"Aha, Lao Zheng, I'm back again!" Carlson gave Zheng Huzi a bear hug in the Russian way, and introduced to a lieutenant general behind him: "General, this is the commander-in-chief of Zheng Weiguo in the Second War Zone, maybe you can call it a beard according to their habits!" ”

Zheng Weiguo hurriedly stretched out his hand and said, "General Stilwell, it's a pleasure to meet you!" ”

Stilwell shook his hand and laughed self-deprecatingly, "yes, I'm persona non grata in China!" (Note: Stilwell's Chinese is very good, and he often uses Chinese characters when writing in his diary)

Zheng Weiguo casually comforted: "The people will not forget your contribution to China's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression!" ”

Stilwell's emotions suddenly became excited, and he nodded: "I know, I know, the Chinese people are the friendliest!" Ninety-five percent of the Chinese are good people, but unfortunately they are ruled by five percent of the bad guys. That damn peanut, you don't know what a bastard that stupid donkey is......"

"You won't believe it when you say it, Peanut and his relatives actually make a profit by reselling aid materials to China!" Stilwell waved his arms and shouted, "These supplies were transported to China by pilots from the Hump route, and every ton of supplies was stained with the blood of American pilots......"

Maybe the grudge was too deep, Stilwell vented for a while before calming down, and said apologetically: "I'm sorry, Zheng, I shouldn't have lost my temper on this occasion." ”

Zheng Weiguo was also a little embarrassed, so he had to smile and said: "It's nothing, I can't make an evaluation of the affairs of the national government, but I can assure you." The things you said won't happen in our second war zone. ”

Stilwell nodded, "I believe you, your repeated victories in the World War II zone are not something that a corrupt army can do." ”

Zheng Weiguo said with a smile: "Thank you for the general's compliment!" ”

Seeing that they were talking, Chief of Staff Zhou interjected: "General Stilwell, Commander-in-Chief, it's windy here, let's go back to the city first, the logistics have already arranged a welcome banquet......

Zheng Weiguo nodded and said, "Okay!" General Stilwell, please! ”

Stilwell shook his head and said, "No, no! Zheng, I came this time on a mission. I guess the banquet will be closed for now. Let's go straight to the war room! ”

Carlson shrugged beside him, spread his hands, and signaled that he could not do anything with this "acid Joe".

Zheng Weiguo and Chief of Staff Zhou glanced at each other, thinking that Stilwell was in such a hurry to negotiate conditions. I'm afraid it's not a good thing.

As expected. Stilwell's ass just sat down. Then he said impatiently: "Commander-in-Chief Zheng, we need your help now. ”

Zheng Weiguo replied quietly: "General Stilwell, please speak up, if we can do it, we will never shirk!" ”

Stilwell was overjoyed. Hurriedly said: "I knew you wouldn't refuse, Zheng, I need the command of the Northern Front!" ”

Zheng Weiguo and Chief of Staff Zhou were taken aback when they heard this.

The present Russian Far East is very delicate, and in terms of belonging, it is the territory of the Soviet Union; In terms of actual occupation, the Japanese army accounted for the vast majority, while the Chinese army occupied Kamchatka, Chukotka, Magadan, Handga and other regions. At the same time, the US military also has a large number of troops stationed in Kamchatka, especially two air forces of the army and one fleet of the navy.

In this way, in terms of the division of theaters, Zheng Huzi's 2nd theater and General Arnold's North Pacific theater overlapped in Kamchatka.

Naturally, the Americans did not want to put such a force under the command of Chinese generals, and Zheng Weiguo also did not want to hand over the Northern Front to the command of the Americans.

So the current situation is that China and the United States are each responsible for their own armies, and a joint staff is set up in Kamchatka, and the matters that need to be coordinated are all taken care of by this joint staff.

Now Stilwell is in command, and it is certainly not ordinary power, but full command. It is tantamount to placing the Northern Front completely under the command of the US military.

