Chapter 255: If You Don’t Die, Who Will?
Arakawa Naoto frowned upon hearing this; of course he knew about this regulation.
It was well known that the Logistics Department was a department full of oil and water; as long as one was a leader in this department, everyone wanted to grab a spoon and dig a big piece out of this cake.
As a result, the supplies in the Logistics Department would inexplicably decrease a lot every once in a while.
As the Battalion Commander of the First Battalion of the Criminal Investigation Division, Arakawa Naoto naturally had to pay attention to such situations.
As a result, he made a telephone call to the Expeditionary Army Headquarters.
As for why he did not report directly to Shioguchi Shuzou, it was because he suspected that Shioguchi Shuzou was also one of the participants!!
And the final result was that the Expeditionary Army Headquarters directly called Shioguchi Shuzou’s office and gave Shioguchi Shuzou a good scolding.
Then, Shioguchi Shuzou ordered him to investigate the whereabouts of the missing supplies in the Logistics Department.
When he received the order, he was high-spirited, thinking that Shioguchi Shuzou had been reprimanded from above, and that the Expeditionary Army Headquarters had finally realized how greedy and incompetent this second-generation ancestor who got his position through relationships was.
As long as this matter was handled well, he would definitely receive appreciation from above.
But to his disappointment, after investigating for a long time, he still could not find any useful clues.
After investigating for a long time without finding any clues, just when he was frustrated, the Expeditionary Army Logistics Department issued a notice that in the future, the receipt and dispatch of Logistics Department supplies would require the involvement of a third-party department, and it would only take effect with the joint signatures of three people.
Originally, the Expeditionary Army Staff Department said there was no need to go to such trouble, but the Expeditionary Army Logistics Department Minister directly rejected it bluntly: It must be done this way; I’m afraid someone will say that I am also embezzling supplies!
To be honest, this requirement for a third party to sign together was caused by him, Arakawa Naoto; if he shirked it now, how could he explain it to the Expeditionary Army Headquarters?
“Alright, I understand. I’ll go with you now.”
Even though his body was weak and even though he was unwilling, Arakawa Naoto still struggled to get up and followed the Logistics Department Lieutenant out unsteadily.
Logistics transportation was quite tedious; it was not like one could just open one’s mouth, load the goods onto the cars, and then set off directly.
Once the supplies left the warehouse, they had to be signed for, inspected, and the vehicles checked; anyway, it was quite tedious.
While loading the vehicles, Arakawa Naoto frowned and said, “Clearly, the supplies can be loaded with ten vehicles; why use fifteen? This is too wasteful!”
The Logistics Department Lieutenant explained unhurriedly, “Major Arakawa, these vehicles have been in service for a long time; some wear and tear on the vehicles is perfectly normal.”
“To avoid reduced vehicle transport efficiency due to excessive load, we prepared five extra vehicles; this is also to ensure the supplies are transported on time.”
This explanation left Arakawa Naoto unable to refute, but he frowned again and said, “However, with so many supplies, is it not too unsafe to only assign one small team of twenty Security Regiment members to escort?”
The Logistics Department Lieutenant was slightly impatient; nonsense, if there were more escorts, how could we cooperate with that organization to intercept the supplies?
He suppressed his inner impatience and explained with a troubled expression, “All the Military Police manpower has been deployed to arrest the Communist Party, aiming to wipe out all the Communist Party underground party in Wanping at once; we really cannot spare any manpower.”
“But rest assured, the distance from Wanping to Baoding is only about one hundred kilometers, all within our control area; it is very safe.”
Arakawa Naoto wanted to say something but did not know what to say; plus, with his poor physical condition, he felt unsteady even standing, really had no strength to argue further, so he could only nod helplessly and irritably shut his mouth.
The Logistics Department Lieutenant secretly curled his lip and continued directing the movement of supplies.
By the time everything was done and the supplies were loaded, it was already dark.
“Major Arakawa, really sorry to keep you waiting.”
After loading the last box onto the vehicle, the Logistics Department Lieutenant said with a hint of weariness.
“It’s all work requirements; I can understand. Since everything is ready, we should be able to set off now.”
Arakawa Naoto was not feeling well; although he had taken antidiarrheal medicine, his body exhausted from diarrhea could not recover in a short time.
He now just wanted to get in the car quickly, complete the task, and go back to rest well; he missed the bed in the dormitory.
“Of course. Then I wish Major Arakawa a smooth journey.”
The Logistics Department Lieutenant nodded with a smile and waved toward the checkpoint ahead.
The next moment, the entire convoy started moving.
The Security Regiment had a total of twenty men, riding in the last vehicle, closely following behind the convoy.
The convoy traveled for about an hour and a half, having driven about thirty kilometers out of Wanping, arriving at the Liangxiang area.
Just as the vehicles passed a narrow road flanked by high earthen slopes on both sides, a long, sharp screeching sound rang out, and the lead vehicle stalled instantly.
