Chapter 10

Originally, Yang Zhen was somewhat impatient because he couldn't think of a solution, but when he heard the sound of Guo Bingxun tapping his fingers, which seemed to be a tune, he raised his head and looked at Guo Bingxun for a long time before saying, "Brother Guo, what tune are you tapping? It sounds quite nice."

Guo Bingxun smiled and said, "This is a traditional folk song called 'Picking Flowers,' which is widely popular in Sichuan. I often heard the soldiers sing it when I was stationed in Sichuan, and I have always liked it, so I memorized it. Whenever I feel troubled, listening to it always improves my mood."

"Seeing that you seemed a bit restless just now, I didn't know what you were thinking, so I felt it was inappropriate to ask. I just couldn't help but tap the tune, hoping it would help you calm down," Guo Bingxun smiled and said.

In response to Guo Bingxun's words, Yang Zhen shook his head and said, "I don't have much knowledge of music, and I might be a bit tone-deaf. I wouldn't say I like it, but it does sound nice. But, Brother Guo, I want to ask you, do you understand radio communications, especially Morse code?"

When Yang Zhen asked if he understood radio communications and Morse code, Guo Bingxun, who was quick-witted, immediately guessed Yang Zhen's intention. However, he was still somewhat uncertain and said, "What do you mean, Brother Yang?"

Yang Zhen didn't answer his question but instead demonstrated an action. He lifted his handcuffed hands and lightly tapped the wall. The sound he made was not loud, and the Japanese guards in the corridor wouldn't hear it. Although Yang Zhen was confident that the sound wouldn't be heard in the corridor, he wasn't sure if it could be heard in the next cell. The building was very sturdy, and there were no shoddy construction practices like in modern times. Looking at the thick walls, Yang Zhen needed to try a bit to determine the right force to use to get the attention of the next cell without alerting the guards in the corridor.

Seeing Yang Zhen's actions, Guo Bingxun's eyes lit up. The response from the next cell surprised him even more, and he fully understood Yang Zhen's intention. Guo Bingxun said excitedly, "When I first joined the Sichuan Army, I served as a communications officer for over a year. Although I'm not an expert in Morse code, I believe I'm not far off."

Hearing Guo Bingxun admit to his expertise in radio communications, Yang Zhen was somewhat surprised and looked at him. After two days of interaction, Yang Zhen found him to be extremely proficient in staff duties. Now, learning that he also understood communications, Yang Zhen felt somewhat incredulous. This unassuming man turned out to be a versatile talent. Such a person would be highly valued anywhere, so how did he end up as a prisoner?

Seeing Yang Zhen's skeptical gaze, Guo Bingxun smiled and said, "When I was studying at Saint-Cyr Military Academy, one of my instructors once told me that a qualified operations officer must understand the importance of communication security in war."

"Modern warfare is determined by many factors, but it's not solely about the number of troops and equipment. The smoothness of communication, the ability to effectively organize forces, and the security of transmitted orders are also crucial. In modern warfare, radio has replaced pigeons and human messengers as the primary means of communication for the military, especially at the campaign level."

"Even in the near future, radio communication will replace bugles and flag signals as tactical communication methods. Therefore, communication security can determine the success or failure of a battle or campaign."

"Many military operations fail due to leaks during the communication process. If your communication codes are deciphered by the enemy, your overall deployment will be exposed, and no matter how hard you try in battle, it will be difficult to win."

"Encouraged by him, I used my free time to learn a lot about communications. After a few years, although I didn't become an expert, I could at least send and receive messages and decipher some simple codes. Because I had this knowledge, I was always in the communications department when I joined the Sichuan Army. Later, due to the war against Japan, I was transferred to the staff department as an operations officer."

At this point, Guo Bingxun looked at Yang Zhen and continued, "What truly made me interested in communications and put in a lot of effort was the rumors I heard about your army after joining the Sichuan Army."

"During your so-called Long March, whether it was the Central Army or the local factions, they repeatedly failed to intercept your army. Especially after the Battle of the Xiang River, your army seemed to have a premonition and could easily avoid the enemy's encirclement."

"When I heard these stories, I knew there must be a problem. Although your party is known for its infiltration capabilities and there are many of your people in the various factions, the timely and accurate information couldn't be solely attributed to spies."

"The Central Army is one thing; after all, you have worked together for many years, and there is a mutual infiltration situation. This cannot be completely resolved by mere slaughter. Even our highest authority cannot completely eliminate your party's influence in the Central Army. I imagine there are many of your people in the Central Army."