This is what Zheng Weiguo is unwilling, he is not like the chairman of the committee, who has so many troops for Stilwell to toss. Moreover, everyone in the Northern Front is at least a veteran with more than three years of combat experience, if they are sent to Savage Mountain like an expeditionary force, where will Zheng Huzi cry?

After hesitating for a moment, Zheng Weiguo still shook his head and said categorically: "This is impossible!" ”

Stilwell felt like he had been poured a scoop of cold water, and the smile on his face suddenly froze. He is a man who writes everything on his face, and he likes to say strange things behind his back, so he is really not suitable for diplomatic office.

Seeing that the atmosphere was a little tense, Chief of Staff Zhou hurriedly said: "Commander-in-chief, I don't think the US allies will make such a request for no reason. If it is indeed conducive to the war of resistance, it is not impossible for us to make some concessions. ”

Zheng Weiguo borrowed the ladder to go downstairs and nodded: "Okay, I believe General Stilwell will definitely be able to give us a reasonable explanation." ”

Stilwell knew that he had been a little reckless just now, and that he had hurt his face by Zheng Huzi's categorical refusal, so he was naturally unhappy, so he turned around and said, "Carlson, come on!" ”

Carlson hurriedly said: "Yes, General! He also explained to Zheng Weiguo and Chief of Staff Zhou: "First of all, I want to inform you of a military situation!" ”

After a pause, he continued: "First of all, the German army has begun to retreat from the Soviet Union! Oh, and not all of them were evacuated, they still had a firm grip on the oil fields, the railroads, and a few big cities. ”

Chief of Staff Zhou frowned slightly, and speculated: "The German army is carrying out strategic contraction in the Soviet Union? When did it happen, could it be because they were not logistically well supplied? ”

Shrugging his shoulders, Carlson said: "It just came up last week, and logistical pressures may be one of the reasons, but the biggest is that they have to deal with the UK. ”

Zheng Weiguo was slightly surprised and asked, "Germany intends to invade the British Isles?" ”

Carlson nodded and said solemnly, "Very likely!" ”

Zheng Weiguo nodded and said, "Okay, this is indeed a big deal, but it doesn't seem to have anything to do with the Northern Front, so you don't plan to send them to Britain to fight, right?" ”

Carlson laughed: "Of course not! Another thing was that the Japanese army began to withdraw from eastern India and Burma. ”

Zheng Weiguo said: "Yes. I've heard about it. It may be that the Japanese mainland is threatened, and they must shrink their forces in order to strengthen their defenses. ”

Carlson smiled: "You are right, now the Japanese army has strengthened the defense of Sakhalin, Hokkaido, and the Kuril Islands in order to prevent our landing. And the fortifications and forces are being strengthened every day, in other words, for every day we drag, the difficulty of the offensive increases by one point. ”

Zheng Weiguo was puzzled: "You have been talking for a long time, but I still don't understand what it has to do with the Northern Front. ”

Carlson waved his hand and said, "Ahem." You guy. It must be pretending to be confused. Well, then I'll explain it again......"

It turned out that Germany was preparing to invade Britain, and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill felt that a great disaster was coming. Hurriedly asked for emergency help from the United States. But the United States is rich. Troops and supplies are also limited. Especially materiel. The United States has only just transitioned to a wartime mechanism, and its industrial potential has not yet been fully exploited.

If Britain were to be reinforced on a large scale, it would inevitably reduce the number of troops and supplies in the Pacific theater. But it was not easy for the US military to open up the situation in Kamchatka. If the troops and materials are withdrawn at this time, it is tantamount to losing all the previous achievements.

What is even more terrifying is that Germany is now strong and fierce, and it is not at all possible to solve the problem in one or two years, and if the main force of the US military is dragged in the Atlantic Ocean by Germany, once Japan eases up, the Pacific theater will be in danger of collapse.

On the other hand, if Britain is not saved, if Britain falls, the whole of Europe will be shrouded in the shadow of the Nazis. No matter how strong the United States is, it will not be possible to defeat Germany across the Atlantic.

What can I do now?

