"The purpose of the Japanese war was to strike at China's international lines of communication and threaten their southwestern rear ......"

Huangshan Villa, Lianqing Building.

It is not far from the "Yunxiu Building" where Lao Jiang lived, and the "Song Hall" of Song Meiling, that is, one or two kilometers away, and only the "Grass Pavilion" where Zhang Zhizhong lived in the middle. However, it is not Chinese who live here, but the newly arrived U.S. military observer group...... Eisenhower's group.

At this moment, Eisenhower was discussing with a group of members of the U.S. Military Observer Group about the upcoming new round of the Guinan Campaign...... Eisenhower was a little excited at this moment. As soon as he arrived in China, he was received by the country's supreme leader and invited to participate in China's highest-level military conference, which gave him an extra boost of energy. He decided to show some skills, at least so that the Chinese military could not underestimate them and think that they were just a group of colonel-level officers with little knowledge...... Of course, as a soldier with the qualities of a politician, he did not leave behind his colleagues. Anyway, these colleagues are not fuel-efficient lamps. Not to mention anything else, that Albert, who is not much better than him, is in his forties and still has the rank of major. Coty. Wei Demaier had served as a soldier in the 15th Infantry Regiment stationed in Tianjin, China, more than ten years ago. This regiment is a product of the Eight-Nation Alliance, but no one dares to underestimate this regiment. Because the deputy commander of this regiment at that time, and later the acting commander of the regiment, was called Marshall...... Weidemeyer has such a solid background, as long as he performs a little better, the future after returning will not necessarily be worse than that of him as a colonel.

"The Chinese army had effectively repelled the Japanese in the last battle, and completely annihilated one of their divisions...... This shows that the combat effectiveness of the Chinese army is not as bad as the outside world thinks. On the contrary, if they are properly commanded, they can exert combat effectiveness beyond people's imagination, but we must also recognize that the gap between the Chinese army and the Japanese army in terms of equipment is ......."

"Ike," Weidemeyer called Eisenhower. It's just a major, though. But his status in the mission was quite high. In addition to the fact that he once had a boss named Marshall, there was another important reason: during his stay in China, he studied Chinese diligently with his wife Ambike, and got acquainted with many Chinese political and business leaders, and had contact with Lin Yutang, Gu Weijun, and even Pu Yi, the Qing Emperor and the current Emperor of Manchukuo, and had a great understanding of China's customs and people. As far as I know. Not all Chinese troops will be able to reach their level! …… Therefore, I think it is important for us to pay attention to what Chairman Chiang told us when we first arrived. ”

"The words 'three Chinese divisions against one Japanese brigade, and if the Japanese attack, five Chinese divisions against one Japanese brigade'?" Slightly higher than Weidemeyer, but already 48-year-old James. Alward. Van Vliet couldn't help but ask.

"Yes." Weidemeyer shrugged. replied.

"God, why would I agree to come to China?" Van Vliet couldn't help but scream again.

"Perhaps. Do you want to change the way you fight here? Matthew on the side. Bunker. Li Qiwei couldn't help but laugh.

"I'm not Chinese. Why do you want to change? Van Vliet asked rhetorically.

"Because you're a member of the Observer Mission." Li Qi spread his hands slightly and said with a smile.

"Seriously, do you think this observation group of ours is weird?" Mark, who hasn't spoken much. Wayne. Clark said suddenly: "All of us are over forty years old, and there is no general, and the highest military rank is Ike's colonel......"

"I, the colonel, was specially promoted before leaving." Eisenhower interjected self-deprecatingly.

"Well, then the highest rank is lieutenant colonel." Clark also smiled wryly. "Do you have a feeling of abandonment? Because I always felt that it was because some people in the War Department wanted to give more jobs to the new generation of young people, so they threw us 'old guys' to China. ”

"Is that me?" Weidemeyer asked with a smile.

"No, Albert, you don't count." Clark shook his head and said, "You're a China expert...... None of us can come. But you can't come if you don't come. ”

"I think I know what I do, and I'm going to be transferred to this observation group." Ridgway pointed to himself, "According to our great Chief of Army Staff, General Marshall, the Chinese government has asked his right-hand man, Joseph, by name. Brigadier Stilwell will serve as the deputy commander of the mission, but the War Department is already planning to appoint Stilwell as commander of the 7th Division and commander of the Ode Barracks in Monterey, and to promote him to a higher rank...... Therefore, the Chinese government chose Omar of the Army General Staff again. Nelson. Lieutenant Colonel Bradley, but Marshall was still reluctant to let him go, so, as a staff officer in the Army Staff's Operations Planning Division, I was treated as a replacement, even though I was also a lieutenant colonel. ”

"Okay," Clark shrugged, "for the reasons provided by the War Department, I was selected by Chinese for doing well in that amphibious landing exercise on the West Coast last year...... What do you think of this reason? ”

"There are Chinese spies in the War Department?" Van Vliet laughed.

