Nanjing, as one of the three major furnaces, is rampant in September and autumn, and the sultry weather makes people breathless, the sky is gloomy, and there is a slight trend of drizzle at any time.

A group of bear children held hands and shouted, "The wind is coming, the rain is coming, and the old wolf is coming with a drum on his back." "Hurried home.

A little girl in a blue plaid shirt stood behind several guys in white shirts with a banner. The young men held the donation box in their hands and shouted the trumpet in their mouths, "The Great Patriotic War is about to break out, and the Republic of China will fight to the end, and everyone is enthusiastic to donate." ”

The porter pulling the cart walked next to the students, hurriedly throwing the banknotes in his pocket into the donation box, and the coquettish prostitute also blushed and secretly threw a few oceans. It was a decent gentleman who was persuaded by the students for a long time before he reluctantly took out a few fiat coins from his pocket, and then reluctantly left.

After Liu Yuan searched all the money in Li Erniu, Li An, and Zuo Quan's pockets, he left complacently and put the money in the donation box.

The people who were able to attend the National Defense Conference this time were all senior members of the Nationalist Government, and many of them were even people who even dreamed of having nothing to do with Chiang Kai-shek. But for the sake of national issues, I had to come all the way to Nanjing.

By the time the National Defense Conference was officially convened on 10 September, the North China garrison had already begun to attack Zhangjiakou, Qiu Qingquan led his troops to hold on to resistance, Tang Enbo, who had emerged among the bandits, attacked Nankou with illness, and Wei Lihuang's group army reinforced the Baoding troops.

After the Battle of Pingjin, the strength of the 29th Army declined rapidly, except for the Tiger Division, which no longer had the ability to fight again. Chiang Kai-shek was furious and formulated an operational plan for the Pingjin counterattack, and 120 divisions were successively transferred to North China to prepare for a life-and-death game with Japan.

The war in North China was so disturbing that the important members of the Nationalist Government attending the national defense conference were not in a good mood, and a pessimistic mood permeated the meeting, especially Wang Jingwei, who once showed pessimism about the War of Resistance Against Japan, and even many generals of Whampoa, who understood military affairs, began to waver. Of course, there are also several forces that have performed very eye-catching, including the troops of the Red Party in the Northwest, Li Zongren's troops, and Liu Yuan's troops in the Southwest Special Administrative Region. In particular, Huang Shaohong shouted at the meeting that if he does not resist Japan today and tomorrow, all the gentlemen present will be imprisoned under the Japanese ranks.

Gui's statement shocked many people, and Liu Yuan of the Southwest Special Economic Zone expressed his willingness to give 15 million stone of grain to support the central government's anti-Japanese resistance.

After the meeting, Li Zongren took Bai Chongxi to visit together, and Liu Yuan did not live in the apartment arranged for him by Chiang Kai-shek, but found his classmates and asked them to arrange a dormitory in the Central Military Academy. In this way, it is very close to Chiang Kai-shek's resting house, and he can also find time to educate the students of the Central Military Academy.

The relationship between Liu Yuan and the Gui family was very ordinary, and Li Zongren had a fierce battle with the Tenth Army that year, although he did not win in the end, but caused great losses to the Tenth Army. However, although there have been festivals, Liu Yuan, Li Zongren, and Bai Chongxi have indeed been famous for a long time.

When Bai Chongxi and Li Zongren came to Liu Yuan's dormitory, Liu Yuan was fighting a group of tanks for a few juniors, a group of junior juniors looked at Liu Yuan excitedly, and there was also a group of people outside the window, eager to squeeze in and listen to what the seniors were saying.

Li Zongren squeezed in for a long time, but it had no effect at all, which made people really annoyed.

When Liu Yuan heard that Li Zongren was visiting, he had to dismiss his junior brother and personally go outside the door to pull Li Zongren in. The students looked at Li Zongren angrily, eager to eat Li Zongren.

"Fuguo, although you yourself are also a student of Whampoa, you have already been full of peach and plum in the past ten years." Li Zongren looked at Liu Yuan with emotion and said.

"Yes, time flies, and I'm not the twenty-year-old hairy boy anymore." Liu Yuan thought of the hurried ten years, and he couldn't help but feel a little sad in his heart, but to get to this day, no one would disturb his mind because of someone else's words.

"You guy is really not kind to talk, when you first debuted, our Gui family was already a prince, time flies, your Southwest Special Economic Zone has four provinces, and our Gui family only has a province where the chairman sees us as pitiful to us, many times Delin and I have to sigh, the new people in the country drive the old people, and the old people run to build new graves." Bai Chongxi's body is a little blessed, but the spirit between his eyebrows is still there, and it seems that he has not been hollowed out by the wine-colored wealth now.

