Mike wore a somewhat faded British military uniform without the epaulettes of the rank, but it was clean and neat, and although the gloves he held in his hands were also stained with oil, there was not a trace of oil on his body.

Mike has a figure of 1.8 meters, a little taller than Song Zhewu, a pair of slightly long faces with sharp edges, and the slightly downturned corners of his mouth give people a sense of arrogance and condescension.

Mike's performance relieved Guo Wenyuan, who had been worried that his arrogant surname had offended Song Zhewu, and was thinking about how to translate for Song Zhewu. Unexpectedly, Song Zhewu said with a smile in English: "Song Zhewu, Lieutenant General of the Republic of China Army and Commander-in-Chief of the Fourth Route Army, accepted the greetings from Mr. Harris, a retired lieutenant colonel of the British Army. As he spoke, he returned the salute to Mike.

Although there is a clear difference between Song Zhewu's American English and Mack's standard Yorkshire accent English, Song Zhewu speaks it fluently. Song Zhewu can speak English, and naturally he can understand it, which made Guo Wenyuan surprised at the same time, but also a little embarrassed, he thought that Song Zhewu didn't understand English, so he told Mike in front of him.

Because Guo Wenyuan has been with Mike all this time, they both talk in English. At this time, although Guo Wenyuan was a little embarrassed, he inadvertently asked Song Zhewu in English: "Commander-in-chief, I heard Commander Wu say that the commander-in-chief can speak German and Chinese, but I didn't expect to speak English!" It's amazing to know these languages! ”

Song Zhewu said with some pride: "Not only English, German, and Chinese, but also Russian." ”

At this time, Mike gave Song Zhewu a standard military salute again, and said loudly: "Mike, a retired lieutenant colonel of the Royal Air Force of the British Empire. Harris once again greets Mr. Lieutenant General! Please forgive the general for the offense! ”

Song Zhewu said with a smile: "I like people who have the ability and ability, and I have always forgiven the offense of people with outstanding ability, and Mr. Harris is just a very capable person, so I am happy to accept your apology!" At the same time, on behalf of the Fourth Route Army, I would like to sincerely thank Mr. Harris for his great help to the construction of the Fourth Route Army's Air Force! ”

With that, he stepped forward and reached out and shook Mike's hand.

Mike smiled and said, "Mike. Harris is proud to accept your thanks, General. As he spoke, he held out his hand.

The two shook hands and laughed "haha". Song Zhewu is very willing to associate with people like Mike, who are frank and sincere, although they are a little unruly; Mike also has a good impression of this young but approachable lieutenant general. Both even have a sense of "love at first sight".

"I heard from my subordinates that Mr. Harris also modified a trainer for us, which is not covered by the contract, so I decided to pay you an additional $1,000."

"$1,000, oh! O my God! As soon as Song Zhewu's words fell, Mike screamed.

At the end of the twenties, the dollar strengthened as the United States made a fortune in World War I. Coupled with the gold standard of the US dollar at that time, each dollar was the corresponding gold, and the value of $1,000 at that time was nearly 100 times that of the same amount of dollars at the beginning of the 21st century. That is, $1,000 in the twenties of the twentieth century is equivalent to eighty to one hundred thousand dollars eighty years later. Such a large sum of money can't help but amaze Mike!

But then Mike shook his hand again and said, "No, no, my respected general, you are mistaken. The Air Force of the Fourth Route Army is in great need of trainer aircraft, and it is true that it should be rewarded for modifying training aircraft, but you should reward your subordinate Major Guo, he is a very great engineer, and the drawings and modifications are all done by him, I am just assisting him, I sincerely congratulate the general on having such an excellent subordinate as Major Guo, I dare to say that Guo is in Britain and the United States, and Guo must also be a very good mechanical expert. ”

"No, no." Song Zhewu smiled and said, "This is what you deserve." Major Guo's I will not be less. ”

