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Chapter 1394 War?

Nanjing, resting house. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info

After signing a long-term loan agreement of 10 million pounds with the Czech Sgoda Armament Factory, he rushed to Germany to take a flight from Berlin to Syria, and then transferred back to Nanjing, where he took his wife and two daughters to visit Chiang Kai-shek.

Miss Kong Lingyi and Second Miss Kong Lingjun, as soon as they entered the rest house, they became entangled with Song Meiling. Kong Lingyi has a gentle and virtuous personality, is down-to-earth and generous, and has some indisputable taste, but Kong Lingjun has been wild since he was a child, and he likes to provoke classmates to fight and brawl at school, he learned to shoot at the age of ten, and he can drive at the age of thirteen, and he doesn't like women's clothes, he has a big back, or a suit and leather shoes, a top hat is crooked, or a businessman dresses, holding a folding fan, which makes people indistinguishable from male and female, and many people call her "the witch of the mixed world" behind their backs.

"Godmother, you see, this is the 'really cool' shirt that Daddy specially brought me back from the United States, it's so cool to wear!" Kong Lingjun stood in front of Song Meiling, twisting his body back and forth, attracting praise from his mother Song Ailing and Wu Yifang, Yu Qingtang, Lei Jieqiong and other female celebrities.

Watching Kong Lingjun flirt with a group of women from afar, Chiang Kai-shek turned his head and asked Kong Xiangxi: "Yongzhi, this is a newly invented cloth by the Americans?" ”

Kong Xiangxi nodded: "Yes, it is said to be a brand new fabric, which is very smooth and smooth, durable and easy to dry, no need to be hot, bright color, no fading, especially the bright color of printing and dyeing, and the sales in the United States are amazingly good once it is launched." It is said that this is a new product launched by a Chinese consortium in California, and I don't know if it's true or not. ”

Chiang Kai-shek just casually asked whether his mind was now focused on whether the results of Kong Xiangxi's visit to Europe and the United States could be realized:

"Yongzhi, now that the two countries are at war in an all-out way, are those loan contracts you signed really shelved? I remember that in May you reached a $25 million loan agreement with Morgan Bank in the United States, in June you reached a £20 million loan project with the British side in the United Kingdom to build a railway, and in early July you signed a financial agreement with a French banking syndicate to guarantee a loan of 400 million fiat dollars in tariffs...... Now that the country is in a difficult situation and money is needed everywhere, can you think of another way? ”

"Alas!"

Kong Xiangxi let out a long sigh: "Those Westerners are very slippery, seeing us going to war with the enemy, worried that the loan to us will not be guaranteed, and suddenly become procrastinating and hesitating. For more than a month, I have been shuttling between the United Kingdom, France, and the United States, and my legs have lost weight, and I still have no eyebrows, and things are very tricky! ”

"Mother, these imperialists ...... Hateful and annoying! ”

Chiang Kai-shek was very angry, this was his habit, and when he was angry, he liked to denounce Britain and the United States and other countries as imperialists. After a while, Chiang Kai-shek calmed down and continued to ask:

"Since they know that it is not good to fight a war, and they want to delay doing business and making money, then why don't they come forward to stop the enemy people? Don't they understand that if two countries and two countries fight, their interests will be seriously damaged? ”

Kong Xiangxi took out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat beads on his forehead, took a sip of the fragrant tea given by the guards on the coffee table, and replied: "The reason is not complicated, it is still the word profit." ”

Speaking of this, Kong Xiangxi sighed with emotion:

"Who would have thought that the United States looks glamorous on the surface, but in fact it is also full of crises inside. I also went deep into the streets of New York and Washington, and observed silently, only to discover the abnormality. So far, the United States has not fully emerged from the shadow of the Great Depression of '29. Since President Roosevelt took office, two consecutive New Policies have greatly stimulated the development of the US economy, which directly led to President Roosevelt's re-election last year.

