Warlords: Rising from the Northwest Border and Sweeping Across the Powers

Chapter 194: The Situation in Shanghai Is Serious and the Secret Intelligence Department Is Eliminat

At the Governor's Mansion in Yong'an City, after receiving a call from his father-in-law Yang Jiakai, Su Zhengyang thought for a moment and immediately called the supreme commander of the Skeleton Division, Division Commander Ike.

"This is the headquarters of the SKULL Division. I am the division commander Ike."

"The Southern Government's 200,000 elite troops, led by Bai Qigang, are ready to march straight into Bizhou and capture Shanghai. Have you received any specific information?"

"Report to the Governor! I have received the latest news from the Northwest Intelligence Bureau and have made all the military deployment and preparations. Please rest assured, Governor. As long as the city survives, the people will be there. If the city is destroyed, the people will die. All my colleagues in the Skeleton Division will defend Shanghai and not give up an inch of land. We will fight to the death with the Southern Government Army!"

"Do you need me to provide you with some support?"

"Governor, I am very clear about the current situation. The only one who can support us as soon as possible is the Feng Clan, but they are too busy to do anything else. The last barrier of the entire Shanghai City is our Skeleton Division. Although the enemy's strength is more than ten times that of our army, I have absolute confidence that I can keep the enemy out of Shanghai and make the aggressive Southern Army return in defeat!"

"Since you have made all the necessary preparations, I am relieved. Remember, if you can save the people but lose the land, both the people and the land will remain. If you can save the land but lose the people, both the people and the land will be gone. As long as you have the green mountains, you will not be afraid of running out of firewood. If you cannot withstand the huge pressure from the Southern Government's army, you can temporarily abandon Shanghai and retreat to the Huizhou border of the Feng faction if necessary!"

"I understand Governor!"

"Shanghai is now in your hands. Our Linzhou headquarters must currently guard against threats from the Kwantung Army of the Mongolian Fuso. Once the defense blockade is completed on the grassland, I will immediately seize the opportunity to dispatch troops southward to deal a head-on blow to the Northern Expedition Army."

In the southern part of Bizhou, Qingshan City, the 9th Northern Expedition Corps, with Bai Qigang as the commander-in-chief, is temporarily resting in Qingshan City, ready to set off for Shanghai at any time.

When he received the news that an army of 200,000 was heading straight for Shanghai, Ike made a decision immediately to abandon all cities in Bizhou except Shanghai, defend Shanghai, and fight a war with the Northern Expedition Army around Shanghai.

As time went by, the news that Shanghai was about to turn into a Shura battlefield spread like wildfire and intensified. Most of the wealthy businessmen and celebrities in the city rushed to pack up their belongings and head north to Huizhou, intending to temporarily avoid the war. Only a few poor people at the bottom of the society who were unable to escape were left in a state of constant anxiety.

With the help of the Municipal Center, Ike began to disperse the people in the southern and western parts of Shanghai, as well as Fengxian District, Jinshan District, and Qingpu District. He established a large number of temporary shelters in the city, completely designated these three districts as military defense zones, and began to build a large number of defensive fortifications in preparation for fighting the Ninth Northern Expedition Corps.

In Jiading District in the northern part of Shanghai, in an unremarkable civilian neighborhood, there is a seemingly ordinary gambling house. The owner of the gambling house is a local gangster, known as Brother Xiong. Although he is fierce and aggressive, he is very righteous and upright, and is quite popular among the lower-class people nearby.

In the huge city of Shanghai, there are many hooligans like Brother Xiong who gather 20 to 30 thugs and run some small and medium-sized side shops in civilian neighborhoods.

But no one knows that Brother Xiong, who appears to be foul-mouthed, with a face full of flesh and a street-speaking air, is actually the director of the secret operations department of the Southern Central Intelligence Agency in Shanghai.

In the basement of the backyard of the gambling house, there is a secret room of dozens of square meters, which contains several secret radio stations to provide the intelligence agency headquarters with the latest information at any time.

