Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

Of course, another important reason is that for the United States, the most important thing is Europe, not the Far East. Compared with Europe, the Far East has declined in importance.

But this time the United States cannot let it go easily.

Because this involves face.

For the United States, face is extremely important. While the United States currently holds the sway over the Western world, this position is far from secure. The Western world still includes two established imperialist powers, Britain and France. Although World War II severely damaged Britain and France, these two countries, as global hegemons from the colonial era, still possess numerous colonies. Their global influence remains comparable to that of the United States and the Soviet Union. As the new hegemon of the Western world, the United States, if it loses face, it will lose both power and influence. Any disruption to a hegemon's power and influence directly impacts its rule.

Therefore, the United States must never lose face easily.

But the most important strategy for the United States at present is to integrate European countries, not to intervene in the war in China.

This becomes very contradictory.

After the Qingdao Incident, many in the United States clamored for military intervention in China. The most prominent example was MacArthur, Japan's former emperor. MacArthur was eager to take action, hoping that Congress would approve his entry into China. One reason for this was to teach the ignorant Chinese Communist Army a lesson, and the other was to help Chiang Kai-shek seize power in China.

Some members of Congress in the United States are also jumping up and down, saying that they must teach the Chinese Communist Party a lesson.

All of this gave Truman a headache.

"What did Stuart say?"

"Stuart reported that the Chinese Communist Party representatives were very tough and constantly condemned our involvement in the Chinese war. They not only condemned the conflict in Qingdao, but also accused us of supporting the Chiang Kai-shek clique. Moreover, their army showed no sign of compromise. They deployed more and more troops outside Qingdao, now nearly 20 troops. The Chinese Communist Party representatives said that if we provoked a war in Qingdao, they would launch an attack without hesitation. The Chinese Communist Party delegation also stated that the CCP had already begun planning to deal with Chiang Kai-shek's troops in Qingdao. The Chinese Communist Party troops stated that whether our troops were in Qingdao or not, they would attack Qingdao on time and demanded that we withdraw from Qingdao before then."

Truman frowned.

After the Qingdao conflict, Stuart actively negotiated with the Chinese Communist Party.

But the situation is not good.

The CCP representatives adopted a very tough stance during negotiations with their US counterparts. Of course, there's no other way around this. The central government really wants to maintain good relations with the US and doesn't want to antagonize them, but this is the only possible situation.

If the central government compromises in this situation, like the Northern Expedition, then many problems will arise in the future. There are so many foreign warships on the Yangtze River, especially for the British, who once owned the Yangtze River. Even now, the British have many interests in the Yangtze River basin.

The Central Committee has now established the General Front Committee for Crossing the Yangtze River and is actively preparing to cross it.

However, if they back down on the Qingdao issue, how would they deal with the numerous foreign warships stationed on the Yangtze River? Those powers were watching closely, and if the PLA behaved like previous Chinese armies, they would look down on them. When crossing the river, who knows what these foreign armies might do. Therefore, for the sake of future plans, the central government could not back down and could only confront this situation with a firm and resolute attitude.

However, the central government's unwavering stance left the US unsure of its true intentions. Even Truman and Marshall were baffled. What gave the CCP the confidence to challenge the US so harshly?

Truman thought for a moment and said, "Does the Chinese Communist Party really dare to fight us?"

This conflict was not orchestrated by Truman, Marshall, and others. The US military's departure from Qingdao and relocation of its defensive positions was indeed intended to test the attitudes of the Chinese Communist Party and the People's Liberation Army. Of course, the US military's willingness to test the PLA ultimately stemmed from its contempt for the CCP and the PLA.

But who could have imagined that a real fight would break out.

Moreover, the CPC Central Committee and the PLA were now so tough. This was something that neither Truman nor anyone else had anticipated. Marshall quickly concluded the Four Foreign Ministers' Conference and hurried back to Washington.

"Judging from the current attitude, the CCP is indeed different from other Chinese militaries. In the past, when faced with such situations, the Chinese military always chose to keep quiet. They usually avoided such incidents, and even if a conflict occurred, they generally chose to give in. But the CCP army does not seem to have any intention of giving in.

Marshall replied.

Marshall was relatively familiar with China. He served in China during the Beiyang government. After the end of World War II, Marshall mediated in China and had some understanding of the Chinese Communist Party.

"."

Truman snorted coldly: "The Soviet Union is behind the Chinese Communist Party."

Without the Soviet Union, would the CCP be so bold?

