Saigon, Southern Army Command.

It was already past ten o'clock in the evening, but the lights in the war room were still bright.

In the sound of hurried footsteps, the commander of the Southern Army, General Terauchi Shouichi, had already walked in accompanied by the chief of staff, Lieutenant General Nagata, and the operational staff officers who were busy in front of the map and next to the sand table immediately straightened their feet and bowed their heads to Terauchi Shouichi and Nagada.

Shouichi Terauchi waved his hand and strode in front of the map hanging on the wall.

Luo Tian took the first two steps from the hand of a Shao Zuo staff officer, pointed to the map and explained: "Your Excellency, Siamese Prime Minister Luang Phibun has just sent an urgent telegram saying that the whereabouts of the Chinese army have been discovered in northern Siam, and the Siamese army has used this as an excuse to withdraw the two Siamese divisions on the Siam-Burma border to Chiang Mai. ”

"Yagayalu." When Shouichi Terauchi heard this, he was immediately furious.

"The sudden change in the attitude of the Siamese military is obviously related to the strategic counteroffensive advocated by the Allies, in fact, from the very beginning, the alliance between the empire and Siam was not strong, although the Kingdom of Siam joined the Axis Alliance, but it has always been in awe of China, the former central empire, and there is a lot of perfunctory regard to the empire. ”

Terauchi Shou's face sank like water, and he neither recognized nor refuted Nakada's views.

In fact, what Terauchi Shouichi is most worried about now is not the situation in Siam, in the final analysis, Siam is just a small country, the country is small and the people are weak, and the army is even more vulnerable.

After the two divisions of the Kingdom of Siam retreated back to Chiang Mai, the Yue army that entered the Shan State Plateau completely lost its guide and supplies, and the Allied Air Force completely blocked the nearby airspace, and the aviation of the Southern Army could not airdrop supplies or lead the way in the air.

As of yesterday, most of the radio stations carried by the Burmese army have lost contact, and only the 1st Guards Wing and the 148th Infantry Wing are still in contact with the Southern Army Command, and the situation of these two wings is not optimistic, the 1st Guards Wing has been reduced by 60 percent, and the 148th Infantry Wing has been reduced by more than 80 percent!

If other wings are in a similar situation with these two wings, then the 100,000 elites who entered the Shan State Plateau are likely to have less than 40,000 left! Moreover, these 40,000 people may not come back alive! Thinking of this, Shouichi Terauchi suddenly shuddered violently, such a result was really terrible.

Shouichi Terauchi really can't imagine what kind of stirring will be caused when this bad news reaches China?

"Your Excellency, I think we have to prepare for the worst!" Nakata took a deep breath and said to Terauchi Shouichi in an extremely solemn tone, "The unfavorable situation faced by the Burmese Army must be reported to the General Staff Headquarters immediately and truthfully, and it is recommended that the base camp urgently mobilize at least 20 divisions to join the Southern Army. ”

Terauchi Shouichi couldn't help but hesitate a little when he heard this, and reason told him that Nakata's suggestion was correct, and all kinds of signs showed that the US political axe was continuing to increase its assistance to the Chinese Expeditionary Force, and the Chinese Expeditionary Force was indeed preparing for a counteroffensive, and this was by no means a political propaganda show for the purpose of obtaining arms aid.

However, it wasn't easy for Shouichi Terauchi to make this decision.

Suggesting that the base camp send another increase in troops to Southeast Asia would be tantamount to admitting defeat!

In North China, Terauchi Shouichi has already suffered a Waterloo, and if he is defeated by Yue Weihan again in Southeast Asia, then even if Terauchi Shouichi is the Earl of the Empire, it will definitely be difficult to escape the responsibility this time! What's even more terrifying is that even the temple family will be implicated because of this.

"Your Excellency, General!" Seeing that Shouichi Terauchi was still hesitating, Nakada suddenly became anxious.

Terauchi Shouichi sighed at this time, and attacked Luotian: "That's it, just do as you say." ”

"Hello!" Luo Tian suddenly bowed his head, and then turned around and walked into the telecommunications room next door with his saber on his shoulder.

