1.

On July 7, 1937, the Japanese troops stationed at Lugou Bridge asked to enter Wanping County in the southwest of the Forbidden City to search for missing Japanese soldiers on the grounds of searching for missing Japanese soldiers, but the Chinese garrison in the county town sternly refused, and the Japanese army immediately launched an attack on Wanping County and Lugou Bridge, completely shattering the false peace on the surface.

The sound of gunfire on the Lugou Bridge rang out for several days, and even the people living in the depths of the alleys of the Forbidden City could hear it clearly, and from time to time Japanese bombers swooped down and flew low above the Forbidden City, and the sound of the high-speed rotation of the propellers on the planes pressed the eardrums of everyone in the city, as if to indicate that the invading army might drop a bomb at any time.

For a time, the people in the Forbidden City were panicked, and those big families in the city who had heads and faces spent a lot of money to buy train tickets and boat tickets at all costs, and fled south one after another. A suffocating panic is spreading to every corner of the city.

On July 25th, the sky of the Forbidden City was densely covered with layers of dark clouds, and there was a great atmosphere of "black clouds crushing the city and wanting to destroy the city", and the black pressure was like the dark clouds of the outbreak of war, covering the entire city thickly and densely. Shi Guoyi and another old teacher, Chen Chen, sat in a pavilion in Tsinghua Garden, both of them holding a burning cigarette between their fingertips, and looked at the dark and dreary sky silently.

"This little devil is outside the city, and he has been fighting for a few days. Chen Chen took a hard puff with the cigarette roll in his mouth, and then exhaled a long breath vigorously, watching the cigarette spew out of his mouth and nasal cavity, curling up in the dull air for a long time. "I have an old classmate who works in Jinling, and he sent me a letter a few days ago, saying that while little Japan is carrying out encirclement and suppression operations in Pingjin, we have mobilized its fighting forces, and on the other hand, it still has the spare strength to send planes to attack and harass the areas of Jiangsu and Zhejiang. At the moment, it's just a little fight, just against the virtue of the little devils, I'm afraid that this war will burn all over the country, and it will be the common people of China who will suffer!"

Shi Guoyi usually doesn't smoke much, and at this moment he lit a cigarette just to relieve the suppressed emotions in his heart, he lit a cigarette but didn't smoke, just watched the cigarette roll burning on his fingertips, and the wisps of smoke on the cigarette butt floated up, stirring up in the stuffy air, like a mess in his heart. Suddenly there was a muffled sound in the cloudy sky, and at first I thought it was just thunder, but the sound gradually intensified, and this density could not be the sound of thunder at all, presumably the Japanese were bombarding somewhere in the distance.

The current situation is so chaotic that people can't have any luck ideas, but after all, Shi Guoyi has received a few years of education in the West, and there is still some idealism in his bones: "The current situation is very tense, but the foundation accumulated in China for thousands of years is not something that the small country in Dongying can eat in just a few years." Didn't the Nationalist Government already say -- 'We will not give in, we will not expand, we will not seek war, and we will resist the war.' The shame of 18 September is enough!"

Chen Chen sneered: "If you don't give in, you will fight the war, the Nationalist Government is just what it says! I heard that the commander of Jinling City Jiang can't even take care of suppressing the Communist Party now, and the little devils haven't hit them in Jiangsu and Zhejiang yet, and he is already ready to lead his troops to move west." If the Kuomintang army really had the determination to fight to the death, the three northeastern provinces and Shanhaiguan would not have fallen!"

Shi Guoyi threw the cigarette roll to the ground, crushed it with his toes, and sighed. Chen Chen's words were straightforward and cruel, mercilessly shattering the last luck in his heart, but he had to admit that his colleague's words were correct.

The Japanese troops outside the city have been besieging the city for so many days, and the city guards in the Forbidden City have suffered a large number of casualties, and the defense line is gradually crumbling day by day; according to the basic situation of the garrison now, even from the best point of view, the day of the breach of the city is probably only within half a month. The mortars and aircraft bombs of the little devils, like the sword of Damocles hanging from the Greek throne with thin horsehair, could fall at any time and deal a fatal blow to the already scarred Forbidden City.

