The several small naval battles that took place in the Celebes Sea, because Japan invested in the brand-new Fifty Special Attack Aircraft, not only attracted high-level attention from both warring parties, but also attracted the attention of the Americans, British and even Needless to say, the United States and the United Kingdom have a strong interest in the French. Japan is now their number one and number two enemy. The reason why France joins in the fun is partly because it is in the Allied camp; After the Free French moved to New Delhi with the Queen's government, they would also face the Japanese threat.
The Americans turned to the Pacific Fleet for help in withdrawing the U.S. troops stationed in the Philippines. On the one hand, they were forced to do so, and on the other hand, they also wanted to test the true combat power of the Pacific Fleet. There were Pagar, Wainwright IV, etc. The Americans provided first-hand intelligence, and the Americans were able to grasp the movements of the Pacific Fleet anytime and anywhere. As expected by U.S. Secretary of the Navy Knox, Japan indeed dispatched a fleet to intercept and destroy it, but the result was a surprise for them. Unexpectedly, the Japanese lost a lot of troops and even dispatched the latest Fifty special attack aircraft. The result was only slight damage to the Huangdi aircraft carrier and the exchange of a few Whitebacks. This forced them to re-examine the true strength of the Pacific Fleet. , the cheap words about "learning from the Pacific Fleet is just Ouyang Yun's super toy" can no longer be said.
Because Ouyang Yun has never expressed his attitude on whether the Second Expeditionary Army will help the US military defend Australia. Roosevelt, who had already experienced his style of spending every penny in Cairo, originally gave up this plan in order to avoid being plotted by Ouyang Yun again. , Roosevelt’s decision was also the opinion of Knox and others. Among them, the current commander of the US Pacific Fleet, Admiral King, and the Secretary of the Army, Stimson, had the strongest reaction. They clearly opposed increasing aid to China. Their reason was that the Far East The balance of strength among various countries is in the best interest of the United States. After Japan, the United States does not want another regional power in the Far East. This trend of thought was once the mainstream thought of the upper class in Washington. However, after the Battle of the Celebes Sea, the United States People suddenly discovered that imitating the Pacific Fleet was not just superficial, but a real strategic force. In view of the tense situation in the Pacific and Australian battlefields, some people proposed that the Chinese should be allowed to assume more responsibilities. Their reason was the same In the future, more unnecessary casualties of American boys could be reduced. The first person to make relevant suggestions was Lattimore, director of the Pacific Branch of the U.S. Wartime Intelligence Agency. Lattimore used World War I as an example to support his suggestions, believing that the later the United States enters the war, it will be more harmful to the country. The more advantageous it is, he believes that the Japanese army is currently in the limelight, and if the United States fully participates in the war at this time, it will inevitably have to pay a greater price. He suggested that before the United States is attacked again, the country should be committed to preparing for war rather than fighting, so as to accumulate strength and wait for the final outcome. The right time to counterattack,
Lattimore had the most Japanese intelligence, and his evaluation of the Japanese army was therefore the most convincing. Stimson was the first to be tempted. The U.S. Army standing force was small in size. Although it was urgently expanded to nearly two million people, 100% of them were Seventy percent of the troops were reservists and recruits, which made Stimson lack of self-confidence. At this time, Lattimore gave an excuse to delay the dispatch of troops, and he naturally had to hold on tightly. After Stimson, Secretary of the Navy Knox consulted King After the opinions of the admirals and other commanders of the navy's front-line forces, they also tended to this understanding. Under their influence, Roosevelt also realized that this was not the best time to fully participate in the war, at least not the best time to counterattack, so he and his men After discussing with the staff, they decided to continue to adopt the strategy of exchanging money for time, using US dollars and weapons and equipment in exchange for the help of the student army, so that the student army could help the US military stabilize the Australian defense line.
Therefore, while the Pacific Fleet was still sailing in the Maluku Sea, a telegram signed by Roosevelt from the White House was sent to Guangzhou and was immediately handed over to Ouyang Yun.
Ouyang Yun was presiding over a pre-war mobilization meeting for division commanders and above. This was the meeting attended by the most senior officers since the establishment of the Xuebing Army. Ouyang Yun, Jiang Guangnai, Li Tieshu, Ji Xingwen, Chu Tiange, Tie Linfei, Chen Ce, Chen Yuanyang, Shan Renxiong, Ye Zhao, Stern... In addition to Chen Shichang, Guo Kui, Hu Li, Jiang Dahe, and other generals were all present, and many of them had not seen each other for more than two years. , the Japanese army's Qinling offensive has become more and more fierce, and is currently engaged in a fierce battle with the Chinese army in Hanzhong. According to the news sent back by Hu Tong, although the Chinese army has 300,000 people, the Central Army has less than 100,000 people, while other The local army of 200,000 is extremely poorly equipped, so the fall of Hanzhong will only be a matter of time. Once Hanzhong is lost, the Japanese army can march into Guangyuan. Although the traffic situation between Guangyuan and Hanzhong is complicated and is not conducive to the attack, because the Chinese army is defending in Xi'an His performance was extremely weak in the Battle of Hanzhong. Ouyang Yun felt that Guangyuan would definitely not be able to hold it. Guangyuan was the northern gateway to Chengdu. Once Guangyuan fell, the whole of Sichuan would be wide open. By then, Chengdu would definitely not be protected. If Chengdu was lost again, If so, then the Sichuan rear area would no longer exist. What kind of changes would happen at that time, Ouyang Yun simply could not imagine. Ouyang Yun originally wanted to wait for the arrival of the first batch of US aid ordnance to build up the framework of the coalition army. He once again planned to encircle Wei and rescue Zhao, but now he did not dare to wait any longer.
