Chapter 58: No One Can Stop It
Hunting high-ranking Blue Army officials was something Nantian Yangzi could say she had extremely rich experience in.
From Dean Dai of the Examination Yuan before to Secretary Huang and his son in the Attendant Office.
Nantian Yangzi knew well these men’s preferences and weaknesses.
This time, in order to hunt Deputy Commander Jiang Zhicheng of the City Defense Headquarters in Chongqing, she had also done her homework thoroughly.
Before even entering Chongqing, Nantian Yangzi had utilized the Japanese spy team undercover in Chongqing to obtain information on some female university students.
After her careful selection, a university student named Yan Xiaohong entered her sight.
Her height and appearance both fit perfectly, plus she was a student at National University in Nanjing, and after war broke out in Nanjing, she had almost no relatives left alive.
All these conditions were simply tailor-made for her.
And so, this student named Yan Xiaohong soon disappeared from the academy.
A little over a month later, a female-disguised-as-male shop assistant named Yan Guhong appeared at Yue She Teahouse.
As Deputy Commander of City Defense in Chongqing, Jiang Zhicheng would always carelessly notice this shop assistant being scolded by Zhao Fugui’s wife every time he went to the teahouse.
On a certain night, Jiang Zhicheng very coincidentally discovered her female identity.
This Liang Shanbo-meets-Zhu Yingtai storyline immediately piqued Jiang Zhicheng’s interest.
A self-reliant university student who, for the sake of livelihood, had no choice but to bow her head to others, all just to make money and complete her studies.
This kind of persona would make anyone respect her from the bottom of their heart no matter where it was placed.
Faced with such a woman, Jiang Zhicheng had never acted so much like a gentleman.
Not only did he “instruct” the boss to treat her well, but he also occasionally made time to be with her under the flowers and moon, discussing poetry, songs, and verses.
For a moment, Jiang Zhicheng even thought he had returned to his twenties, with an impulse to swear eternal love with her.
In a trendy phrase, he had fallen in love.
Of course, for Nantian Yangzi, all of this was fake; from beginning to end, it was just a farce. What Nantian Yangzi had her eye on was never Jiang Zhicheng the person.
But his position as Deputy Commander of City Defense, because only he and the City Defense Commander could obtain the Chongqing Defense Map.
As for why Nantian Yangzi wanted to get this defense map, that was because she had an even bigger plan.
Walking to the door of the private room on the second floor, Nantian Yangzi took a breath, and an expression of utter desperation as if abandoned by a man a dozen times instantly appeared on her face. She pushed open the door, and a mournful voice rang out: “Mr. Dequan, I think, I am probably ill.”
****
Time came to April of Year 27 of the Republic.
China has always been governed by “filial piety,” so every year, City Hall would have holidays on Qingming Festival in the third month of the lunar calendar and Heavy Yang Festival on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month.
Returning to work after the holidays has always been something office drones deeply resent.
Shanghai, Director of the Economic Department’s Office.
Chen Yang yawned, pushed open the office door, had just hung up his clothes when Secretary Li Ningyu rushed in.
“S-Sir, bad news, something big has happened.”
Chen Yang frowned: “Secretary Li, mind your personal image. Even if the sky falls, it’s not your concern.”
“But if you’re this flustered, the people below will definitely have some bad ideas.”
“Be more careful next time.”
Li Ningyu took a breath, calmed her emotions, and said: “Sorry, sir.”
“But this matter is truly no small deal. We just received instructions from Nanjing requiring our Economic Department from top to bottom to cooperate with Gendarmerie Headquarters and Joint Special Higher Police Affairs for internal screening.”
“What?” Chen Yang was stunned: “Screen the entire Economic Department top to bottom? Did I hear that right?”
“We’re just a department that receives materials and distributes materials. Why does anything here need screening?”
Li Ningyu took out a report and handed it over with both hands: “Internal notice.”
“The rural pacification plan launched on April 3 completely failed. Division Commander Huo Junsheng died in the line of duty, Deputy Division Commander Bai Liang and Chief of Staff Zhao Mingzheng were captured.”
“Commander Qi suspects someone leaked the bandit suppression information, leading to the troops being ambushed by Red Party Guerrillas.”
Chen Yang took the internal notice from Li Ningyu’s hand, read it carefully up and down, and stripping away the official jargon, felt this should just be a joke.
On April 3, Year 27 of the Republic, the troops under Commander Qi, led by Division Commander Huo Junsheng, completed a swearing-in ceremony in Nanjing and then set off from Nanjing toward Liyang, preparing to rendezvous in the eastern Taihu Lake region with two security regiments stationed in Suzhou and Changzhou that were rushing over.
For this rural pacification campaign, Nanjing mobilized a total of one division plus two security regiments, totaling around three thousand men, dividing into southeast and north directions to drive the guerrillas in the Taihu Lake Region to the western shore of Taihu Lake.
After completing the operation plan, the main force would launch joint operations on the western shore of Taihu Lake, wiping out these Red Party Guerrillas in one fell swoop.
To ensure the mission went smoothly, the Special Services Section in Nanjing had previously conducted complete reconnaissance on the guerrillas in the Taihu Lake Region, confirming their numbers and equipment.
At that time, the guerrillas active in the Taihu Lake Region plus those from surrounding districts and counties totaled around seven hundred men.
Three thousand against seven hundred, nearly five times the enemy’s numbers, plus material support from the Peaceful National Construction Army.
Whether in numbers or weapons and equipment, the two sides were not on the same level.
And such a detailed plan failed before it even began.
The main force under Commander Qi hadn’t even reached the rendezvous point when they were ambushed by guerrillas halfway.
And even more absurdly, they hadn’t even figured out the enemy’s numbers before the troops fell into chaos.
The report said that after fierce resistance, due to the disparity in numbers, the troops had no choice but to withdraw.
And during the withdrawal, Division Commander Huo Junsheng volunteered to cover the troops’ evacuation and block the enemy pursuit, ultimately dying in the line of duty.
Deputy Division Commander Bai Liang and Chief of Staff Zhao Mingzheng, during the retreat, to preserve the troops’ strength, ordered the troops to withdraw in batches; they stayed behind to cover the rear, and as a result, both were unfortunately captured.
Of course, with reports issued internally by the government, you have to read them backwards.
The fact is, this unit was ambushed by Taihu Lake guerrillas right from the start when departing from Liyang.
Before Division Commander Huo Junsheng could even order a retreat, the troops lost control, a trampling incident occurred, and he died in the chaos, with it unclear whether he was killed by the Red Party or mistakenly shot by his own men in a cold shot.
After the troops retreated over thirty li, the pre-ambushed Changzhou Jintan Battalion and Wujin Battalion struck from front and rear, facing the fleeing puppet troops with fewer than three hundred men, capturing over five hundred of them in one go.
Including Bai Liang and Zhao Mingzheng who couldn’t escape in time.
Reading through the entire report, apart from the casualties being real, almost everything else was fake.
After all, Commander Qi couldn’t very well say his own subordinates were too incompetent, with a two-thousand-man force getting scared shitless.
“Outrageous, simply outrageous.” Chen Yang slammed the internal report heavily on the ground.
“What does the troops’ pacification failure have to do with us?”
“Our department handles material transportation; we know nothing about action details or numbers.”
“And they want to pin this shit pot on a transportation department.”
“Can they have any shame?”
Li Ningyu didn’t know how to explain; if these people really had shame, would they push this responsibility onto the Economic Department?
“Sir, what do we do?”