"As far as the current situation is concerned, the fall of Pingjin is only a matter of time, and according to the Kuomintang's way of doing things, they will not send people to support a precarious city, which is nothing more than a waste of time and troops for them. Chen Chen took a short cigarette in his mouth, took a hard puff, then snuffed out the cigarette butt, and said: "Once the Pingjin area falls, the next step for the Japanese army will definitely be to march into Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai." If the surnamed Jiang really plans to give up resistance and move west directly to the Chuanqing area, then most of China will really fall into the hands of the Japanese devils. ”

Shi Guoyi sighed and didn't answer, in fact, he couldn't answer anything. Chen Chen is an old teacher of history, and his analysis of current affairs has always been accurate, in fact, as early as the fall of Shanhaiguan, he had already expected today's results, but the little idealism in his heart always made him indulge himself in a little bit of luck, hoping that the Japanese invaders would stop, or that the national army would fight back and defeat the invaders.

It's a pity that thoughts are just thoughts after all, and everything he worries about still happened, and it seems to be much earlier than he expected!

At the corners of the pavilion, a little drop of water began to fall, and it became more and more dense. Shi Guoyi and Chen Chen looked up at the same time, and saw that the rain that had been brewing in the sky for a long time finally fell down tricklingly, and the raindrops fell on the top of the pavilion, and the sound became louder and louder...... The irregular sound of rain sounded chaotically, like the chaotic minds of the two people.

2.

The development of events is even more serious than everyone imagined!

On July 29, 1937, under the siege of artillery fire by the Japanese for nearly a month, the Forbidden City fell.

Fortunately, the Japanese army did not stay in the Forbidden City for long, avoiding the slaughter of this thousand-year-old imperial city. However, as Chen Chen said earlier, the Japanese army quickly reorganized and mobilized its troops, crossed the Yellow River through the North China Plain, and then went all the way south, and the artillery fire went straight to the Yangtze River, pointing to Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai.

According to the news that Chen Chen's classmates had brought back from Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai, after the 13 August Incident, the Japanese landed in the Yangtze River Delta region, and Jinghai City is now a dangerous city; not long after the news of the Japanese army's pressure on the border reached Jinling, the Kuomintang presidential palace was already empty.

Shi Guoyi looked away from the microscope and rubbed his aching eyebrows, but he felt more and more tired. The actions of the Nationalist Government disappointed him again and again -- first the "policy of non-resistance" on September 18, and then the indifference to the Pingjin area; now that the Japanese had already fought at their doorstep, it stands to reason that they should fight against the water, and the man surnamed Jiang actually directly issued the order to move westward, handing over the Yangtze River Delta region to the enemy...... This back and forth has completely wiped out the idealism in his heart!

What kind of cowardly government has been raised in the middle of China, which will condone other countries to invade their own doors, but still does not choose to fight back, but chooses to blindly escape!

Shi Guoyi didn't want to think about it anymore, and his restlessness made him unable to continue the experiment quietly. He stood up and stretched his waist slightly, which was numb from sitting for too long, took off the white coat on his body, took off his glasses, and reached out to rub his face vigorously, trying to clear his chaotic brain a little.

The door of the laboratory was suddenly knocked on at this time, Shi Guoyi felt a little strange, the current situation has been a little chaotic recently, the Japanese have just occupied the Pingjin area, and they don't know when they will be "interested", so they will come and sweep twice. For the safety of the students, Tsinghua Park temporarily closed the school for this time, the students did not come to class, and the teachers basically stayed at home, except for a few guards at the door and a boring person like him, who had nothing else to do but do experiments, there was no one else in the school.

In that case, who will knock on the door now?

