At this time, a shocking news came that China's Chairman Chiang Kai-shek was going to Cairo to meet with US President Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Churchill. This was the famous Cairo Conference.
In fact, President Roosevelt originally wanted to bring Stalin, the supreme leader of the Soviet Union, to Cairo for the four major powers to meet together to study the future of the war and the post-war situation. However, the arrogant Stalin insisted that China, a poor and weak country, did not deserve the status of a great power. Unworthy of sitting with him as an equal to discuss the future of the postwar world, he suggested that the leaders of the Soviet Union, the United States, and Britain find another time and place to meet.
When the news reached Guadalcanal, Wang Yaowu and Liao Yaoxiang were very excited. Of course they knew what it meant for Chairman Chiang to be on an equal footing with Roosevelt and Churchill. This was definitely an affirmation of China's role in World War II and its status as a great power.
It seems that Roosevelt is a pretty good person and spares no effort to support China. However, Xu Rui is noncommittal to their statements. Where is there a free lunch in this world
The reason why Roosevelt supported China was closely related to the fact that the Chinese contained a large number of Japanese Japs on the anti-Japanese battlefield, which greatly reduced the pressure on the Americans in the Pacific battlefield.
Therefore, Xu Rui was not as excited as Wang Yaowu and Liao Yaoxiang, nor did he take it to heart. However, within a few days, he received news that Chairman Jiang proposed that he would like to meet Wang Yaowu, Liao Yaoxiang and others during the Cairo meeting. Xu Rui.
Wang Yaowu and Liao Yaoxiang were very excited. Their faces were filled with joy and they said, "It's great. We can finally see the principal again this time."
Xu Rui said: "My recent training has been very stressful, and I have a bad cold, so it's better not to go."
Liao Yaoxiang looked at Xu Rui and said to himself that Xu Rui was as strong as an elephant. When did he get sick? It seems that he does not want to see Chairman Chiang. After thinking about it carefully, he already understands that although Chairman Chiang is the leader of China, he still has different ideas from the Eighth Route Army. Therefore, Xu Rui does not want to see Chairman Chiang. normal.
In fact, Xu Rui also thinks so. It is not a good thing to meet Chairman Chiang himself. When he was in Dameishan, if Chairman Chiang hadn't kept causing trouble, how could the Dameishan base area have been lost
Over the years, I have always remembered Chairman Chiang's "goodness", so why would I go to see him? Besides, even if I meet Chairman Chiang, I am afraid that I will encounter the same surrender as Soong Meiling, and in the end they will end up on bad terms. , rather than like this, it would be better not to see him.
Wang Yaowu and Liao Yaoxiang were happy and kept training their troops, hoping to show their faces in the battle and bring glory to Chairman Chiang Kai-shek. During this time, Xu Rui had also been training the troops. Due to the battle involving the third regiment some time ago, It was very intense, so there was a certain reduction in personnel. The top priority was how to replenish the troops.
Due to historical and practical reasons, the New Sixth Army and the Seventy-Fourth Army were effectively supplemented by domestic troops after their losses, but Xu Rui's troops could not be supplemented because the recruits from the country were all selected by the National Government. Naturally, they would not hand over their recruits to the Eighth Route Army, and the Third Regiment had no way to obtain soldiers from the country. If things went on like this, they would only become weaker and weaker. For this reason, Xu Rui was scratching his head.
How can we replenish troops? The entire leadership of the third regiment was in distress, but He Shuya had an idea, found Xu Rui, and said to Xu Rui: "Captain, I thought of a way to replenish the troops."
Xu Rui asked: "What can I do?"
He Shuya said: "We cannot recruit troops from within the country, but we can recruit troops from abroad."
Leng Tiefeng on the side said: "You don't want to recruit troops from the natives of Guadalcanal. We don't understand the language at all, and they can't integrate into the army."
He Shuya said: "We are not recruiting troops from the natives. What I mean is that many Chinese people live in Honolulu, Hawaii, USA. Can we recruit troops from these overseas Chinese and Chinese?"
Xu Rui's eyes lit up and he said: "This is a good idea. These Chinese and overseas Chinese have very high qualities and are quick to accept new things. The vast majority of them are patriotic. You can consider recruiting soldiers from among them. However, Hawaii is a territory of the United States, so before that, we need to get permission from the Americans."
Therefore, Xu Rui communicated with MacArthur. MacArthur also believed that the Third Regiment was a powerful force and must be supplemented by soldiers. However, Chairman Chiang had always disagreed with replenishing his recruits to the Third Regiment. If the Third Regiment had to Recruiting troops from Hawaii can indeed play a role in supplementing troops.
However, the recruitment of foreign soldiers in the country was too big for MacArthur to make the decision, so he reported the matter to President Roosevelt. In view of the huge role of the Third Regiment in the Pacific battlefield, President Roosevelt finally approved the matter, but President Roosevelt emphasized that , only three regiments could recruit troops in the United States, and the rest of the Chinese army could only be replenished by new recruits shipped from China.
