Chapter 405: Don’t offend either side, that means offending both sides!

"Cun, are your troops going to enter the Persian Gulf?" I don't know where William got the news.

Cun Yunsheng was mobilizing troops and preparing to form the Third Army of the South China Sea Task Force in accordance with Stilwell's request, but William came over.

"Yes, is there any problem?" Cun Yunsheng asked doubtfully.

He was not surprised that William knew the news.

If he didn't even have this ability, he would have underestimated the other party.

Upon hearing this, William became a little excited. You know, the German army had finally crossed the canal and was now rushing towards Persia.

It is expected that they will be able to join up with the Turkish army in half a month at most.

By then, the Persian oil fields will also be in our hands.

A series of good news made the German army as a whole feel a little excited.

They believed that if they could get their hands on Persia's oil fields, their war potential would become even greater.

result?

The Allied forces actually dispatched Cun Yunsheng's troops to the Persian Gulf in order to stop the German army from advancing.

It’s not that the German army was afraid, but because the two sides had always cooperated well.

Now we suddenly have to go to war, and I feel a little uncomfortable.

Moreover, William was still thinking about obtaining some valuable information from Cun Yunsheng.

So he didn't want Cun Yunsheng to send troops over.

William came to him because he actually hoped that Cun Yunsheng would give up this task.

"Do you mean that I should give up this mission?" Cun Yunsheng said in a deep voice after listening.

"Don't you think this request is a bit too much?"

Are you kidding me?
Give up this mission?

Who does he think he is?
Invincible?
what is this else?
"I'm just a small person and can't influence the thoughts of those big people." Cun Yunsheng looked at William and said again.

"I cannot refuse General Stilwell's order."

After listening to Cun Yunsheng's words, William felt a little regretful.

He really doesn't want to go to war, but if it is really unavoidable, then he can only fight on the battlefield.

At this time, Cun Yunsheng was having a headache about how to form this third army.

According to his understanding, Rommel's North African Corps was still very strong.

Including Italy, there are about 300,000 to 400,000 troops, and the German army is still continuously drawing reinforcements.

They are all well-equipped and well-trained. With this strength, it is already good enough that he can gain a foothold.

If we really go head-to-head with the German army, we may not win.

"Cun, I know this request is excessive, but there is no other way. The current situation is indeed not very friendly to us. Although we have stabilized the Eastern Front defense line, according to the intelligence we have obtained, the Allied forces are mobilizing troops to North Africa, and it is estimated that there may be more than one million people." William said with a sigh.

"Don't you have millions of troops on the western front?" Cun Yunsheng asked.

"Those troops cannot be withdrawn easily. There seems to be no fighting on the Western Front. Once we withdraw troops, the Allies will definitely not give up this opportunity." William said helplessly.

Hearing this, Cun Yunsheng seemed indifferent. He understood what William meant.

This means that troops on other fronts cannot move around, otherwise it will cause a series of problems.

So they could only rely on Rommel's North African Corps.

If the attack was blocked, the German plan would also be thwarted.

But Cun Yunsheng didn't care at all. To him, the German army was bound to fail.

"Cun, we have given you a lot of help." Looking at Cun Yunsheng's expressionless face, William said again.

"Sir William, I think you are mistaken. Without me, can you hold the Eastern Front? Without me, I'm afraid your logistics supply would have collapsed long ago. Without me, would you have oil fields and tungsten mines?"

"Without me, can you find the traitor inside? Without me, can you still speak in front of me now?"

"William, I hope you can remember that there is only a transaction between you and me." Cun Yunsheng said in a flat tone.

"No, no, no, Cun, what I mean is that we need you now and we want to be your ally." William explained quickly.

"Do you think anyone would get on a broken boat?" Cun Yunsheng looked at William and sneered, "To me, your boat is already broken and is not far from sinking. Do you think I'm a fool and would get on board?"

"However, I don't mind taking on more crew members so that the ship can retain more vitality."

"Perhaps, you may have a chance to turn things around in the future..."

Hearing this, William opened his mouth and wanted to say something, but he didn't know what to say.

