Speaking of this, Hopkins emphasized: "Don't rely on others to send all the telegrams. You translate them yourself. Remember to keep an eye on them and send all the telegrams. And Lieutenant Colonel Pearson, I know you and them
We have a closer relationship and I appreciate them more."
"But I want to remind you that you are a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army, and everything must be done based on the interests of the United States. Your report has a great influence on the White House's decision-making, and is also an important basis for the White House's adjustment of its China policy. So I hope
In every report you make, you must consider your position and do not mix any personal feelings."
"Taking into account the current overall situation, the White House has decided to upgrade the level of the military observation group stationed in the Anti-Japanese War. However, it has been decided not to send additional personnel. You will still serve as the leader of this observation group. I have applied with the White House and you will be promoted to colonel.
Rank. In the coming years, the White House will not reappoint anyone to replace you."
"I think our friends will not have too little appetite. It is not easy to satisfy them at the moment. In future negotiations with them, you will participate in the entire process as my personal staff adjutant. This negotiation
There are many things I need your help with."
After Pearson left, Hopkins asked someone to make a cup of coffee. He 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 about. The cup of coffee in front of him...
After cooling down completely, I didn’t take a bite. I just occasionally wrote something on the notebook in front of me.
He didn't leave this small reception room for a whole day. He didn't even leave for lunch and dinner. He didn't leave this reception room until the negotiations started in the evening. As for other members of the American and British delegation who went out to visit,
, and never came back at all.
After visiting the field training base of the Anti-Japanese Alliance, at the strong request of Major General Stilwell, he went to inspect other Anti-Union troops. Hopkins did not pay much attention to the fact that these people did not return.
The more carefully a person looks, the better it will be for him to make a decision.
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 your request is? I hope you can come up with a specific number.
We will decide the amount of assistance to you based on the situation."
Regarding Hopkins' request, Yang Zhen was not vague and directly handed over the materials he had prepared long ago. This material, all of which had been translated into English, was slightly different from what Yang Zhen showed to the old coach. If
If the list that Yang Zhen showed to the boss was a condensed version, the details on this list are the real ones that speak loudly.
The condensed version given to the old coach was mainly a list of machines and equipment he wanted to get in addition to equipment. As for the quantity of equipment, it was not written on it. The quantity of supplies was his bottom line. This list
It was a bomb handed over by Yang Zhen. For him, negotiating would mean asking for a high price and paying back the money, right?
When Hopkins carefully read Yang Zhen's list of needed supplies, his first feeling was that the guy in front of him was extorting money. Facing the dozens of pages in front of him, he listed thousands of items.
The detailed list, as well as the demand for the logo at the back, made it impossible for Hopkins not to think of these two words.
Putting down the list of supplies proposed by Yang Zhen in his hand, Hopkins looked at Yang Zhen, who had a calm face, as if nothing had happened, but did not get angry for a long time. Instead, he said in an unusually calm tone: "General Yang, can you tell me this?"
What are you prepared to do with the things on this list? Are you capable of digesting such a huge amount of supplies?"
"There is an equipment demand for two thousand aircraft, fifteen hundred tanks, and one thousand artillery pieces every year. There are also demands for other heavy weapons such as cars and armored vehicles. Although it is a bit excessive, we do not understand it at all.
But I can’t understand all the other things on the list of supplies you want.”
"Thirty sets of electric furnaces for steelmaking per month. Fifteen sets of special steel and non-ferrous metal electric furnaces per month. Five hundred sets of various metal cutting machines, sixty forging presses, and other various machines and equipment.
, each month according to your requirements, we need to provide two million US dollars worth."
"Fifty thousand tons of various steels per month, 12,000 tons of armor steel. There are also 2,000 tons of aluminum, 1,000 tons of tin, 200 tons of nickel, 700 tons of chromium, and 5 tons of cobalt every month.
Seventeen hundred tons of various coppers. There are also various chemical products, special metals, telephone wires and various cables."
"Oh, there are also these. Five thousand kilometers of rails for railway lines every month, two hundred 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, General Yang can't
Are you planning to put all of Manchuria on railway lines?"
"The most important thing is this. Your control area is not close to the sea. Why do you need so many ships? Do you want to tell me that you are planning to form a navy in the river in front of us? Or are you planning to build a navy here?
How many destroyers should be placed in the inland river? Is your request a bit excessive?"
"I want to ask you, can you digest the materials we give you? Even if I agree to give you 70,000 tons of various steel materials every month, I ask you, do you have such a huge industry to digest so many raw materials?
?Can your aircraft manufacturing plant, which has not yet been officially put into production, be able to digest so much aluminum?"
