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Beijing, December 30, 1939.

The day before the New Year, Marshall, who had received a reply from Roosevelt, returned to Beijing from his expedition, and at the same time, Hopkins quietly diverted from Washington to Saudi Arabia to secretly arrive. Compared to the last time we met, Hopkins looks a lot thinner, and the suit looks like he picked it up casually no matter how he wears it. "Mr. Hopkins, it's a pleasure to see you again." After a simple greeting, Yang Qiu asked Gu Yu to make coffee for the two, and did not let him leave as he did last time, but arranged for him to sit next to Song Ziqing and Jiang Fangzhen, who accompanied him.

Hopkins is an old and spicy politician, and his eyes immediately swept over Gu Yu several times, secretly guessing the relationship between the two. Marshall didn't care, because he had already seen Gu Yu in Xinyang last time, and from age analysis, he intuitively thought that he was a secretary. What's more, he is most concerned about the situation in Southeast Asia and the Philippines now, due to weather and other factors, the large-scale military operations in Central Asia have come to an end temporarily, and the Soviet Union has also taken the opportunity to try to solve the hidden dangers in Europe first, so he thinks this is a good opportunity to persuade Yang Qiu to turn around: "Mr. President, the trip to the northwest really opened my eyes, and the military quality of your army is very high." So I hope that you will think again about the advice you made last time and think about the policy in Southeast Asia, after all, it will also help you to break up the alliance between Japan and the Soviet Union. ”

Marshall desperately encouraged Yang Qiu to intervene in Southeast Asia with the United States, in fact, he hoped to pull the Republic of China into the water and directly confront Japan. Especially after the news of the breakdown of Soviet-Finnish relations, Roosevelt had already sensed that Europe was gradually getting out of control, so he immediately changed his attitude and entered substantive negotiations, and sent Hopkins to suppress the position. But neither Yang Qiu nor Song Ziqing next to him wanted to meddle in Southeast Asia now. After all, the capture of the Philippines is in the limelight, and there is no way to go to the hard top. Moreover, the great victory in Central Asia has made the Japanese people lose hope for the mainland, according to reliable information. When Nagata Tetsuyama met with Hirohito, he even proposed to cancel the Japan-Soviet alliance, hand over half of the shares in Balikpapan and Palembang oil fields to Beijing, and reconsider Sino-Japanese relations. If it weren't for Hirohito's disagreement to trade oil, and the fledgling mainland faction such as Hideki Tojo, who instead said that he was betraying the interests of the empire, perhaps China and Japan would have concluded an alliance by now.

So Song Ziqing immediately said: "General Marshall, regarding the suffering of the people of Southeast Asia, the position of the president and my country is the same. But you should be clear to the Northwest that the war there is very difficult both in terms of scale and cost. Stalin's speech also foreshadowed. The situation in Central Asia is going to be even more difficult, so we have to go all out now, and we really can't take a lot of forces to the south. ”

Not being able to take it does not mean that there is no strength, Marshall is very clear, in just three months. Yang Qiu has mobilized 2.7 million recruits. This is the number after the strict deletion of the election and the prohibition of special positions such as teachers from joining the army. If you let go of the move, it is estimated that you will go straight to 5 million! This unparalleled human resource is both enviable and disturbing. So he said again: "I know that your country is under a lot of pressure, but the Kazakh victory proves that your country can play a more important role in the Asia-Pacific region." ”

Hopkins also retracted his gaze and took over in a flattering tone: "General Marshall is right, President Roosevelt and the U.S. government have always believed that there is no conflict between our two countries. They can take on the task of managing the Pacific together, and the U.S. government and business are willing to continue the friendly cooperation between the two countries. Mr. President should be clear that war is not the whole of life. The United States has abundant resources and machinery, and your country needs these things. The prospects for cooperation between our two countries are very broad. But now this prospect has been seriously threatened and provoked by Japan, which has warships all over the sea, from India to the Solomon Islands. The shipping lanes between us have been disrupted, which is very detrimental to communication. And you should be clear. Cooperation between Japan and the USSR has been maintained for quite a long time, and now they are not cutting off Malacca because Japan has not yet digested Southeast Asia. If you continue to indulge their aggression in peace and security, will the Japanese still allow your fleet to navigate freely? Once Malacca is cut off, your army in the Persian Gulf will face the trouble of logistical supply, which will be a disaster for any army! ”

