Compared with Stilwell, who usually has a stern expression and a harsh personality, Wedemeyer's appearance is undoubtedly much better.
He has blond hair and always has a kind smile on his face. He looks more like a university professor than a general.
"Hello, General Wedemeyer, hello!"
Facing Wedemeyer's proactive overture, Gao Hongming did not make any reserved move, but took the initiative to step forward and hold Wedemeyer's hand.
And unlike Du Yuming and Luo Zhuoying, his words also have a faint American Midwestern accent.
This also made Wedemeyer feel particularly cordial.
He couldn't help but curiously asked: "General Gao, I have stayed in China for several years, and I rarely see English like you speaking with a Midwestern accent. Have you ever studied in the United States?"
"it's not true."
Gao Hongming shook his head: "My English was taught by my former girlfriend. She is from Omaha, so my English has a slight Midwestern accent."
"Oh, what a coincidence, I was also born in Omaha." When he heard that Gao Hongming's ex-girlfriend was actually from Omaha, Wedemeyer was surprised and at the same time felt a little more familiar with Gao Hongming.
You see, who said foreigners don't like to talk about favors? The two of them just chatted for a few words, and both of them felt that their intimacy increased.
The reason why Gao Hongming took the initiative to show goodwill to Wedemeyer was because in another time and space, Wedemeyer was undoubtedly much more rational and objective than Stilwell.
The biggest difference between Wedemeyer and Stilwell is that he does not claim to be a "China expert", but understands China through personal investigation.
Through his understanding, Wedemeyer realized that the Chinese government was not as unwilling to fight as Stilwell described. The Chinese soldiers endured hardships, obeyed orders, and fought bravely.
Although it is not without its shortcomings, for example, the education level of Chinese soldiers is relatively low, most of the soldiers are illiterate, coupled with malnutrition, insufficient training and other problems.
But Wedemeyer believes that these things can be made up for through training and enhanced nutrition.
Good communication is the beginning of happiness.
After the greetings, Wedemeyer said to Luo Zhuoying and the others: "Generals, I have been ordered by the U.S. government and President Roosevelt to succeed General Stilwell as the chief of staff of the China Theater.
I will do my best to have friendly communication and cooperation with you during my term of office, so that we can have a happy cooperation."
"Of course, this is also what we expect." Luo Zhuoying said on behalf of the expeditionary force.
"Okay, generals, let's get down to business now."
Seeing that Luo Zhuoying and the others showed enough goodwill towards his arrival, Wedemeyer's original worry slowly let go.
He walked to the table and sat down, took out a cigarette box from his pocket and spread cigarettes for the three of them.
Gao Hongming smiled after taking the cigarette, "General Wedemeyer, it seems you understand our Chinese etiquette."
Wedemeyer also laughed, "In the words of you Chinese people, this is called doing as the Romans do."
After several old smokers lit their cigarettes, Wedemeyer said seriously: "General Luo, General Du, General Gao, just yesterday, I received an order from Washington.
The intelligence and photos about the prisoner-of-war camp you submitted to Washington two days ago caused an uproar in the United States. Washington ordered us to rescue all the prisoners in the Mandalay prisoner-of-war camp."
"What?"
"This is impossible!"
Two exclamations sounded at the same time.
Luo Zhuoying immediately said: "General Wedemeyer, you are also a soldier and you should know how difficult it is to rescue prisoners of war.
There are at least more than 10,000 prisoners of war in the Mandalay Prisoner of War Camp, and judging from the photos, most of these prisoners of war are malnourished. It would be a fantasy to rescue so many prisoners of war from Mandalay.
What's more, Mandalay is the base camp of the Japanese in Myanmar. The headquarters of the 33rd Army is located there, and its guard strength must be very strong.
Once we make a noise there, all the Japanese troops will rush towards Mandalay immediately. Let alone rescue the prisoners of war, I am afraid it is not certain whether the rescue forces can escape intact."
Wedemeyer frowned slightly, and then sighed softly: "General Luo, I admit that what you just said is very reasonable, and most of the generals in Washington think so too.
But now this matter is no longer a simple military issue, but has evolved into a political incident, and President Roosevelt issued this order because of pressure."
"Political event?"
"pressure?"
The three of them looked at each other, and Du Yuming took the lead in asking: "General Wedemeyer, can you elaborate a little bit?"
Wedemeyer nodded: "To put it simply, the intelligence and those photos you sent to the US government have been leaked. An American reporter got the photos and published them in the newspaper."
"What?"
"How can this be?"
The three of them were shocked. Isn't such important information very confidential? From Wedemeyer's mouth, it seemed that the US military had become a sieve, and any reporter could get important information from them.
Wedemeyer also had a look of shame on his face. This kind of thing was really embarrassing.
"The leakage of the intelligence was actually an accidental incident. After a senior aide to our president obtained the intelligence, he encountered a car accident on his way home.
Then on the way to the hospital, the document bag accidentally dropped and fell into the hands of a reporter. The reporter who found the treasure immediately published the news in the newspaper, which soon caused an uproar."
"No...don't you have wartime press controls? How can such important information be published at the drop of a hat?"
Luo Zhuoying and Du Yuming were so angry that they almost wanted to scold them on the spot.
Why are you asking us to wipe your butts after you caused the trouble yourself?
Wedemeyer was also very embarrassed. As a soldier, of course he knew that rescuing prisoners of war was really embarrassing, but now the United States does not have any military power in Asia.
Nowadays, domestic public opinion has boiled to the point of almost exploding. When the American people see the dozens of bloody corpses lying in a pool of blood published in the newspapers, and then think of the British and American prisoners of war inside, their hearts are ready to explode.
.
According to telegrams from the United States, the White House has been surrounded by angry people since yesterday. Everyone has only one appeal, and that is to rescue those poor children in the prisoner of war camp, no matter what the cost.
This force was so great that even Roosevelt did not dare to remain indifferent.
Now at the height of World War II, the United States, as the arsenal of the Allied Powers and the most important force participating in the war, must not have any problems.