Shi Guoyi turned around by the windowsill and said, "Please come in." As he walked to the table, he touched his glasses and put them on again, and when he looked up, he saw that the door was open, and a young woman was standing at the door, with a smile on her face, and her facial features were exquisite. She was wearing a beige windbreaker, which wrapped her graceful figure, and there was a capable temperament in her charm, which made people can't help but look at her twice.

Shi Guoyi thought that a colleague who couldn't be idle like him came to talk to him, but when the door opened, it was such a woman who came to the door, and he was suddenly surprised. He studied in Cambridge, England, and he still knew about gentlemanly demeanor, so he didn't directly ask the woman what the purpose of coming here was, but bowed first and said, "Hello, this lady, may I ask who you are ......?"

Before Shi Guoyi could finish speaking, the woman bowed to him and interrupted him: "Excuse me, are you Mr. Shi Guoyi?"

Shi Guoyi was about to answer her "yes", but suddenly realized that when the woman in front of him spoke, the Chinese pronunciation was slightly blunt, and suddenly a bad premonition arose in his heart, so he left an extra eye and asked her: "Are you looking for Shi Guoyi?"

"Oh, by the way, introduce yourself. The woman smiled slightly, not seeming to notice the subtle change in Shi Guoyi's tone. She reached into the inner pocket of her windbreaker and took out a red-covered document, handed it to Shi Guoyi, and said, "My name is Reiko Morisaki, and I am now the head of the intelligence team of the Special High School of the Imperial Japanese Empire. When I was in the Northeast, I admired the name of Shisang for a long time, and it is really a blessing to see it today. He bowed again.

Shi Guoyi's face became very ugly when he heard Reiko Morizaki say his name, and when he heard the words "special high class" next, the whole person froze in place.

The Special High School Section, known as the "Special Higher Police Division", is a well-known espionage organization in Japan, established in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and subordinate to the Japanese Ministry of Internal Affairs. Initially, the Special High School was an institution to deal with domestic events, but with the Japanese invasion of China and the needs of other countries in the Far East, the functions of the Special High School gradually changed. A rather noticeable change is that while the officials of Japanese embassies and consulates in foreign countries are engaged in intelligence work, they also cooperate with other espionage and intelligence agencies to carry out espionage activities.

Before the establishment of the special high school in China, the Japanese had already begun to carry out large-scale intelligence gathering activities in China, the most representative of which was the "Black Dragon Society," which was once widely active in the interior of China. Later, in 1906, Japan set up the "Iljinkai" in Korea to spy on secrets, and this organization made great contributions to Japan's annexation of Korea. Since then, Japan's intelligence agencies in the Far East have expanded aggressively.

It can be seen from this that the special high school course played an important role in the war of aggression against China, and it was called the nail inserted in the heart of China together with the four major secret agencies of "Meilan Zhuju" later. After the Japanese army invaded the three northeastern provinces, in each area occupied by the Japanese army, a special high school section was set up in the "police station of the Japanese consulate" to be responsible for carrying out spy activities and espionage activities.

As for the later "Mei Lan Zhu Ju" four major organs, they were in charge of the spy work in the four major regions: the "Mei organ" was the code name of the highest Japanese spy agency in central China, and the behind-the-scenes manipulator of this organ was the Wang puppet government established by Wang/Jingwei; the "Lan organ" was the highest organ of Japanese spies in South China, and its main task was to plot against the Kuomintang generals in the southern Xinjiang and Guangxi regions; and the "bamboo organ" was mainly responsible for the North China region and plotted against those bigwigs who used to be in military and political circles, such as Duan Qirui and Zhang Zuolin of the Beiyang government; The "Ju Organ" was responsible for carrying out rebellion against the commanders of the Fujian-Guangdong Border Army.

The first special high school was established in Northeast China, that is, after the September 18 Incident, the three northeastern provinces fell, and the Guan/Eastern Army established the first special high school in the Liaoyang area. Now that the Forbidden City has also fallen into the hands of the Japanese invaders, it will not surprise Shi Guoyi that there are members of the special high class here. But now that the people in the special high class have actually taken the initiative to find themselves, then some things may become very complicated.