"But the local factions are different. Although I returned from abroad, I joined a local force due to my father's influence. Although the time was not long, I knew that many local commanders preferred to control their troops through their relatives. Many commanders are interconnected, and key positions such as staff officers and adjutants are often held by their nephews."

"You can infiltrate the lower ranks, but it's not easy to infiltrate the upper ranks. Many local warlords have a stronger grip on their armies than the Central Army. They know that with the army, they have everything, and without it, they are nothing."

"Therefore, I believe that the most likely reason your party and your army can obtain intelligence so quickly is that you have deciphered our communication system. Although the Nationalist forces have widely adopted radio, their communication methods, especially their codes, are far behind those of Europe and America. Many codes are very simple and easy to decipher."

"Even the Central Army's codes are not much better. With the strong support of the Soviet Union, I imagine you have many trained experts."

"With the strong support of the Soviet Union, deciphering our codes should not be difficult for you. Additionally, I have been wondering if the Soviet Union provided you with special listening equipment, which is why your methods are so advanced. Often, when we are deploying, your forces are on the move and cannot set up radios, yet they can still accurately predict our detailed plans. I have never understood this."

Yang Zhen was repulsed by Guo Bingxun's suggestion of Soviet support. However, he knew that most Nationalists believed this. They thought that under the same ideological lineage, the Soviet Union would provide significant support to the Nationalists.

Although Yang Zhen was somewhat displeased with Guo Bingxun's question, he knew he needed to clarify things to avoid future misunderstandings. He hesitated about how much to reveal without compromising security.

Yang Zhen did not know if he and his fellow prisoners would ultimately escape. He had not considered that much. His primary concern was finding an opportunity to fight to the death, rather than becoming a test subject for the Japanese biological warfare. He did not dare to think about whether they would succeed, as he had not even formulated a rough plan.

Although he did not know if they would survive, Yang Zhen did not want to reveal too much information that was already common knowledge in the future but was still classified in this era. However, he knew he had to answer the question.

He knew that Guo Bingxun's question was more about testing his sincerity than probing for secrets. Before his capture, Yang Zhen was just a small company commander and a regular enemy work officer in the division headquarters. He had no access to such classified information. If such information was known by a small company commander, the relatively weak Communist Party would have been long destroyed. It had taken ten years of war to achieve what they had.

Despite his dislike of Guo Bingxun's somewhat cunning approach, Yang Zhen knew that caution was necessary in such a dire situation. Even if he had previously admired Guo Bingxun, he needed to be cautious. This was a matter of life and death for hundreds of people. If the collaborators did not trust each other, it would be a disaster for everyone.

This did not even consider the ten years of civil war that had created deep-seated mistrust. Yang Zhen had heard his communicator, Little Tiger, call Guo Bingxun a "white dog" and the captured Nationalist soldiers on the train refer to him as a "Communist." This mutual distrust could not be easily overcome or changed by the harsh environment. Yang Zhen knew that mutual sincerity was the foundation of cooperation, so he had to answer the question.

After some thought, Yang Zhen said, "Brother Guo, you are mistaken. We do have some methods for deciphering your codes, but the idea of Soviet support is unrealistic. Our people were trained more by your Nationalist forces than by the Soviets."

"Many of our people are former Nationalist prisoners of war. They, especially those from the Central Army, are familiar with many of your Central Army radio operators, as they were classmates."

"To put it simply, they are so familiar with each other that they can identify their classmates by their radio transmission style and know which unit they are in. My previous unit had several radio operators who were former Nationalists. I learned this while working in the division headquarters. As for other methods, I don't know at my level."

Not wanting to continue this topic, Yang Zhen said, "Brother Guo, you are proficient in radio, but does your subordinate in the next cell understand it? If he doesn't, our tapping will be like a deaf man hearing thunder."

"He is a bandit, and he knows a lot about murder and arson, but he knows nothing about radio. However, one of the two people in his cell is a former radio operator from the 122nd Division of the Sichuan Army, captured in the battle of Teng County. This radio operator has a complex background. If I'm not mistaken, he is a military intelligence agent planted in the Sichuan Army."

When saying this, Guo Bingxun showed some hesitation. Clearly, he distrusted and disliked the military intelligence agents and was wary of them.

Hearing Guo Bingxun's hesitation, Yang Zhen smiled. "This is not the time to worry about military intelligence. We can deal with those issues later when we are free." Just as Yang Zhen was about to comfort Guo Bingxun and ask him to set aside his prejudice, the cell door opened, and several Japanese guards pushed a man, covered in wounds, into the cell. Seeing the new arrival, both men stopped their conversation.

Read the latest, ad-free, and error-free novels at .Com, your best choice!