills." Zhuang Xin leaned forward, his tone urgent yet somewhat hurried. "For example, how to make meetings discreetly, how to handle suspicious situations, how to shake off followers—no one taught me any of that. I just acted according to the informant's instructions. Sir, when can I learn these things? The Japanese killed my parents; I want to learn the skills to avenge them!"
Yan Shuo patted his shoulder and said gently, "No rush. After this is over, I'll teach you how to shoot. Go down first and call Lin Guodong up."
"Yes, sir! Goodbye, sir!" Zhuang Xin smiled, his face showing genuine anticipation, and turned to run downstairs.
After Lin Guodong came up, Yan Shuo got up, closed the window, and said in a deep voice, "Close the door!"
"Yes!" Lin Guodong didn't dare to delay and turned around to close the door tightly.
"come over!"
As soon as Lin Guodong approached, Yan Shuo kicked him in the groin, knocking him to the ground, and then stepped forward and stomped on his buttocks and thighs several times.
"Hiss—" Lin Guodong gasped in pain, but dared not shout, gritting his teeth and enduring the pain.
"Stand up!"
"Yes!" Lin Guodong propped himself up and patted the dust off his clothes.
"Do you know why I'm punishing you?" Yan Shuo's tone was icy, his eyes filled with a chilling coldness.
Lin Guodong lowered his head: "Please enlighten me, sir."
"Why did you send Zhuang Xin to meet the informant?" Yan Shuo took a step forward, closing in on Lin Guodong. "Tell me yourself, what espionage skills did you teach him? Covert rendezvous, emergency escape, evading surveillance—he doesn't know a single one. You sent a rookie with no espionage training to meet in the heart of enemy territory? That's dereliction of duty! You're playing with his life and the safety of the entire operation!"
"I...I'm short-handed. Zhuang Xin is a local and knows the informant. I thought it wouldn't arouse suspicion, so I arranged for him to make contact first. I planned to teach him espionage skills later. I didn't expect...I didn't expect things to go wrong so quickly."
Lin Guodong lowered his head, his voice trembling, not daring to look up at Yan Shuo, his heart filled with guilt and panic.
"Teach them later?" Yan Shuo sneered, then kicked Lin Guodong again. "The informant is dead, Gu Hanzhan is dead, and you're telling me you'll teach them later?! What was the informant's identity? What was their name?"