activa-t Chapter 41 Undercurrents
Chapter 41 Undercurrents
Captain Seisuke Matsui, at the very end of the long conference table, stood up:
"Reporting to the general, Wu Junsheng, the garrison commander of the Fengtian Army in China, has been lured to Hulunbuir as planned to resolve the conflict between the Luosha Pioneer Group, the Hulun City rebels, and the border residents of Heilongjiang. The defensive density of the garrison at Zhengjiatun has been greatly reduced."
"However, reports from Mongolian informants indicate that Wu's garrison remains highly vigilant against caravans entering Mongolia, conducting thorough checks. If a large quantity of weapons is being transported, there is still a possibility of discovery!"
In January, Shengfu in Hulunbuir launched a rebellion, and now that it has started again, the Fengtian garrison cannot help but be on guard against someone transporting military supplies to support the rebels.
This was entirely within the expectations of the Kanto Governor-General's Office, but Yoshimasa Oshima remained silent and pondering.
The facts were true, but that wasn't the answer he wanted to hear.
Matsui Seisuke had no choice but to stand there dumbfounded and remain silent.
Even Wu Junsheng, who should have been heavily fortified in Zhengjiatun, was tricked into going to Hulunbuir. The Kwantung Military Department had done all it could.
Whether it succeeds or not depends entirely on whether Amaterasu Omikami will grant her blessing.
The meeting room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
a long time.
Looking around at his subordinates, and not waiting for any other ideas, Yoshimasa Oshima had no choice but to approve the operation.
Weapon transport and launching an uprising both take time, and Wu Junsheng might return to the defense zone at any time, which would significantly increase the difficulty of transport.
The empire could afford to wait, but he himself could not; the plan could no longer be delayed.
The Army intends to transfer him back to headquarters next year and hand over the increasingly important position of Governor-General of Kwantung to someone else.
Whether his return to Tokyo will lead to further advancement or his inclusion in the reserve for retirement depends on the outcome of this operation he planned.
"Oh well,,,"
"General!"
Among the junior officers sitting against the wall on both sides, there was a deputy chief of the intelligence office who had been flipping through documents. His eyes lit up, and he finally found the inconspicuous intelligence report. He straightened up and stood up.
"Um?"
Yoshimasa Oshima, who had been interrupted, looked at him with displeasure.
The deputy commander excitedly reported, "General, I've discovered an even safer transport route!"
Yoshimasa Oshima's tone immediately softened: "Tell me, where is it?"
"General, please take a look. This is a report about Lu Xingzhou, a Chinese landlord. In recent days, the most discussed topic among the Chinese in Changtu is the news that he wiped out a group of bandits at the source of the Liao River."
The Japanese were able to obtain information about Lu Xingzhou not because Lu Xingzhou was the main character.
In one episode of "The Young Marshal," Zhang Xueliang leads his troops to Jilin to suppress bandits, only to find that the map is too rough to use.
Guo Songling remarked that when he was studying at a military academy in Japan, he saw a map of the Kwantung region made by the Japanese, which was so detailed that even a small mine with low output was clearly marked.
This shows that the Japanese invaders' goal of conquering Northeast China was not a sudden whim, but a premeditated plan.
In addition to collecting information on local resources, Lu Xingzhou also meticulously gathered information on the customs and traditions of the Guandong region, which naturally became a hot topic.
"The source of the Liao River?!"
Yoshimasa Oshima, who knew the Kanto region by heart, immediately looked at a lieutenant colonel.
"I remember a few years ago, you arranged for your informant in Zhangwu to eliminate the Yu family's stronghold there, right?"
The lieutenant colonel stood up: "General, that happened three years ago!"
"Your subordinate has confirmed that Lu Xingzhou has just returned from the United States. Although he had some contact with Yu Wendou, he has settled in Liaohe River Source with mostly elderly people, women, and children, and they are clearly unaware of the previous events. General, you need not worry. Your subordinate has also contacted Cao Shangfei again, instructing him to eliminate this man at the appropriate time!"
Yoshimasa Oshima roared in anger: "Foolish!!"
The lieutenant colonel immediately admitted his mistake: "Yes, sir! Your Excellency is right!"
They didn't want Yu Wendou to have a stable trade route independent of the South Manchuria Railway, but they always arranged for the same large gang, hundreds of miles away, to wipe out a small fortress. Even a fool would know who was behind it.
"Let's put this matter aside for now. Later, we'll have a group of bandits who have no cooperative relationship with the Empire do it!"
"Yes, sir!"
He turned to the deputy head of the intelligence office: "You mean we'll go through the source of the Liao River?"
"Yes! This batch of weapons, enough to arm 4000 rebels, is enormous and difficult to conceal. Even if Wu himself is not at the garrison, the probability of the large convoy being discovered via Zhengjiatun to Zasaktu Banner is still extremely high. Although going through the source of the Liao River adds 300 kilometers to the journey, the risk of being discovered can be reduced to 10% or even lower!"
