Speaking of which, Hopkins made a point of emphasis: "Don't fake all telegrams to others, you translate them yourself, remember to keep an eye on them to send all telegrams. And Lieutenant Colonel Pearson, I know you have a close relationship with them and appreciate them. ”

"But I want to remind you that you are a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army, and everything is in the interests of the United States. Your report has a great impact on the White House's decision-making and is also an important basis for the White House's China policy adjustment. Therefore, I hope that in each of your reports, you will take into account your position and not mix it with any personal feelings. ”

"Taking into account the current overall situation, the White House has decided to upgrade the level of the Military Observer Mission in the United Nations. But it was decided that no one else would be sent, and that you would be the head of the mission. I have applied with the White House and you will be promoted to the rank of colonel. In the coming years, the White House will not re-appoint someone else to replace you. ”

"I don't think these friends of ours will have a small appetite. It's not easy to satisfy them right now. In future negotiations with them, you will participate in the whole process as my personal staff adjutant. There are a lot of things in this negotiation, I need your help. ”

After Pearson left, Hopkins asked someone to make a cup of coffee, sat on the sofa in front of the window, and looked at the Songhua River outside the window, but he didn't know what he was thinking. The cup of coffee in front of him didn't move until it cooled down completely. Only occasionally in the notebook in front of me, I don't know what is being written.

For a whole day, he did not leave the small reception room. Even lunch and dinner, never left. It wasn't until the evening negotiations began that he walked out of the reception room. As for the rest of the US and British delegations that went out to visit, they did not come back at all.

After visiting the field training base of the Anti-United Nations, at the strong request of Major General Stilwell, he went to inspect other anti-United Nations units. Hopkins didn't pay much attention to the fact that these people didn't return. The more closely these people looked, the better it would be for him to make up his mind.

When Yang Zhen appeared in front of him again, Hopkins, who obviously didn't want to waste time, said directly: "Yang, I want to know how much you are asking for?" I would like you to come up with a specific figure so that we can decide on the amount of assistance we will give you, depending on the situation. ”

Regarding Hopkins' request, Yang Zhen was not ambiguous, and directly handed over the materials that had been prepared in his hand. This material, which has all been translated into English, is slightly different from what Yang Zhen showed to Lao Shuai. If the one that Yang Zhen showed to Lao Shuai is a condensed version, the details on this list are the real lion's mouth.

The condensed version that was given to Lao Shuai at the beginning was mainly a list of equipment he wanted to get in addition to equipment. As for the quantity of equipment, it is not written on it, and the quantity of materials is his bottom line. This list is a bomb handed out by Yang Zhen, for him, the negotiation has to ask for a sky-high price, and he will pay back the money on the ground, isn't it.

When Hopkins carefully read Yang Zhen's list of required materials, his first feeling was that the guy in front of him was blackmailing. Faced with the dozens of pages in front of him, a detailed list of thousands of supplies, and the need for the signs behind it, Hopkins couldn't think of these two words.

Putting down the list of materials proposed by Yang Zhen in his hand, Hopkins looked at Yang Zhen with a calm face, as if he was fine, but he did not get angry for a long time. Instead, he said in an unusually calm tone: "General Yang, can you tell me what you are going to do on this list?" Do you have the ability to digest such a huge amount of material? ”

"Two thousand aircraft, one and a half thousand tanks, and a thousand artillery pieces are required annually. There are other heavy weapons such as automobiles and armored vehicles, although the demand is somewhat excessive, but we do not understand it at all. But I can't understand everything else on the list of supplies you want. ”

"Thirty sets of electric furnaces for steelmaking every month. Special steel and non-ferrous metal electric furnaces, you need fifteen sets per month. There are 500 metal cutting machine tools and 60 forging presses. The rest of the various machines and equipment, according to your requirements, need to be provided worth two million dollars every month. ”

"50,000 tons of various steel and 12,000 tons of armor steel per month. There are also 2,000 tons of aluminum, 1,000 tons of tin, 200 tons of nickel, 700 tons of chromium, 5 tons of cobalt, and 1,700 tons of various copper every month. There are also a wide range of chemical products, specialty metals, telephone lines and cables of all kinds. ”

"Oh, and these. 5,000 kilometers of rails per month, 200 diesel or steam locomotives. A large number of power transmission and transformation equipment, as well as thermal and hydropower generation equipment. According to your figures, is General Yang ready to pave the whole of Manchuria on the railway line? ”

"The most important thing is this, you control the zhì area not by the sea, why do you want so many ships? Do you want to sue me that you are going to form a navy in this river before us? Or are you going to put a few destroyers in this river? Isn't your request a bit excessive? ”

"I want to ask you, can you digest these supplies we gave you? Even if I agree to give you 70,000 tons of various steel per month, I ask you, is there such a huge industry to digest so many raw materials? Can your aircraft factory, which has not yet been officially put into production, be able to digest so much aluminum? ”

