Spy game? Stop guessing, I really am an undercover agent!

Chapter 153 Emergency Meeting

Chen Yang nodded upon hearing this, put the pen cap on, inserted the pen into the pen holder, stood up and said, "Okay, I'll go up right away."

Third floor, the minister's office.

Chen Yang knocked on the office door, and Department Head Oshima's voice came from inside: "Come in."

Chen Yang pushed open the door and entered. Inside, besides Minister Kenjiro Oshima, there was Jun Matsushima from the First Division and a middle-aged man dressed as an army lieutenant colonel.

"Section Chief Chen, you've come at the right time." Kenjiro Oshima raised his hand as Chen Yang entered and said, "This is Lieutenant Colonel Takahashi, a staff officer of the 106th Division."

"Lieutenant Colonel Takahashi, hello." Chen Yang bowed slightly and gave a salute.

"Your Excellency is Chen Yang, the head of the Third Section," said Takeo Takahashi. "Chief Chen, Minister Oshima highly regards your transportation capabilities."

"Currently, the 106th Division has encountered some setbacks on its route to attack De'an."

"We urgently need a batch of supplies. I wonder if Section Chief Chen can think of a way to help us."

“This…” Chen Yang hesitated for a moment, then looked at Kenjiro Oshima behind the desk.

"Section Chief Chen, please feel free to speak if there's anything inconvenient," Kenjiro Oshima's voice rang out slowly.

Chen Yang said with a slight apology, "Lieutenant Colonel Takahashi, it's really not that I meant to refuse, but the Third Section's transportation schedule is already full."

"Even if the 106th Division is in a hurry, I can only arrange it three days later."

Takeo Takahashi's expression changed slightly. "No, the shipment must start by tomorrow night at the latest."

"Without sufficient supplies, we have no choice but to risk going into battle lightly equipped."

“If we do this, the battle losses will be incalculable. We cannot gamble with the lives of Imperial soldiers. The Logistics Department has already approved an additional batch of supplies. Minister Oshima, your task is simply to deliver the supplies to the front lines within the stipulated time.”

"Can't the entire Southern Transportation Department even handle such a small matter?"

Kenjiro Oshima frowned: "Lieutenant Colonel Takahashi, the Transport Department is not specifically for your 106th Division."

"Section Chief Chen has already made it very clear that the time for the third period cannot be adjusted."

Takeo Takahashi frowned: "Section Chief Chen, Department Head Oshima, this batch of supplies is crucial to the frontline battle. You must find a way to deal with it no matter what."

Chen Yang sighed. "Lieutenant Colonel Takahashi, the Third Section is currently in charge of the supplies for the Ninth and Sixteenth Divisions. Do you think General Matsuura can compete with them for the supply lines?"

Takeo Takahashi was taken aback. The 9th and 16th Divisions were among the 17 Class A divisions of the Japanese Army, while the 106th Division was only a Class B division. What right did they have to compete with others for transport routes?

A brief silence fell over the office. Chen Yang suddenly spoke up, "Lieutenant Colonel Takahashi, could I see the supply list?"

Hearing that Chen Yang's tone seemed to have softened, Takahashi Takeo quickly opened his briefcase, took out the supply list specially approved by Sato Fumitasu, and handed it to Chen Yang.

"Gasoline and ammunition," Chen Yang frowned, "the amount isn't huge, but it's really difficult for me to arrange. Section Chief Matsushima, can you coordinate something?"

Matsushima Jun paused for a moment before saying, "There is a batch of supplies that will be shipped tomorrow night. It was allocated by the Logistics Department to Colonel Yukizo Hasegawa, the commander of the 101st Division."

"If I really have to find a solution, I can only do so by targeting him."

After a moment's thought, Chen Yang said, "Perhaps I can communicate with Lieutenant Commander Saito of the Navy Department. The 101st Division was previously in the Poyang Lake area. We can have naval transport ships transport supplies to the vicinity of Poyang Lake and hand them over to the 101st Division's supply regiment for transport."

"This might solve our immediate problem."

Upon hearing this, Takeo Takahashi was overjoyed and nodded repeatedly, saying, "I think that's a good idea."

Kenjiro Oshima looked at Jun Matsushima and said, "Matsushima-kun, then do as Section Chief Chen says. You deliver the 101st Division's supplies to Huishan Wharf and have Section Chief Chen arrange for naval transport ships to take them away. You assist Lieutenant Colonel Takahashi in transporting supplies for the 106th Division."

Matsushima Jun bowed and said, "Yes, I'll go arrange it right away."

