A sudden heavy rain shrouded Wuhan in smoke and rain, the rain washed the city, washed the dust in the air, the wind of the East Lake and the wind of the Yangtze River were intertwined, the rain, one will drift to the east, the other will float to the west, the thin silk, the buildings on both sides reveal the misty yellow light, all kinds of umbrellas and flowers on the street wander on the street, slender heels knock on the road, the car cuts the rain curtain, and flies up strings of broken jade.

The former hustle and bustle of East Lake has become a little silent, a few painting boats loom in the rain and mist, and the English villas surrounded by green trees on the shore are shrouded in smoke-like rain, and the fine raindrops hit the green leaves, making a fine rustling sound.

In the silence of the space, the news coming from the radio was clearly audible through the smoke and rain and over the green leaves.

"According to the BBC, the German [***] team crossed the Polish border and launched an attack on Poland, Chancellor Chamberlain issued a strong protest in the House of Commons, and the ambassador to Germany, Henderson, was instructed to submit an ultimatum to Germany, demanding that Germany stop military operations and that troops must withdraw to German territory within twenty-four hours."

"According to the Central News Agency in London, people here believe that the declaration of war by Britain and France on Germany is about to become a reality, and war in Europe has broken out."

"Foreign Minister Wang Chonghui claimed in an interview with reporters that he hopes that Britain, France and Germany will remain calm and restrained, avoid rekindling the flames of war, and hope that the world will not be deceived by the situation in Europe and pay more attention to the aggression against China."

"According to AFP, the French political axe announced the general mobilization of the army, and the ambassador to Germany was ordered to submit an ultimatum to the German political axe, and Marshal Ganmalin claimed that the Maginot line was impregnable, and the Germans would be strewn with corpses in front of this line."

Long Yun stood in front of the window, playing with the cigarette holder in his hand, which was a birthday gift from the French consul in Kunming six years ago, and the poetic scenery outside the window did not change his mood in the slightest.

Since the beginning of the Anti-Japanese War, he has been serving as the vice president of the Military Senate, which is nominally a staff body of the Military Commission, but in fact it is only a retirement home for some soldiers who have lost power, and what makes him haunted is the loss of Yunnan, he has asked several times to return to Yunnan for retirement, but Chiang Kai-shek has politely refused, Chiang Kai-shek once asked him if he would like to be the deputy commander of the Third Theater of Operations, but he refused.

Zhou Fohai looked at Long Yun's back, and couldn't help sneering in his heart, this Long Yun is still dreaming of being the king of Yunnan, but Chiang Kai-shek will not allow him to return to Yunnan, how can the rear of the Southwest not be in the hands of the central government. Chiang Kai-shek's permission to send his family to Sichuan, instead of Yunnan, is a clear proof of this, but it is a pity that he did not see it, but this situation can be taken advantage of.

The news from the radio did not make the mood of the two change in the slightest, Long Yun turned around, walked to the coffee table, picked up the wine glass, and gently shook the wine glass, the red wine was like blood, Long Yun drank it dry in one gulp, Zhou Fohai couldn't help but shake his head in his heart, soil buns are soil buns, such a good wine is really a waste.

"As soon as the war broke out in Europe, Britain and France could no longer care about the Far East, and without international containment, I am afraid that they would be even more unscrupulous." Zhou Fohai was full of worries, but this was by no means what he really thought in his heart. The outbreak of war in Europe was expected by them, but the results of their research held that the conclusion reached in the Central Newspaper was possible, that without the containment of Soviet Russia, Germany was likely to defeat Britain and France and win the European war, and then Soviet Russia would also succumb to the might of Germany, and the Far East would also change greatly.

"Let old Jiang be heartbroken, I'm an idler." Long Yun said gloomily: "I will go to Yucheng in a few days, I want to see if this place is heaven." ”

Zhou Fohai sneered, the fat on his cheeks immediately squeezed his eyes into a line, and the glasses on the bridge of his nose were also piled up with fat: "Brother Zhizhou, it's better to go to this place in heaven later, isn't it good to be at ease in the world for a while?" Kunming is known as the city of spring, the four seasons are like spring, this is the paradise on earth. ”

"There is heaven above, there is Suzhou and Hangzhou below, and this Suzhou and Hangzhou are heaven on earth." Long Yun glanced at him, during this time Zhou Fohai always looked for a reason to visit him, at first he didn't pay attention, as the number of times increased, he couldn't help but start to doubt his purpose, but the other party's tone was very tight, and he didn't show it at all.

"Suzhou and Hangzhou have been lost, now it's up to Kunming." Zhou Fohai waved his hand happily: "Several sons are still in Yunnan, is there any news recently?" ”

Long Yun's sons did not go to the battlefield, the eldest son Long Shenwu served as the commander of the southern Yunnan garrison, Long Shenzu served as the commander of the 58th Army instructor brigade, and the third son Long Shenzu was an outlier who liked to soak in the gang and organized a company to run transportation on the Yunnan-Burma Highway and made a lot of money.

Long Yun ruled in Yunnan for nearly ten years, especially his minority status was of great help to maintain the stability of Yunnan, a multi-ethnic province, Lu Han was in southern Yunnan for several years, he also wanted to appoint his own people, Zhuang Jihua saw through his thoughts, and when the Yunnan army was reorganized, he let Long Shenwu serve as the commander of the Yunnan garrison, and by the way, his troops were also integrated.