Song Zhewu said to Guo Wenyuan: "Wenyuan, I value and admire your knowledge very much!" But to be honest, you surprised me very much this time, you have never done research on aircraft, but you can modify a trainer aircraft in such a short period of time, which is really remarkable. ”

Guo Wenyuan said with a smile: "Commander-in-chief, the control and transmission principle of all machinery is the same, it is not difficult to modify it, and the commander-in-chief has won the award." ”

Guo Wenyuan just didn't say it, Song Zhewu also knew that at this time, the hydraulic transmission and electric transmission of the aircraft were almost non-existent, and perhaps a large number of electric transmissions would be used in a few years, but now all the transmission control of the aircraft is still mechanical, of course, it is a lot simpler. However, Guo Wenyuan is not an aircraft designer after all, and it is not easy for him to get it out quickly, even in aircraft factories in Europe and the United States, such modifications will take a long time. The fact that he was able to do it alone in a short period of time definitely says a lot.

Song Zhewu shook his head and said: "Although modesty is a virtue of Chinese, excessive modesty is falsehood, and I prefer the frankness of Europeans and Americans." Mike is an aviation expert who admires you, which is very revealing. This time, you have made a great contribution to the air force of our Fourth Route Army, and with the trainer plane, our pilots can learn to fly the plane more quickly and form combat effectiveness more quickly. Therefore, I have decided to promote you to lieutenant colonel and reward Dayang with 100,000. ”

Guo Wenyuan didn't expect that Song Zhewu would immediately give him a promotion because of the training plane, and even rewarded him with 100,000 oceans! He used to work as an engineer in Zhengzhou, with only more than 100 oceans a month, and his classmates also worked in Shanghai and Wuhan, where the salary was slightly higher, but it did not exceed 200 oceans. And as soon as he joined the Fourth Route Army, the major's salary was 150 oceans per month, and this time he was promoted to lieutenant colonel, which was 500 oceans, not to mention that he was rewarded with 100,000 oceans at once. If he is still in Zhengzhou, these 100,000 oceans will be enough for him to earn for decades......

Guo Wenyuan said excitedly: "Commander-in-chief, this reward is not necessary......"

Song Zhewu stopped Guo Wenyuan, who was about to shirk, and said seriously: "Wenyuan, these 100,000 oceans are not much, this is what you deserve, now I can't buy a training plane with 100,000 oceans, even if I give you more, I should give you more." Meritorious service will be rewarded, and fault will be punished. This is the ancient Ming Xun, Wen Yuan, you won't let me be a foolish person with unknown rewards and punishments. ”

Because Song Zhewu was playing Mike's idea, the conversation between him and Guo Wenyuan was in English. Song Zhewu's words did shock Mike a lot, when he was in the British Royal Air Force, he participated in the development of several types of aircraft, but he never got a promotion for this, and even was jealous, his lieutenant colonel was in exchange for military merits in the first few years of World War I.

Mike tried to hide the somewhat bitter look of his confidant, stretched out his hand, and said with a smile: "Guo, congratulations on having a good boss, I am really happy for you." ”

Guo Wenyuan's face flushed slightly with excitement, "Thank you, Mike!" He also stretched out his hand and high-fived Mike happily.

Song Zhewu looked at the two of them with interest, he had already seen Mike's expression just now, and he felt that money was not important to Mike, although his family background may be very ordinary. But the most important thing for Mike is the honorary status, and the promotion of the military rank is a good manifestation of the honorary status, which can be seen from the fact that he still wears the old military uniform.

