Chapter 665： The head of the Romanian trip (2)

Latest website: On the long Mikhail Avenue, the military and police in neat uniforms stood on both sides of the boulevard with heroism, and behind them were cheering crowds, holding Romanian flags and German flags waving in their hands. , Welcoming the visit of the German head of state Hitler, accompanied by him in the car to take over the crowd cheering is Prime Minister Mihalaki.

Hitler waved to the cheering crowd from time to time, which made the greeted crowd more excited and the cheers became even higher.

"I didn't expect the people in your country to be so enthusiastic. It really flattered me."

Hitler also smiled while waving his hands and told Prime Minister Mihalaki how he felt.

Facing Hitler's words, Prime Minister Mihalaki answered politely. "Where, this is the tribute of the Romanian people to His Excellency the head of state for leading Germany to stand up again. The friendship between our two countries can be said to have a long history. Germany has always been our country's most valued country. For Germany's previous experience, our people are all With considerable sympathy."

And Prime Minister Mihalaki's words touched Hitler a lot, and saw him continue to talk about it. "I'm not afraid of your jokes. After retiring from the army, I also received relief money at the time. I was very clear about the people's difficulties at that time. At that time, the only thing that helped us was Romania. The food provided by His Majesty Edel helped at that time. The famine-stricken Germany feels the care from the outside world. We in Germany have never forgotten this."

Hitler was talking about Edel's aid to Germany's food after the First World War. In the face of Hitler, Prime Minister Mihalaki would naturally not talk about unhappiness, but saw him speak slowly. "Our two countries have always had close ties in military, economic, trade and other aspects. As far back as the German emperor, the help from Germany has allowed Romania to develop adequately in the military and economy. The subsequent economic, trade and military cooperation between the two countries It also benefits both of us. Therefore, our two countries have deep and close ties."

What Mihalache said is correct. Except for Romania's accession to the Allied Powers during World War I, the military and economic ties between Germany and Romania have always been very good, and Germany has always occupied the position of Romania's chief importer. As for Hitler's trip this time, Romania still has some speculations, but Edel can make a decision on how to talk about it.

So what is our beloved Majesty Edel doing?

He is now meeting with Japanese special envoy Nomura Yoshisaburo, who later served as Japan’s ambassador to the United States and made great contributions to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. He has only recently retired from the reserve service. In addition to his in-depth study of international law, his appointment as special envoy is also related to the defeat of the Lanfeng Battle that Japan has just encountered.

Because of the defeat in the Battle of Xuzhou, more than 30,000 people were killed and wounded (affected by the Romanian aid) and failed to catch the Japanese army that was encircled and annihilated by the Chinese army. Afterwards, they followed the retreat of the Chinese army in order to retaliate, and pursued westward and occupied Lanfeng, Guide and other places, while their troops fought with the Chinese troops stationed in the area.

The 14th Division of the Japanese Army, led by Kenji Doihara, intended to take Lan Feng from behind and seize the back of the Chinese army.

On May 17, more than 20,000 people from the 14th Division crossed the Yellow River in an attempt to raided Lanfeng, a strategically important place on the Longhai Line, to cut off the Chinese army's way back.

Facing the 14th Division’s approach to Lan Feng, the Chinese were shocked. However, considering that the enemy was advancing alone, a plan to encircle and wipe out the 14th Division in the vicinity of Lanfeng immediately began. So the Chinese dispatched troops and prepared to kill Kenji Doihara in Lanfeng. So the 74th Army, the 64th Army, the 27th Army, the 71st Army, and more than one hundred thousand troops began to prepare to encircle and annihilate the 14th Division.

Taking into account the tight schedule and heavy tasks of this battle, the command department also urgently transferred its beloved 43rd Army from Kaifeng to Lanfeng. Maybe you don’t know much about the 43rd Army, but when it comes to the commander of the army, everyone is absolutely familiar with it. Its commander is Du Yuming.

After receiving more than one hundred Jackal IV tanks and self-propelled artillery from Romania, the 204th Division, organized and trained by the armored regiment, belongs to the army's configuration. In addition to the 202 Division of the Armored Unit, the 43rd Army also consists of the 127 Division and the 79 Division. In order to keep up with the armored forces, the two divisions are equipped with bicycles, which can be regarded as human-powered motorbike divisions.

Because the army needed to be familiar with tank operations, it had missed the battles in Songhu and Xuzhou before. Until now, the command department decided to release its trump card and deal a devastating blow to the arrogant 14th Division.

