At the main gate of the Military Commission of the Chongqing Municipal Government, Director Zhang and Huang Xianzheng walked briskly out of the building together. The two walked with light steps and were in good spirits, exchanging a few words from time to time.
They had just been summoned by Chiang Kai-shek, who had a detailed understanding of everything that had happened in Shanghai recently. He praised the two men highly and naturally gave full affirmation to the Military Intelligence Bureau, ordering that those who had made meritorious contributions be richly rewarded.
The two men were naturally overjoyed to receive the Chairman's praise in person, and their conversation became much more intimate.
The bureau chief beamed, his smugness almost undisguised, and said, "Zhongxin, we've really hit the jackpot this time! Zhiheng's methods are brilliant; he's turned Shanghai upside down. Now we've received a personal commendation from the Chairman. So, what do you suggest for the next steps?"
Huang Xianzheng, also rarely receiving such an honor, was overjoyed, no less so than the Bureau Chief. Hearing the Bureau Chief's question, he immediately replied without hesitation, "This operation has yielded significant results and won the Chairman's favor. We must reward them handsomely. The personnel mentioned in Zhiheng's telegram who made meritorious contributions should at least be promoted one rank. Of course, commendations and awards are indispensable. But most importantly, Zhiheng has once again performed a remarkable feat. What do you think, Bureau Chief…?"
Upon hearing this, the Director was somewhat embarrassed. He nodded and said, "I understand what you mean. I have no objection to the promotion of the Shanghai intelligence personnel. We should focus on recognizing their merits. However, it is really difficult to recognize Zhiheng's merits. There are too many restrictions on our Military Intelligence Bureau from above. The Chairman is doing this on purpose. We are really at a disadvantage in terms of military rank."
Besides, his situation in Shanghai cannot be made public and must be kept strictly confidential. Moreover, he was just awarded a medal in Chongqing half a month ago. If it were reported, the Military Command would not be able to explain it. I really can't think of a good solution, so I wanted to discuss it with you.
This time, the Director genuinely wanted to commend Ning Zhiheng. This action had once again been affirmed by the Chairman, from which Ning had truly benefited. One must understand that sitting in his position meant that his entire life depended on the leader's trust; everything else was meaningless.
So Ning Zhiheng has been busy for the past two months. First, he completed the suppression work in Chongqing, and then he rushed back to Shanghai to salvage the situation and severely damage the puppet government. Each of these achievements was outstanding. However, in the end, he only received a medal, which was really unacceptable. Even the director was embarrassed to make excuses for it.
However, Ning Zhiheng's situation was extremely special. He had already been promoted to colonel and had just been awarded a medal. His identity in Shanghai had to be kept highly confidential. It could be said that his merits were too great to be rewarded.
Huang Xianzheng was also somewhat worried, but he had figured it out: unless there were major changes at the top, Ning Zhiheng's military rank and position had reached their limit.
He couldn't help but sigh and shake his head, saying, "He Yongnian once told me that his biggest regret was sending Zhiheng into the Military Intelligence Bureau. With Zhiheng's talent, he would have made a name for himself in the military and had a limitless future!"
Based on his merits over the years, he could easily have been a lieutenant general, let alone a major general, in the military. Not to mention anything else, his continuous supply of materials to the front lines was instrumental in the major victory at Changsha. Yet now, at only twenty-four years old, he has to stop here. Alas! What a pity!
Huang Xianzheng's words came from the bottom of his heart. He truly felt sorry for Ning Zhiheng. Ning Zhiheng had made countless outstanding contributions over the years, any one of which would be enough for anyone to boast about for a lifetime and be regarded as a lifelong asset. Such achievements, however, could not be rewarded for various reasons. Moreover, he was still so young, and his future promotion was limited by this. This was truly a pity for a talented young man.
The director shared the same sentiment. In fact, it wasn't just Ning Zhiheng; even he himself, despite already holding a higher position, had remained at the rank of major general for years. He had long harbored thoughts of advancing further. After a moment's thought, he said, "That's the nature of the Military Intelligence Bureau. But you're right, the Military Intelligence Bureau has been upgraded to the Military Intelligence Bureau, but the rank system remains unchanged, which greatly affects the morale of our subordinates. We still need to think of a solution in the future."
Huang Xianzheng nodded repeatedly and then said, "Since Zhiheng is hard to reward, his subordinates should be compensated. I think it would be better to promote Huo Yueze by another level. After all, he has borne the brunt of the damage this time, so it would be unreasonable not to give him a promotion."
The Shanghai operation achieved such a significant result that everyone was greatly encouraged. However, since no one knew the details, they attributed all the credit to Huo Yueze. If he wasn't rewarded, outsiders would find it unacceptable and would think it was abnormal.
The bureau chief immediately nodded in agreement, saying, "No problem. We can also allocate two more lieutenant colonel positions. Zhiheng will decide on the candidates."
"Okay, okay, it's settled then!" Huang Xianzheng was overjoyed, as it was rare to see the Director so generous.
The Director smiled and said, "The tripartite talks of the puppet government that we reported today have been of great concern to the Chairman and several superiors. The Japanese want to resolve the issue of the three-way merger within three months. This intelligence is extremely important. If the Japanese North China Army and Central China Army join forces, our pressure will increase exponentially. This also means that there will be a major change in the future military landscape. Zhiheng is no simple man! He has already transmitted the intelligence back on the matter that the Japanese General Headquarters just decided. The Chairman has ordered our Military Intelligence Bureau to make persistent efforts and spare no expense to sabotage this tripartite talks. This operation is of great significance. We still need to get Zhiheng the detailed information as soon as possible so that I can make preparations in advance. This time, we must complete this mission."
Huang Xianzheng nodded and said, "I will send him a telegram immediately to find out the specific location and time of the meeting as soon as possible."
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