After the signing of the peace negotiation agreement between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, Lao Jiang immediately put down his posture to express a certain gesture, and summoned Ouyang Jian, chief of the general staff of the 18th Route Army, by name. It happened that Ouyang Jian went to the Shaanxi-Gansu base area according to the order of the Military Commission to integrate the Shaanxi-Gansu First Army. At the same time, on behalf of the 18th Route Army, Ouyang Jian wanted to meet with Zhang Xueliang, commander-in-chief of the Northwest Group Army, and Yang Hucheng, deputy commander-in-chief and governor of Shaanxi Province, to handle bilateral relations and liaison feelings. At the same time, Ouyang Jian also had to visit Yan Xishan to resolve the contradictions between them.

At the beginning of July, Ouyang Jian left for Nanjing, and met Herman again when passing through Xingzi County, with the purpose of fulfilling the agreement made two years ago. This time, Herman brought in a large amount of machinery and equipment from the United States, including a shipload of scrap steel. In a well-grade restaurant in Xingzi County, Ouyang Jian said with a smile: "My old friend is in a hurry, so he has been sending me reports continuously during this time." "General Ouyang, the two-year contract between you and me has expired, please fulfill your promise and tell me the location of the treasure!" Herman was straightforward like a child.

Ouyang Jian said with a smile: "Old friend, why did I tell you after two years, in fact, the real reason is that we must have money in our hands, and if we don't have money, what can we use to buy land, there is a proverb in China, called it is difficult for a good woman to cook without rice." If we don't have money in our hands, everything is in the air. After Ouyang Jian finished speaking, he took out a map from the guard's file bag, Herman aimed at the map with a pair of greedy eyes, his fat body was a little panting, and he could see that there was a trace of nervousness in the excitement.

Perhaps Herman has been meditating on this matter every day for the past two years, what does oil mean, and whoever discovers oil in the current world will become a world-class tycoon. Therefore, Herman is understandable for looking for a morning and a twilight. Ouyang Jian's expression became serious and said: "Before we officially cooperate, you and I must sign a life and death contract, if you betray me, even if it is the end of the earth, I will kill you, I have this ability." "General Ouyang, I know in my heart that you can do it completely. Life is more important than money, and I promise God with my life! ”

Ouyang Jian unfolded the drawings and said: "This is the Arabian Peninsula, this is the Persian Gulf, on the west side of the northern coastline of the Persian Gulf, there is a place called Kuwait called the Persian Gulf Depression. I can be sure that this area is rich in oil, and it is shallow enough to be extracted. It is no exaggeration to say that his underground is a vast sea of oil. According to the theory of marine oil generation, the entire Persian Gulf may be a huge oil field. As soon as the drill rig is hauled in, black gold gushes out of the ground. In the past two years, I have sent someone to investigate, and I am 100% sure. ”

Herman folded his hands together and said, "Great, it's barren land, thank God for giving me the treasure!" "Bullshit, you should thank me and not some bullshit God!" "General Ouyang, I immediately went to the Arabian Peninsula to buy land and drilling equipment." "It's okay to buy land, but you can't drill on your own." "Why?" Herman was confused. "You are German, and the Arabian Peninsula is a British colony, and if you discover an oil field, I'm afraid you won't even know how to die!"

Herman nodded and said, "What you said makes sense, please advise?" "The first step is to buy land, remember that the Arabs recognize gold, I have prepared a sum of gold, you have to exchange all the money in your hand for gold, and you can buy as much land as you can sell." The second step is that you go to the U.S. and invite Mobil Oil to lobby them for exploration. If you want to sell the land to the Americans after the oil is produced, it will be a lot of money. Don't be insatiable, the world is full of gunpowder, war can break out at any time, and the oil fields will become the focus of war in the future. ”

"General Ouyang, your shrewdness is incomparable, selling land is more secure, risk-free, and every inch of land is valuable. Rest assured, the amount of money you get from selling your land is astronomical. I will sign a life and death contract with you now, and I will get half of each person. "Mr. Herman, you have been trading with Mr. Zhou for two years, and Mr. Zhou will fully represent me in this transaction in the future. For your safety, I have assigned you 10 bodyguards. This matter must be kept secret, come and wish you a smooth toast! ”

Later, Ouyang Jian arranged for Zhou An to meet Herman and made detailed arrangements for the cooperation between them. Ouyang Jian had a matter on his mind, and as for whether he could get his wish, he could only gamble. After everything was arranged, Ouyang Jian came to Jiujiang with his guards and four selected special combat members, and then disguised himself to board a passenger ship bound for Nanjing. It was already hazy at night when they arrived in Nanjing, and accompanied by the stars in the sky, the group came to the office of the Eighth Route Army in Nanjing. Enlai greeted him in front of the door when he heard the news, shook hands and greeted each other and entered the living room.

A table of wine and food was quickly set up, and Enlai said brightly as the host: "Brother Ouyang, I didn't expect Zhang Xueliang and General Yang Hucheng to help us a lot, it can be described as a stroke of genius." Frankly, we didn't expect it, and neither did Lao Jiang. Lao Chiang gave me the post of vice foreign minister, but I was not qualified to participate in foreign affairs activities, and I was on guard everywhere. The signing of the peace talks agreement does not mean that everything will be fine, and there will inevitably be friction in the future, and the struggle against the Kuomintang diehards has just begun. "Brother Enlai, it seems that you are going to stay in Nanjing for a long time, and it will definitely be uncomfortable to be a monk for a day when you hit the clock for a day."

