After Yue Peng took everyone back to Andong, he took a plane to inspect the defense of Changchun and Maoshan iron mines. It happened that Su Xiaohu and Ma Kui were both in Changchun, and the two old comrades-in-arms asked him to change his itinerary and stay overnight to catch up before returning to Beijing with Li Zongren. In the following three days, Zhang Xiaozhun launched a counterattack in Shunchuan continuously, relying on air supremacy and four huge artillery, not only retracted the Japanese Ninth Division to the south of the Datong River, but also annihilated a total of more than 10,000 Japanese troops. If it weren't for Itagaki Seishiro seeing that the situation was not good, he would have sent two divisions to support, I'm afraid Higuchi Jiichiro would have been loyal to him.

Seeing that Shunchuan could not open the situation, Itagaki Seishiro had no choice but to change his plan, focusing on containment in the west, and placing the main attack in the direction of Lake Changjin and Kiyotsu. In order to block the Japanese army, the North Korean Defense Force and the Northeast Theater mobilized four divisions to fight with three divisions of the Japanese army here, and after two days and two nights of fierce fighting, they withdrew back to defend the river and Hyesan. At the same time, the Japanese troops who landed at Qingjin were also heavily bombed by the Chinese air force arriving from Tonghua. The bombing sank seven ships, three of which were troop carriers, and it took thousands of dead and wounded before the Japanese captured Gumaoshan. In the following days, the Japanese army launched an attack on the long-coveted Maoshan Iron Mine, but was intercepted by two 210-mm heavy artillery regiments and three main infantry divisions of the Wehrmacht, and could only rest temporarily. However, the loss of Changjin Lake made Suncheon's counterattack have to stop, so Zhang Xiaozhun retreated to Guicheng with two Korean armored divisions and five infantry divisions. At this point, 80 percent of the territory of Korea was occupied by the Japanese army, and the Korean army, which had five armies before the war, had less than seven divisions left. Blocking the Japanese army layer by layer.

Meanwhile, Halsey finally arrived in Guam after a few days of struggle. However, he came too late, and the day after the national flag was raised on Guam, Chen Shiying took advantage of the cover of night to lead two battleships and three heavy cruisers to bombard the Japanese airfields on Saipan and Tinian, destroying in one fell swoop the remaining 40 Japanese planes on the island and completely paralyzing the two airfields. Subsequently, he took advantage of the arrival of the XN219 Support Battle Group to send 5,000 Marines to the islands of Phagan and Tinian. The XN219 Support Battle Group carried 20,000 Marines and 150,000 tons of various supplies. There are 30,000 tons of various types of oil alone, as well as tens of thousands of tons of fast-drying cement and port equipment. Their arrival also means that there is no longer a foothold for the U.S. military in the Northern Marianas. Although Jensen protested and the U.S. government appealed to the League of Nations, Yang Qiu and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing gave an unceremonious refusal. He even pointed the finger at Roosevelt. Ambassador to the United States Luo Zhengen showed the Associated Press a photo of the US fleet's arrival on Guam, and also accused the US Government of being irresponsible, ignoring the international situation and traditional friendly relations, and sitting idly by while China, Britain, France, and other allies were attacked by the Nazis instead of providing rescue, but instead taking advantage of the opportunity to reap the benefits. In the end, Premier Gu Weijun also asked the League of Nations to hand over the trusteeship of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands to the Chinese side in order to better deal with the Japanese fascists.

This unceremonious diplomatic offensive has caused quite a stir in the United States and Europe. Especially in Britain, which was bombed by the Germans, and in the Free France, which was under the fence. There are also quite a few criticisms of the United States. The radicals among them believe that it was the unbridled exports of the United States that connived at the Nazis and helped to rearm the Soviet-German and Japanese countries. Finally, it seems that China and the United States are likely to have a stalemate. Churchill had to step up. With his mediation, and the fact that the Northern Marianas had no place to stay, Roosevelt had to get Kimmel to withdraw the fleet, but refused to transfer Guam and the Mariana to Chinese trusteeship. Let Bingwen regret it. Halsey, the old fox, was not fooled and did not want to stay in the open sea for a long time. Seeing that there was no chance, they immediately withdrew to Wake Island at high speed, so that everyone could not enjoy the scene of the 93 torpedo beating the US Navy.

