Uehara Junpei held up a book and said with a smile, "Gentlemen, this is a work I wrote when I was young. It was originally just for my own amusement, but Tomohito insisted on publishing it. Alas, it was written in haste, and I hope you will correct any mistakes! Haha!"
Everyone present was quite surprised. Uehara Junpei was known for his calligraphy in the army. Everyone knew that his calligraphy was excellent, and people would often come to him to ask for his calligraphy. No one expected that he would actually publish a book today.
For a time, everyone praised Uehara Junpei. Uehara Junpei was in a great mood and frequently raised his glass with everyone, enjoying himself immensely.
The banquet lasted until late at night before everyone took their leave, having seen off the guests. Ning Zhiheng stayed in the room, where the uncle and nephew drank tea and talked alone.
Uehara Junpei usually had a stern face, but today he was unusually in high spirits. His face was flushed, and he looked at the book in his hands with a smile. Clearly, the excitement and pleasure in his heart had not yet dissipated.
Ning Zhiheng chuckled and joked, "Uncle, these people are really impressed with you today. It seems you'll have a lot of people asking for your books in the future. I'll have to send some more over, otherwise it won't be enough for you!"
Uehara Junpei laughed heartily. He put down the book in his hand, personally filled Ning Zhiheng's teacup, slapped his thigh, and said with a smile, "Zhiren, you really know how to talk. But we really need to send some more. In another week, the military commanders of Central China will return to Wuhan for a pre-war military conference, and I estimate that quite a few will need to be sent out."
Ning Zhiheng's heart skipped a beat, and he asked, "The Battle of Changsha has been in preparation for more than half a year. We've always said we'd fight, but so much time has passed. Is it really about to begin?"
Uehara Junpei nodded heavily and said with certainty, "This battle is no small matter. Changsha is the last line of defense for the Chinese government in Central China. Capturing Changsha is of great significance to both sides, so we must be cautious. However, China's territory is too large and its strategic depth is too deep. Since we occupied Wuhan, we have suffered heavy losses in both manpower and supplies, and the supply lines have been stretched too long. In short, it is difficult to continue. Then we fought the Battle of Nanchang, which was almost our limit. So we had to spend a lot of time preparing. But now we have completed the preparations and can start the attack soon."
At this point, Uehara Junpei couldn't help but say with a hint of pride, "This time we are very confident. We can seize the initiative in the early stages of the battle. I believe this campaign will be much smoother than the Battle of Wuhan."
Upon hearing Uehara Junpei's words, Ning Zhiheng immediately thought of the leak of the defense plan for northern Jiangxi. Looking at Uehara Junpei's expression, he was afraid that this was his proud work.
Ning Zhiheng did not ask any further questions. Uehara Junpei was an extremely shrewd and experienced spy chief. Although he trusted him greatly, he would quickly notice if Ning Zhiheng's words contained any probing intent.
As the two men were chatting, a knock came from outside the barrier gate, and the voice of the attendant Araki Tetsu came: "General, Lieutenant Colonel Takasaki requests an audience!"
Uehara Junpei was taken aback after hearing this. He pondered for a moment, then nodded and said, "Have him wait for me in the side hall!"
"Hi!"
As the footsteps faded into the distance, Uehara Junpei said to Ning Zhiheng, "I'll be right back, please wait a moment!"
"Yes, Uncle, please make yourself at home!" Ning Zhiheng nodded in agreement.
Uehara Junpei got up, pushed open the barrier door, and quickly left. He went to a room not far away, pushed open the door, and entered.
Inside the room, a middle-aged man in military uniform was already waiting. He was Takasaki Shigeo, an intelligence officer from the military headquarters. Upon seeing Uehara Junpei enter, Takasaki Shigeo quickly stood up and respectfully saluted, saying, "General!"
Uehara Junpei gestured for him to sit down, then sat cross-legged on the tatami mat himself. He looked at Takasaki Shigeo and asked, "What happened?"
Takasaki Shigeo nodded and said, "I just received a telegram from Mo Dou. Yesterday afternoon, the Chinese Military Commission held another emergency military meeting. However, this meeting was only attended by high-ranking officers, and there were no meeting minutes. The level of secrecy is extremely high. This situation indicates that something extremely important has happened."
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