"On January 20 of this year, Roosevelt took the oath of office again in his old place four years ago, and in his inaugural address, he said, 'I know that now one-third of the people in the country are still poorly dwelled, ragged and malnourished. I describe this to you not out of discouragement, but because the whole country has seen and recognized that it is unjust and wants to eradicate it. From this, it can be seen that the economic situation in the United States is not good.

"At the end of April, the U.S. economy was in trouble, and although on the surface, the U.S. was well on its way to a gradual revival under the guidance of the New Deal, the overall economy was in a rapid recession, with industrial activity falling by the worst decline in U.S. history, and by early June, the New York Times' business index had plummeted from 110 to 85, sweeping away the gains of three or five years. In just over a month, U.S. steel production has fallen from 80% to 19% of production capacity. The sell-off began to hit the U.S. stock market, and on Friday, June 4, Black Friday, more than seven million shares changed hands, the paper tape of the stock trading login was far from keeping up, the Dow Jones index suddenly fell, Manhattan nightclubs closed their doors, new cars were hoarded in showrooms, and gold began to show signs of outflow.

"About two million people in the U.S. lost their jobs from June to July, and by the middle of the month, the U.S. business index continued to decline, and many Americans were once again on the verge of starvation. In an editorial published on 13 July, Nazi Germany's "Offensive" gloated and pointed out: The Cleveland-style suffering of the United States provides another example of the weakness and incompetence of the democratic system. As unemployment skyrocketed, the press began to write about the 'Roosevelt Depression,' as they had written about Hoover and the hard times.

Due to the increased demand from enemy countries, the major steel mills, military enterprises, communication industries, and chemical industries in the United States are now working overtime to produce more than 20 related industries. With the outbreak of the war in Shanghai, the US business index and the Dow Jones index began to rise sharply. Under these circumstances, even if President Roosevelt and the bankers of the United States knew that the enemy's war of aggression was unjust and evil, they would not have stepped in to stop the war, because there were so many interests involved! ”

Chiang Kai-shek's eyes widened, he did not expect that the fundamental reason for the ambiguous attitude of the US government was this. Since even the United States, the head of the capitalist countries, has fallen into the dilemma of continuous economic recession, it is conceivable that the old capitalist countries such as Britain and France are not having a good time, no wonder Britain and the United States do not take the initiative to stand up and stop the enemy countrymen!

"Jiegong, good news!"

Just when Chiang Kai-shek was pondering, Wang Jingwei took a telegram and hurriedly walked into the living room of the rest house. After seeing Kong Xiangxi present, he was slightly stunned, and then showed a friendly smile: "Yongzhi, you have come back from Europe?" ”

Chiang Kai-shek and Kong Xiangxi hurriedly got up to meet him, and Kong Xiangxi respectfully said to Wang Jingwei: "Hello Mr. Jingwei! I had just come back and came to Kai-shek to discuss something. ”

Chiang Kai-shek asked with a smile: "Brother Zhaoming, is there any good news?" ”

Wang Jingwei looked solemn: "An hour ago, I received an urgent report from North China, saying that the enemy army began to withdraw its troops on a large scale, and slowly retreated to the Shanhaiguan line through the Beining Railway and the Jingtang Highway. I also expressed my doubts about this, and hurriedly instructed the Investigation and Statistics Bureau of the Military Commission to help determine the matter, and as a result, the reconnaissance planes that took off from the Baoding airport gave feedback that the enemy troops had indeed shown signs of retreating, and the mighty convoy almost filled the highway from Beiping to Shanhaiguan. Then, I immediately contacted my friends in the enemy country, who said that the enemy's base camp had witnessed the war in China and had suffered heavy losses, while the Soviet Far East was extremely empty, so the ideas of Ishihara and other generals who had sent north were re-emphasized, and it was expected that in the next half month, the enemy country would invade the Soviet Far East with a million troops. ”

Chiang Kai-shek was surprised and delighted: "Why don't I know such important information?" ”

"This—"

Wang Jingwei was slightly proud, and said with a smile: "I have some old friends in North China and enemy countries, and this time I was able to learn in advance thanks to their help." However, I believe that as the survey deepens, the Bureau of Statistics will definitely submit a detailed survey report. ”

"Will the international situation change as a result, and the Soviets will be drawn into the war?"

