RNP Chapter 4: Pre-prepared intelligence briefings bomb Chongqing
Chapter 4: Pre-prepared intelligence briefings bomb Chongqing
After finishing his meal, Yan Shuo immediately began sending telegrams:
Red Bean Report: Japanese Navy Intelligence Report.
After completely occupying Wuhan from October 25 to 27, the Japanese Navy was rapidly transforming the three towns of Wuhan (especially Hankou) into a core forward base for controlling Central China and supporting subsequent operations.
While fishing on the riverbank, I witnessed the armored cruiser "Izumo" and several shallow-draft gunboats, including "Atake," "Hozu," and "Saga," each displacing approximately 1,000 tons and equipped with large-caliber main guns. Minesweepers, a small destroyer fleet on escort duty, and several small gunboat squadrons and transport boat squadrons were also heading towards the Han River.
Currently, more than 35 ships and transport vessels have been assembled (excluding a large number of small boats), and more ships are continuing to arrive. Shanghai's Wusong Port is becoming a busy supply depot and transit hub for the Japanese army.
####Speculated Air Force Training and Supply Situation
1. Base relocation: Some aircraft of the Second Joint Air Fleet of the Navy are being transferred from frontline airfields in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River to airfields around Wuchang and Hankou;
2. Training Focus: It appears that specific training is being conducted in preparation for future long-range bombing raids on inland cities such as Chongqing.
-Long-range formation flight training: adapted to the complex climate and terrain of the Sichuan Basin;
-High-altitude bombing training: tailored to the terrain characteristics of the mountain city;
- New pilots were assigned to replenish the troops lost in the battle and to conduct tactical training;
3. Supply line construction:
- Yangtze River waterway: became the primary supply artery, transporting strategic materials such as fuel, bombs, and aircraft parts;
- Local requisition: Temporary warehouses have been set up in Wuhan, which is suspected to be requisitioning existing local warehouses and factories;
- Maintenance system: Field maintenance depots will be built near the airport to ensure the sortie rate of fighter jets.
Izakaya "casual chat" rumors
"I heard that the staff officers on the Izumo have been working through the night lately, and they've all changed their maps to the Sichuan direction. Going up the Yangtze River is really difficult; the mountain cities there are shrouded in fog, much tougher to conquer than Wuhan."
"Those guys in the air force have been flying a lot lately, always heading west. The warehouses are full of new bombs shipped from the mainland. Looks like there's bound to be some big 'movement' next spring."
"The docks are unloading cargo every day, including not only weapons but also a lot of 'special equipment'... I heard it's in preparation for a long-term stationing. Wuhan will be our navy's main base for advancing inland from now on."
"My Marine colleagues all complained that the garrison duty was too boring and not nearly as 'free' as it was in Shanghai. But we were ordered to keep a close watch on the guerrillas getting close to the docks and airport; those 'rats' were really annoying."
Report complete.
Yan Shuo rubbed his sore fingers. Although his transmitter was redeemed through the system and should not have been detected by the enemy, it was better to be safe than sorry. He had already arranged for Li Zhiyao to keep watch outside the door and pick some vegetables to cover his tracks.
After the telegram was sent, there was no need for such tension in monitoring the reply—simply listen continuously like a tape recorder. With the current level of technology, no detection vehicle could locate a device that simply received telegrams. Those advanced telecommunications detection technologies would not enter mainland China until the latter half of 1941. These were technologies that Japan purchased from Germany, and manufacturing had only just begun in 1941. They were expensive and could not be mass-produced at all.
Without a telecommunications surveillance vehicle, relying solely on manpower to monitor the radio station, catching it was practically a pipe dream, unless there was an insider tipping them off.
Yan Shuo instructed Li Zhiyao to go out and buy groceries, and also to check out the surrounding area and get to know the neighbors. After all, they had just arrived in unfamiliar territory, and even if it was a rented house, they needed to take good care of their living environment to avoid future troubles and having to move. Fortunately, the layout of this house was quite ideal, unlike the dozens of households crammed into a narrow alley where even the slightest movement would be known to everyone.
While not quite a villa, this was a detached house with its own courtyard, isolated by walls and not adjacent to any of its neighbors. The left side of the courtyard faced the street, and the right side was an alley. The front door faced the road directly, with a fabric shop and a pharmacy diagonally opposite. The back door was next to a repair shop specializing in electrical appliances like tape recorders. Based on common settings in historical novels and real-world observations, this repair shop was highly suspicious, likely a potential telegraph point—in those days, anyone skilled in electronics repair was no ordinary person.
