With Zhuang Jihua's counterattack, he was still laughing just now, and a harmonious dinner table suddenly became nervous. Zhuang Jihua stared at Hopkins, Weidemai and Stilwell frowned, and they both exchanged their eyes, but they didn't know what to do. Chiang Kai-shek held the water cup as if nothing had happened, Chen Chengshen was still thinking, and Chen Bule leaned against the chair and looked at Hopkins gently. Soong Mei-ling still smiled faintly. She was the only person on the dinner table who still kept a smile.

Hopkins hesitated for a moment, Zhuang Jihua's counterattack hit the key point, Stalin's concessions were not big, Xinjiang rebellion, the Chinese had the ability to pacify it, which was not his concession, and China's withdrawal from the ancient times meant withdrawing from a large area of ​​land and might never return.

"Chairman, the complex situation between China and the Soviet Union has posed a great threat to our common cause. This threat not only affects the current war, but also affects the post-war Far East peace."

Hopkins decided to start with Chiang Kai-shek, and his tone seemed very sincere: "The president sent me here out of concern for these two points. The Soviet Union has recognized that Xinjiang is China's territory and has given up its demands for the Northeast. I think this is your victory. What we need now is to calm down and rationally resolve the differences between the two countries."

Chiang Kai-shek drank the water and sorted out his thoughts. Then he said slowly: "Mr. Hopkins, for a hundred years, invaded our country's most powerful powers, the Soviet Union and Japan were at the forefront. The former was even worse than the latter. Since the Tsarist Russia period, the Soviet Union has been constantly invading our country. Taking advantage of the weakness of the Qing Dynasty, he cut off millions of square kilometers of land from our country through a series of treaties. After the founding of the Soviet Union, the Soviet Union has never stopped invading our country. They had just settled within, so they sent troops to occupy the ancient area of ​​our country, instigated the so-called ancient ** in the old year of the Republic of China, and launched the Central East Road incident."

Chiang Kai-shek spoke in a gentle tone about the Soviet Union's invasion of China since the Russian Tsar era, and the shame that China suffered again and again. Stuart Leiden nodded frequently, and Weidemai sighed in his heart. The Chinese people suffered too much humiliation in modern times. They were wary of the West. Hopkins was a little too hasty in this matter. Stilwell sighed softly. He has been in China for more than ten years and knew that China's defense against the Soviet Union was not inferior to Japan. It was just that Japan was too obvious and urgent. The rapid rise of Sino-Japanese conflicts covered up the problems between China and the Soviet Union, which made some people in the West misunderstand.

"This is really a fragile alliance." Hopkins lamented in his heart. In Europe, Churchill was also wary of the Soviet Union. If it weren't for his obstruction, the second battlefield might have been opened last year.

The room was nervous and unyielding, Hopkins was silent. He knew that he had encountered a problem. Chiang Kai-shek gave Zhuang Jihua a look and signaled him to give Hopkins a step, but Soong Mei-ling was in front.

"Mr. Hopkins, you may not know our history. There is constant entanglement between China and the Soviet Union. In fact, the Soviet Union has ambitions for the northern part of our country according to the former Tsar."

"Mrs. said it well, it is not just Soviet Russia." Chen Bulei also interrupted at this time: "Historically, the threat of the Chinese nation has always come from the north. The land under our feet is a place of battle between the Han people and the nomadic peoples. From a national security perspective, we must also control the north."

"Mr. Bray is right." Zhuang Jihua also spoke: "After defeating Japan, our threats mainly come from the north, that is, the Soviet Union, Mr. Hopkins. Judging from the international situation after the war, the only one who can pose a threat to the United States is the Soviet Union. We hope that the United States can take on the important task of maintaining international peace after the war. We also believe that the only one who can pose a threat to international peace is the Soviet Union."

Hopkins now fully understood that the Chinese had made up their minds to show off with the Soviet Union on the issue of Méng, and that their idea of ​​unilateral concessions was wrong from the beginning.

"Mr. Chairman, I want to know where is the bottom line you can accept?" Hopkins decided to start correcting his mistakes and considering the Chinese side's ideas.

There was a rift in Hopkins's stubborn mentality. Chiang Kai-shek felt relieved. He was about to answer, but when he saw Zhuang Jihua give him a look, he picked up the water cup and drank it. Zhuang Jihua coughed gently, attracting his attention to his side.

"Mr. Hopkins, there is a situation that you may not understand yet. Li Shouxin, a puppet méng army, has already proposed to surrender to our army, and our army has sent troops to accept Li Shouxin's surrender, so our army's vanguard can enter Wendurhan and the southern part of Central Province.