This diplomatic conflict put Roosevelt into a great deal of passivity, and isolationist members of the Senate, such as Lin Bai, came out to blame the Navy and the government, saying that they were trying to draw the American people into the war. As a result, Roosevelt's approval rating plummeted to less than 50 percent, and the election situation was in jeopardy.

After Halsey left, Chen Shiying sent two aircraft carriers, five cruisers, and 16 destroyers to protect 2,000 combat engineers and more than 2,000 marines to storm Ulisi Atoll, Gaferut Island, and Yap Island. The first two islands had no Japanese defenders at all, and Yapu had a garrison of less than 1,000 men. During the attack on Yapu Island, skirmishes broke out with the Japanese Navy's Third and Fifth Fleets, and Japanese planes also arrived from Truk. However, with the support of aircraft carriers and Guam bombers, 4,000 soldiers were finally sent to the island in two days.

Bingwen's strategy was very simple, that is, taking advantage of the disadvantage of the Japanese navy's defeat and the lack of timely deployment of troops in the panic, he did not seek to fight steadily and steadily, but only emphasized sending the marines to the island first, and then relying on the pre-war gross tonnage of more than 10 million tons of shipping and hundreds of landing ships/boats to complete the follow-up transportation. To put it bluntly, it is to grab the turf first, and then fight slowly. This strategy worked very well, and with the third fleet of ships, Guam and the occupied islands began to build airfields and temporary anchorages, and the Japanese army fell into a complete passivity, and could only use the Coral Sea to maintain north-south communication. By the end of September, the number of Chinese marines in Mariana and Micronesia had increased to 50,000, with more than 60 ships and more than 500 aircraft, including 150 of the Navy's H-7 alone.

At the same time, the first two of the second batch of refitted escort aircraft carriers in China were officially delivered, and taking advantage of this opportunity, Bingwen asked the two escort aircraft carriers of the Second Fleet, Li Mu and Wang Qian, to protect the third batch of 45 10,000-ton ships and 30 landing ships to Guam, so that the XN21 battle group has four aircraft carriers that can be used. After they arrived, Chen Shiying decided to launch the Palau campaign immediately. Beijing is not the United States in the past, but it has been preparing for several years to seize Guam and nearby islands, and last year it also sent soldiers from the Marine Corps and some units along the southeast coast to participate in the Northwest War to accumulate combat experience, so this round of offensive is extremely rapid. In addition, the Japanese navy suffered heavy losses and had completely lost its offensive capability, and in the end, with the cooperation of four aircraft carriers, two battleships, and six cruisers, more than 7,000 marines and army soldiers successfully landed on the island.

The diplomatic disputes and battles surrounding the battles of Guam and Palau did not cause much movement in the country, and on the contrary, the people were very supportive of the navy to control the Mariana and Micronesia. Because it was fought down by the soldiers with sacrifice and blood. Whoever dares to take it away is to start a war with China! On the contrary, the news of the fall of most of North Korea made everyone a little uneasy, and many people were worried about whether the defense line of the Yalu River could be held. Only the generals know that North Korea is just a few taels of flesh thrown out by the president, not that they will not fight back, but that the time has not come.

Yang Qiu and the Beijing government can turn a blind eye to the situation in North Korea, but Kim Jiu can't sit still. The smuggling and export policies of the early years with Japan were gradually exposed, and many North Korean officials and parliamentarians began to demand his resignation, so they hurried to Beijing. Hope for support.

In the presidential palace, Yang Qiu set up a family banquet to entertain Jin Jiu. Compared with when he was in Liaoning, Jin Jiu has changed a lot, wearing a straight suit. The bridge of the nose is covered with glasses inlaid with gold wire, and the small eyes behind the lenses are slightly narrowed, and with the wrinkles on the forehead, it seems that they are anxious about the domestic war. But in fact, he had been secretly looking at Yang Qiu, and when he saw that he was indifferent, he was even more uneasy in his heart.

Because it was a family banquet, Yang Qiu specially asked Lu Bicheng to accompany him. As for Miao Luo, who had already led the women's condolence group to the northwest, Rui Yao's health was not good, so she did not participate. In addition to them, Zhang Zongchang, who returned from North Korea, also sat on the side. But he's smart. knew what to say and what not to say at this time, so he only talked to Lu Bicheng about business. "Mr. Bai Fan, yesterday my chief of staff also told me that seven divisions of our army have entered your country through the Yalu River. How is it not enough? Because there were no outsiders, he directly called Jin Jiu by his name. It's closer.

