Chapter 30 Chapter Thirty

Who do you smoke if you don't? Chiang Kai-shek, who was kept awake all night by the battle of Yuxianggui (the Japanese "Operation No. 1"), had to deal with another war with Stilwell at this time. With the experience of actual combat, Stilwell has been able to be called a qualified American general, as evidenced by his victory in the Northern Burma Campaign, but his fatal flaws in communication and other aspects have never been improved. How did his diplomatic career get mixed up? The Chiang Kai-shek in his mouth does not even deserve a name, and is called "Peanut".

To deal with "Peanuts", Stilwell's classic trick is to get stuck - if you don't agree to my conditions, you won't give assistance. He may never have thought that even if you are a donor, the recipient still has self-respect, not to mention that Chinese people have treated face as a big thing since ancient times.Now one pile, one ton, one yuan, it all depends on your face, how can you let others live? In front of Stilwell, Chiang Kai-shek was simply a beggar. The disastrous defeat in the Battle of Henan, Hunan and Guangxi reflected the glory of the expeditionary force. Stilwell also would not put himself in the shoes of others to consider that, to a large extent, the victory of the second expedition was actually at the cost of the failure of Hunan and Guangxi.

Instead, he blamed all of this on Chiang Kai-shek's incompetence. It must be different for me to do it. Roosevelt, who was also very dissatisfied with the Chinese battlefield after Stilwell's blowing, personally came forward and sent four telegrams to Chiang Kai-shek, asking him to hand over all military power in the Chinese battlefield to Stilwell. Chiang Kai-shek agreed. He once hoped that the defense of Hengyang would stabilize the situation, but after the fall of Hengyang, the shadow of the failure of the War of Resistance was within sight. After seven years of bloody struggle, seeing the victory of the Allied Forces in sight, China itself could no longer sustain it, and even reached the double edge of economic collapse and military failure.

Chiang Kai-shek was disheartened. In order not to lose the aid of the allies at the critical moment, he was even willing to swallow the bitter pill of letting Stilwell take charge. At this time, Stilwell was truly glorious. After conquering Myitkyina, he was first promoted to a four-star general, and then he took over the post of commander-in-chief of the Southeast Asian Allied Forces from Mountbatten, and he was about to fly from India soon. Went to Chongqing to serve as the commander-in-chief of the Chinese Army. Old Qiao was very refreshed, thinking that the Burmese campaign he commanded changed "the attitude of these guys" and made them "no longer have the style of benefactors."

In fact, Stilwell is not a god. If he only had crappy equipment and troops, he would be helpless. Before the fall of Guilin, Stilwell flew from Burma to Guilin. Everyone hoped that this nosed old beauty would come up with a clever plan to save the crisis. Unexpectedly, he had only one conclusion: no fight. There is only one way: to transport all the materials and equipment of Gui and Liu. All he could do afterwards was to scold Chiang Kai-shek, thinking that "Peanut" was extremely stupid, neither willing to fight nor knowing how to fight, but only commanding blindly. This was not enough, so he ran back to Chongqing to continue arguing with Chiang Kai-shek in person.

On the other hand, since the failure of the first expedition, Chiang Kai-shek was full of disgust and disgust for Stilwell. This American from the other side of the ocean broke his heart, and even made him feel that only Chennault is a good person--a good American, because this little brother really helped me ("He did his best to help Hua Gai) "). However, it was not Chennault who Chiang Kai-shek liked best, but Stilwell who he hated the most, who had the right to distribute aid materials to China and who could speak to Roosevelt and other dignitaries. In this way, Chiang Kai-shek had to make "extremely unbearable" concessions again and again, even if it was wronged for him...

Stilwell felt that the troops stationed in India were not strong enough, so Chiang Kai-shek mobilized elite troops to form the First Army and the Sixth Army. On the contrary, when the Expeditionary Forces in Western Yunnan repeatedly attacked Longling, the troops stationed in India needed to attack Bhamo When trying to contain the Japanese army, Stilwell unceremoniously refused it on the grounds that the troops stationed in India needed to rest. Chiang Kai-shek's plan to appoint Stilwell as the commander of the armed forces was not only due to Roosevelt's pressure, but also because he hoped that Stilwell could change the bad situation in the war. It is to occupy Bhamo as soon as possible, and after completing the task of opening up the Sino-Indian highway, transfer the expeditionary force back to the country to participate in the war.Once friends turned enemies

But he was wrong, all Stilwell could do all day long was to quarrel and swear, regardless of the fact that the stall in China could no longer open. A week later, Chiang Kai-shek urged Stilwell to attack Bhamo again, but Stilwell still didn't take it seriously. Not only did he push back in person, but he also went to Roosevelt and Marshall to make a small report. The two sides were so disharmonious that Stilwell's promotion to the altar was not done for a while. On September 19, when the showdown came, it was not Chiang Kai-shek versus Stilwell, but Stilwell versus Chiang Kai-shek.

