readx; "Take a seat!"

The generals stood up immediately!

In a moment, Chiang Kai-shek staggered in. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 He was wearing a blue serge gown, with a bare head, and a pair of round-mouthed white-soled cloth shoes under his feet, which looked quite free, and when he saw the generals standing upright and saluting him one by one, he nodded with a smile and said, "Okay, okay, sit down, sit down." ”

However, it was not until he sat down in his robes that the generals sat down. The Kuomintang military and political circles all attached great importance to etiquette, even if He Yingqin was a high-ranking official, and he was a classmate and friend of Chiang Kai-shek at the non-commissioned officer school, he did not dare to be casual in front of Chiang Kai-shek.

Everyone sat down, Chiang Kai-shek looked at Gao Fei sitting on his left hand and said: "Gao Fei, there is another big battle, so I have to worship you as handsome!" When Chiang Kai-shek mentioned Gao Fei's words, Gao Fei immediately stood upright, and waited for Chiang Kai-shek to finish speaking, before he replied: "Obey Jun's orders and report here!" ”

Chiang Kai-shek nodded, motioned for the other party to sit down, and then turned to Du Yuming: "Guangting, you can report the situation on the Yunnan-Burma side to the senior commander." ”

Du Yuming jumped up like a bullet on the sofa, and replied with a straight chest: "Report to the commission, the subordinates have already made a brief report to the senior commander on the road." The subordinate brought a mimeographed copy of the report of the inspection team and asked the senior officer to look at it. ”

With that, he took out the mimeographed copy from the military leather bag he was carrying crossbody, and handed it to Gao Fei with both hands.

Gao Fei took the mimeograph and was about to flip through it, when Chiang Kai-shek waved his hand a little irritably and said: "Report that you take it back and take it slowly, I want to talk to you about some things that should be paid attention to." ”

Gao Fei hurriedly put away the mimeographed copies and listened attentively to every word that Chiang Kai-shek spoke. This is because Chiang Kai-shek speaks "Zhejiang Chinese", and it is difficult to understand the southern and northern tones, especially when he is excited, he spits words very fast, like a machine gun that fires repeatedly, and it is even more difficult to understand. As a subordinate, it is inconvenient to ask more questions because you can't understand the words, so you have to concentrate on listening, and often have to guess.

"This time, we sent an expeditionary force into Burma to fight, and we had repeatedly prepared, mobilized, prepared, and mobilized the British to go back on their word, until they could no longer support Burma and then agreed to the Chinese [***] team to enter Burma. This is because they are always afraid that we have territorial ambitions and will take away their colonies. Outrageous! If it weren't for the Burma Road, we wouldn't have had to send troops. ”

The more Chiang Kai-shek spoke, the more excited he became, and he even patted the armrest of the sofa. "Americans are even more bastards! According to the Lend-Lease Act passed by Congress, the United States assisted the Allies in fighting the Axis powers, and the materials they aided the Soviet Union could be at Stalin's disposal, and the materials aided Britain could be at the disposal of Churchill. It's so unfair! ”

When the generals saw that Chiang Kai-shek was excited, their brains were pounding, and they seemed to be about to be furious, so they all held their breath very nervously, lest they suddenly turn their anger on their heads.

He Yingqin lifted his glasses and interjected slowly: "This is unequal treatment - the inherent attitude of foreigners towards us Chinese!" That Stilwell, who was a lieutenant colonel and military attache at the embassy in China not long ago, was promoted to the rank of general by the American political axe in order to send this China general to supervise us. ”

The words were intense, but his tone was gentle and incongruous. He Yingqin is a "slow surname", never scolds people loudly, and his surname is like a Confucian scholar.

"Yes, unequal treatment! Inequality! Chiang Kai-shek slapped the armrest of the sofa again. What kind of cats and dogs are sent to ride on my head! What a bastard! ”

"It's also bullying us to be too poor, knowing that if we want to persist in the War of Resistance, we must be aided by the United States, this is blackmail!" He Yingqin sneered and said, "However, knowing this, we have no choice but to accept it." ”

"Yes, I have to accept it" Chiang Kai-shek was discouraged, leaned back in despair, and seemed to not know how to continue.

