Chen Qiang made up his mind to add fuel to the fire and let Mr. Song and Mr. Kong Dagongzi fight their heads and bleed, so before going to the banquet, Chen Qiang specially went to inquire about the purpose of Mr. Song's visit to the United States.

Mr. Song came to participate in the US-UK negotiations as a representative of Chongqing, and this time the negotiations were codenamed "Trident", so they were also called the "Trident Conference". The protagonists of the meeting were the United States and Great Britain, and other allies also sent representatives.

The Trident Conference was originally a secret meeting, but how could this kind of thing be secret! The visit of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill was originally a major event, and there were also special envoys from Free France, the Soviet Union, and China, and such a large group of people came to Washington, such as the French envoy and Mr. Soong and others also frequently visited American congressmen, and they wished to tell the whole United States that I was coming, and if this trident meeting could be kept secret, there would be a ghost!

Therefore, the negotiations have just begun, and the political and business people in Washington are already aware of this "secret" negotiation.

In the spring of 1943, the United States and Britain were at odds about the strategic direction of the war, and the Trident members were there to resolve their differences.

British Prime Minister Winston Churchill hoped that the United States could launch an attack on Italy as soon as possible, so as to disperse the pressure on the Eastern Front and give the Soviet Union a chance to breathe, and at the same time to show goodwill to Turkey, hoping that Turkey could join the Allied forces.

Although Turkey was not a military power at that time, its geographical location was very important, and if Turkey could join the Allied forces, it would be of great help to the war in Europe.

The grudge between Turkey and Italy has a long history, not counting the old scores of hundreds of years ago, but the recent Italian-Turkish wars alone have caused the once powerful Ottoman Empire to fall to a large part of the country. So striking Italy, it will be nice for the Turks.

Roosevelt, however, had a different idea: he wanted to launch an attack on Burma and reopen the Burma Highway, while at the same time weakening the Japanese forces in Southeast Asia, preferably driving them out of the country.

Churchill did not agree with Roosevelt's idea, he believed that the focus of the war should be on Europe, as for the Asian theater is not so important, at this stage the Allies should land in Europe, not to launch a large-scale military operation in Asia.

From the British point of view, it is natural to hope to defeat Germany as soon as possible, as for the distant Asian battlefield is not important, anyway, the Japanese army can not hit the British mainland, the British only need to ensure that India is not occupied by the Japanese army, so Churchill decided to attack Italy and solve the troubles in Europe first.

From the perspective of the United States, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, occupied the Aleutian Islands, and captured the Philippines, sinking many American warships in the Pacific Ocean. The Japanese have been facing the United States head-on all the way, and the United States, of course, must give priority to beating the Japanese down, so that Roosevelt can give an explanation to the American people.

And Roosevelt didn't want the war in Europe to end so quickly. For the United States, whether it is the Soviet Union, Germany, or even Britain, they are all potential competitors of the United States, and Roosevelt hoped that Europe would continue to suffer from internal friction, and when the European countries were drained by the war, the United States would naturally be the boss of the whole world at that time!

Attacking Burma and opening up the Yunnan-Burma highway would also be beneficial to the United States. At that time, the United States was the only one that was not affected by the United States, and the United States would produce a large number of industrial products every day, and once the Yunnan-Burma Highway was opened, the American industrial products would enter China, thus bringing development to the American industry. Some of the loan agreements signed between China and the United States have not yet been fulfilled, and Chongqing still owes Washington a large amount of tungsten ore, tin ore and other metal ores, which have to be transported by the Yunnan-Burma road.

Within the United States, there is no unity of opinion. Nimitz, the commander of the U.S. Pacific Army, believed that Japan was an island nation that could defeat Japan through naval battles, so there was no need to launch a ground attack on Burma; The U.S. Army, led by Marshall, was in favor of landing in Burma and launching a direct land attack on the Japanese army.

The positions of the two sides also represent their respective interests. The navy is eager to fight a naval war with the Japanese army, and it is better to surround the whole of Japan with warships, so that the US navy will inevitably make dumplings and will be greatly developed. Of course, the army also wants to fight a land war with the Japanese, and it doesn't matter how many soldiers die, they can be recruited again, and the more people recruited, the more powerful the army will expand.

Chongqing must have hoped to open the Yunnan-Burma Highway as soon as possible, and at this time Chongqing was ready to send troops to Burma, waiting for the Allies to attack the Burmese coast to prevent the Japanese army from increasing its troops to support, while the Chinese army directly sent troops to northern Burma.

The positions of the parties are different, and naturally there are differences, and each country thinks about its own interests, so it is still unknown whether a consensus can be reached in this negotiation.

Chen Qiang also knew some politicians in Washington, and he learned from these dignitaries the content of the negotiations and the positions of all parties.

At this time, Chen Qiang couldn't help but scold Mr. Song and Prince Kong for being shameless in his heart.

When he was in the nightclub, Chen Qiang listened to the narration of the prince Kong, and thought that the reopening of the Yunnan-Burma highway was already a sure thing, so he waited until the time came to start implementing it. Therefore, Mr. Song and Kong Dagongzi couldn't wait to monopolize Sino-US trade and profit from it.

