As the US representatives were preparing to leave Nanjing and the Chinese and Japanese sides were secretly meeting in Huzhou, Huang Ke's desk received an urgent telegram from the Burmese front.

In the telegram, Sun Liren inquired about whether to start the battle with Gu, and said that the British army was besieged by Ren'anqiang, and now they had asked the expeditionary force for help, whether to go to the rescue.

It turned out that just last night, the British troops defending the Western Front retreated without a fight, and the defense of the Western Front had collapsed on all fronts. The Japanese army drove straight into the city of Maquedo, and the Japanese army had put the expeditionary force of the Tonggu Front in danger. What is even more odious is that the thousands of British troops did not withdraw from the besieged Ringanqiang, and they even went to the expeditionary force with fewer numbers and equipment than their own to ask for help.

Huang Ke rubbed his temples after seeing it, and after shouting Chen Liewen, he wanted to say that he would call back and let Sun Liren "make a decision on the camera", and then crumpled the information in his hand and threw it into the paper basket.

Sun Liren had already asked himself for instructions on the ancient front line before, and his reply at that time was "The camera decides and you don't need to ask for instructions", according to Sun Liren's character, he will never be so indecisive, and this time he will inevitably have his reasons for asking for instructions again. Moreover, the negotiations with the Japanese have just come to an end, and Zhao Tinghui and the others reported to themselves yesterday that the talks are going fairly smoothly, and the two sides have agreed to continue the talks next month.

Now, according to the content of the verbal agreement between China and Japan, there has been a ceasefire on some of the more intense fronts. This also entered a period of confrontation set by Huang Ke. Huang Ke was thinking that if this time could be maintained for about two years, by 1944, he would be able to complete a new round of army reorganization, and then in East Asia, the million-strong division of the Chinese National Defense Force would be invincible.

However, I'm afraid the reality doesn't allow him to do this, and before the ink dries up after the talks with the other side, there will be problems here.

After thinking about it, Huang Ke decided to press the microphone on the table and said, "Help me pick up the front line in Myanmar, I want to talk to Sun Liren." ”

The chairman's chamber has a special telephone line, which can be connected to special lines throughout the country, and when they are connected, they will be transferred to Huang Ke himself if necessary. The phone call requested by Huang Ke was transferred by them to the secretary's desk, and then to the attendant's room.

Myanmar has an encrypted phone system on the front line, so it doesn't take long to get to the phone on that side, and after a while, the phone on the front line is connected.

Chen Liewen walked in and said that the phone had been connected. After Huang Ke picked up the earpiece for a while, an unclear voice came from the opposite side, "Chairman, I'm Sun Liren." ”

"Well, Fumin, tell me about the situation at the front." Huang Ke said while holding the earpiece.

"Yes, Chairman." Sun Liren told the story of the situation on the front line, it turned out that last night the 33rd Division of the Japanese 15th Army strengthened its offensive against the area defended by the British on the Western Front, and the British army did not seem to be suitable for this style of play, and finally collapsed. Last night, the British Seventh Armored Brigade and other elite units lost their heavy weapons and equipment and were defeated all the way, most of the British troops escaped successfully, and a small number of British troops fled to Ringanqiang, but they were surrounded by the Japanese regiments because they had no time to do so.

"Chairman, it's not a humble complaint, it's just that the British army is too vulnerable. The 18th and 56th Divisions, the main forces of the Japanese army in Burma, attacked our front-line troops in Tonggu, and only a small number of troops of the 33rd Division attacked the British army on the Western Front, which had absolute superiority in numbers and weapons. ”

But the British did not let go of a single shot, and gave the strongholds and cities, as well as a large amount of weapons and ammunition, to the Japanese. Now that they're under siege, they still want us to come to the rescue? ”

After recounting the incident with Huang Ke, Sun Liren, who has always been not good at talking, couldn't help but complain. Huang Ke smelled a hint of a turnaround, and he asked seriously: "Fumin, you tell me the truth, if you are given full command now and let you deploy the next combat operations, what will you do?" ”

Sun Liren didn't expect Huang Ke to ask this question, he was silent for a while and then replied: "Naturally, the main force of the rear will be put into the front line of Tonggu and the battle will be fought with the Japanese army in Tonggu." ”

"Tell me what you think."

Sun Liren didn't answer immediately, but just asked, "Chairman, do you have a map of Myanmar over there?" ”

"Wait a minute." After Huang Ke finished speaking, he sent someone to bring in a small-scale map of Myanmar, and listened to Sun Liren's explanation on the map.