Long Yun has not seen his eldest son and second son for several years, because he is worried about surveillance, even there is little communication, the third son Long Cheng and the fourth son Long Cheng Wen have come back a few times, and learned some about their situation from them, and they are not satisfied with their current situation, especially Long Shenwu, he did not live up to Long Yun's expectations, trained two brigades in southern Yunnan, and almost completely controlled the ethnic minorities in southern Yunnan.

"It's not very clear," Long Yun glanced at Zhou Fohai vigilantly, the development of Long Shenwu in southern Yunnan is his only hope of returning to Yunnan, his only worry now is whether it will arouse the vigilance of Chiang Kai-shek or Zhuang Jihua, it is still just an ungrown fledgling, and it is still waiting for the time to fly high.

"They're busy, and I can't go back, so be it anyway." Long Yun's tone was a little light.

But Zhou Fohai saw a trace of satisfaction in Long Yun's eyes, and he knew a little in his heart, so he changed the topic: "Brother Zhizhou, the situation in Europe has changed, do you think Wuhan can hold it?" ”

"The enemy is strong and I am weak, I am afraid it will be difficult to defend." Long Yun said calmly: "Minister Zhou, didn't the comments of the Central Committee say that the War of Resistance is a long-term war, and space is exchanged for time, even if Wuhan is lost and retreats to the southwest, it can still persist in the War of Resistance." ”

Zhou Fohai smiled in his heart, several contacts, although Long Yun tried his best to hide his thoughts, but the dual identity of a soldier and a Yi person made him more straightforward, and it was difficult to hide his true thoughts for a long time, Zhou Fohai knew his thoughts about returning to Yunnan well.

"Retreating to the southwest, the central government is bound to strengthen its control over Sichuan, Yunnan, and Guizhou, especially Yunnan, which is the only export to the outside world, Brother Zhizhou, and the commander of the southern Yunnan garrison of Gongzi may not be able to do it for long."

Long Yun's hand shook, the pipe almost fell to the ground, Zhou Fohai hit his vital point, his gaze was fixed, and his mood suddenly became irritable.

Zhou Fohai was right, Chiang Kai-shek would never tolerate the existence of local forces if he wanted to control the southwest, especially Yunnan, which had already been conquered by force.

Zhou Fohai saw Long Yun's thoughts, so he struck while the iron was hot: "Mr. Wang has always valued you very much, Mr. Wang advocates peace, I know that Brother Zhizhou is the main battle, but the war has been fought so far, it can no longer be fought, the front has lost the city and lost the land, the people have tossed and turned, and the prices in the rear have skyrocketed, and you will know when you get to Yucheng, there is a limit on how much food you can eat every month." ”

Speaking of this, Zhou Fohai shook his head and sighed, and fell silent just right, Long Yun's face was cloudy, on the one hand, the prospect of the Anti-Japanese War was indeed unclear; On the other hand, there are concerns about Yunnan.

"Of course, it would be best if the ministers could make a peace agreement on the premise of retaining the sovereignty of the country, but would I be so kind? They already occupy half of China, are they willing to withdraw for nothing? ”

Zhou Fohai nodded in his heart, knowing that his attitude was beginning to loosen: "Mr. Wang has sent someone to contact him, and from the current point of view, he has agreed to withdraw the army and not compensate for military expenses, but asked for the signing of a mutual anti-communist treaty, and nothing else, does not involve sovereignty, and does not involve the three eastern provinces. ”

Long Yun couldn't help but raise his eyebrows, and asked with some surprise, "Really?" And not garrisons? ”

"Yes, there will be no troops," Zhou Fohai nodded solemnly: "If a peace agreement is reached, the Chinese side promises to withdraw troops within three months." ”

Long Yun couldn't help but stand up, such conditions were more lenient than the original conditions of Toddman, is this possible? He was a little unconvinced: "The conditions that Todman put forward were harsher than that. ”

Zhou Fohai smiled suddenly, and shook his head slightly: "I didn't understand at first, but then I understood, ashamed to say, we also underestimated ourselves, the two-year war made me understand that we are not as weak as we seem, Zhuang Cultural Revolution annihilated 500,000 troops in the third war, and some changes have taken place in the country, and there is still a master in their political axe." After the defeat in World War III, the forces of the main peace faction rose up, and the conditions were naturally relaxed. ”

Zhou Fohai understood that this point must be explained clearly, otherwise it would be easy for people to think that it was his own conspiracy, so he tried his best to explain the results of his thinking.

"What's more, the outbreak of the European war, Yue Ben is in a hurry to withdraw from China, if Germany wins, Nanyang will become the fruit of Yue himself."

"What about the Americans?" Long Yun asked rhetorically.

"The Americans will not fight for the British, the French." Zhou Fohai said lightly: "As long as Germany and the Americans don't pay attention to it, the Americans will not fight for Britain and France, isn't that the last European war." ”

Long Yun thought about it and nodded in acceptance, the reason why the United States entered the war in the last European war was that Germany sank the American passenger liner, if it weren't for this, the United States probably wouldn't have entered the war in the end.

"Then I always have some conditions, right? Mr. Jiang is still not satisfied with such conditions? Completely in line with the Lushan talk? Long Yun was puzzled.

(To be continued)