Many people in Europe and the United States now suspect that the Soviet Union was behind this incident. The Soviet Union deliberately allowed the Chinese Communist Army to provoke a conflict with the United States, hoping to entangle the United States in the Far East and expand its influence in Europe.

Although there is no conclusive evidence, many people believe this.

Truman had the same suspicion.

The failure of the four-nation foreign ministers' conference was due to the huge differences between Britain, the United States, and the Soviet Union on the German and European issues. If this continued, the conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union would become increasingly serious, and the two countries might even come to blows in Europe.

"What is the current situation of the Chiang Kai-shek Group?"

"very bad."

Marshall said: "In just the past six months, Chiang Kai-shek's group has not only lost most of its territory, but also lost 300 million troops.

Chiang Kai-shek's elite troops have been largely wiped out. South of the Yangtze River, Chiang Kai-shek still has two to three million troops, but they are largely ineffective. Judging from the current situation, Chiang Kai-shek's troops south of the Yangtze River are already struggling to hold off the Chinese Communists.

The collapse is too fast.

It happened so fast that many forces were caught off guard.

"Stuart also made it clear that Chiang Kai-shek's group would never be able to hold the Yangtze River defense line."

"We didn't give them that much military supplies."

Truman was now furious.

Over the past year, the United States has provided Chiang Kai-shek with a large amount of military supplies. Chiang Kai-shek's representatives have also vowed that they are building hundreds of thousands of new American-equipped troops and will not lose China.

The results of it?

So many good things fell into the hands of the People's Liberation Army.

Moreover, Stuart directly stated that the National Army could not defend the Yangtze River defense line.

"Stuart said that the officials and generals under Chiang Kai-shek were still enjoying singing and dancing and various banquets every day, and their extravagant life was not affected by the defeat on the battlefield at all.

Furthermore, a large amount of the military supplies we provided to Chiang Kai-shek's group have appeared on the black market."

Stuart was very dissatisfied with Chiang Kai-shek and his group.

This is a corrupt and backward group.

There is no way they can compare to the Chinese Communist Party. When Truman heard Stuart's report, he was too tired to curse.

What the hell is the US supporting in China?

"What's Wedemeyer's opinion?"

"Wedemeyer analyzed the combat effectiveness of the Chinese Communist Army through the lens of the current Chinese Civil War and the previous Qingdao conflict. Wedemeyer believed that if only infantry units were fighting, the Chinese Communist Army's combat effectiveness would be no less than impressive. Their troops were strictly disciplined, employed sound tactics, and were not afraid of casualties, demonstrating exceptional bravery. This was unmatched by any Chinese army we had previously known."

"What if we were to send troops into a war in China?"

"Wedemeyer said that China is too big, its population is too large, and the CCP's army is too large. The CCP currently has nearly 400 million regular troops and to million reserve troops. If anything happens, the CCP can mobilize no less than million troops. If we only compare infantry units, the current CCP is more combat-capable than the original Japanese army. If we only want to help Chiang Kai-shek hold the area south of the Yangtze River, then we need to send to troops. If we want to help Chiang Kai-shek seize power in China, then we need to send a million troops. This is the case when the Soviet Union does not provide military supplies to the CCP. If the Soviet Union chooses to support the CCP troops on a large scale, the situation will be even worse."

Wedemeyer had carefully studied the combat effectiveness of the People's Liberation Army.

He also studied the former Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army. So, at the start of the Liberation War, Wedemeyer wrote a report to the US government, stating that the Chinese Communist Party was likely to defeat Chiang Kai-shek. Although Chiang Kai-shek's group clearly held the upper hand, Wedemeyer was not optimistic about it.

As expected, after only a year or so of the Liberation War, Chiang Kai-shek's group had already suffered a crushing defeat.

What if the US military joins the war?

Wedemeyer also made a detailed investigation report.

Three or five hundred thousand? One million?

Where does the United States have so many troops now?

"There is some very bad news."

"Ever since the clash between us and the Chinese Communist Army in Qingdao, anti-US protests have taken place in major Chinese cities. And their scale is growing. Chiang Kai-shek's group says the CCP is behind all of this. Regardless of whether it's the CCP's doing or not, if we continue to let it go, it will be very disadvantageous to us."

Truman basically understood.

Neither Stuart nor Wedemeyer were optimistic about Chiang Kai-shek's group, and even Marshall did not support direct US participation in the war. However, if the US simply withdrew from China, it would not be a good thing for Truman.

Truman couldn't help but ask, "Can't we defend Qingdao?"

After all, there are 30,000 US troops in Qingdao.

