When the Peninsula War broke out, Fang Lang's biggest concern was whether the supply channels in his hometown were smooth. He knew very well that a comprehensive blockade by the Americans would soon come.
At that time, it would be very difficult to deliver supplies to his hometown, but there were some things that he couldn't do personally. Fortunately, he was prepared for this. The means and manpower deployed on Hong Kong Island in the early days were activated immediately.
First, some small smuggling gangs controlled by Hongmen Dashengtang in the port city suddenly received large commissions. Then Mr. Huo, who will be familiar to later generations, suddenly received a large investment in what was originally a transport fleet of small cargo ships.
It has been rapidly expanded to have ten high-speed freighters, and the fleet's transportation manpower has also been rapidly expanded.
In a short period of time, he became a powerful fleet owner in the port city.
Fang Lang used various means to silently speed up the assistance to his hometown. At the same time, he also maintained secret contact with Mr. Qiao, the head of the port city of Xiaoxinhua in his hometown, and learned what supplies his hometown needed most. Then, Find a suitable channel for transfer.
Just when he was about to concentrate on helping his hometown transport supplies, General Crook suddenly notified him and asked him to meet him at the Ministry of Defense.
After receiving the notice, he had some vague guesses in his mind, and immediately drove to the Ministry of National Defense building without stopping.
Seeing Fang Lang come in, General Crook did not say too much pleasantries or nonsense. He pointed to the seat opposite his desk, motioned for Fang Lang to sit down, and asked straight to the point:
"On the 25th, a war broke out on the peninsula. Did you know?"
Upon hearing General Crook's question, Fang Lang's heart moved, and he secretly thought that it was indeed the case. He nodded calmly and said:
"I've heard about it, it's been reported in the news, what's wrong?"
Seeing that Fang Lang's face seemed calm, General Crook said with some confusion:
"What do you think of this war? You must know that Mr. Truman, the President of the United States, has ordered the US military to intervene."
After Fang Lang thought for a moment, he frowned slightly and then went straight to the point:
“Do the Americans want to bring us into the game?”
General Crook was a little surprised to see Fang Lang going straight to the subject without hesitation. After all, Fang Lang rarely expressed his direct views on something before. But today's attitude seems to have changed a lot.
"Yes, the Americans initiated a motion at the United Nations, proposing the establishment of a United Nations force to directly intervene in the Peninsula War.
They also sent their ambassador to Brazil to lobby the president, hoping that Brazil could continue to stand with them and join in this action to maintain justice, just like we did in World War II. "
Upon hearing this, Fang Lang secretly thought that things did not go as he expected. The United States still sent an invitation to Brazil. Historically, Brazil did not agree to send troops for unknown reasons.
But that was a decision made when the Vargas government was in power. Now because of his own participation, Brazil's history has changed dramatically, and Vargas was not elected as a new president at all.
Therefore, deep down in Fang Lang's heart, he was worried whether Brazil would change its decision and join this war that it should not join because of the wings of this butterfly.
Fortunately, now that General Crook is asking his opinion, he should have doubts about joining this war, and he still has the opportunity to correct history back on the right track and reduce one opponent for his hometown. Brazil must not be allowed to join this war.
"Haha... a just action? What does the affairs of the two other countries on the peninsula have to do with the Americans? The reason why they organized the army to directly intervene in the situation on the peninsula is simply to curb the development of the Soviet Union and their hometown.
But will the Soviet Union and its hometown allow the Americans to directly change the pattern of the peninsula? the answer is negative.
It's not enough for them to intervene on their own now, and they want to bring the entire United Nations together to do it. Is this trying to find legal legitimacy for their interference in other countries' internal affairs? "
Hearing this, General Crook still didn't understand Fang Lang's attitude towards this matter. Although he was a little surprised that Fang Lang's position was so clear this time, he couldn't help but confirm it again:
"You mean, you don't agree with Brazil joining the United Nations Army?"
The relationship between General Crook and Fang Lang is not as simple as being from the same faction. On such a serious matter, Fang Lang's attitude must of course be very clear, otherwise a slight carelessness may cause serious consequences.
