"Hello, General MacArthur."

"Hello, General Chen."

……

The U.S. troops were finally all on board. Under the cover of battleship and heavy cruiser guns, as well as a squadron of B-25 bombers led by Doolittle, most of the American troops safely stepped onto deck, and the entire operation lasted nearly a full day, from day to midnight. For nearly a full day, the Japanese tried to attack many times, but in the end they had to give up the idea of leaving this American army behind.

It's not that the Japanese are humble and polite, it's that they can't do it.

The Chinese Air Force erected walls of fire on both sides of the harbor with napalm, which did not stop the Japanese for long, but if the whole of Manila was burned, the Japanese would not dare to attack even if they had the courage to attack. The fire was set by MacArthur...... According to the general's explanation to his deputy, this is the only way to give their boys more time to retreat and to save as many American GIs as possible. As for burning the capital of the Philippines...... To hell with that. What could be more important than the lives of Americans? Is he still a Philippine marshal? Well, this funny military rank is not as good as the gold content of an American captain.

……

"I'm protesting, I'm protesting—"

MacArthur and Wainwright were the last US soldiers to board the ship, and before that, according to their orders, Philippine President Quezon and some high-ranking Philippine generals had been forcibly escorted to the "Fengxiang" by US soldiers. Chen Shaokuan had never seen these people, but now that MacArthur was here, he couldn't continue to be so rude. Unexpectedly, as soon as the Philippine president appeared, he roared at the two.

"What did he say?"

Chen Shaokuan understood English, but Quezon used Tagalog in a hurry. This language is not to mention him, and even MacArthur, the Philippine marshal, does not understand it.

"I think Mr. President is in a bad mood right now." Wainwright smiled helplessly. He didn't understand Tagalog, but Quezon's expression was already indicative of a lot.

"I'm going to protest, protest!" Quezon also realized his mistake and switched to English again, "You ruined Manila, you ruined our capital!" ”

"Mr. President, it was the Japanese who ruined Manila." MacArthur looked at the Philippine president in a U.S. military uniform but wearing a soldier's cap, "They are invaders!" They did it all! ”

"Marshal ......"

"Please call me General." MacArthur's face turned cold. "I'm Douglas. MacArthur, General of the United States of America Army! ”

"All right, Your Excellency," Quezon was shocked by MacArthur's grim demeanor, and he looked at the man who had been making peace with him before. The "former Philippine marshal", who occasionally jokes, flashed a trace of sadness and grief on his face. "Do you think that by blaming the Japanese for all this, you can cover everything up? When I was on board. Witness U.S. soldiers setting fires along the way...... Someone will tell the truth. You are committing a crime against the Filipino people. ”

"Mr. President, no one wants to ruin Manila. But you should know that we will not allow anything to go wrong this time. MacArthur exhaled lightly. He knew that his tone just now was a little too stiff. Of course, this is also the most normal manifestation of a person who has done something wrong, unwilling to face the victim. can think about the treatment he has received in the Philippines over the years, as well as Quezon's courtesy to him, his heart can't help but soften a little. And they're always coming back. If the relationship with this guy who is still the president of the Philippines in the future does not get along well, it will certainly not be in the interests of the United States.

"But that's our capital!" Quezon exclaimed indignantly, "General, that's the largest and most important city in the Philippines. It's easy for you to destroy it. But do you know how many years did the Filipino people spend and how much financial resources did they spend in order to build this city? ”

"As far as I know, the builders of Manila seem to be Spaniards!" On the side, Chen Shaokuan suddenly interjected, "And we Chinese have also played a lot of roles in it." As for the Filipinos...... Mr. President, have your people played any role in this city other than making garbage? ”

“……”

"And I don't think General MacArthur would have been able to lead so many American soldiers beyond the Japanese encirclement if it weren't for this fire in Manila. But one more American soldier is lost in Manila, and General MacArthur is committing a crime against a pair of American parents! Chen Shaokuan continued, "General MacArthur is an American, so there is nothing wrong with taking the interests of the United States and the interests of the American people as the best consideration. ”

“…… Who are you? ”

Quezon and the others looked at Chen Shaokuan angrily, if it weren't for the many soldiers next to him, he would have pounced on him a long time ago. The capital of the Philippines has nothing to do with the Filipinos...... This guy actually said such things in front of him, the president of the Philippines?