Hopkins did not make a statement, but looked at Weidemai and Stilwell with some suspicion, as if he wanted to confirm Zhuang Jihua's words, but the US generals were completely under the command of the Chinese, and the US generals were not involved at all. Neither Weidemai nor Stilwell knew the actual situation of the Méng army.

Zhuang Jihua then offered a price: "In order to maintain unity among allies, our army can be pushed back to the eastern Gobi province and southern Kent province, and give up the Central Province and Wendurhan, but the Soviet Union must stop interfering in Xinjiang, recognize the Northeast as my inherent territory, and ensure that the Méng Gu can get free votes and choose after the war."

Hopkins thought while listening. At this moment, he was very glad that he did not promise Stalin to save his mission when he was in Moscow. Zhuang Jihua saw Hopkins' hesitation, and he smiled and then enlightened: "Mr. Hopkins, I actually understand President Roosevelt's concerns very much, but Mr. President may have overlooked a problem, that is, Soviet Russia needs the United States more than we do."

Facing Zhuang Jihua's statement, Hopkins was a little surprised and obviously did not believe it. Zhuang Jihua smiled faintly: "From a military perspective, Germany still occupies a vast territory of the Soviet Union, and Germany's main military force is still under the Soviet Union. Stalin needs a second battlefield more than the allies: From an economic perspective, after the fierce war, almost all industries in the Soviet Union's cities in the western region were destroyed. Even if they rebuilt industries in the Ural region, they could not meet the huge size of the Soviet-German battlefield.

Consumption, so Stalin needs more U.S. aid materials: Mr. Hopkins, I think Stalin cannot cooperate without cooperation when the allies open up a second battlefield. He dreams of defeating Hitler as soon as possible." Weidmai and Stilwell nodded almost at the same time. In fact, this is also the biggest reason why China dares to confront Soviet Russia. China and the Soviet Union have a huge gap in strength. China can now invest 50% of its strength in the ancient times. If the Soviet Union is probably not even 10%.

As the atmosphere became better and better, a hint of sourness appeared in Chen Cheng's heart. This scene once again confirmed that Zhuang Jihua's influence had surpassed him. From military to political economy, even diplomacy has been involved. He looked around and everyone was wearing a veil of warmth.

The dinner ended here with warmth. After the meal, Chiang Kai-shek and Soong Mei-ling went to rest. Their itinerary changed in the afternoon. Soong Mei-ling was going to the hospital and orphanage, and Chiang Kai-shek was going to hold a military meeting in the North China War Zone. Weidemai and Steven will attend this meeting, while Chen Bree and Stuart were entrusted with the important task of accompanying Hopkins.

Hopkins did not have the habit of taking lunch breaks. After dinner, Chen Bulei pulled him and Stu Leiden to the Forbidden City for a tour. Zhuang Jihua seized the time to send several telegrams to Wei Lihuang, asking him to enter quickly, take over Li Shouxin's defense zone, and prepare for fighting with the Soviet army.

After he returned from sending the telegram, Chiang Kai-shek had already come out, and Huairen Hall had been built into a conference room and a large military map was hung on the side of the conference table.

After Chen Cheng announced the start of the meeting, Chiang Kai-shek spoke: "After the Battle of North China, our army faced two combat directions, one was the Méng ancient side and the other was the Northeast: For the Méng ancient direction, our army is now preparing for the Méng ancient direction. If Mr. Hopkins can mediate, there will naturally be no battle in this direction. If we cannot, we must consider fighting with the Soviet army in Méng ancient times. What are your considerations?" At the beginning of the meeting, Weidemai and Stilwell were shocked. One of Chiang Kai-shek's issues was the Méng ancient battle. Washington had a clear order. The US military in China was not allowed to participate in the Méng ancient battle and Xinjiang to suppress the rebellion. But now it has been seated and it is too late to leave. The two had to exchange eyes and start pretending to be mute.

Zhuang Jihua smiled at them very well, and then said to Chiang Kai-shek: "Chairman, the Soviet army had about 200,000 troops in ancient times, plus the Méng ancient army, with a total strength of about 300,000, and there were very few aircraft and tanks. Compared with our army, our army had the advantage in its military strength and tanks and aircraft. However, the difficulty of our army lies in logistics. At present, our army's ammunition, food and oil are relatively difficult. For this reason, it must be increased to the front line to produce 50,000 tons of ammunition and 10 million kilograms of grain, so that we can barely meet the battle standards."

Chiang Kai-shek nodded silently, and Chen Cheng was worried: "If I had only sent it to the southwest, it would probably be too late in time. Can the North China War Zone be used to draw so much ammunition?"

