Cicada Moving

Chapter 807: Contact with Ban Jun

 Xingsheng Street in the French Concession is bustling with people. This not-too-long street is one of the most prosperous areas in Shanghai, with more than 90% of the yarn shops gathered together.

Since the British merchants of the previous dynasty brought this item to China, various woolen sweaters and woolen hats have appeared one after another, and soon became a must-have item for the people in Shanghai to survive the winter.

 When autumn and winter change every year, every household in Shanghai is knitting yarn (knitting sweaters), and Xingsheng Street is the most lively time of the year.

This year is no exception. Even though the war between China and Japan has not ended, the smell of gunpowder smoke still hangs over the city, and there is still an endless stream of customers coming to buy wool.

 What is a bit darkly humorous is that after the severe crackdowns by the Japanese and the concession authorities, the ubiquitous pickpockets and gangsters have disappeared, and public security is much better than before.

 In the crowded crowd, Zuo Zhong was walking on the road with a paper bag in his hand, his eyes quietly scanning the shops on both sides, and he frowned slightly.

 Ban Jun's choice of such a place to connect was a bit unexpected. If something went wrong today, the enemy would easily draw a simulated portrait of them.

This is not a high-tech method. In ancient times, similar detection and hunting methods such as catching people with shadows have existed for thousands of years.

With the expansion of the great powers in China, Western sketching techniques spread rapidly, and the local police stations and concession patrol houses in the Republic of China conducted extensive research on this aspect.

Moreover, the more witnesses there are, the higher the accuracy of the simulated portrait. From this point of view, Xingsheng Street is not a good place for intelligence gathering.

　　Although his face is disguised, he is not afraid of anything but the worst. There are Japanese informants everywhere in Shanghai now, so he cannot be careless.

Thinking of this, Zuo Zhong realized a problem. Ban Jun had been lurking in the government and customs for so many years, and even he couldn't see the flaw.

Then why did they underestimate the enemy so much this time? The underground party has always been cautious and should not make such low-level mistakes. There must be something wrong here.

Amidst the noise, he looked around. Everyone was busy buying things or chatting, and no one seemed to care about him.

But Zuo Zhong was sure that someone must be watching from an invisible place, because as soon as he stepped into Xingsheng Street, he noticed a vague sense of peeping.

Ban Jun led him here, perhaps to see the sincerity of the Guo Party's cooperation, and at the same time to take advantage of the large number of people here to prevent the Secret Service from tracking and retracing the action.

Zuo Zhong looked at his watch thoughtfully, then walked slowly to the door of the drugstore he had arranged for. He found a shoe shine stall and sat down leisurely. He picked up the newspaper on the shoe shine box and put it in front of his face.

He can't decide whether Lao Ban will come or not. Besides, he sincerely seeks cooperation between the two parties and is not afraid of the other party's surveillance. The worst he can do is wait a little longer.

The streets were bustling with people passing by and leaving, and a few policemen walked around with batons. Everything seemed very normal.

  At 2:05, Ban Jun did not come.

  At 2:15, Ban Jun still didn’t come.

After polishing his shoes, Zuo Zhong walked around the area with his hands behind his back, stopping to buy some things from time to time like ordinary people. More than ten minutes passed quickly.

 At 2:30, Ban Jun did not show up. It seemed that the underground party did not agree to cooperate with the Kuomintang party to destroy the Japanese counterfeit banknote plan. Zuo Zhong sighed slightly.

 He understands the other party's concerns. It is difficult to establish trust, but easy to destroy it. Someone betrayed his life and killed his former comrade.

With such a person, who dares to cooperate, who is not afraid that his companions will suddenly lend me a favor, and I am afraid that he will suffer the consequences when he returns to the country.

The collapse of the legal currency will inevitably affect the progress of war preparations. Some people do not care about the national interests, and it will be difficult for anyone without money.

Just when Zuo Zhong was extremely disappointed and about to leave, a woman walked quickly past him with her head lowered. The moment they passed by, their bodies touched lightly.

Looking at the other party's back, Zuo Zhong squinted his eyes, then left Xingsheng Street calmly and came to a secluded alley, and took out a note from his coat pocket.

“Half an hour later, on the south side of Baiwaidu Bridge.”

 Ban Jun was indeed testing, and Zuo Zhong showed a smile, knowing in his heart that if he brought his men over, the underground party might not show up.

Without hesitation, he took out a lighter, lit the note, walked to the street, hailed a rickshaw, and gave the address on the note.

-Waibaidu.

This bridge is located at the mouth of the Sucheng River where it merges into the Huangpu River. It is more than 100 meters long and is an all-steel structure. It is an important passage connecting the British and American spheres of influence in the public concession and Hongkou.

The British Consulate is located in the south of Qiaodong, and there are also diplomatic embassies and consulates of many countries such as the United States and Japan in the north of Qiaoqiao. It is the core area of ​​Shanghai and is densely covered by military and police.

This battleground for military strategists was originally in the hands of Britain and the United States. During the Battle of Songhu, the nearby Japanese soldiers were dispersed by Commander Zhang's troops and ran to the south of the bridge to "surrender" to the British troops.

In order to avoid an international conflict, the Guojun voluntarily gave up the pursuit. As soon as the war ended, the Japanese used this as an excuse to forcibly occupy the bridge, establish checkpoints, and conduct inspections of pedestrians and vehicles.

