Chapter 39 "Eagle Eye" Plan

  ōshima Eiju abandoned three companies of the 102nd Regiment and himself at Xiao Wang Zhuang, and the regimental commander Yamada Umeji was so angry that he couldn't speak. Because ōshima's death made him directly bear the blame, whoever it was, losing three elite field companies without achieving anything, can imagine what kind of punishment awaited him. But now that ōshima had died in battle, the division headquarters could only make this unfortunate regimental commander a scapegoat.

  Yamada Umeji was suspended and the 103rd Brigade was temporarily led by the division commander.

  The Tai'erzhuang Campaign had already reached a white-hot stage, with the Japanese army in the southern section of the Tianjin-Pukou Railway being tightly pinned down on the south bank of the Huai River by the Fifth War Zone. The 13th Division now didn't have time to consider avenging their defeat in the countryside; in fact, the eyes of all Japanese troops in Anhui Province were fixed on a small village north of Xuzhou.

  Meanwhile, China's "Divine Eagle" special operations team is seizing every opportunity to develop itself under their noses.

  The current "Divine Eagle" has become a "god" in the hearts of the people in the Anhui East region, and the continuous victories have brought the prestige of the troops to an unprecedented height. And the "Divine Eagle" quietly incorporated several hundred square kilometers of land around Xiaowangzhuang into its own sphere of influence.

  However, at this time, the "Eagle" headquarters of Xiaowang Village was not concerned about these things, because they were secretly formulating a plan, a plan to establish an intelligence agency.

  "Eagle Eye" plan!

  "The Eagle Eye" plan sounds simple, it is to establish an independent intelligence agency, Chen Jifang called it "Military Intelligence Division", directly responsible to the headquarters.

  The functions of the Military Intelligence Bureau include: 1. Training intelligence personnel; 2. Establishing intelligence stations and transmission routes in various places; 3. Analyzing intelligence from various places.

  As a 21st-century special forces commander, Chen Jifan certainly knew the importance of intelligence. Setting up an intelligence department was easy to say, but it lacked loyal and capable people to serve as intelligence personnel. So the two regimental commanders were at a loss for what to do about the problem of intelligence personnel.

  Chen Jifan carefully examined the names written on the slips of paper, all of whom had crossed over from that side together. There was no problem with their loyalty, but the problem was that each and every one of them were key military personnel, and the troops couldn't do without any one of them!

  Finally, Zhong Dingcheng spoke up: "Old Chen, I've thought of a personal choice, He Chunxiang."

  "She?" Chen Jifan showed interest in this proposal, "Tell me the reason."

  "He Chunxiang has a strong character, is diligent in her work, and has an unrelenting hatred for the Japanese. Her only shortcoming is that she lacks a bit of cultural knowledge." Zhong Dingcheng replied seriously.

  "What's most important is that she's loyal to the troops, and after joining the troops, she always takes on whatever work is assigned to her without complaint. Not being educated isn't a big problem, it's fine, she's the one. When should we go talk to her?" Zhong Dingcheng continued to add.

  "Right away, my opinion is to send her back to Chuzhou first, her family is there, and the people are more familiar."

  He Chunxiang arrived at the camp with a puzzled expression on her face. She had no idea what important matter would require both officers to speak with her personally.

  "Come on in, have a seat." Zhong Dingcheng's warm and enthusiastic greeting.

  Unexpectedly, the deputy captain's enthusiasm made her even more puzzled, and He Chunxiang reluctantly found a place to sit down.

  "What do the two battalion commanders want from me?"

  Chen Jifan didn't want to beat around the bush, so he got straight to the point and said: "Comrade He Chunxiang, there's a very important task that needs your attention right now. Are you willing to take it on?"

  He Chunxiang heard that the battalion commander was going to assign a task to her, and she couldn't help but feel a thrill in her heart. She couldn't help but be thrilled, since joining the troops, this woman with a gentle appearance and strong inner strength had always dreamed of killing Japanese devils with her own hands. Now hearing that the battalion commander was going to give herself a task, He Chunxiang actually trembled slightly.

  "Captain, go ahead and speak, I'm listening." Chun Xiang said simply.

  "The troops are preparing to send you back to Chuzhou for a long-term stay." Chen Jifan said slowly.

  He Chunxiang bit her lip tightly and didn't speak, but after a while she opened her mouth and said: "Two battalion commanders, is there something wrong with me? The troops don't want me anymore?"

  Hearing He Chunxiang's words, Zhong Dingcheng looked at her with a somewhat amused expression and said: "Chunxiang, where did you go? I said the battalion commander, can't you just finish speaking once? Look, it's not a misunderstanding?"

  Chen Jifan patted his head: "Right, Chunxiang, don't misunderstand. The troops are preparing to carry out intelligence work against the devils. Considering that your family was originally from Chuzhou and you're more familiar with the place, we want to arrange for you to set up an intelligence station in Chuzhou to provide valuable intelligence for the troops."