Song Zhewu seized the opportunity and said to Mike with some apologies: "It's a pity that Mr. Harris doesn't have Chinese nationality, otherwise I would have called you into the Fourth Route Army and promoted you to colonel." ”

"Colonel!" A flush of excitement instantly welled up on Mike's face, and he was only one step away from the general he longed for. But the blush of excitement immediately receded, and he said very frustratedly: "Thank you very much, General! It's just that I'm a cripple, and I'll never be able to put on a military uniform again in this life. ”

"No, no, if Mr. Harris joins the Chinese nationality and is willing to join our Fourth Route Army, I will immediately promote you to colonel. You don't have to fly into the sky, you can go ahead and design the plane, and I'll provide everything you need. I will soon set up our own aircraft factory to design and build our own advanced aircraft. You can also be the chief instructor of our Air Force and use your vast experience to train a strong Air Force. I am very confident that we will build our Air Force well, and if because of your efforts Harris, our young Air Force will grow up brilliantly, not only will I be grateful to you, but I will also make a strong mark on you in the history of the Fourth Route Army Air Force, and will let the whole world know about Mike. The name Harris, come on, I need a good soldier like you to help me. ”

After Song Zhewu finished speaking, he immediately added: "Think about it, Mr. Harris, one day you will proudly say, 'All the air force pilots of the Fourth Route Army, and even their commanders, are me. Harris's student. ’”

After Song Zhewu finished agitating with tempting conditions, he waited for Mike to make a statement with anticipation.

Mike. Harris was fascinated by flying at a young age, and when he was in college, he worked hard to specialize in flying, and because of his ability to design and build his own airplanes, he was a member of the famous civil flying club in Britain when he was in college.

Before the First World War, the great military value of the aircraft was not discovered by various countries, and at the beginning of the First World War, the aircraft were not equipped with weapons, and were mainly used to reconnoiter enemy positions, and pilots on both sides would wave their hands in the air like gentlemen. However, one day in 1914, the French pilot André flew a biplane to the Belgian area of Lejère on a reconnaissance mission, while the German pilot Hans also flew to the banks of the Marne to reconnoitre. The two planes met head-on, and Hans waved to each other according to the pilot's rules, but André did not accept this, but instead held out his little finger to him mockingly, this insulting action made Hans angry, and immediately turned the nose of the plane to rush towards Andre, and André did not show weakness, and shook his little finger at Hans again. So Hans drew his gun and fired, and André raised his gun to shoot back, and the two men fought in the air, but the bullets were missing, and they could not put the other party to death, and soon they were not interested.

This inconclusive air battle is called the First War of Awakening Space, that is, since this air war, countries have paid unprecedented attention to the development of aircraft. Countries have recruited civilian pilots to join their air forces, and it was at that time that Harris was recruited by the newly formed Royal Engineer Aviation Battalion to enlist him and his aircraft. The Royal Engineer Aviation Battalion was the predecessor of the current Royal Air Force.

Many of the planes of the aviation battalion before the First World War were designed and built by themselves, and Harris and his companions designed and improved many of them, and all the planes he participated in the design had good surnames, so that most of the planes of the British Air Force before the First World War were related to him. Harris also has a wealth of experience in aircraft design during this time. Of course, because he loves to fly, his flying experience has also improved dramatically. Due to his flying skills, he shot down eight German planes in World War I.

Before the end of World War I, his left leg was injured in a one-on-five air battle, and his walk fell slightly, but this did not affect his ability to fly the plane. But what he didn't expect was that the newly formed Royal Air Force would tell him to retire with the new regulations!

Originally, York University in his hometown of Yorkshire welcomed him back as a lecturer, but Harris found that he could no longer live without flying, which had become the most important part of his life, and even when he could not see the plane, he would feel that his life had lost its meaning.

Just in time for Curtis to recruit test pilots in the UK, Harris did not want to stay in the UK, which made him very sad, and resolutely went to the United States to apply despite the opposition of his family and friends. Although his resume was the best of all the applicants, he was not finally hired due to a leg injury. It's just that Curtis Sr. valued his flying experience and skills very much, and hired him as a flight technician and instructor, specifically to train personnel and maintain aircraft for the planes sold by Curtis. Although Harris is not satisfied, after all, he can see his beloved plane every day.

