Shadow Spy

Chapter 235 The Problem of the Italian Army

"Of course!" Li Junhao did not refuse and raised his glass to signal.

This time, Luce just wanted to start the topic and introduce the Italian military attaché Neto to Li Junhao. Now that the task was completed, he smiled and raised the red wine in return. After drinking, he stood up and left, leaving room for the two of them to talk.

The Italian military attache Sac Neto was a bit introverted, but at this time, he had to say something, so after having a glass of red wine with him, he also took a can of beer, opened it, took a big sip and said: "Pan Sen Your Excellency, I have something important to ask for your opinion..."

Li Junhao nodded to show that he heard it. He held another plate of charcoal-grilled salmon and said, "Colonel Neto, please tell me."

"I would like to ask about your attitude towards our country's garrison of troops in the concession?" Neto said.

"You mean the 256 soldiers who moved to No. 700 Xiaoshadu Road?" Li Junhao said, "They should be fine now. There are no problems with their barracks, supplies, and security."

"No, no, I mean the future..." Neto waved his hand, "You should be very clear about the situation in Europe now. Germany has occupied Poland, Britain and France have declared war on Germany, and Italy and Germany are allies. In this case , the situation of our Italian troops stationed in the Shanghai Concession is very embarrassing... What I want to ask is, how do you, the United States, plan to treat our troops?"

Li Junhao liked Neto's frankness, so he said: "Colonel Neto, this matter actually depends on you... Let's put it this way, the situation in Europe is tens of thousands of kilometers away, and we people are still To live here in Shanghai, what we urgently need to care about is the present! As for how we will treat those 700 Italian troops, it actually depends entirely on your decision..."

His words were very true. Neto understood and was silent for a moment. After drinking a can of beer, he said: "Sir Panson, if one day Italy is also in a state of hostility with Britain and France, you and the United States can still remain neutral. ?"

Li Junhao smiled, shook his head and said: "Colonel Neto, don't you want to say: If Italy declares war on Britain and France over there in Europe, in the Shanghai concession, you 700 Italian troops will fight Are 1700 British troops going to war with 4000 French troops in the French Concession? With all due respect, even if we don’t participate, you won’t be able to win!”

Hearing this, Neto felt embarrassed and waved his hands hurriedly: "Of course that's not the case! I was just thinking about how to find a safe escape route for our 700 soldiers..."

Li Junhao said: "In fact, I personally think that the best way now is for your garrison to leave here. Whether it is war or peace, returning to their own country is the most correct choice for them."

"That is indeed the case, but it can't be done now." Neto sighed, "I asked for permission a month ago, but those in the country didn't agree... Mr. Pan Sen, I want to ask for your help to find a A reliable way to ensure the safety of these 700 innocent soldiers... For this, I am willing to pay a reasonable price!"

Huh?The other party's attitude was beyond Li Junhao's expectation. Is the Italian military attache really compassionate or just testing him?At this time, the weakness of the detection radar is revealed. It can only show that the other party is a harmless gray light point, and cannot detect his true intentions. He still needs to judge by himself.After thinking for a while, Li Junhao lowered his voice and said: "Colonel Neto, I can only offer two suggestions: One is that you 700 soldiers find a way to return home quickly, the other is to become harmless ordinary expatriates... Whichever you choose, you can It's up to you!" This was both the truth and a test to see what the other party's intentions were.

Hearing this, Neto fell into deep thought and didn't speak for a long time.

Li Junhao has exhausted his benevolence and will not say any more, and concentrates on cooking the delicious grilled salmon! ——
During the rest of the reception, Li Junhao, who had eaten and drank enough, left early after dealing with some curious people in the observation group!Regarding his behavior, Miss Hanprey, the first secretary of the Commercial Section of the Consulate General, laughed and said: This guy just came to eat, and of course he left when he was full.

When he left, Xie Jinyuan immediately followed him - he was so pestered by those ladies and ladies!
Somewhat unexpectedly, Lieutenant Colonel Rupp also followed up, saying that he didn't control himself well today and needed to go back to practice more and lose weight!
At present, the heavy training plan of the 15th Infantry Regiment is going very smoothly. After ten days of treatment, the symptoms of the patients have improved significantly, and other officers and soldiers have returned to the normal training rhythm. Of course, some of them do not want to practice hard, but Commander Lupu was about to get excited, thinking that the lazy guy would naturally be repaired a lot, and now no one dared to cause trouble anymore.

The training tasks for the 327th Regiment are heavier, but with the efforts of the veterans of the original Gu Army Camp, thousands of new recruits have been on the right track. What is lacking now is time; the situation of the Fourth Marine Regiment is similar.
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On Monday, Li Junhao went to the Consulate General to attend a joint meeting between the Shanghai Navy, political and commercial tripartite and the observation group, and made a special speech to introduce the situation of the concession police station.

After the large joint meeting, the military team of the observation group held a small meeting with Li Junhao and Kelton to discuss the current military issues in Shanghai and Hainan.

During this process, Li Junhao felt that some of the questions raised by the other party were aimed at his own concession plan. It seemed that Ayers had already formed his own ideas into a report and submitted it to the country, and had received approval from the State Council, the Navy Department, and attention of the War Department.

Although the final policy of the United States has not yet been made clear, the arrival of the 15th Infantry Regiment in Shanghai and the addition of 5500 new recruits, as well as the fact that he just learned about the naval ship reinforcements in the Far East, indicate that the United States is paying more attention to the situation in the Far East, which is a good sign. .

This time, in order to escort 5500 recruits to Shanghai, the Pacific Fleet transferred an Omaha-class light cruiser USS Concord from the Atlantic Fleet and a Brooklyn-class light cruiser USS Savannah from the Pacific Fleet. The two ships were escorting After the mission is completed, it will join the Asian fleet sequence, which can be regarded as a considerable increase in strength.

In addition, at the end of the conversation, after Kelton left first, Colonel Turner, the leader of the military team, said a few words to Li Junhao alone, to the effect that the military team is currently discussing the issue of garrisoning troops in the concession with Britain, France and Italy. It's a discussion, which may result soon, so let him be prepared.

After Li Junhao politely expressed his gratitude, he saluted and left, thinking in his heart: It seems that his plan may succeed!I just don’t know how far the military team can go, let’s wait and see!

(End of this chapter)