Wavell looked in the direction of his finger, his eyes passed over the face of a British soldier, he raised and lowered his right foot, turned around and said: "Ask them what they are doing, wouldn't it be better to ask Commander-in-Chief Ouyang directly for confirmation."
Because of this episode, the first question Wavell asked after meeting Ouyang Yun was related to this.
Ouyang Yun's answer was: "They are now volunteers in our student army."
"Volunteers" is translated into English as "volunteers", and the meaning is very clear. Wavell's face became even more ugly, because there were only more than 3,000 British soldiers who escaped from Lanluga. Wavell didn't pay too much attention to them at first. His intention is that if the Chinese people are too demanding, then I will not want these people. He thinks that he has clearly seen Ouyang Yun's character and knows that it is impossible to take advantage of this "stingy man" in vain. But now, in After seeing these British soldiers with his own eyes, he changed his mind. The current British army in India is really short of elite soldiers with this kind of appearance. This is secondary. What he values most is that these British soldiers may contribute to India after they return. The overall changes brought about by the British army,
Before starting the formal talks, Wavell calculated an account. After the more than 3,000 British soldiers returned, a single soldier could at least be promoted to be a squad leader. Calculating based on 3,000, given a certain period of time, then he would have at least 3,000 soldiers under his command. He needs 30,000 elite soldiers of this kind, and with these 30,000 elite soldiers, he will be much more capable in the subsequent Burma defense war.
Wavell was really stimulated. Ouyang Yun's plan succeeded. Before the talks started, he had already taken the great initiative. Regarding the apology, because Churchill had already given instructions, Wavell immediately promised to achieve results during the talks. I will make a public apology in the future in front of Chinese, Thai and French reporters.
The British apologized sincerely, and the next step was to discuss matters related to compensation. At this time, Wavell kicked the ball and directly rejected some of Ouyang Yun's requests because he did not have the right to make decisions. This also made the first meeting between the two Parted unhappy,
That night, Clary arrived in Bangkok,
Clary benefited a lot from his stay in Hanoi during this period. He learned a lot of advanced training methods and combat concepts by watching the cadet training group train the French Resistance Army. He also admired the cadet army more and more, and has quietly turned into a " "Pro-Chinese elements", so when Wavell asked him to help make suggestions to deal with Ouyang Yun's unreasonable demands, he in turn persuaded Wavell to agree to the terms of the Xuebing Army, thinking that this would leave a good impression on the Chinese and thus create a good foundation for both armies. Deepen cooperation and lay a good foundation: "The rise of the Xuebing Army is an iron fact. I am sure that in time, the Far East will be the world of the Chinese. Commander-in-Chief, befriend the Xuebing Army while they are still in their infancy. This will It will definitely help the empire maintain its long-term existence in the Far East."
After listening to Craly's words, if he didn't know him very well, Wavell would almost suspect that this confidant had been bribed by the Chinese. The same words coming out of Craly's mouth gave Wavell a feeling. It's different. He nodded and said: "I admit that the student army is indeed very powerful. The soldiers in the Lanluga Prisoner of War Camp who have been briefly trained by them outside are proof of this. But this Ouyang Yun's appetite is really too big. Based on my feelings towards Churchill, Knowing the Prime Minister’s understanding, he will definitely not agree.”
"Not necessarily, Your Excellency, have you forgotten the letter I wrote to you? I can see that the Chinese are serious. The French Far East Fleet is just a decoration for the French. If it falls into the hands of the Germans, we It's better to be a favor and hand it over to the Xuebing Army. With the Far East Fleet as the backing, it should be able to feed the Chinese people."
"Clarley, do you have any evidence? The Japanese have occupied the Strait of Malacca. The French Far East Fleet is now just a decoration. What do the Chinese want it to do?"
"Let's test it out tomorrow."
A well-fed man does not know a hungry man. Of course, the British, who have the strongest navy in the world, will not understand Ouyang Yun's thirst for large ships. You must know that in order to obtain the French Far East Fleet, Ouyang Yun is really ready to help the British go deep into Singapore to rescue them. He has more than 30,000 prisoners of war. At this moment, his confidential secretary Xin Bao's document bag contains his draft action plan.
I will not go into details about the specific meeting process on the second day. What outsiders can feel the obvious change is that it is in sharp contrast to the unhappy breakup the day before. When the meeting ended that day, Ouyang Yun and Wavell walked out with smiles on their faces. in the conference room, and that evening, Prime Minister Shinawatra held a welcome reception for both parties in the name of the Thai government. At the reception, the student soldiers and the British generals had a pleasant chat with each other holding glasses. Moreover, the Lanluga prisoner-of-war death squad had More than ten general officers were invited to the reception and toasted to Wavell and Crary as subordinates.
After returning to their residence that night, Wavell and Craley had another in-depth conversation. Because they had determined that Ouyang Yun was indeed planning on the French Far East Fleet, and this could only be achieved through them, Wavell felt much more relaxed and his thinking became more complicated. Opening up (actually he thought he had caught Ouyang Yun's weakness and his appetite was whetted), he said to Crary: "Since the Chinese are determined to win the French Far East Fleet, then we may really consider rescuing Singaporean prisoners of war. .”
Clary didn't know whether this was true or not. He had more contact with the cadets and understood their way of thinking better. In today's meeting, although they had found out the bottom line of the cadets, their own bottom line was also exposed, so He felt that the Far East Fleet alone was not enough to achieve the two goals, and he also had other hopes for the ultimate outcome of this meeting, so after thinking for a while he asked: "Commander-in-Chief, what is the cabinet's final opinion on this meeting?" Are there clear instructions on what to achieve?"
Wavell was in high spirits when he heard the words and replied: "I didn't say it clearly, but I think the officers and soldiers rescued from Lanluga Prisoner of War Camp must come back."
Clary smiled bitterly: "That's another condition."
"Conditions, what kind of conditions are these? They are all troops of our British Empire."
"But, didn't you feel it at today's cocktail party? That Major Willie was hesitant to speak. Commander-in-Chief, I'm sure that the Xuebing Army must have done something, otherwise Willie and the others would never be That kind of attitude.”
Wavell was stunned for a moment, and then he recalled that when he passed by Willy and the others, no one in the group saluted him. The old man understood something, his face became serious, and he said sternly: " If this is the case, then the Chinese will never get the Far East Fleet. On this point, I will never give in."
Craley shook his head and reminded kindly: "Commander-in-Chief, in that case, today's situation will be completely destroyed again. Otherwise, we can ask the cabinet for their opinion."
Wavell had already experienced Ouyang Yun's toughness the day before yesterday. After hearing this, he was stunned for a while and sighed: "It seems that this is the only way. I hope the cabinet can give good suggestions."