Joining the Fourth Route Army, he will be able to fly between the blue sky and the white clouds from his new freedom, and will even have the opportunity to lead his fleet to air battles that make his blood boil when he thinks about it. It was definitely a great temptation for him, a temptation that he would find difficult to refuse, that fascinated him, that was endlessly fascinating.

Mike said excitedly, "Respectful Commander-in-Chief, if I don't give up my British nationality and become a Chinese citizen, can I join the Fourth Route Army?" ”

Although Mike wanted to join the Fourth Route Army, he returned to the blue sky he had longed for a new time, becoming an air force officer, commanding his warhawk to gallop between the blue sky and white clouds. However, it was still difficult for him to make a choice in exchange for renunciating his British citizenship.

Song Zhewu hesitated for a moment and did not speak. Retaining British citizenship means that he will still love his motherland, and Song Zhewu feels that he should not go to war with the British, and probably only in Hong Kong in the future......

Mike thought that Song Zhewu disagreed, and said anxiously: "Commander-in-chief, I am the captain of the Lieutenant Colonel Fighter Squadron of the British Royal Air Force, I shot down eight German planes in World War I, my air combat skills and experience are the best, you are difficult to find someone better than me." ”

After speaking, he patted his left leg vigorously and said, "Although my left leg is a little down, I promise that it will not affect my piloting of the plane." If the commander-in-chief agrees with me to join the Fourth Route Army, I promise that within ten years, I will train the best air force in Asia for the commander-in-chief. What I said is absolutely true, please trust me, or you will regret it! ”

Because Song Zhewu's temptation is so attractive that Mike is a little reluctant to say anything in order to get this position.

The conversation between Song Zhewu and Mike, Guo Wenyuan took the initiative to translate it to him, considering that Wu Jin couldn't understand it. At this time, Wu Jin wanted to intercede for Mike, opened his mouth, hesitated for a moment and did not make a sound, after all, he was Song Zhewu's subordinate, and he should absolutely respect Song Zhewu's meaning. But he really wanted to keep Mike, Wu Jin was very self-aware, not only did he not have any experience in forming an air force, but he didn't know what was going on in air combat, if an expert like Mike stayed in the Fourth Route Army to help him, then he would be ninety percent sure that he would bring this air force well.

Although he himself was not good at talking, Wu Jin knew that Song Zhewu had great respect for experts and scholars like Guo Wenyuan, so he looked at Guo Wenyuan for help, hoping that he could speak and help Mike.

Guo Wenyuan also likes this frank Englishman, although Mike is a little arrogant, but he is very sincere, and Guo Wenyuan admires him even more, and the two cooperate very well together, if Mike stays in the Fourth Route Army, it is really good. Mike is definitely a very good aircraft design talent.

And he also understood Wu Jin's gaze, but this foreigner was a little too reckless to speak, and he hurriedly played a round for Mike in Chinese and said: "Commander-in-chief, don't be surprised, not only the British, but also the Germans, these foreigners have a problem, that is, they are too frank, unlike our ideas, don't blame Mike." I don't know if Mike is a good Air Force officer, but he is definitely an outstanding aircraft designer, and I can feel this by modifying this DH-10 trainer. If he stays in our Fourth Route Army, it will be of great benefit to our Air Force. ”

Song Zhewu thought for a moment and said to Mike: "Mr. Harris, I believe that you are an excellent, even very outstanding air force officer, as evidenced by the fact that you shot down eight German planes. If our young air force wants to become a formidable air force, it needs a good air force officer like you to train. You can not renounce the citizenship of your home country, and if you agree, you can sign the paperwork and I can send someone to handle it. It's just that you're going to ask your people to sign a testimony that you are voluntary. As long as you sign the document, I will appoint you as the deputy commander of the Air Force Corps of the Fourth Route Army."

Song Zhewu's words made Mike not only overjoyed, but also jumped with joy like a big child!

(To be continued)