On the Chinese New Year's Eve of the 32nd lunar year of the Republic of China, that is, on January 24, the 33rd year of the Republic of China, Chen Mingxiang invited Major General Kinoshita Eichi and the four section chiefs of the gendarmerie to their home to eat dumplings.

We all know that many Japanese diets originated from China at the earliest, and the Japanese also eat dumplings, but their dumplings should be called fried dumplings, not boiled in water like us, and it is also appropriate for Japanese dumplings in the Republic of China to be called pot stickers.

Wang Zhen personally cooked a few home-cooked dishes, although they were not as good-looking as the chef, but the taste was not bad, which also meant that this meal was the nature of a family banquet, and it was not good to move these five devils.

"Thank you Chen Jun for your hospitality, I have been away from Japan for all these years, and I miss my relatives every festive season, but for the cause of the emperor and the empire, I can't go back to home, only when you are here, can I feel the warmth of home, thank you!" Kinoshita Eichi actually took the initiative to bow.

"It's rare to see His Excellency the General's true feelings, it is also my honor to be able to entertain you and friends, in fact, homesickness and the mission of a soldier do not conflict, and today's efforts are also for the family."

"See, this is a New Year's gift sent by a smuggler in the mountain city, American cigars and camel cigarettes, it is said that they are smuggled goods, and everyone will take some back to taste when they leave." Chen Mingxiang said with a smile.

In addition to worthless items such as bacon, kimchi, Pixian watercress, tea, and wine, the Military Command Bureau gave him a return gift, and also brought some daily consumer goods, especially cigars and cigarettes, that the US Navy had brought to the Special Technical Cooperation Institute, and he did not spend his own money anyway.

All five of them smoked, and soon one of them took a cigar and lit it, tasting it slowly, Wang Zhen had to open the sliding door, and there was an exhaust fan, so as to avoid the pain of smoking.

For these American goods, Kinoshita Eichi and others were not too surprised, among the American aid materials, there were camel cigarettes, especially the troops stationed in India, chewing gum and smoking camel cigarettes, that was a very normal thing.

Some special departments of the Shancheng government and military also distributed a small number of camel cigarettes, but cigarettes are cigarettes, not rare items, and the quality may not be able to surpass the Bund brand of Chen Mingxiang's tobacco factory.

"Let me tell you one thing in advance, the base camp has issued an order for the strategic offensive of the dispatch army, and tomorrow Chief of General Staff Matsui Taikuro will return to Tokyo to attend the operational meeting and accept the instructions of the combat mission and the base camp."

"This year is an important year, in addition to the special high class to increase intelligence collection, the gendarmerie must also do a good job in material support, Chen Jun, after the New Year, your Huatong Trading Company will also be nervous, and strive to make achievements before the end of the war, I will definitely apply to the empire for you to commend." Kinoshita Eichi said.

A big war is still inevitable, and Chen Mingxiang can fully imagine how many anti-Japanese fighters will sacrifice their lives for the country during this period of this so-called strategic offensive, and how many ordinary people will be poisoned in the flames of war.

It was common for the Japanese army to kill people on a large scale and set fires during military operations, and they also had to loot important materials such as grain and cotton, and kill chickens and cattle to supplement their hunger. The current dispatch army cannot even meet the normal food supply standard, so how can there be any reason not to rob it?

But at this time, Chen Mingxiang still had confidence in the army of the Shancheng government, and it was the last piece of territory anyway, gathering more than one million troops, and he would not let the Japanese army win so easily.

"Your Excellency General, I am now seriously lacking in commodities for exchanging with Jiang Tong, especially cotton cloth and cotton yarn, in addition, things such as Western medicine, rubber tires and hardware are also difficult to buy on the market, not that I don't work hard, but the conditions are not met!" Chen Mingxiang said helplessly.

The frenzied exploitation of the Shanghai market by the Japanese side and the Wang puppet government, coupled with the inability of foreign raw materials to enter after the outbreak of the Pacific War, led to the decline of production capacity, which became a vicious circle.

Not to mention the shortage of goods in the market, and the quantity has fallen sharply, and by now, Huatong Trading Company has not been able to find many materials to exchange.

In fact, although Chen Mingxiang has made a lot of dollars and gold in smuggling, he is really unwilling to do such a thing, which is tantamount to a capital enemy, and the current unsustainable situation is exactly what he wants.

Even if the Huatong Trading Company closes, he is not afraid that he will have no money to spend, and cigarettes, tea, salt and coal, plus silk, can fully support the expenses.

"What you said is also the actual situation, I will report to the manager of the General Headquarters of the Dispatch Army, through the Consulate General in Shanghai, I will prepare a batch of cotton cloth and cotton yarn for you, originally I was counting on cotton in North China, but unfortunately, last year's expropriation task was not even 20 percent completed, as for Western medicine, now the imperial army itself is very lacking." Kinoshita Eichi said with a frown.

Since the war has been fought so far, not only Japan's own economy has been unable to hold on, but even the industry, commerce, and agriculture in the occupied areas of China have not been able to hold up, and there is no basis for plundering.

Everyone here can understand Chen Mingxiang's difficulties, he wants to serve the empire, but he has no resources to exchange with the Military Administration, and he is really not to blame for such a phenomenon.

"I heard that Chairman Wang's condition has relapsed again, and now he can't work normally, so I have to summon Chen Gongbo to Jinling again, which is really worse!" Okamura Shizo changed the topic and said.

He also felt bad in his heart because of Chen Mingxiang's words, the smuggling and trading of the Huatong Trading Company and the Military Command Bureau was the best year in the 31st year of the Republic of China, but it declined somewhat in the 32nd year of the Republic of China, and this year, the situation is even worse.

But this situation was not caused by the gendarmerie, nor was it caused by Chen Mingxiang, he quickly changed the topic and talked about the most important event at present.

"Wouldn't it? I heard that Chairman Wang's surgery was very successful, and he gave a speech on New Year's Day, and he held continuous meetings to study the work, how could he suddenly relapse? Chen Mingxiang asked.

Lieutenant General Naokan Momoi, director of the Military Medical Department of the General Headquarters of the Japanese Dispatch Army, and Goto Shackleed, director of the First Hospital of the Japanese Army in Jinling, performed surgery to remove the warhead for Wang Jingwei on 19 December.

"It was noon on the day of the 9th, and Chairman Wang was supposed to attend a luncheon between General Shunroku Hahata and Prince Takahito Mikasa, the emperor's younger brother, but because of a high fever, he made a return invitation the next day, and since then it has deteriorated, and now he is bedridden, and he sent a telegram to Tokyo to invite internal medicine experts to come for another consultation." Komura Shizo said.

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