Stilwell drew up a telegram and then sent it to Roosevelt for initial signature. The President of the United States was in very bad health at the time, so he signed it after listening to it. Do you still think there is anything good in what Old Qiao wrote? He looks like he wants to fight people hand-to-hand, and when he writes, he really uses Chiang Kai-shek as a target. He wants to prove "the style of the American commander-in-chief." Every sentence in it contains a firecracker, which must blow "peanuts" to pieces. You can see clearly, now that I am the biggest, you still dare to talk to me, whoever you are not!

Stilwell had to deliver this telegram in person. He had to see Chiang Kai-shek's bloody decay with his own eyes in order to be happy. fed up The first person to see the telegram was not Chiang Kai-shek, but Hurley, the US special envoy who sat in the same room with Chiang Kai-shek and talked. After Hurley read it, his complexion immediately changed. In addition to accusing Chiang Kai-shek of "standing still or proposing to retreat", the telegram demanded that the other party immediately appoint Stilwell as the commander-in-chief of the Chinese Army. From the beginning to the end, the whole article is full of words like "Hurry up" and "Otherwise". They are not firecrackers, but shining bayonets.

After all, Chiang Kai-shek is the leader of a country, and he is the "Leader of the Four Powers" of the allied countries that the United States has only verbally recognized not long ago. It is too much to speak to him in this tone. Hurley instinctively felt that such a telegram could not be shown to Chiang Kai-shek, so he advised Stilwell not to show it for the time being. Didn't they agree to let you be the commander-in-chief?You've "won the game" so why embarrass yourself! But Stilwell didn't appreciate it. Why don't you take it out, this is the president's telegram, what right do you and I have to shelve it? Hurley was stunned for a moment, knowing that Stilwell was now in the limelight, and nine bulls could not be pulled back, so he said bluntly, "If you want to deliver it, you can deliver it yourself. If you want me to forward it for you, I'm sorry, I will send it to you in the future." Can no longer help you deal with Chinese people." That means, it doesn't matter if you don't give others face, you can walk with a stamp of your feet, and I still have to stay here every day. Stilwell didn't want to leave when he came today, you are afraid of offending people, right? I wanted to give it myself! The telegram was written in both Chinese and English, but this guy insisted on making Chiang Kai-shek look bad in public, so he pointed to a person in the room who was good at English, "Then so-and-so, you can translate it." At this time, Song Ziwen, He Yingqin and others were all there, and Hurley was also a China hand. He knew that Chinese people value face the most, so he quickly stood up and said that if there is a translation in the telegram, don't translate it, just read it yourself. Seeing that no one else agreed, Stilwell had no choice but to pass the telegram directly to Chiang Kai-shek.But this kid is really hurtful. He was afraid that others would not know what was written in the telegram, so he leaned beside him and read all the content in Chinese on tiptoe - he has been a diplomat, and his Chinese is no problem. After reading, he pretended to sigh slightly, found a seat and sat down.In that way, it seemed that he had nothing to do with this matter, and felt sorry for Chiang Kai-shek. As soon as the telegram was read, almost everyone in the house was shocked, because listening to the content inside, it was clearly the tone of an old man admonishing his son. It was originally a telegram exchanged by the heads of the two major allies, but it seemed to have become a satellite given to him by Hitler. Letters from the puppet state. Except for one person, that is Stilwell, who is already happy in his heart and is ready to open the champagne in advance. Chiang Kai-shek loved to keep a diary, and this Yankee also kept a diary.Stilwell's diary described his "joyful mood" at that time: This is a bag of pepper powder, which is now in the hands of "peanuts".It's like a spear gun, it will hit the nerve center of this little villain accurately, and beat him through! Let me take a good look at what "Peanut" will look like in ten seconds. However, Stilwell was slightly disappointed. Chiang Kai-shek read the telegram word by word, with his usual expression, and said four words slowly: "I see." Afterwards, he sat speechless and said nothing, as Stilwell described in his diary as "losing the ability to speak". Only Hurley saw the anomaly in the details. He noticed that Chiang Kai-shek reached for the teacup, but turned the lid backside down. Naturally, the air in the room was extremely awkward and dull, and nothing could be discussed. Stilwell didn't really understand the character of the Chinese, let alone Chiang Kai-shek, whom he thought he had seen through. Only silence is the most painful and angry expression. When everyone dispersed, only Chiang Kai-shek and Song Ziwen, a brother-in-law and a brother-in-law were left in the room, and there were no outsiders.In front of his uncle, Chiang Kai-shek no longer needed to wear a mask. At this time, he began to sob and cry bitterly, and