Chapter 254: Who Approves? Who Opposes?
“Our Jiangshan?” Onodera Ken’s interest was instantly piqued. He quickly got up, and the two of them left the private room, led by Lin Su, walking with steady steps towards the most mysterious private room on the third floor.
Several beautiful serving girls stood by the door of the private room.
Seeing Lin Su leading Chen Yang and Onodera Ken over, two serving girls immediately stepped forward and opened the sliding door to the left and right.
Onodera Ken looked up and was startled.
The room was packed with many people, and they were all old acquaintances from the logistics line.
Colonel Takeda Nobuyasu, the Minister of Logistics for the Hangcheng Garrison Command.
Horikita Yutaka of the Hangcheng Gendarmerie Headquarters…
Yoshizawa Kita Taro, the person in charge of the Nanjing Material Transfer Warehouse,
Colonel Takagi of the 26th Mixed Brigade,
Major General Chief of Staff Kujo Masaharu of the 23rd Division, and others. Upon seeing Chen Yang and Onodera Ken enter, these people quickly stood up.
Chen Yang walked directly to the head seat and sat down, also signaling for everyone to sit.
Everyone took their seats…
“Minister Chen!” Takeda Nobuyasu’s voice was like a thunderclap.
At this moment, he didn’t even use honorifics like “Your Excellency.” “What do you mean now? We agreed on two material deliveries per month, and now the materials we have are almost a week late!”
“What do you mean? Are we still doing business or not?”
Chen Yang signaled for the other person to calm down: “Colonel Takeda, please calm your anger.”
Onodera Ken said indifferently from the side: “Takeda-kun, the Nomonhan Incident is urgent. The Kwantung Army Headquarters and the General Headquarters have strictly ordered that all resources must be prioritized towards the north. This is the highest order. I am also in a hurry, but we must all listen to Chen-sang’s arrangements; he is the executor.”
“You’re in a hurry? I think you’re using this as an excuse to make things difficult!” Takeda slammed the table. “Don’t think I don’t know! Your Expeditionary Army has always had an opinion of our South China Army! Your materials can pass without obstruction, but we have to wait!”
“Colonel Takeda!” Chen Yang’s expression also darkened, and his tone became firm. “Please watch your words! Material allocation is decided based on battlefield priorities, not personal preferences!”
“If you have any objections to the order, you can appeal to the Kwantung Army Logistics Department, or directly to the General Headquarters! But until a new order comes down, the priority of northern transportation is unshakable!”
Uh, Takeda Nobuyasu was so choked that he couldn’t speak, his face turning red. He couldn’t possibly ask them, a group of people who were secretly selling materials, to send a telegram back to the homeland demanding that the priority of northern material supply be stopped so they could sell more materials.
If such words were to reach the ears of Minister of Inspection, His Excellency Kujo Eiji, damn, no one would be able to live.
Major General Kobayashi Asasaburo, the Minister of Logistics for the Central China Area Army, slowly stood up. Unlike Takeda’s impetuousness, his eyes behind a pair of round glasses were as deep as water.
Without shouting, Major General Kobayashi stood opposite Chen Yang, stared at him with cold eyes, and slowly said, “Chen-sang, the Central China Area Army is responsible for maintaining order in the vast regions of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Anhui, a heavy responsibility.”
“Now, because we have to make way for the north, our supplies are cut off. If this leads to a deterioration of public order in the occupied territories, or even large-scale resistance incidents, can you bear the responsibility?”
“Or, do you have someone behind you, instructing you to weaken the strength of our Central China Area Army through this?”
The threat in these words was more chilling than Takeda’s roar.
Chen Yang’s heart was awestruck, but he remained calm and said, “General Kobayashi, you speak too strongly. If the war in the north is unfavorable, the empire’s foundation will shake. How can there be order in Central China? This is the logic of ‘lips and teeth.'”
“Please bear with us for a few more days, General. Once the northern situation stabilizes, the material supply will resume.”
“During this period, if there are any particularly urgent needs, you can submit a separate application. I will do my best to coordinate a ‘special channel,’ but the quantity cannot be large.”
Kobayashi Asasaburo snorted coldly, clearly not satisfied with this answer, but also knowing that further argument was futile. He nodded slowly, “Then please, Chen-sang, coordinate well.”
Following this, the Marine Corps stationed in Shanghai, and even logistics officers from different divisions, all spoke up, questioning, complaining, or threatening.
Chen Yang could only repeatedly emphasize the immovability of “Northern Priority,” while at the same time, he appeared to “empathize” with some of the complaints, promising to “strive my best” and “record it,” and for obvious threats, he would not back down at all, emphasizing that he was executing military orders.