Gao Fei saw that Chiang Kai-shek was silent, so he stated his opinion: "I think that although foreign aid is needed to continue the war of resistance, now that the world war has broken out, the Chinese battlefield has played a great role in restraining the Axis powers. If we do not resist the Japanese and the Japanese Kou move the forces on the Chinese battlefield to the western battlefield, it will be really difficult to deal a blow to Britain and the United States! Therefore, the United States has its own interests in assisting us in the war of resistance. The key point is that China's international status must be improved so that foreigners will not dare to despise us. That's where we need to make a difference. This expeditionary force went abroad to fight, probably the first expedition in Chinese history, and it was a very glorious mission. We must fight this battle well on the battlefield in Burma, reverse the defeat of the British, and drive the Japanese out of Southeast Asia. Then, China's international status will be enhanced, Britain, the United States, and other countries will no longer despise us, and inequality will naturally be eliminated. ”

These words made Du Yuming and the others almost couldn't help but shout, but He Yingqin shook his head pessimistically: "Although Gao Fei's words are reasonable, but we have been fighting for several years and have not driven the devils out of the country, so how can we expect to drive the devils out of Southeast Asia?" Gao Fei argued: "There are many reasons for the defeat on the battlefield in the four years of the Anti-Japanese War, and one of the most important reasons is that compared with our weapons and equipment, there is too much disparity, especially in terms of air supremacy in the devils, and the front-line soldiers are so oppressed by the devils' planes and artillery that they can't raise their heads!" Now with the 14th Air Force of the US Air Force, coupled with US aid, our army's equipment can be rapidly improved, and even surpass that of the Kou. In this way, we are sure of victory! ”

Gao Fei's words were sonorous and powerful, but Chiang Kai-shek was quite unpleasant when he heard them. He snorted, and then said:

"Yes, yes, Gao Fei's words are very reasonable, very reasonable, this is our expedition, we must fight a good battle, this and this, but, we must also pay attention to preserving our strength. We still have a lot of troubles at home, and we can't expend our troops abroad. In addition, when the expeditionary force arrived in Burma, it was necessary to pay attention to the coordination with the Allied forces, and this and this should obey the command of Generals Hudun and Stilwell. ”

Chiang Kai-shek had no problem with stuttering, but he was accustomed to using a series of "this" to keep the speech continuous because of the thought of wording or the difficulty of speaking in conversation.

Gao Fei listened to Chiang Kai-shek's words and couldn't help but be stunned! Look at the generals sitting again, all of them lowered their eyes and were stunned. Obviously, everyone in the audience felt that Chiang Kai-shek's words were very inappropriate, but they did not dare to refute them. Gao Fei felt that since he had appointed himself as the commander of the expeditionary force, the success or failure of the expeditionary force was at stake, so he must not remain silent about the wrong decisions that affected the expeditionary force's operations.

"Commission, the expeditionary force entered Burma to fight, although the main purpose is to protect the Yunnan-Burma road, but at the same time, it is also to relieve the danger of the British and Burmese army. Moreover, we are allies of Britain and the United States, so how can we hand over the army to the command of British and American generals? Isn't this a loss of sovereignty? ”

Chiang Kai-shek was "hmm" for a long time, and he was quite embarrassed, "Well, this is the case, Britain and the United States are not only advanced in weapons and equipment, but also more advanced than us in terms of strategy and tactics. So it's better to follow their commands. ”

Gao Fei believes that the use of weapons and operational command are two different things, and they must not be compared with each other, and the stakes are very high, so we must fight for each other: "The so-called "Knowing oneself and knowing one's opponent is invincible in a hundred battles." Our army has four years of experience in fighting against the Japanese Kou, which is the strength of our army and the shortcomings of Britain and the United States. The British, in particular, have sent officers to our country to learn guerrilla tactics. In terms of strategy and tactics, we can communicate with each other and learn from each other's strong points, but we must not subordinate one side to the other. ”

Chiang Kai-shek listened to Gao Fei's words very patiently, pretending to be calm on the surface, but in fact he was very weak inside. He complained a lot about Gao Fei's stubbornness, but he couldn't attack, so he said very hard: "Well, this and this of your words are very reasonable, this time to go abroad to fight, equipment, supplies, and transportation must rely on the support of Britain and the United States, especially the upcoming Stilwell, who has full control of the American aid to China, so this must obey his command!" ”

I see, "eat other people's soft mouths, take other people's hands short"! If this is the case, what is the point of being said? However, Gao Fei has been deeply aware that if the command of the army is handed over to foreigners, the fate of the squadron will be in the hands of foreigners, and this is a completely foreseeable danger. Therefore, he suddenly regretted that he should not have agreed to the post of commander of the expeditionary force. However, now that he is "ready to fly", he seems to have no way out, he can only try to get out of this situation of being controlled by others.

