On January 15, the 29th year of the Republic of China (1940), Zeng Jiayan official residence

A black sedan slowly drove into the tree-lined mansion, and Hull could vaguely see the towering trees and streams passing by the roadside from time to time through the car window, and he turned to Jensen, who was sitting next to him, and sighed, "Jensen, this place is so beautiful, and it is the first time I have seen such a beautiful and unique scenery." ”

"Yes, it's beautiful." Jensen nodded in agreement: "Your Excellency, I have been in China for almost five years, and I have found that the best thing for the people of this country is to integrate their buildings with the surrounding buildings, their buildings may not be as tall as the Western buildings, but they are better at the combination with the natural environment, which is stronger than us, but unfortunately, this country is now too weak, and even the Japanese can step on them a few times." ”

"Isn't that right?" Hull said indifferently: "If their level of industry can be as good as the technology of building houses, I am afraid that it will not be the Japanese Navy that is facing us in the United States of America in the Pacific Ocean now." ”

"Yes!" Jensen also smiled: "Ever since the last dynasty of the country was overthrown, they have been mired in endless civil strife, which has led to all this happening now. But...... Oh, you see, that Chairman Chiang and his wife are meeting us at the door, and we have arrived! ”

As he spoke, the sedan stopped in front of a small blue building with a delicate and elegant shape, and after the door opened, Hull was the first to step down, and then he saw a middle-aged man with a medium stature in an earthy yellow military uniform without military rank, and another middle-aged woman wearing a dark red cheongsam with an elegant and beautiful face looking at each other with a smile.

After Jensen also got out of the car, Chairman Chiang quickly greeted him, stretched out his right hand, and said to him with a smile: "Mr. Hull, welcome, I would like to welcome you on behalf of the Nationalist Government and the people of China. ”

Chairman Jiang's Fenghua accent is difficult for even ordinary Chinese people to hear, let alone Hull, who knows nothing about Chinese. Luckily, however, he had a wife who was fluent in English, and the smile on Hull's face grew even more when Mrs. Chiang translated her husband's words in English with an eastern American accent.

Hull shook hands with Chairman Chiang and said in an exaggerated tone: "Thank you, I have to say that you have a very beautiful and intelligent wife, whose beauty and intelligence are simply enviable. ”

Listening to Hull's approval, Madame Chiang just pursed her lips and smiled, and softly translated Hull's words to her husband, and after hearing Hull's praise, Chairman Chiang's smile became even bigger, and he soon invited Hull and the two into the official residence.

Chairman Chiang was in his study room with Hull, which was where Jiang worked and rested on weekdays, which was enough to prove that he attached great importance to Hull and his party.

"Thank you!" Hull politely thanked the nanny who brought him coffee, and when the nanny went out, only Chairman Jiang and his wife, Hull and Jensen were left in the study.

As the host, Chairman Chiang first expressed concern for Hull's attack by Japanese fighters, and expressed strong condemnation and condolences to Hull, while Madame Chiang, who was sitting next to him, acted as his interpreter, translating her husband's meaning to Hull in elegant and standard English.

Hull first expressed his gratitude, then conveyed President Roosevelt's greetings, and finally expressed his admiration for the Chinese people's war of resistance.

The Americans' temperament is always relatively direct, and after the greetings, Hull went straight to the point: "Chairman Chiang, in addition to being instructed by President Roosevelt to discuss the issue of aid with your government, I also want to exchange with you my current views on the current situation in Europe. ”

"The situation in Europe?" After listening to his wife's translated words, Chairman Jiang's eyes suddenly froze, and the husband and wife looked at each other, and both of them saw the trace of doubt flashing in each other's eyes at the same time.

Seeing the momentary silence in the study, Hull couldn't help but ask slightly stunned, "What?" Is Your Excellency the Chairman so indifferent to the situation in Europe? ”

