The first thing Pope did after being kicked out of the conference room by General Wald was to seek help from his old commander, former Army Chief of Staff Marin Clegg. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info

Don't look at General Marin Clegg has retired, but as General Pershing's number one loyal dog, he has always played the role of Pershing's spokesman in military circles. Especially recently, Clegg has done a lot of communication and coordination work on behalf of Pershing to ease the relationship between conservatives and Marshallists, and his voice and influence in the military have risen compared with when he just retired.

Pope thinks Marin Clegg should still be able to keep him if he is willing to say a few good things about himself. After all, it depends on the owner to beat the dog. Anyway, he is also Clegg's former secretary, if he was cleaned up less than a month after leaving the 82nd Division, Clegg would not look good.

However, Pope could have thought of asking Marin Clegg for help, and John couldn't have thought of it. In fact, before deciding to do anything to Pop, the most he thought about was how to get past Clegg.

An old guy like Clegg, who is retired and can't be idle, John is the last thing John wants to face. He was a World War I hero, a retired general, and Marshall's predecessor, and he completely crushed John in terms of seniority, status, and prestige. Moreover, after stepping down from the position of chief of staff of the army, the veteran general's position in the military circles has become more transcendent, and there are fewer things to scruple about when acting.

If Clegg really shows his old face and wants to protect his former secretary, let alone John, it is estimated that Marshall will have nothing to do with him. Therefore, if John wants to succeed, he must first take care of Clegg's face as much as possible when dealing with Pope, and secondly, he must find someone with enough weight to come forward and help him smooth out the little mustard in the hearts of Clegg and other conservative bigwigs.

Neither of these two things could have been done by John himself. For this reason, he can only be like Pop and go to the backer behind him to help. Unlike Pope, John doesn't have to think about it until the end of the day. He had already gotten angry with Uncle Stimson before he made his move.

While Pope hurriedly contacted Clegg, John also called Stimson.

"Uncle Stimson, I'm John."

"Hello, little John." Stimson said with a smile. He is now more and more optimistic about John, this kid has to be capable and capable, and he has to have wrists. In time, it is definitely no worse than Defuss.

"Uncle Stimson, how was the last time I told you?"

"What, you've already launched it over there?" Stimson said, "You're still too impatient. Bear with it for a few more months, and it will be logical for you to take over as chief of staff directly. ”

"No, no. If it drags on any longer, Bradley they will have to have an opinion. John didn't care if he could become this chief of staff right away. He believed that with the precedent of his success in squeezing out Pop, the post of chief of staff of the 82nd Division would no longer be a sweet potato but a hot potato. The incapable people can't sit steadily, and most of the people who are really capable are reluctant to let them jump into this fire pit. In the end, it is still very likely that he will take over by himself, but it is only a matter of time.

"Now you can only preside over the work of the staff headquarters of the 82nd Division as the deputy chief of staff, and then think of a way in the second half of the year." Stimson thought for a moment and added, "Maybe it won't take so long." McNair's side is in the process of revising the troop establishment, and there may no longer be a deputy chief of staff at the division level in the future. ”

"Uncle Stimson, don't worry about this. How's Pop's affair going on? Is it too late? Today, Commander Wald came to inspect the 82nd Division and talked to Pope specifically. I guess they'll be moving in the next two days. ”

"Don't worry. I've got it all arranged. The War Department is preparing to send a military assistance mission to Brazil, and there is a shortage of a brigadier general. Didn't you make him a training expert, just let him help Vargas (the president of Brazil) train the troops? ”

"To Brazil?" John had heard of the Army and Navy sending military assistance missions to a number of Latin American countries. Seeing that Europe is getting more and more lively, if the Americans want to intervene, they must first settle their own backyard (Latin America).

As one of the Latin American countries with the closest ties to Nazi Germany (25% of Germany's agricultural and industrial raw material imports come from Brazil, dictator Vargas abolished the constitution and banned all political party activities after the coup d'état in 1937, and was ideologically very close to the German-Italian-Japanese Axis. Naturally, it is the focus of the United States' wooing.

John had already remembered that the United States seemed to have given Brazil three-quarters of its military investment in Latin America to pull Vargas into the chariot of the allies, making Brazil the only Latin American country to send troops to Europe (about 26,000 Brazilian troops were deployed in Italy in the name of the American army).

The head of the Military Assistance Mission to Brazil, this is a very oily and watery difference. In some ways, it is much stronger than the chief of staff of the 82nd Division. Pope's departure not only solved the problem of the brigadier rank he dreamed of, but also took the opportunity to "corrupt", and after passing the addiction of "Emperor Taishang", it can be regarded as a blessing in disguise.

John even felt that Pope should have thanked him a little. If you stay in the 82nd Division, you may lose your destiny when you go to the battlefield in the future, how can you be happy in Brazil, and by the way, you will have a lot of money. I believe that Uncle Stimson's arrangement should be able to satisfy Clegg and other conservative bigwigs.

John is now concerned about whether the Military Assistance Mission is still in the works and whether it will be in time.

In response to his question, Stimson smiled: "You think the head of the aid mission is so easy to be." Before he took office, he had to undergo a lot of training in diplomacy, intelligence, language, etc. I'll give him an order tomorrow to go to the Army Military Academy for a few months of training. When he was promoted to brigadier general in the second half of the year, he was sent to Brazil. ”

"And General Clegg's side?" John was back to the second question. Who will come forward to appease Clegg, a veteran, so that he no longer cares about John's plot against his younger brother.

"There's no need. Tomorrow he will be appointed, and he will know what to do. Stimson didn't take the retired Clegg seriously at all. His qualifications are much more than Clegg's, the last time he was Secretary of War (1911~1913), not to mention Clegg, even his boss Pershing was still drilling woods in the Philippines.

"Is it appropriate?" John wasn't as confident as Stimson. Tomorrow, as soon as Stimson's order is issued, the conservative bigwigs will know that he is plotting against Pop. Although it was Pop who made the mistake first, and he had a handle in his hand, he also "magnanimously" gave the other party a "wealth", which can be regarded as benevolent and righteous. But maybe someone will think that he has ruined his plan and will block him in the future.

"What's out of place." Stimson taught him: "You are still young, and you have not yet reached the time when Taoguang is obscure." It's good for you to show your edge appropriately. At least in the future, if others want to calculate you, they will have to weigh it first. ”