Chapter 94: 93, Stealing The Sky And Changing The Sun Begins, Gold Leaves The City
One night in late October 1932, a massive fire broke out in the Japanese Army barracks in Shenyang City.
The fire fell from the sky, fierce and unstoppable, unquenchable by water and still burning under sand, completely razing the barracks.
The night-long blaze caused hundreds of casualties, most of them burns.
At the same time the fire started, an army of unknown identity appeared outside the city and launched a simultaneous attack on Shenyang City.
The Japanese soldiers on the city wall inexplicably fainted, and the city gate was blown open with explosives.
Afterward, this force directly attacked the puppet army security bureau and ammunition depot in the city.
Some puppet army went to rescue at the barracks fire site, while the rest could not hold out and over a dozen were killed as they fled in disarray.
A large amount of military supplies in the ammunition depot were transported out of the city by this force, and the rest were prepared for destruction.
Nighttime Shenyang City was extremely lively.
Young and old from the whole city came out to watch the distant flashes of fire.
No curfew tonight, and with the Japanese in big trouble, everyone loved watching this spectacle.
Meanwhile, at the north city gate, it was equally busy.
The Volunteer Army was charging into the city, while the Treasure Hunting Group was fleeing out of the city.
Sun Debiao met with the other team’s leader: “You can’t hold Shenyang City, so hit and run.”
The other replied: “What about you?”
“We have another mission.”
“Need assistance?”
“As long as the city is more chaotic tonight, our mission will be easier to complete.”
“Alright then, watch us.”
The two teams brushed past each other, each going about their business.
Soon after, bursts of gunfire came from inside the city.
Outside the city, Sun Debiao and his group ran five li nonstop, pulling out two mule carts and loading all the fake gold boxes from the hiding spot onto them.
They quickly turned back and, amid the chaos in the city where no one noticed, drove the two mule carts into the city.
But they did not head to the Anping Pawn and Consignment Shop; instead, they unloaded in a remote, dilapidated courtyard near the city wall.
This place was a must-pass point on the tunnel route for getting the real gold out of the city in the latter half of the plan.
At the appointed time, the Liu Family Three Brothers would dig a tunnel through here to exit the city and send out the real gold.
Afterward, the two empty mule carts were driven out of the city, and all Treasure Hunting Group members returned to the Anping Pawn and Consignment Shop to change clothes and rest, as if nothing had happened.
By then, the battle in the city was nearing its end.
With a loud boom, the ammunition depot was destroyed, and the Volunteer Army quickly left the city with the captured spoils of war.
Half an hour after they left the city, nearby Japanese reinforcements finally arrived.
But the scene inside the city prevented them from pursuing the Volunteer Army; instead, they transferred the large number of burned Japanese soldiers for treatment.
The events in Shenyang City quietly spread to the outside world.
Within one day, many intelligence institutions received this news via radio waves.
The Shanghai Concession, as the hub of Far East intelligence trading, was among the first to know.
This intelligence had high timeliness but no confidentiality value, so some intelligence officers chose to cash it in immediately.
Soon, some well-informed newspapers in Shanghai printed temporary extra editions.
When newsboys sold newspapers on the streets, they added a new slogan.
“Selling newspapers! Shocking big news: Shenyang Japanese Army bombed, heavy losses. Want details? Read today’s temporary extra edition, five copper coins.”
Passersby were drawn by the headline, and the newsboys’ newspapers sold out quickly.
Even nearby areas around Shanghai soon spread the news.
Fang Wen flew the Shrike Hao back to Jinan, rested for a day, refueled at night, and returned to Shanghai Airport.
At night, torches lit the Shanghai Airport runway to guide him, and Fang Wen skillfully landed steadily on the runway.
He taxied the airplane into the hangar, and as soon as he got off, he heard Fang Shouxin’s report.
“Young Master, it’s in the newspapers.”
“Oh.”
Fang Wen took several newspapers and read them under the dim low-wattage electric lamp.
The newspaper content was true about the bombing, but the rest was speculation.
Some thought it was a bombing operation by the National Aviation Army.
Others said it was an air raid by the red country in the north, after all, the Russo-Japanese War over twenty years ago had already created deep enmity between them.
Some newspapers even claimed it was not an air raid but divine punishment from heaven; even immortals couldn’t stand the Japanese behavior and sent down fire and thunder.
But more rational ones discussed from aircraft performance, believing no current airplane could launch an air raid from outside the Passes or Siberia, unless there was some mysterious air force in the Northeast.
But such speculation wasn’t reliable either; the Zhang family’s over 200 airplanes in the Northeast had become Japanese spoils of war, so where would airplanes come from for bombing? Moreover, the entire Northeast was under Japanese Army control, and how could such a landmark building as an airport go undiscovered.
