Chapter Five Hundred and Twenty Five National Heroes?
When Agent Jiang heard this, he looked at everyone and smiled. Chen Cheng was the first to stand up and said, "Mr. Fan Xuande, our chairman has said this issue many times on various public or private occasions. This is
This war was not our desire in the first place, it was forced upon us by the Japanese. To end it, let the Japanese leave China! Otherwise, there will be no peace."
Fan Xuande looked at Chen Cheng curiously and asked, "Who is this?"
Jiang intermediary said, "This is General Chen Cheng from our party-state Qiancheng, who is currently the director of the Central Training Commission."
Fan Xuande nodded and said, "General Chen's words make people feel the backbone of a Chinese general, but if you want to continue fighting the Japanese, what is your confidence? You must know that China does not have its own industry, even if we
The United States is willing to support you, but where do you have access to the sea to receive these supplies? You don’t have ships to transport these supplies."
Chiang Kai-shek nodded and said, "These are indeed our most urgent problems to solve. If you want to give us confidence, then our Chinese national spirit has survived countless foreign invasions for thousands of years. Our party and state are united as one."
Fighting spirit, this is our confidence!"
After finishing his tone, Agent Jiang returned to reality, touched his beard and said, "But coming back, unlike the UK, we in China do not have the ability to transport. I hope your country will consider assisting us in this regard. If you can help us transport the supplies to
Myanmar, we have a Burma Highway in Myanmar that can connect to the outside world. We started building this highway since the war started and it was put into use two years ago. It has withstood the test and we have enough ability to protect this our lifeline!"
Fan Xuande, Jason and others nodded to each other. Fan Xuande said, "But Japan and Germany are getting closer and closer. If Japan and Germany form a complete alliance, Japan is likely to send troops to Myanmar. Will your country be able to protect this lifeline?"
Have you lost it? We have already been to Myanmar to inspect this road before coming to China. I am afraid that just a few planes will cut off this road."
Jiang stood up and said, "We have already had a response plan for this problem. We do suspect that the Japanese army will attack Burma in order to completely force our country to end the fighting. We believe that in the next one or two years, we can ensure the safety of the Burma Highway."
Smooth traffic will be our biggest strategic goal in China, so we decided to set up a force. Once a war breaks out in Myanmar, we will immediately go abroad to fight and protect Myanmar with the British army. Of course, this is just an idea. In many aspects,
It is not yet mature to consider, but please rest assured that we in China will not give in to the invaders so easily. Japan has been at war with us for four years since 1937. It has been ten years since 1931. Ten years.
The Japanese can't even get us to say the word surrender! Haha, don't you think we are much tougher than the French?"
As he spoke, Agent Jiang's tone became excited, "The Japanese initially thought they could make us surrender in three months. Did we surrender? The Japanese attacked our Nanjing and thought that by occupying our capital, we would surrender. Did we surrender?
?The Japanese attacked Wuhan and thought that we would surrender if we captured Wuhan. What was the result? The Japanese attacked Changsha and said that if Changsha fell, China would be destroyed. What happens now? How many predictions do the Japanese have? Mr. Fan Xuande, to put it bluntly, it is expensive
If the country does not support our country, even if the whole world kneels down and begs for mercy from Germany and Japan, we in China will fight until the last minute! In the past, one hundred thousand soldiers and civilians died fighting in Yashan. Isn’t Chongqing today not as good as Yashan?”
"Fight to the end! Fight to the end! Fight to the end!!" Jiang Jie's words immediately aroused everyone's morale. All the Chinese representatives roared with red eyes. Looking at such a scene, Fan Xuande and Johnson looked at each other and nodded.
Fan Xuande clapped his hands and said, "Very good, we admire your country's spirit of resistance. I think that's it for today. How about we continue to discuss other issues tomorrow?"
Agent Jiang also knew that this could not be negotiated in one day, so he nodded and said, "Okay, let's go to the banquet first."
——
Fan Xuande stared at everything in front of him with his mouth open. Agent Jiang and Song Meiling looked at Fan Xuande and others who didn't know how to use chopsticks and smiled. Song Meiling said, "Mr. Fan Xuande, because of your arrival, we are
We specially selected some dishes that combine Chinese and Western flavors. I don’t know if they will suit your taste. Let me tell you first. These dishes are lobster salad, first-class ribs, seafood golden crown dumplings, and oyster king fresh mabao.
