Ten minutes later, Song Ziwen and Zhou Zhihan saw Nakasa Moritaka walking back to the reception room and only said a few words. Immediately, Kato's face was filled with a smile, and then the three of them looked here at the same time. Nakasa Moritaka's face showed a winner. Arrogant, Kato deliberately made an expression of sympathy for the weak, but Nishizawa Hiro's face still showed no trace of emotion.
At this moment, there was a knock on the door, and then the second lieutenant officer walked in: "Colonel Zhou! Mr. Laughlin Corey has invited you. Please come with me."
Zhou Zhihan nodded to Song Ziwen, and then followed the second lieutenant out.
The second lieutenant officer led Zhou Zhihan into a simple and elegant reception room, and said to the man sitting behind the desk: "Sir! This is Colonel Zhou Zhihan from China!" After speaking, he turned and left.
"Colonel Zhou, please sit down!"
Mr. Laughlin Corey stood up and said politely. He was wearing a brown suit. He was slightly fat and looked to be in his sixties. He wore a monocle reading glasses, his brown hair was curly and messy, and his appearance was so ordinary that he walked in No one on the street would believe that he was President Roosevelt's chief adviser, but Zhou Zhihan could see the wisdom in his eyes.
"Thanks!"
Zhou Zhihan bowed slightly and sat down without being humble or arrogant.
A noncommissioned officer brought Zhou Zhihan a cup of coffee, then closed the door and left. Only Mr. Laughlin Corey and Zhou Zhihan were left in the office.
"General Pat Plouffe is an old friend of mine. He recommended you to me and said you were a top student at Randolph Air Force Academy!" Mr. Laughlin Corey said, picking up General Pat Plouffe from the table. Write a letter of recommendation to him.
Zhou Zhihan took a spoon and gently stirred the coffee without making any noise: "General Pat Plouffe is my mentor. He taught me a lot when I was at Randolph."
"Well!" Mr. Laughlin Corey briefly browsed the information, then looked at Zhou Zhihan and said with a little surprise, "You once served as the commander-in-chief of the Allied Powers, participated in the Dunkirk and London air battles, and were deeply respected by the British. Appreciated by General Dowding, Commander of the Royal Air Force, you shot down countless enemy planes and became the number one ace pilot of the Allies. How did you do it, young man?" As he spoke, Mr. Laughlin Corey stretched out his palm and pointed at the candy on the table. box, “Do you need any sugar?”
"No, sir!" Zhou Zhihan said with a smile, "Flying a plane is a physical job, so I never eat sweets. This is one of the secrets of my ability to remain undefeated."
"Oh!" Mr. Laughlin Corey leaned forward slightly, "Why? Isn't it bad to eat sweets?"
"Sugar can make people feel happy, but people who often eat sugar are prone to obesity, cause high blood pressure, high blood lipids, and slow reactions. Pilots need to make strenuous maneuvers during combat. At critical moments, even if they are better than their opponents, A reaction that is 0.1 second slower can determine the outcome of life or death."
Mr. Laughlin Corey was very interested and smiled and motioned for Zhou Zhihan to continue.
Zhou Zhihan took a sip of coffee elegantly and politely, and put it down gently: "Bitter coffee can keep people excited and is good for the body. Of course, a reasonable diet, proper exercise, and adequate sleep are essential conditions for a pilot. , but if you want to remain undefeated on the aerial battlefield, you must have superb skills and extraordinary courage, as well as the most important ability to judge the enemy. And this judgment ability is the most difficult to achieve. "
Mr. Laughlin Corey became even more interested: "Interesting. Why is judgment the most important and most difficult to achieve in air combat?"
"In air combat, it is common sense for every pilot to attack the enemy with the sun behind their back, but it is not that easy to identify the wind direction in the air.
The influence of wind direction on a fighter jet is huge. Every time I engage an enemy, I can quickly and accurately determine the wind direction. Then based on the streamlined shape of the enemy aircraft's body, I can determine its engine horsepower and speed as well as its high altitude. , medium and low-altitude hovering capabilities, the highest and lowest speeds in such wind directions, and the maneuvers that can or cannot be done.
Then based on the impact of these objective factors on the enemy aircraft, I can determine the shooting distance of the enemy aircraft and the flight trajectory of the ballistics. This ensures that I can avoid the enemy's firepower in advance when confronting the enemy. "
"Oh!" Mr. Laughlin Corey had an expression of disbelief on his face and spread his hands. "Young man, I want to know how an excellent pilot would judge these objective factors and the enemy aircraft. How long will it take?”
"Due to the special nature of the air combat battlefield, a good pilot must react correctly within ten seconds from the moment he clearly sees the enemy aircraft."
Mr. Laughlin Corey shrugged his shoulders: "How many seconds does it take for a top ace pilot?"
"No more than six seconds!"
Mr. Laughlin Corey became even more interested: "What about you? As the number one ace of the Allies, how many seconds does it take for you to make a judgment when approaching the enemy?"
Zhou Zhihan: "Three seconds."
Mr. Laughlin Corey held his monocle and leaned forward further: "How many people besides you can reach three seconds? As far as you know, how many such pilots can there be in the United States? ?”
"As far as I know, I am the only pilot who can make a correct judgment on the enemy in three seconds."
Mr. Laughlin Corey's eyes widened and he said after four or five seconds: "You mean, you are the best pilot in the world?"
Zhou Zhihan nodded: "Yes. There is no one."
After looking at Zhou Zhihan for ten seconds, Laughlin Corey sank back into the soft chair.
Zhou Zhihan never avoided Laughlin Corey's eyes.
Song Ziwen, who was sitting in the lounge, kept looking at his watch. The three people next door, Nakasa Moritaka, left a few minutes ago, but Song Ziwen judged that someone would definitely tell the Japanese Mr. Laughlin Corey the time to receive Zhou Zhihan.
Thinking of the word "time", Song Ziwen looked at his watch again. It was nine and a half minutes after Zhou Zhihan entered. His heart couldn't help but hang up. If Zhou Zhihan could not convince the president's chief adviser within these ten minutes, then the purchase of P40 fighter jets would be impossible. Ninety-nine percent of wishes will turn out to be hopeless!
In the office of the President's Chief Counsel.
Mr. Laughlin Corey sank into the soft armchair, lit a cigar, took a few puffs, and through the dense smoke looked at the calm-looking Chinese opposite him and said: "Young man, I said yes." You have already wasted nine and a half of your ten minutes. You came all the way to the United States to tell me this, what do you want to express?"
"Judgment. Sir! I want to tell you that when I get serious, my judgment is never wrong."
Mr. Laughlin Corey had doubts on his face: "What? You came all the way to the United States just to tell me that your judgment is never wrong?"
"Yes, sir!"
Mr. Laughlin Corey curled his lips and saw that the second hand of the clock was about to point to 12. He put his index finger on the button of the reception bell: "Then what?"
"Then I want to tell you that I judge that the Japanese will launch an attack on the United States as early as this winter and at the latest early next year."
With that said, Zhou Zhihan stood up and waited for Mr. Laughlin Corey to ring the bell to see off the guests.
In the lounge outside, seeing that Zhou Zhihan had not come out after 15 minutes, Song Ziwen gradually relaxed and reached for a newspaper to read.
