The next day, the news that the chief of staff of the 82nd Infantry Division, Colonel Pope, would be transferred to the head of the Brazilian Military Assistance Corps, was like a bombshell, shaking everyone in the know. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 Pop, who was "desperate for his life", packed his bags that day and said goodbye to the Klaibo barracks, where he didn't want to stay for a day.

Wald, who was still inspecting the 82nd Division, called McNair with a complicated expression: "Leslie, that student of yours is really terrifying." ”

Stimson had taken matters into his own hands, and Wald and McNair would have been stupid if they couldn't guess who had squeezed out Pope. However, what frightened Wald was not Stimson's support for John, but John's skill in operating this matter.

Pope, who has been in the staff for many years, was led by John's nose almost the whole time. Not to mention fighting back, he hadn't fully figured out what was going on before he left.

"I'm underestimating him, too." McNair also sighed: "I thought it was a thoroughbred horse that had not yet grown up, but I didn't expect it to be a fierce and cunning little wolf cub." ”

"Do you think it was the old Stimson guy who gave him the idea?" Wald still couldn't believe that a young man could play with both him and McNair.

"Probably not. It's not Stimson's style, and he doesn't have to, at least not until the second half of the year. McNair understands Wald's feelings. When he first got the news in the morning, he was also taken aback. I didn't expect to become John's pawn unknowingly.

The point is that this kid has a good wrist, and the whole thing works perfectly. Several of them were taken advantage of, and they had to accept this kid's love in turn. After all, instead of publicizing the matter, they also gave Pop a good future and saved face for them. Now none of them are embarrassed to blame John for this, so they can only complain that Pop mud can't support the wall, and he will take the initiative to jump into it when people dig a pit.

"That means it's the kid's work alone this time?" Wald sighed: "No wonder he was able to make such a big business in just a few years, he is really not an ordinary person." This method is no worse than those old foxes, and you can't treat him as a young man in the future. ”

"Based on your observations, do you think Omar and they were involved in this?" McNair is more concerned about whether there are Marshallist people behind the squeezing out of Pop this time. Although the news reports were handed over to him by Clark, it was originally one of Clark's job responsibilities, and he did not express any inclination in the reports. Moreover, Clark was not from the 82nd Division, and McNair was more worried about whether Bradley, Ridgway, and Swain were involved.

"I asked Lynch Jr. He thinks Omar and they might know about John's plan, but there is no sign of involvement. When Pop suppressed that kid before, they didn't intervene and pretended to turn a blind eye. "Wald's biggest concern is also this problem, so yesterday he asked Lieutenant Colonel Lynch Jr., an intelligence staff officer, specifically about this.

"That's good." McNeil breathed a sigh of relief, and he didn't want to see the problem further complicated. "That's the end of it."

"And what about the candidates for the chief of staff of the 82nd Division? Let that kid take over directly or push someone out again? As the commander of the 4th Army, Wald also had to consider the next step of the 82nd Division's operation.

"We're not going to get involved in this, let Stimson and Marshall worry about it." McNair knew in his heart that John and Stimson had given them a brigadier general for almost nothing this time, which had saved them face. The conservatives pushed people out to compete for the position of chief of staff of the 82nd Division, that is, they were determined to block John's ascension, which was a bit provocative. Pope was squeezed away before he could finish his job for a month, and it is estimated that the result of sending someone to do so will not be much better, and it may offend Stimson completely.

What's more, conservatives are now out of gear, and there are not many rising stars who can confidently hold down John. Each of these people is a treasure bump of the faction, how can they risk the position of chief of staff of a division and let them fight with John.

"If you want me to say, this kid's ability is still good. Stimson can be regarded as saving face for us this time, or he will simply be pushed to the top. Wald felt that since they weren't going to push people to compete for the position, they might as well just give it to John. First, you can return the favor this time, and second, it is better than letting Marshall's people intervene. John is also Stimson's man no matter what he says, and he won't get too stiff with them. If the chief of staff of the Marshall faction were replaced, he would be even more unable to intervene in the 82nd Division.

"Wait a minute, and then we'll see the situation." McNair had actually endorsed Wald's suggestion. However, being used by his own students and having to go on the pole to help him, McNair couldn't pull this face. It's better to delay it for a while, and let that kid be in a hurry. Anyway, when this matter is finally discussed, he can't get around him, and then he will express his support.

While Wald and McNair were on the phone, Clark was also talking to Bradley about it.

"You're saying that John arranged all those media reports?" Clark asked, taken aback. He had thought that John had complained to McNair through him because he was angry that Pop had robbed him of his credit in the media.

"Those media were originally found by John. Do you really think that the 82nd Division deserves to be reported by the media for so long? Bradley woke Clark up with a word.

"Hiss~" Clark gasped, "This kid is really big." "How much does it cost to buy hundreds of media outlets and report on them for more than two weeks?

"The handwriting is big enough, and a brigadier general will send it when he says it." Bradley didn't know how much energy it would take to manipulate so much media, but he was clear about the difficulty of running a brigadier general position.

In the U.S. Army, general-level officers are all a turnip and a pit. Before the expansion, all active army generals combined were less than 100. Even now, it's only a little over two hundred, and many of them are temporary ranks. Moreover, the post of head of the Military Assistance Mission is not an ordinary fat shortage. With the power of military aid and materials, he is simply the "emperor" of the army in Brazil. That power, although not as powerful as the previous Philippine military governor, is also much larger than the average division. Pope was literally hit in the head by an oversized pie this time.

"Forget it, this kid is different from us, he was born not an ordinary person. He has much more resources at his disposal than we do, and envy cannot be envied. But he still has nothing to say to his friends. Thinking of the shares of the Brothers shipyard in his hand and the information sent by John, Clarke, while envious and jealous, still said a good word for John.

"It's not that I feel about it, it's that he can think of a way out for Pope in advance. This trick was so beautiful that even Marshall was full of praise. Bradley didn't expect John to also arrange this trick, and he was also shocked today. I felt like I had to take a fresh look at this "old friend".

"What did Chief of Staff Marshall say?" Clark was interested, and he was curious to know what Marshall had to say about John and the matter.

"He said that being able to think of his opponent and leave room for him is a necessary quality to be a qualified politician." Bradley's answer shocked Clark again.

"This, so high!" It took a long time for Clark to come back to his senses: "You say, is it possible for this kid John to take over Stimson's class in the future and become the Secretary of the Army?" ”

Both Clark and Bradley knew that John had little interest in a long-term career in the military, and that there was a good chance that he would retire after the battle. But the Secretary of War is a civilian in the Cabinet, and if John chooses to enter politics in the future, he will really be able to compete for this position.

Bradley is also starting to think about the possibility of this. With John's personal conditions and the influence of the Vanderbilt family in the Republican Party, it is not impossible for him to run for president in the future, let alone a cabinet secretary.

But then Bradley laughed again: "It's too early to worry about this." Even if he becomes the Minister of the Army, it will be more than ten years later. You'd better figure out how to get the position of deputy minister in your hands first. ”

"Also, John isn't even 40 years old now." Clark laughed too. He was almost 10 years older than John, and by the time John became Secretary of the Army, he would have retired and gone home to pick up his grandson, and he was still worried about all these things.