　　The public concessions, which used to be domineering in the past, did not express any opinions and even sent patrols to cooperate with the Japanese actions. No one would believe that there was nothing fishy in it.

Meeting there confirmed the saying that the most dangerous place is the safest place. The Japanese would never have imagined that they would meet under their noses.

Not long after Zuo Zhong left, a French Concession patrolman wandered to the phone booth. He looked around carefully and walked in to whisper something on the phone.     half an hour later.

Zuo Zhong got off the rickshaw, paid the fare and looked up at the bridge dozens of meters away. For some reason, he thought of a scene where a woman named Yiping jumped.

He shook his head, driving all the messy thoughts out of his mind, and walked along the sidewalk toward the bridge, while quietly searching for traces of Ban Jun.

Soon, he saw Lao Ban at the entrance of the park in Nanqiaotou. He was wearing a crisp suit and standing there calmly and calmly.

 Different environments have different ways of camouflage. In such places, deliberately dressing plainly can easily attract the attention of others.

 “Come on, let’s go to the park.”

 Ban Jun saw Zuo Zhong, stretched out his right hand and shook it, took the opportunity to hand over another piece of paper hidden in his palm, and lowered his voice to give instructions.

“Remember, my name is Qian Rushan. I am 40 years old. I am from Jinling. I run a timber business. Don’t say anything wrong when you encounter inspections.

 The note contains the process of our acquaintance and the reason for meeting today. Destroy it immediately after reading it. I will help you watch what is going on around you.

You also talked about disguised identities. The Japanese and the patrol houses in the concession are becoming more and more strict in their interrogations. Once they are found suspicious, they will be taken into custody directly. "

This is the attitude you should have when doing secret work. If Xu Enzeng and the secret service headquarters can learn 30%, they will not be unaware of being infiltrated into a large sieve.

After thinking about it, Zuo Zhong spread out the note and spent more than ten seconds memorizing all the contents. He put his fist in front of his mouth, coughed, and put the note into his mouth.

Chewing the dry paper ball hard, he introduced himself as Ban Jun asked, and then walked slowly into the woods with him.

“Mr. Qian, I don’t know if your boss agrees to cooperate. Time waits for no one. That batch of goods will enter the market at any time.”

After taking two steps, Zuo Zhong asked first.

“There is no rush for cooperation, let’s talk about the conditions first.”

 Ban Jun glanced at the patrolman not far away and asked a question: "Let's not mention the previous conflicts for the moment. They have arrested many of our guys over the years. Should they be released?

Also to be honest, you are the one who is worried about this matter. We are just helping. You should give us some compensation. Even if you are a long-term worker working at the landlord's house, you can still have a full meal. "

 Release arrested persons.

 Appropriate supplies.

Zuo Zhong immediately understood the meaning of Ban Jun's words, and his heart moved. He was right. What the other party said was right. The most worried about the appearance of counterfeit banknotes was indeed the Guodang. It was not impossible to take advantage of the opportunity to make a fortune.

Compared to some prisoners and a small amount of supplies that have lost their intelligence value, the stability of legal currency is more important, and the bald head and the top officials of the government will not be able to figure this out clearly.

In fact, Zuo Zhong knew that even if Jinling did not agree to these two conditions, the underground party would still sabotage the counterfeit banknote plan. Ban Jun's words meant that there were three dates but no dates.

—It’s good if they can get benefits, but it doesn’t matter if they can’t get them. The worst thing is that they can act on their own.

 After pretending to think about it for a few minutes, Zuo Zhong showed a worried expression: "Mr. Qian, you are taking advantage of the situation. We are all Chinese. Do we have to be so fussy about it?

 Besides, this matter is of great importance, especially the handling of those personnel. I need to report it to our Director Dai and our leaders, and I can only reply to you after getting approval.

To show your sincerity, please tell me what you have learned so far. With this, I can persuade the superior to agree to your terms. Do you think this is true? "

　　Acting requires a complete performance. He cannot agree to everything the underground party says. With Baldhead and Dai Chunfeng being suspicious, they will definitely become suspicious when they find out.

Zuo Zhong is right to want to save people, but the premise is that his own safety can be guaranteed, otherwise not only will he not be able to save people, but he will also be easily involved.

Facing his counter-offer, Ban Jun pondered for a moment and replied happily: "Yes, that technical expert's name is Saburo Shinoda. He is a male from Osaka. He studied under a famous Japanese painter when he was a child.

In the mid-1920s, he studied painting systematically at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris, France. After returning to China, he worked in the technical department of the Osaka Mint, mainly responsible for printing and ink deployment.

We speculate that the Japanese have probably obtained all the details of making legal currency, including engraving, coding, and ink formulas, and have entered the final trial printing stage of banknotes.

This is also Saburo Shinoda's daily job at the Osaka Mint. Unfortunately, we don't know his appearance or schedule. Do you have any relevant information? "

“Well... let’s talk about the release of people and materials.”

 Zuo Zhong had a dark face and secretly scolded Hayashi Fuichiro for being really useless. Their underground party intelligence officers could even get the names of technical experts. As for him, he just said someone would come to Shanghai.

Pooh, you rotten imperial viscount!

After driving for a day, I came home and packed my luggage.

 (End of this chapter)