The adjutant came to the reception room, stood at attention and saluted: "Chief seat, the dinner is ready, it's time to start!"
"Um."
Chang Kaishen nodded, stood up and said to Tan Kah Kee: "Mr. Chen, please move to the dining room."
"President Chiang, please!" Tan Kah Kee replied.
Chang Kaishen deliberately walked side by side with Tan Kah Kee, and the two soon arrived at the dining room, where Soong Meiling was setting the dishes and chopsticks herself with the help of the servants.
The three of them sat down one after another. Song Meiling personally poured wine for Chen Kah Kee. Chen Kah Kee quickly said: "I don't dare to take it!"
Chang Kaishen smiled and said: "You deserve it. Mr. Chen contacted overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia and donated money and materials for the country's war of resistance. He is a great national hero."
Tan Kah Kee said: "We have tried our best, but how big a gap is there in the military expenditure for the Anti-Japanese War?"
The servant brought the fourth plate of food, and Chang Kaishen used sanitary chopsticks to pick up a piece of meat for Chen Kah Kee and said: "To be honest, the government's finances have gone bankrupt, and prices have risen to the point where even a lieutenant colonel can't support his family.
They make a living by stealing vegetable leaves. Ordinary public officials are desperately looking for part-time jobs as writers, otherwise they will go hungry for half a month."
"So difficult?" Tan Kah Kee was stunned.
Another plate of dishes was brought to the table, and Chang Kaishen said: "Mr. Chen, although your donation is large, it is not enough. Can you donate to us on time in the future?"
Is the donation still on time?
The overseas Chinese in Nanyang are not your boss, they still have to pay you your salary regularly!
Tan Kah Kee was angry and funny at the same time, and then felt infinite sadness. Chiang Kai-shek was the head of state, and he was forced to say such words, which shows the critical situation of China's Anti-Japanese War. Thinking about the country and the nation, thinking about the soldiers on the front line, thinking about
Looking at the people at the rear, Tan Kah Kee was so sad that he even shed tears on the spot.
Another plate of dishes was brought up. Seeing that the atmosphere was a little awkward, Song Meiling quickly persuaded her: "Mr. Chen, this is top-quality saury, just caught from the Yangtze River. Come and taste it while it's hot."
"No appetite." Tan Kah Kee waved his hand.
Two more plates of food were placed on the table one after another, and Soong Meiling continued to encourage people to eat and drink, which made Chen Kah Kee extremely irritable and increasingly dissatisfied.
In fact, Chang Kaishen's residence in Chongqing is not luxurious and extravagant, and the restaurant furnishings are also very simple, but tonight's dishes are a bit too sumptuous.
"boom!"
Just as the servants continued to serve the food, Tan Kah Kee stood up suddenly, slammed the table and angrily said: "The country is in such a difficult situation, and you are still so extravagant and wasteful. How can I feel embarrassed!"
Chang Kaishen was stunned for a moment, then he smiled and said: "What Mr. Chen taught me is that I usually practice frugality, but today in order to entertain Mr. Chen, I asked the chef to cook a few more dishes. I will definitely correct it in the future!"
Chang Kaishen did practice frugality, at least on the surface. Ever since he launched the New Life Movement, he had instructed state bureaucrats to eliminate waste.
Tan Kah Kee didn’t know whether it was true or not, but Chiang Kai-shek had expressed his stance. He could not be unreasonable and could only sigh: "I believe what President Chiang said. But the life of overseas Chinese in Nanyang is not easy, and the things we donated
Money comes from the blood and sweat picked out from the fingers. This time when I go back, I will try my best to raise donations and ask the president to use all the money wisely."
Song Meiling suddenly coughed, winked and pointed to the door.
Chang Kaishen turned around and saw the secretary standing there, holding a telegraph newspaper in his hand. He immediately said: "I'll wait until after dinner to talk about anything. Didn't you see that I am entertaining Mr. Chen?"
?”
The attendant secretary said: "General sir, urgent call from the United States."
Tan Kah Kee quickly advised: "President Chiang, please go to work first, business is important."
Chang Kaishen then said: "Come in."
The attendant secretary handed over the telegraph newspaper, leaned closer and summarized in a low voice: "The U.S. loan has been negotiated, US$90 million."
"real?"
Chang Kaishen beamed with joy. He read the telegram again and again and said to Tan Kah Kee: "Mr. Chen, there is great news. The United States has promised to pay US$90 million in aid loans to China!"