Their idea was that Cun Yunsheng had a lot of information, and if they could cooperate with him, they might be able to obtain more valuable information, but they didn't expect that Cun Yunsheng would directly reject them.

"William, since we are so familiar with each other, please let your relatives and friends make plans early. Your ship is about to sink, but I very much welcome those senior talents." Cun Yunsheng said with a smile.

Hearing this, William's expression naturally looked a little unhappy.

"Okay, Sir William, we only have a deal. As for the so-called alliance, I'm sorry, I can't do it." Cun Yunsheng made his position clear again.

"As for our troops, even if they reach the Persian Gulf, they will need some time to rest and recuperate."

Anyone who is not a fool can understand what this means.

Sure enough, William's face suddenly showed a hint of surprise.

This is to tell him that you can speed up, we still need some time to wait.

"Cun, thank you, you will always be our friend." William said excitedly.

"I didn't say anything." Cun Yunsheng spread his hands, indicating that he knew nothing.

After William left, Cun Yunsheng began to think about the next strategy.

But before that, Sun Liren needs to be properly arranged.

"Sir, sea transportation is too slow. Even if it goes through the port in Myanmar, it will take more than half a month. I think it is better to send it by air directly, which can save time." In the conference room, Meng Fanle said to Cun Yunsheng.

Judging from the map, the straight-line distance is about 4,000 kilometers, and it will take at least half a month to arrive by sea.

The key point is that after arriving, it doesn’t mean that we can start fighting immediately.

During a long journey, there will definitely be non-combat casualties.

So it will definitely take some time to rest.

Moreover, most of the soldiers of the Sichuan Army had no experience in desert warfare, not to mention that the environment there was extremely harsh.

There may be a large number of non-combat casualties. As for the causes of the disease, there are many, such as severe water shortage, extreme heat, black mosquitoes, desert fleas, and pervasive infectious diseases and yellow sand.

Encountering any one of these could cause massive casualties.

Fortunately, due to the mass production of penicillin and the Chinese soldiers' super endurance and adaptability, they should be able to adapt to the harsh local environment quickly.

On this point, Cun Yunsheng could not deny that this was one of the advantages of the Chinese. For example, the jungles of Siam were filled with various infectious diseases and unbearable insects.

Why did the British army lose so quickly? Because after staying in the harsh environment for a period of time, they could not endure it and were on the verge of collapse, which is why they were defeated miserably.

But the expeditionary force was different. They could always remain calm in harsh environments, and many of them did not even take the terrifying tropical jungle seriously.

The reason is simple, because the vast majority of Chinese people have come through hard times and have experienced all kinds of hardships and fatigue.

For them, this little pain and injury is just commonplace, and being able to have enough food to eat is already a great happiness!
"Air transport? How many transport planes do we have?" Cun Yunsheng frowned, turned around and asked.

"Not much, but General Stilwell should give his support." Meng Fanle shook his head and said.

"How many fighter planes do you think are needed to cover a distance of 4,000 kilometers? Moreover, a transport plane can only carry one platoon at most and cannot carry too much equipment. It is not realistic to transport them by air." Cun Yunsheng was not optimistic about Meng Fanle's proposal.

"But sea transportation will be very slow, and there will be a large number of non-combat casualties." Meng Fanle emphasized again.

"I think we can send two battalions first."

"Let me think about it."

If there were only two battalions, it wouldn't be a big problem.

"General Sun, what do you think?" After a little thought, Cun Yunsheng looked at the silent Sun Liren and asked with a smile.

"Sir, there will be no problem with the first two battalions, and these two battalions are just right for us to get familiar with the base first. But I am more curious about the specific organization of this Third Army?" Sun Liren asked the key question.

"Initially, there will be only one infantry division and one armored regiment. First, they will undergo adaptive training. After that, I will gradually increase the force here to three infantry divisions and one armored division by sea transport, for a total of about 50,000 people."

"In addition, I will apply to General Stilwell for 100 fighter planes. As for the navy, I can't give it to you, but I can ask General Stilwell to coordinate it." Cun Yunsheng pondered for a while and said slowly.