, fresh scallops with asparagus, black pepper beef fillet, pineapple chicken balls, mushroom grouper, lotus paste dumplings, coconut milk parfait, four seasons fruits, Waldorf salad, special ice cream, two options for after-dinner drinks: ginseng tea
and coffee. Our food culture is extensive and profound. Today’s dishes are mainly Yangzhou dishes. If you know about our Chinese food and like other flavors, you can tell me and I will prepare it separately."
Fan Xuande twisted his lips and said with a smile, "Are these...are these dishes? These are simply the most beautiful works of art. I can't wait to take them all back for exhibition."
Song Meiling said proudly, "There are many differences between Eastern food and Western food. Mr. Fan Xuande, you can slowly understand it, so let's serve it."
Watching the dishes going up and down accompanied by the music, Fan Xuande couldn't help but wonder, how much does this banquet cost? The National Government in Chongqing actually eats so luxuriously, will the money given by the United States to the Chongqing government really be invested in the right things?
Going to Japan during the war?
Fan Xuande immediately found an opportunity to raise the price issue with Song Meiling. Song Meiling said with a smile, "Don't worry, Mr. Fan Xuande, today's dishes are all taken care of by the National Government. It doesn't cost much. It doesn't cost a few thousand dollars for so many of us to eat."
."
Fan Xuande almost threw away his fork when he heard, "How rich are you in China?" How could he know how rare these supplies are in the current situation? In order to get these dishes, Jiang's agent had ordered them half a month in advance.
Ready, that's it, or just prepared. If it wasn't to please him, Agent Jiang wouldn't be willing to put in all this effort.
Fan Xuande continued to eat calmly. Finally, everyone dispersed and the American delegation went back to rest. Agent Jiang returned to the room and sat down. Seeing Song Meiling who was also very tired, he smiled and said, "Darling has worked hard today."
Okay, how do you think the affairs of the American delegation were handled today?"
Song Meiling said with a sweet smile, "Darling did a great job. Didn't you see that those Americans looked at you with great contempt at first, but now they are a little afraid? I said that Americans love individual heroism most."
Yes, now you, Darling, are like a tragic hero in their eyes, leading the people to fight against the devil. This is the favorite thing of Americans. This image will definitely add a lot of points.
."
Agent Jiang smiled and nodded and said, "Da Ling, you still give good advice, but I think the Americans are a little hesitant this time, and I'm afraid they have to give me some medicine!"
--U.S. Embassy
Jason, Fan Xuande and others sat down. Fan Xuande said to Jason, "The morale of the Chongqing government is still good, which gives me a lot of encouragement. In fact, there is one thing I haven't said at the meeting today because I just said
Come on, I don’t know if I should talk about this, but I heard that there was a fierce struggle between Chiang Kai-shek’s intermediary government and the Red Party in Yan’an. It is said that a general from the Red Party’s armed forces in Yan’an was even captured. Is this true?”
Jason puffed out his breath and said, "It's true. That general's name is Ye Ting. He used to be the commander of the New Fourth Army of the Southern Red Party. He is now under house arrest."
Fan Xuande shook his head and said, "If we invest in Chiang Kai-shek, then this investment should not only be reflected in today's China, but also in post-war China. Chiang Kai-shek's government cannot handle the problem of the Chinese Red Party at this time.
I am very worried about whether he has enough wisdom and ability to deal with various political forces in China after the war. As you said, China is actually still in a relatively divided state. We need to take a longer-term view. I hope to go to Yunnan
, Lanzhou and Henan, take a look at these places, do you think Chiang Kai-shek's intermediary government will agree?"
Jason thought for a while and said with a wry smile, "Yunnan should be fine, but Lanzhou and Henan may be difficult. With all due respect, Mr. Jiang Zhongjie doesn't have much experience in international affairs. He is familiar with the domestic situation in China."
Method, I am afraid that in his eyes, the meaning of our United States is to provide assistance, and the method of assistance is through the Burma Highway. If we go to Yunnan, he will welcome us. If we go to the north, he may think that we are wasting time.
"
Fan Xuande said angrily, "How can this be a waste of time? The Japanese are in the north. Of course I hope to go to the north to have a look. I must negotiate with them on this issue. In addition, I also hope that Chiang Kai-shek's intermediary government will no longer negotiate with China."