Therefore, in combat, the 43rd Army was used as an arrow, supplemented by the 27th Army and the 64th Army, to hit the 14th Division’s waist like a hammer on the 14th Division.

The Japanese army's sudden attack on the tanks also panicked. The Pygmy tank equipped with it was not an opponent of the Jackal IV at all, and its anti-tank capability was very limited.

So the underestimated Japanese army collapsed, and a large number of Japanese troops fled in all directions. Abandoned guns, artillery, ammunition, and vehicles were thrown everywhere. Let the 27th Army and the 64th Army who followed the battle smile, and the Japanese army that was driven out was divided into three unconnected parts. The results of the 43rd Army greatly encouraged the Chinese army. Next, facing the Japanese army, which was divided into three parts, lacking guns and ammunition, the Chinese army immediately launched successive offensives one after another, without giving the opponent any respite.

In the face of the 14th division that suffered a disastrous defeat, the Japanese army certainly will not give up. Its 10th division, 16th division, and mixed 3rd and 5th brigade are desperately trying to break through the obstacles and rescue the 14th division that has been struggling. group.

However, under the desperate resistance of the Chinese army, they did not have a breakthrough at all. The divisions of the 14th Division were even more aware of the external pressure, and the offensive was even more fierce.

And in order to ensure this battle, the Air Force has put all the 46 Albatross fighters currently only into this battle. As the most advanced fighter of its air force, the Albatross has a reputation in the Far Eastern skies, and many Japanese pilots have a profound impression of it.

And this time, in order to protect the smooth battle of Lanfeng, this was considered to be a major hemorrhage of the Air Force. So when the battle on the ground is in full swing, there is also a desperate struggle in the sky.

As for the officers and soldiers of the defensive 14th Division, after losing a lot of firepower and falling into a desperate situation, although they fought hard to resist the fierce attack of the Chinese army. But in the end, in the face of an overwhelmingly dominant Chinese army, failure is inevitable. First, the Japanese army at Luowangzhai was defeated, and then the Japanese army at Quxingji was annihilated. Finally, the Japanese army received a farewell telegram from Sanyizhai, which made the Japanese army feel extremely disappointed.

In the end, only more than 2,000 people from the 14th Division escaped to heaven, and the division leader Doihara Kenji was shot dead. Faced with the fact that a division leader died in battle, nearly 20,000 died, making Japan more urgent to cut off Chinese foreign aid, so the mission of Nomura Yoshisaburo this time is very important.

Because compared with Germany, Romania's military assistance is more important in the war against the Republic of China. The ordnance retired from the Romanian army is continuously imported from Annan and Guangzhou by sea to supplement its loss. This time, Japan has the idea of ​​intercepting and killing at sea. But considering the consequences of angering Romania, Japan backed down.

So this time, Japan has also made full preparations, and I saw that Nomura Yoshizaburo spoke quite politely. "His Majesty Edel, the war in the Far East is a very unfavorable situation for the world. Our country has not thought of overthrowing the Chiang government, but because the government is deeply influenced by communism, our country only wants to impose a slight punishment. Nothing. Thinking of its response so great, our country is also involuntarily in this war."

Edel looked at the nonsense special envoy Nomura Yoshisaburo before him, and he waited until he had finished speaking before speaking. "Mr. Special Envoy, I can hardly argue about who is right and who is wrong in this war. I know the purpose of your country's visit this time. But this condition simply cannot meet the needs of our country. So expensive. We cannot agree to the country’s request."

Edel had already seen the Japanese side in order to stop Romania from providing assistance to the Republic of China, and had to say that Japan's stingy side showed it vividly. Compared with the annual profit of nearly 200 million lei brought by the Republic of China to Romania, the conditions given by Japan only give a profit of 40-50 million, mainly because Japan purchases Romanian materials.

In the face of Edel's refusal, Nomura Yoshisaburo was not angry at all, because his reliance did not come from this. He took out a document and handed it to Edel to speak. "This is a picture taken by our country. It shows that the Soviets have appeared in the Republic of China. They are slowly replacing your country and Germany and are playing an important role."

Yes, this is the trump card that Nomura Yoshizaburo has, because Japan is very aware of Romania’s mismatch with the Soviet Union, and as long as the Republic of China has Soviet assistance or even an advisory group, Romania will never agree. Because the Romanian people will not agree, even if the country has interests, it will not share the interests of the Republic of China with the enemy, the Soviet Union. So this is the key to Nomura Yoshisaburo's belief that he can persuade Romania.