Speaking of this, Hopkins took out a letter from his bag and handed it to Yang Qiu: "This is a personal letter that President Roosevelt asked me to convey, and he hopes that you will seriously consider our proposal." ”

A hint of surprise flashed in Yang Qiu's eyes, he didn't expect Roosevelt to write to him, so he immediately opened it and looked at it. The letter did not express any intention of forming an alliance, but it was full of Roosevelt's concern about the situation in Europe and Asia. At the end of the letter, Roosevelt also frankly admitted that the United States was not ready, hoped that Yang Qiu would take on more important responsibilities, and was willing to provide $3.5 billion interest-free loans, all of which were paid for with military supplies and shipped directly to Saudi Arabia, and also promised to relax the export restrictions on some high-end machinery and equipment, and recognize these countries after Central Asia became truly independent.

Roosevelt struck!

This was Yang Qiu's first impression after reading the letter.

The whole world knows that although the per capita income of the Republic of China is low, the total economic output is very strong. Moreover, the Minyuan system has already taken shape, and there is no urgency to borrow dollars that can only buy American goods. The real shortcomings are still industry, especially high-end chemicals and precision manufacturing. You must know that the equipment manufacturing industry foundation established by Yang Qiu in the past 29 years is all around this war, focusing on military technology and light civilian extension, and lacking in domestic demand and exports, so it is impossible to truly realize the wave of expansion and industrial revolution! That's why he put forward the plan of 100,000 small factories and took the initiative to intervene in the war. According to his idea, as long as the small factory plan is done well, it is equivalent to building branches and leaves on the backbone, making up for the shortcomings and quickly completing the third round of industrial expansion. Then, taking advantage of the world commodity shortage caused by the war, based on Asia and radiating to the world, it quickly completed the commodity expansion and industrial transformation that took Europe and the United States decades to complete, and after the war, it only needed to ensure an expansionary fiscal policy to quickly support a number of world-class enterprises.

Therefore, Roosevelt's letter promised to open equipment such as chemical reactors, two-axis precision electric machine tools, etc., which are officially in short supply at present. What surprised him even more was that Roosevelt actually planned to use the war materials stored by the United States to pay for an interest-free loan of $3.5 billion, and explicitly said that it would be shipped to Saudi Arabia and handed over to the Persian Gulf Army.

What is this concept?

$3.5 billion is about 700 million people's dollars, which is already equivalent to one-fifth of the current military material reserves of the United States! You know, Europe is so nervous, Churchill cried his father and shouted that his mother barely got a loan of 100 million US dollars. If it was all paid for with ammunition, then it would be enough for the Persian Gulf Army to consume for a year. Even if ammunition and supplies are evenly distributed. It's also enough to consume at least five months! So Roosevelt's hand directly hit Yang Qiu's soft underbelly. You must know that under the condition of maintaining the attrition in the northwest and the deterrence in the South Seas, Yang Qiu's current transportation and manufacturing capacity can only ensure 500,000 to 800,000 intercontinental expeditionary troops. Moreover, judging from the suppression of Nagata Tetsuyama by Hideki Tojo and other mainland factions, the voice of continuing the Soviet Union and Germany to flank China in Japan is still very strong, and the possibility of taking risks cannot be ruled out, so he must keep a certain margin to guard against Japan. In addition, he didn't plan to take Tehran immediately, so compared to Ahvaz's rapid resolution, the longer it dragged on, the greater the supply pressure. But it can't be helped, because the Iranian issue is complicated. A swift solution would mean a policy of repression against the powerful Imam faction, which would lead to post-war turmoil, so the only way to do this was to use a step-by-step approach, constantly pressuring Mossadegh to come to him, so as to better grasp post-war Iran.