At this time, Brother Xiong, who had a face full of flesh and looked at least 1.9 meters tall, like a blind bear spirit, was hugging a prostitute who was wearing a cheongsam and looked very seductive. The two of them walked through the lobby of the gambling house, talking and laughing, and came to Brother Xiong's room in the backyard.

After closing the door, Brother Xiong put away his frivolous smile and said to the woman in front of him, "Does the superior have any new orders?"

"The superiors asked you to send people to collect specific information about Shanghai's city defense, the military defense deployment of the SKELETON DIVISION, the location of important firepower points, etc. as soon as possible. Once we get the specific intelligence, it will be time for our army to launch a general attack."

Brother Xiong frowned and said, "Now the Skull Division has divided three sections of the city into officer areas. Anyone who enters rashly will arouse suspicion and may even be shot on the spot. This mission is not easy."

"We must find a way to complete the orders given by our superiors, no matter how difficult they are. This is the meaning of our existence!"

"I'll figure it out."

In the gambling house hall outside, several shabby-dressed, haggard-looking gamblers were gambling around the gambling table. For these old gamblers who had no food to eat, even if Shanghai was about to fall into war, they would come to the gambling house on time to give money to the dealer.

In a dark alley opposite the gambling house, several young men dressed as students and looking very immature gathered together.

"Have you figured out whether this is the secret contact point of the Southern Government's Central Intelligence Agency in Shanghai?"

"Don't worry, we have intercepted the secret telegram of the Southern Government. This is the headquarters of the Shanghai Secret Operations Department hidden in the city. The owner of the gambling house, Xiong Sihai, also known as Brother Xiong, should be the director of their operations department."

"There are at least ten intelligence personnel in the entire base. On the surface, they are casino clerks and dealers, but in fact they are spies of the Southern Government."

"Should we try to find a way to get in and find out what's going on inside?"

"No need. Once a stranger appears in the gambling house, it will definitely arouse suspicion. We can notify the Military Police of the Skull Division to cooperate with our actions. Since we have already found their lair, we can directly wipe out their secret operations department with the force of thunder and lightning."

Twenty minutes later, a convoy consisting of three military trucks and a dozen jeeps stopped on Blackwater Street where the gambling house was located. Five hundred soldiers from the Military Police of the SS Division acted extremely quickly and, together with intelligence personnel from the Northwest Intelligence Bureau, broke directly into the backyard of the gambling house.

"Commander! This is bad. We may have been exposed. A large number of soldiers from the Totenkopf Division have already attacked us."

Xiong Sihai was slightly startled, and then he made a prompt decision: "Find a way to delay time. I will go and destroy all the intelligence files and radio stations. They must not fall into the hands of the Skull Division."

As soon as Xiong Sihai finished speaking, the dense gunfire had subsided. The military police captain Ace led a large number of soldiers and rushed in, pointing the cold muzzles of their guns directly at Xiong Sihai's forehead. Facing the stern-looking military police soldiers, Xiong Sihai did not dare to act rashly. He raised his hand and pretended to be confused and said, "My fellow soldiers, what do you mean? The government affairs center has not issued a decree prohibiting the establishment of casinos."

"Are you still playing dumb with me, Chief Xiong?"

Xiong Sihai's heart sank. Ace hit Xiong Sihai on the head three or four times with the butt of his pistol, and blood splattered everywhere.

"Take all the people away and search this courtyard thoroughly. Don't leave any inch of land untouched!"

In this way, apart from the Restoration Society, the most secretive intelligence department of the Southern Government in Shanghai was also eradicated by the Skeleton Division. It seemed simple, but in fact it was a fishing net laid by the Northwest Intelligence Bureau for ten months, and it was not until today that the net was completely closed.

The first round of battle ended with the complete defeat of the Southern Government. Without the intelligence support from the inside, the entire Ninth Corps was completely in the dark about the deployment of the Skeleton Division and was unable to find any loopholes in the Skeleton Division's military deployment.