Chapter 675: Marshal Mai is proud of the spring breeze (first update, please subscribe)
At this time, the United States is proud of the spring breeze.
Following the "Berlin Airlift", the "Incheon Landing" and the subsequent heroic advance of the US military, the victory of conquering cities and territories along the way allowed the United States to prove its determination to defend the "Meda World" with actions.
The glorious victory on the peninsula made Marshal Mai, who had a good relationship with the media, once again the darling of the American news media. Naturally, Marshal Mai was highly praised in various news reports.
I don’t know if the wording is disgusting. But in the newspapers, Marshal Mai is simply the resurrection of Caesar and the reincarnation of Napoleon, and he can be called the third general in human history.
Marshal Mai, who seemed to have entered the role of the third general in ancient and modern times, reached the peak of his reputation after the "Incheon Landing".
However, at the same time, Truman, who was in the White House, was dissatisfied with Marshal MacArthur. After the success of the "Incheon Landing", he sent a message inviting MacArthur to return to the country to renegotiate the peninsula's future. One step forward.
But Marshal Mai, who didn’t want to change his plan at all, called back directly and claimed that he was very busy and had no time to go back.
Concerned about the war on the Peninsula, Truman had to condescend to run over to meet with MacArthur. The meeting place was Wake Island, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, 10,000 miles from the mainland of the United States.
On October 15, Truman’s special plane arrived at Wake Island.
Truman's schedule was very tight. With him were two other passenger planes, which contained hundreds of journalists and the president's entourage, as well as two tons of gifts for Mrs. MacArthur, including a large number of candy. These candies were Mrs. MacArthur's favorite and were absolutely impossible to buy in Tokyo.
When the Independence plane flew over Wake Island, he did not land immediately, but circled three times. The reason is that Truman wants Mike to be there waiting for him, not that he is waiting for Mike.
Looking at Mike and the group of reporters waiting outside the cabin, Truman frowned and said nothing. When the cabin door opened, Truman, with a smile on his face, got off the plane. Then, it was Truman who took the initiative to hold Mike's hand and extend his deepest greetings.
As required, the two men met. Marshal Mai is a general. As a soldier, Marshal Mai should give a military salute. It is not a should but a must. After all, Truman is the president and commander-in-chief of the armed forces. However, between the two of them, When shaking hands, Marshal Mai just gently touched Truman's arm, which was regarded as a salute.
After meeting the reporters at the airport, the two people took a dilapidated Chevrolet car to a prefabricated house near the airport. When the two met, only one intelligence officer named Goulden remained.
In the following talks, they talked about the conclusion of a treaty with Japan, the Asian Defense Alliance and other issues. Of course, the most important thing was the conversation about the peninsula issue. During the meeting between the two, Mike talked freely. He was more optimistic about the prospects of the war than Truman had imagined. In his opinion, the Korean War is actually over, and now only needs to clean up some stragglers. He believed that the troops would soon leave North Korea and that the next step would be civilian control.
Listening to Mike's talk, Truman couldn't help but frown. He couldn't bear what Mike did. Who gave a general the power to expand the war?
However, Truman still suppressed his inner dissatisfaction, and finally asked the question he was most concerned about:
"General, in your opinion, after we cross the 38th parallel, , what is the possibility of the Russians and Tangshan sending troops?"
Mike replied:
"It is unlikely that the Russians will come. Although there is movement in Tangshan, it is absolutely impossible. If they decided to intervene a month or two ago, it would be decisive. But now we have achieved a complete victory. Tangshan is on the Yalu River. There are only 50,000 to 60,000 people, and they don’t have an air force. If they join the war, they will definitely suffer a devastating blow from us.”
Facing the confident Mike, Truman warned:
"General, I need you to understand that the United States only wants to fight a limited war on the peninsula. Our focus is Europe. Do you understand?"
Mike couldn't listen to this sentence at all. He said directly. "Mr. President, although Tangshan has deployed heavy troops on the border and issued countless warnings, this is nothing more than scaring people and a form of "diplomatic blackmail." They don't dare to send troops at all, so how can they talk about unlimited war? Please tell me Don’t worry, we will definitely be able to end the battle before Thanksgiving, and the children will be home for the holidays before Christmas.”
Looking at Mike in front of him, thinking of the troops that had crossed the 38th Parallel 15 days ago, although Truman was very unhappy in his heart, in the face of the established facts, he could only choose to acquiesce, or even support.
After all, Mike is in the limelight now. Thanks to the media's bragging, he is basically the most popular fried chicken in the United States. If he stops Mike's attack, he will become a "coward" in the eyes of public opinion.
Finally, after pondering for a long time, Truman recognized the established fact.
The meeting between the two people only lasted 96 minutes. Although Truman hoped that Mike could have lunch with him, Mike used the excuse of military affairs. He didn't seem to want to waste another minute on Wake Island. Before parting, Truman gave Mike a Quality Service Medal. But this medal is not a rare thing for MacArthur, because he already has as many as six in his hand.
While watching Mike's special plane "Supreme Allied Commander" leave Wake Island, Truman, who frowned, patted his clothes in disgust, as if he wanted to wipe away the smell of cigarette smoke... During the previous meeting, although McMahon knew that Truman did not smoke and did not like others smoking in front of him, he still smoked three pipes in a row.
"What an arrogant guy!"
Despite what he thought in his heart, Truman was a little helpless. Now, he even needs to deliberately please this guy, because this guy is the darling of American public opinion and is the " The greatest warrior.”
Even he, the president, can only condescend to please him, just like bringing more than two tons of gifts to his wife, but what is the point of such flattery?
“I hope everything goes as this guy said, and this war will be over soon!”
While Truman was praying in his heart, what he didn’t know was , Tangshan has decided to send troops, and even when the two people were talking, Tangshan's army had entered the peninsula.
When the "Supreme Commander Allied Forces" in the sky disappeared from people's sight, Secretary of State Dean Acheson walked to Truman, took out the telegram, and placed it in front of Truman.
"Mr. President, after learning that you arrived at Wake Island, Li Nian hopes that you can visit Nanyang."
Faced with the invitation from an old friend, Truman thought for a while and said.
"Tell Lee, because there are still many affairs to be dealt with in Washington, I am sorry that if I have a chance next time, I will definitely visit Nanyang."
Why did Truman refuse?
It was because the peace talks with Japan had reached a critical moment. At this time, he could only say sorry to his old friend.
(End of this chapter)