"Now the main force of our army has moved from Myitkyina to Mandalay, and the distance between us and Cuba has been greatly shortened. Although Ringanqiang and the entire Western Front have collapsed, my idea is to send two armies, divide their forces, and rush all the way to Ringanqiang to regain control of the Western Front, and all the way to reinforce the Tonggu region. This time, the main force of the Japanese army had three divisions, and if a battle with the Japanese army could be started here, the main force of the Japanese army in the Burmese and Thai areas would definitely be cleared. ”

"Three divisions?! Are you sure of that? Huang Ke couldn't help gritting his teeth, the First Army of the Expeditionary Force currently has only 60,000 troops, not only to defend such a wide defensive line, but also to start a decisive battle with the three divisions of the Japanese army, no one dares to fight indiscriminately with this package.

Sun Liren was silent for a while, and then said firmly: "I have confidence in my humble position!" ”

Huang Ke paused for a moment, "Sun Liren, you must know that this is not a matter of expressing determination and patting your chest, if it fails, the First Army of the Expeditionary Force is likely to be wiped out!" ”

"The chairman of the committee is relieved. The reason why I dare to boast about Haikou is naturally because I have my own understanding. Sun Liren said without exaggeration, and after speaking, he changed his calm tone, "It's just that the Allied General Staff has not approved our battle plan yet, and do we want to rescue the besieged British troops?" These questions are uncertain, which is why I ask you for advice. ”

Huang Ke naturally knew that Sun Liren was not the kind of person who often boasted about Haikou, and this time he was able to have such a plan, so he was naturally confident.

"How many troops do you estimate to be able to rescue the British?"

Sun Liren thought for a while, "One regiment is enough." ”

"Okay, Stilwell is in Nanjing now, I'll solve the problem of the Allied Headquarters, what you have to do is to fight this battle well. Half an hour later, waiting for my message to you, you can now start deploying according to your plan. After speaking, Huang Ke hung up the phone. He looked up at his watch, thinking that Stilwell should have arrived to tell the truth.

As expected, five minutes later, Chen Liewen came in and reported: "General Stilwell is here, saying that he has something important to report. ”

Huang Ke smiled: "It's finally here." Let him go to Reception Room 1 first, and I'll go over here. ”

By the time we got to the parlor, Stilwell had already arrived. He didn't sit on the sofa, but paced back and forth in the reception room, his American-style military casual clothes were buttoned one button less, and his hair looked a little messy, and he seemed to be in a hurry.

Seeing Huang Ke coming in, he hurriedly walked over and said, "Mr. Chairman, I have an important request. ”

"General, you're here for the besieged British troops in Ren'anqiang, right?" After Huang Ke shook hands with him, he sat on the sofa.

Stilwell sat down next to him, and he leaned over to Huang Ke's side, "Looks like you already know." I am as angry as you are in this matter, and the British are simply a burden. Their combat consciousness and combat level are simply not comparable to those of the expeditionary force. ”

He didn't mean to compliment this, Stilwell also said in an interview with reporters Pat and Su Hui, "The British army performed quite badly on the battlefield in Burma!" ”

"But we're still allies. Now that more than 7,000 British soldiers and journalists are besieged by the Japanese devils in Ringanqiang, the British commander has sent a request to me that the expeditionary force will send troops to help. I know this request is a bit out of place, but I would like to ask you to look at the bigger picture. ”

Stilwell was very sincere, he had seen the Chinese army in battle, and admired their courage and skill, but at the same time he was very ashamed of the British army. What's more, the current war situation must make people have to look at China with admiration, and the Japanese army on the battlefield in China alone is as high as one million.

Huang Ke raised his head and glanced at it and said, "The British army is our ally, and the Chinese Expeditionary Force naturally has the obligation to go to the rescue." ”

When Stilwell heard this, a smile appeared on his face, "It's really admirable that you can think like this, then please give orders to your subordinates." ”

"Wait." Huang Ke stretched out his right hand to stop him, "Before that, I also have a request. ”

"Please." Stilwell gestured with his hand.

"Sun Liren reported to me that he is preparing to start a decisive battle with the Japanese army on the Tonggu front, and I hope you can agree with his battle plan." Huang Ke also said.

Stilwell's expression changed slightly, and he pursed his lips, "Mr. Chairman, with all due respect, it is very likely that the battle in Tonggu will encircle the expeditionary force troops. At that time, Burma will be ceded to the Japanese. ”

Huang Ke waved his hand and said to him: "I didn't mean to interfere with your battle plan, and I don't know what the situation is on the front line." But I trust my generals. He assured me that there were a dozen reasons for the battle and that the odds of success were high, and I was sure he could do it. ”

Stilwell added: "I don't doubt General Sun's command ability......"

Huang Ke made an exception and interrupted Stilwell's words, "You also have your considerations, but General Stilwell, please remember one thing, the Japanese army has invested 34 divisions and 44 brigades on the Chinese battlefield since 5 years, but it can still only rely on sea and air superiority to occupy some coastal areas, have you thought about the reason?" ”

The meaning couldn't be more obvious, and Stilwell also wavered, he spread his hands and said, "Okay, I agree with Sun Liren's battle plan. So, can you give the order? ”

Huang Ke smiled with satisfaction.