However, the fact is that the matter of opening up the Yunnan-Burma Highway is still being negotiated, and the eight characters have not yet been written! If Churchill did not relent, it would be difficult for him to defeat the Japanese army in Burma with the Chinese army. Didn't the first expeditionary force end in failure!

Britain still deployed a large number of military forces in India, especially the British navy in India, which is capable of blockading the Bay of Bengal, once the Bay of Bengal is blocked, the Japanese army in Burma will lose its naval reinforcement, which is very beneficial to the attack of the Chinese expeditionary force.

Moreover, after the first defeat of the expeditionary force that year, a group of people fled to India, this is the Chinese army in India, this group of people is originally the best soldiers in China, if they can get sufficient equipment, it will be a strong combat force. Now these Chinese troops are all in India, and India is a British colony, if Britain refuses to cooperate, these Chinese troops in India will not be able to get the slightest supply, and the counterattack on Burma is even more fantastic.

Therefore, the key point of attacking Burma and opening up the Yunnan-Burma road is mainly the British willing to cooperate, otherwise the Chinese expeditionary force is likely to face another defeat.

Now Churchill refuses to agree, and opening the Yunnan-Burma highway is just talk on paper!

It is said that at this time, Mr. Song, as a representative sent by Chongqing, should try to persuade Churchill to help the expeditionary force recapture Burma and reopen the Yunnan-Burma road, which is the most important thing for Mr. Song to do.

But this Mr. Song has already begun to lay out, and after the reopening of the Yunnan-Burma Highway, he will monopolize Sino-US trade to make a profit! Before the eight characters were written, Mr. Song had already begun to figure out how to make money. If you want to make money by monopolizing Sino-US trade, you have to reopen the Yunnan-Burma Highway first, right?

Perhaps for Mr. Song, the reopening of the Yunnan-Burma Highway is not important, but whether it can bring him political and economic benefits. In this regard, Kong Gongzi, like Mr. Song, puts personal interests above national interests, and even sacrifices the interests of the country to obtain personal interests.

This trident meeting is about the direction of the war, whether it is Roosevelt or Churchill, or the representatives of France and the Soviet Union, they are desperately fighting for the interests of the country, but this Mr. Song is taking this opportunity and desperately fighting for his own interests!

……

In a blink of an eye, it was the day of the banquet.

In addition to inviting Chen Qiang, Kong Dagongzi also brought three Americans, all three of whom were well-known entrepreneurs, and this time they were also invited by Kong Dagongzi to help on the platform.

Mr. Song was greeting guests in the banquet hall, and Mr. Kong walked into the banquet hall and took the initiative to greet him.

"TV, long time no see!" Master Kong said triumphantly.

Mr. Kong did not call him "uncle", but called Mr. Song the English abbreviation "TV", Mr. Song was naturally very disgusted in his heart, but the person who can achieve Mr. Song's position has already practiced the ability to be moody, even if he is disgusted in his heart, he still has a smile on his face, and he does not show a trace of negative emotions.

Kong Dagongzi went on to introduce the three Americans and Chen Qiang.

Chen Qiang and Mr. Song have known each other for a long time, when Mr. Song was still the Minister of Finance in Nanjing, Chen Qiang met with Mr. Song, and later when Mr. Song served as the special envoy to the United States, Chen Qiang also had several encounters with Mr. Song.

Mr. Song still had a lot of guests to greet, and he didn't pay attention to Mr. Kong, and let Mr. Kong play his own. In Mr. Song's impression, Mr. Kong is a second ancestor who has not achieved enough things and has more than enough failures, except for messing around and causing trouble, he has no ability, maybe he will make trouble when he is drunk, Mr. Song is also very worried about this, and specially ordered people to keep an eye on Kong Dagongzi.

However, what Mr. Song did not expect was that the prince of Kong was very suitable for this kind of diplomatic occasion, and he wandered among the guests, chatting with the guests attending the banquet, which was like a fish in water.

Kong Dagongzi's housekeeping skills are indeed eating, drinking and having fun, but over the years, relying on the experience of eating, drinking and having fun, Kong Dagongzi has also had extraordinary social skills.

Unlike other Chinese studying in the United States, Master Kong lived a life of drunken dreams during his time in the United States, and as for studying, he had long been thrown aside, and it was always easier to make local friends by drinking, so Master Kong was also more able to integrate into American culture and life than other students studying in the United States, and his communication with Americans was more harmonious.

In this respect, Mr. Song is inferior to the eldest son of Kong. Although Mr. Song also has a master's degree from Harvard University and a Ph.D. from Columbia University, Mr. Song is a serious child studying hard in the United States, and he cannot go to nightclubs all day long like Mr. Kong, and Mr. Song's integration into American life is far less than that of Mr. Kong.

What's more, Prince Kong has no official status, while Mr. Song has an official identity. People with official status should think about it first when they speak, because every word they say will be interpreted as an official point of view, and if they say the wrong thing, even if they represent a personal point of view, it will not be cleared. And people without official status naturally speak more casually. When we make friends with normal people, we will also choose the kind of person who speaks naturally and casually, rather than a person who speaks officially, and when you meet someone who plays an official tone with you, you will also feel restrained when talking, and if you talk to the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, you will feel tired. Therefore, in social situations, Prince Kong has to be more popular than Mr. Song.

