lovenovelstory Chapter 60 Intelligence is Key to Victory
Chapter 60 Intelligence is Key to Victory
Chen Feng finally woke up around noon the next day.
The house was damp from days of heavy rain, and today the sun suddenly came out, making it feel as stuffy as if we were in a steamer.
There was a pot of iced tea on the table. Too lazy to find a cup, he picked up the spout and took a few big gulps. The sweet and cool taste slid down his throat, which slightly dispelled his fatigue.
Chen Feng sat down on the bamboo chair by the window, tapping his fingertips lightly on the armrest, reviewing the gains and losses of the past few days.
In the battle to destroy the San Antonio supply depot, thanks to thorough prior reconnaissance and meticulous planning, the recruits, led by their platoon leader, pounced like tigers, routing the Independent Army and leaving no room for error.
However, incidents of theft of gold from churches occurred frequently.
First, Jerwell and his group interfered, their intelligence even better than Marilyn's, and they almost escaped with the gold through the secret passage; then Sato Ichiro arrived with a large Japanese army, and he almost became a sitting duck.
"Intelligence is the key to victory."
Chen Feng muttered to himself, then immediately called out towards the door, "Qian Biao, come in!"
"General!"
Qian Biao strode in, clutching a small booklet, his back ramrod straight, with fine beads of sweat on his forehead.
"Let's sit down and talk," Chen Feng said, pointing to the empty chair next to him.
Qian Biao cautiously moved his chair over, only daring to sit on half of it, his eyes fixed on Chen Feng: "What are your orders, General?"
"Has the gold from last night been counted?"
"It's all accounted for! We buried it under your bed overnight. Apart from Zhang Xiuwu's men, no one knows what's inside."
Qian Biao pointed to the bed, immediately opened the booklet, and read aloud in a low voice: "A total of 822 gold bricks, each weighing 10 kilograms, plus the gold artifacts buried with the church, totaling 875 kilograms of gold!"
875 kg!
Chen Feng glanced at the bed, his heart skipped a beat, and his fingers flew across the keyboard as he began to calculate.
Based on the current international gold price of $20.67 per ounce, this amount of gold is worth more than $58!
It's important to know that the U.S. military only provided the Free Army with $5000 in start-up funding. This windfall was enough to arm a fully equipped U.S. division. Even if they couldn't buy a complete set of U.S. equipment, it would be more than enough to recruit soldiers and stockpile supplies. They would never have to worry about military pay again!
Suppressing his elation, Chen Fengqiang asked again, "What about the supplies seized from the warehouse?"
"3500 Springfield M1863 rifles, over 50,000 rounds of ammunition, and daily necessities such as rice, noodles, and cured meat—enough to feed the entire army for a month!" Qian Biao reported the numbers accurately without any pause.
"The Independent Army is going to be heartbroken and begging for mercy this time!" Chen Feng laughed loudly, then abruptly changed the subject, "Qian Biao, what do you think of spies?"
"spy?"
Qian Biao's face darkened, and he gritted his teeth, saying, "These traitors are the most despicable! Does the general mean there's a spy infiltrated into our Free Army?"
Chen Feng waved his hand, "You misunderstood! I'm setting up an intelligence department, with you in charge, reporting only to me!"
Qian Biao shook his head violently, looking troubled: "General, I don't understand these intricacies, and I'm afraid I might jeopardize important matters!"
"If you don't understand, you can learn!"
Chen Feng spoke with certainty, indicating that he had already made his decision.
Among the Free Army, the most trustworthy person is Zhang Xiuwu. While he has a talent for fighting, his impulsive personality is clearly unsuitable for intelligence work.
Another suitable candidate is Zhang Xiuwen. He is much more composed and has clean relationships, making him unlikely to betray the family easily. However, his father, wanting the Zhang family to have an heir, does not agree to his joining the Free Army.
Pang Li has clean relationships, is clever, and ambitious, but he is too young and needs to gain more experience in a year or two.
The backgrounds of the other platoon leaders are still unclear; they have only come together by chance, and they cannot be entrusted with such an important task.
After thinking it over, Qian Biao is the only suitable candidate.
He's been with us for so long and hasn't made a single mistake, which shows he's extremely meticulous and attentive to detail.
According to Feng Qinlan and Zhang Xiuwu, he had no hobbies other than work. Whenever he had free time, he would follow Wu Dequan to read and write, showing great ambition.
Such talent, given enough opportunities, will surely succeed.
Qian Biao remained silent for a moment, then his eyes hardened: "Whatever the general asks me to do, this is the first time I've been treated like a human being since I started following you. My life belongs to you!"
"good!"
Chen Feng nodded approvingly and gave instructions one by one: "First, select people. Choose from core veterans and literate soldiers. They must have clean family backgrounds, keen observation skills, and be fluent in English, Spanish, or a native language. Anyone who is greedy, lustful, or gossipy should be fired."
Second, the structure. Set up two groups, each with two to four people, and station them in Malolos and Manila respectively. Group members only contact the group leader and do not know each other's identities to prevent the entire group from being exposed if one person is arrested.
Third, a hierarchical system. Intelligence is categorized into three levels: ordinary, important, and urgent. It is transmitted using coded messages. Written intelligence sent to dispatched personnel is destroyed after reading, and internal documents are top secret, accessible only to you and me.
Qian Biao gripped his pencil and scribbled rapidly in the booklet, the tip of the pencil scratching across the paper with a soft rustling sound, as if afraid of missing a single word.
"Give me a draft of the management rules by today, and I'll get started as soon as I've reviewed it," Chen Feng added. "The intelligence department will be allocated funds separately, and I will check the accounts monthly. No one is allowed to view them."
"clear!"
Qian Biao nodded solemnly and got up to leave to implement the plan.
Chen Feng was still tapping his fingertips lightly on the table, pondering whether he had overlooked anything, when he suddenly heard Feng Qinlan and Pang Li talking in hushed tones outside the door.
"That's all for now, you can go ahead and get busy." He waved to Qian Biao, then called out, "Feng Qinlan, come in."
"Brother Chen, you're awake?"
Feng Qinlan strode into the room, carrying a neatly folded military uniform in her hands.
"Is this a sample?"
Chen Feng's eyes lit up, and he immediately took off his dusty short jacket, revealing his well-built upper body, and casually took the military uniform.
This uniform, designed based on the German military uniform of World War II, is made of blue-gray wool fabric. It has a clean cut and a crisp silhouette, exuding a high-class feel of a tough and masculine man. It is far superior to the fancy uniforms of Spanish officers.
Feng Qinlan reached out to help straighten his clothes, her fingertips brushing against his arm. Her cheeks flushed slightly as she whispered, "Brother Chen, this was specially tailored to your size. Try it on... Compared to you, those Spanish officers I've met before are nothing but clowns."
Chen Feng raised his hand and tugged at the collar. The size was perfect, and there was no stiffness in raising his hand or turning his body. He couldn't help but praise, "Well done! Now that we have money, let's quickly purchase fabric from the Zheng family according to this design and equip all the soldiers with a set as soon as possible."
"And this too!"
Feng Qinlan pulled out a gray cloth military cap from behind her. The brim was crisp and the style was extremely handsome.
Chen Feng put on his military cap, the brim of which just covered his eyebrows.
He walked to the bronze mirror by the window. The person in the mirror was wearing a dark green military uniform, with straight shoulders, a leather belt around his waist, and a Mauser pistol slung across his back. He was no longer the disheveled man he had been when he first arrived in Luzon.