"It's very dangerous to let the 100,000 army go to the mercy of foreigners! Moreover, the generals have no subjective will when fighting, they can only listen to the advance and retreat of others, and this battle cannot be fought! ”

Chiang Kai-shek frowned and thought to himself, "How could I be willing to hand over the army to the command of foreigners?" But otherwise, how can we get US aid? "Naturally, it is inconvenient for him to talk about these hardships to his subordinates publicly." In fact, the command is not in the hands of foreigners, I am the commander-in-chief of the Chinese theater, and Stilwell is just my chief of staff, and he has to obey my command! ”

Gao Fei felt that it was no longer convenient for him to harden his head, so he looked at Du Yuming, meaning to say: "You are the deputy commander, and you also have the responsibility to speak!" Du Yuming realized it, and also thought that he had a great responsibility and had to fight, so he got up and said:

"If Stilwell's orders are not in line with the intentions of the commissioner, what will his subordinates do?"

Gao Fei couldn't help but secretly applaud: "Good question!" That's a great question! He looked at Chiang Kai-shek to see what he would say.

Chiang Kai-shek glanced at Du Yuming: "Hmm-if this happens, you can send a telegram at any time, and I will give you clear instructions." In the end, he added: "I know the name of the foreigner's ghost, you can rest assured." ”

At this point, Gao Fei and Du Yuming exchanged helpless glances, and didn't dare to argue anymore.

The conversation was not long, but because of the delay on the way, it was already noon, and Chiang Kai-shek invited the generals to lunch at the official residence. The attendant adjutant came to lead the generals to the dining room to sit, but when the generals came to the dining room, Chiang Kai-shek went inside and did not come out for a long time, so it was inconvenient for everyone to sit down, and standing in the dining room, they were quite at a loss. Fortunately, not long after, Chiang Kai-shek came to the restaurant with Soong Meiling.

The first lady of China at that time, the 3,000 gold of the Song family, was dressed in a dark blue velvet cheongsam with a dignified demeanor, and as soon as she walked into the restaurant, she took the initiative to greet her cordially:

"Goofy, it's been a long time, are you doing well?"

Gao Fei replied respectfully: "Thanks to Madame's question, Gao Fei is also rude." Song Meiling looked at Gao Fei and said very emotionally: "I know you are very strong, but you can't help but be short of breath and have a long love for children, so I see that you have lost a lot of weight." It's always not good to go on like this? ”

Gao Fei smiled sadly: "Thank you, Madame, for your care." ”

As we all know, Song Meiling is a person who can influence Chiang Kai-shek's military and political decisions, and Gao Fei's two wives have a very good relationship with Song Meiling, which should be of great benefit to Gao Fei, in fact, Song Meiling did not say good things for Gao Fei in front of Chiang Kai-shek.

Everyone sat around the table, and the dishes on the table were very ordinary, and there was no wine on the table, and most people felt deeply restrained, so they could only say that they had eaten the meal hastily.

Chiang Kai-shek did not leave any more people behind, but only told Du Yu to return to western Yunnan tomorrow morning and prepare for the troops to enter Burma, thus ending the summons.

When returning to the city from Chiang Kai-shek's Huangshan official residence, Gao Fei was still in the same car as Du Yuming. He asked tentatively:

"Brother Guangting, how do you feel about the instructions of the commission?"

Du Yuming shook his head sullenly: "What's the use of feelings?" The commission has never been questionable. Gao Fei smiled slightly: "I am the commander of the expeditionary force, and you are the deputy commander, leading the troops into Burma to fight, that is, we are in the same boat." So we should be open-minded and talk about it from the bottom of our hearts. ”

Du Yuming looked at the other party and felt that Gao Fei was not enough to hit his own little report. So he said with some indignation: "It is a fact to say that Britain and the United States are better equipped than we are; Therefore, to say that the British and American generals are more strategic and tactical than ours is really not flattering. We have four years of experience in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, while Britain and the United States have not fought for many years before that, and the generals and even soldiers lack actual combat experience. How to use soldiers, how to arrange the formation, it is useless to just talk about it verbally, and talking about soldiers on paper is taboo for soldiers! As a result, we should listen to the command of these people, which is too unreasonable! ”