That's why he expressed his opinion on this matter so clearly for the first time.
Hearing General Crook's question, his heart moved slightly, and he understood that there must be many people in Brazil who had different opinions from him. In other words, some people may support Brazil's joining the United Nations Army.
This didn't surprise him at all. It would have been strange if he didn't have this idea.
"What? There are many people who want to join this so-called United Nations Army?"
Although he knew that this situation was normal, Fang Lang couldn't help but ask General Crook this question that he already knew the answer to.
In response to Fang Lang's question, General Crook just smiled, shrugged and said:
"Of course? After all, we have gained such huge benefits by participating in the European War, and now that the opportunity arises, how come no one has some ideas?"
From General Crook's words, Fang Lang did not hear General Crook's own attitude towards this matter. However, now that he has made his attitude clear, he will no longer care about the other party's attitude.
At that time, if the other party's thoughts are contrary to his, it will be awkward for both parties to argue. Therefore, he simply skipped asking the other party's thoughts.
Now since General Crook said someone had an idea, he just had to refute those people's ideas.
"Haha... We got huge benefits from participating in the European War because we participated late and won without paying much price. That's why many people thought that the war could bring us huge benefits.
If we, like those European countries, directly sacrifice a generation, do you think they still think there are benefits to war?
What's more, the enemy in this Peninsula War is not the original Germans, but a superpower that has mastered nuclear weapons.
Are they ready for a nuclear strike? "
As soon as these words came out, General Crook's expression suddenly changed. In fact, it turned out that General Crook really wanted to intervene in this war.
The reason why he invited Fang Lang to come over to discuss this issue was simply because Fang Lang was Asian and might have a better understanding of the situation in Asia.
In addition, Fang Lang was his most important ally, and his actions must be supported by Fang Lang, so he asked Fang Lang for his opinion.
But unexpectedly, Fang Lang actually expressed his attitude directly and was unwilling to get involved in this war. Now when he heard Fang Lang say that he had to prepare for a nuclear attack, he was even more frightened.
"No way! Are you saying that the Peninsula War might turn into a war between the United States and the Soviet Union?"
Seeing General Crook's performance, Fang Lang was secretly happy and smiled slightly:
"General Crook doesn't think that the intervention planned by the Americans this time is just aimed at the northern peninsula! If this is the case, why do they need to go to all the trouble to create a United Nations force?
We must know that the peninsula directly borders the Soviet Union and our hometown. Will these two major powers allow the Americans to send troops to their borders and remain indifferent? "
After hearing Fang Lang's analysis, General Crook also changed his expression. He was not unclear about the geographical location of the northern peninsula, but according to his speculation, the United Nations forces organized by the United States could at most help the southern peninsula regain lost territory.
After all, this operation was carried out in the name of the United Nations Army, and the Soviet Union was also a member of the United Nations. They would never overturn the passed United Nations resolution!
Of course, in order to get Battalion Commander Jin of the Northern Peninsula to agree to the pattern of the Southern Peninsula, they may also need to fight until the Northern Peninsula surrenders and make the Northern Peninsula pay the price for their unauthorized war.
But he never thought about confronting the Soviets! This is not a wise choice. Now after hearing Fang Lang's analysis, he was horrified to discover that the risks behind this war were so huge.
"From this point of view, we are indeed not suitable to participate. But based on our relationship with the United States, if we directly refuse to participate in the actions they organize, will they have any objections to us?"
Upon hearing this, Fang Lang understood that General Crook agreed with his statement and was not prepared to participate in the war for hegemony between the United States and the Soviet Union.
Fang Lang was also very surprised that General Crook could be persuaded by him so easily. After all, in Fang Lang's impression, General Crook was a very independent general.
Now that he has made the other party change his attitude with just a few words, it does make him feel a little unreal.
But what Fang Lang didn't know was that General Crook knew very well that Fang Lang's influence on President Scalia was far beyond his ability to compare.