Jihua nodded confidently: "The 50,000 tons of ammunition were originally planned to attack Peiping, but after saving the Japanese army in Peking, this batch of ammunition can be transferred to the ancient Chinese." "We are not in the superior force." Chiang Kai-shek suddenly spoke, obviously he was still worried.

"The Forty-Ninth Army is in Rehe, and can order the 101st Army and 102nd Army to move closer to the ancient Méng area. The 103rd Army holds its original position. The New Eighth Army and the 1st Army immediately head to east Hebei. The Fifth Army heads north to Rehe and meets the 49th Army and prepares to fight in the ancient Méng." "Wait, wait, general." Wei Demai finally couldn't help it and stopped it repeatedly. Zhuang Jihua was interrupted by him, as if a little surprised, and looked at him in confusion. The meaning in his eyes was, I know you don't want to interfere. I didn't ask for your opinions, just don't cause trouble for you, why do you...

"Chairman, Zhuang" Wei Demai seemed a little anxious: "If the reserved weapons and ammunition were sent to Méng Gu, how to attack the Northeast? If the Japanese counterattack, what juice diyu should we take?" Zhuang Jihua smiled: "No need to worry too much. According to the situation we have, the ammunition of the Kwantung Army may be more difficult than us. Their ammunition reserves in Northeast China have been transported to North China. Naosaburo Okabe may be desperately urging Tokyo to replenish her ammunition, and "Zhuang Jihua paused when he said this and smiled even more happily: "Even if he has enough ammunition, so what! Can Naosaburo Okabe dare to step out of Shanhaiguan?"

Wei Demai and Zhuang Jihua stared at each other, Zhuang Jihua's eyes were calm and steady, without any wavering. Wei Demai understood the meaning of the eyes.

So what! So what!

At this moment, Zhuang Jihua seemed extremely proud!

At this moment, Zhuang Jihua seemed extremely arrogant!

From Nanjing to Xuzhou, from Shangqiu to Myanmar, from northern Hubei to Xuzhou, Jinan to Beiping, from Beiping to Shanhaiguan!

I, Zhuang Jihua, led a million troops, and killed famous generals and elite soldiers across thousands of miles and defeated all Japanese generals. The Japanese army has been killed by me and is already in a state of despair. Who else dares to face my blade?

Chen Cheng looked at Zhuang Jihua with envy and hatred. The seven years of war of resistance and countless victories have created Zhuang Jihua's prestige today. Whether it is Huangpu classmates or local generals, they are willing to fight under his command: the people are given the noble title of Emperor Wu today.

Chen Cheng glanced at Chiang Kai-shek with a squinted look, feeling a little relieved in his heart that he was still the Chief of Staff, and his position was still above him. However, Chen Cheng still wanted to attack Zhuang Jihua, and he smiled slightly! General Wei Demai, we are not worried that the Kwantung Army would attack, because we know the Japanese army's combat plan well." "Oh" Wei Demai was really surprised this time. He looked at Chen Cheng in disbelief. Chen Cheng glanced at Chiang Kai-shek, and Chiang Kai-shek also smiled: "The two generals are allied friends, not Japanese spies." "We installed spies in the Japanese North China Expeditionary Army as early as the beginning of the invasion of China. He was in an important position in the Japanese Army and could obtain almost all of the combat plans of Japan. After the North China Expeditionary Army was destroyed, he was sent to the Kwantung Army Headquarters to be responsible for the operation, so we know the virtuality and reality of the Kwantung Army."

"So, General Wei Demai, don't worry, Okabe Naosaburo is going to attack, we will know half a month in advance." Zhuang Jihua seemed to have not seen Chen Cheng's intention, and was still so relaxed and casual.

Weidmai and Stilwell woke up from a dream. Stilwell immediately remembered the mission carried out by Merrill Commando, which led to the intelligence that carried out this mission must have been provided by this spy.

"Okay, let's formulate the combat deployment according to this." Chiang Kai-shek made a decision, and Wei Demai also dissuaded him. He knew very well that he could not give any opinions. If Hopkins did not come, he might be able to say a few words to dissuade him, but now, he can do nothing.

Jihua stood up, Chiang Kai-shek waved his hand to let him sit down, and then signaled to Chen Cheng. Chen Cheng stood up and announced: "According to the progress of the war, the National Revolutionary Military Commission decided to establish the Northeast War Zone, and the commander of the Northeast War Zone, General Zhuang Jihua, "Deputy Commander General Yu Jishi, General Fan Hanjie, set up the Shanhaiguan Front Commander, General Du Yuming, and set up the Northern Cluster, and the commander of the cluster, General Fan Hanjie,..."