"Didn't Bai Gong and Li Gongmo laugh at the boy? Southwest is obviously the elder brother in charge, and I have been assisting the principal all these years. Liu Yuan looked at Liu Xiang, who was lying on the bed and sleeping, the gecko was indeed old back then, and now if no one mentions it, he is more like a kind elder.

Seeing these two old foxes talking to him, Liu Yuan naturally cooperated with them in the exercises, there is a way that life is a play, you are not playing yourself, and others are not necessarily others.

Bai Chongxi is not very good at this kind of political communication, and couldn't help but say to Liu Yuan, "Fuguo, everyone understands people, don't pretend, our purpose for this trip is very clear, what does the chairman think in his heart." ”

Liu Yuan instantly understood the meaning of the two Gui clan leaders, and it seemed that they were not very at ease with the central government. However, Liu Yuan couldn't express his position easily, but pretended to be puzzled and asked, "What does Bai Gong mean by this?" ”

Li Zongren saw that Bai Chongxi was played by Liu Yuan and did not stop him, one is that the Gui family and Liu Yuan had a grudge back then, and then today's opportunity made Liu Yuan scatter his anger, and he will not be so worried about the battlefield in the future, and the other also makes Bai Chongxi have a long memory, you must know that he will be responsible for the great cause of anti-Japanese command with Chiang Kai-shek in the future, and he will be with Chiang Kai-shek every day.

"Fuguo, don't think about it, I just want to know if Principal Lu Dao really wants to resist Japan, if he wants to use the previous set of driving wolves and tigers, let us use the lives of our brothers to fight with the little devils, and take the opportunity to consume the strength of our local troops, we are not stupid." Bai Chongxi became very serious.

Li Zongren saw that the atmosphere was a little embarrassing, and hurriedly explained, "It's not as Bai Chongxi said, if the chairman of the committee is really anti-Japanese, our Gui family will definitely support it." But we really don't understand what the principal thinks, so we came to you, we know that you are the most well-informed in the past, and you have the closest relationship with the principal, I think you know very well the attitude of the chairman. ”

According to historical records, Huang Shaohong withdrew from the Gui system after the most reluctance, Liu Yuan has never believed it, and today he finally saw it, Huang Shaohong said it so clearly at the meeting today, the two of them had no roots at all, "Li Gong, Bai Gong, this time it is not what the chairman's attitude is, but the Japanese have forced us to a dead end, if possible, we are absolutely unwilling to go to war with the Japanese now, but the Japanese are too hard, so we have to resist, remember Lushan's speech?" The principal's attitude is all in it. ”

Speaking of this, Liu Yuan had to sigh, why is his motherland so calamitous and difficult. It has reached this point, and the local powerful faction is still worried about being played by Chiang Kai-shek.

"Li Gong, Bai Gong, calm and falling, Japan's sword is pointing at the whole country, the nation has reached the moment of collapse, the moment of fighting to the death cannot be delayed, the principal as a national leader needs to consider too many things, so it is difficult to make the most decisive decision, I know that the two of them have a good relationship with He Jian and others, I hope you can help the principal to run around, and talk to them well, I Liu Yuan put the words here, the principal is definitely not the kind of person who hides the bow. Besides, the War of Resistance is a protracted war, and when the war is won, maybe a new generation has risen, so why should we care too much about the power in our hands?"

Li Zongren can become a generation of heroes, it is definitely not an ordinary person, he heard the meaning of Liu Yuan's words, nodded and said, "Fuguo, I understand what you mean, we don't mean to be villains, we have been fighting with the chairman for so many years, and we have been cheated by the chairman so many times, even if we are fools, we have been cheated out of experience, and we are also afraid of being cheated." ”

Chiang Kai-shek was his teacher, but when others hacked him, he couldn't speak, because he was often hacked by his own teacher, and Liu Yuan was used to this.

At this time, Li An walked in with his head buried in his head, his expression a little serious, "Chairman." Liu Yuan turned his head and asked, "What's the matter?" Why are you so nervous. ”

"Director Zhou and Mr. Mao are here." Li An whispered in Liu Yuan's ear, Liu Yuan frowned, thinking that if it was Chiang Kai-shek five years ago, he would not come if he gave Mao a hundred planes, but now, Mao not only dared to come, but also openly lived in the apartment arranged by Chiang Kai-shek, eating and drinking well. There's a bit of bitterness there.

