Although the conversation was not easy it paid off to talk to them both. For instance when Voronov asked if a wind rose of the region was available, Mr. Liu commented that it wasn’t but the predominant wind direction could be figured out by looking at big sand dunes and small trees. The longer slope of the dunes indicated the coming direction of the winds and the pitch of the trees the going direction.
This was something Voronov had not realized before.
When Selivanov returned to the office they headed off again. Now the truck was full of heavy bags.
“Potatoes, rice, lentils and some canned food,” commented Selivanov.
They crossed a small tributary of Black Irtysh River and after an hour arrived in a valley full of tents.
“Let’s have a walk around first,” suggested Selivanov ,“Then I’ll show you your tent. We have a troop of geologists and a transportation brigade. We even have an artist and a doctor.”
“An artist?”
“Yes, he paints the posters and banners. Here is one of them, you see, near the entrance to the canteen tent.”
The poster showed a squatting man. The inscription beneath read
IF YOU DON’T WASH YOUR HANDS AT LEAST THREE TIMES A DAY - YOU WILL HAVE TO WASH YOUR BOTTOM TEN TIMES A DAY!
“Our doctor has asked the artist to support his efforts in promoting hygiene and good health,” said Selivanov. ”Let’s go inside, there are more.”
Another poster depicted a man looking at a sharply curved woman passing by. It was titled:
A LECHEROUS EYE WILL GET YOU A SYPHILITIC NOSE.
And finally there was a man with a greenish face and red nose rising a glass of liquor. To his right a fat British guy in a top hat was also rising his glass. This vice was explained with:
DRUNKARDS TOAST THE IMPERIALISTS EVEN IF THEY ARE NOT AWARE OF IT.
“This is the tent of the liaison officer,” said Selivanov, “Let’s pay him a visit.”
The liaison officer had the military rank badges of a major of the engineering troops though it was clear that he was commandeered by the NKVD.
He was sitting on a wooden box in front of an improvised table also made from wooden boxes. On the wall there was one more poster showing two men talking excitedly with a fat British man standing around the corner apparently eavesdropping.
A BLABBERMOUTH IS A TREASURE FOR A SPY, read the warning ominously.
“Comrade Voronov I presume,” said the liaison officer. Voronov could hear a slight accent. “I am Jan Kalnins. Welcome to the project group. Have you been briefed in Almaty?”
“Yes, sure Comrade Kalnins. Also I have been instructed to inform you in the case of any unforeseen events.”
Looking at the poster he thought it better not to mention the unofficial briefing by Selivanov yesterday.
“Then get settled in. I’ll have a talk with you within the next few days.”
Voronov collected the mattress and bed linen from the supplies tent and eventually was led to his tent which he was supposed to share with another engineer expected to arrive after a week.
He started to work the very next day. After 4 days of continuous study of the maps and a lot of walking around he concluded that the best site for the runway would be along a small tributary. Two local Uigurs confirmed that in the spring when the snow in the mountains melted the river became a torrent but it only got broader by a maximum of about 4 meters.
He sent the assessment report with a courier (who commuted between the site and Urumqi every week) and started to work on the construction material order.
Kozelski, the chief engineer of the project, was a geologist and had no knowledge about construction. He questioned Voronov’s suggestion to level the ground of the future runway as much as possible but not to cover it. Voronov explained that there was no way to bring so much cement to the site. Tarmac was also out of the question. A natural runway was much less dangerous then one covered by thin cement or tarmac. Following the big temperature fluctuations and mechanical strain the surface could cause cracks which would have fatal consequences for the pilots. Grudgingly the chief engineer agreed.
During the next there weeks the forty man strong troop of workers were kept busy levelling and cleaning the area from bigger stones and vegetation. To fill the holes after removing the bigger stones they had to manually carry baskets filled with smaller stones and empty them in the holes. Since no bulldozer was available, a truck was loaded with sandbags and driven back and forth for two days to further level the ground. The workers were Russians, Kazachs, Uigurs and some Chinese, even one Korean. Despite the language differences the working atmosphere was good and cheerful.
The work was making good progress when the weather changed, with heavy fog covering the valley for three days. The average visibility was less than fifty meters.
Looking from the end of the runway in the direction of the mountain slopes Voronov noticed a hill with some unclear structure on the top.
How could he have missed it before?
Suddenly he had an idea. The electricity supply should be available in a few weeks. Then a cable could be brought to the top of the hill and there a small tower could send red light signals. This would allow the pilots to see the runway from as far as three kilometres. This would make an approach under foggy conditions easier.
He decided to explore the hill the next day.
“Have you seen anything special?” a voice in accented but acceptable Russian asked him from behind.
He turned around. It was Chun In-Hwan, the Korean technician supervising a troop of his workers.
“Oh, it’s you. I have just noticed this hill. No idea why I haven’t seen it before. Do you know what’s on the top?”
“Have never been there but the Uigurs told me there are some old ruins. Perhaps it is an old Mongol lamasery or something of this sort.”