At present, the Japanese only have a little over 10,000 troops in the Kanto region, mainly concentrated in key towns and stations. Their influence does not cover the source of the Liao River at all. They subconsciously think that it is a blank and barren land, and have never considered it when considering weapons transportation plans.
But as soon as someone brought it up, Yoshimasa Oshima immediately judged that it was highly feasible.
Not only was the influence of the Kwantung Government-General unable to reach the source of the Liao River, but the Fengtian Army also never paid any attention to that area.
The transport team, disguised as a caravan, could easily break through the Chinese army's defenses and deliver weapons to the rebel army of Prince Utai of Zasaktu Banner without any risk!
"Yoshi~! Yamanaka-kun, right? You did a great job!"
"Hi!"
The deputy chief of the intelligence office was overjoyed that the general had remembered his name.
"Captain Matsui!"
"Hi!"
"Let's transport this batch of weapons out of Fengtian via the Liao River source. Whether King Wutai can successfully launch his uprising depends entirely on Captain Matsui's performance!"
"To be loyal to His Majesty the Emperor!"
Matsui Seisuke perked up.
If this is done well, the credit will certainly go to the general, but he should at least be promoted to lieutenant colonel!
The future looks incredibly bright!
After he gets promoted, he will definitely give this Chinese landlord named Lu Xingzhou a proper "thank you"!
Changtu, Maojiadian.
The wealthy landowner Jin Guangfa originally planned to visit his old flame in the city, but several neighbors from the surrounding villages invited him to their home to discuss some matters, so Mr. Jin, as the head of the local gentry, did not go.
Around lunchtime, four small landlords came looking for them.
Jin Guangfa cursed under his breath: "These bastards, they always come during mealtimes, hoping to make me lose money? Humph, they've got nothing to lose!"
With a grin, he asked, "What's the rush? Why do you insist on meeting with me to discuss it?"
After the landlords sat down, they discovered that there wasn't even a cup of tea, and they all cursed Jin the stingy man.
But things still need to be said.
"Brother Jin, haven't you heard? The world outside is in chaos!!"
Jin Guangfa sneered disdainfully: "Oh~ Did the Japanese occupy Fengtian, or did the Rakshasas massacre the city of Harbin?!"
He was far more skilled at this preemptive strike than the rest of us. For us to come here and show off was like trying to teach a master swordsman in front of Guan Yu.
He remained calm.
A small landlord, who was so anxious he couldn't hold back any longer, had no choice but to reveal why he had come to find him.
"Master Jin, these days everyone in Changtu is talking about a kid named Lu Xingzhou who's built a fortified camp at the source of the Liao River, killed Guo Shanfeng, and wiped out that gang from Dayanggou. He's really making a name for himself!"
Another landlord, after recounting how Cheng Daoyuan had set up a stage for the Sanjiang River opera performance, added:
"We can't control young people's desire to show off, but this guy actually offered to feed the whole family and pay 20 silver dollars a year to hire a long-term worker! That's outrageous!!"
"After discussing it among ourselves, we felt we couldn't let him break the rules. We wanted to see if Master Jin could take the lead and, with the combined strength of all the gentry in Changtu, teach him a lesson!"
Whether the surrounding bandits hate Lu Xingzhou for what he's doing now is still unknown.
But ninety-nine percent of the neighboring landlords secretly cursed him, saying his sons were no match for Piyan.
What kind of landlord treats his farmhands and tenants like royalty? That's breaking the rules, don't you understand?
Jin Guangfa had never heard of this.
"Are there really people this foolish? Did outsiders really believe it?"
He may be a sharp-minded person, but he's not confused.
They never exploit long-term laborers and tenants to the point of exhaustion; their wages are always kept above the market average.
With 17 silver dollars a year, even if the farmhands ate the worst mixed noodles with wild vegetables and pickled vegetables, they would never get sick from hunger.
When he had physical needs, he would go to the city to find a lover; when he wanted land, he would hire people to reclaim wasteland. He basically didn't do any other messy or destructive things. That's how he became a well-known local worthy.
It was precisely because of his considerable reputation that several landlords came together to discuss matters with Master Jin.
The dark-skinned, thin, and short landlord kept sighing:
"Of course they believed it! That kid had bad intentions. He brought out a dozen or so well-fed gunners from the fortress to demonstrate, and those ignorant peasants naturally believed it!"
"Not only are our farmhands determined to go and see the source of the Liao River, but even several of our tenants are willing to abandon their homes and businesses to work for him!"
The remaining three were also deeply worried.
If Lu Xingzhou, a peasant, were to gain such a foothold, the world would probably descend into chaos!