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Chapter 718: Bloody Rain and Bloody Wind on the Beach (3)

The Bund is lined with high-rise buildings with strong colonial flavors, and its development in the past 100 years has made it the most prosperous neighborhood in Shanghai, where most of the major banks, chambers of commerce, embassies and consulates of Europe and the United States are concentrated. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 The U.S. Consulate General in Shanghai is located in a garden-style courtyard across the street from the Recha Hotel, and is only a few hundred meters away from the British Consulate General in Shanghai, which covers an area of more than 100 acres.

At nine o'clock in the morning, a black limousine with HSBC license plates passed in front of the Japanese and British consulates, followed unhurriedly behind several civilian cars, passed through the crowded entrance of the Licha Hotel, and finally drove into the gate of the American flag, and slowly stopped under the steps of the main building.

Consul General Jensen, First Secretary Peter, Assistant Military Attache Kreberg and Commercial Counselor Chris were waiting on the steps.

After half a night of sneaking into the French Concession and taking the special car of the Chinese assistant of HSBC to enter the Public Concession with the help of Xin Yi, An Yi did not expect that Jensen, who had just been transferred from the Consul General of Hankou to Shanghai shortly after being transferred to Shanghai, also came out to greet him, knowing that his arrival had aroused great attention from the Americans, so he hurriedly climbed the steps, stretched out his hand and shook Jensen slightly, and politely saluted him, and then greeted Peter and Kreberg, and nodded to Chris, and bought him a hundred sets of documentary "Blood Evidence" The copy was released in the United States, thanks to that.

After everyone finished greetings, they entered the building together, and soon came to the living room on the second floor, where they humbly sat down with each other.

"General, do you and General Shen need fragrant tea or coffee?"

Kreberg sat in on several armistice negotiations, and had several conversations with An Yi in private, and had a discussion with An Yi when he visited the Whampoa Military Academy last year, so he did not have too many courtesies.

"Feel free, thank you!" An Yi replied with a smile.

Kreberg nodded to the secretary, sat opposite An Yi, and asked politely: "The arrival of the general makes me and my colleagues very honored, Mr. Jensen deliberately turned down the invitation of the Japanese side to attend the Hongkou celebration, and Chris and I waited for the arrival of the general." Of course, if the general finds it inconvenient, we can talk about it separately. ”

An Yi admired the Americans' set, and the good habit of the superior not to take advantage of the situation and not to impose his own ideas on others is a rare good character in Chinese officialdom, and said with a smile at the moment:

"It's all right, Colonel, it's a pleasure to be here with Mr. Jensen, Mr. Peter, and Mr. Chris! Also, just call me by name if you want, we're old friends, right? ”

Everyone laughed and accepted it happily, An Yi did not be more polite, but went straight to the point and said the purpose of this visit: "Thank you very much Colonel Kreberg and the U.S. Consulate General for sparing no effort to help Major General Wang Geng, I am here for this matter today." It is estimated that you already know that Major General Wang Geng has been arrested by the Military Justice Department of the Central Military Commission and will be tried by a military court in the near future.

As the deputy chief of staff of the whole army, I believe that there are still many issues that need to be clarified urgently, and that General Wang Geng should not be made to bear many charges beyond the scope of his responsibility because of his careless arrest, so I have taken the liberty to come here today to ask for Colonel Kreberg's help.

I know that Major General Wang Geng and Colonel Kleiberg are classmates at the West Point Military Academy, and General Wang Geng said in his complaint that the only reason why he sneaked into the public concession and was accidentally captured was that he had many doubts about the technical parameters of the German-made 102 artillery that the army had just equipped, and this kind of artillery could not play its due effect in actual combat, so he specially came to Colonel Kleiberg for advice. If that were the case, the nature of the case would be very different. ”

The four Americans looked at each other, but they didn't expect that the "Wang Geng leak case" that even the Kuomintang central government newspaper said conclusively would make the young general in front of him, who is famous at home and abroad and has extraordinary influence on the squadron, be so cautious, and An Yi's words faintly contain the meaning of excusing Wang Geng, which makes the Americans deeply surprised and has to take it seriously.

Kreberg replied solemnly: "Ann, Wang Geng is a person whom I and my fellow students at West Point admire, not only for his outstanding talent and knowledge, but also for his character. Wang Geng didn't lie, he did come to me that day to discuss the use of the German-made 102 artillery. If necessary, I am more than willing to prove the truth of this matter, and if there is any mistake he has made in it, it is that in the tense atmosphere of the Sino-Japanese war, he should not have any scruples in driving a three-wheeled motorcycle into the public concession, which is indeed extremely imprudent and contrary to convention for a general who is commanding more than 2,000 officers and men and is commanding the operation.

Despite this, when the Japanese were extremely far-fetched and wanted to severely punish Wang Geng for espionage, the officials of our embassy and consulates all tried to argue with reason, and even did not hesitate to suggest that Washington impose comprehensive sanctions on Japan. However, the main reason is that Wang Geng does not have any military defense maps or other confidential information, otherwise the Japanese will never let him go, and they will not release Wang Geng soon because of our pressure, after all, the relationship between countries is not something that can be counted with a few threats.

As for Wang Geng's final capture in the Licha Hotel, it was because he was chased by Japanese spies and military police and cornered, and only by entering the British-owned Licha Hotel could he temporarily avoid the embarrassment of being captured on the spot, which is not at all as absurd as your newspapers rumored. ”

"Ann, I can come forward to prove Colonel Kreberg's words, I was woken up that night because of this incident, and I personally signed the three-point diplomatic note sent to the Japanese Consulate General." Jensen added kindly.

