Stilwell couldn't help but let out a low curse. He still couldn't accept that a glorious general of the United States of America actually wanted to listen to the orders of a Chinese.
"Okay Joseph."
Doolittle patted Stilwell on the shoulder, "You don't have to do this, the boys and I all owe General Gao a favor.
It was he who personally sent planes to rescue all the young men who were scattered all over the country. If it hadn't been for him, I'm afraid we would have to stay in a foreign country forever."
"Well, since you are voluntary and have the approval of His Excellency the President, what can I say." Stilwell shrugged.
"By the way, Claire will also bring his Flying Tigers over later. I hope you can cooperate well."
"Claire? Flying Tigers?"
Doolittle was stunned for a moment. Doolittle naturally knew about Chennault and his Flying Tigers, but one of them was in the southwest of China, and the other was far away in Shanxi. The two of them had only heard of each other by name.
others.
"Yes."
The smile on Stilwell's face grew wider at the thought of Chennault's arrival. With Chennault's Flying Tigers and such a powerful fleet led by Doolittle, the good days of Japanese planes wreaking havoc in the skies over Burma and China would be over.
Gone forever.
Talk about Cao Cao, Cao Cao said.
As soon as Chennault was mentioned, the control tower sent someone to report that the Flying Tigers led by Chennault had arrived in Yangon and would land in more than ten minutes.
Then there was another flurry of excitement. The ground staff worked desperately to clear the apron and runway of the airport. All this had to be completed within more than ten minutes, otherwise Chennault and his Flying Tigers would have to land at
In the rice fields...
After finally clearing the runway, there was another roar in the sky, and the Flying Tigers led by Chennault arrived.
Fortunately, there were not many Flying Tigers planes coming this time, only about twenty. However, when all the Flying Tigers planes landed, the entire airport was packed with planes.
Looking at the crowded airport, Doolittle frowned, and he found Stilwell, "Joseph, Yangon Airport is still too small, and it is too dangerous for so many of our planes to dock here.
If a Japanese plane suddenly launches a sneak attack on us, think about the consequences."
Stilwell also came back to his senses and looked at the crowded plane in front of him. When he thought about what Doolittle said, he was also startled.
He immediately nodded: "Jimmy, you are right. I will discuss with General Luo later and let the engineers build a few more field airports as soon as possible."
"Be quick!" Doolittle reminded: "Otherwise, once we are attacked by Japanese planes, the consequences will be catastrophic. I can't explain it to General Gao!"
While the two were talking, a middle-aged man wearing a flight jacket, with a resolute face and a rather big nose walked over.
He walked up to the two of them, put his legs together and saluted Stilwell, who was wearing the rank of lieutenant general, and said loudly: "Brigadier General Claire Lee Chennault, captain of the Chinese Volunteer Flying Tigers, has been ordered to report.
Please give instructions, sir."
"Take a break." Stilwell looked at the upright Chennault, nodded with satisfaction, and pointed at Doolittle.
"Claire, let me introduce to you. This is Major General Jimmy Doolittle, who is also the commander of the bombing brigade of the Chinese Liantai Militia Flying Corps.
From now on you will fight side by side, I hope you can cooperate well."
Chennault looked at Doolittle and the rank of major general on his shoulder, and saluted again: "Hello, sir!"
"Hello Claire, I hope we can have a pleasant cooperation!"
After the group exchanged pleasantries, Stilwell introduced Luo Zhuoying, Du Yuming and other generals of the expeditionary force to the two of them.
Afterwards, everyone returned to the headquarters under the escort of guards.
After the guards served coffee to everyone, Stilwell took the lead in walking to the map hanging on the wall, glanced around everyone, and then said angrily:
"Gentlemen! First of all, let us welcome the arrival of the two generals Chennault and Doolittle with warm applause. Their arrival also means that the days of the Japanese doing whatever they want over Burma will be gone forever!"
"Crash..."
As Stilwell finished speaking, a burst of warm applause erupted from the headquarters.
Stilwell added: "In view of the arrival of Generals Doolittle and Chennault, I think it is necessary for us to readjust the command of the expeditionary force."
When he said this, Stilwell also paid special attention to the Chinese generals, and as expected, he saw the expressions of Luo Zhuoying, Du Yuming and others changing slightly.
However, he ignored it and stretched out a finger: "There is an old Chinese saying that a snake cannot survive without a head. I think this sentence is very reasonable. An army can only have one voice and one commander.
The current command system of the expeditionary force is too chaotic, which is very detrimental to the expeditionary force, so I request to temporarily take over the command of the expeditionary force. Do you agree?"
At this time, Luo Zhuoying and Du Yuming's faces were no longer ugly, but angry.
The more than 100,000-strong expeditionary force who went abroad this time are the elite of the national army. How could they be handed over to an American? If they dared to do this, not to mention what the officers and soldiers of the expeditionary force would think of them. I am afraid that Chiang Kai-shek, who is far away in Chongqing, would
When the Chairman found out, he was the first to spare them.
"General Stilwell, I don't agree with your proposal." Du Yuming stood up on the spot.
With an outspoken temper, he said bluntly: "If I remember correctly, you are only the chief of staff of the China Theater, and Chairman Chiang is the commander-in-chief of the China Theater.
Moreover, Chairman Chiang has not handed over the command of the army to you, so it is impossible for us to agree to your request."
Luo Zhuoying also said with a gloomy face: "General Stilwell, if you want the command of the expeditionary force, it is not impossible. We will send a report to the chairman of the committee now. As long as the chairman of the committee agrees, I will hand over the command to you immediately.
"
Chennault and Doolittle stood on the sidelines and watched dumbfounded. Neither of them expected that they would see such a big drama of grabbing work and power as soon as they arrived in Yangon.
Stilwell also did not expect that Luo Zhuoying and Du Yuming would react so violently.
As the saying goes, a soldier who doesn't want to be a general is not a good soldier.
In the same way...a general who doesn't want to be the leader is not a good general either.
As the top leader of the U.S. government stationed in China, Stilwell was of course not willing to just play the role of a transportation captain.
In his opinion, the food and clothing for the more than 100,000 people in the expeditionary force were all provided by the U.S. government, so it was only natural to follow their orders.
It's just that he's not stupid. He didn't have a single soldier in his hands before, so he certainly wasn't tough in his words.
But things are different now. With the arrival of Chennault and Doolittle, his strength has also skyrocketed, giving him the confidence to seize power.