Seeing this, Fang Wen’s relaxed mood sank again.
The Treasure Hunting Group’s business wasn’t over yet; there were still the last three hurdles ahead.
Timely swap of real and fake gold, transport the gold out of the city, then open a temporary airplane landing site in the Shenyang suburbs.
Only after completing these three things could this Northeast treasure theft truly be smoothly accomplished.
Shenyang City.
The whole city under martial law, Japanese soldiers guarding everywhere.
A convoy of military vehicles stopped at the Young Marshal’s Mansion, with large numbers of soldiers surrounding it every three steps a post, every five steps a sentry.
Clearly, they valued this place highly, fearing any loss of the wealth inside.
At the same time, a Japanese military officer came to inspect.
The current Japanese Army had four classes: officers, warrant officers, soldiers, and specialists.
This one was a lieutenant officer; though his rank wasn’t high, his class was the highest, so the Young Marshal’s Mansion defending troops’ warrant officers were very respectful to him.
The two inspected inside the Young Marshal’s Mansion.
Finally, they arrived at Propylene No. 2 Warehouse filled with gold; this was the safest place in the Young Marshal’s Mansion, and the two communicated in Japanese.
“Fujiwara-kun, is the inventory here done?”
“Not yet, I will urge them to complete it as soon as possible.”
“It must be done quickly; last night’s air raid shows it’s no longer safe here. We need to transfer this wealth to a better place.”
“Hai, I will hasten the urging.”
“Not hasten, it must be done. Higher-ups decided to transport early. Three days from now, regardless of whether inventory is complete, everything will be transported immediately, and those inventory personnel taken along.”
After finishing business, the two turned to last night’s air raid.
“Fujiwara-kun, I have another mission this time: to investigate last night’s air raid.”
“Any results? I’ve never seen this attack method, and at night too. If our enemies have this secret weapon, how should we respond?”
“This bizarre attack method is not recorded in current global military action information. It should be a special attack method, unlikely for large-scale use. If ten times the intensity of last night’s attack, our brigade-level units would be unable to resist; if fifty times the power, even our divisions would fall into chaos.”
“That’s how it is; indeed impossible for large-scale use. If the Chinese army had such a weapon, we couldn’t occupy the Northeast.”
The two thought they were chatting in a very private environment, after all, this was the most heavily guarded gold warehouse.
But they didn’t expect that not far beneath their feet, a vertical pit had already been dug under a floorboard.
Just one meter of soil layer left undug, but a bamboo tube was inserted, allowing them to hear the conversation above.
Among the Treasure Hunting Group, Shopkeeper Liu understood Japanese; after all, he had been in the Northeast for so many years and dealt plenty with Japanese.
While listening, Shopkeeper Liu recorded the content.
When the people above left, he immediately returned with the Liu Family Three Brothers via the tunnel.
Back at the Anping Pawn and Consignment Shop, Gang Leader Wang read Shopkeeper Liu’s records.
“Everyone, we must act quickly; the gold will be transported in three days. Tomorrow’s opening must make a big splash to buy enough time for swapping in the warehouse.”
The others discussed.
“The Japanese were bombed last night; will they still agree to tomorrow’s event?”
“We asked through the translator officer, saying it’s to pray for the injured Japanese soldiers by the way. They thought it fine and agreed.”
The next day, the Anping Pawn and Consignment Shop was decorated with lanterns.
They hired gongs and drums players, lion dancers, and laid out long strings of firecrackers on the ground.
Many Japanese soldiers came to watch, while locals pointed from afar.
Time came, and the firecrackers were lit.
The crackling sounds echoed through the space.
Underground, the Liu Family Three Brothers, watching their pocket watch, punctually broke through the last meter of soil layer.
A hole was broken open in the Propylene No. 2 floorboard.
Five Treasure Hunting Group members climbed out.
Then, they hauled up the boxes of fake gold, pried them open one by one, removed the fake gold bars, and loaded real gold bars.
The whole process was extremely tense, fearing any mix-up.
For this, they deliberately kept three meters distance from the gold pile: real was real, fake was fake.
267 fake gold bar boxes had to be completely swapped during this time.
And the fake gold bars had to be arranged just like before.
For this, the Treasure Hunting Group members had practiced for a long time, with clear division of labor.
Five swapped in Propylene No. 2 Warehouse, seven transported fake gold boxes from the dilapidated house by the city wall through the underground passage to under the Young Marshal’s Mansion.
The remaining seven, including Gang Leader Wang disguised as the consignment shop patriarch, Shopkeeper Liu, Sun Debiao, managed the celebration outside the consignment shop.
To avoid attracting outsiders’ attention.