"If you can digest it, is it a bit redundant for you to ask for two thousand planes per month? Can I doubt that your request for two thousand planes is not necessary at all? Don't forget
, in this conference room, just this morning, you told us that your industrial capabilities cannot meet your war needs."
"Your factories are still under construction, and most of them have not been officially put into production. So you need so many military raw materials for manufacturing tanks, aircraft, and artillery. Is it necessary? If we provide you with the corresponding
equipment, I’m afraid we don’t need to provide you with so much military raw materials anymore.”
"General Yang, we in the United States are enhancing your combat capabilities, but this does not mean that we can let you blackmail us. I'm sorry, the numbers on your supply list can only allow us to think so. You must know that the size of the army is larger than yours
The much larger Soviets and British have never asked for so much supplies."
In response to Hopkins's rhetorical question, Yang Zhen smiled and said: "Mr. Hopkins, please don't be angry. The number we proposed is not blackmail. You are right. We cannot digest such a large amount of supplies ourselves."
, at least we can’t digest it now. I have indeed admitted that our current military industry capabilities are insufficient.”
"But the reason why we proposed so many materials and machinery and equipment is to reduce dependence on the outside world as much as possible. A considerable part of those military raw materials are not simply to meet our own needs.
asked for."
"A considerable part of the materials produced are to be transferred to the Soviet Union. At the same time, a considerable part of the steel and chemical products are materials that we can provide to the US military when necessary. And this part of the materials is also
It didn't last throughout the war."
"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 Union. Since the outbreak of the Soviet-German war, they have also asked us many times to
Both weapons and equipment are provided.”
"In the first few days after you came, they threatened to cut off our external material channels and asked us to provide a large amount of similar equipment before the end of the year. Mr. Hopkins, in order to ensure that things like this will not happen again in the future.
, we can only agree to the Soviet Union’s request.”
"But to achieve this, our manufacturing capabilities, especially the reserves of industrial raw materials, are far from meeting the needs of the Soviets. This requires the United States to provide us with the machinery and equipment we need, as well as the corresponding raw materials
.In addition, I think that our provision of this batch of emergency weapons to the Soviet Union will also have corresponding benefits for the United States."
"If all these things are provided by the United States, it will also be a pressure on the United States. After all, once the United States gets involved in the war, it will also have to meet the needs of itself and the British army. Whether it is transportation or distance, we are far away from the Soviet Union in providing these materials.
Much closer than the United States."
"It would be much more convenient if these weapons were manufactured by us and then transferred to the Soviet Union. First, we would exercise our military production capabilities and prepare ourselves to reduce our dependence on the United States. Mr. Hopkins, the war
The consumption of equipment is huge.”
"We can't hand out everything to you. The war situation is ever-changing, and we must have at least some ability to be self-reliant. If the war situation becomes urgent and your transportation capacity or other problems arise, it will affect the delivery of equipment.
Time, then Mr. Hopkins is very important to us."
"Second, it can also free up the tonnage of the ship and transport other materials. Third, the most critical thing is to meet the needs of the Soviet Union in the shortest possible time when the corresponding production capacity in the United States has not yet been established.
.To ensure that the Soviet defense line will not be overwhelmed by German tanks."
"It is precisely because of the huge demand from the Soviet Union that we asked the United States to provide a batch of machinery and equipment and corresponding raw materials. You can ask Lieutenant Colonel Pearson about the performance of these weapons that the Soviet Union requested.
.Or you can ask Major General Stilwell after he returns."
"As for it being of some help to the United States, the reason is very simple. If a war breaks out between the United States and Japan, the United States can't just let us bear the burden of bombing Japan alone. Don't say that we don't have a strategy like the United States' B Twenty-Four and Seventeen
It would be very difficult for us to bear the bombers ourselves."
"And once the United States needs to launch strategic bombing against Japan, just like the British did on the European battlefield, then our base will undoubtedly become the best starting base for bombing. You know, our geographical location determines
We will become the main starting base during the strategic bombing of Japan. Even if the Japanese army does not capture the Philippines, its geographical location is not as good as ours."
"What's more, the shipping supply lines from the United States to the Philippines are almost entirely within the attack range of the Japanese navy. If the United States uses the Philippines as a base for bombing, then your routes and supplies may not be as good as those currently shrouded by German bombers.
There's no better place to be than Malta."
"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 right under the noses of Taiwan and Japan's navy and air force, and separated from your homeland by an entire Pacific Ocean. Simply relying on your small numbers, your combat effectiveness will not be enough."
Can even a third-rate colonial army hold the place?"