“Chen-sang,” Colonel Horikita of the Hangcheng Gendarmerie Headquarters said worriedly, “I know that manipulating transportation is indeed very difficult for you.”
“But I have to tell you the truth.”
“We can trust you, but those soldiers won’t be so naive.”
“They only believe in tangible silver.”
“Just give me a deadline. When will things return to normal? I need to give them an explanation when I go back!”
“An explanation?” Chen Yang’s gaze narrowed slightly, and the corner of his mouth curved into a slight arc. “Colonel Horikita, do you mean you can’t handle your subordinates?”
Isn’t that obvious!
If I could handle them, I wouldn’t be here trying to gain favor.
When they have no money, they come to my office with samurai swords to reason with me. If I could handle them, I wouldn’t need to grovel to you.
Horikita didn’t get angry, but instead stammered an explanation: “That’s not what I meant. It’s just that, Chen-sang, as you know, working and getting paid is only natural.”
“Everyone is risking their lives for their work. If they don’t have money in hand, they will always feel uneasy.”
“The empire’s efforts to investigate corruption cases are already more stringent than other cases.”
“If something goes wrong, it will be a bloodbath.”
“Chen-sang, we risk our lives, only to seek wealth and status.”
“If there’s no money, I’m afraid, I’m afraid they…”
“Yes, as the saying goes, traveling a thousand miles to be an official is only for wealth.” Chen Yang nodded his head, “I understand everyone’s difficulties.”
“However, this matter concerning the Southern Transportation Department is not as simple as helping someone with something, or trying to put someone in their place, or trying to get some benefits.”
Chen Yang slowly clapped his hands.
The door was slowly pushed open, and several serving girls carried in a meticulously prepared transportation map.
After placing the panorama map, they bowed politely and withdrew.
Chen Yang stood in front of the map and looked around at everyone, slowly saying, “Everything we are doing is centered around the transportation route map.”
“This map shows a total of fourteen transportation routes, long and short, including the Qing-Gan Line, Ping-Han Line, Ping-Jin Line, Nanxun Line, Hu-Yue Line, and so on, and so on.”
“This is the Jiangshan we have fought to win for over a year.”
Everyone gathered around the map and studied it for a while. Someone pointed to the north of the map curiously, “Chen-sang, these areas?”
“Oh, don’t worry about those places for now. That’s the territory of the South Manchuria Railway, we haven’t taken it down yet.” Chen Yang shrugged.
“And now, this is our opportunity.”
“To be frank, this is a very good opportunity to make money, and also a very suitable opportunity for expansion.”
“Therefore, I have designed a plan. Starting from June 13th, I will coordinate the procedures for material entry and exit from all levels of the logistics department at once.”
“The material transactions that were originally planned for three months will be compressed into one month.”
“Please rest assured, all sellers and customers have been arranged.”
“Materials will be handled by five major chambers of commerce: Jin merchants, Hui merchants, Min merchants, Zhe merchants, and Hu merchants.”
“As for weapons, medicine, and other materials, there will be dedicated personnel to follow up, ensuring everything goes without a hitch.”
“I have studied the material situation of everyone here and have made thorough preparations.”
As he spoke, Chen Yang clapped his hands again, and the door opened once more. A group of serving girls holding trays slowly walked in.
Each tray held a supply entry and exit proposal. Chen Yang nodded slightly, and the serving girls placed their documents in their respective positions.
Everyone curiously picked up the documents on the table, which detailed the specific materials they were to transport every two to three days starting from June 13th.
The original frequency of two to four shipments per month increased to ten shipments. For places with large material storage centers like Nanjing, Hangcheng, and Shanghai, it reached thirteen shipments.
They were truly preparing to strip the land bare and sell it.
With constant rustling sounds, everyone was shocked by Chen Yang’s bold operation.
Finally, Colonel Horikita was the first to stand up and ask, “Chen-sang, actually, there’s no need to push so hard.”
“If you make the material entry and exit so tight, it’s easy to exceed the transportation capacity, and that could lead to major problems.”
“Major problems?” Chen Yang said slowly, “With me here, there won’t be major problems. Moreover, the South Manchuria Railway has made a military pledge, and they will be responsible for compensation if there are any issues.”
“If you want to catch crabs, can you be afraid of getting pinched?”
“Please rest assured, what is the transportation limit for others may not be so terrifying for me.”
“If they can’t, I certainly can!”
“Chen-sang,” Colonel Takagi from Nanjing said in a deep voice, “If we agree to cooperate, how much benefit will we get?”
