Chapter 972 971 [Transition]
(PS: In the previous chapter, some book friends questioned the Battle of Zhongtiao Mountain. Here is a brief explanation. At that time, 40% of the elites of the national army in Zhongtiao Mountain were in the Fourth Army, and the Fourth Army was developed from Yang Hucheng’s troops. It was very pro-communist. Chiang Kai-shek transferred the Fourth Army to suppress the guerrilla defense areas and took the opportunity to carry out a large-scale purge of the Fourth Army. The author did not say that the Fourth Army did not resist Japan. On the contrary, the Fourth Army was very fierce. And pro-Communist.
To be honest, Wei Lihuang, the commander-in-chief of that battle, also took the blame, because Chiang Kai-shek felt that Wei Lihuang was also suspected of being pro-communist, so he had Wei Lihuang dumped in disguise before the war broke out. Wei Lihuang had no actual command authority, so he could only take passive defensive measures.
Therefore, the disastrous defeat in the Battle of Zhongtiao Mountain was normal. Before the battle started, Wei Lihuang, the brains of the defenders, was "beheaded", and the Fourth Army, the mainstay of the defenders, was "cramped". After experiencing "decapitation cramps", the national troops in Zhongtiao Mountain were like patients without brains and spines. How could they defeat the surging Japanese invaders? In this battle, Chiang Kai-shek and the Japanese army cooperated perfectly, making Chiang Kai-shek look like a Japanese spy. )
No more gossip, let’s get down to business.
While U.S. Special Envoy Curry was inspecting China's legal currency situation and meeting with dignitaries from various Chinese political parties, Zhou's residence suddenly received visits for half a month.
The "Southern Anhui Incident" greatly devastated the people of the Nationalist Government. All parties and democrats, including many members of the Kuomintang, felt they could no longer endure it. They advocated unity and democracy to resist Japan and abandoned all internal strife, so they secretly formed the "League of Democratic Political Groups" - the predecessor of the "Democratic League".
Groups such as the Youth Party, the National Socialist Party, the Vocational Education Society, the Rural Construction Association, and the National Liberation Committee all participated, and Zhou Hexuan was not surprised to be invited. It's just that Zhou Hexuan has not joined any group, and the "League of Democratic Political Groups" does not accept individual members for the time being, so they want to absorb Zhou Hexuan into an organization before joining.
Zhou Hexuan declined politely. He did not want to join any group, but secretly donated 5,000 yuan to the "League of Democratic Political Groups" for funding.
As for Chang Kaishen's cooperation negotiations with the United Kingdom and the United States, they were both smooth and disappointing.
Chang Kaishen hopes to cooperate with Britain and the United States in the Far East, but he has not directly mentioned an alliance. But Britain looks at the United States, and the United States refuses to let go. The Far East cooperation plan is simply impossible to realize.
However, U.S. Special Envoy Curry discovered that China's inflation was severe and its legal currency was almost turning into waste paper. The situation was so serious that it could not support the war of resistance. As a result, the United States agreed to borrow 50 million US dollars to stabilize the value of the legal currency, and at the same time urged the United Kingdom to borrow 5 million pounds from China.
Including the US metal borrowing in February, this time the United States borrowed a total of US$100 million from China within two months (actual payment was US$60 million).
As Japan's aggression in Southeast Asia intensified, Churchill panicked. After borrowing 5 million pounds from China in April, he lent another 5 million pounds to China in June. In total, he actually gave China 10 million pounds. .
We can't blame Churchill for being stingy. At this time, Britain was already financially bankrupt, and the 10 million pounds it could lend to China were all extracted from it.
In comparison, the United States seems less authentic. It was clearly promised that it would give 50 million, but it actually received only 10 million. Moreover, among all the foreign loans China made during the War of Resistance, the interest rate for borrowing money from the United States was the highest, much higher than that of the Soviet Union and the United Kingdom. It was not until the outbreak of the Pacific War that it suddenly became generous (a direct loan of US$500 million without interest).
When Britain and the United States were borrowing heavily from China, the Soviet Union's attitude towards China suddenly became subtle. Previously, the Soviet Union had borrowed a total of US$250 million from China and provided various arms support. However, in April this year, it suddenly signed the "Japan-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact".
The reason is that the situation in Europe is becoming more and more severe, and the Soviet Union must fully defend against Germany. Japan also wants to invade Southeast Asia and the Pacific on a large scale, and cannot conflict with the Soviet Union for the time being. As a result, the Soviet Union and Japan hit it off and sold China and Germany respectively.
Incidentally, the Flying Tigers were being formed, with secret support from Roosevelt, and by this time Chennault had returned to the United States to recruit volunteer pilots.
Song Meiling and Kong Xiangxi are still doing something. Last year, the Chinese Air Force was defeated by the Zero fighter planes, and the two immediately started buying aircraft. Kong Xiangxi plans to order 50 Hawker aircraft and 30 CW21 interceptor aircraft, with a total price of US$4 million, which is not outrageous from the price point of view. The actual purchaser planned to save a fortune, and after many efforts, successfully reduced the price by 7%, saving the country approximately US$300,000.
In the spring of 1941, 50 Hawker aircraft were finally shipped to China, but the remaining 30 interceptor aircraft were bombed by the Japanese army in Myanmar. At this time, Kong Xiangxi proposed to order 160 American aircraft, but after much negotiation, only 80 were purchased, and it was not known when they would be delivered - anyway, the author could not find out the whereabouts of these aircraft.
Due to the visit of US Special Envoy Curry to China, Roosevelt realized that the situation in China was more serious than imagined. Therefore, Roosevelt intercepted 100 P40Bs originally sold to the United Kingdom and shipped them to China in May - these aircraft were the assets of the "Flying Tigers" when they were first established.
Judging from the changes in the attitudes of Britain, the United States and the Soviet Union towards China, the Soviet-German war is on the verge of breaking out, and wars in Southeast Asia and the Pacific are not far away.
Zhou Hexuan is free for the time being. He usually writes books at home, gives lectures at universities, and makes donations every now and then.
The "Chongqing Tunnel Massacre" that killed tens of thousands of people cannot happen again, because the largest air-raid shelter in Chongqing was built with donations from Zhou Hexuan. He specifically ordered that the air-raid shelter doors must be opened outwards. The remaining air-raid shelters, after Zhou Hexuan communicated with the Chongqing Air Defense Command, also opened their doors to the outside.
How did the Chongqing Tunnel Massacre happen?
There were too many people in the air-raid shelter, and there was a lack of oxygen. People crowded out like crazy. But the door opened inwards, and the more people squeezed out, the less likely they were to rush out, because the doors were blocked. In the end, tens of thousands of people were suffocated to death in the air-raid shelters.
Under Zhou Hexuan's supervision, this situation will be avoided. As long as something happens inside, if more people squeeze out, they can break the iron lock outside and forcefully escape.
Early April.
Cui Huifu suddenly came over with a letter: "Sir, Professor Jin Yuelin wrote from Lizhuang, hoping to support a batch of medicines."
Tongji University, Jinling University Research Institute, Academia Sinica and China Construction Society have moved to Lizhuang, but the situation is very bad. Jin Yuelin said in the letter that Lizhuang was extremely short of supplies and had nothing. Lin Hui suffered from a lung disease and had a 40-degree fever for a month. He had no choice but to carry it without medicine.
Jin Yuelin hoped that Zhou Hexuan could support a batch of medicines, not only for Lin Huiyin, but also for all the scholars, teachers and students of Lizhuang.