Yoshino Takehiko was silent for a moment before saying slowly, "According to the Intelligence Section's figures, more than seventy divisions were committed over the course of the fighting,"
"Including the Central Army's most elite units-the 87th Division, the 88th Division, and the Training Corps-as well as regional troops transferred from the various provinces."
"Their total strength exceeded seven hundred thousand."
Yoshino Takehiko knew these figures by heart. As director of the Logistics Department at Military Police Headquarters, he handled more unit designations and supply quantities every day than any other department.
Yoshino Tomokazu's expression grew somewhat strained. "Seventy divisions. We pinned down their main force on the Shanghai front for three months and wore down their most elite troops."
"By all logic, once we took Jinling, all of China should have been ours for the taking."
"But what happened after we took Jinling? Did they surrender? No. The National Government moved to Wuhan, and the war did not end."
"Uncle, our instructors at the Army War College told us that in past wars, once you occupied the enemy's capital and their government surrendered, the war was over."
"But this opponent is different. They lost Shanghai and retreated to Jinling. They lost Jinling and retreated to Hankou."
"Their armies can retreat again and again, falling back into the mountains to keep fighting. Their government can move from place to place, relocating to some small city you can't even find on a map and continuing to issue orders."
"Even if we occupy every railway line, city, and port, the countryside and mountains will still be theirs."
Yoshino Takehiko waved a hand. "Tomokazu, you're too pessimistic. The Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office's assessment is that after capturing Wuhan, we will fight a final decisive battle against their main force. At that point, the National Government will lose its ability to continue the war."
"As things stand, the battle reports coming from the front are generally favorable to the Empire..."
Yoshino Tomokazu said angrily, "The Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office's assessment? Uncle, do you really believe those men who sit in offices fiddling with sand tables all day can accurately predict the course of the war?"
"In the twelfth year of Showa, the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office predicted that Shanghai would fall in ten days."
"The Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office predicted that the war would end in three months."
"Those young staff officers at the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office sit in their Tokyo offices drawing arrows on maps, thinking war is nothing more than an exercise on a map."
"But those of us handling logistics at the front see things differently."
"The swift, decisive victory they talk about? Hmph. As things stand, that's absolutely impossible."
Yoshino Takehiko waved a hand helplessly. "Tomokazu, stop. If anyone from the Tokkō hears you saying these things, you'll be sent straight back to the home islands!"
But Yoshino Tomokazu did not stop. He continued, "Uncle, we're fighting a war of attrition with no end in sight in a vast, heavily populated country."
"A war of attrition isn't about who has greater firepower. It's about whose logistics can hold out longer, whose will can endure longer."
"The Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office has sworn that the National Government will lose its ability to fight after Wuhan falls."
"Uncle, what if that prediction is wrong again?"
Yoshino Takehiko was, after all, the director of logistics, and his insight was naturally far from ordinary.
Without even pausing to think, he said gravely, "If that prediction is wrong again, this war will turn into something unfamiliar to us."
"Tomokazu, at that point, it will no longer be division against division in head-on battle. It will be garrison duty and suppression operations, control and resistance to control, occupation and counterattacks."
"Our troops will become increasingly dispersed. If it really comes to that, logistics will no longer be merely a supporting element of a campaign. It will become part of the battlefield."
"Supplies and transport could both become the key to deciding who wins the war!"
"Tomokazu, what exactly are you trying to say with all this?"
"If you only want to complain to me about the military authorities' failed plans and the importance of the Logistics Department, I understand those things far better than you do!"
Yoshino Tomokazu scoffed. "Heh. Uncle, what I'm saying is that I want to love my country too, but has the Empire loved us?"
"An imperial official like you, wielding real power, has served the Empire diligently for thirty years!"
"Yet even now, you can't scrape together enough for Sakurako's dowry or Taro's tuition!"
"Has the Empire ever kept you in its heart?"
"You fool! As a soldier of the Empire, this is my duty!" Though Yoshino Takehiko's tone was forceful, Yoshino Tomokazu could still hear the strain in it!
"Uncle, I know what kind of man you are, so I have no intention of involving you in this!"
Yoshino Takehiko's brow tightened slightly. Before he could ask, Yoshino Tomokazu leaned closer and lowered his voice. "That shipment of cotton cloth from the Qingpu Wang Family has been sitting in Yangshupu Warehouse ever since the military police confiscated it."
"The Logistics Department hasn't finished registering it yet. The books list twelve hundred bolts, but the actual quantity received was forty-two hundred."
"That leaves a discrepancy of three thousand bolts. I've already taken care of the people at the warehouse."
Yoshino Takehiko's expression changed abruptly. Three thousand bolts-that number was far larger than he had expected.
Before he could respond, Yoshino Tomokazu continued, "The warehouse is managed by Lieutenant Shimura, a man I personally promoted."
"Shimura has spent all these years in the army and is still a lieutenant. He can't get promoted, and he doesn't have any connections."
"To him, I'm the head of the Logistics Department's Allocation Section, and that makes me his biggest backer."
"I hinted that he would get a share once this shipment was sold, and he agreed without hesitation."
"He has the key to the back door. When the handover takes place, he'll come and unlock it himself under the pretext of a nighttime inspection,"
"Afterward, the lock will be put back exactly as it was. Even if the Inspection Department suspects something, I guarantee they won't be able to spot anything."
"The other party is Yamada Ryosuke, commander of the Inspection Company at Military Police Headquarters. He'll handle transport!"
"The Inspection Company's vehicles carry Military Police Headquarters plates. None of the checkpoints or patrol zones will stop them."
"Yamada has four trucks under his command, normally used to transport confiscated supplies. They have special passes affixed to their front windshields. With his trucks carrying this shipment, it'll pass through unhindered the entire way."
"His condition is that he gets twenty percent of the total transaction."
"He'll take care of the men doing the work himself. We don't need to worry about that."
At this point, Yoshino Takehiko could no longer sit still. He rose from his chair and began pacing around the room...
After a long while, he suddenly said, "It's still too risky. What if something goes wrong on the road? For instance, what if the Tokkō suddenly intervenes?"
Yoshino Tomokazu said confidently, "Uncle, what you're worried about won't happen."
Yoshino Takehiko's expression shifted slightly as he looked at Yoshino Tomokazu, seemingly waiting for him to continue.
Yoshino Tomokazu said slowly, "I've already found someone in the Tokkō."
"Inoue from the Investigation Section has already agreed to cooperate with us."
"He'll be responsible for helping us monitor the Tokkō's movements."
"Before we sell this shipment, we must know whether anyone is likely to notice."
"If anyone is watching, Inoue will definitely know."
"Then we can cancel the transaction at any time to make sure nothing goes wrong."
Seeing his nephew remain so calm, Yoshino Takehiko did not praise him. Instead, he flew into a rage.
"Tomokazu, do you have any idea what you're doing?"
"You even dared to try to win over someone from the Tokkō? What if he..."
"Uncle, there is no 'what if.'" Yoshino Tomokazu said slowly, "Strictly speaking, I didn't go to him about this. He came to me..."