"Special high class?" Shi Guoyi repeated in a sullen voice, his tone no longer carrying that kind of gentlemanly respect, and he did not hide his disgust for the Japanese at all, "Shi is just a small university teacher, and he has not made any great contributions, how can he afford to give a 'long admiration' from the leader of the special high school!

Reiko Morisaki was still smiling, but the smile on her face now made Shi Guoyi feel palpitations and uneasiness, and only heard her say: "Shi Sang is modest, I originally worked in the Northeast, and I was only transferred to the Pingjin area recently. When I was in Liaoyang, someone often mentioned Shi Sang's name and his experience of studying in the UK to me, which made me feel very impressed. ”

Shi Guoyi sneered: "What Team Leader Morisaki said made me feel even more confused. He grew up in Shanhaiguan since he was a child, and came to Kyoto to study in the year of the Guangxu Restoration, and then went to England, and after returning to work in Tsinghua Garden, he moved his family to settle in the Forbidden City for the convenience of work. If you want to talk about Liaoyang, someone has lived for most of his life, and he has never stepped into the three eastern provinces for half a step, where can anyone mention me?"

Reiko Morisaki said with a smile: "Shi San may not have been to the Northeast, but there, there are classmates who studied with you at Kangqiao College back then. ”

Shi Guoyi was stunned: "Who is it?"

Reiko Morisaki clapped her hands, and the door to the laboratory opened, revealing a middle-aged man with a big back, a black coat, and a mustache. As soon as this person walked into the laboratory, he met Shi Guoyi's glaring eyes, the expression on his face suddenly became cramped and uneasy, and he opened his mouth for a long time, and said, "Senior." ”

Shi Guoyi snorted and sneered: "I thought it was a great person, it turned out to be you!"

The middle-aged man in front of him is called Pei Lin, who is Shi Guoyi's junior at Cambridge College in the United Kingdom, two levels younger than him. Shi Guoyi didn't know that he was from the Northeast, he only knew that he was a child of a big family, even if he was abroad, he didn't worry about spending money, and studying abroad was not for any studies, but to have an identity of "returnee", so that his father could help him find a job in the government and go through the back door easier.

This man spends his days in bars and dance halls, spending all his days drinking and not wanting to make progress, and relying on the money in his family, he dictates and bullies and insults those students from those families, but he flatters and flatters those foreigners, and most people are not used to him. Pei Lin didn't take these people who looked down on him seriously, the only thing he was afraid of was Shi Guoyi alone.

Shi Guoyi is usually amiable to others, but if he is serious and not angry and arrogant, no one dares to confront him. Moreover, this Pei Lin has been allergic to pollen since he was a child, Shi Guoyi stood in front of him coldly, and he was already half of his strong and dry goods;

"If Pei Sang hadn't told me, I wouldn't have known that there were still people like Shi Sang in this Forbidden City. Morizaki Reiko said, "I believe that Shi-san is also a cheerful person, so I won't say much nonsense." We came to visit this time to ask Shi Sang to do us a small favor. ”

Shi Guoyi smiled dryly: "Thanks to the two of you who can afford Shi Mou, but I'm sorry, I just said that I'm just a stinky teacher, and I've just been fooling around abroad for a few years, so I haven't made much progress." If the two of them really need someone to help, Shi is really embarrassed, and I hope to ask another master. ”

Morizaki Reiko said: "Shi-san, don't refuse so quickly, you can listen to what I say first." ”

Shi Guoyi had already made up his mind in his heart, no matter what the other party said, he would refuse, no matter what, he couldn't be a traitor like Pei Lin, so he immediately said: "Then please talk about it first." ”

"It's not a big deal. There was a playful look on Morizaki's face, "It's just that San gave us something when we needed it." ”

Shi Guoyi asked, "What is it?"

Reiko Morizaki looked at him directly, and said gloomily: "I need what Shi-san gave me, it's called - Seven Heart Begonia!"

【To be continued】