"General Zhuang Jihua was removed from his position as commander of the North China War Zone, Sun Lianzhong was removed from his position as deputy commander of the North China War Zone, appointed General Tang Enbo as commander of the North China War Zone, and General Wei Lihuang was also appointed as deputy commander of the North China War Zone, and also served as commander-in-chief of the Méng Army. General Tang Shizun was appointed as deputy commander of the North China War Zone, and also served as commander-in-chief of the Tianjin Garrison……………………………………………….”

These personnel appointments and removals have been discussed long ago, and there are basically no accidents. Perhaps the only surprise is that Chiang Kai-shek transferred Teng Jie from Shandong to serve as the director of the Political Department of the North China Theater and also as the director of the Party Department of the Beiping City.

The personnel of the Northeast War Zone are roughly the same as the list provided by Zhuang Jihua, but there are also differences. The deputy director of the Political Department added Kang Ze, and the director of the Popular Mobilization Department was also from the Central Committee of the Three Youth League, and the direct descendant of Jiang Jingguo, was Jia Huailiang. The chief of staff of the theater was still Xu Zuyi, and the deputy chief of staff Zhuang Jihua nominated Gong Chu.

When establishing the Northeast War Zone, Zhuang Jihua began to gradually gather the cadres he left in various places. For this reason, Zhuang Jihua suggested to Chiang Kai-shek that when accepting Peking and Tianjin, there was no preparation in advance, resulting in a significant mistake in the final city receiving the city. Therefore, during the march into the Northeast, a city work team should be established in advance, and each city should form a corresponding work team. After the city is restored, it will immediately accept the city and start post-war reconstruction work.

Chiang Kai-shek not only adopted it, but also directly promoted it to establish the Northeast Headquarters. However, he did not allow Zhuang Jihua to serve as the director, but appointed Xiong Shihui as the director, and Feng Gui and Xiao Zhenying as the deputy directors.

Xiong Shihui was a veteran of Yang Yongtai's political science department and a veteran politician in the political arena of the Republic of China. This time, he did not go to Peking with Chiang Kai-shek, but planned to build the Dongbi Headquarters in Chongqing.

The two deputy directors were recommended by Zhuang Jihua. Needless to say, Feng Gui was obviously Zhuang Jihua's member. Xiao Zhenying seemed to be not that faction. After he went to the Jiangbei War Zone and later the North China War Zone, he had been active outside. He had very little contact with Zhuang Jihua. Zhuang Jihua recommended him as deputy director, which made Chiang Kai-shek unexpectedly.

In addition to these two people, Zhuang Jihua also recommended Li Anding as the police chief of Jibei Headquarters. After the Cairo meeting, China and Britain reached a tacit understanding in Myanmar, and Li Anding's mission in Myanmar was over. It was understandable that Zhuang Jihua asked him to come.

This candidate was rejected by Chiang Kai-shek. Chiang Kai-shek appointed former commander Xiao Shanling. After Xiao Shanling broke through from Nanjing, he was transferred to Wuhan to continue as commander of the military police. After Wuhan fell, Xiao Shanling applied to the front line and was sent to the Third War Zone to serve as deputy chief of staff. After the establishment of the Jiangnan War Zone, Xiao Shanling returned to Chongqing to serve as deputy director of the National Government's Police Administration. He could not object to this candidate, so he could only let Li Anding serve as deputy Xiao Shanling.

It is obvious that this personnel layout is the result of Chiang Kai-shek and Zhuang Jihua's concessions. Chiang Kai-shek divided the operations and local governments through the Northeast War Zone and the Northeast Headquarters, which was obviously specially set up to limit Zhuang Jihua's power.

But this time Zhuang Jihua did not surrender. He regained some of his power through Feng Gui and Li Anding, and Chiang Kai-shek had to give in. Xiong Shihui did not have the support of Zhuang Jihua, and his work in the Northeast was difficult to carry out.

What both sides had no objection was that Stilwell was still the commander and consultant of the US military in the Northeast War Zone. The Sino-US United Airlines team under Li Mei was assigned to the North China War Zone and was directly commanded by the Air Force Command. However, the Chinese Air Force seven air force brigades, four fighter brigades and three bomber brigades and one transport aircraft squadron were assigned to the Northeast War Zone.

Stilwell was a little distracted in the later meeting. He remembered the Merrill Commando. After successfully attacking the troops, the special forces and Merrill Commando were surrounded and intercepted by the Japanese army and were struggling to fight among the mountains in the northeast.@.
Chapter completed!