BSI Chapter 78 Developing a Puppet Army Intelligence Network
Chapter 78 Developing a Puppet Army Intelligence Network
Zhao Defa trembled with fear after being glared at by Zhao Gang. He replied nervously, "Sir, I have never harmed any Chinese people. I was forced into this company commander position."
"Oh?" Zhao Gang laughed. "Being a traitor to the Japanese can be forced?"
"Absolutely!"
Zhao Defa excitedly launched into his story: "We were originally part of the Ma Shun County Security Regiment. After those damned Japanese devils occupied the county town, our commander defected to them. He knew exactly where our families lived, and if we didn't obey, we would be silenced. That's why we were forced to work for the Japanese."
"However, I swear to God, I have never killed a single Chinese person while wearing this uniform! And every time I see you, Eighth Master, I voluntarily surrender my weapons."
"Hmm, at least you're honest."
Zhao Gang was initially quite serious, but he was still amused by the former.
Then he said, "You are all prisoners of war, so we can't release you yet. You'll have to come to our unit to reform your thinking first."
Zhao Defa choked up.
Sure enough, the Eighth Route Army wouldn't let him off easily.
Zhang Dabiao and the others were also stunned. Capture them and raise them? What's the point of reforming a group of puppet soldiers? Locking them up would waste food, after all, there are dozens of them.
Just then, a voice rang out.
"Political Commissar Zhao, I have a better idea."
Zhao Gang turned his head slightly, and the person speaking was Wang Yousheng.
Zhao Gang smiled gently and said, "Platoon Leader Wang, do you have any good ideas? Tell me."
Unlike some officers who don't give their subordinates a chance to speak, he wasn't like some other officers.
Wang Yousheng then said, "Why not develop them into inside agents?"
"Hmm?" Zhao Gang raised an eyebrow, instantly realizing what he meant. "Platoon Leader Wang, what do you mean?"
Wang Yousheng explained, "The puppet troops, in the end, are still Chinese, which is fundamentally different from the Japanese. There are only a few reasons why they surrendered to the Japanese."
"First, we had no choice but to work for the Japanese because of the circumstances."
"Secondly, they followed their superiors without any explanation and surrendered to the Japanese without understanding why."
"Third, he was captured by the Japanese and forced into military service, and was therefore threatened."
Fourth, those who are afraid of death.
"In short, very few people genuinely surrendered to the Japanese and wholeheartedly followed them in fighting China. After all, who would be willing to shamelessly become a lackey of the Japanese on their own land? Many people were not."
"That makes things much easier. These puppet troops are loyal to the country. As long as we have leverage over them, they'll willingly become our spies and provide intelligence!"
Wang Yousheng launched into a long speech, leaving everyone stunned.
Zhao Gang pondered. As a political officer, this was one of the tasks in the daily work of the military.
He hadn't thought of it thoroughly before, but now that Wang Yousheng had reminded him, he had.
However, it's difficult to say that puppet troops who haven't undergone ideological reform can be developed into intelligence personnel.
Zhao Gang understood Wang Yousheng's meaning. The Eighth Route Army originated from the people and was a true people's army. With the help of the people, their intelligence work was carried out very meticulously.
Generally, the method for dealing with puppet troops is to register their family information, such as where they live and how many people are in their families, door-to-door and village-by-village. With the help of the local people, obtaining this information is very simple, and there is no fear that the puppet troops will conceal it.
Then have the families of these puppet soldiers write letters to them, telling them not to oppose the Eighth Route Army.
Next comes the important part—publicity.
How to spread the word? By having people take megaphones and shout at the Japanese army's pillboxes and bunkers!
Aren't you working for the Japanese devils?
Okay, I'll call out to you: What's your name? How many people are in your family? How old are your parents, wife, and children? What are their names? Where do you live?
I'll list out all the bad things you've done and the good things you've done, making sure everything is crystal clear.
When the puppet troops heard this, weren't they afraid? Of course they were. Besides, the puppet troops didn't genuinely want to serve the Japanese, so they didn't dare to do anything bad or act recklessly. Instead, they provided intelligence to the Eighth Route Army.
The Japanese troops stationed in bunkers and pillboxes were usually very few, mostly consisting of puppet troops. The Japanese soldiers couldn't understand what the Eighth Route Army was shouting; only the puppet troops did. When the Japanese asked the puppet troops what they were shouting, the puppet troops would just make up a few things to cover it up.
The Eighth Route Army successfully intimidated the puppet troops using this method, and it proved to be a classic example of its effectiveness.
As long as they could get help from the puppet troops, the puppet troops would obediently comply and provide intelligence.
When the troops attacked the bunker, the puppet troops only fired shots into the air and dared not actually fire at the Eighth Route Army.
Many puppet troops even took the opportunity to join the Eighth Route Army as soon as they saw the Japanese being annihilated, and fought the Japanese alongside the Eighth Route Army.
That's the situation right now!
Zhao Defa dared not lead his troops to join the Eighth Route Army because he was oppressed by his superiors.
Now, it's not just superiors anymore, but also the Eighth Route Army...
He was besieged on all sides.
In this regard, Zhao Gang still reminded him: "Platoon Leader Wang, what you said is indeed correct, but they are prisoners of war now and need to be taken back to reform their thinking. Releasing them now may pose a hidden danger to our base in the future."
To put it simply, if Zhao Defa is released now, he might bring the Japanese to harass the base area.
Wang Yousheng said, "Don't worry, as long as we write down their home addresses and stuff, if they dare to do anything reckless, hehe..."
He wasn't afraid. As long as he had the Eye of Analysis, Zhao Defa dared to act as a double agent and would surely be killed without a trace.
Upon hearing this, Zhao Defa trembled. He had always suffered losses in front of this young superior, which had frightened him so much that he had fallen ill.
After careful consideration, Zhao Gang finally nodded in agreement.
Therefore, Zhao Gang ordered Zhang Dabiao: "Battalion Commander Zhang, register their home addresses first."
Zhang Dabiao looked completely bewildered, not knowing what was going on.
Of course, he did as instructed.
Soon, Zhao Defa and his dozens of men lined up and registered their names, home addresses, and the number of family members in their households.
Holding the roster, Zhao Gang smiled with satisfaction: "Alright, I'll release you today. We'll try to contact you, but on the condition that you inform us of any Japanese actions, understand?"
"Yes, sir!"
Zhao Defa replied tremblingly.
"Okay, you can leave now."
With a wave of his sleeve, Zhao Gang, under the urging of the soldiers, quickly withdrew from the village and disappeared from everyone's sight in no time.
After finishing his work, Zhao Gang sized up Wang Yousheng with a shrewd look in his eyes.
"Political Commissar Zhao, why are you staring at me?"
Being stared at by Zhao Gang always gave Wang Yousheng a creepy sense of oppression.
Zhao Gang said, "It's nothing, I just found that Platoon Leader Wang is quite politically conscious."
"Cough cough, this is serious."
Wang Yousheng gave an awkward smile. Did he have political ideas? He didn't think so. The reason he stopped Zhao Gang earlier was simply to save the troops some food.
After all, who knows if these puppet troops are opportunists? He glanced at them just now and their favorability towards the Eighth Route Army was basically zero, and some were even negative.
Not shooting those prisoners with negative favorability ratings on the spot was already considered merciful.
As for why they didn't dare to shoot them, the reason is simple: the Eighth Route Army couldn't easily kill prisoners, especially with the political commissar present.