It's just that at this time, is it okay for the Red Party to meet with him? Liu Yuan pondered, and the others also looked suddenly enlightened.

This national defense conference was not only invited by the senior officials of the Nationalist Government, the princes, and the leaders of the Red Party.

These included Mao, Zhou, Zhu, Ye Shuai, and, of course, Li Jishen's third party, for whom Chiang Kai-shek personally canceled his want, and Li Jishen also rejoined the Kuomintang and declared his support for the Nationalist Government, while Soong Ching-ling also made a speech in Jiangxi in support of Chiang Kai-shek as the supreme commander of the anti-Japanese resistance. Southwest seriously led hundreds of thousands of Kuomintang members who had been persecuted to declare their support for Chiang Kai-shek's war of resistance.

Chiang Kai-shek personally negotiated with Liu Yuan, demanding that as long as the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression is not won for a day, the Elite Alliance of Strong Powers must be an organization within the Nationalist Government, and it is not allowed to become an independent party, Liu Yuan personally promised Chiang Kai-shek, of course, Chiang Kai-shek also made a commitment not to interfere in the development of Sichuan and Yunnan.

"Find the master in the canteen and ask him to stir-fry some food, mainly spicy, especially braised pork, this is a military school, and the wine is free." Liu Yuan instructed Li Erniu, and walked to Liu Xiang's side, "Brother, a guest is coming, wake up quickly." ”

Liu Xiang shook his head and said, "I won't mix your affairs, if there is anything, you can call the shots, after speaking, he turned over and fell asleep again, Liu Xiang's action is very meaningful, that is, to tell the other princes that Liu Yuan is the real master of the southwest." ”

Liu Yuan walked to the door with a smile on his face, Mao and Zhou were talking on the side, and now Mao's Mandarin is very standard, and there is no longer a little Hunan flavor.

Seeing Liu Yuan come out, Mao and Zhou ended the conversation, three steps and two steps, Liu Yuan first hugged Mao, "I have prepared braised pork here." ”

"Director Zhou. House please. After greeting Mao, Liu Yuan shook Zhou's hand and let them into the house.

In the past, when talking to Zhou, like a spring breeze, Zhou always gave people a cordial and warm feeling, but now Zhou is also tanned a lot in the northwest, although his words are still warm, but he gives people an untouchable barrier.

"I'm a student who is not qualified, so I asked the teacher to visit in person, I hope the teacher won't be angry." Liu Yuan led Zhou Hemao in front and said with a smile.

"Although I am Zhou's teacher in Huangpu, I don't have as many Taoli as you now, you Liu Yuan came to a meeting to educate your juniors, but the chairman of the committee said several times that you are a model of the country." Zhou teased Liu Yuan.

"What a model is a model, people just don't want to forget the days when we were in Huangpu, when everyone worked together, although they endured hardships, they were happy and fulfilling, and there was no intrigue." Liu Yuan's answer was not expected.

Mao nodded and patted Liu Yuan's shoulder, "You haven't changed at all, you're still the same." ”

"Rundong, you don't need to say this, Mr. Zhu said, there is an old saying in Sichuan, called three years old to see the old, I'm afraid our Liu Fuguo will not be able to change this habit for the rest of his life."

After entering the house, everyone started talking, although the Red Party and the Gui Department were not familiar with each other, but everyone had a certain amount of communication with Liu Yuan, so most of the things everyone talked about were related to the southwest.

After the last, Zhou couldn't help but ask, "Fuguo, you generals, what are you talking about here?" Can you talk to us? Zhou said to Liu Yuan humorously.

Liu Yuan actually didn't like China's way of political communication, and when he saw Zhou pull the topic back, he hurriedly said, "Yes." ”

Liu Yuan told everyone in detail about Li Zongren and Bai Chongxi's worries about Mao, Zhou frowned after listening, and he couldn't be sure, when Chiang Kai-shek's life-and-death enemy Mao said, "You don't have to worry about this, this time Chiang Kai-shek is really anti-Japanese, China has a total of just a few plains that raise people, and all of a sudden they lose North China and Northeast China, so that the common people can eat, and now even the ancient capital has been lost, fortunately, our current capital is Nanjing, otherwise our country would have died a natural death according to international law, So this time the chairman of the committee must resist Japan, I guess if he resists Japan, the million Whampoa army will be the first to stand up against him. "Mao Tou is the analysis of the Tao.

