aircannonsinc Chapter 12: Directly contacting the Military Intelligence Bureau is suicidal.
Chapter 12: Directly contacting the Military Intelligence Bureau is suicidal.
On November 28, 1937, it was time to send the Military Intelligence Bureau strategic intelligence on the Japanese army's five-pronged attack!
As for directly contacting the Military Intelligence Bureau, that was out of the question and absolutely impossible. The AI on his phone clearly told him that the Military Intelligence Bureau's Shanghai station had been wiped out by the Japanese army three times, and even the station chief, Wang Tianmu, had betrayed them. Directly contacting them would be suicidal.
Although he now had a British passport, the embassies of various countries were powerless against the "spies with solid evidence" who had been captured, so his life was at stake! As for how to hand over the intelligence to the Military Intelligence Bureau, after more than ten days of thinking, he finally came up with a foolproof plan!
That means first putting the intelligence in a safe place, and then calling the Military Intelligence Bureau's Shanghai station to pick it up!
As for the address of the Military Intelligence Bureau's Shanghai station, it's a simple matter of tapping a finger in front of the powerful AI search engine on a mobile phone.
所以韩振华先是用手机AI搜索了一下1937军11月军统魔都站地址，手机很快显示：1937年至1938年11月军统魔都站因叛徒出卖被捣毁之前，一直在法租界贝当路15号，新挂牌的「荣昌贸易公司」.................
He chose the Madier Café, a French-owned establishment on Avenue Joffre in the French Concession, as the location for distributing intelligence.
This coffee shop has a large and diverse customer base, attracting all sorts of people and making it difficult to draw special attention.
He scouted the location multiple times beforehand and discovered an abandoned mailbox in the alley behind the coffee shop. It was rarely visited, and the opening was covered with a thick layer of dust, indicating that it had long been out of use.
This location is both secluded and in a public area. Even if a police officer happens to pass by, it would be hard to imagine that there is important intelligence hidden inside. Moreover, this intelligence is written on paper with invisible chemical solution. Even if it is discovered, people will only think it is an ordinary newspaper.
Han Zhenhua carefully folded the intelligence written on the newspaper with invisible chemical solution and put it in his inner pocket to ensure it was safe. Then he hailed a rickshaw, and after arriving at his destination, he entered the alley through the back door, quickly stuffed the intelligence into a gap at the bottom of the mailbox that was covered by loose bricks, and then left immediately. The whole process took no more than three minutes.
After placing the intelligence, he chose a public telephone booth on Avenue Joffre. In 1937, telephones were not the kind where you could directly dial a number; instead, the telephone operator had to ask for the address and then manually connect the phone!
After Han Zhenhua dropped in a coin, when he heard the young female operator's clear voice say, "Hello sir, where would you like to connect?" he took a deep breath and, in a deliberately low, hoarse voice, said, "Please connect me to Rongchang Trading Company!"
No. 15 Rue de Peyton, French Concession, third floor of "Rongchang Trading Company".
Station manager Zhao Lijun was staring blankly at the huge map of Shanghai on the wall, his fingers unconsciously tapping the table.
Although the first phase of the Sino-Japanese war has ended, the covert struggle in Shanghai has only just begun to intensify.
The Japanese Special Higher Police and the Mei Agency were sniffing around like mad dogs, and the pressure on the Military Intelligence Bureau was increasing day by day.
Deputy stationmaster Shen Zui was attentively studying the battle maps of both sides after the Battle of Shanghai at a table in the corner, while Wang Tianmu was in the outer room pretending to be a manager, dealing with potential "clients".
Suddenly, the telephone in the outer office rang sharply, breaking the silence in the room. Wang Tianmu habitually picked up the receiver and said in a professional tone, "Hello, Rongchang Trading Company, who are you looking for?"
A slightly hoarse, low-pitched young voice came from the other end of the phone: "Hello sir, I'm looking for the Bird's Nest."
"Bird's Nest"!
These two words struck Wang Tianmu like a bolt of lightning! This code name was highly classified, known only to a very small number of people within the core staff and headquarters, and was also the exclusive call sign used by Chen Jianghe (Bird's Nest) for one-way communication with "Crow"! An unfamiliar external phone call, directly requesting "Bird's Nest"?
The shock caused Wang Tianmu's hand to tremble, and the receiver slammed onto the mahogany table with a dull thud!
The noise startled Zhao Lijun and Shen Zui inside. They both looked up at the same time, their sharp gazes fixed on the outside.
Wang Tianmu hurriedly picked up the receiver, suppressing his wildly beating heart and the exclamation that almost escaped his lips. He tried to make his voice sound calm, even a little confused: "Sir, are you sure you've dialed the wrong number? We don't have an employee named Bird's Nest in our company. May I ask your surname?" He was stalling for time, and it was also a standard counter-probing procedure.
The other party seemed unresponsive, speaking calmly yet with an undeniable air of command: "Don't worry, I didn't dial the wrong number. Please tell Bird's Nest that the newspaper he wants is at the Madier Café on Avenue Joffre, in the back alley, at the bottom of the abandoned mailbox. Pick it up immediately."
"Click".
Without giving Wang Tianmu a chance to ask any more questions, the phone was abruptly hung up, leaving only a busy tone.
Wang Tianmu, clutching the busy signal phone, his face deathly pale, abruptly turned to Zhao Lijun and Shen Zui, who had emerged from the commotion. His voice trembled as he cried out, "Station... Station Master! There was a call just now... just now, directly to 'Bird's Nest'! They said... said the item was in the abandoned mailbox in the alley behind the Modern Cafe!"
For a moment, the air in the office seemed to freeze.
Zhao Lijun's face instantly darkened to a grim level, his eyes flashing with a terrifying light: "How did he know about this phone number? How did he know about the 'Bird's Nest'? How did he know about this place?!"
Each question struck like a hammer blow to the hearts of everyone present. The headquarters address and core codename were directly revealed by a mysterious phone call—the most extreme and dangerous signal of exposure!
"It's Crow! It must be him!" Shen Zui suddenly stood up, his tone filled with absolute certainty. "Only he knows the code name 'Bird's Nest'!"
Only he would use such an elusive method to transmit intelligence! He's telling us this way that he doesn't want direct contact with us, probably because he's afraid that our exposure will implicate him. That's why he's using this method to send us messages, and this intelligence... must be very important!
But at the same time, he was also using this method to demonstrate to us, or rather... to show his power and... vigilance." Shen Zui quickly analyzed, remaining calmer in situations like this.
"A demonstration? He's putting us in a dangerous situation!" Zhao Lijun growled, veins throbbing on his forehead. "What if this is a Japanese trap? Using an important code name we know to lure our people to a designated location, then wipe them all out?"
"It doesn't seem like it." Shen Zui shook his head. "If it were the Japanese, they would have known the code name 'Bird's Nest' and this address. They would be more likely to directly launch an attack or set up long-term surveillance, rather than using such a targeted but unpredictable phone call to alert the enemy."
I think there's an over 80% chance it was Crow! He might be extremely cautious and unwilling to show himself directly, or even... he might already know our people are monitoring that safe house, so he's bypassing it this way.