"Your savior!" Chen Shaokuan looked down at the old man in front of him, "Admiral of the Chinese Navy, Chen Shaokuan!" ”

"You think you saved us?" Quezon asked with a sneer.

"Nope." Chen Shaokuan shook his head and sneered, "I never thought I saved you. Because we have intelligence and have deduced that if the Japanese army launches a large-scale attack, the probability of the Philippine army surrendering is more than ninety! In other words, if it wasn't General MacArthur who 'rescued' you this time, then you are most likely to be a Japanese guest now! You and your men will be at the vanguard of the Japanese offensive before then! ”

"You're talking nonsense—" Quezon cried out in horror and grabbed MacArthur's clothes again, "Marshal, you can't take his word for it." He did it on purpose, he was deliberately dividing our relationship! ”

"Need a separation?" Chen Shaokuan shook his head and pretended to sigh, "Mr. President, you have more than 170 languages in the Philippines, which means that you have no less than this number of nationalities. But you don't have a unified culture. You don't have the slightest bit of background. For hundreds of years, you've been very competent in the role of wallgrass. Whoever comes, you will bow to whomever you want, and then act as an executioner in the hands of the other party. This time the Japanese aggression was nothing more than a repetition of history. Don't tell me that during the Japanese siege of Manila, you and your troops stood firmly by the side of General MacArthur without any hint of betrayal. ”

"You, you're ......"

"I'm telling the truth. And I'm sure it won't be long before the Japanese release the records of your previous contact with them. Hopefully, you'll be able to deny all of that then. Chen Shaokuan continued.

"Of course we will deny it, because it is all fake, nothing that has happened at all. You're slandering us. Quezon was terrified. Of course, he knew that many of what Chen Shaokuan said were true...... While besieged in Manila, they had more than one secret contact with the Japanese. Because they knew very well that the opponents of the Japanese were the Americans, and although the battle took place on the territory of the Philippines, they only fought soy sauce in this war. In that case, why should they pay for the war between the two powers? It's a pity that MacArthur was too vigilant and planted U.S. troops in various Philippine units, ostensibly to improve the combat effectiveness of the Philippine troops, but in his opinion, it was to supervise them. That's why he pretended to go to MacArthur and reminded the other party that someone was trying to defect, but in fact, he was the president of the Philippines among the people who planned to "mutiny". Of course, for them, this so-called "mutiny" cannot be called a mutiny at all. This is their Filipino land, and they are only doing it for themselves. Who is not taking refuge? Keeping yourself is the most important thing. Therefore, when MacArthur began to gather the US troops, they also made corresponding arrangements very cooperatively, but unexpectedly, everything happened too quickly, and before they could make the next arrangements, MacArthur "trapped" them first, and then ...... They didn't have that.

"It's best to be fake." Seeing Quezon's resolute rebuttal, Chen Shaokuan suddenly smiled again, "Please also ask Mr. President not to blame." Everything is just speculation, after all, you Filipino people have really not behaved well in the past few hundred years, and it is normal for us to have such thoughts. However, we still hope that Mr. President will lead the Filipino people to the forefront in the future battles against the Japanese army. ”

“……”

……

"General Chen, I think it is better to be more polite to a president."

Quezon and those in the Philippines were swept away by Chen Shaokuan. MacArthur, the "partner" who had the best relationship with Quezon, didn't say anything until the gang left, and then he sighed and said to Chen Shaokuan.

"General MacArthur, in fact, I believe that you are very aware of the behavior of these Philippine military and political dignitaries, otherwise you would not have 'rescued' them together." Chen Shaokuan smiled, "I'm just telling the facts. And I'm sure you wouldn't want people to focus on the fire in Manila, would you? ”

“…… Where are we going? MacArthur didn't dwell on the topic and changed the subject and asked.

"Haikou." Chen Shaokuan replied with a smile: "Many people are there ready to welcome you and your soldiers. ”

“……”

MacArthur was silent. He knew who would be among the "many." Seriously, he didn't really want to see that guy. But the current situation is not up to him at all.

……

"Report!"

After finishing business, MacArthur did not go back to the cabin to rest, but continued to stay in the command cabin, looking at the sea view in the distance, while talking to Chen Shaokuan, who had no match. And just when the two were chatting more and more hot, Chen Shaokuan's first mate answered a phone call:

"Sir, the submarine has been discovered!" (To be continued......)