September 1979, the eve of the National Day.
On the flight from Los Angeles to Beijing, there were two Americans, an old one and a young one. The old man had a white beard, but his blue eyes with typical European and American characteristics were still piercing. The young man looked about twenty years old. He was tall and handsome, especially in the navy uniform, which made several golden stewardesses on the flight express their displeasure at him.
It's a pity that the young soldier only talked in a low voice with the old man and didn't even notice the flirtatious looks of the flight attendants.
"Time flies so fast. Forty years have passed in the blink of an eye, and I am getting old." The old man sighed, "But it is worth it to come to China again before I die and meet my old friends." Well, I really didn’t expect that I would be able to meet them again in my lifetime.”
The young man shrugged and said, "Grandpa David, are you surprised that China and the United States can re-establish diplomatic relations?"
"Of course." The old man said with a smile, "Ten years ago, who would have dared to say that China and the United States would one day resume diplomatic relations?"
The young man waved his hands and said: "Actually, China and the United States would have had the opportunity to become friends. If the U.S. government had adopted the Dixie Mission's suggestion and provided military assistance to the Nationalist Government to the Chinese Communist Party, the new Red Army would have It is possible that the Chinese regime will completely fall to the United States, and then there will be no subsequent Korean War."
The old man chuckled and said: "Jack, you have made the problem simple. It is impossible for the new red Chinese regime to fully surrender to the US government. Also, the reason why the US government gave military aid to the National Government but not to the Nationalist Government* *, this is not a wrong choice, it is actually an inevitable choice of the US government."
"Why?" the young man said in confusion, "Why is this the inevitable choice of the US government?"
The old man smiled slightly and said: "Because the National Government recognizes all the treaties signed with the West since the Manchu Qing Dynasty, such as the public concession in Shanghai, the customs tax mortgaged to Western banks, and Hong Kong ceded to the United Kingdom, etc., and the new life It is impossible for the red regime to recognize these treaties. You should know that these treaties are not just the treaties themselves, but involve tens of billions of dollars in debt. Of course, these are not the most important.”
The young man was stunned for a moment and said, "So Grandpa David, what is the most important thing?"
The old man lowered his voice and said: "The most important thing is that at that time, neither the United States nor the Soviet Union wanted to see a unified new China emerge. They both wanted China to remain divided. And based on the situation at the time, if the U.S. government abandoned the Kuomintang and If we fully assist the Chinese Communist Party, the Kuomintang will soon be defeated by the Chinese Communist Party, and China will be quickly unified. This is not in the interest of the United States, so it is impossible for the US government to assist the Chinese Communist Party."
The young man frowned and said: "You mean to say that on the eve of the end of the Anti-Japanese War, the power of the Chinese Communist Party had an overwhelming advantage over the Kuomintang? Without the assistance of the US government, let alone three years, they would have even Can't last even a year? Can I understand that? "
"You can understand that." The old man said, "But what I want to say is that without the assistance of the U.S. government, the Kuomintang would not have been able to hold on for even half a year! If you have not experienced that era, you cannot imagine the greed of those officials of the National Government. To what extent, just talk about their finance minister. Before World War II, he was just an unknown person, but after the end of World War II, he became the world's richest man. He was richer than our American steel tycoon Morgan and oil tycoon Rockler. , can you imagine where that money came from?”
"I know." The young man said, "This money is all financial aid from the U.S. government to the National Government, but in the end it was all deposited into the private accounts of these bureaucrats. That's why President Truman was very angry and said, including Chiang Kai-shek All senior officials of the National Government should be thrown into prison."
The old man waved his hand and said, "Jack, stop talking about these meaningless things and talk about something else."
"Okay." The young man nodded and said, "Well, Grandpa David, I heard that you actually studied mechanics when you were in college. When you were looking for a job after graduation, you became a war correspondent for the Associated Press in China. And later on , you have become a legendary arms dealer again, I want to know how you did it? Especially the transition from reporter to arms dealer."
"Well..." the old man said leisurely, looking at the white clouds passing by outside the window, "Actually, it was an accident. At the beginning, I didn't actually think about becoming an arms dealer, but I just wanted to help my friends get weapons from the United States. A batch of equipment, but when I reacted, I was already deeply involved in it. I can only say that that guy is too cunning. He is like a fox, and he can always let you step into his inadvertently. A trap, whether for his friends or his enemies.”