Sure enough, Nomura Yoshisaburo’s words silenced Edel. In fact, he knew about Soviet assistance. Since December 1, 1937, the Soviet Union has assisted pilots in the Republic of China, with the intention of using the Republic of China to contain Japan and reduce pressure in the Far East.

When 1938 entered, Soviet aid began to increase sharply, mainly because the Republic of China consumed too much, and some were hungry and did not choose food. This made Germany the first to express its dissatisfaction. For this reason, Hitler, who was visiting, complained abnormally. At a deeper level, Germany needs to choose between China and Japan.

Romania actually needs to make a choice, but the love of Edeldo's previous motherland made him deliberately suppress this choice.

However, as Nomura Yoshizaburo clarified the topic, Edel knew that this choice had to be made, so he picked up this photo of soldiers from the Soviet Union and the Republic of China, looked at it and said. "Thank you, your envoy, for giving me this picture. But we still need to discuss your country's plan."

And Nomura Yoshizaburo was prepared for Edel's words, knowing that such a thing could not be agreed immediately. However, he knew that he had six levels of success this time. This is not a small victory for Japan. It is important to know that every request from Japan before has been directly blocked.

After sending the Japanese special envoy Nomura Yoshisaburo away, Edel picked up the photo and felt a lot. He said silently in his heart. "I can only help here, my dear motherland."

After speaking, Edel immediately called a guard. "Go and invite Ambassador Zhu here, I have something to find him."

When Ambassador Zhu arrived in a hurry, he saw Edel playing with a photo.

"I don't know, Majesty Edel, what can I do this time?"

Looking at Ambassador Zhu in front of him, Edel put the photo in front of him. "Your country is in contact with the Soviet Union?"

Edel's words made a flash of panic in Ambassador Zhu's eyes. He is different from the people in his country. After coming to Romania for many years, he knows that this country resents the Soviet Union. So he quickly denied. "Your Majesty joked, this is just a photo from the previous visit of the Soviet Union."

"Okay, don't lie to me."

Edel interrupted the other party and continued. "From November last year to January this year, the Soviet Union sent a flying brigade to the Republic of China three times. As far as I know, your country received the first batch of Soviet assistance in March with arms worth 50 million U.S. dollars."

Hearing Edel's exact timing and scale of assistance, Zhu Jialuo knew that although he did not know the domestic and Soviet assistance plans, he knew that he could not continue to deny it, otherwise things would get worse.

I saw him speak. "Your Majesty, I am not quite clear about this situation. But please believe that our country has always been grateful to Romania. Our current war with Japan has caused too many losses and too much consumption. In order to ensure that our country will not be oppressed by Japanese invaders. , No, don’t do something against the original intention."

While Zhu Jialuo was speaking, he was also carefully observing Edel's expression, but it was a pity that his majesty was stern and expressionless throughout the entire process.

After Ambassador Zhu finished speaking, Edel spoke. "As for the arms contract you sent for purchase last time, we will prepare it for you as soon as possible. But this is the last time our country has sold arms to your country. Next, our country will have its own considerations..."

When Ambassador Zhu Jialuo walked out of the palace, his face was completely pale. The driver hurried up to hold him. "Ambassador, what's the matter with you?"

Ambassador Zhu Jialuo, who was called back by the driver, squeezed the driver's hand and said hurriedly. "Hurry back to the embassy, ​​I have an emergency to report to the country."

The reason for Zhu Jialuo's gaffe is that Romania's relations with China have undergone a huge change The reason is the Soviet Union's assistance, which made Romania decide to stop continuing its arms sales to China. How can this not let him be gagged.

The Republic of China has successively obtained more than 300,000 equipment from Romania. Although most of these equipment are second-hand and outdated, they are only outdated in Europe. In terms of confrontation, only elite troops can obtain these equipment.

Relying on Romania’s weapons and equipment, the Republic of China was able to maintain its combat effectiveness after the Battle of Songhu and the Battle of Xuzhou. Now, with the severance of Romania’s aid, the rift in the war of resistance is about to change. You must know that the government just sent a telegram to yourself before coming to find a way to get a batch of aid from Romania, because the Wuhan battle is about to break out, and the Republic of China is indispensable. Cheap arms from Romania.

In June 1938, Romania decided to terminate arms sales to China, and the arms sales contracts signed before will continue to be shipped. Ambassador Zhu Jialuo rushed to preemptively sign a batch of materials worth 70 million lei the day before, which won him a lot of praise in China.

But for the War of Resistance, the difficult time is coming, I hope they will be well equipped.