After listening to Mao's words, Li Zongren also nodded and said, "Mr. Sun Yat-sen once said that the tide of history is mighty, and if you go with it, you will prosper, and if you go against it, you will perish. ”

Liu Yuan glanced at Li Zongren, thinking that you Li Delin is really not authentic, in one sentence, he classified the principal as a contrarian, and also promoted the principal to resist Japan, this sentence gives people too much room for reverie.

"How can you say that, the chairman? It is important to know that in order to resist Japan, the president approved the construction of the Southwest Special Economic Zone, the Chongqing Special Economic Zone, and the Jiangxi Special Zone, and promulgated the New Economic Life Movement, implemented the first five-year plan, and at the same time reformed the currency system and unified the economy. So I hope you don't listen to some rumors, this time the principal's anti-Japanese resistance is sincere. ”

Zhou Enlai had a great grudge against Liu Yuan's last plan to completely eliminate the Red Party on the banks of the Chishui River, and when he saw Liu Yuan's mood swings, he immediately counterattacked and said, "Chiang Kai-shek supports anti-Japanese resistance, so why does Kong Xiangxi and others have always opposed anti-Japanese, and why does Wang Jingwei oppose anti-Japanese?" There were many people in the chamber around him who opposed the anti-Japanese resistance, and these people were all close to Chiang Kai-shek, although Chiang Kai-shek's attitude was still quite clear now, and it was difficult for him to hold on to it after a long time. ”

Liu Yuan is naturally not a jealous person, standing here today, he can't weaken Chiang Kai-shek's name, otherwise it will be a bad influence on leading the War of Resistance against Japan, "Director Zhou, although their ideas are pessimistic, but they are not useless, the Japanese launched a war of aggression against China for what to do, that is because we have basically completed reunification, the country has embarked on the track of rapid development, the Japanese have not been idle in the past five years, they are also engaged in the economy, but they find that they are not as fast as us, so they must interrupt us, Fight with me. Some people think that if we are given some time, we will definitely be able to defeat the Japanese, and this is also the view of the main peace faction. There is nothing wrong with their thinking, and the fault is that Japan will not talk to us at all, and they will definitely fight with us this time. ”

"Oh, surely the Japanese can be defeated? Fuguo, you're not ridiculing us, are you? Bai Chongxi asked with a frown.

"What are you ridiculing you, as we all know, a large-scale economic crisis is breaking out in the whole world, and the Japanese economy has been slowing down, but we can continue to obtain the industrial technology we need from abroad through various hidden channels to promote our economic development, and our light industry itself is also developing to a certain extent, we can improve our own strength by constantly expanding domestic demand and carrying out self-internal construction, especially the development of the military industry, if we are given five years, Our aircraft production is not necessarily weaker than that of the Japanese. Liu Yuan explained.

"So you can't win with the Japanese now?" Mao asked Liu Yuan, he actually had a draft, and he just wanted to take the test for Liu Yuan.

"Winning can be won, but the price is heavy, the Japanese are menacing, and our preparation is insufficient, North China will definitely not be able to hold, and then Henan, Shandong, Shanxi, in the south is the area actually controlled by the Nationalist Government, the fragile and incomplete industrial system that we have just established will definitely be destroyed, and the Japanese government will also lose in the war of attrition because it occupies too much of our territory, but at the end of the war, our strength will definitely be weakened, not enhanced, but ......" Liu Yuan glanced at Mao, and finally didn't say much, in fact, what he wanted to say was that after a war, the Kuomintang would probably not have many veterans left to resist the Japanese front, and the Red Party would develop in the rear, and when the time came, ......

Liu Yuan's words were very clear, especially Zhou, he knew that it was really not right for him to look at Chiang Kai-shek with colored eyes, and if he was fighting against Japan on the battlefield, he might face the situation of losing the party and the country in the end, and he would not be willing. At the meeting of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee, Mao said that if Chiang Kai-shek was forced to resist Japan, Chiang Kai-shek and the Japanese would be stumbled, and the Red Party would be able to reap the benefits of the fisherman. Zhou always thought that there was no one in the Kuomintang who understood, but he didn't expect that in front of his eyes, this young man could see it more clearly than anyone else.

"Chairman, the principal called, let you go to the resthouse." Li An hurried to Liu Yuan's dormitory and said.

"I'll go in a while." Liu Yuan turned around and said.

"Yes, I'll let you go right away." Ang Lee repeated.

Hearing this, everyone's nerves, including Liu Yuan, tensed, "Is there something going on?" ”

"It's Shanghai." Li An whispered in Liu Yuan's ear.