Zhao Xiaowan was looking for a suitable opportunity to tell the whole story.

She knew that there was no need to shy away from telling Huang Ke about this, even if Huang Ke disagreed, she would not be blamed, but no matter how close people were, they had to pay attention to ways and means to speak, and Zhao Xiaowan felt that as her brother said, if she could really talk to the Japanese at this time, it might not be a good thing.

In the afternoon, she hung up the phone to Huang Ke's office. It was Secretary-General Chen Liewen who answered, and she said, "Xiao Chen, is the commander here?" ”

Chen Liewen said: "Hello madam, the commander is still in a meeting, why don't I call the commander?" ”

"No need. I'll call again later. ”

"Okay, ma'am, I'll tell you when the commander is done and ask him to call you back." After speaking, Chen Liewen took out a small notebook and recorded the call record.

As a text and life secretary, Chen Liewen's daily work is very busy, he often has to answer countless calls, in order to avoid forgetting anything, he will record these calls one by one in his notebook, of course, only his memory can be remembered, this is an added insurance.

What Chen Liewen didn't expect was that Huang Ke's meeting lasted more than an hour. At present, Dai Anlan's 1st Division has been holding out in Tonggu for more than 20 days, and although the casualties of the troops are not small, this strong force is wedged in Tonggu like a steel nail, so that the Japanese army cannot advance an inch.

This scene not only encouraged the Chinese people, but even the major media in the United States and Europe reported on it, praising the Chinese Expeditionary Force as a tenacious force.

Of course, Huang Ke did not hold the meeting to see the praise of various places, but to study the strategy for the next step.

According to the original plan of the Chinese side, if Tonggu can hold out for more than ten days, it should gather the main force of the expeditionary force around Tonggu, start a large-scale battle with the Japanese army in Tonggu, take advantage of the situation to continue to increase troops in Burma, continue to expand the Warring States, and recapture Yangon and other places in one fell swoop.

Such a strategic setting is based on China's current situation in the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and its development in the coming decades, and there are also considerable obstacles at home and abroad. The domestic resistance is put aside for the time being, and it is nothing more than some problems with few soldiers and little money, which can always be solved by tightening the belt of trousers.

However, the problem was international resistance, because the Allied General Staff did not agree with China's combat plan.

The day before Huang Ke's meeting, Allied Chief of Staff Stilwell and the commander of the Chinese Expeditionary Force were already arguing at the Allied Interim Command in Mandalay, Burma.

The focus of the two men's argument was the next military deployment plan, which in general terms was whether to gather forces in the Tonggu area and engage in a battle with the main force of the Japanese army.

In fact, before this, Stilwell and Sun Liren had agreed on the purpose of using the 1st Division of the Chinese army as a bait to attract the main Japanese army in Burma to converge, and then the large corps gathered around Tonggu to start a battle with the Japanese army. Concentrate superior forces and encircle and annihilate the Japanese troops in Burma under strong air cover.

Stilwell agreed with the battle plan and signed Operational Order No. 1.

In order to implement the plan more thoroughly, at the pre-war meeting, he also gave Sun Liren a large-scale, high-precision map of Burma in his command post.

At that time, Stilwell said, "If the troops of the expeditionary force can hold out in Tonggu for a week, they can complete the assembly of follow-up troops in Tonggu, attract a large number of Japanese troops to come and start the battle, and then realize the counteroffensive of the Burma campaign." ”

Facts have proved that the 1st Division of the Expeditionary Force, with only 10,000 men, resisted the fierce attack of the arrogant 18th Division of the Japanese army in Tonggu for nearly 20 days!

At present, the main forces of the 56th and 18th Divisions of the Japanese Army have been concentrated on the Tonggu line, and the tactical goal of relying on the 1st Division of the Expeditionary Force to attract the enemy's main force has been achieved.

At this time, when Sun Liren was about to wave his army south, Stilwell changed his mind.

"General, the 1st Division is now fighting bloodily against an enemy twenty times their size. Is this situation opened by the Chinese army with blood just wasted? One more minute of our hesitation here, one point more casualties on the front. Sun Liren's voice was very hurried, obviously he was already a little anxious.

Stilwell frowned, "General Sun, I can understand your feelings. But now the Allies did not have the strength to engage in a large-scale battle with the Japanese. The army in Tonggu should retreat to Binwenna, and we should proceed to establish a counteroffensive base and conduct a large-scale battle at Binh Manna. ”

"Then what's the point of our army holding on to Tonggu for so long?" Sun Liren was-for-tat, and he then asked rhetorically in skillful English: "Where do you want to retreat again and again?" ”

The tent was extremely hot, and several electric fans were spinning tirelessly, bringing with them gusts of hot air.

Stilwell took off the large-leaf canvas hat on his head, wiped the sweat on his face, and responded loudly in Chinese: "General Sun, frankly speaking, I am very surprised by the performance of the Chinese army, I did not expect you to have such a heroic soldier, and your strong sense of warrior is admirable." But this battle plan has not yet been implemented, and as you can see, our allies have been somewhat unsatisfactory in this regard, and now part of the Japanese army has begun to attack from the western front, which is defended by the British......"