his tears quickly wet the clothes of the military and political powerhouse. On the same day, Chiang Kai-shek wrote in his diary: "This is really the greatest shame in Yu's life." Stilwell pretended to be innocent, but he couldn't hide it from the eyes of Chiang Kai-shek, who had seen countless people. While Stilwell was still immersed in the excitement of a child's success, Chiang Kai-shek was already thinking about how to launch a final counterattack. According to Shi Zai, for the next five days, he "lived quietly in Huangshan" and "meditated" on Stilwell's question. The Huangshan here does not refer to the Huangshan in Anhui, but the Huangshan official residence of Chiang Kai-shek in Chongqing. When it came time to showdown, not only to Stilwell, but also to the United States, and to Roosevelt. Stilwell was indeed wrong about Chiang Kai-shek.In the process of dealing with the two, the latter has been "strongly forbearing" and retreated in every possible way. From his American point of view, Stilwell believed that Chiang Kai-shek was cowardly, but he didn't know why Chiang was able to survive in the entangled Kuomintang. The dominance is achieved because this person can endure what others cannot bear, but once he makes up his mind, he also possesses extraordinary tenacity and tenacity. In fact, before he decided to put up with it and hand over the post of Army Commander-in-Chief to Stilwell, he already had the idea that he would go on independently even without the help of the United States. The plan is also ". Now, you have pushed me into a corner, I can't bear it anymore, there is no way to retreat, it's my turn to give you an ultimatum. It was Song Ziwen and Kong Xiangxi who conveyed this "ultimatum". Song Ziwen approached Hurley, and Kong Xiangxi visited Roosevelt. The general meaning was: first, the president’s telegram was too much, it was a provocation to the sovereignty of an independent country, and it was actually a stain on the United States; second, the situation in China was very complicated. Soldiers do not want to be "insulted" and "slaved" by outsiders, but Stilwell happens to be "insulted" and "slaved" to us. Roosevelt woke up suddenly, and the telegram he signed in a daze really drove Chiang Kai-shek into a hurry. At this point, he was faced with two choices, either to replace Stilwell, or to abandon China as an ally. Although for a period of time, like Stilwell, or influenced by the latter, he was extremely dissatisfied with the Chinese battlefield, but dissatisfaction and need are still two different things after all. If China really says goodbye to the United States, it is very likely that China will give up its resistance to Japan because it cannot withstand the pressure, so that Japan can immediately withdraw its troops from the Chinese battlefield and divert them to the Pacific Ocean , This is not a good thing for the US military. In other words, if China does not work hard in the war, it may be a waste of American taxpayers' money, and if it does not fight at all, it will not only be a waste of money, but will kill more people-Americans. The U.S. government has always had the habit of being afraid of death.It is good at calculating accounts and is unwilling to spend more money, but if it can save people from death, it is willing to spend more money. American lives are precious, and this is the number one priority. Only for Stilwell. Roosevelt talked to Marshall himself, trying to persuade him to let Stilwell go. The first time Roosevelt talked to him, Marshall still insisted on defending Stilwell. He said that the problem in China was not a matter of personnel, and that changing Stilwell could not completely solve the problem, and that the War Department, apart from Stilwell, No one can change. In the second talk, Roosevelt's attitude was no longer a discussion, but a change. Since Chiang Kai-shek was the head of state, he said that he wanted to change, so it was necessary to change. Marshall knew it was hard to recover. Stilwell also heard the news that Chiang Kai-shek wanted to dismiss him from various channels, but he hadn't realized the other party's determination to fight to the death. On the one hand, Stilwell made superficial concessions, saying that he could withdraw the main force of the expeditionary force for domestic operations when necessary, but on the other hand, he went even more extreme, even ordering half of the "Flying Tigers" not to work. Aircraft aiding China will no longer be handed over. This move greatly angered Chiang Kai-shek and made Stilwell lose his last hope of staying in office. Roosevelt sent a telegram, saying that Stilwell could be relieved of his position as chief of staff of the China Theater, but he hoped that he could continue to command the expeditionary force. Chiang Kai-shek immediately refused: If you want to be exempted, you will not give this person any more chances. Stilwell originally thought that with Marshall as his big brother covering him, he would be fine, but when the ax fell, Marshall was helpless. On October 18, the United States was forced to recall Stilwell. Amidst the helpless lament, Lao Qiao finally ended his trip to China.However, the Chinese did not forget his contribution to opening up the international traffic line. Later, the Sino-Indian Highway was officially named "Stilwell Highway".