"Not enough." Jin Jiu was very frank, but he was secretly angry in his heart. Seven divisions sounds like a lot, but four of them are deployed in Maoshan and Huishan, and only three divisions are fighting. What's more, the Japanese army has more than one million troops in Korea, and even if it has a technological advantage, it is difficult to make up for such a large difference in strength. It's just that he can't protect himself now, so he can only whisper: "President Yang." In this battle, the Japanese army was unprecedentedly well prepared, and in order to eliminate the weakness of the planes, they deliberately put many attacks at night, so that our aircraft and artillery superiority could not be brought into play. There are many mountainous areas in the north of our country, and there are no electric lights in many places, so the night combat is really unsatisfactory. Therefore, I and the whole DPRK hope that you can support another 20 divisions as soon as possible, and if it really doesn't work, let our troops go to the northwest come back first for emergencies. ”

Yang Qiu pretended to be surprised, and sandwiched a chopstick dish for Jin Jiu, pretending to be dignified: "This method is okay." Winter is also approaching in the northwest, and the Soviet Union should not launch a major offensive in winter. But. He paused, showing a look of embarrassment: "It will take time for the troops to come back, and it will take about three months to arrange rotations." ”

"Three months? It's not okay. The Japanese army had already crossed Suncheon, just outside Kameseong and Sinuiju. Over there in Kiyotsu. "I heard that it will take three months, Jin Jiu couldn't sit still, and he was even more angry in his heart. At the beginning, Yang Qiu proposed that North Korea send troops to fight in the northwest, but he gritted his teeth and took out five divisions. Now that North Korea is almost gone, I have to wait three months for myself.

In fact, he knew better than anyone that Yang Qiu wanted "Asia Mexico", not another bordering power. This was done entirely because he was not accustomed to the fact that he had been exporting and smuggling to Japan in exchange for industrial facilities in the past few years to develop the economy. But he has no regrets about this matter, North Korea, like China after the Xinhai year, at the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China, the country was chaotic and factional, and he did not have the prestige and control of the troops like Yang Qiu, so if he rashly took the road of republican democracy, it would definitely become more and more chaotic. That's why he took back military power, manipulated elections, served as president for a long time, and learned from Yang Qiu to use his time to cultivate democratic soil. However, North Korea itself has limited resources, and its industry consists only of Beijing-backed mining and some ordinary civilian processing industries, and its profit value is low, so it cannot quickly enrich its people. Without money, let alone true independence, he had to secretly export minerals to Japan in exchange for much-needed construction funds. But he didn't expect that the war would break out so quickly, and before the aftermath could be properly arranged, China and the Soviet Union would already be inseparable. Immediately after the Sino-British Cairo Declaration, North Korea directly became the main battlefield of the Sino-Japanese confrontation.

Seeing that the corners of his eyebrows were hiding anger, Yang Qiu put down his chopsticks without hurrying: "Mr. Jin." ”

This sudden change of title made Jin Jiu's face change greatly, and even Zhang Zongchang and Lu Bicheng, who were chatting next to him, looked over. But Yang Qiu turned a blind eye: "As a leader, you should be aware of the time it takes for the army to move. The war between Japan and the Soviet Union is not over, and I have to face Japan elsewhere and make sure that all my allies are supported, how many more troops do you think I can use? Let's put it this way. If it is a domestic operation, let alone six or seven million, even one or two million, I can also mobilize, but fighting outside the territory requires a lot of logistics and preparation time! Of course, as an ally, our country is also responsible for the invasion of your country by fascist Japan. I hope, no. It is the expectation of the whole world. I hope that you can block it for a few months, as long as you can drag the main Japanese force on the peninsula for half a year, our navy will be able to complete the southern front, completely blockade the entire Japanese island, and finally defeat them. Contrarily. If you can't hold back the Japanese army, the scale of the war will become very difficult to control. You don't want to see the result of losing at such a great sacrifice, right?