It has become urgent to launch a counterattack on the north bank of the Yangtze River.
In addition to the elders of the Xuebing Army, the attendees also included Shaoshuai Zhang and other "newcomers" who had just been integrated into the Northeast Army. Marshal Zhang appeared in Guangzhou and changed into the uniforms of the Xuebing Army with his generals. This incident caused an uproar. Three hundred thousand Northeastern troops surrendered to the three northeastern provinces without firing a single shot. This has made the Chinese people always look at the Northeastern military officers and soldiers with a critical and disdainful emotion. The Cantonese people now regard the Xuebing Army as their own soldiers. , and were proud of the Xue Bing Army's firm stance in the war of resistance. Therefore, when they heard that the entire Northeastern Army had been merged into the Xue Bing Army, they felt very uncomfortable. Many people even worried that the Northeast Army's inclusion would affect Because of the reputation of the Xuebing Army, the officers and soldiers of the Northeast Army did not dare to leave the barracks easily in the first few days because they really couldn't stand the Cantonese people's comments about them, and it was Lao Chiang Kai-shek who reacted the most violently. , Lao Jiang sent three telegrams to Marshal Zhang in one day. First, he asked him to give an explanation and asked why he betrayed the central government and betrayed brotherhood. Then he hoped that he would proceed from the overall situation and the purpose of safeguarding national unity and serve the Japanese army. In critical moments when launching large-scale offensives in Shaanxi, Sichuan and other rear areas, we can lead our troops back to Chongqing to help the central government overcome this difficulty...
Three telegrams sent by Chiang Kai-shek to Marshal Zhang in his own name were handed over to Ouyang Yun intact, to express his firm stance of joining the Xuebing Army.
Ouyang Yun just smiled and retreated. He was not pretending, but firmly believed that under the current situation, the Northeast Army really had no better way out besides relying on the Xuebing Army. Moreover, in the Northeast Army and the Northeast Army who went to Guangdong After getting in touch with lower-level officers and soldiers in the army, he discovered that the Northeastern officers and soldiers had a strong hatred of Japan. For this reason, many of them felt lucky to be able to return to the country to fight the Japanese. There was another thing that made him very sad to hear Regarding the matter, the lower-level soldiers of the Northeast Army had not received military pay for a long time, so when they first heard that joining the student army would receive at least five training dollars per month, they did not believe it was true. After the news was confirmed, many people shed tears because of it. This made him sad and at the same time more convinced that even for the five yuan of pay alone, the lower-level soldiers of the Northeast Army would not allow such a thing to happen.
The Northeastern Army has a strong warlord atmosphere, so Ouyang Yun, Ji Xingwen and others initially judged that there would be objections within the Northeastern Army. In order to avoid malignant events such as mutiny, they obtained the consent of Marshal Zhang and even made a special plan for this purpose. A meeting was held and several contingency plans were put forward, but Ouyang Yun was relieved that this kind of thing has not happened until now.
There is no problem with Ouyang Yun and Ji Xingwen's judgment. In the Northeast Army, many senior generals regard their troops as personal property. Under normal circumstances, they would not hand over their troops easily, but this time is different from the past. On the one hand, , the Northeastern Army now has no source of pay and logistical supplies, and the burden on the troops is heavier for them; on the other hand, the prosperity of Guangzhou and the strength of the student army have made them realize that joining the student army may not necessarily be possible. It is a bad thing, so even if they have different ideas in their hearts, they will make the right choice even if it is for the immediate benefit.
Among the senior generals of the Northeastern Army present at the meeting, Yu Xuezhong had dealt with the Xuebing Army many times. Not only did he have an objective understanding of the strength of the Xuebing Army, but he also had some knowledge of Ouyang Yun's personality, so he behaved well towards the Xuebing Army. He has the most sense of belonging. During the meeting, he was also the most active among the participating generals of the Northeast Army.
During a break from the meeting, he sat with Ouyang Yun and others, drinking tea and chatting, and said a very representative sentence: "When I came to Guangzhou, I found that I had become a country bumpkin."
Marshal Zhang must have felt the same way, and then said: "It's not just you, I think all of us in the Northeast Army also feel this way."
Ouyang Yun, Ji Xingwen and others looked at each other and smiled, knowing what they were referring to. Ji Xingwen smiled and said: "Actually, it's not just you. When Xuebing R&D Institute just built the first TV, I thought it was As for the large kaleidoscope, I was wondering when the Commander-in-Chief got into the machine and could he do magic?"
Everyone laughed, and Ouyang Yun laughed and said: "This is the power of technology." Then he said meaningfully: "Whether a country is strong or not, scientific and technological strength is crucial, so although sometimes the battle reports coming back from the front line It’s frustrating, but as long as I think that we have the most advanced arsenal, electronics factory, pharmaceutical factory, and chemical factory in the world, my confidence will return immediately the next second.”