Although Yang Zhen here advocates that instead of desperately trying to win over him, the British should arm Chongqing's troops and let them send troops to participate in the war. However, Yang Zhen is not simply asking Chongqing to jump into the fire pit for him. Instill in the Americans the importance of arming Chongqing in advance to maintain the war situation in Southeast Asia.
Of course, in addition to urging the Americans to equip the national army in advance, Yang Zhen also had many things to do. He needed to say hello to the plenipotentiary representative of the United States in the Anti-Resistance League in advance, especially the selfishness of the British. Yang Zhen had to give this guy in advance It is a precautionary measure to prevent the United States and Britain from placing all the blame on the Chinese after the defeat in Myanmar.
Yang Zhen knocked on the armrest of the sofa, looked at Pearson who was thoughtful about his suggestion, paused and continued: "But there is a premise, that is, you must not be waffling in command, as long as you are not wrangling in command. , I think there is no problem in holding Burma."
"But the U.S. government also needs to be wary of the British, pull the Chinese to back them up, and preserve its strength to protect their India. I believe that as long as the bullish behavior in command can be solved, all parties can work together in one place, and don't act independently. Keeping in mind the little capital and family property that I have, although I cannot save Malaya and the Dutch East Indies, I will not have a problem protecting Burma."
"Pearson, no one in this world will be selfless in anything. All parties are considering their own interests. I think as long as all parties agree on the big interests, some things are not insurmountable. As for how to achieve this, it depends on whether the US government can stand on a position that is at least roughly fair."
"As long as Burma is defended, even if Malaya and Singapore are lost, a counterattack base can still be guaranteed in Southeast Asia, and the Nationalist Government in trouble can also ensure a safe external channel to maintain their combat capabilities. , and we can firmly contain more elite Japanese divisions in the Northeast on the Chinese battlefield."
"Pearson, you are also a soldier. You should know how much disaster it will bring if these divisions of the Kwantung Army are deployed in Southeast Asia, or even the entire Pacific battlefield, not to mention the entire Southeast Asia. If the Japanese army wants to, then Australia , British India, and even Hawaii will be their targets."
"Don't forget, the Japanese have a navy in the Pacific that is not inferior to yours, and compared to the U.S. Navy, which faces two oceans and has to maintain naval operations in both oceans when necessary, the Japanese can be more effective Concentrate your naval power."
"As for the British Navy, unless they abandon the European battlefield, their ability to invest in the Pacific battlefield is extremely limited. Once the Japanese achieve a corresponding victory at the beginning of the war, then they can concentrate their powerful forces in the next battle. The navy can land at any location, including India and Australia, which have vast coastlines."
"If Australia and British India are lost, it will be a real disaster for the future Pacific battlefield. Although you cannot say that you have lost all your counterattack bases, your counterattack bases will have to retreat thousands of kilometers. This means that In future wars, you will lose the most important supply base, and you will also lose an important base for soldiers to recuperate, and for all allies, you will also lose an important agricultural product base."
"Even further, the Japanese may directly pose a threat to Hawaii. If Hawaii is lost again, the entire American continent will be like a woman who has been stripped of all her clothes, exposed to the muzzles and bayonets of the Japanese army, leaving the resistance to the enemy. The United States should stay in the Northeast to attract and contain this heavy Japanese army group so that it cannot divide its forces to go south. Joining other battlefields will only be more powerful for the United States in the future."
"I don’t think I need to emphasize the importance of the Northeast to the Japanese. The Japanese have always advocated Manchuria and Mongolia as their lifeline. I think this alone is enough to explain. If the Northeast, especially South Manchuria, is completely lost, industrial base, the Japanese will no longer have any confidence to launch a war."
"And our main force staying in the Northeast can not only contain the Japanese Kwantung Army Group, but also the North China Front Army and the Korean Army. A considerable part of the forces of these two strategic groups. Pearson, you can't hope that these Japanese military strategies will be implemented in the future. The various divisions under the group's jurisdiction will eventually fall to your US military."
"Pearson, we can't lose sight of one thing and lose the other. For the sake of a few British colonies that can be completely abandoned during the war, we have lost the watermelons and picked up the sesame seeds. We have to pay an unnecessary price to defend a few places that are simply impossible to hold. , and gave up the restraint on the largest strategic group of the Japanese army, allowing them to easily mobilize their troops wherever they want."
"I heard that Pearson is a top student at West Point Military Academy. Although he has not served in the field army for a long time, I think you should still have some necessary strategic vision. Tell me the truth. From your point of view, once The Japanese army set out from Thailand and attacked Malaya with the cooperation of the navy. Given the geographical location of Malaya facing the sea on both sides, could it be defended without the support of the navy?"
"There are also Singapore and Hong Kong, these two small places. Even if it is difficult for the Japanese army to land from the sea, then launching an attack from the land behind them, not to mention how many troops are mobilized to participate in the war, will cut off these two places' extreme access to the mainland behind them. The defenders there are dying of thirst because of the water source they rely on. In fact, such a battle would have been lost if we didn’t fight it.”