"If they had, they shouldn't have chosen you." Weidemeyer laughed, "China doesn't have that many shells for you to use. ”

"That's because I'm good enough to get the attention of the Chinese, friend." Van Vliet straightened his chest, rather proud.

"Since you're good enough, ...... If you were the commander of the Chinese army, General Van Vliet, how do you think this battle should be fought in southern Guangxi? Eisenhower felt that as the head of the regiment, it was necessary to bring the already off-topic meeting back to the right path...... Although he was a little puzzled by the composition of the observation team this time, since he was here, it was better to get things done first. Perhaps the Chinese chose them firmly because they considered that they were all forty or fifty years old and would not be as contemptuous as those young men in their twenties and thirties. As for the rest, he is actually very optimistic about Clark and Ridgway, as well as Weidemeyer and others. Although they are all in their forties, with his many years of experience and vision in the army. These are extremely good soldiers...... Presumably Marshall could see that, too. Coming to China for a walk is not without the purpose of letting them feel the atmosphere of the battlefield first.

"I think that 'General Van Vliet' will definitely shoot all the shells of China in an instant, knock the Japanese into a rut, and then launch an attack on all fronts...... Am I right? ”

As soon as Eisenhower's words fell, Van Vliet had not yet answered, and a male voice that surprised everyone preemptively gave the most direct answer in everyone's hearts...... Unfortunately, the people who came were in Chinese, and among the members of the observation group, except for Weidemeyer. No one understood what it was saying. Everyone just saw the shining golden stars on each other's shoulders.

"Hello General."

Eisenhower took the lead, and a cadre of middle-aged and elderly colonel-level officers all stood up and saluted Qin Wei, as well as Zhang Zhizhong, who came out behind Qin Wei.

"Hello everyone." Qin Wei returned a military salute, "It's a pleasure to see you here...... America's finest officers! ”

“……？”

After listening to Weidemeyer's automatic translation. Eisenhower and the others looked at each other...... They did believe in their own excellence, with the possible exception of Eisenhower. He was fifty years old after all. He didn't have much thought about the future, and it was his biggest dream at this time to retire with the rank of general. However, in any case, a foreign general, and even a Chinese general, is still a little unaccustomed to calling them so. Naturally, I don't know how to answer.

"Let me introduce myself, my name is Qin Wei, commander-in-chief of the Chinese Air Force, and I am also a newly promoted member of the Military Commission. Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the National Revolutionary Army...... Qin Wei continued. He is extremely proud of who he is...... This level is much higher than the current Eighth Route Army, Mr. Zhu and Vice President Peng. In order to allow him to deal with Long Yun freely, Lao Jiang snatched Yunnan over, and actually took out such a position, which made him quite satisfied. Although these positions, including the commander-in-chief of the Air Force, are fictitious, they can't stand up to sound good...... Anyway, he never thought of really commanding the Kuomintang army...... That thing can't be beaten to a pig's head by then, right?

"General Qin, do you have anything to do with us?" Eisenhower and the others looked at each other a few more times, and finally he, the head of the regiment, asked on behalf of everyone.

"Of course there is." Qin Wei looked at the row of "middle-aged and elderly school officials" in front of him, and his smile became brighter and brighter. Dwight D. Eisenhower, future Allied Commander-in-Chief in Europe, American five-star general, and two-time president; Weidemeyer, future Allied Deputy Chief of Staff in Southeast Asia, U.S. Army General; Li Qiwei, who succeeded MacArthur during the Korean War and saved the "United Nations Army" in the hands of Mr. Peng, is a four-star general in the United States Army; Clark, the third and last commander of the U.S. Army in the Korean War, a four-star general; Van Vliet, Army General...... This lineup is simply luxurious. Although it was more than he expected, he also added Air Force five-star Admiral Henry. Harry. Arnold, five-star Army General Omar. Nelson. Bradley, four-star general George Jr. Smith. Patton, four-star Admiral Joseph. Stilwell's ultra-luxury lineup is a bit worse, but it's already very satisfying for him. Among these people, even Van Vliet, who was the worst mixed, was a well-known figure in the American army in the future. If it weren't for the fact that none of these people were very successful now, how could he have pulled them into a small observation group? But even so, Marshall began to suspect that the Chinese government had ill intentions toward the United States...... Because too many of the members of these observation missions who were actively nominated by Marshall were favored by Marshall earlier and were ready to be promoted. But fortunately, no matter how good Marshall is, he would never have imagined that these people he sent would have such "cows"!

"Ladies and gentlemen," Zhang Zhizhong naturally didn't know how proud Qin Wei was at this time, he saw that these middle-aged and elderly school officials were still confused about their intentions and Qin Wei's intentions, so he took the initiative to stand up, and by the way, asked the hardworking soldiers to hang the map they brought on the wall on the side: "The plan of the Military Commission has changed...... Deputy Chief of Staff Qin means that he hopes that you can make an offensive and defensive deduction for Yunnan, that is, the place marked on this map. Your opponents are strong and occupy all of Yunnan, and you ...... There is an army group! (To be continued......)