"Of course!" Li Junhao did not refuse, and raised his glass and said.

This time, Luce was just to introduce the topic and introduce the Italian military attache Neto to Li Junhao, and now that the task was completed, he smiled and raised the red wine in return, and after drinking, he got up and left, leaving room for the two to talk.

Italian military attache Sack Neto's personality is a little introverted, but at this time, there are some things that must be said, so after he accompanied a glass of red wine, he also took a beer and opened it, took a big sip and said: "Your Excellency Pansen, I have an important matter I would like to ask for your opinion......

Li Junhao nodded, indicating that he heard it, and took another plate of charcoal-grilled salmon segments in his hand, and said in his mouth: "Colonel Neto, please speak." ”

"I would like to ask you about your attitude towards our country's garrison in the concession?" Neto Road.

"You mean the 700 soldiers who moved to No. 256 Xiaoshadu Road?" Li Junhao said, "They should be fine now, there are no problems with barracks, supplies, and security." ”

"No, no, I mean the future ......," Netto said, waving his hand, "You should be very clear about the situation in Europe now, Germany occupied Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany, and we Italy and Germany are allies, in this case, the situation of our Italian troops stationed in the Shanghai Concession is very embarrassing...... What I want to ask is, what are you Americans going to do with our troops? ”

Li Junhao was a little impressed by this Neto's straightforwardness, so he said: "Colonel Neto, this matter actually depends on you...... Let's put it this way, the situation in Europe is tens of thousands of kilometers away, and those of us still have to live here in Shanghai, what we urgently need to care about is the present! As for what we will do with the 700 Italians, it really depends entirely on your decision......"

His words were very realistic, Neto understood, was silent for a moment, and after drinking a beer, he said: "Your Excellency Pansen, if one day, Italy is also in a state of hostility with Britain and France, can you still maintain neutrality on the American side?" ”

Li Junhao smiled, shook his head and said: "Colonel Neto, don't you want to say: If on the European side, your Italy declares war on Britain and France, in this Huhai concession, your 700 Italian troops will go to war with 1,700 British troops and 4,000 French troops in the French Concession, right?" IMHO, even if we don't participate, you can't win! ”

Hearing this, Neto was embarrassed, and hurriedly waved his hand and said, "Of course it's not!" I'm just thinking about how to find a safe way out for our 700 soldiers......"

Li Junhao said: "Actually, I personally think that the best way now is for your garrison to leave here, whether it is to fight or peace, and return to their own country, which is the most correct choice for them." ”

"That's true, but it can't be done at the moment." Neto sighed, "I asked for advice a month ago, but the people in the country disagreed...... I would like to seek your help, Your Excellency, to find a reliable way to ensure the safety of these 700 innocent soldiers...... I'm willing to pay a reasonable price for this! ”

Hey? The other party's attitude was very unexpected by Li Junhao, is this Italian military attache really compassionate or is he tempting? At this time, the weakness of the detection radar is revealed, which can only show that the other party is now a harmless gray point of light, and cannot detect its true intentions, or it is up to him to judge.

After thinking for a while, Li Junhao lowered his voice and said, "Colonel Neto, I can only offer two suggestions: one is that you 700 soldiers are busy returning to China, and the other is to become harmless ordinary expatriates...... The choice is up to you! He was telling the truth and a temptation to see what the other party's intentions were.

Hearing this, Neto pondered and did not speak for a long time.

Li Junhao has already done his benevolence, so he won't say more, and concentrate on starting to deal with the delicious grilled salmon! ——

During the rest of the reception, Li Junhao, who had already eaten and drunk, left early after dealing with some curious people in the observation group! For his behavior, Miss Hanpri, the first secretary of the Commercial Department of the Consulate General, said with a smile: This guy is here to eat, and of course he will leave when he is full.

When he left, Xie Jinyuan immediately followed-he was entangled by those wives and young ladies!

Somewhat unexpectedly, Lieutenant Colonel Rupu also followed, saying that he was not restrained well today, and he needed to go back to practice and lose weight!

At present, the retraining plan of the 15th Infantry Regiment is going smoothly, and after ten days of treatment, the illness of the sick has improved significantly, and the other officers and men have resumed their normal training rhythm; Among them, of course, there are some who don't want to practice hard, but Commander Rupu has to get up, and he still thinks that the lazy guy will naturally be greatly repaired, and now there is no one who dares to misbehave.

The training tasks on the 327th regiment side are heavier, but with the efforts of the veterans of the original lonely military camp, thousands of recruits have entered the right track, and what is lacking now is time; The situation was similar with the 4th Marine Regiment.

——

On Monday, Li Junhao went to the Consulate General to attend a joint meeting of the Shanghai Navy, the political and business parties, and the observer group, and made a special speech to introduce the situation of the concession police station.

After the joint meeting, the military group of the Observation Mission held another small meeting with Li Junhao and Kelton to exchange views on the current military issues in Shanghai and the Strait.

In this process, Li Junhao felt that some of the questions raised by the other party were aimed at his own concession plan, and it seemed that Ayres had formed a report on his ideas and submitted them to China, and they had been valued by the State Department, the Navy Department, and the War Department.

Although the final policy of the United States has not yet been clarified, the arrival of the 15th Infantry Regiment and the replenishment of 5,500 new troops, as well as the reinforcement of naval ships in the Far East that he has just learned, show that the United States is more concerned about the situation in the Far East, which is a good sign.

In order to escort 5,500 recruits to Shanghai, the Pacific Fleet has transferred an Omaha-class light cruiser USS Concord from the Atlantic Fleet and a Brooklyn-class light cruiser USS Savannah from the Pacific Fleet.

In addition, at the end of the conversation, after Kerton had left first, Colonel Turner, the head of the military group, said a few words to Li Junhao alone, to the effect that the military group was currently discussing with Britain, France, and Italy on the issue of garrisoning troops in the concession, and that there might be a result soon, so that he could be prepared.

After Li Junhao politely thanked him, he saluted and left, thinking in his heart: It seems that his plan may succeed! I just don't know how far the military team will be able to talk about it, just wait and see!

(End of chapter)