Of course. Also related to Hitler. In any case, Yang Qiu would not have exerted his strength before Germany entered France, which is why he heard that Stalin had stepped up his mobilization but continued to follow the rules step by step. So Roosevelt gave away a year's worth of ammunition for nothing this time! This kind of behavior reminded him of the famous Lend-Lease Act. So he thought for a while, handed the letter to Song Ziqing, and asked, "Mr. Hopkins, have you read this letter?" ”

Hopkins was frank: "I've not only seen it. And the plan in here is what I suggested. While President Roosevelt and the U.S. government didn't want to see more war, one thing is clear: you and the world need the United States of America! ”

Yang Qiu would not be persuaded by a few righteous and awe-inspiring words. Fingers tapped lightly on the armrests of the sofa, repeatedly considering the gains and losses. Looking at his movements, Hopkins was actually very nervous, knowing that Roosevelt was willing to come up with $3.5 billion this time. It was entirely because of the unexpected outcome of the Battle of Central Asia that the United States had to consider the consequences of the defeat of the Soviet Union. To know. There are already numerous signs that Stalin is accelerating closer to Germany in order to deal with China. If in the end the Soviets and Germany really join hands, it will be a complete disaster for Europe and the United States! Roosevelt did not want to see a Soviet-German alliance, but had to prepare for the worst. The plan was to find a way to establish contact with Yang Qiu, and if necessary, China would contain the Soviet forces, so that Britain and France could concentrate on dealing with Germany.

Of course, this does not mean that he has abandoned the Soviet Union, in fact, it is still a game of two-sided betting. Because before the war situation became completely clear, he also had to adhere to the policy of strategic ambiguity like Yang Qiu, so he borrowed the excuse of aiding the Philippines. The defeat of the Soviet Union has triggered a chain reaction, Hitler's attack on Western Europe is becoming more and more probable, and the Soviet Union is suddenly trying to oppress Finland again, so Roosevelt's best way is to let China drag Japan and the Soviet Union, let Britain and France deal with Germany, and he only needs to pay some money to watch Eurasia smash, and finally stand up to clean up the mess.

So even Song Ziqing and Jiang Fangzhen were surprised that Roosevelt would come up with this condition, and the latter thought for a while and interjected: "General Marshall, how are you going to support the Philippines and Southeast Asia?" ”

Hopkins was relieved, and Marshall was even more happy to explain: "We want to send an advisory group to the Philippines to form about two or three rebel forces, and a total of 100,000 people need to be transported with equipment and provisions." At the same time, I hope that your country will send experienced officers to provide military guidance and help train soldiers to deal with the Japanese together. ”

"Just a group of advisors wants to drag me into the water to prevent Hyuga Australia from continuing to expand! This cripple is really a good calculation! Yang Qiu snorted coldly in his heart.

From a military point of view, it is necessary to take Tashkent and Omsk and establish a stable defense line in Central Asia to turn back to the South Seas. But from a political point of view, the status of the Asian League makes Yang Qiu have to be cautious! You know, he attaches great importance to the Asian League, because this is the key to establishing an Asia-Pacific system with China as the core after the war! Therefore, in formulating any Nanyang plan, the feelings of the Asian League need to be taken into account. If the United States is allowed to strike first, it will certainly have an impact on the unity within the Asian League, and perhaps some countries and people will throw themselves into the arms of the dollar. Moreover, judging by Roosevelt's determination, it is imperative for the United States to support the Philippines, and even if it does not agree, it is estimated that it will follow the path of Australia or French colonies, and it is better to take advantage of this opportunity to develop the Asian League as soon as possible. It can also avoid the growing internal complaints after the delay in making a move.

