Ning Zhiheng had no choice but to abandon this lead again. He then asked, "Explain to me why, on September 14th, the telegram from headquarters to the Tanikawa Brigade clearly stated that you were to search for the heavy artillery brigade's positions in the vicinity of Wanyuan Wharf?"
When Yasuda Seiji heard Ning Zhiheng's question, he was taken aback and explained, "This intelligence was not obtained by our reconnaissance. The headquarters directly assigned us this area, and then we conducted a specific reconnaissance. Later, we indeed found the exact location of the artillery position in a bamboo forest four kilometers east of Wanyuan Wharf. However, after we sent out the location coordinates, for some reason, the Chinese army moved the position in advance, which caused this bombing to fail."
Ning Zhiheng had heard Zhang Zhengkui briefly mention this matter before, but he hadn't paid attention to this detail at the time. Now it seemed that the Japanese intelligence organization had considerable spies planted within the Chinese army. It should be noted that General Zhang Zhengkui attached great importance to the heavy artillery brigade, and everything about the heavy artillery brigade was a military secret, let alone its deployment location.
However, the Japanese spies still managed to find the approximate area where the heavy artillery brigade might be deployed, and then notified the plainclothes reconnaissance team to conduct reconnaissance and determine the specific location.
Ning Zhiheng pointed to another telegram and asked, "On October 1st, headquarters ordered you to search for the heavy artillery brigade's positions in Yangjing District? But this time, no general area was specified."
Yasuda nodded and replied, "Yes, after receiving this telegram, we conducted a long search of Yangjing District, but to no avail. Colonel Tanikawa once said that after the last bombing, the Chinese army was clearly more vigilant and kept the information of the heavy artillery brigade very secret. He once doubted the accuracy of the headquarters' intelligence, but just last night, he suddenly found me, took out a piece of paper with the specific location of the heavy artillery brigade on it, and asked me to immediately translate it into code and send it out."
I understand now. Everything is clear. The defense line along the Huangpu River is so long that it would be very difficult to locate the heavy artillery brigade. However, the Japanese intelligence headquarters always had a way to determine the general area, and then plainclothes teams would carefully search the area to finally pinpoint the exact location before bombing it with bombers.
But who could pinpoint the approximate deployment area of the heavy artillery brigade twice in a row? This is a military secret, unknown even to high-ranking military officers who are not directly involved.
Connecting the three previous alarm telegrams with these two telegrams concerning the location of the heavy artillery brigade, it can now be almost concluded that there must be one or more Japanese moles in the command post who are continuously forwarding this classified information to the Japanese spy headquarters, which then passes it on to Kazuma Tanikawa, who in turn passes it on to other plainclothes units. In this way, an intelligence channel is formed.
Using this intelligence channel, the Japanese launched a highly effective attack on the right flank of the Chinese army, leaving the Chinese army vulnerable from both sides. The rear became an almost undefended area where the Japanese could act with impunity, and the main striking force, the heavy artillery brigade, repeatedly encountered danger and was nearly annihilated.
It's clear how much of a threat this hidden mole poses to the Chinese army! We must dig him out as quickly as possible, or the consequences will be unimaginable.
"There's one last question. As far as I know, your other two plainclothes teams, the Okada team, operate in the Wusongkou area, and the Noguchi team operates in the Takahashi area. But your telegram records only show the Noguchi team's location, and this Whittle warehouse, judging from the name, should be a foreign company?"
Upon hearing that Ning Zhiheng even knew the activity range of these two squads, Yasuda Seiji quickly and honestly replied, "Sir, the Noguchi squad was operating in the countryside before, and only entered the Whittle warehouse to hide at the beginning of this month. As for the exact location of this Whittle warehouse, or why it is a foreign company's name, I have no idea."
The whereabouts of Okada's detachment were indeed never mentioned in the telegrams. I think Colonel Tanikawa should know, but I just couldn't get in touch with them.
Ning Zhiheng looked at Yasuda Seiji, nodded, leaned back in his seat, and said in a deep voice, "Alright, Yasuda-kun, I've finished asking my questions. But, shouldn't you think about it again and make sure you haven't forgotten anything?"
Ning Zhiheng's words were very calm, but the calmer he was, the more pressure he put on Yasuda Seiji. He had already told Yasuda Seiji everything he knew without hiding anything. After all, he was a telegraph operator and did not participate in the operation. All he could access were telegrams, and he had no other valuable intelligence.
However, his mind did react very quickly. The officer opposite him knew a lot about the Japanese plainclothes police force operating in Pudong. What did he know that he had overlooked?
He suddenly realized what had happened and quickly bowed, saying, "It was indeed an oversight. This time, the entire Tanikawa Battalion was not wiped out. There were still some reconnaissance personnel in the Tanikawa Battalion, a total of twenty-four people. When you attacked, the reconnaissance personnel were not at the base."
"where are they?"
Seiji Yasuda replied, "I really don't know. All the plainclothes teams are composed of military and Special Higher Police. These investigators are agents from the Special Higher Police headquarters of the Ministry of Home Affairs, while I belong to the military intelligence department. We are not in the same department, so we hardly ever have any contact."
During this period, Japan had numerous intelligence agencies, with the military's intelligence department holding the highest position. Especially in recent years, with the rise in the status of military personnel, Japanese military groups have begun to wield absolute power and have brought other intelligence organizations under their control.
Secondly, there are the Special Higher Police (STPD) of the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Asia Development Board (APB) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and private groups that serve the government, such as the Black Dragon Society. They all have their own underground forces in East Asia.
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