The next afternoon, Ning Zhiheng finished packing and his convoy headed to the customs dock. When they arrived, the dock was already crowded with people.

The area was heavily guarded by soldiers, with the cordon set up far away, strictly prohibiting unauthorized personnel from approaching. Those waiting on the dock platform were all high-ranking Japanese officials in Shanghai and high-ranking officials of the Shanghai puppet government.

Upon seeing Ning Zhiheng appear, a group of people immediately surrounded him. Iwai Kenji also quickly invited Ning Zhiheng to wait together. Several prominent figures from Shanghai took the opportunity to chat and inquire about relevant information.

At 5 p.m., the ocean-going cruise ship entered the Wusongkou Customs and docked at the pier. Members of the delegation disembarked one by one. The leader, a man in his early fifties, of medium build, with a dignified appearance, graying temples, and a sharp and deep gaze beneath his broad, thick eyebrows, was none other than Shimizu Hidetoshi, the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Everyone stepped forward to greet them. Iwai Kenji took the lead, bowed, and paid his respects to Shimizu Hidetoshi. He then introduced everyone, the first of whom was naturally Fujiwara Tomohito.

When Shimizu Hidetoshi learned that the young man before him was Fujiwara Tomohito, he immediately raised an eyebrow, nodded, and smiled, "Fujiwara-kun? The Duke of Fujiwara's most favored son? Haha, meeting you today, you are indeed an extraordinary man!"

Upon hearing this, Ning Zhiheng hurriedly nodded and said respectfully, "You flatter me, sir. It is all due to my uncle's kindness. I am unworthy of such praise. I hope you will continue to take care of me in the future!"

"Haha, you're too kind. Before I came, Duke Fujiwara asked me to bring you a letter. We can talk about it later when we have time."

After exchanging a few words, the two continued to introduce themselves to the others. Behind them were Hashimoto Meisuke and Ohara Shunji.

Both councilors were a bit older than Hidetoshi Shimizu, but they were upright, energetic, and had a refined appearance, befitting elders.

Both men were members of the House of Nobles and held prominent positions. Ning Zhiheng greeted them respectfully, and both men were clearly impressed by Ning Zhiheng, speaking to him warmly and politely.

The delegation was quite large, including three members of parliament, some government officials, and accompanying personnel. It took a considerable amount of time for both sides to exchange greetings before the group got into their cars and headed towards the consulate.

Iwai Takei had arranged everything in advance. As soon as the welcoming ceremony ended, he immediately led everyone into the banquet hall, and the banquet began.

This banquet was of a very high standard, with almost all of Shanghai's prominent figures and upper-class people attending. The atmosphere was lively and filled with toasts and laughter.

After the banquet had been going on for a while, Shimizu Hidetoshi gestured to Ning Zhiheng and, under the arrangement of Iwai Kenichi, entered the private room.

The two sat cross-legged. A waiter served tea and then left, slowly closing the screen door to shut out the noise from outside. The room immediately became quiet.

Hidetoshi Shimizu took out a letter from home and pushed it in front of Ning Zhiheng, saying, "Duke Fujiwara misses you very much and often mentions you in public, saying that it is not easy for you to struggle alone in China. Before coming here this time, he specially asked me to bring this letter from home. Take a look!"

"Thank you for your concern, Uncle!" Ning Zhiheng bowed, then took the letter, tore open the seal, and took out the letter to read it.

In the past two years, Ning Zhiheng and Fujiwara Hirofumi have kept in touch frequently, but both of them are used to communicating by letter. They only use the radio in case of an emergency. However, nothing major has happened that would require Fujiwara Hirofumi's attention.

The contents of the letter were nothing special, just like usual, consisting of everyday matters and greetings. However, at the end of the letter, Fujiwara Hirofumi asked Ning Zhiheng to cooperate with Shimizu Hidetoshi's trip to China, and specifically pointed out that Ning Zhiheng should use his good relationship with the military to provide assistance to the delegation.

After reading the letter, Ning Zhiheng immediately bowed to Shimizu Hidetoshi and said, "Zhiren will do his best to assist and will follow your arrangements!"

Seeing Ning Zhiheng's attitude, Shimizu Hidetoshi nodded in satisfaction, laughed heartily, and said, "Tomohito, our two families have been friends for centuries, we are inseparable, you don't need to be so polite. I believe you already know some of the purpose of my trip to China this time, right?"

Ning Zhiheng replied in a deep voice, "I've only heard about it, Your Excellency. Is the situation really that dire?"

“Indeed!” Shimizu Hidetoshi nodded solemnly. “At this Imperial Conference, the military, led by Minister Lu, took advantage of the outbreak of the Soviet-German War to launch a sudden attack with an arrogant attitude, catching the Cabinet off guard. The military’s power has expanded too quickly, completely beyond our expectations. In order to control the situation and prevent it from getting out of control, we must control a large number of troops within China. At the very least, we must make those bastards think twice. Otherwise, they will extend their reach into the Cabinet, and our situation will become even more difficult.”

"The cabinet? Does the military want to control the cabinet? Do they dare to rebel?" Ning Zhiheng couldn't help but show a look of surprise and doubt.

"Why wouldn't we dare? The domestic environment is getting worse and worse. There's a lot of criticism of the cabinet across the country, and the military is even promoting some kind of Bushido spirit to fool the people and create momentum for their rise to power. The Konoe cabinet is being suppressed and doesn't dare to speak up. If things continue like this, that garbage collector might very well become the new prime minister. At that time, the Minister of the Army and the prime minister will hold both positions, with military and political power in one person. Will we still have any room to speak?"

The "garbage collector" that Shimizu Hidetoshi mentioned was naturally referring to Lieutenant Tojo, who was born a commoner and was frugal, so the nobles jokingly called him the "garbage collector."

However, it now seems that this garbage collector will soon rise to power and become the most powerful minister, second only to the emperor. It should be noted that all previous prime ministers have been outstanding individuals from noble families, which is a dangerous signal for the nobles.

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