……

Mr. Song finished the work of welcoming and greeting the guests, and also began to shuttle between the guests with wine glasses.

After a while, Mr. Song came to Chen Qiang, and after the two exchanged greetings, Mr. Song asked, "Chen Qiang, why are you messing with him?" Although you are the same age, he is simply useless except for eating, drinking, and having fun, and you should usually walk around with him less, so as not to be spoiled by him! ”

Chen Qiang knew that the "he" in Mr. Song's mouth was referring to the prince of Kong.

I saw Chen Qiang smile slightly, and said: "Actually, I know Kong Gongzi, it is also a coincidence, Kong Gongzi did a business in the United States, and just found me to partner, I thought it was profitable, so I made some investments, and I became familiar with Kong Gongzi after coming and going." ”

"Just what business he can do! It's not easy for you to make money, be careful and lose it all! Mr. Song pursed his lips disdainfully.

"Minister Song definitely doesn't know, Kong Gongzi is really a business wizard, I invested some money in Kong Gongzi, and now there is almost an 80% rate of return!" Chen Qiang said.

"What? Can you really make money? Mr. Song frowned.

Mr. Song also heard that Mr. Kong had done some business in the United States, but Mr. Song had always been prejudiced against Mr. Kong, and only thought that Mr. Kong's business was messing around with the second ancestor, so he didn't take it to heart.

Now listening to what Chen Qiang said, Mr. Kong's business has actually made money, which makes Mr. Song a little surprised. He didn't expect that the nephew who was arrogant and domineering from childhood to adulthood and would only make trouble, and he could still make money doing business!

Chen Qiang continued: "In fact, in the past six months, Kong Gongzi has really made a lot of money, according to my estimates, even if there is no 10 million US dollars, there must be 6 or 7 million US dollars!" ”

"So much?" Mr. Song took a breath of cold air, and in the next second, a deep sense of crisis rose from Mr. Song's heart.

Mr. Song never expected that the prince of Kong would be able to make so much money in the United States, and the money that the entire Song family saved in foreign banks was only this amount, and the money he earned as a prince of Kong for more than half a year could be compared to the assets of the Song family overseas!

As the top comprador in China, Mr. Song understands the principle of "money makes money", and for people like them, the richer they are, the easier it is to make money. The assets of six million US dollars can already set off a huge crazy storm in the Sino-US trade market! With the financial resources of Prince Kong, if he wants to intervene in Sino-US trade, it will be difficult for Mr. Song to monopolize Sino-US trade!

What's more important is that there is still the Kong family behind the Duke of Kong, and the Mrs. Jiang, if they all support the Duke of Kong, the future Sino-US trade may really become the world of the Kong family, and the Song family can only eat the leftovers left by others. What's more, the eldest prince of Kong has always been not in harmony with Mr. Song, if Sino-US trade becomes the world of the Confucian family, maybe the eldest prince of Confucius will not even leave leftovers to the Song family.

The so-called cutting off people's financial routes is like killing his parents, Mr. Song has decided to monopolize Sino-US trade to make money, how can he tolerate Prince Kong to get in the way!

Before, Mr. Song didn't know about Mr. Kong's financial resources, and he didn't take Mr. Kong to heart, but now he knew from Chen Qiang that Mr. Kong had made a lot of money, which suddenly made Mr. Song feel a huge threat! Or that Mr. Song has regarded Prince Kong as the biggest stumbling block to the future of the Song family!

Chen Qiang on the other side was always smiling, although Mr. Song was still moody, but his intuition told Chen Qiang that his plan to add fuel to the fire had succeeded.

Of course, Mr. Kong did not make so much money, but Chen Qiang deliberately said that Mr. Kong made six or seven million US dollars, the purpose was to make Mr. Song feel that Mr. Kong would pose a huge threat to the Song family.

The Kong and Song families were originally in-laws, but because of a money word, the two families turned against each other, and it was only by relying on the maintenance of Mrs. Jiang that they barely maintained the superficial harmony.

Now if Chen Qiang wants to provoke the relationship between Mr. Song and Prince Kong, he only needs to use the word "money". Chen Qiang only needs to tell Mr. Song that your nephew is very rich now, and he has the strength to snatch money from your mouth, so that Mr. Song will naturally deal with Mr. Kong. And on the side of Prince Kong, Chen Qiang doesn't have to worry, if you don't mess with this second ancestor, he will come to trouble you, if Mr. Song deliberately targets Prince Kong, then the result can be imagined.

Chen Qiang is not worried that Mr. Song will go to Mr. Kong to verify the real figures, with Mr. Kong's arrogant and domineering character and no one in his eyes, let alone six or seven million US dollars, that is, he earned 100 million, and Kong Dagongzi dares to admit it.

——————

I only went home last night, and I slept for 16 hours before my body recovered, and I resumed my renewal today. If you have a monthly pass, please give Zhang Bao a guarantee, thank you for passing the test!