“I would like to climb up there tomorrow. It could be a good site for a signal tower.”
“If you need any help, I would be keen to come with you?”
“Why not? Let’s say tomorrow at six in the morning?”
They climbed the hill for 3 hours. From far away it looked like it would be doable within twenty minutes but that’s a typical misjudgement in the mountains. Though their breathing was laboured they managed to chat a bit about their pasts.
Chun told Voronov that he originally came from the Heilongjiang province where he started his carrier in a construction company. Due to Japanese aggression in Northern China he decided to move to the western parts and found a job in Urumqi where he was recruited by Soviet technical consultants. The fact he could speak a bit of Russian was helpful in getting this job.
Finally after having arrived at the top and taking a short break, they started to look around. The view from the hill was magnificent. Voronov found it a pity that the beautiful valley beneath would be defaced by the mine’s construction.
Between the boulders he could recognize a wall made from carefully laid stones and a ruin of what he supposed might be a tower. Behind the tower there was a small yard or maybe it was previously a hall. Voronov noticed that the surface of the ground was bulging. He kicked the surface. Unexpectedly the surface started to sink and crashed. He lost his equilibrium and fell into the hole. The fall lasted for just two seconds but Voronov had badly bruised his elbow and his left lower leg. It was dark inside with only a thin beam of light coming from above. He searched his pockets for a matchbox, found one and lit a match. What he saw stunned him. On a pedestal made of mud and stones there was a statue of a deity ornamented with different stones, most likely gems. The body of the statue looked like being made of gold. He lit another match. On the floor he could see several leather bags. The leather was hard and dry. He tried to open one but couldn’t. Finally using some force he managed to open it. The bag contained rolls with a text in a language he had never seen before.
“Comrade, everything all right?” he heard Chun’s voice.
“Please stretch in your h
and, I can’t get out of here.”
Chun helped him to get out and asked if he could go down into the hole to have a look.
Now it was Voronov who had to stretch his hand to Chun. Once back on the surface Chun was silent for a few moments.
“Wow, I have never seen something like that in my life.”
“Me too. Let’s go back quickly. We need to inform the chief engineer.”
“Sure, he will be very pleased when we tell him.”
Voronov didn’t notice that Chun managed to hide one roll under his anorak.
The temperature was rising and they had to walk slowly. Chun drunk a couple of times from the rivulets but Voronov decided to endure the thirst rather than risk becoming sick.
Contrary to their expectations the chief engineer Kozelsky was not pleased at all. Voronov and Chun have been reprimanded for being absent from work and indulging in sightseeing and amateur archaeology.
“There are a lot of historical sites in this area,” he said, “Our task is to complete the processing facility within the timeline, preferably ahead of schedule. I will not tolerate wasting our time for something like that!”
In the evening Chun became sick.
“I told him not to drink from the rivulets,” thought Voronov.
Chun was brought to the doctor’s tent. This infuriated Kozelsky even more.
“Malingerer, hypochondriac?” he rudely asked.
The doctor confirmed his suspicion of dysentery.
“What! Dysentery? This is not what we need here. Tomorrow a truck leaves for Urumgi. Send him with them to the hospital.”
Then he left.
The doctor shook his head.. “You know,” he said to Voronov, “It’s always like this. Just between you and me, working in the mines is not good for anyone’s health. Don’t know why they are digging there and what for, but those working in the mines lose weight and hair and are frequently sick. And he just does not believe it.”
Being an indefatigable worker and without any private life (his wife eloped with a journalist three years ago) Kozelsky saw work as being the sole purpose of life. The only excuse he accepted was a fatal condition, thus other sick persons were in his eyes malingerers and loiterers. Jokes and just good mood were equally suspicious. They meant a relaxed state of mind which was incompatible with hard working.
On the next day the truck departed to Urumqi with the unfortunate Chun stretched out on the floor. The driver brought him to the hospital and drove off.
After making sure that the truck has left, Chun’s condition improved dramatically. He walked onto the street, looked around and headed for the bazaar. There he found a small shop and entered the door.
Chun In-Hwan was not his real name. Although he was indeed a Korean he was not a construction technician but a lieutenant of the Imperial Japanese army. Having served in Korea for two years he attended a class in Russian after being recruited by military intelligence.
The shopkeeper Pak Pyong-Ho was also a Korean. His business was doing very well. The valuables confiscated during the arrests could not be sold locally. First of all nobody was willing to buy them since this could attract Sheng’s security’s attention and they could “re-confiscate” them. Furthermore one never knew what the future might bring. The prisoners of today may become the winners tomorrow and take revenge for buying of their property. This had already happened in the past.
Thus the service of Pak was very useful. He sold the valuables to Shanghai with a handsome profit and supplied Sheng’s “financial commissars” with cash. This also allowed him to be best informed about ongoing repressions and other relevant news. Apart from trading with confiscated goods he also dealt in medicines, cosmetics and other products which were in short supply in Urumqi.
