Regarding the so-called plan proposed by Hopkins that was not so much a negotiation as an ultimatum, Yang Zhen, who knew that he could only accept whatever he wanted, pondered for a while and said: "Mr. Hopkins, we don't have too many opinions on US financial assistance."

"But given the tremendous pressure we are currently under on the economic front, I hope that you will be able to increase the amount of financial assistance by some means. At least in terms of military spending, we can breathe a little more breath and not be completely crushed by the huge military spending. ”

"With such an excellent person as Pearson, as the head of the U.S. Observer Mission in the Anti-Japanese Union. I think you should have a general idea of our overall situation. You should be well aware that the taxes that we can now use as a source of funding are almost equal to none. ”

"And as the scale of the war grows, the need for money will only increase. Hundreds of thousands of troops eat, drink, and sleep every day, which is an astronomical amount. Now that we are already eating a lot of food, if the size of the army continues to expand, it will be difficult for us to withstand this pressure. However, the reality of war forces us to continue to expand our forces. ”

"So I hope that the U.S. side will double the financial assistance on this basis. While we can get a respite, we can expand enough troops to contain more Japanese troops. You must know that if we expand the division by one more division, the United States will face one less division of Japanese troops on the battlefield in the near future. ”

"As for this amount in materiel, what I want to know is these numbers provided by Mr. Hopkins. Is it the standard that the U.S. government is going to provide to us every year for the next few years, or is it just the amount between now and the end of the year? Mr. Hopkins, that's a critical question. ”

"If that's just the amount of supplies we can get between now and the end of the year, then we don't have a problem for the time being. Although we also urgently need tanks and planes to cooperate with us in the fight and reduce our casualties. But when the U.S. side is also in trouble, we will not be too demanding. ”

"However, I hope that the U.S. side will add another 300 large tractors to this aid list, as well as corresponding agricultural equipment such as combines. In this way, we can save a part of the agricultural population and replenish it to the combat troops. ”

"At present, the total population of our actual control district is less than 10 million. If we want to ensure a sufficient number of replenished troops, as well as a certain number of reserve soldiers, then we must reduce the number of people involved in agricultural production. In particular, young and middle-aged people who are the main force of agricultural production and the main source of soldiers. ”

"In most of our areas, agricultural production still relies on traditional manual production methods. The massive conscription of the agricultural population necessitates a reduction in agricultural output. In this way, we need not only supplies and equipment, but also a large amount of food and other materials necessary for the survival of the army. In order to resolve the conflict between feeding and replenishing troops, we hope that the United States will be able to assist us with a batch of machinery and equipment for agricultural production. ”

"And the amount of fuel, which we hope to be able to at least double on top of. So that we can ensure that we can maintain at least two to three months of reserves in addition to the needs of the operation, in case of any possible accidents.

"Mr. Hopkins, now the shipping from the United States to the Soviet Union through the Pacific Ocean is quite safe. But once war broke out between the United States and Japan, the powerful Japanese navy was bound to block the route from the United States to the Soviet Union and sink a single American-flagged ship. ”

"And once this line of transport is paralyzed, we won't be able to get enough fuel when we need it. In that case, our already small number of heavy equipment will not be able to be put into battle. Once such a situation arises, we simply will not be able to maintain the existing combat capability. In particular, the vital logistical supply capacity will also be greatly weakened. ”

"As for the other routes through the Arctic and Iran in the Soviet Union, I'm sorry Mr. Hopkins, these two routes are indifferent to the Soviet side, but they are too long for us. Once there is any accident during transportation, we will still be in a situation of oil outage at any time. ”

"Mr. Hopkins, I have to warn you. No matter how much the Soviet side made any guarantees on the issue of lines of communication, you should not forget that it was in times of war. And in times of war, anything strange can happen. In order for us to have a certain reserve to cope with any accidents that may arise at any time and to avoid a situation in which we cannot put the most important equipment into combat at a critical moment, I hope that the amount of fuel provided by the United States will at least more than double. ”

"And I hope that by the end of the year, the United States will be able to provide us with another 20 air defense radars, as well as some observation and sighting devices used by anti-aircraft artillery. In particular, high-power searchlights and long-range radio communication equipment are what we need most urgently. ”

Yang Zhen raised a series of questions and requests, Hopkins smiled and did not answer him directly. Instead, he took out a copy of the document from his assistant and handed it to Yang Zhen and said: "This is a plan for the distribution of materials and equipment for you within two years next year and the year after that, which has been jointly studied by the United States, Britain and the Soviet Union." ”

Mr. Hopkins' statement was a conscious attempt to avoid Yang Zhen's request for increased assistance. Obviously, Mr. Hopkins does not intend to enter into any further negotiations with the Anti-Japanese Union in terms of increasing the amount of aid this year, as well as financial assistance. He directly turned the conversation to next year, and the distribution of materials and equipment in the future.