"That's great!" Tan Kah Kee didn't care about his status and etiquette, and subconsciously moved toward Chang Kaishen, leaning his head to read the contents of the telegram.
Probably thinking of something, Chang Kaishen put away his smile and said: "90 million US dollars can only meet urgent needs. The government's funds are still tight."
Tan Kah Kee immediately understood and said: "I will definitely try my best to raise money. President, does the United States agree to lend money to China, does it mean that the United States intends to support China's war of resistance?"
Chang Kaishen nodded happily and said: "That's true. The United States is afraid of angering Japan and has been reluctant to borrow money from China. The success of the tung oil loan negotiation this time, the $90 million is gratifying, but more importantly, the attitude of the United States has changed."
Tan Kah Kee smiled and picked up the wine glass: "President, Madam, I would like to toast you two and wish China victory in the Anti-Japanese War!"
Ever since he contracted gonorrhea, Chang Kaishen has sworn not to drink anymore. At this moment, he poured out the boiling water in the wine glass, replaced it with a glass of white wine and said, "I'll do it first as a token of respect, and I wish China victory in the war of resistance against Japan!"
The three of them were drinking happily when suddenly a secretary knocked on the door: "Maintain, urgent call from the United States!"
"Bring it here quickly." Chang Kaishen smiled and put down his wine glass.
The attendant secretary whispered: "Mr. Zhou's private telegram."
Chang Kaishen lowered his head and read it carefully, his face uncertain, and then he put down the telegraph newspaper and began to think about the pros and cons.
Tan Kah Kee quickly asked: "President Chiang, what's the problem in the United States?"
"It's not a big problem," Chang Kaishen waved his hand and said with a smile, "Come on, Mr. Chen, let's continue eating."
Tan Kah Kee was very discerning. He stood up and clasped his fists and said, "President, I'd better take my leave first and won't disturb you in handling official business."
Chang Kaishen persuaded him to stay and said: "It's not an urgent matter. I will convene my staff to discuss it seriously tomorrow. Let's have a drink tonight."
The content of Zhou Hexuan's telegram was very simple. It explained his deal with the Jewish consortium and hoped that the National Government would designate an area to resettle Jewish refugees.
Chang Kaishen was very happy to accept this. Just by resettling some refugees, he could get a large amount of US dollar loans. Only a fool would not do such a good thing. His only concern was that he was afraid of angering the German government. After all, China and Germany
We haven’t broken up yet, but what if Germany stops selling arms because of this?
In fact, since the fall of Guangzhou, the arms trade between China and Germany has stopped, but there is no guarantee that it will continue if new transportation routes are opened in the future.
This is also the case in history. Kong Xiangxi and Sun Ke tried their best to promote the Jewish resettlement plan, and Chiang Kai-shek was quickly convinced by them. The plan went very smoothly at first, and even the resettlement location was determined. The Shanghai Jewish Organization also publicly announced that it would provide services to Yunnan
One hundred thousand immigrants.
But at this time, Germany's persecution of Jews intensified and it lodged serious protests against the Chinese government. Chiang Kai-shek had no choice but to give up the plan to accept refugees.
In fact, as early as July 1988, Roosevelt summoned the heads of European and American countries and held an international conference in France to discuss the Jewish refugee issue. The conference was a nonsense and did not even pass a resolution condemning the Nazis' mistreatment of Jews.
The United States and the United Kingdom even reached an agreement before the meeting, in which the United Kingdom promised not to mention the fact that the United States' immigration quota had not been reached, and the United States also avoided mentioning the possibility of Palestine as a refugee reception site.
Six months after representatives of a country and region in the world sold the Jews collectively during a meeting, the Kristallnacht incident occurred.
Only after China extended aid to the Jews, Mr. He Fengshan, the Chinese Consul General in Austria, risked his life to apply for visas for Jewish refugees. A large number of Jewish refugees gathered at the Chinese Consulate in Vienna and rushed to Shanghai at a rate of 1,000 people per week, resulting in a short period of time.
During this time, the total number of Jewish refugees in Shanghai reached 15,000.
Who is Schindler? He only protected more than 1,000 Jews.
The great director Spielberg should make a film "Ho Fung Shan's List" because Mr. Ho Fung Shan saved the lives of tens of thousands of Jews.