"Grandpa David, you are talking about General Xu Rui." The young man immediately became interested after hearing this and said eagerly, "That guy who once wiped out our First Cavalry Division on the Korean battlefield, right?"
"Yes, it's this guy." The old man said with a smile, "We will be able to see him soon. Forty-one years have passed, and I really miss him. You don't know, besides his good looks, this guy has a lot of talent. His eloquence is also excellent, and he can always make you sell yourself out in the spring breeze."
The young man immediately became alert and said, "If you put it this way, this negotiation may not be easy."
The old man shook his head and said: "That's not the case. Please believe me. The entire negotiation process will be very relaxed and the atmosphere will be as harmonious as you can imagine. Moreover, your military will eventually agree to our Sikorsky Company's transfer of the key technologies of the Black Hawk." The drawings are transferred to the Chinese side for a fee, because that guy always gives you bargaining chips that you can't refuse."
"This is impossible." The young man shouted, "Although I admire General Xu's legendary experience, I will never make a decision that is detrimental to the United States because of personal reasons."
"Then, let's wait and see."
The old man looked at the white clouds that kept passing by outside the window. His eyelids were drooped. He seemed to be asleep, and he seemed to be caught up in the acceleration of the past. In fact, the young man still had many questions to ask the old man, but when he saw The old man didn't ask any more questions like this, he just pulled the blanket and covered him.
This old man was David. At this time, he recalled the meeting that changed his life.
(Dividing line)
It was the day after the Battle of Feicheng. When he heard that Xu Rui wanted to see him, David immediately put down what he was doing and hurried to Xu Rui's office with his beautiful translator Liang Yixiao.
"Colonel Xu." David said as soon as he entered the door, "Do you finally have time to accept my exclusive interview?"
"Exclusive interview? This is not urgent." Xu Rui waved his hand and asked with a smile, "I heard that you know how to do machining, and you are also a level 6 fitter?"
David immediately turned back to look at Liang Yixiao. Only Liang Yixiao knew that he was a level six fitter.
Liang Yixiao vomited **** at David, saying that she didn't mean it. In fact, she accidentally let it slip to He Shuya. Fate in the world is so magical. Liang Yixiao and He Shuya were originally friends. Two people who were so far apart that there was no way they could ever meet, but because of this damn war, they fell in love.
"Yes, I do have a Level 6 fitter certificate." David could only admit.
"Really? I don't believe it." Xu Rui said as he took out a drawing from the drawer, then pushed the drawing in front of David and said, "You must be able to modify the machine gun on the drawing. , I believe you are a Level 6 fitter. If you are really a Level 6 fitter, I will accept your exclusive interview."
David took the drawing and was immediately attracted.
"A portable Gatling gun?" David said, "Your modification is a bit interesting, but the Gatling gun plus the ammunition belt weighs at least hundreds of kilograms. Are you sure someone can carry it?"
Xu Rui snapped his fingers, and Siberian tigers, boa constrictors, and soldiers marched in proudly.
Looking at the three giant men who were over two meters tall and whose arms were thicker than his thighs, David shook his head and said: "Okay, I take back what I just said, but I have to take a look at the Gatling used for modification. Machine guns, if the gun is too old, problems may occur during the modification process, so it is best to have spare parts.”
Xu Rui shrugged and said, "Sorry, don't talk about spare parts, I don't even have the originals."
"Oh?" David said, "You don't even have Gatling's original copy, so how can you change it?"
"So, this is the main reason why I came to you today." Xu Rui said, "Mr. David, I hope you can become my agent and help me import arms from Shanghai and even the United States. This first batch of arms is six To support the Gatling gun, I am willing to pay you twice the market price. If the cooperation is happy, I will also import more arms and equipment from the United States. Mr. David, this is better than being a reporter for the Associated Press. Too much."
David couldn't help but feel excited. The reason why he risked his life to apply for the Associated Press as a trainee reporter was just because the job paid well. So, if there is a job with a better pay in front of him now , why should he refuse? Being an arms dealer obviously has a much better future than being a reporter.
From the expression on David's face, Xu Rui knew that he was moved, and immediately added another element of anger: "Mr. David, in order to show my sincerity, I can even give you part of the advance payment in advance, based on the market price. The price of one Gatling machine gun is about three hundred dollars. Six guns are one thousand eight hundred dollars. Double the price is thirty six hundred dollars. I can prepay you one thousand dollars worth of gold, which is about 30 ounces. ." (To be continued.)