Yang Qiu was not very worried about Roosevelt using himself as a gunman. Roosevelt was not a god, and unless France could hold out, he would have to choose between the fall of England and his move. So after thinking about it again, Yang Qiu nodded to Marshall and the two: "Please tell President Roosevelt that I am very grateful for his support for our country, and I will arrange for the formation of a special agency as soon as possible to deal with the matter of supporting Southeast Asia." I also hope that President Roosevelt will allow us to send a representative to visit your country at an appropriate time to explain to the American people our position in this war. As for the training of soldiers. ”

Yang Qiu glanced at Song Ziqing, who wanted to speak, and turned his head and said, "I will not stop the personal behavior of my country's retired officers. ”

Marshall and Hopkins naturally knew what it meant to be a "retired officer." I was very happy in my heart. However, they did not understand that Yang Qiu was going to send a representative to visit the United States, and only Song Ziqing and Jiang Fangzhen knew that this was to pave the way for shaking off that "big burden".

Although Hopkins was puzzled, in his opinion, this was just a trivial matter, and visits between China and the United States were frequent. So I happily got up and stretched out my hand: "Thank you, Mr. President, for your support, we will arrange the visit as soon as we go back." In addition, Colonel Stilwell will be the plenipotentiary of our country in matters of assistance to the Philippines, and I hope that our two countries will cooperate happily. ”

Yang Qiu also shook hands with a smile, and turned his head to look at Gu Yu: "Yu, go and ask Madame, is lunch ready?" ”

Working lunches are not hearty. But Miao Luo's personal cooking still made the two Marshall feel honored. During the meal, Hopkins also asked about China's industrial development seemingly casually, and enthusiastically offered to help with the machinery and equipment needed. However, Yang Qiu knew that the few technologies and equipment that Roosevelt opened up were already the limit. So he was just testing his own industrial shortcomings, and if he really made a list, I am afraid that Roosevelt would come up with all kinds of reasons to refuse. So after a few circles in the clouds, he turned his attention to $3.5 billion in supplies and a few continuing technical equipment. After weighing up. Yang Qiu chose to buy all the technical equipment, and at the same time chose the most urgently needed food and ammunition in the Persian Gulf countries. In addition, the railroad that he had always hoped to open up the Strait of Hormuc to Central Asia through Mashhad had been built day and night with prisoners of war, so in the end a large number of railway equipment and steel rails were selected, as well as high-horsepower locomotives and retrofitting equipment for the Iranian railway.

It's not that these things can't be produced domestically, but transportation takes up a lot of tonnage, so it's better to hand them over to the United States. Anyway, Germany has not yet launched unlimited submarine warfare, and after releasing its domestic transportation capacity, it will be able to concentrate on transporting more military supplies, and even free up some tonnage to expand the market coverage of tobacco, sugar, small machines, tractors, motorcycles and other advantageous commodities in the Persian Gulf.

The meal was eaten with their own intentions, but the atmosphere on the surface was still very harmonious. Without waiting for Miao Luo to make tea for everyone, the news of the official invasion of Finland by the Soviet army broke the peace. Faced with a more important Europe, Marshall and Hopkins had to leave their jobs and leave for China immediately.

Yang Qiu was not at all surprised that Stalin took advantage of the gap in Central Asia to settle Finland first, and he would not have put such an important place as Leningrad under the muzzle of the enemy. I was a little curious about Zhukov as commander-in-chief, and I wondered if this famous general could solve the winter guerrilla war that almost collapsed the Soviet army in history. As for meddling, he didn't think about it, because even if he wanted to intervene, Britain and France would probably block it, after all, the current Europe is not something that China can enter at will. Of course, the slogan still had to be shouted, so he immediately asked Gu Yu to go to Wang Zhengting, issue an announcement in the name of the government to support Finland, and also asked the navy to draw a few arms ships from the fleet sent to the Persian Gulf to support, as for whether it could pass through Gibraltar, he didn't care at all.

After the arrangements were made, Song Ziqing pulled Jiang Fangzhen and asked why he changed his mind and intervened in the affairs of Nanyang early.