The good news came so fast that Chiang Kai-shek could hardly believe his ears, and he paced back and forth, until Chen Lifu arrived at the rest house, he stopped and asked, "Zu Yan, is this true?" Did the enemy really withdraw their troops from Pingjin? ”

Chen Lifu didn't dare to slack off, and hurriedly said: "After repeated investigations and audits by the Military Command Bureau, as well as the intelligence department in North China to confirm many times, it has been confirmed that the enemy army has really withdrawn in a big way, and at present, the enemy has left two divisions in Tianjin, two divisions and regiments in Beiping, and the remaining thirteen divisions have all been transferred to the northeast. This is a detailed investigation report. ”

Chiang Kai-shek took the telegram and read it carefully.

Kong Xiangxi's face on the side was full of surprise: "It seems that a piece of news I heard in Europe and the United States may be true." Marshal Blyukher, the military leader of the Russian Far East, could not bear Stalin's dictatorship and rose up in revolt, reportedly expelling not only the personnel of the internal affairs forces and the Cheka, but also the largest Russian concentration camp in Siberia, freeing millions of prisoners. Stalin was mobilizing his troops to try to clear the rebellion, and the two sides were on the shores of Lake Baikal, and a major battle was on the verge of breaking out. Could it be that the enemy saw an opportunity to take advantage of it, so a major change in strategy took place? ”

After reading the message, Chiang Kai-shek looked solemn, returned to the sofa and sat down, closed his eyes and pondered.

In fact, he had already received the news of the civil strife in the Soviet Union through the fourth hall, but at that time, in his opinion, it was just a battle of will, after all, with the cohesion of the Bolshevik Party in Soviet Russia, how could such a serious confrontation occur? The Far East was under Stalin's iron fist, and it was only a matter of time before it succumbed. But everything now shows that things are not as simple as they imagined, is the opportunity for a truce between the two countries has come?

"Report! The latest information! ”

Zhao Rui, the lieutenant general of the fourth hall, appeared at the door of the living room, Chiang Kai-shek opened his eyes, looked up at Zhao Rui, who walked quickly in front of him, and asked, "Is there something wrong?" ”

At 9 a.m. today, the prime minister of the enemy country delivered a speech entitled "Carry Out the Great East Asian Holy War to the End" and mobilized nearly 100 million enemy citizens through the radio. After the study of the Fourth Office, it was unanimously agreed that the enemy country was very likely to expand the war in China. With that, Zhao Rui handed over the telegram with both hands.

Chiang Kai-shek was quite surprised by the two completely different telegrams, he took the telegram and read it at random, and handed Chen Lifu's telegram to Zhao Rui: "Look at this information!" ”

Zhao Rui took it respectfully, and after reading it, his expression was not shocked: "Commission, according to the investigation of the Fourth Hall, there has been an extremely serious rebellion in the Northeast, and the enemy army is mobilizing troops to go to the Northeast to quell the chaos, not to start a war against the Far East." After the suppression of the rebellion is completed, this part of the troops can return to North China at any time, and even be transported by ship to any place along the southeast coast of our country to carry out landing. Therefore, I do not think that the message of the Chairman is credible......"