Every so often, they rotated shifts, coming out of the tunnel, changing into clean clothes, posing as consignment shop employees to appear outside.
Time ticked by, all tension beneath the festive atmosphere.
Firecrackers finished, gongs and drums sounded, lion dance performance began.
This clamor continuously drew the attention of nearby Japanese soldiers.
Meanwhile, in Propylene No. 2 Warehouse, the real and fake gold swap continued steadily.
64,000 gold bars were exchanged.
Real ones packed into wooden boxes, fakes piled into a gold mountain.
When the last two boxes of gold bars were put into the vertical pit, the stealing the sky and changing the sun was finally complete.
The five swappers climbed into the vertical pit, quietly lifted the floorboard, and covered it back.
Then the Liu Family Three Brothers refilled, repaired, and restored it.
And those gold boxes were transported via tunnel under the dilapidated house by the city wall.
Afterward, the gongs and drums ended, and Gang Leader Wang, full of smiles, announced: “Thank you all for coming; our pawn shop is officially open, and on this occasion, we also bless the Imperial Army.”
The first half drew no comment from onlookers, but the second half earned disdainful looks from locals.
Translator Zhao was very pleased, translating for the watching Japanese officers, even earning a thumbs-up of praise.
Swallowing disgust, Gang Leader Wang smiled back and specially invited Translator Zhao and the officers to a meal at a restaurant.
The whole thing was perfectly accomplished, the swap action done without anyone knowing.
After stealing the sky and changing the sun, it was time to prepare for withdrawal and transport.
On one side, Shopkeeper Liu went to the Young Marshal’s Mansion for inventory as usual.
He checked Propylene No. 2 room thoroughly, confirming no issues; even the Japanese military officer who inspected daily saw the pile of shining gold mountain and noticed no difference.
On the other side, the others joined digging the tunnel to outside the city.
Large amounts of tunnel soil were transported to two residences and hidden on-site; the tunnel had passed under the city wall, and digging just dozens more meters would escape the guards’ sight on the wall, allowing safe gold transfer.
Three days later, Shopkeeper Liu suddenly disappeared.
Disappearing with him were the people from the Anping Pawn and Consignment Shop.
The Japanese even conducted a city-wide manhunt but found nothing.
People at first didn’t understand what was going on.
Until those who had done inventory with Shopkeeper Liu were forcibly taken from their homes by the Japanese.
Only then did everyone realize Shopkeeper Liu had fled fearing Japanese capture, and the Anping Pawn and Consignment Shop people fled Shenyang City together fearing responsibility.
For this group who curried favor with the Japanese but got no benefit, no one in Shenyang City sympathized with them.
As for the Japanese, after fruitless searches, they no longer allowed inventory personnel near the Young Marshal’s Mansion treasure, then military vehicles arrived to box up and take away everything.
The whole process had no issues; the Japanese never imagined someone would swap 2 tons of gold bars for fakes right under their noses.
While the Japanese in the city were loading the treasure for transport, a group drove mule carts heading south of the city.
The Treasure Hunting Group transported the gold out from north of the city, but to avoid discovery and pursuit, they deliberately took a big detour to south of the city.
South of Shenyang City was forest area, most suitable for hiding; even if Japanese discovered, hiding gold in the forest area, they could hardly find it.
But the Treasure Hunting Group’s real purpose wasn’t to hide gold here, but to find a place for airplane landing.
The group drove the mule carts to a village.
Sun Debiao looked and spoke out.
“It’s Shi Family Village. Back in the Qing Dynasty, a tiger came down the mountain here, was killed by locals and sent to the government, even rewarded with silver. Locals nicknamed it Tiger-Beating Village. Past Shi Family Village is a large forest; the logging camp we’re heading to is still some distance.”
Gang Leader Wang asked: “Is there really a flat road there to land an airplane?”
“Yes, the road for transporting big logs, packed solid; level it and it’s usable. Then we’ll cut trees on both sides of the road, light torches, and guide the airplane to land.” Sun Debiao spoke confidently, having experienced Fang Wen landing a transport aircraft on a road.
Gang Leader Wang looked serious, halted the team, and said loudly:
“After all our hardships, just one last step left; everyone must not get careless.”
The others nodded in strong agreement; they had taken part in something to be proud of for life—how could they let the action fail at the last step?
Gang Leader Wang continued: “Time is tight; no Japanese here yet, but passing Japanese might spot us. Thus, within two days, log and clear a path to make an airport runway. No matter how bitter or tiring these two days, endure it—as long as the gold gets transported back, good days await everyone.”
This gave everyone boundless fighting spirit; for the wealth to enjoy in the second half of life, they rallied and continued onward.
Without Shenyang City information, couldn’t make the stealing the sky and changing the sun action route map.