"The main force of the British Navy is placed on the European battlefield. The navy in Asia is no match for the Japanese army. In addition, the British Army's own shortcomings and the troops deployed in Southeast Asia cannot even be called third-rate. As a Malaya cannot actually defend the peninsula with its two sides facing the sea."
"I think the British, including you Americans, are blindly condoning the expansion of the Japanese for their own interests. At present, the bayonets have been pressed against the Japanese troops in the British Southeast Asian colonies and the Philippines. Without much effort, they will be in the shortest time. It swept the entire Southeast Asia within a short period of time.”
"Don't think that the dense jungles on the Malayan Peninsula will stop the Japanese offensive. As a soldier who has fought with the Japanese army for so many years, I can tell you and your British colleagues bluntly that the Japanese army's endurance and ability to endure hardships are It is unmatched by any army in the world."
"Their ability to persist in fighting when they are short of supplies in a short period of time is far beyond what you call Europeans. I have been dealing with the Japanese on the battlefield for so many years, and I have seen them survive with just a handful of rice. The Japanese army that supported the three-day battle had seen Japanese soldiers who were forced to march and died from exhaustion, but they had never seen Japanese soldiers who were afraid of adversity."
"The dense tropical rainforest on the Malayan Peninsula will have a certain impact on the Japanese army's supplies, but it will definitely not be an obstacle to the Japanese army's attack on Malaya, not to mention that the Japanese army has already carried out attacks on the tropical rainforest in Hainan Island and Vietnam. Adaptive training, the tropical rainforest that is daunting to outsiders, is not an insurmountable difficulty for the Japanese army."
"If I were a British person, I would choose to abandon Malaya, which is actually completely undefendable, and withdraw the troops currently stationed on the Malay Peninsula to British Burma. In this way, even if they fail in Southeast Asia, they will not lose. It is too ugly. At least the hundreds of thousands of troops in British Malaya can be preserved and used to defend Burma, India, or the North African theater."
"Pearson, since I know that Malaya cannot be defended at all, do you think I will act as a scapegoat for the British and defend Malaya for them just for the little supplies they have? As for Burma, if you don't want If we start a big fight with Chongqing now, I have no objection if you insist on letting me go."
"Do you think the Nationalist Government can safely hand over its rear and even blood vessels to our army of a foreign party? I can tell you responsibly that the Nationalist Government will definitely firmly oppose our entry into Myanmar, and even It is not impossible to use force to solve the problem."
"I can tell you clearly that once such a problem occurs, it will be a real disaster for the Americans. Don't forget that the British are mainly focused on Europe, North Africa and the Near East. It is you Americans who will support the overall situation in the Pacific battlefield in the future. If you want Americans to pay more blood, you can absolutely stick to your idea."
"Actually, instead of using those equipment to win over me, it would be more appropriate for the British to provide some assistance to Chongqing or strengthen their Far East Air Force. My troops are all from the north thousands of kilometers away from Southeast Asia. I simply can’t adapt to the climate there.”
"As for Chongqing, which currently has mostly soldiers from the south, this problem will not arise. The climate in southern China is called subtropical. Soldiers from there will be more adaptable to the hot climate of Southeast Asia. And I think for Maintain the last external channel, even if you don't say anything, Chongqing will take the initiative to help defend Myanmar."
"The British view is sometimes very short-sighted. I think it is very difficult for them to shed so much blood. I can only hope that the Americans will not pay unnecessary prices for the British short-sightedness." , and we don’t want the United States and China to pay more for their short-sightedness.”
Yang Zhen's words obviously had at least some effect on Pearson at the moment. After hearing Yang Zhen's words, Pearson, who was already somewhat silent, became even more silent. He looked at the silent man who was quietly Pearson, who was thinking quietly, smiled and Yang Zhen knew that his goal was at least partially achieved.
After thinking about it for a moment, Yang Zhen decided to take another drastic step: "In this way, Pearson, I promise you, if the equipment promised by the British can be shipped before the end of the year, I will take action when the Japanese army really takes action in Southeast Asia. Take the initiative to launch a campaign depending on the situation so that the Japanese army cannot devote too many troops to the battlefield in Southeast Asia."
"But I don't want those Hurricane fighter jets. If they can replace those Hurricane fighter jets with American-made P-40 fighter jets, I will be more interested. If not, I hope to replace these Hurricane fighter jets with Sturt fighter jets." Lin bombers or Halifax bombers, so that we have the ability to directly bomb the Japanese mainland, instead of weakening the Japanese army's ability to continue combating as it is now."
"Pearson, this is the maximum I can do. You should know that the battle we are currently engaged in requires a lot of our energy and will require a lot of sacrifices. Without a long period of recovery, , it is difficult for us to launch two campaigns of similar scale in a short period of time."