The Red Party has contradictions. China's national strength is already weak. Now is the time to unite to fight the Japanese. How can they distract themselves? I want to remind him at the next meeting."
Jason immediately became anxious and said, "Mr. Fan Xuande, I hope you have noticed that Mr. Chiang Kai-shek is an extremely conceited person and it is difficult to listen to opinions and suggestions, and the Chongqing government army is under the control of his students."
Next, we can't bypass him to influence the Chongqing government. If we want to block Japan's trouble, our only choice is to cooperate with Chiang's intermediary! So my opinion is not to anger him, it will not be good for us.
Even if he gives in now, he will cause us trouble in the future."
Fan Xuande squinted his eyes and asked, "So can we use our influence to find a new person to replace Agent Jiang in the future?"
Johnson shook his head and said, "I don't suggest doing this. I think we in the United States should not interfere too much in China's internal affairs. We just want the results."
Fan Xuande talked some more with Jason and asked Fan Xuande to go and rest first. After a while, there was a knock on the door, and Fan Xuande said, "Come in."
Three people walked in, one was taller and had a military aura, the other was weaker and looked like a scholar, and the last one was Lattimore.
Lattimore introduced to Fan Xuande, "These two are Lieutenant Colonel Paul Reid and Consul Xie Weisi. Xie Weisi is an American born in China. He was born in an American missionary family in Chengdu, Sichuan, and spent his life in Chengdu and Chongqing.
When he was a child, he returned to the United States with his parents to receive education and graduated from Oberlin College in Ohio. Lieutenant Colonel Beauregard is a true American soldier and worthy of trust."
Fan Xuande nodded, asked the three of them to sit down, and asked Xie Weisi, "Xie Weisi, you have lived in China for a long time. What I want to know is, what do Chinese people generally eat?"
Xie Weisi did not expect that Fan Xuande was asking this. He looked at the crowd with some embarrassment and said, "Because China's agriculture was in a bumper harvest state in the past two years, many grain-producing lands have not been destroyed. Some ordinary people can still afford white rice and white noodles."
However, since the end of last year, the price of grain in China has been rising steadily. The price of fine grains such as rice and white flour is extremely high, and ordinary people can basically not afford it. Even coarse grains are also very expensive. Now you can eat enough in one meal.
That’s pretty good.”
Fan Xuande had an idea and asked Bao Ruide, "You went to observe their army. What do you think?"
Bao Ruide touched his chin and said, "I came into contact with them disguised as a businessman. Their army rarely has strict discipline. I specially found a way to sneak into their military camp and saw their training. They
During the training, bullets were basically not used, it was just a show, and I also specifically asked them if they were willing to sell arms. What was unexpected was that they agreed immediately upon hearing it, and the price was very reasonable. I could tell at a glance that they were regulars.
Doing this kind of business. As for other things, I haven’t found out about them because the time is too short.”
Fan Xuande took a breath and said to Lattimore, "Lattimore, look, their people can't even eat, but they eat so luxuriously. I'm worried about where the support we give them will be used. I
As Mr. President suggested, an extra person must be sent to the Chinese battlefield to supervise the use and collection of these supplies."
Lattimore nodded in agreement. After all, they all put the interests of the United States first and do not want to see American supplies being wasted.
Suddenly Fan Xuande thought of something again and asked Xie Weisi, "I'm curious, if the supplies on the market are so tight now, has Chiang Kai-shek's intermediary government done anything to save it?"
Xie Weisi nodded and said, "They reformed the tax system and turned it into the physical collection in the medieval period. Although it cannot make the market price drop, it allows the government to get enough materials. However, it also has a negative impact. Since the collection is in kind, all kinds of corruption
The behavior is endless, and it is said that the things purchased on the black market are more abundant and more complete than those on the regular market. A large part of these black market materials are leaked from the Chongqing National Government."
Fan Xuande only felt that his good impression of Chiang Kai-shek was gone. He originally thought he was a national hero, but now it seems that his ability to govern the country, the army and the people is extremely limited. Except for Chiang Kai-shek in Chongqing,
Does the United States have any other choice? Fan Xuande shook his head and looked to the north with some helplessness. He didn't know what the Chinese Red Party government in the north would be like, but it was the Red Party and it was a war zone. What should we do?