Yang Qiu knew that the two of them had doubts, and patiently said his thoughts. After listening to the explanation, Jiang Fangzhen nodded and said: "The president's consideration is reasonable, if the United States can't follow our path, it will enter Australia early, which is not conducive to our later plans." Moreover, now we are fighting a secret war with the United States in the South Seas, and Roosevelt probably knows very well that as long as he makes a move, we will have to intervene, otherwise the hearts of the people in the South Seas will be pulled away by the United States. ”

"That's right, but that's it." Song Ziqing smiled bitterly: "The possibility of hitting us first in the day will be greatly increased." ”

"Let's fight, compared with the future of Nanyang, a battle is nothing. Didn't Chen Shaokuan complain all day long that his soldiers had become dried salted fish that no one wanted? Just give him a headache. Jiang Fangzhen laughed when he heard this, and finally reminded: "President." Now that it has been decided to develop the Asian League early, it is time for Afghanistan to close the net. Our relationship with the UK should also be clarified as soon as possible. ”

"Then close the net, I want to see how Churchill punishes us!" Remembering Churchill's remarks that he wanted to punish himself not long ago, Yang Qiu was angry. Since Southeast Asia has decided to make a move, it doesn't care about muddying the waters.

"Okay, I'll send a telegram to Sun Chuanfang when I go back." After Song Ziqing recorded it, he remembered the events in Central Asia. He asked again: "By the way, Fang Rui called me in the morning and said that the king of Erin has promised to be the prime minister of the Kazakh provisional government, and has also promised to recruit people from all Muslim ethnic groups in the northwest to move to Kazakhstan to make up for the lack of population." Fang Rui said. He was under a lot of pressure at the moment, with railroad construction, prisoner of war management, and a mess of ethnic affairs and industrial support programs, and he was too busy to do so, and he hoped to appoint a commissioner for Central Asian affairs as soon as possible. ”

Yang Qiu is right to think about it, it is indeed necessary to set up a special agency to manage Central Asia as soon as possible, so as not to be exploited by others. So he turned his head and asked, "Who are your candidates?" ”

"The KMT has been beaten hard lately. Song Zi and those people were all arrested and imprisoned by Dai Yunong for finding evidence, and several were sentenced to death! If there is no improvement, I'm afraid. Song Ziqing observed Yang Qiu's expression as he spoke, and was relieved to see his calm face. continued: "So our opinion is to let Li Liejun come out of the mountain again. First, he is the identity of the Kuomintang, and having this great credit will not cause the Kuomintang to cut off its roots. Second, he has done a good job in managing the national police work over the years, and has accumulated quite perfect civilian experience. Moreover, he has led troops in Northwest China and Central Asia for many years, and is relatively familiar with ethnic affairs in Central Asia. As for the assistants. In addition to Fang Rui, Wu Zhonghao, director of the Political Department of the Jiujiang Army Academy (with an extra word "China"), is very good. This person joined our National Society in 1923, and was later escorted to the United States to study, and after returning to work, he worked in the National Guard, the 22nd Army, and the Baoding Army University. ”

"Is that him?" Yang Qiu read softly, completely forgetting that Song Ziqing defended the Kuomintang for the first time and ensured the foundation of the two parties.

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The Soviet Union continued to shoot in the New Year, and the Soviet army, which had just suffered a crushing defeat in Central Asia, stretched out its claws to Finland.

While the whole country was busy preparing for war, in the Katyn Forest of Smolensk, located in the upper reaches of the Dnieper River, a group of people lurked like ghosts. Luo Hu wore the winter camouflage uniform of the Soviet army, like a dexterous arctic fox crawling on the ground, carefully examining the cameras. These cameras are purpose-built, disguised as rocks or tree trunks, and can be operated remotely by radio. For this mission, he and his comrades brought a total of 37 of these expensive special cameras, as well as several remote control cameras, to secretly monitor the forest.