After listening to Chun, Pak completed a purchase order and immediately went to the post office to send a telegram to a wholesaler in Shanghai. It contained a lot of figures – catalogue codes and amounts of ordered goods.
A few hours later the wholesaler received the telegram and brought it to the office of the Japanese Military Attaché where it was deciphered. With the rapidly escalating Sino-Japanese conflict and the occupation of Shanghai being the question of the month the office of military attaché had other priorities but they forwarded it to the military intelligence office in Harbin. Since it was all about the Soviet activities in Xinjiang they believed their colleagues there would be the best persons to deal with that.
Harbin 1937
1
The puppet state of Manchukuo was under the military commando of the Kwantung (also known as Guandong) army. On the one hand the government in Tokyo was proud of this elite force but on the other they increasingly grew cautious of it. Over time the Kwantung army became a sort of state in state. They started to act on their own accord and frequently ignored the instructions from Tokyo especially if they were coming from civilian officers.
The assassination of Manchurian warlord Zhang Zuolin and the infamous Mukden incident were, among other actions, all plotted by Kwantung officers ignoring the directives from the government.
Though the Commando of the Kwantung army was located in Changchun, the army intelligence group dealing with the Soviet affairs (a division of so called Signal Security Agency (SSA)) was operating out of Harbin. The group was led by Lieutenant Colonel Shun Akigusa and had an impressive staff of specialists on Russia. Akigusa himself was fluent in Russian and had participated in Siberian Intervention during the Civil War. Their model was the legendary Doihara Kenji. Colonel Doihara didn’t direct operations out of his office but undertook several covet missions in China himself. Being a polyglot, including several Chinese dialects, and a proponent of bold actions, he managed to successfully complete several missions. Among the most spectacular one was the accommodation of the deposed emperor Pu Yi at the premises of the Japanese concession in Tianjin. During Pu Yi's residence in Tianjin, Doihara befriended the former Emperor and appointed the fugitive White Russian general Semionov to lead the bodyguard commando of Pu Yi. The secret Buddhist sect Bailianjiao (White Lotus) had plotted to assassinate Pu Yi. In co-operation with the British authorities in Tianjin Doihara managed to uncover the plot and destroy the sect. This earned him a lot of fame and respect from the local international community. Referring to the famous Lawrence of Arabia one British newspaper named him The Lawrence of China. At that time the Brits could not foresee that very soon they would get an opportunity to experience the efficiency of the Imperial Army in a way they would not have wished for.
In summer of the year 1937 the intelligence department in Harbin had been really busy. Just in July the infamous Marco Polo bridge incident had turned the hostilities with Kuomintang China into a whole scale war. Though the Harbin department was not dealing with this directly, it meant that the current priorities had been shifted from Russia to China and consequently they could not expect additional resources to be allocated. In their area of responsibility the events were also changing rapidly.
Another focus of the Kwantung army and Harbin intelligence was Inner Mongolia. The overall plan was to spread Japanese influence further to the western provinces later incorporating them into Manchukuo. The area was scarcely populated and did not have meaningful industrial or agricultural potential but it would serve as a buffer between the Soviet-controlled Outer Mongolia and Manchukuo. The Kuomintang troops had left the province Qahar two years ago following the agreement between General Qin and Kenji Doihara. Thus there was no need for a military action though some Manchurian troops had been deployed there. This much more feasible approach seemed to be winning over the Mongolian princes and public leaders. Furthermore this would enable them to take the area away from the Kuomintang influence and, at a later point, use it as the starting point to counter the Soviet control of Outer Mongolia. The leading role on the Mongolian side was left to Prince Demchigdonrov. Two top officers of the Harbin department – Shishimura and Nakashima had been permanently assigned as his advisers. In 1935 Demchigdonrov
met the newly enthroned Pu Yi and agreed to incorporate the territories under their control into Manchukuo. At the same time the propaganda section of the Harbin department was working very hard, spreading the pan-mongolian ideology and promoting the creation of a Great Mongolian State – Narmaj Mongol Ulus. This included posters, pamphlets and financial support for the agitators. Some undercover agents were sent out to influence reluctant local leaders. In February 1936 the Manchurian army and Mongolian units have invaded the neighbouring province Suiyuan. At a conference in May a goal was set of founding a Mongolian state including the Outer and Inner Mongolia and the province of Qinghai. Demchigdonrov was elected as its president.
The Kwantung army granted the newly founded “state” the immediate support of 500.000 Yen (2.4 million US$ today). Encouraged by this support and initial successes Demchigdonrov's army tried to expand the offensive towards the south of Suiyuan. Despite not only financial but also direct Japanese military support, the attempt failed. During this campaign the Harbin department contributed by conducting sabotage in the hinterland of Kuomintang forces. They managed to blow up a big supply depot in Datong but this could not help to prevent the defeat.
The treasure of Galdan Page 6