The Japanese victory in Southeast Asia stimulated all the Japanese people, and the capture of Manila and Singapore was crucial for the Japanese, because only after taking these two landmark cities could they be regarded as disintegrating the military strength of the American and British forces in the South Pacific and truly becoming the hegemon of this sea, and the remaining Dutch East Indies, Australia, and the territory of the Chen family were all small shrimp for Japan, and there was nothing to fear.

Therefore, for a time, the whole Japanese society was boiling, and reports such as "the overall situation of the Pacific War has been decided," "the American and British troops killed the South Pacific," and "the Imperial Army once again created imperial history" appeared in major newspapers and magazines in Tokyo, and even Emperor Hirohito made an exception at the national celebration meeting to deliver a speech entitled "Chrysanthemums and Katana."

In contrast, the government has done a much more obvious thing, with governments at all levels in Japan ordering each family to be given two bottles of beer or rice wine, and a bag of candy to children to celebrate the victory of the emperor's samurai.

Under the guidance of the government's propaganda, the Japanese people took to the streets to celebrate the greatest victory of the Imperial Army. The streets of Tokyo are crowded with people, and it seems that people are celebrating their favorite festivals.

The flow of people is like an endless dragon flocking to the Meiji Shrine, throwing coins into the carnation box after ringing at 12 o'clock in the middle of the night, and buying a clay statue of the Bodhidharma Patriarch wearing a red robe for good luck. Instead of damaging the festive cheer, the war has created a sense of anticipation – the next big victory is coming, right?

Of course, not all of them are aiming for this victory, and there are a large number of people who are aiming for a peace that can be predicted. After several years of continuous war, many Japanese people have a heartfelt fear of war. There is an inexplicable resistance.

This is human nature, and no matter how much the Japanese government and the military department use the so-called bushido spirit to deceive people, not many people can be indifferent in the face of endless death. The Japanese are also human beings, and they are also flesh and blood and feelings, not iron.

Beginning in '31, Japan had been waging a war for ten years, and although it was limited to a small area of northeastern China in the previous years, the entire Japanese nation was involved as the war continued to expand. Now this war has evolved into a battle for the survival of the whole nation. All Japanese citizens were tied to chariots by the government and the military.

In recent years, the countries that have suffered from Japanese aggression have suffered countless casualties, and Japan itself has also damaged millions of troops, especially on the battlefield in China, and Japan expects the war to end in three months. It was unexpectedly played for 4 years. There is still no light at the end of the day.

However. Just when the Japanese people were about to become numb, the Pacific War broke out, and in just over two months. The Japanese army achieved an unprecedented victory in the South Pacific. Victory represents interests, and at the same time, it also represents the course of the war, so many Japanese seem to see hope for the end of the war.

The Japanese celebrated and the British mourned, and for Britain, it was a very painful week in the Second World War. A few days earlier, two German battle cruisers, the Scharnhorst and the Gneisenau, had broken through the encirclement of the British Royal Navy and had been able to escape the English Channel. Now the British are facing what Churchill called "the greatest catastrophe in British history and the danger of capitulation."

At a time when Churchill's position was in jeopardy with the fall of Singapore and the breach of the English Channel by German naval warships, Roosevelt's forgiving telegram softened fierce criticism in Britain, in which Roosevelt reminded Churchill and all the British people: "We must look forward, and always watch the next move that we have to take in order to strike at the enemy." ”

At the same time, Roosevelt telegraphed Churchill and decided that it was necessary to have a high-level meeting with the heads of other countries that were suffering from the aggression of the fascist countries to discuss the next war!

Churchill very much agreed with Roosevelt's question, and he believed that it was imperative to establish a world-wide anti-fascist organization, and suggested that the meeting should be held in Washington.

Soon, under the joint planning of Roosevelt and Churchill, the leaders of the countries in the world that were being invaded by the fascist countries received letters of invitation jointly signed by Washington and London, inviting them to hold a meeting in Washington to discuss anti-fascist affairs.

Due to the importance of the matter, and the fact that the Battle of Changsha had just ended, the old man decided to go to the United States in person.

On September 20, 1941, the governments of China, the United States, the Soviet Union, Britain, and France held a meeting in Washington to urgently plan for the overall situation of the war. The United States and Britain unanimously agreed that Germany was a pivotal Axis power, that the defeat of Germany was the key to victory, that the Atlantic and European theaters were decisive battlefields, and that once Germany was defeated, the collapse of Italy and the defeat of Japan would inevitably follow.

However, the Chinese government opposed this, because Chiang knew very well that once such a guiding ideology was established at this meeting, the strategic layout of "Europe first and then Asia" would become a foregone conclusion, and China would become a weight to hold back the Japanese army, which no Chinese wanted to see.