………… While the old devil was worried about his personal fate and the future of the Terauchi family, US President Roosevelt was also sighing in his office.

What worried President Roosevelt was MacArthur and the more than 20,000 American officers and soldiers who were trapped.

MacArthur is a flag of the U.S. Army, but now, this flag is in danger of being captured by the Japanese army!

Although MacArthur swore in a telegram to the Department of Defense that he would kill himself at the last moment with the pistol his father gave him, President Roosevelt and Secretary of Defense General Marshall still could not dispel their fears, because MacArthur was the idol of all American people, and there was no room for error!

In the face of President Roosevelt's inquiring gaze, Secretary of Defense Marshall spread his hands and said helplessly: "Mr. President, the military airfield on the Bataan Peninsula has been repaired, but MacArthur still refuses to carry out the order, he said that desertion is detrimental to the honor of a veteran, so he would rather live and die with all the officers and soldiers of the coalition forces." ”

After a moment of silence, President Roosevelt said: "As a citizen of the United States, I admire the decision of General MacArthur, who is a true soldier, but, as President of the United States of America, I must condemn his recklessness and recklessness, who, in order to preserve his military reputation, put the entire United States Army in danger of collapsing the flag!" ”

Marshall shrugged his shoulders and said with a wry smile: "Mr. President, we have already done everything we can, unless there is a miracle, it is impossible for MacArthur to evacuate the Bataan Peninsula, let's think about how to deal with the aftermath, if MacArthur is defeated and captured, the morale of the American people will be beyond imagination." ”

"On the other hand, MacArthur's capture was a great morale boost for the soldiers and civilians." President Roosevelt nodded, and said in a solemn tone, "Mr. Secretary, after you go back, you should send another secret telegram to General MacArthur, begging him to put the national interest first, and withdraw to Australia as soon as the airport on the Bataan Peninsula is still available!" ”

“ok！” Marshall nodded, and immediately got up to take his leave, seeing Marshall's figure disappear, President Roosevelt breathed a long sigh of relief, and then fell into a long silence.

………… New York, USA.

At the beginning of night, the New York Times Square was lit with candles, and hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers spontaneously gathered in the square to light candles and join the prayers, hoping to bring good luck to the more than 20,000 American officers and soldiers besieged by the Japanese army on the Bataan Peninsula and help them get rid of their bad luck.

The United States is a boiled country, and the boiled party and the Republican party take turns in power, supervising each other.

Three months ago, when MacArthur declared Manila an undefended city and then retreated to the Bataan Peninsula with 75,000 U.S.-Filipino troops, the entire American people and all U.S. officers and soldiers were the first to get the news.

For the past three months, the American people have been worrying about the safety of this lone army and praying for a miracle to happen.

For three months, the U.S. generals and officers who came out of West Point have been paying attention to this narrow peninsula, paying attention to their principal, hoping that their principal can perform miracles again.

Of course, for three months, President Roosevelt and the Department of Defense were under great pressure!

Ordinary people will not care about the complicated international situation, they only see the flag of the US Army, General MacArthur, and more than 20,000 US officers and soldiers trapped on the Bataan Peninsula, and if the US Department of Defense and President Roosevelt cannot rescue them, they will be incompetent and will have to be cursed by the families of US officers and soldiers!

Large-scale demonstrations even broke out in several major cities, such as Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York, urging the US political axe and the Department of Defense to rescue the trapped US officers and soldiers at all costs.

However, such a delay is clearly not a long-term solution.

If the Bataan Peninsula crisis is not resolved satisfactorily, President Roosevelt is likely to experience the first crisis of confidence in his three terms of presidency, and a Republican senator has even threatened to file an impeachment bill in Congress to forcibly suspend President Roosevelt's third term as president for dereliction of duty.

………… Yangon, Expeditionary Force Headquarters.

After a busy day, taking advantage of the break after dinner, Stilwell lit his pipe, which was squinting to enjoy the spicy pleasure brought by tobacco, and then a rush of footsteps interrupted Stilwell's interest, and the old man raised his head slightly annoyed, but saw that Yue Weihan had already stood firmly in front of him.