Fortunately, it also took time for Germany to prepare for the attack on Britain, and President Roosevelt wanted to make a time difference. That is, to concentrate on inflicting heavy losses on Japan first, and then to return to the aid of Britain. After Britain had crossed this hurdle, it would concentrate its forces on destroying Japan, and then gather the remnants of the United States, Britain, China, and Russia to encircle Germany.

As for the specific plan, it is to concentrate forces on the Kuril Islands in the north of Japan, and then raze Japan to the ground with heavy bombers, so that Japan will not be able to counterattack at least for a short time.

Now that the U.S. war machine is in full swing, as long as it survives this period, it can then kill Germany and Japan with a steady stream of supplies.

Chief of Staff Zhou was greatly impressed when he heard this, and exclaimed: "What a perfect plan!" ”

"You're right!" Carlson smiled and said with some embarrassment: "But no matter how good the plan is, it needs effective troops to carry it out, so we want to borrow the ...... of the Northern Front."

Well, the fox's tail is finally revealed.

Zheng Weiguo hurriedly interrupted: "Carlson, as far as I know, you have gathered a large number of troops in the North Pacific Theater. Already, I think, there are 140,000 troops, right! ”

Carlson slurred, "Yes, but ......" He looked a little embarrassed, and Stilwell on the side also had an ugly face, as if there was something unspeakable.

If it is a private contact, people don't want to say it, forget it, but this is related to the fate of tens of thousands of troops on the Northern Front, Zheng Huzi must ask to understand. So he pretended to be unhappy and said: "Carlson, since we are allies, we should trust each other, if you are not willing to be honest with each other, why should you ask for the command of our army?" ”

Stilwell reluctantly glanced at Carlson.

Carlson breathed a sigh of relief and had no choice but to say: "Okay, to tell you the truth, before we came, our army had already taken the occupied island of the Northern Kuril Islands. ”

The island is the closest to Kamchatka, only 11 km from Cape Lopatka, the southernmost point of the peninsula, and can be directly supported by heavy artillery. It stands to reason that it will certainly not be difficult for the US military to take down such a small island. Zheng Huzi and Chief of Staff Zhou glanced at each other, thinking that there must be something to follow.

Sure enough, Carlson continued, "But we have suffered more than 300 casualties there. "Except for Bataan's one-time reimbursement of tens of thousands of U.S. troops, the losses of the U.S. troops in the Pacific theater rarely exceed 1,000, and more than 300 people are considered a big loss.

Chief of Staff Zhou nodded and said, "It seems that the Japanese army is resisting stubbornly. ”

Zheng Weiguo agreed: "It's no wonder that every time the U.S. military shoots down an island, it is one step closer to the Japanese mainland, and the little devil must be desperate." ”

Carlson said embarrassedly: "What you said is very reasonable, but in fact, there are no Japanese troops on the island!" ”

Burst! Zheng Weiguo couldn't help it, and squirted out a mouthful of tea. Occupy an island where no one lives, and you still have more than 300 casualties? Chief of Staff Zhou also held back his old face flushed, and if he was not afraid of damaging the face of his US allies, he would have laughed out loud on the spot.

(Note: Historically, in order to recover Kiska Island, which was occupied by the Japanese army, the U.S. military carried out 106 bombardments and 15 naval artillery shots on the island from August 1, 43, and bombed it for half a month before officially landing.) In fact, the Japanese secretly withdrew on July 29, and as a result, the American troops suffered more than 300 casualties in order to capture this undefended island, most of which were mistakes or accidental injuries)

"Ah, I'm sorry, I lost my temper!" Zheng Weiguo couldn't hold back a smile and couldn't help but say, "But your performance is too bad, right?" ”

Carlson's face was also flushed, and he hurriedly said: "If it weren't for the fact that there was no way, we wouldn't have made such an unreasonable request." But now we must take the remaining islands of the Kuril Islands as soon as possible, otherwise ......"

Zheng Weiguo's face also became solemn, and he hurriedly asked, "How long is there to prepare?" ”

Carlson hurriedly said: "One month! (To be continued......)

PS: Thank you very much for panroy's reward, panroy Jun has a trend of developing towards local tyrants, praise a first!