At this point, the recruitment and replenishment of the third regiment was settled, and Xu Rui immediately sent He Shuya to take people to Hawaii to recruit troops. A few days later, He Shuya received news from Hawaii that the overseas Chinese in Hawaii were very enthusiastic about joining the army. In just three days, 500 additional soldiers had been recruited. Many overseas Chinese learned that China was recruiting troops in Hawaii. , flew thousands of miles from the United States to Hawaii, and the recruitment scene was extremely hot. He Shuya also asked Xu Rui how to deal with the remaining overseas Chinese who wanted to join the army.
After receiving He Shuya's report, Xu Rui felt very relieved. The majority of overseas Chinese were still patriotic. With their support, why worry about being unable to drive out the Japanese invaders
The recruitment work has been going on for half a month. He Shuya recruited all the soldiers in only three days. However, too many people came to join the army. Among them were ordinary workers, students, businessmen, and some from wealthy families. Many people even Go through various channels and donate money and materials to the Third Regiment in order to become a soldier of the Third Regiment.
The recruitment scene was so hot that He Shuya received Xu Rui's instructions and refused to accept anyone who came. So, within half a month, He Shuya actually recruited more than 3,500 new soldiers. At this time, there were only 2,000 veterans in the third regiment. More than five hundred people, that is to say, the number of recruits He Shuya recruited this time has far exceeded the original number of the Third Regiment, and the actual strength of the Third Regiment has even reached two regiments.
A few days later, these recruits were airlifted to Guadalcanal and prepared to receive training from Xu Rui on Guadalcanal.
He Shuya came to Xu Rui to report on the recruitment process during this period. He Shuya said: "When Chinese Americans heard that the Chinese army was recruiting troops in the United States, they were very supportive. Many people flew thousands of miles from the United States to Hawaii overnight. , there are still many people donating money and materials to our Third Regiment, the scene is very lively, this is because time is short, if you give me another two months, I can recruit 5,000 new soldiers for the Third Regiment."
Xu Rui said: "This may be the first time in China's modern history that foreign troops are recruited from abroad, and we can be regarded as the first of its kind."
He Shuya said: "Captain, these Chinese and overseas Chinese are of high quality. Some of them are even college students. Many of them have good family backgrounds. Some of them are children of wealthy businessmen. I am really touched that they can come to join the army." .”
Xu Rui said: "Nerds, everyone is responsible for the rise and fall of a country. The reason why China will not perish like India is because when China encounters danger, it can unite as a team and unite as one. Otherwise, China would have long become the domain of foreigners. colony."
He Shuya said: "Captain, I have settled them. Do you want to go and have a look?"
"Batalion Commander, it's not good!" A soldier hurried over, and He Shuya asked, "What happened?"
The soldier said: "The two recruits got into a fight and both used knives!"
"Damn, he's even become a sperm! Come on, let's take a look!"
Xu Rui stood up and walked with He Shuya towards the camp where the recruits were.
Along the way, Xu Rui and He Shuya learned what happened under the introduction of the soldier. It turned out that these two soldiers, one surnamed Chen, his ancestral home is Fujian Province, and the other surnamed Lin, his ancestral home is Taiwan Province. The soldier surnamed Chen from Fujian Province accidentally broke a jade pendant of the soldier surnamed Lin. The soldier surnamed Lin said that this piece The jade pendant was his ancestral treasure, and he insisted on paying him 10,000 yuan. Before joining the army, the soldier surnamed Chen was just a dock worker in Honolulu, USA, and was unable to pay back. The soldier surnamed Lin asked him to write a letter to compensate him later, so the two of them There was a quarrel, and the soldier surnamed Lin used a knife.
After a while, a group of people arrived at the new barracks. They saw a strong soldier holding a knife in his hand, pointing at another relatively thin soldier and shouting: "Mr. Chen, if you don't pay compensation today, I will kill you!"
"Brother, isn't it just 10,000 yuan? Don't embarrass Brother Chen, I will just pay it to you." A fair-skinned and handsome recruit said.
Xu Rui looked up at the ground and saw a jade pendant broken in half on the ground. Xu Rui picked up the jade pendant and took a look at it, then pushed the soldier surnamed Chen aside, pointed at the soldier surnamed Lin, and said: "You want him to pay for your jade pendant?"
"Yes, that is my ancestral treasure. It is worth at least 10,000 oceans. Today he can give out 10,000 oceans. If he can't come up with 10,000 oceans, I will stab him to death!"
"Sir, he is blackmailing people!" The soldier surnamed Lin said angrily from the side.
Xu Rui chuckled and said to the soldier surnamed Lin: "On the way, I heard that you were using knives. I thought I met a good soldier who dared to do anything. But now it seems that I just met a man who only knew how to do it." A coward who blackmails people."
"Pack up your salutes and get out of here right away. I don't accept soldiers with bad quality here!" Xu Rui said.
"Sir, this matter has nothing to do with you. It is only natural to compensate for broken things." The soldier surnamed Lin said.
"Brother Lin, I said, I will pay for this." The fair-skinned soldier said.
"No need to apologize." Xu Rui glanced at the fair-skinned soldier, and then said to the soldier named Lin: "Don't you understand what I mean?" Xu Rui shook the jade pendant...