Speaking of this, Stilwell, who has always been quick to talk, was a little speechless, and then he changed his tone and said seriously: "If we assemble in the Tonggu area at present, I think we are very likely to fall into a passive situation surrounded by the Japanese army, have you thought about this question?" You're going to let these young kids die for nothing! ”

"If you retreat like this, more people will die!" Sun Liren is still proficient in English.

Stilwell was furious: "Oh God! Too many of your officers in your country are just like you, and they don't value the lives of their soldiers too much! ”

Speaking of which, it's almost like a quarrel. The staff officers on both sides hurriedly came over to persuade the fight, it was not easy for the two of them to quarrel on a hot day, and it seemed that both of them would suffer from heat stroke if they continued to quarrel.

Sun Liren is powerless to refute, although Stilwell is a mean guy and a little arbitrary, but on the whole, Sun Liren's impression is still very good. Although he is the chief of staff of the Allied forces in the Chinese theater, he can travel lightly and easily, and he can often go to the front line to talk with the officers and soldiers, and it can be said that in the eyes of many grassroots officers and soldiers of the expeditionary force, he is a very down-to-earth senior general.

But he also had his tactical shortcomings, simply put, he was too superstitious about the data derived from the war chess, as in the case of the ancient battle, he had previously speculated that the Chinese army would retreat before the British army, because from the strength and firepower data of both sides, there is no doubt about this.

But being too superstitious about data will also make him fall into it, Sun Liren knows that although the data of weapons is particularly important in this war, the human factor in it cannot be ignored.

Sun Liren believes that the 50,000 soldiers of the expeditionary force will definitely be able to fight this battle well!

After this controversy, Stilwell and Sun Liren sent telegrams to Huang Ke in Nanjing, and Sun Liren asked if the battle should be carried out. Stilwell asked, "Who is in the hands of the battlefield command?"

The two questions may seem different, but they are actually the same question. It is undeniable that Stilwell, as a representative of the United States, is in charge of the distribution of a large amount of materials for aiding China, and he is also the chief of the general staff of the Allied forces, so he should be the supreme commander of the battlefield.

But in this war, the Americans did not contribute any troops, so naturally their words were somewhat discounted. The Chinese side is good to say that the Chinese are hospitable, coupled with the US aid stuck neck, and have to obey many of his orders; But the British never felt that the Americans were superior to them, so Stilwell's words greatly reduced the binding force of the British troops on the battlefield in Burma.

Huang Ke also had a headache when he read these two telegrams, in fact, before the war, he had already told Sun Liren that he must maintain his independence in commanding the war, and he did not need to ask Nanjing, but he did not have to follow the advice of the Allied Command.

Huang Ke was also a little embarrassed by Stilwell's straightforward telegram of inquiry, after all, he still had to take the aid of the Americans, and it was not too good for the relationship to be too stiff. Of course, it wasn't that he doubted Stilwell's command level, but he didn't understand how the Chinese army could command effectively.

Without thinking about it, Huang Ke decided to study the possibility of a battle with Gu, if the feasibility was high, he would definitely go to fight. If the odds of victory are low, then follow Stilwell's advice and withdraw the 1st Division from Tonggu, and then engage the Japanese after the rear is assembled.

Huang Ke himself could not make a clear judgment, so he naturally had to convene a staff meeting for a detailed discussion. Seeing that the meeting had been going on for more than an hour, the staff officers of the General Staff Headquarters, like Stilwell and Sun Liren, were arguing with Gu Shou or not, and the voices of both sides were getting louder and louder, and it was estimated that if Huang Ke was not present, those staff officers would have been able to roll up their sleeves and fight.

Huang Ke was upset when he heard this, he waved his hand and said, "You guys continue to discuss, and after the discussion is completed, each of you will find a representative to report to me." ”

After speaking, he picked up the military hat on the table and walked straight out, and the staff officers in the conference room were quiet for a moment at first, because everyone's eyes were on Huang Ke, but after Huang Ke walked out of the door, he heard the quarrel from inside.

As soon as he came out, Chen Liewen saw that Huang Ke was in a bad mood, so he went to make a cup of tea first, and then baked a cigar and smoked a cigarette to prepare, and after Huang Ke took a sip of tea and smoked a few puffs, he stepped forward to report some important calls when Huang Ke was away.

"You said Madame called?" Huang Ke asked.

"Yes, Madame didn't say what it was." Chen Liewen is truthful.

"Maybe the kid is back and wants me to go home for dinner." Huang Ke stood up, "Arrange the vehicle, I'll go home for dinner in the evening." ”

"Yes!" Fourteen Tsai walked in with Huang Ke's coat.

Chen Liewen leaned over again and asked in a low voice, "Commander, where is the conference room?" ”

Huang Ke glanced at it: "If they are willing to quarrel, let them quarrel, and when they are tired of arguing, they will naturally go back." ”