Chen Lifu's face became more and more ugly, and when he saw Chiang Kai-shek's thoughtful appearance, a wave of anger rushed straight to his head, and he retorted loudly: "General Zhao, everyone has their own intelligence channels, how can you deny the fruits of the hard work of thousands of people because of the general's one-sided words?" It is an irrefutable fact that the political turmoil in the Soviet Union has led to the emptiness of troops in the Far East, and I also have accurate information that the war agitation meeting of the enemy country is just a means to confuse Soviet Russia, so that Soviet Russia thinks that the enemy country is going to go south in a big way, and let go of its hands and feet to fight a special battle on Lake Baikal, and once a major war breaks out in Soviet Russia, the Far Eastern Military District will definitely send a large number of troops to support the war situation, and the border will be empty, so it is not impossible for the enemy army to invade on a large scale. General Zhao, what do you think? ”

Zhao Rui pondered for a moment, nodded and said, "I don't rule out the possibility of this, but ......"

Wang Jingwei interrupted Zhao Rui's words: "Since this is possible, why don't we try to wait and see how the enemy reacts?" I believe that from now on, we should control the scale of the war and wait for the great changes in the Far East, which is the best way for China to get out of the war at present. If you are brave and ruthless, you will destroy the party and the country! ”

"What Mr. taught, but Zhao Rui reserved his opinion!" Zhao Rui said respectfully.

Chiang Kai-shek could not make up his mind after much deliberation, and at this time, the German ambassador Todmann asked to see Chairman Chiang. Zhao Rui originally wanted to say goodbye, but was left behind by Chiang Kai-shek to listen to what the German ambassador had to say.

"Chairman of the Committee, gentlemen, our head of state has always attached great importance to the friendly relations between Germany and China, and very much does not want the fratricidal war between the two countries and the fraternal states of the two countries to be used by others." After Todman sat down, he said bluntly.

Toddmann is a China expert who has been ambassador to China for six years and is well versed in Asian politics and is Germany's chief diplomat in Asia.

Chiang Kai-shek's heart moved: "May I ask what is the opinion of the German government?" ”

"The Führer sent me to convey to the chairman of the committee that Germany is willing to come forward to persuade the enemy country to stop attacking China, and the two countries will restore friendship in order to deal with the common enemy, Soviet Russia."

Chiang Kai-shek was once again surprised to hear that Germany had offered to mediate at this moment, and that he had intervened in this new factor.

Because there were so many surprises today, Chiang Kai-shek did not immediately express his position, and said vaguely: "The Chinese Government and people will never succumb to armed aggression, but we are more willing to strive for peace, and war will not benefit both countries." After reiterating the principle of diplomacy, Chiang Kai-shek still did not forget to express his gratitude to the Führer: "Please tell your head of state, Mr. Ambassador, that the Chinese people will not forget the great friendship of the friendly German people." ”

Sending off Todman, Chiang Kai-shek recruited his confidants and staff to discuss secretly, although he received the tragedy of the bombing of the Songjiang Railway Station in Shanghai, which resulted in tens of thousands of casualties, he still did not terminate the meeting, and studied until before dinner before making a decision: the first squadron in Shanghai immediately stopped attacking the Japanese concession, stabilized the current front, and resolutely repelled if the enemy launched a counterattack.

At the same time, in North China, in view of the fact that the enemy had taken the initiative to withdraw its troops, in order to reduce hostilities, Song Zheyuan's 29th Group Army diverted to Shanxi and withdrew south to the Hebei-Henan border for reorganization; The Shang Zhen Division, which had been seriously reduced, was transferred back to Shijiazhuang and newly organized into the 20th Group Army, which was under the jurisdiction of the 32nd Army, the 17th Division, the 47th Division, the 10th Cavalry Division and the Hebei Security Brigade; In addition to the 14th Army, the Third Army, the 14th Army Corps, the 27th Division, the 85th Division, the 94th Division, the 177th Division, the 5th Independent Brigade, and the 46th Independent Brigade were also assigned to the command of the 14th Group Army.

At this point, the defense fortifications of the Cangbao Line, which the An Jiajun had spent a lot of effort to build, were only held by the Second Group Army and the Third Army of Wan Fulin, whose strength had been rapidly reduced after the split, and the war in North China had entered a relatively peaceful period of time.