“Controlling the transportation dominance benefits your transportation department, but you make us take such a big risk, and you get all the benefits.”
“This doesn’t seem very fair to us!”
Chen Yang’s expression remained unchanged, and he nodded slightly, “Colonel Takagi, you are indeed very sharp.”
“That’s right, I do want transportation dominance, and I even want the Southern Transportation Department to control China’s transportation, weaving a vast network for us.”
“Looking at it this way, our transportation department does seem to be gaining more benefits.”
“However, I invited you all aboard to share in this meal, and it cannot be just talk.”
“Tonight, I have prepared a grand feast, and everyone will have something to eat.”
“Clap, clap,” Chen Yang clapped his hands lightly.
The side door of the private room was suddenly pushed open, and dazzling golden light stimulated everyone’s eyes.
At this moment, everyone held their breath. On the side of the private room, a circular platform appeared before them, on which stood a mountain of gold.
You read that right, it was a small mountain made of gold.
“Everyone, this is the main course for tonight, the mountain of gold.”
Chen Yang walked to the front, turned around, and faced everyone, “There are three tons of gold here, with a market value of 3.5 million US dollars, nearly 10 million Japanese Yen.”
“It is a gift that I have specially prepared for everyone.”
“If you are willing to join, then Boss Lin Su will deliver the amount of gold you receive into your hands.”
“If you are not willing, I will not force you, but I must remind you, there is no turning back.”
“Alright, I have finished speaking. Who agrees, who opposes…”
“I agree,” Colonel Takagi was the first to stand up and express his support…
Since someone took the lead, it became much easier.
Soon, a large group of logistics officers came forward to express their agreement, and even Major General Kobayashi quickly joined them.
June of Showa 14, i.e., June 1939.
The Japanese and Soviets had a major conflict near the Khalkhin Gol River. The origin of this conflict was the issue of unclear borders!
At that time, the border between “Manchukuo” and the “Mongolian People’s Republic” was vaguely defined, and both sides had disputes over the ownership of the Khalkhin Gol region.
Mongolia believed the border was on the east bank of the river, while Japan and Manchukuo believed the Khalkhin Gol River was a natural dividing line, and the entire east bank belonged to “Manchukuo.”
Of course, this was only the superficial issue. A deeper layer was the Japanese probing the strength of the Soviet Red Army after the Great Purge.
However, this battle, from the very beginning, showed an unfavorable trend for the Japanese army.
May 28th,
·The Kwantung Army ordered the 23rd Division, led by its commander Major General Komatsubara Michitaro, to launch a probing attack on the enemy.
In addition to the 23rd Division, the Kwantung Army also specially assigned a tank unit commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Higashi Hyakuzo.
The Japanese army planned to attack in two routes: Higashi Hyakuzo’s unit would attack from the front, while the main infantry force would envelop from the flank.
However, before this operation plan reached the 23rd Division’s command, it had already appeared at the joint command headquarters of the Soviet and Mongolian armies.
Soviet general Zhukov （, though not yet officially in command, was already involved in directing ） emergency reinforcements, including a machine-gun battalion, an armored vehicle brigade, and artillery units.
The next day, although Higashi Hyakuzo’s tank unit broke through the Mongolian forward positions, it soon fell into the Soviet pre-set firepower net.
The Soviet army counterattacked with concentrated artillery fire and anti-tank guns. Higashi Hyakuzo’s unit was surrounded. After fierce fighting, by May 29th, the Higashi Hyakuzo detachment was almost completely annihilated, and Higashi Hyakuzo himself was killed.
The Japanese army’s first probing attack ended in a crushing defeat.
When the news reached the Kwantung Army Headquarters, the then Commander-in-Chief of the Kwantung Army, General Umezu Yoshijiro, felt immensely ashamed.
In the first engagement, the Japanese were defeated so thoroughly. To quickly regain face, the homeland ordered the Central China Expeditionary Army, the North China Area Army, and even the Fourth Army stationed in Jiamusi to send troops north respectively.
All northbound troops were to be prioritized for material supply, and it was imperative to regain the dignity that the Imperial Japanese Army deserved.
The news soon reached Shanghai. When Chen Yang received this message, he was somewhat taken aback.
Although in history, the Japanese indeed suffered a devastating defeat, this time, it seemed to be even more severe than a devastating defeat. They had wiped out a tank company right at the start.
Of course, while this result was unexpected, it was also within reason.
After all, Ozaki Hidemitsu’s ability and destructive power were not comparable to ordinary agents…
