bookrandom Chapter 1067 is a win-win situation, no, a win-win-triple situation!
Chapter 1067 is a win-win situation, no, a win-win-triple situation!
"You think I don't know these things?" Terauchi Hisaichi's eyes were full of laughter.
"If the water is too clear, there will be no fish! Rather than letting them fight it out piecemeal, each doing their own thing, creating chaos and benefiting you, kid, it's better for me to handle it all here."
Setting rules will at least bring some tangible benefits, stabilize morale, and reduce the suffering of soldiers on the front lines from cold, hunger, and illness!
He leaned forward again, placing his hands on the edge of the food table, his body leaning forward, his voice lowered, almost a whisper with the smell of tobacco, the hot breath blowing against Zhou Zhengqing's ear: "Tuoren, you are a smart man, a man who can do great things."
These weapons, in the warehouses of my North China Front Army, are just scrap metal that takes up space, a management problem, and a potential hidden danger.
But once they're in your hands, they become hard currency, bargaining chips that can be exchanged for real money, medicine, scarce supplies, or... other things of even greater value.
Some people are interested in these things.
This deal is a win-win situation for you, for me, and for the hundreds of thousands of soldiers on the other side—it's a win-win-win, no, a win-win-win-win!
Zhou Zhengqing did not answer immediately.
He needs to process this information, and more importantly, he needs to demonstrate the appropriate hesitation and weighing of options.
He picked up his glass again, but this time he didn't just sip; he drank the rest of the wine in one gulp.
As the sake slid down his throat, Zhou Zhengqing began to analyze the situation.
Agreeing meant he would be formally and deeply involved in an unprecedented arms smuggling network backed by a major army group of the Imperial Army.
He will no longer be merely an "assistant" providing smuggling channels, but will become a crucial gray bridge connecting the Japanese army's vast war spoils with the needs of the Chinese resistance forces.
This will give him unimaginable resource mobilization capabilities, a complex network of contacts, and crucial frontline military intelligence, and his military police command's influence will expand dramatically.
But at the same time, this also led him down the path of being labeled a "major smuggler" and an "accomplice in the war."
What if we don't agree? ... There seems to be no reason not to agree.
"Moreover," Terauchi Hisaichi leaned back in his chair, reverting to his rough and straightforward demeanor, picked up the sake bottle and poured himself another cup, but the weight of his words remained undiminished. On the contrary, this "casualness" made them all the more genuine and irrefutable: "The next operational direction of my North China Area Army has been roughly determined."
Although Nanjing has been captured, the will to resist of the Chinese regime has not collapsed. The main force has retreated westward, the war will continue, and it is foreseeable that the scale will only increase.
There will only be more, more frequent, and more devastating events to come.
We must fight.
The spoils will flow in continuously, like a river.
He stared at Zhou Zhengqing, speaking slowly and deliberately, each word like a nail, trying to drive into Zhou Zhengqing's hesitation: "I need a stable, reliable, and tight-lipped channel to deal with these endless 'troubles' and, in return, get back what my army urgently needs."
Medicine, food, cloth, oil, and even some... "special supplies" that the lords at the Kyoto headquarters were unwilling to provide, or provided too slowly or in too small a quantity.
Takuto, you have the backing of the Takasaki family and control countless resources. You'd better help me with this.
Hundreds of thousands of soldiers in North China will surely remember your kindness.
No matter what happens in the future, the North China Area Army and I personally will stand by your side!
Temptation... For Zhou Zhengqing, it was blatant temptation.
This is not a request, nor even a pure exchange of benefits, but an "invitation" with a strong sense of probing and binding.
Terauchi Hisaichi was not only testing his courage and ability, but also the attitudes of Prince Yasuhiko and Prince Kagehito, two members of the Imperial Family.
At this moment, Prince Asaka Yasuhiko finally made a move.
He slowly put down the pair of black lacquered ivory chopsticks inlaid with gold.
The tip of the chopstick gently landed on the equally precious celadon chopstick rest, carved in the shape of a carp leaping in the waves, making a soft "click".
"What General Terauchi said is indeed true."
King Kyūhiko spoke.
He remained calm and unassuming, a stark contrast to his initial confrontational demeanor upon arriving at the military police headquarters.
As he spoke, he did not look at anyone; his eyelids were slightly lowered, and his gaze fell on the exquisitely crafted "sea bream pudding" in front of him, which resembled a work of art.
The translucent fish meat is sliced as thin as cicada wings and laid out in the shape of a blooming peony, with a pearly luster between the textures.
He stared at it, as if appreciating a masterpiece of Sesshū's ink paintings.
“Dealing with captured supplies from the battlefield is always a tricky business,” he said slowly.
"The military has issued a clear order that all weapons, strategic raw materials, and civilian commodities of military or economic value must be uniformly collected, registered, and transported to the rear according to orders, or 'redeveloped' locally."
Those that are truly unusable must be thoroughly destroyed by engineers to prevent them from falling into enemy hands or the wrong hands of unscrupulous individuals.
King Kyohiko paused slightly, seemingly giving everyone time to process this official statement.
Then, with an almost imperceptible turn of events, a glimpse into the darker corners of reality was introduced into the conversation.
"However, in practice, there are many difficulties." He raised his eyes, his gaze first calmly sweeping over Terauchi Hisaichi's face, which was full of expectation, shrewdness, and a certain fanatical calculation.
When Terauchi Hisaichi heard the words "difficulties ahead," his muscles relaxed almost imperceptibly.
Finally, King Jiuyan's gaze fell on Zhou Zhengqing's face.
"The battle lines are long and our army has captured cities and territories. The supplies we have obtained are as numerous as mountains and seas, and are of all kinds. The counting and transportation of these supplies have consumed countless manpower and resources. Moreover, many of the captured items are not compatible with our army's standards or we lack the corresponding maintenance capabilities. They are piled up in warehouses, exposed to the sun and rain, and are rusted and damaged in vain, which is a real pity."
A faint, almost compassionate "sympathy" began to seep into his straightforward words.
"If we can use proper and concealed methods," he emphasized the words "properly" and "concealed": "to take these things that are 'useless' to us, through certain..."
Reliable channels were used to transform supplies into medicines, clothing, and even some fine rations urgently needed by the soldiers on the front lines.
Therefore, it is indeed beneficial to stabilize the morale of the troops after arduous battles and maintain the combat effectiveness of the Imperial Army in continuous operations.
Soldiers are fighting and sacrificing for the country on the front lines, and those at home should show them compassion and resolve all their worries.
"However... this matter requires utmost caution. Every step must be carefully considered to avoid giving others any ammunition or leverage."
King Kyūhiko's gaze seemed to drift into the distance, and his voice lowered slightly, as if an invisible watcher was lurking in the shadows.
"The staff officers at the General Staff Headquarters, the Security Bureau of the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs... even those ubiquitous journalists who always try to dig up 'insider information,' and those politicians in parliament who claim to be upright and always want to question the cabinet..."
So many eyes are watching intently.
They may not understand the actual difficulties faced by soldiers on the front lines, but they excel at manipulating procedures, regulations, and the nature of the state.