  "Camp leader, what's this intelligence you're talking about?" He Chunxiang's face was a question mark.

  "This is what intelligence refers to, the movements of the enemy, for example last time in Chuzhou at your home, we asked you about some things regarding the enemy and you told us what you knew, this is called intelligence."

  "Is it going back to gather information about the devils and then reporting back to you?" Chun Xiang seemed to understand but also didn't.

  Zhong Dingcheng stood up and walked to Chunxiang's front, saying: "Intelligence work sounds simple, but it's actually difficult and dangerous, because the devils are also on guard against us getting their intelligence at all times. To be an intelligence officer, one must first be infinitely loyal to the troops, secondly brave and meticulous, and thirdly have a spirit of not giving up until the goal is achieved. After careful consideration, we found that you are the most suitable candidate."

  "How can I be as good as what Officer said?" He Chunxiang's face turned red.

  Chen Jifan did not notice the change on He Chunxiang's face, and he added: "Chunxiang, intelligence work is more important and dangerous than any other job. We want to hear your thoughts, what concerns and demands you have, just go ahead and mention them."

  He Chunxiang fell silent for a moment before speaking slowly: "Battalion Commander, I'll go. But if I gather information about the enemy's movements, who should I report it to?"

  "In the early stages, you don't have to do anything, just live a normal life like ordinary people. After your neighbors dispel their doubts about you, we will send someone to contact you. If you've thought it through carefully, the troops will provide some funds for expenses, and you can use them to do some small business."

  "I understand this, doing small business is to avoid being detected. Two battalion commanders, I'm going! When will we set off?"

  "Chunxiang, the news of your departure is top secret within the troops, so when the time comes, we will arrange for you to leave secretly. Also, working in the belly of the enemy, you must be extremely cautious and absolutely cannot easily trust anyone, including those sent by the troops. This is discipline."

  "Ah, I understand this."

  "So get ready, we'll set off early the day after tomorrow. We'll prepare everything you need, including a contact password. No matter who comes to find you, only if they say the password accurately can you trust them, got it?"

  "I get it!"

  After He Chunxiang left, Zhong Dingcheng asked Chen Jifan what he thought. Chen Jifan blurted out: "The best candidate." The reason is that Chunxiang has a introverted personality and doesn't show off, she handles things calmly, and more importantly, women's intuition should be sharper than men's.

  Chen Jifeng continued to chat with Zhong Dingcheng about the troops themselves. Chen Jifeng said, "Old Zhong, have you thought about it? We can send spies to the enemy, do you think the KMT or the Japanese would be interested in us? Would someone try to infiltrate our 'Divine Eagle'?"

  "Need I say more? Although we are people of the future, when it comes to gathering intelligence, our predecessors can be our ancestors. Next step, we need to work harder internally, or else others will infiltrate right under our noses and we won't even know." Zhong Dingcheng looked worried.

  "Lao Zhong, I'm so glad you can think this way. You take care of this task and let Gao Huanjie join in too. This kid has a grasp on the inner guard squad. Our lives are in their hands. For anyone new joining the troops, if their background is unclear, we must secretly send someone to investigate. Remember, it's a secret investigation!"

  "No problem!"

  After the conversation, Zhong Dingcheng began another task of the "Eagle Eye" plan - training intelligence personnel.

  First, vacate the useless mountain stronghold (the one where I first met Song Guantao) to use as a training base. Then slowly select people, not focusing on quantity but ensuring they absolutely meet the standards.

  And Gao Huanjie also started ordering the inner guards to secretly pay attention to each link of the troops, and Gao Huanjie refused to do it, saying that he had traveled through time and space, how could he suddenly become a spy, this name is not very glorious.

  Of course, this is a joke, the work of internal guards is simply life, and Gao Huanjie dare not be vague.

  Following Chen Jifa's instructions, the inner guard squad first targeted Li Xiangtao, who was just a student and was now working tirelessly to mobilize the masses in several nearby villages. However, Chen Jifa did not want anyone secretly developing party members under his nose. If that were the case, most of the main forces in his own troops would be Nationalist soldiers, and doing so without eliminating the differences between the two parties would be like placing a time bomb in the army, just like what happened at Huangpu Military Academy back then.

  Apart from doing some mass work with Su Ni Hong and others, Li Xiangtao didn't have any other movements.

  "I hope so!" This was the only sentence Chen Jifa said after hearing it.

  More than half a month has passed, and the "Divine Eagle" troops have all replenished their personnel and are now intensively training. He Chunxiang had long taken the things prepared for her and set foot on the road back to Chuzhou County. Meanwhile, the internal guard squad was secretly conducting a thorough investigation but had not yet found any moles sent from elsewhere within their ranks. Instead, they had continuously welcomed several unexpected guests.