I also know that your country has already paid a great price for resisting the Japanese fascists, and perhaps it will pay even greater losses in the coming period. I want to thank you for that, so rest assured. I will always remember the contribution of the Korean government and people in resisting Japanese fascist aggression. I can assure you that Congress will be immediately instructed to discuss the initiation of a second round of aid to your country to help you build up more troops, and that I am considering handing over more of the post-war benefits to your country. to compensate you for your contribution to this war. ”

First the difficulties, then the loans, and finally the post-war benefits, this string of words sounded extremely painful in Jin Jiu's ears. Because Yang Qiu didn't say when to provide support at all. As for the post-war benefits, they are still illusory.

Yang Qiuyue didn't care about his increasingly ugly look, and suddenly sighed softly: "Mr. Bai Fan." If you are tired during this time, you might as well take the children to Changbai Mountain Sanatorium to rest for a while. After all, you and I haven't personally commanded a war for decades, so let's leave these things to the generals. I can't give you too many guarantees, but I can tell you that I will never sit idly by and watch your country be occupied by the Japanese army for a long time. ”

Convalesce? Jin Jiu's face changed completely, and he didn't even hear the words clearly. sat stiffly, and didn't even notice that the chopsticks fell on the table. After a long time, he got up with a pale face and said, "Mr. President, I am a little unwell, so I will leave first." "He didn't want to stay here for a moment. For him, his political career is over, and it is already a blessing to be able to keep Anton Kim and save his breath for the future.

Two days later, Kim Koo announced his resignation from the presidency at the headquarters of the Korean Provisional Government in Sinuiju, and the speaker of the parliament, Choi An-in, became the wartime president, and Park Eun-sung, the commander of the Korean military dispatch army to the Soviet Union, took over as the commander-in-chief of the three armed services.

Northeast India's Oil City, inside the city of Digboy. Hundreds of BP expatriate workers and technicians packed their bags and let technicians from CNPC take over the oil fields and refineries, while they dragged their families to the airport. In just a few days of 10 days, Chinese sappers and local workers who flew in from Kunming used cement and honeycomb steel plates to expand the airport, which could only take off and land small planes, into a fixed airport that could take off and land large passenger planes.

By the time the foreign workers arrived at the airport, it had been temporarily cordoned.

At the end of the runway were several Hanjiang jeeps parked, and two officers in the middle of the car whispered. The man on the left was not tall but strong, and the one on the right was a taller man with a traditional Indian face, wearing glasses and a boat cap, and his eyes were always fixed on the sky. They are Fei Wenhua of the Northeast Indian Independence Army and Chandler = Bowes, the leader of the Democratic Party of India and the commander-in-chief of the Independence Army.

"Here we are." Fei Wenhua's eyes were sharper, and he was the first to spot five Yun-10 tactical transport planes flying from the direction of Myitkyina. This twin-engine transport aircraft, which resembles the American C-46, has been improved many times, using a more powerful and safer engine, and has become the tactical transport aircraft with the largest number of equipment in the Chinese National Defense Forces. It has twice the load capacity of the Y-6 and the DC3 of the United States, can transport up to 60 soldiers or five tons of cargo at a time, and lands at dirt field airfields, with a maximum transit range of 4,700 kilometers. The disadvantage was that the speed was slow, and the air route from Kunming to this was threatened by Japanese planes taking off from Burma, so eight escort Thunderbolt fighters arrived at the same time.

With the sound of rubber tires rubbing against cement, the five Yun-10 landed safely on the runway. "Commander Li, you're finally here, welcome." Fei Wenhua and Chand pulled away from the car and headed for the first plane. When Bai Chongxi walked out of the cabin, the two immediately stepped forward to salute.

"You're Fei Wenhua, right? Don't be polite, before I came, I heard your commander nag, saying that you have been here for more than two years, and I want me to listen to you more. After Li Zongren shook hands with Fei Wenhua with a smile, he turned to Chandra: "Mr. Bowes, it's a pleasure to meet you." ”

After dealing with China for a long time, Chandra also learned a lot of Chinese and "Chinese rules", shook hands and grabbed Li Zongren and said: "Thank you for helping us at this critical time, I want to wash the dust for you." ”

"Hehe, Mr. Bowes is polite, let's go to the headquarters first and tell me about the battle situation, and I'll talk about it later." After Li Zongren smiled and exchanged a few words with everyone, he took the lead in getting into the car. But the bumpy dirt roads and primeval forests made him feel a little stressed.