As the captain of the hunter, Luo Hu didn't know what was worth sending them here before he came. So at first, I thought it was sabotage, but after arriving and contacting the local dragon's teeth, I learned that the Soviets had kept Polish prisoners of war here. But he still wondered, what was there to watch in the POW camp? Do you want to rescue Polish prisoners of war yourself? But the problem is that there are thousands of Soviet internal affairs troops around the prisoner of war camp, and although the combat effectiveness is not very good, it is undoubtedly a fool's dream to rescue the prisoners of war by relying on a small team.

Despite all his doubts, he lurked in the area with a team of hunters, and it wasn't until a week ago that he learned from the dragon's tooth what he was really trying to do. "Head, the man is coming." As soon as Luo Hu checked the camera, his comrades came over with a small major wearing the uniform of the Soviet Ministry of Internal Affairs. The major's surname is Xu, and he is the dragon's tooth who secretly penetrated the internal affairs army, and he doesn't know anything about the other Luo Hu. Unlike usual, Major Xu looked anxious, and when he saw him, he immediately took out a map and spread it in the snow: "I just got the news that the scale of the execution has been expanded. About 10,000 people will be escorted to these locations. After quickly circling a dozen circles, Major Xu continued: "There are still two hours to go, and the troops digging the pit are coming, so you have to adjust the position of the equipment before they come." ”

"10,000 people, all executed en masse?!"

The hunter next to him couldn't help but swallow his saliva, and he couldn't help but feel a little nervous at the thought that 10,000 people were about to be executed en masse in front of him. However, Major Xu quickly put away the map, handed it to Luo Hu, and got up and shook his clothes: "Not to mention 10,000 people, the Starobelsk prisoner of war camp, the Ostashkov concentration camp, and other prisoner of war camps in Western Ukraine and Western Belarus will all start tomorrow, and it is said that a total of 40,000 Polish prisoners of war will be executed!" Alright, I can't stay long, you have to adjust the camera position as soon as possible. Rest assured, the operation is very secret, so the internal affairs troops will not bring a radio, and you can rest assured that you can control it remotely with a remote control. As soon as the gunshot goes off, shoot it down and pick it up when it's over. I will deliver the film from the other POW camps to Junction No. 4 in five days, and if you can't wait for me, you will retreat immediately and you must not linger! Send the film to Cairo no matter what, and Team Leader Jin Bihui will be waiting for you there. ”

"Don't worry, brother! When you return home, let's get drunk and rest. Luo Hu knew that these dragon teeth were very hard, so he suddenly stepped forward and hugged him fiercely.

"Okay, I'll wait for your Moutai." Major Xu also hugged Luo Hu excitedly, and after shaking hands with each hunter, he quickly disappeared into the forest. After he left, Luo Hu immediately arranged for everyone to adjust the position of the camera, and destroyed all the traces of walking. By the time everything was taken care of, the sound of the truck engine could already be heard from a distance. Hundreds of soldiers of the Soviet Internal Affairs Forces jumped out of trucks with chainsaws and shovels, cut down some trees and dug a dozen deep pits deep in the woods. After the pit was dug, the soldiers began to pull the net and search again, but fortunately the hunters had already familiarized themselves with the place and used long-range remote control equipment, so they were not discovered.

At three o'clock in the afternoon, even more noisy engines and shouts came one after another. A moment later, a crisp gunfire rang out, and Luo Hu quietly approached only to realize that a group of Polish prisoners of war were escorted to the mass grave, and dozens of officers of the Soviet Internal Affairs Forces directly pressed their pistols against the back of the prisoners' heads and pulled the trigger. He was furious at the close-up massacre, and remembered the same scene that had happened in the Siberian forests as a young man.

But he was not impulsive, and quickly retreated to a safe area. In this way, the dying struggles of Polish prisoners of war, the tragic sight of bullets penetrating the skulls at close range, and the thick layer of corpses in the mass grave were all faithfully recorded by secret cameras.

The most critical year kicked off in the bloody picture of the killing of prisoners!