Chapter 156: Finally In Power
“Secretary Li is truly knowledgeable. This is the first time I’ve heard that God Bless means something like this.” Chen Yang responded perfunctorily, casually placing his briefcase to the side, then taking off his jacket.
Li Ningyu deftly took the jacket and hung it on the nearby hanger.
“Knock knock knock,” a crisp knocking sound rang out at the office door,
“Section Chief Chen,” Chen Yang had just prepared to sit down when he heard the voice of Section Chief Kobayashi Shuzo of the General Affairs Section from the doorway.
“Section Chief Xiao Lin, what a rare guest. What brings you to my place? Please have a seat.” Chen Yang stood up and invited Kobayashi Shuzo to sit.
“No need to sit,” Kobayashi Shuzo said amiably: “I just came from the Minister’s Office. Minister Oshima wants you to go up. He has a mission for you.”
Hm, Chen Yang hesitated for a moment, then nodded: “Thank you, Section Chief Xiao Lin. I’ll go right now.”
Inside the Transportation Department building, the lights in the corridor were dim and flickering, the sound of leather shoes stepping on the wooden floor dull and rapid.
Chen Yang arrived at the door of the Minister’s Office on the third floor and raised his hand to knock three times.
“Come in.” A low and deep response came from inside…
In the office, Oshima Kenjiro stood with his back to the door in front of a huge military map, his red pencil viciously drawing a cross at the “Qinglong Gorge” location.
“Section Chief Chen, the military train escorted by Section Chief Matsushima was ambushed by guerrillas yesterday near Qinglong Gorge on the Huzhou Section of the Shanghai-Hangzhou Railway.” Oshima’s voice was hoarse and suppressed, like a piece of red-hot coal stuck in his throat.
Chen Yang did not respond immediately. His gaze swept over the scattered telegrams and documents on the desk. The top one was stained with red ink, faintly showing words like “106th Division” and “ammunition completely destroyed.”
Oshima slowly turned around, his eyes sinister, the corners of his mouth taut into a line.
“Two thousand rounds of ammunition, one hundred twenty barrels of gasoline, all destroyed, all destroyed… damn it…” He suddenly grabbed the tea cup on the desk and smashed it hard against the wall. Ceramic shards flew, tea flowing down the wall like a ferocious wound.
Chen Yang’s gaze lingered on the broken porcelain shards for an instant, then he calmly spoke: “So, early this morning, the Special Higher Police Affairs intervened in the investigation?”
“I heard Section Chief Matsushima has already been taken away for questioning.”
Oshima sneered, “He brought it on himself. I warned him long ago to be careful.”
“In less than a month, the First Section under his responsibility has successively experienced delays, destruction of materials, and multiple other incidents.”
“No matter how you look at it, there’s something wrong with his First Section. I’m not surprised at all that an intelligence leak happened in the First Section.”
“On the contrary, the Third Section under Section Chief Chen’s responsibility far surpasses the First Section in both confidentiality work and transportation efficiency.”
Chen Yang slightly bowed: “Thank you very much, Minister Oshima, for affirming the transportation performance of the Third Section. Achieving such results is the outcome of the united efforts of all colleagues in the Third Section.”
“Most importantly, you arranged it appropriately and were willing to give us the opportunity to perform, which allowed us to reasonably arrange transportation. All the merit should go to Minister Oshima.”
Oshima Kenjiro was very satisfied with Chen Yang’s performance. He nodded slightly, pulled open the drawer, took out a document, and flung it on the desk.
“From now on, all transportation lines previously handled by the First Section will be taken over by the Third Section.”
His finger heavily poked at a certain line in the document, “Including the special materials departing from Jiujiang the day after tomorrow.”
Chen Yang stepped forward, lowered his head to examine the document, his gaze quickly scanning over the dense forms.
“The Jiujiang line passes through an area with frequent guerrilla activity.” He frowned slightly, “For safety’s sake, should we change the route?”
“Follow the original plan,” Oshima thought for a moment. He grabbed a pen and heavily modified the document, “But switch to batch transportation. The first batch departs at four a.m. tomorrow, carrying only the category three materials marked with red stars.”
Chen Yang’s gaze fell on the pencil notation next to the “red star”: “Quinine—sulfonamide agents”
“If following the original route, I suggest adding armored vehicles for escort.” He said impassively.
Oshima was silent for a long time, pulled open the drawer, took out a bronze pass plate engraved with a chrysanthemum pattern on the head, and pushed it in front of him.
“Expeditionary Army Headquarters has already dispatched the 6th Armored Squad to participate in the escort mission.”
“The 6th Armored Squad has a total of four new armored vehicles and three transport vehicles, equipped with a large amount of heavy firepower. In theory, they can confront a Blue Army regiment head-on.”
“So, you don’t need to worry about safety issues.”
“However, don’t take it lightly. This batch of medicine directly concerns the survival of the frontline medical station on the southern slopes of Mount Lu.”
“If the mission fails, Mr. Chen, I’m afraid both you and I will be held accountable by the Inspection Department.”
Chen Yang took the pass plate with both hands, his fingertips touching the cold metal pattern.
“Do I need to hand over documents to the First Section?”
Oshima waved his hand: “No need. All of Matsushima’s people are under review.”
He paused, then suddenly coughed twice, his voice even more hoarse, “Go directly to General Affairs Section Chief Xiao Lin to pick up the new dispatch schedule.”
“Yes,” Chen Yang nodded and turned to leave.
Just as his hand touched the door handle, Oshima’s voice rang out again: “Two hours before departure, I want to personally inspect the train.”
Chen Yang’s movement paused slightly, “If departing at four…”
“You come to the warehouse at two a.m.?”
Oshima lit a cigarette and slowly exhaled a puff of smoke, “Yes!”
Chen Yang did not reply, merely gently closing the office door.
Returning to the Third Section Chief’s office, as soon as Chen Yang entered, Li Ningyu followed right in.
“Officer, is it good news?”
Chen Yang placed the bronze iron plate engraved with the chrysanthemum pattern on the table, “All personnel from the First Section are to be questioned by the Special Higher Police Affairs.”
“They suspect someone inside the First Section leaked intelligence, leading to repeated failures in the First Section’s transportation missions.”
“Our tasks will be very heavy next. I hope Secretary Li is mentally prepared.”
Li Ningyu hugged the documents and slightly bowed: “Please give your commands, officer.”
Chen Yang nodded slightly: “Go to Xiao Lin there to pick up the First Section’s dispatch schedule, then go to the First Section affairs office to get their recent transportation information.”
“I need to redesign the transportation mission.”
“Right, before that, first make me a cup of coffee. I think we might have to work late tonight. I need some, um, motivation.”
Li Ningyu closed the notebook with the records, inserted the steel pen into her chest pocket, and slightly bowed: “Understood. I’ll go handle it right away.”
As soon as she finished speaking, Li Ningyu gently closed the office door. Chen Yang looked at the bronze iron plate ahead, a flash of smugness in his eyes.
After investing so much effort back and forth, he finally received the deserved reward.
Transportation on the Wuhan frontline is now under my control…