The driver Oshita Shuzou cursed “Baka yarou,” jumped out of the vehicle, grabbed a tool, and began inspecting the vehicle with a flashlight.
“What’s going on!”
The roads of this era were not as smooth as those of later generations, and the vehicles did not have the shock absorption of later generations.
Although a normal person could still bear it, as mentioned, that was for a normal person!
Arakawa Naoto, already frail with his anus nearly turned inside out from diarrhea, felt completely numb after more than an hour of jolting.
He only felt as if his buttocks no longer belonged to him, and his stomach kept churning, with waves of ejection urges continuously assaulting his fragile nerves at that moment.
The vehicle suddenly stopped, and he was not angry; instead, he felt a sense of relief.
He got out unsteadily and asked, “What’s going on?”
Oshita Shuzou, lying under the vehicle pretending to inspect, said, “Major Arakawa, the vehicle has broken down; I am checking it.”
After a while, after “checking,” Oshita Shuzou reported bad news: “Major Arakawa, the vehicle needs repair, but we did not bring professional repair equipment, so we cannot fix it; I need to go back to headquarters to get tools.”
“Nani?!” He had just been relieved that the vehicle stopped in time, avoiding him becoming a spraying warrior, but upon hearing this, Arakawa Naoto panicked and angrily said:
“Baka! Are you joking?! It’s an hour and a half from here to Wanping; round trip is three hours, plus repair time; there’s no time at all!”
“Quickly, move this vehicle aside and let the ones behind pass first! Move the items from this vehicle to the others!”
He suddenly felt a bit fortunate now; luckily that damn Logistics Department Lieutenant had assigned five extra vehicles to distribute the load; now with one vehicle broken down, the supplies could completely be moved to the others.
But before he could finish feeling fortunate, Oshita Shuzou had an excuse ready and feigned helplessness while pointing at the road:
“Major Arakawa, this narrow road can only pass one vehicle at a time; with the vehicle broken down and unable to start, how can we move it aside?”
“The only solution now is to repair the vehicle.”
Arakawa Naoto looked, and sure enough, the narrow road that could only pass one vehicle was completely blocked, and the vehicle could not start.
“Baka yarou! Damn it!” Arakawa Naoto was thoroughly furious and rebuked, “Didn’t we already check the vehicles at the warehouse? Why would such a problem still occur!!”
Oshita Shuzou looked aggrieved, “Major Arakawa, this is not my fault; these vehicles are all old ones with plenty of issues; no one knows when a problem might arise.”
“No problem during the previous check does not mean no problem after driving for a while; no one can guarantee that.”
This explanation left Arakawa Naoto speechless; he did not understand vehicle repair, and discussing vehicles with a driver was like brandishing a saber before Guan Yu.
Then why arrange these old transport vehicles?!!
He really wanted to rage like this, but he knew that saying it now was pointless and could only forcibly hold back the curses.
The most important thing now was how to solve the problem!
“Then tell me, what should we do now!” Due to emotional agitation, Arakawa Naoto felt his stomach surge, with an urgent impulse rushing downward, making his face instantly flush red.
He clamped his legs tightly, gasping roughly:
“Grain transport cannot be delayed; this concerns the rations of the brave soldiers fighting bloody battles for the Empire on the front lines!”
“If the grain transport is delayed and punished from above, I cannot bear this responsibility, nor can you!!”
Oshita Shuzou sneered inwardly: You still want to wait for punishment from above?
Better think about where you’ll be buried today!
Among all the Imperial soldiers in Wanping, you’re the holier-than-thou one, huh!
You even dared to report to a higher authority and escalate the matter to the Expeditionary Army Headquarters?
You touched everyone’s cake; if you don’t die, who does?
If we can’t solve the problem, surely we can solve the person raising the problem?
As long as you’re dead, all problems will be resolved effortlessly!
With a smiling reassurance on his lips: “Major Arakawa, please rest assured; it won’t delay. We don’t need to return to Wanping; we can go directly to Liangxiang to borrow a set of tools; round trip will be quick.”
“I’ll take a deputy driver to Liangxiang to get the repair tools; you stay here with those people to watch; we’ll be back soon.”
Arakawa Naoto vaguely felt something was off, but could not pinpoint what.
Before he could think further, his stomach rumbled loudly, and his face instantly paled.
“Alright, go quickly and come back quickly…” After saying this, Arakawa Naoto could no longer hold it and immediately ran behind a stone.
Immediately after, a “splatter” sound came from behind the stone, accompanied by Arakawa Naoto’s groans of both relief and pain.
Oshita Shuzou, seeing all this, laughed inwardly and gave a look to another driver; the two immediately went to the end of the convoy and had all the Security Regiment men get out.
“Your vehicle is requisitioned!”
Hearing the vehicle was requisitioned, the Security Regiment men looked at each other, but none dared to object and obediently gave up the vehicle.