“Also, there may be some indigenous troops in the surrounding area, which can also be mobilized.”

Hearing this, Sun Liren was very excited. Who wouldn't want to be the king of the Wolf's Lair, carve a stone on Yanran Mountain, drink from the vast sea, go west to the Yellow River, and establish counties in Qilian?

Now that the opportunity is right in front of him, he naturally cannot remain calm.

Other people in the conference room were also envious; they all wanted to have this opportunity.

But they knew that it was Stilwell who appointed him, so they could only be jealous.

"General Sun, what do you think of this organization? Are you satisfied with it?" Cun Yunsheng looked at Sun Liren again and asked.

This time it was Sun Liren's turn to take a deep breath, look at Cun Yunsheng, and say solemnly: "Satisfied, I have no opinion."

"Very good, from now on, the Third Army will be handed over to you." Cun Yunsheng said loudly.

"Yes, sir!"

.........

On the other hand, Franco in Spain has been very busy recently.

Ever since the German troops began landing in the British Isles, people from Britain and the United States have often come to see him.

The reason for looking for him is very simple, which is to win him over and let him join the Allied camp.

The British's consideration was nothing more than hoping that Spain would send troops to attack France from the flank, thus involving the German army's experience.

How could Franco agree to this?

He is not a fool. The German army is now strong. Who dares to provoke them?
Although the Allied camp analyzed that the German army was now at the end of its strength, for other small European countries, the German army at this time was a behemoth.

No one wanted to provoke the German army.

As for the Americans' proposal, it is similar to that of the British, and they also hope that they can join the Allied camp.

Of course, it’s fine if they don’t join, but I still hope they can remain neutral.

When necessary, I hope to borrow your passage.

"Borrowing the road? What on earth are the Americans planning?" Franco couldn't help but sneer after reading the Americans' request.

"General, they must be worried that after the British Isles are occupied by the German army, they will not be able to use them as a springboard for counterattacking the European continent. They hope to use us as a springboard." The adjutant saw through the Americans' sinister intentions at a glance and immediately dissuaded them.

"I know." Franco seemed very calm and waved his hand to signal others not to get excited.

"If the Americans can offer enough bargaining chips, it is not impossible to join their camp."

Hearing this, the adjutant was even more confused. What did this mean?
Are you really planning to join the Allied camp?

"This war has affected too many countries and regions. It is basically impossible for us to remain unaffected. So we don't have much time left. I believe it won't be long before the Germans will find us and force us to join them." Franco sighed.

Being neutral is not that easy.

What's more, Spain's territory is not small and it still has some strength.

"Then how should we choose?" asked the adjutant puzzledly.

"Try to delay it as much as possible and don't offend either side. We can't afford to offend them." Before this, Franco had once had a little idea, which was to take back the Strait of Gibraltar. However, after seeing the British Royal Fleet, he gave up this idea.

Especially after the US military joined the war, he just wanted to become a transparent person and remain neutral.

Unfortunately, his peaceful days were over before he had even enjoyed two years of peace. As the German army began to land on the British Isles, his peaceful days were over.

"But if we don't offend either side, we will end up offending both sides." The adjutant felt that he still had to make a choice. This kind of fence-sitting behavior would sooner or later lead to trouble.

"Then tell the Americans that if the British army is willing to return the Strait of Gibraltar to us, we can consider joining the Allied camp."

"The same words can also be conveyed to the Germans. Tell them that if they help us take the Strait of Gibraltar, we can also give them more help." Franco took a deep breath and spoke.

Upon hearing this, the adjutant was stunned. He did not expect that Franco would threaten him with the Strait of Gibraltar.

Needless to say, the British army would be the first to disagree.

As for whether the German army can help them retake the Strait of Gibraltar?

That's even more impossible.

I have to say, this method is really good.

"The general is wise." The adjutant couldn't help but admire him.

Only Franco smiled bitterly. If he had the strength, why would he come up with such a useless solution?

I'm afraid I've offended both sides.

But for Spain right now, this is the best option.

(End of this chapter)