However, Chiang's opposition had no effect, and both Roosevelt and Churchill believed that the strategic layout of "Europe first and then Asia" was correct, so they demanded that Chiang must agree with their views.

In fact, the idea of the United States and Britain was expected by Lao Chiang, and Roosevelt said: "Without Asia, the white race will be sad because of this; Without Europe, the United States would not be the United States. Europe first, this is the strategic policy that the United States has determined at all times. ”

In the eyes of the United States, China's abundant human resources, vast land, and a steady stream of US aid will be able to effectively drag down and consume the Japanese army, thus providing a guarantee for the United States and Britain to defeat the German and Italian fascists first, and China will also be the best land base for the US Air Force to bomb the Japanese mainland and sea supply lines in the future.

Therefore, the purpose of US policy in this region is to make China continue to fight, and although the United States and Britain will have to pay a certain price for this, they can force the Japanese aggressors to pay a huge price. The United States and Britain focused only on the strategic diversion and potential political significance of the Far East theater, that is, they called "the continuous provision of the possibility of achieving amazing military and political victories at an unusually low cost." This is something that Chiang tried so hard to change but was unable to turn back.

Proceeding from the strategic interests of the United States and Britain, it is indeed an "unusually low price" to provide aid to China, but for Chiang Lao and China as a whole, the price is staggering. The fall of a large area of rich land and the casualties of a large number of elite troops all made him sad, not to mention that in addition to resisting Japan, he also had a dead knot in his heart - dealing with the Communist Party.

In addition, the meeting decided to establish the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the highest decision-making body of the Allied forces, and also established a Quartermaster Distribution Committee. But to Chiang's anger, although the United States and Britain positioned China as cannon fodder, allowing a large number of Chinese to become bargaining chips to help them resist the Japanese army, there were no seats for Chinese representatives in these two important institutions. This was undoubtedly a blow to the confident old Chiang, and the excitement brought about by the US-British war against Japan was swept away.

Just when Chiang was deeply disappointed, good news came from diplomatic channels, Roosevelt and Churchill agreed to prepare for the establishment of a Chinese theater of operations, including Vietnam and Thailand, and the formation of a supreme command. As for the choice of commander-in-chief, Roosevelt proposed that Chiang Kai-shek take the position, and the news was quickly confirmed by Roosevelt's telegram.

On the 21st, at the talks between Roosevelt and Chiang Kai-shek, he proposed the establishment of a Chinese theater of operations to achieve contact and cooperation between the allies to jointly resist Japan, and suggested that Chiang Lao "command the armies of the United Nations in China, Annam (Vietnam), and Thailand at present or in the future," and that under the leadership of Chiang Lao, representatives of the governments of China, the United States, and Britain should organize a joint planning and operational staff.

Roosevelt seemed to have anticipated Chiang's disappointment at the Washington Conference, and he also realized that it was unfair for China to make huge sacrifices to contain the actions of the Japanese army, which had been fighting alone for more than four years, but for the United States it was a "last resort", and in order to compensate China, or rather to encourage, he decided to push Chiang Kai-shek into the list of great power leaders.

In Roosevelt's view, this was the only way he could pay tribute to suffering China, apart from American aid. With his knowledge of the Chinese, this is also what they are willing to accept, and he is sure that Lao Chiang will accept their opinions.

Lao Chiang was indeed very moved, he was very aware of the current situation in China, although the situation had improved to a certain extent, but for the Nationalist Government, the situation was still very dangerous, and this was not only manifested in the pressure of the Japanese army, but also in the internal politicization.

In China, in addition to the growing Eighth Route Army, there are also Yan Xishan's Jin Sui Army and Chen Feng's Saibei Army developing rapidly, and the Central Army is no longer a monopoly, and it seems that it is not as good as Chen Feng's department if it is confronted alone, which is absolutely intolerable to Lao Jiang.

Now it seems to be an opportunity for him, although the price will be very high, and even many people will die, but it is certain that the United States and Britain will definitely provide large-scale assistance to the Chinese government. Who is the Chinese government, it is not him Jiang someone, maybe in a few years, he can use this American aid to form a powerful American-style army.

In addition, there is the issue of personal prestige, in addition to him Jiang in China, Chen Feng's personal prestige is not small, not inferior to him in the slightest, which makes Lao Jiang feel great pressure, if he can successfully become the supreme commander of the Allied forces in the Chinese theater of operations, then he will definitely be able to overpower Chen Feng in this regard, which is what he is most happy to see, therefore, after careful consideration, Lao Jiang finally agreed to the arrangement of Roosevelt and others! (To be continued......)