Goofy nodded and said, "Yes, your words make a lot of sense. As far as I know, Stilwell has been in China for 10 years, claiming to be a China expert, and it is probably because of this consideration that the American political axe sent him to China to deal with a self-righteous person, and even let such a person command, which is very dangerous. ”

Du Yuming let out a long breath: "It's not that I don't know the commission, but it is said that the Americans are ready to equip our sixty divisions, which is indeed extremely tempting. The distribution of these equipment and all other materials for aid to China is in the hands of Stilwell, and he has such a trump card! Gao Fei shook his head disapprenorovingly: "We have been fighting for four years, and I believe that there will be no problem in fighting for another four years." Moreover, the Americans' assistance to us in the fight against the Japanese was not only for the survival of China, but also for the sake of China's survival, but to use the Chinese battlefield to attract a large number of Japanese troops. If we fail, we can use the millions of troops on the Chinese battlefield to fight Britain and the United States. Therefore, I think that regardless of whether we follow Stilwell's command or not, the aid plan for China is the established policy of the US Congress, and he Stilwell cannot obstruct it if he wants to. ”

Du Yuming admits that Gao Fei's view is reasonable. However, he also knew that Chiang Kai-shek was a man, and he always wanted to ask the Americans for more assistance, so he could only ask President Roosevelt through Stilwell. Moreover, although aiding China is an established plan of the US Congress, and Stilwell cannot stop it, Stilwell can give less, drag on the time and slowly squeeze the toothpaste, and even tell Roosevelt that China does not need so much and deduct some of it. So he said with a wry smile:

"The so-called success is insufficient, failure is more than enough, and the villain's specialty Stilwell is complete." Goofy smiled and said, "What a brilliant analysis!" However, your Fifth Army will be the main force in the battle against Burma, so your attitude is crucial. ”

Du Yuming snorted: "The Fifth Army will not be at the mercy of others. After the committee speaks, the subordinates can directly ask for instructions. ”

Gao Fei couldn't help but be surprised when he heard it, because he had a lot of opinions about Chiang Kai-shek's answer at that time, and thought it was very irresponsible, but he didn't expect Du Yuming to take it seriously. So he said very seriously:

"Brother Guangting, you can't have such illusions. Myanmar is thousands of miles away from Chongqing, and the battlefield is changing rapidly, so you can't ask for any more instructions. Besides, if you listen to the commissioner, Stilwell doesn't listen to the commander-in-chief, and it will be difficult for you to deal with a stalemate. ”

Du Yuming couldn't help frowning when he heard this, Gao Fei was too right, and even if there was no Stilwell to make trouble, Chiang Kai-shek was accustomed to looking at the map thousands of miles away to direct the front to fight, and even often ordered a division or a regiment, which was unacceptable to the former enemy commander. But what can he do? Could it be that even Chiang Kai-shek's orders could be resisted? So he stared at Goofy and asked tentatively:

"May I ask why my brother taught me?"

Gao Fei smiled faintly: "The so-called generals are not subject to the orders of foreign monarchs, and the generals must have this initiative, otherwise they will not be able to adapt to the situation and win the war." Du Yuming nodded again and again: "Guangting should be kept in mind." After a pause, he flattered: "Having your brother in command is a blessing for 100,000 soldiers of the expeditionary force." I am confident that if I serve under my command, I will be victorious! ”

Gao Fei smiled faintly again: "I was born in the army, so I can't talk about any strategy, but what you just said, from Shanghai to now, there have been many battles, and I have accumulated some experience, that's all." The battle between the troops depends on you Whampoa generals. ”

Saying that, he turned around and faced Du Yuming: "Brother Guangting, Kunlun Pass Dajie, the ambition of the Chinese, your prestige is also far away, this time to Burma, let's fight a few more beautiful battles like Kunlun Pass." ”

At the mention of the victory at Kunlun Pass, Du Yuming came to his senses, and said with his eyebrows fluttering: "The battle of Kunlun Pass proves that Kou is not invincible. The Fifth Army is a division of steel, and it will definitely be invincible! Please rest assured, the Fifth Army will never disgrace the commander, and let the British and Americans see that our [***] squadron can defeat the Kou! ”

(To be continued)