"Yue?" Stilwell looked at Yue Weihan in some astonishment and asked, "Who are you?" ”

Yue Weihan didn't say much nonsense, and directly put the folder in his hand in front of Stilwell.

"God, what is this?" Stilwell picked up his pipe and muttered a few words, then hit the folder.

When the folder was opened, I saw the words "Save the Veteran MacArthur" written on the front page, Stilwell's face suddenly changed, and his originally calm hands suddenly became a little trembling, and he immediately opened the next page as quickly as possible, and what was written on it was indeed the battle plan to resolve the crisis on the Bataan Peninsula!

Stilwell read the entire plan as quickly as he could, then closed the folder, and said abruptly, "Yue, is this feasible?" ”

"Of course it works!" Yue Weihan pulled out a chair and sat down opposite the old man in the United States, and said confidently, "If the US Navy can fully cooperate, the probability of success is as high as forty percent!" ”

"Forty percent!?" Stilwell was thrilled when he heard this.

Stilwell knew very well that the so-called "saving veteran MacArthur" plan was definitely a high-risk combat operation, and the success rate of such a risky operation was already very remarkable, which shows that the staff officers of the Chinese Expeditionary Force Command have done a lot of deduction work for this purpose.

Moreover, MacArthur is the banner of the US Army, and the safety of more than 20,000 US officers and men has touched the nerves of the entire United States. What's more, Yue Weihan thinks that the probability of success is as high as forty percent, which can no longer be regarded as a risk in military terms!

"Yue, you can always bring me unexpected surprises in the most inadvertent way." Stilwell stared at Yue Weihan deeply across the dining table, and said with great sincerity, "If this rescue operation can be successful, the American people will always remember your selfless help with the Chinese team, and you will become the eternal friends of the American people!" ”

Yue Weihan stretched out his hand with a smile and said, "I am also willing to be a friend of the American people forever." ”

The United States is the most pragmatic country in the world, and there is no permanent friend or permanent enemy in their dictionary, and the so-called enemy or friend is only judged by whether the other party's actions are in line with the national interests of the United States.

In the long run, for the sake of the dominance of the whole world, there will be a war between China and the United States after the completion of national rejuvenation, but for the time being, China still needs strong assistance from the United States, and China not only needs arms aid from the United States, but also needs large-scale industrial aid!

………… Washington, White House.

General Marshall went back and forth, walked into Roosevelt's office in high spirits, and immediately delivered the urgent telegram that Stilwell had just sent to President Roosevelt's desk.

President Roosevelt hurriedly read it, and then said in great shock: "Save the veteran MacArthur!?" ”

"Yes, Mr. President!" Marshall said excitedly, "God, I can't imagine that anyone could come up with such a crazy plan of salvation, but I have to admit that this plan is very tempting, and the possibility of success is very high!" If everything goes well, in a week at most, the crisis on the peninsula will be completely lifted! ”

President Roosevelt will be skeptical: "Do you think there is a great chance of success?" ”

"Yes, Mr. President." Marshall nodded heavily, "This is a crazy rescue plan, we can't think of it, and I can't think of it either, so the possibility of success is very great!" ”

"Well, no matter how crazy this plan is, and how likely it is to succeed, at least it's worth trying." President Roosevelt nodded, "However, it is unfair to let only the Chinese take risks, and the American airborne troops must also participate in this rescue operation and let them parachute to Manila with the Chinese!" ”

Marshall frowned when he heard this: "But Mr. President, the first batch of transport planes will definitely crash after completing the mission, so if too many personnel are sent to Manila, the losses of the 10th Air Force will increase sharply, and after losing too many transport planes, it will also cause a shortage of airlift capacity, which will affect the subsequent force projection." ”

"As long as MacArthur and the more than 20,000 trapped US officers and soldiers can be rescued, the fall of dozens of transport planes is nothing." President Roosevelt waved his hand and said loudly, "There are not enough transport planes for the Tenth Air Force, so let the British support them with all the transport planes in India, I mean, all the transport planes!" ”

(To be continued)