Colonel Takashi Katsuta was completely immersed in this great surprise and lingered for a long time before leaving the luxury villa.
The next day, he personally visited Ning Zhiheng at the Fujiwara Company. The two had a very pleasant conversation. In particular, when Katsuta Takashi saw the calligraphy and painting that General Uehara Junpei had given to Ning Zhiheng hanging in the center of Ning Zhiheng's office, he became extremely humble and repeatedly invited Ning Zhiheng to visit him on the day of his move. Ning Zhiheng naturally agreed without hesitation.
A few days later, in the office of Taro Sagawa, the head of the Special Higher Police, Shinya Takeshita, who had just been discharged from the hospital, stood respectfully in front of Taro Sagawa.
Looking at the slightly weak Takeshita Shinya, Sagawa Taro put on a kind and amiable expression. He gestured for Takeshita Shinya to sit down beside him and asked gently, "Takeshita-kun, how is your recovery going?"
Shinya Takeshita quickly and respectfully replied, "I'm much better now. The doctor said I'm young and have a strong ability to recover, and he's agreed to let me be discharged to recuperate. As long as I don't do strenuous exercise, I'll be fine!"
Taro Sagawa nodded and continued, "Takeshita-kun, you haven't fully recovered yet, so please be careful. You risked your life to protect Mr. Otani this time and made a great contribution. After our application, Commander Tada specially recommended a reward and promoted you to captain. We hope you will work hard and live up to our expectations!"
Shinya Takeshita was overjoyed. Although he had already learned some news from his teacher, Akihito Akita, he only felt at ease when the section chief, Taro Sagawa, officially announced his promotion.
"Yes, thank you for your guidance, Section Chief. I will do my best and live up to your expectations, as well as Mr. Otani's expectations!" Takeshita Shinya quickly bowed and replied respectfully.
This commendation was indeed an exceptional promotion. His rank was raised two levels, from a junior lieutenant to a captain, which is unimaginable for ordinary agents. Only agents who have made special and significant contributions can receive such an honor.
The Special Higher Police (THT) was initially established as an intelligence agency under the Japanese Ministry of Home Affairs, with only official positions and no military ranks. However, as Japan's needs for aggression against China and the Far East grew, the Japanese government gradually began to transform the THT's functions.
The military's strength gradually became apparent, and the military headquarters began to take over the command of the Special Higher Police and integrate it into its own military system. Every time the Japanese army occupied a place, it would set up a Special Higher Police, whose members would collect various valuable intelligence for the Japanese army and cooperate with the Japanese army in combat.
The military ranks of the Special Higher Police (TPC) chiefs varied depending on the size and level of the organization. The Shanghai TPC served as the command center for all TPCs in East China, so its chief, Taro Sagawa, held a very high rank, that of a colonel.
The intelligence team leader, Yuji Imai, held the rank of lieutenant colonel, while his subordinate intelligence captains, such as Akihito Akita, held the rank of major.
When Takeshita Shinya first joined the Special Higher Police, he was given a warrant officer rank because the Special Higher Police was a special intelligence agency with special privileges. Later, due to his meritorious service in infiltrating Pudong and cooperating with the enemy's rear operations, coupled with the efforts of his teacher Akita Akihito, he was quickly promoted to second lieutenant after the Battle of Shanghai.
This time, he made great contributions to protecting Niki Otani. With Niki Otani's special care, he was promoted two ranks in one go. In just one year, he was promoted to captain. It was like a rocket. It was truly enviable.
His old rival, Iwai nosuke, toiled for many years in the Special Higher Police, but only managed to reach the rank of lieutenant.
Sagawa Taro put a lot of thought into arranging Takeshita Shinya's appointment. After receiving the request from Otani Hitoshi, he made a point of learning about Takeshita Shinya's situation. He discovered that the young man was one of the personnel specially recruited before the war and had not received any special agent training. In particular, Takeshita Shinya's performance was poor. He usually relied on the care of his teacher Akita Akihito and didn't even go out on field missions. He just stayed in the office, eating and drinking, living a very carefree life. This made Sagawa Taro both angry and amused. He didn't know that he had such a lazy person among his subordinates!
But he was incredibly lucky and gained the favor of Mr. Otani. Promotion was necessary, but he couldn't be entrusted with important responsibilities. In the end, he could only be compensated with a military rank because his abilities were too poor and he was not suitable to be transferred elsewhere. So he remained under the command of his teacher, Akita Akihito.
"Takeshita-kun, given your excellent Chinese, I've decided to entrust you with the liaison work for the newly formed Special Investigation Unit. From now on, you will be responsible for compiling their daily work reports and reporting directly to Team Leader Imai!" Sagawa Taro then instructed.
It turns out that during the month or so that Takeshita Shinya was hospitalized, Section Chief Sagawa Taro had been preparing to establish the Shanghai Special Investigation Unit, which had now been completed.
This investigation department was mainly responsible for investigating various major criminal cases in Shanghai, especially those involving enemy forces, as well as inspecting and controlling the smuggling of goods, monitoring anti-Japanese individuals in Shanghai, and a series of other activities.
These were previously the tasks of the Special Higher Police's intelligence group. However, the Japanese occupation area is expanding, and the Central China region urgently needs a large number of special agents. A large number of Special Higher Police agents have been transferred from Nanjing alone, followed by Anhui and then the Wuhan front. In short, the Special Higher Police in Shanghai is now severely understaffed and has to recruit Chinese to help them maintain normal operations.
Taro Sagawa had long been prepared for this. The new department had been under construction, recruiting many local Green Gang members and street thugs, as well as some destitute young men. He also reorganized the Chinese soldiers and agents who had surrendered earlier, forming a special operations department with a number of about three hundred people.
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