Yan Shuo strolled into the repair shop, discreetly observing the owner: a clean-cut young man with neat, calloused hands and no habitual movements from long hours of fiddling with a telegraph machine. When his hands were still, they were steady and didn't move erratically. Yan Shuo thought to himself: this person is either a telegraph operator who hasn't been "awakened" yet, or just a regular repairman.
Inside the shop were three or five disassembled tape recorders and small loudspeakers; judging by the craftsmanship, they seemed quite reliable. However, the rent for this location was quite high, and Yan Shuo began to have doubts: what if this shop really was a radio transmission point, and his residence was next to it? If enemy agents were attracted to the area in the future, they would inevitably notice his house, which would inevitably disturb his secret life.
"Sir, is there something that needs fixing?" The young man asked curiously when he saw Yan Shuo looking around without saying much after entering the room.
"Not at the moment," Yan Shuo replied with a smile, making up an excuse. "I just moved here and came to get familiar with the environment. I also wanted to buy an appliance. Boss, it looks like you only have used appliances here. Do you have any new ones? Or a nearly new used tape recorder would be fine too, as long as the price is reasonable."
"Oh? So you're my new neighbor!" The young man's eyes lit up, and he said warmly, "Hello, hello, my name is Wang Shitou. I've been running this shop here for over four years. You can just call me Shitou. I know the neighborhood very well, and I know all the neighbors—you're from the courtyard across the street, right? That house has been empty for almost half a year!" As he spoke, he pointed to the back gate of Yan Shuo's courtyard.
"Haha, that's right!" Yan Shuo went along with it. "We're a small business owner, just looking for a place to stay temporarily. We just arrived today. Hello, hello, my surname is Liu, my name is Liu Jie, and I work at Ximei Trading Company."
"Brother Liu! We're about the same age, maybe I'm even a few years older than you, haha!" Wang Shitou gestured for him to sit down. "Ask me anything you want to know! There are two breakfast stalls about 160 meters west; you'll see two clothing shops halfway there. The fabric shop opposite your front door doesn't have a tailor. If you want to get clothes made, go to the shop called 'Hongxi'. The owner is skilled and makes clothes that fit perfectly. There's a small hotel and a bathhouse to the east, but you have a shower room in your courtyard, so you probably won't need it—I've been in there before."
"You've been inside?" Yan Shuo asked with feigned surprise and a smile.
"Yes!" Wang Shitou said frankly, "The owner is a widow. Her husband was killed by bandits. This place is a place of sorrow for her. She didn't plan to sell it for the time being, so she put up a 'For Rent' sign and went to Macau to take care of her grandson. I've been looking after this yard. The rent is paid every six months. After you paid the first rent to the agency, it was transferred to me. If you want to renew the lease, just contact me. There are quite a few empty yards in this area, and I have keys to them. I earn some extra money by looking after houses, haha!"
"Brother Stone really knows how to find work!" Yan Shuo joked. "Look how easy this job in the yard is! You can earn money just by cleaning up. It's a really good job!"
"Oh, not at all! Just trying to make a living, haha!"
The two chatted for a while longer. Li Zhiyao saw them from the doorway and called Yan Shuo back for dinner. Yan Shuo then invited Wang Shitou to come along, but Wang Shitou smiled and waved his hand to decline, saying that his wife had already prepared the meal and that, judging from the looks of it, he didn't live far away.
Back at their lodgings, Yan Shuo recounted the situation to Li Zhiyao, who nodded in understanding: "As long as it's not a hidden danger, it's fine." She then described the situation on the street: "The market isn't far, but you have to go around two intersections. There were no security checks on the road, but there were quite a few police officers, and they seemed to be looking for someone—when I came back, my shopping basket had been searched; they said they were looking for a gun, a weapon, and a knife, so I guess someone carrying a knife committed a crime."
"Damn, are you crazy? Who hides guns in a vegetable basket? Absolutely insane!" Yan Shuo scoffed.
"That's right!" Li Zhiyao handed him the soup bowl and sat down opposite him. "I'm planning to meet my informant tomorrow; it's the appointed day."
"Okay, I'll keep watch for you!" Yan Shuo said while drinking his soup, thinking to himself: it's time to contact my informant; it's been quite a while since we last met.