Marshall shook his head and said, "Qingdao is indefensible. The Chinese Communist Army, having fought against the Japanese in World War II, is very skilled in night combat. Although our troops are well-armed, this advantage is greatly reduced at night. Furthermore, the Chinese Communist Army is outnumbered. If a real fight breaks out, even if we secure Qingdao, we will suffer heavy casualties. Heavy casualties at this stage will also be disadvantageous to us. With such strong anti-war sentiment in the country, it will affect next year's election."

"You mean evacuating from Qingdao?"

"Qingdao is already an isolated city. There's no point in keeping it here."

Truman revealed his head.

The more I think about it, the more aggrieved I feel.

So he immediately said: "We should form a Western alliance as soon as possible."

Truman figured it out.

The current situation requires more than just the United States. The socialist states under the Soviet Union were all its minions, essentially obeying its orders. While Western countries can't be described as a loose cannon, the situation isn't much better.

Therefore, it is very necessary to form a Western alliance as soon as possible and unify the voice and pace.

Marshall nodded.

I understand what Truman means.

Truman said, "Tell Stuart and Wedemeyer to negotiate at a higher level with the Chinese Communist Party. We can evacuate Qingdao, but the Chinese Communist Party must stop its anti-American propaganda and protect the personal and property safety of our compatriots in China."

Chapter 741 Untitled

After the United States decided to upgrade the level of negotiations with the CCP, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China also issued a positive response.

Although the central government has made many preparations, it is better not to fight if it can be avoided. Now the troops have begun to prepare for the river crossing operation. If the US warships come to disrupt the operation at this time, it will greatly affect the river crossing operation.

Therefore, the Central Committee dispatched Zhang Wentian, a Politburo member, member of the Northeast Bureau Standing Committee, and Minister of Organization, as head of the negotiation delegation. Li Kenong, Minister of Social Affairs, and Xu Shiyou, Commander of the Shandong Military Region, served as deputy heads of the delegation to directly negotiate with Stuart. The Central Committee's representatives were considered of high caliber, and Stuart was quite pleased with the CCP Central Committee's dispatch of such a high-ranking delegation. Furthermore, despite the military conflict, Stuart viewed it as a good opportunity to engage with the CCP.

Even if such a conflict hadn't occurred, there would still have been significant concerns about engaging with the CCP. Especially after the outbreak of the Liberation War, Stuart faced significant difficulties in reaching out to high-level CCP officials. As the US ambassador to China, his every move was closely watched. He had to consider the attitudes of his Western allies, Britain and France, as well as the attitudes of his Chinese allies, Chiang Kai-shek and his group.

However, despite these concerns, Stuart was an American, after all, and he had to consider America's long-term interests. He had already determined that Chiang Kai-shek's group could not hold the Yangtze River, and that the future of China would inevitably be led by the Chinese Communist Party. Therefore, US China policy must change, and future engagement with the CCP was essential. Because the US had always supported Chiang Kai-shek's group, relations with the CCP were not ideal. This was a perfect opportunity to legitimately engage with the CCP's top brass and gain a direct, face-to-face understanding of the CCP's stance.

In addition to resolving the Qingdao conflict, Stuart also sought to discuss future bilateral relations with the CCP leadership. Political, economic, and military matters were all open for discussion. For the benefit of the United States, the US did not want China to completely align with the Soviet Union.

The two sides finally decided to hold negotiations in Jinan.

However, these are matters between the Central Committee and the United States. Wei Hongjun is not even an alternate member of the Central Committee, so he cannot participate in such matters. Moreover, as the person in charge of the daily work of the North China Bureau, the North China People's Government, and the North China Military Region, Wei Hongjun himself is very busy.

Wei Hongjun's headache lately has been how to stabilize the cities in North China.

At present, Beijing, Tianjin and other places are still unstable.

Especially after the Qingdao conflict broke out.

Rumors were flying everywhere. Some claimed the PLA had been defeated, others that the US, angered by the CCP, had sent troops to attack the PLA. The situation in Tianjin was the worst, with rumors circulating that US warships were about to attack the city. In any case, public opinion was largely pessimistic about the PLA.

Under such rumors, those businessmen who did not trust the CCP in the first place were all preparing to pack up and run away.

This is what businessmen do.

Many readers are the same.

They were all very scared.

Fortunately, the CCP's current ruling foundation is the worker-peasant alliance. If the CCP's ruling foundation were these intellectuals and businessmen, the current regime would be unstable. Furthermore, this is the first time the CCP has governed major cities like Beijing and Tianjin. There are many problems, and Wei Hongjun has devoted a great deal of energy to handling them.