This is secondly, at present, the Nationalist Government is afraid of war, and the compromisers are very marketable. Although an anti-Japanese national united front was reached, the clique headed by Lao Chiang advocated peace with Japan, believing that war could be avoided in this way, which was simply naïve. "Brother Enlai, we have no ability to manage others, we can only do our own things. Lao Jiang wants to see me by name, what does this mean? "It's nothing more than to win people's hearts, and in addition, if he wants to contact you emotionally, he will definitely use the Whampoa Military Academy to impress you."

"Lao Jiang may have other purposes, the Whampoa Military Academy has become history, and he has long forgotten in my mind!" "Brother Ouyang, you can't be rash." "Brother Enlai, don't worry! I'll grasp it" The next morning, Enlai went to work in the national capital, and at about noon, several black cars stopped in front of the office of the Eighth Route Army, and Ouyang Jian boarded the car in military uniform and went straight to Lao Jiang's official residence. Lao Chiang's official residence was heavily guarded, and it seemed that he was facing a great enemy. Ouyang Jian handed over the gun to the guards and was brought in after a strict search.

The large living room was bright and warm, and Ouyang Jian entered the living room to see Lao Jiang and his wife Song Meiling standing next to a table with wine and food on the table. Obviously, this is a family banquet, and Lao Jiang personally set up a family banquet to entertain guests, one is that the guests are old people, and the other is an important guest. Old Jiang and his wife were dressed very gentlemanly and elegant, with a smile on their faces. "Report to the president, Ouyang Jian, chief of the general staff of the Eighth Route Army, come to report, please instruct!" The standard military salute is neat and tidy.

"General Ouyang, what do you call it?" Old Jiang was disgusted. "Headmaster!" "That's right, I'm your headmaster, and I was, is, and will be. I personally distributed you with the Medal of Merit back then, remember? "Remember!" "What a pity! Why did such an excellent military talent miss out? The past is unbearable, this is God's will, we still look forward! Lao Jiang sighed. Seeing that Ouyang Jian was silent, Song Meiling said: "The past has become history, come and drink with us!" “

"I asked you to come to Nanjing this time, firstly, to apologize for Miss Lu's accident in person, and secondly, to be nostalgic, we will not talk about politics today." "Thank you for the principal's concern, the blood debt owed by the Japanese must be repaid by the Japanese." "General Ouyang, from a military point of view, do we have a chance of winning if China and Japan go to war? Now there are many people who do not have confidence in this, thinking that China and Japan will lose the country in the first war, but if they do not fight, they will also lose the country, and I would like to hear your thoughts. Lao Jiang changed the subject.

It turned out that this was Lao Jiang's purpose, Ouyang Jian pondered for a while and decided to cheer up the veteran and said, "Principal, subordinates speak bluntly. As far as the balance of forces between China and Japan is concerned, on the surface, the Japanese army has an absolute superiority, and its war capability is far superior to ours. Taking steel production as an example, Japan's steel production currently reaches more than 5 million tons, while we only have a few hundred thousand tons. The Japanese government stepped up preparations for launching a war of aggression against China, with a population of more than 80 million, and the limit of the Japanese army's expansion during the war could reach 8 million. ”

"Japan is an island country, and the war resources are very poor, and according to my understanding, if a full-scale war starts, Japan's domestic resources will not be able to sustain the war for three months. But now there is a variable, Japan has annexed the three eastern provinces, which has created the conditions for Japan to launch a long war. In addition, Japan has focused on developing its navy, and its investment in the army has been insufficient. Therefore, the weapons and equipment of the Japanese army were far less than those of the European and American powers. The Japanese army was soberly aware of this, so it worked its individual combat capability. ”

Ouyang Jian's analysis attracted Lao Jiang, because it was the first time he had heard such a different conclusion. "On the whole, the individual combat capability of the Japanese army is much higher than ours, looking at the ・・・・・・. Our advantage is a large population and vast land. If China and Japan fight, one is that it takes time to fight and consume, and how to use time in exchange for space is the best policy. Second, the strategic intention of the Japanese army is to defeat us in a short period of time, and if we drag on the war, we will enter a state of scorching. Whenever the Japanese army occupied a place, they would send troops to garrison it, and the longer the battle line was extended, the more overstretched their forces were, and this created the conditions for us to resist effectively. The third is the issue of unity, which is the most variable. In the face of the strength of the Japanese army, some people will lose confidence and even choose to surrender ・・・・・・. ”

The hall was very quiet, Ouyang Jian had been gone for a long time, and Lao Jiang was still standing in front of the window. "Darling, General Ouyang is very knowledgeable, and he really lives up to his reputation!" Mrs. Song Meiling praised. "Such excellent military talents cannot be used by me, it is difficult that this is the will of God. He said very incisively, and the key to fighting against Japan is confidence, and this is also the issue that worries me the most. Originally, I wanted to transfer him to the Ministry of Defense, but I found that he was a particularly strong-willed man, and if he did not fight well, he would not hesitate to shoot a general, and he was suitable to command operations on the front line. ”