If Fang Lang's attitude is to refuse to participate in this operation, then there is basically no need to say what the attitude of Mr. President, who was supported by the Fang family, will be.
Under such circumstances, if he came out to speak against him, he would not only lose points in front of the president, but would also be more likely to lose his most important ally, Fang Lang.
More importantly, he is not a war fanatic, and certainly does not want to drag Brazil, which has just developed, into the abyss of war.
No matter what General Crook was thinking deep down, after he said these words, he basically showed that he and Fang Lang were on the same side.
Therefore, after hearing General Crook's question, Fang Lang just smiled slightly and said directly:
“Of course we don’t have to directly refuse to participate in the United Nations forces organized by them, it’s just that our current domestic situation does not allow us to participate in the Peninsula War.
Because our neighbor Argentina has recently been causing conflicts on our border and sending more troops to the border, we have to gather our troops at the border and be ready to deal with possible border conflicts at any time. "
When General Crook heard this, he was overjoyed, good guy! Argentina is such a good shield!
And this statement is actually the truth. I believe Americans have nothing to say! However, although Americans may not say anything on the surface, they may retaliate behind the scenes.
Therefore, after General Crook thought for a while, he still said:
"On the surface Americans may not say anything, but secretly they..."
As soon as he heard this, Fang Lang understood what General Crook wanted to express. He smiled slightly and said:
"It doesn't matter. Although we can't directly send troops to join the war, we can still provide some support in terms of materials! We can completely open up the supply of materials such as food!
Moreover, if the Americans accept it, we can also provide some support in terms of weapons and equipment to the best of our ability! For example, our helicopter manufacturing factory is authorized to produce Bell 47 helicopters in the United States.
We can definitely help them produce these weapons and equipment! "
In fact, the weapons and equipment that Brazil can produce now are of course not only the Bell 47 helicopter, but also the F86 fighter jet Fang Lang currently equipped by the Americans.
But Fang Lang was not willing to help the Americans produce this kind of equipment that could be used directly for offense. The Bell 47 is different. It is a small helicopter, although later the Americans tried to equip it with weapons and let it participate in combat.
But in fact, what he is responsible for in most cases is the task of transporting the wounded. This kind of task cannot directly cause direct harm to the soldiers in his hometown, and even if he does not participate, a large number of American companies will participate.
Instead of doing this, it would be better for the Americans to pay and help him upgrade the helicopter production line.
How could General Crook not understand what Fang Lang meant? He didn't want to send troops to join the war, but he wanted to continue to participate in the big business behind it. As expected, capitalists are the most evil!
After pondering for a long time, General Crook nodded slowly and said:
"I understand what you mean. I will report this matter to Mr. President truthfully. Believe me, our positions will always be the same."
Regarding General Crook's words, Fang Lang just smiled and nodded. How could such a thing be taken seriously? Although they belonged to the same camp, and even to outsiders, Fang Lang was a direct descendant of General Crook.
But in fact, not everyone can agree on everything. For example, if General Crook knew about Fang Lang's silent promotion of the Chinese people's status, he would never agree.
After all, in this kind of inter-ethnic matter, it is impossible to expect a person from another ethnic group to consider the issue from the perspective of the Chinese.
Of course, Fang Lang knows what it means to seek common ground while reserving differences, and he also knows how to make more friends and fewer enemies.
Therefore, in most cases where the fundamental interests of each other are not harmed, Fang Lang will generally respect the other party's opinions, and if he really has any ideas of his own, he will speak out directly. General Crook would generally not object.
Seeing that he had convinced General Crook, Fang Lang also breathed a sigh of relief. He knew very well that it was useless to convince General Crook alone. Although the Ministry of National Defense had General Crook's strongest strength, it was useless. Strong, but it doesn't mean that this is his one-word hall.
Of course, it is not enough to persuade the military generals. Political efforts must be made to make members of Congress aware of the risks of getting involved in this war. Only then can Brazil stay away from this war completely.
Therefore, after leaving General Crook's office, Fang Lang immediately arranged for Xin Shiliang to start conveying this idea to the parliamentarians they funded.
(End of chapter)