After taking the plan that Hopkins handed over that had been translated into Chinese, Yang Zhen carefully read it, and then casually handed it to Li Yanping beside him and said: "Mr. Hopkins Judging from this plan, starting next year, we can only get the allocation of 300 fighters, 100 light bombers, 300 tanks, and 70 anti-aircraft guns every six months. ”

"And artillery and anti-aircraft weapons of various calibers, there is simply not a single one. And this amount will not be provided until March next year at the earliest, which means that basically the equipment we can get next year is only 400 aircraft, 300 tanks, and nothing else. With such a little equipment, you still can't finalize it. ”

"Isn't it a bit inauthentic for the U.S. to do this? You must know that all aspects of the entire current involvement in the war are taken together, and our military-industrial capacity is the weakest. With the exception of light weapons, we basically do not have any capacity to manufacture tanks, airplanes, and artillery, so why is it that we have the smallest share of equipment? ”

"Although I don't know what the numbers allocated to Britain and the Soviet Union were, I think they must be far superior to us in terms of numbers. I don't want to know if anyone else has interfered on this list. But isn't it too unfair for us for the U.S. government to do this? ”

"In terms of material distribution, except for cotton, cloth and leather, which cannot be directly used in combat, it is still relatively sufficient. In terms of other military-industrial materials, we have only 6,000 tons of smokeless gunpowder and 10,000 tons of explosives per year. There was no armor steel and the aluminum needed to make the aircraft, only 32,000 tons of steel for guns and 50,000 tons of steel for ammunition per year. ”

"The amount of fuel we urgently need is no more than 50,000 tons per year. The cars are more generous, and there are only 10,000 per year. However, there is a blank space in other material aspects. Especially in terms of the equipment we urgently need, except for some of the production lines of light weapons, you simply do not pull out a dime a dozen for us. ”

"Mr. Hopkins, with all due respect, according to the total amount of these supplies you have given. Even if all the safety is in place on time, in full, and meticulously, and some of them are not deducted by some aspects during transportation, it is almost impossible to meet half of the materials we need. ”

"The battle lasted just over two months, and the vast amount of supplies we had stockpiled before the war was almost exhausted. The fuel consumption of cars, tanks and airplanes in the entire battle reached more than 20,000 tons. Not only have we consumed all the 3,000 tons of gasoline we imported from you, but we have also exhausted all the gasoline we had in reserve. ”

"As for the consumption of ammunition, not counting anti-aircraft shells and small-caliber artillery, only mortar shells and mountain artillery shells consumed millions of rounds. As for the consumption of light weapons and ammunition, as well as other materiel, it has not yet been counted. Not counting the amount produced during the battle, the original reserves before the war were basically exhausted. ”

"Mr. Hopkins, since you already know what happened last night, you should also know why we took the initiative to end this battle in the face of victory, instead of having a single soldier chase after the poor. And this battle is just a medium-sized battle. ”

"If the U.S. side wants us to be able to take on more responsibility and share more pressure. Such a small fight will never work as you hope. And your stinginess and stinginess in terms of materials and equipment need us to make up for it with the blood of our soldiers. ”

"And the amount of supplies you have allocated to us is still the amount of heavy equipment that is not much in the first place, and it is very likely that it will not be able to meet it. Mr. Hopkins, are you Americans playing with us? Heavy equipment is difficult for you to provide, and we are not unacceptable at all. ”

"You're going to have to do something else, let's at least maintain our combat and offensive capabilities. If you don't give it, we should make it ourselves. But our industrial foundation is there. Even if the construction is completed, it will not be able to meet the needs of the troops in combat. In terms of military raw materials, we have a greater demand for your materials. ”

"But with such a small amount of supplies you give, I will say something unpleasant, you are not helping an ally, you are sending Hanako. I'm sorry, though I don't want to describe it that way. But this little thing you gave me that was not enough to even stuff my teeth made me have to think so. ”

"The Japanese army is not tofu scum, and it is not sand that can be pushed and poured. They are an army trained by rigorous, even rather brutal methods. Facing such an army, especially the Kwantung Army, which was their most elite strategic group. We can only devote more energy and strength to fighting them in order to win every battle. ”

"Moreover, both in terms of the number of people that can be mobilized and the overall war potential of the country, Japan is far superior to us. It's a pity, Mr. Hopkins, not to mention the military-industrial base. Even with the size of our current population, even if we are willing to pay blood, we cannot afford to compensate. ”