Watching Matsushima Jun's hurried departure, a strange look suddenly flashed in Chen Yang's eyes...

Shanghai, the French Concession... Slanting raindrops blurred the neon lights of Avenue Joffre into indistinct patches of color.

Chen Yang turned up his trench coat collar, pushed open the glass door of the "Oak House" café, and brought in a damp smell.

The café wasn't crowded; a gramophone played languid jazz music, and a few foreigners sat in a corner chatting quietly.

Chen Yang chose a seat by the window and said to the proprietress behind the counter, "Black coffee, double sugar, please."

Not long after, the coffee shop door was pushed open again.

A man wearing a dark blue long gown and round-framed glasses walked in, carrying a briefcase under his arm, like a bank employee who had just finished get off work.

He looked around, his gaze lingering on Chen Yang for a moment, before walking over and sitting down opposite him.

"Sir, would you like to share a table?" the man asked in a low voice.

Chen Yang nodded slightly and moved the coffee in front of him back a little.

The man sat down opposite him, pulled a copy of the "Shenbao" newspaper from his briefcase, unfolded it, and casually flipped through it, saying in a low voice, "Didn't I say we shouldn't meet unless it's an emergency? What happened?"

Chen Yang lit a cigarette, and the smoke swirled between the two of them.

“It’s intelligence about Wuhan,” he said in a low voice. “Time is of the essence; we need to arrange an action plan as soon as possible.”

Jian Bing's expression hardened slightly, and he asked in a deep voice, "What intelligence?"

Chen Yang lowered his voice and said, "The supplies for the 106th Division have been approved: 120 barrels of gasoline and 2000 artillery shells. They will be shipped out tomorrow night via the Shanghai-Hangzhou Railway to Jiujiang, and then transferred to the front lines."

Jianbing picked up his coffee cup and, using the newspaper as a cover, asked in confusion, "Only this much stuff for a whole division?"

“The Japanese are facing a shortage of supplies right now. I heard from Takeo Takahashi that Fumitasu Sato cut off half of their quota.” Chen Yang sneered. “Junroku Matsuura is frantic, but there’s nothing he can do. With insufficient supplies, he has no choice but to bite the bullet and go for it.”

Jianbing's fingers traced lightly along the edge of the newspaper, as if calculating something. Chen Yang pulled a folded slip of paper from his cigarette case and pushed it over: "Train timetable, deployment of escort troops."

Jianbing glanced at it quickly, and the note disappeared into his sleeve.

"Notify the Jiangsu-Zhejiang guerrillas," Chen Yang's voice was as cold as a knife, "to ambush them between Qingpu and Huzhou and destroy this batch of supplies."

He paused, "Without gasoline and shells, the 106th Division's artillery corps is just for show."

After a moment's thought, Jianbing said, "There are Japanese patrols on the Jiujiang branch line. It would be too risky to attack them head-on."

"The person in charge of escorting it is Jun Matsushima from the First Division. He only arranged a small squad of military police, and the truck is loaded with ammunition and gasoline." Chen Yang exhaled a puff of smoke. "If the guerrillas are fast enough, they can finish the job and leave. It will take at least two hours for Japanese reinforcements from Jiujiang to arrive."

After a moment's thought, Jianbing nodded slightly: "I'll have 'Old Gun' make the arrangements."

“Remember,” Chen Yang stubbed out his cigarette, “leave a few survivors and send them back to report that something strange happened, why isn’t it supplies?”

Jianbing's lips curled slightly: "Are you trying to make Oshima suspicious?"

“Yes.” Chen Yang’s eyes were cold. “If we can hold them off for three days, Matsuura Junroku will definitely not be able to hold out and will choose to go into battle lightly equipped. If he really dares to do that, Wanjialing will be their grave.”

The door to the "Creak" café was pushed open, and two Japanese military policemen walked in, their eyes scanning the interior like hawks.

With an unchanged expression, Jian Bing opened the newspaper and suddenly laughed loudly in Japanese: "So, the Tokyo stock market has been too volatile lately, it's safer to invest in bonds."

Chen Yang understood and deliberately replied in a Kansai accent: "Yes, during wartime, gold is still the best store of value."

The military police glanced at them, saw that they were "respectable Japanese merchants," and did not suspect anything further, turning to walk towards the counter.

Jianbing lowered his voice: "It's getting late, you should leave."

Chen Yang nodded, took out a few Japanese yen bills and placed them under his coffee cup, then got up and left…

(End of this chapter)