As soon as Hull said this, Chairman Chiang's face immediately turned slightly red, as the leader of a country, he was so indifferent to world affairs, which is really a little unreasonable, but then again, now that China has been beaten by Japan, where does he have the energy to understand the affairs of Europe, which is thousands of miles away. As his wife, Mrs. Jiang naturally knows the person next to her best, and her husband is too busy to deal with the domestic situation every day, so he naturally does not have the leisure to learn about the affairs of other countries. However, as the saying goes, husband and wife are one, and when she saw her husband embarrassed, she naturally wanted to help speak, but before she could speak, she saw her husband gently wave his right hand to herself, and said to Hull with a smile: "Mr. Hull, there is actually nothing to say about the situation in Europe. After Germany annexed Poland, its next target was naturally France, which was close at hand, but the French did not see the impending crisis, and still thought that as long as they had the Maginot Line, they would be safe, but they did not know that this sense of security was very illusory, so I think that if France could not start the war machine in a short time, their defeat would be inevitable! Madame, please translate this. ”

Chairman Chiang's last sentence was said to his wife with a smile, and Mrs. Chiang, who had already listened to it, hurriedly translated this sentence to Hull.

After hearing this, Hull's eyes flashed with a hint of strangeness, and then he smiled: "I didn't expect that Mr. Chairman would have a sharp understanding of the situation in Europe, and I think President Roosevelt would definitely be able to talk to you if he was here." ”

Chairman Chiang felt a burst of pride in his heart after hearing this, Hull was able to put himself and Roosevelt together, which proved that the other party already thought that he and Roosevelt were on the same level, which was better than any compliment to the good-faced chairman.

In fact, to tell the truth, although Chairman Chiang is clear about the affairs of his own country, it is not an exaggeration to say that he is blind to the affairs of Europe, and these words just now are just copying the views that Su Jin told him at the Nanyue Military Conference. Now seeing that Hull was suppressed by himself, he couldn't help but feel a move in his heart, and remembered another thing Su Jin had said, he thought about it and said.

"Mr. Hull, first of all, I would like to express my gratitude to you for the military aid you sent to our country a few days ago, but I have to say that these things are just a drop in the bucket for our country, which has millions of troops, in order to resist the Japanese invaders, our military and civilians have paid a huge price, according to statistics, as of 1937, after China and Japan entered a full-scale war, our soldiers and civilians have died in battle alone to more than two million, as for the loss of property, we have done our best to resist Japanese aggression, As a world power, your country should shoulder the obligations of a major country. So I hope that your country will increase our material assistance to us in order to better support this just war that is going on! ”

As for Chairman Chiang's words, Hull had anticipated them before he came, and after Madame Chiang had fully translated the words, he smiled and said in the words that had been prepared a long time ago: "Mr. Chairman, my government and people understand and sympathize with the just war that is being waged in your country, but the matter of increasing aid is not up to Mr. President alone, and this requires the authorization of the National Assembly, so it will take a certain amount of time. ”

Listening to his wife's translated words, Chairman Jiang's eyebrows furrowed slightly, how could he not hear that the other party was perfunctory to himself, he looked at Hull and said slowly: "Your Excellency, Secretary of State, please pay attention to one thing, although Japan now has more than 900,000 troops in China, you must know that the annual military expenditure of the Japanese army only accounts for 40 percent of Japan's military expenditure, and most of it is allocated to his navy. And they have built such a world's third largest navy not to deal with us, this huge navy is used to compete with your country for the interests and right to speak in the Pacific, which your government will not see. ”

Madame Jiang skillfully translated her husband's words, and at the same time glanced at Chairman Jiang with some differences, with her understanding of her own husband, these words were not like her own husband said, at this time she naturally did not know that her husband was just copying another person's words.

After hearing Madame Chiang's translated words, Hull's expression began to become more and more serious, and what Chairman Chiang said was completely what the US government was worried about.

Chairman Chiang continued: "Of course, President Roosevelt of your country was wise, and last year's announcement by your government of unilaterally abrogating the 'Japanese Trade Treaty' is the best manifestation of this, which also shows your government's vigilance against Japan's strong expansion. Since your country has become wary of Japan, why is it not willing to spend some materials that are insignificant to your country in exchange for a safer environment? ”

Listening to the words of the chairman, even Jensen, who had been sitting on the sidelines and had been silent, was a little stunned, he had been dealing with Chairman Jiang for five or six years, he already knew Chairman Jiang quite well, in his opinion, although this Chinese leader is very good at studying the domestic situation, but in dealing with the international situation, he is completely a layman, today he actually said such a sharp words, this is not his style and level at all, is this guy possessed by something today?

"Smack...... Syllable...... Bang bang ......"

Just when Jensen was taken aback, several applause broke out softly...... (To be continued.) )