An Yi nodded, took a piece of paper from Shen Fengdao's hand, asked for the consent of Jensen and Kreberg, quickly wrote it, read it after completion, and handed it to Kreiberg: "Please forgive me, this proof material can only be written in Chinese, my English conversation is no problem, the text expression needs to be further studied." ”

Kreberg handed it to Peter, who was proficient in Chinese, for review, and signed his name after seeing that there was no problem, and wrote a special paragraph of proof under the name, and Jensen also happily signed his name on it.

An Yi took the proof materials, carefully read the proof of the situation written by Kreberg, nodded with satisfaction, thanked Jensen and Kreberg from the bottom of his heart, and then handed it to Shen Fengdao to put it away.

"Ann, can you tell me whether Wang Geng's final verdict will be sentenced to death? China's laws and judgments are always incomprehensible to us, and there are too many political factors in them, which makes us outsiders very helpless. Kreberg asked worriedly.

An Yi thought for a while and replied: "There should be no death penalty, as for the other sentences, I am not sure at the moment, I can only say that I will strictly fulfill my responsibilities and obligations." From another point of view, as the former chief of the general staff of the enemy in the Songhu Theater and the deputy chief of staff of the General Staff Headquarters of the Military Commission, I have the right and obligation to make a fair and objective assessment of the ability and reputation of the officers under my subordinates. ”

"Thank you, Ann! I think I get it. Kreberg smiled knowingly, and couldn't help but feel very happy for his old classmate.

Jensen was obviously also very interested, praised An Yi's fairness and open-mindedness a few words, and then asked, "Ann, can you tell us what personal relationship you have with Wang Geng?" Is Mr. Song Ziwen also working on this case? ”

An Yi smiled very frankly: "Minister Song is running up and down for his subordinates, which is normal, after all, it involves the reputation and interests of the Ministry of Finance and himself." As for the relationship between me and Wang Geng, there is no connection at all, I can tell you frankly that even on the Songhu battlefield, Wang Geng and his troops are not under my direct command, and I am only responsible for the routine review of the battle plan of his superiors, and I do not have the final decision, and the decision is in the hands of General Cai Tingkai. I didn't know General Wang Geng before, but I saw him once when I inspected the tax police regiment after returning to China last year, and I didn't see him for the second time until he led his troops to the war after the Songhu War began. ”

Jensen put away his smile and said with sincere admiration: "An, you are the most thoughtful and cherished military honor I have ever met in China, your fairness and strictness are unforgettable, and I finally understand why you are so loved by the officers and soldiers of the army and all walks of life." ”

An Yi shrugged his shoulders and smiled: "Thank you for the compliment, Mr. Jensen, but you don't know that there are many people who hate me in this country and the army." ”

Everyone laughed heartily, and the atmosphere became relaxed and intimate.

Commercial Counselor Chris said playfully: "If anyone becomes your enemy, it is a very sad thing, General Li Zongren in your **, and General Feng Yuxiang is also like this." I've heard that your consortium is strongly supporting Franklin. Mr. Roosevelt ran for president of the United States, and I am sure you will also be victorious. ”

Jensen and Kreberg glanced at each other and did not talk, and now that the presidential campaign in the United States is getting hotter, it is really hard to say who will die in the end. Of course, they also knew that An Yi and his Chinese consortium were in conflict with Franklin. Roosevelt had a lot of relations, but they only needed to maintain enough respect for An Yi, and there was really no need to flatter.

Seeing that the atmosphere was a little awkward, Peter, who had not spoken, finally spoke: "General, since the outbreak of the economic crisis, you have ordered hundreds of millions of machinery and equipment from the United States, and also hired thousands of unemployed workers to work in your old Nanchang and southern Sichuan areas, which has greatly relieved the pressure on the White House and the state governments, for which we are all grateful.

After the 129 incident, many goods were backlogged in dock warehouses on the West Coast, and now, with the end of the war, several fleets have left the West Coast of the United States in batches and are heading for Chinese mainland. The U.S. business and financial community is hopeful about the prospects of U.S.-China relations, and we share the same view.

Here, I would like to ask the general a question: the United Ocean Company on the West Coast of the United States sent an official letter requesting assistance, saying that their fleet will sail along the Yangtze River all the way to Chongqing to unload cargo, and even further upstream to Luzhou and Syria, and we also know that before the end of last year, the 24 th Army and local garrison units under the command of the general have dredged the Yangtze River channel in the upper reaches of Chongqing, and have established perfect navigation beacons and other facilities, which can ensure the easy navigation of 3,500-ton cargo ships. May I ask the General, if we ask the General to assist us in the establishment of a liaison office in Syria, which is rapidly developing and will soon become the economic center of the four southwestern provinces, will the General agree and provide corresponding convenience? ”

An Yi stared into Peter's eyes and responded with a smile: "Since the beginning of last year, the Far Eastern Christian branch to which the American Church belongs has sent people to preach in Syria, and Professor Alfred, a priest and medical expert, has become the vice president of Southwest Medical College. In the past year, as many as 370 American experts and nearly 4,000 skilled workers hired from the United States have settled down and worked there, and a commercial liaison organization to promote US-China trade and people-to-people friendly exchanges has been set up.

This matter is very simple, only the U.S. Consulate General needs to submit a written application to the central government in Nanjing, and I very much welcome American commercial organizations to settle in, and I am willing to provide assistance to the best of my ability.

However, there is one thing that needs to be notified in advance, southern Sichuan is a relatively special region under the jurisdiction of the central government, with a high degree of autonomy, and the laws of southern Sichuan are established under the framework of the Constitution of the Republic of China, but they are more detailed, more comprehensive, and it is estimated that they are still somewhat harsh, and people from all countries who are not diplomats are treated equally according to the requirements of all citizens. I think you understand the implications, that a situation in which the Japanese and the British run amok in all parts of China is unthinkable in the whole of southern Sichuan. ”