"If you can digest it, then isn't it redundant for you to open your mouth and ask for the number of two thousand planes per month? May I doubt that your request for 2,000 planes is not necessary at all? Don't forget, it was in this room, just this morning, that you told us that your industrial capacity cannot meet the needs of your war. ”

"Your factories are still under construction, and most of them have not yet been officially put into production. So do you need so much military raw materials for making tanks, planes, and artillery? If we provide you with the corresponding equipment, I am afraid that we will not need to provide you with so many military raw materials at all. ”

"General Yang, we in the United States are enhancing your combat capability, but this does not mean that we can blackmail you. I'm sorry, but the numbers on your list of supplies can only make us think so. You must know that the Soviets and the British, whose armies are much larger than yours, have not asked for so many supplies. ”

In response to Hopkins' rhetorical question, Yang Zhen smiled and said, "Mr. Hopkins, please don't be angry, the figure we put forward is not blackmail." You're right, we can't digest so many supplies ourselves, at least not yet. I did admit that we don't have enough military capacity right now. ”

"But the reason why we propose so many materials and equipment is that the reason why we put forward so many materials and equipment is to reduce our dependence on the outside world as much as possible. A considerable part of those military raw materials are not simply to solve our own needs. ”

"A considerable part of the material, the production of which was to be transferred to the Soviet side. At the same time, there is also a considerable part of the steel and chemical products that we can provide to the U.S. military when necessary. And this part of the material did not always run through the entire war period. ”

"Mr. Hopkins, we have two lightweight anti-tank weapons and several anti-aircraft weapons, as well as advanced communications equipment, which are urgently needed by the Soviet side. Since the outbreak of the Soviet-German war, they have repeatedly asked us to provide these two types of weapons and equipment. ”

"In the first few days of your visit, they demanded that we provide a large number of similar equipment by the end of the year, threatening to cut off our foreign supplies. Mr. Hopkins, in order to ensure that we do not have anything like this in the future, we can only accede to the demands of the Soviets. ”

"But to do this, our manufacturing capacity, especially the reserves of industrial raw materials, is far from meeting the needs of the Soviets. This requires the U.S. side to be able to provide the machinery and equipment we need, as well as the corresponding raw materials. In addition, I think that our supply of these emergency weapons to the Soviet Union will also have corresponding benefits for the American side. ”

"If all these things are provided by the United States, it will also be a pressure on the American side. After all, once the United States is involved in the war, it will also have to meet its own needs and those of the British army. Whether it is transportation or distance, we are much closer to the Soviet Union than the United States in providing these supplies. ”

"It would be much more convenient if we had produced and manufactured these weapons and handed them over to the Soviet side. The first is to train our military production capacity and prepare for reducing our dependence on the United States. Mr. Hopkins, the cost of war on equipment is enormous. ”

"We can't reach out to you everything. The shape of war is ever-changing, and we must at least have some self-reliance. If the war is in the middle of the day, and there is a problem with your transportation capacity or other aspects that affects the delivery time of the equipment, then Mr. Hopkins, this is a terrible thing for us. ”

"Second, it can also free up the tonnage of the ship and transport other materials. Third, the most crucial thing is to meet the needs of the Soviet Union in the shortest possible time when the corresponding production capacity of the United States has not yet been established. Ensure that the Soviet defense line will not be overwhelmed by German tanks. ”

"It is precisely considering that the demand from the Soviet side will be very large, so we asked the American side to provide a batch of equipment and corresponding raw materials. The performance of these weapons that the Soviet Union asked for, you can ask Lieutenant Colonel Pearson. Or you can ask the Major General Stilwell when he returns. ”

"As for some help to the American side, the reason is simple. If a war breaks out between the United States and Japan, the United States will not be able to let us bear the burden of bombing Japan alone. Not to mention that we do not have strategic bombers like the American B-24 and 17, it is also very difficult for us to bear them ourselves. ”

"And once the United States needs to launch a strategic bombing campaign against Japan, as the British did on the European battlefield, then our base area will undoubtedly become the best base for bombing. You must know that our geographical location determines that we will become the main departure base during the strategic bombing of Japan. Even if the Japanese army did not take the Philippines, the geographical location there was not as good as ours. ”

"What's more, the sea supply lines from the continental United States to the Philippines are almost all within the range of the Japanese Navy. If the United States uses the Philippines as a starting point for bombing, then your routes and supplies will probably not be much better than Malta, which is currently under the shadow of German bombers. ”

"The most important thing is Mr. Hopkins, do you think that once the war between the United States and Japan breaks out, the Philippines will be under the nose of the Japanese Navy and Air Force in Taiwan, and the Philippines will be separated from your mainland by a whole Pacific Ocean. Can you hold on to your colonial army, which is not very numerous and third-rate in combat? ”