"How much?" Cun Yunsheng looked at Meng Fangliao's amazed expression and couldn't help but slowly shook his head. In his opinion, these two to three hundred thousand people were really nothing. After all, he had a deep understanding of the cruel and large-scale wars on the European battlefield. "What are two or three hundred thousand people? It's not enough for one battle." Cun Yunsheng's words revealed a kind of helplessness and heaviness, which was the emotion after witnessing the huge consumption of war. "Isn't that enough?" Meng Fangli couldn't help but responded with a wry smile. He was thinking that the total number of troops they had on hand was far from that many. Where would they get such a large number of people? In his eyes, this was an outrageous request, and it was simply unimaginable. "It's a lot for us, but it's nothing to the European battlefield. Any battle will consume 20 to 300,000 people." Cun Yunsheng's tone became more and more serious. He was well aware of the tragedy of the European battlefield. , after the battles, the number of casualties was simply shocking. The consumption of two to three hundred thousand people was just commonplace there. At this moment, the phone suddenly rang, breaking the dull atmosphere in the room. Cun Yunsheng glanced at the phone subconsciously, and after thinking about it, he reached out and picked up the phone. Then, Stilwell's somewhat urgent voice came from the other end of the phone. "How is the current formation of the European Expeditionary Force? When will it be in place?" Stilwell's voice came clearly, his tone full of concern and urgency about this matter. After all, the situation in Europe has become so tense that there is no need to delay. to the point where every minute and every second counts. Hearing this, Cun Yunsheng couldn't help but smile bitterly, with a look of helplessness on his face. He slowly said to Stilwell on the other end of the phone: "General Stilwell, I'm afraid this mission cannot be completed."

He knew in his heart that he was facing many insurmountable difficulties in gathering the personnel needed to form the European Expeditionary Force, and he was really powerless. "Why? Cun, do you know? The situation in Europe is very tense now." When Stilwell heard this, he immediately became anxious and his voice unconsciously raised a few points. In his opinion, the war situation in Europe has reached an extremely critical moment. The formation and arrival of this expeditionary force will play a vital role in easing the situation, so it is really difficult for him to accept the news that this mission cannot be completed. "What happened to General Stilwell?" Cun Yunsheng held the phone receiver tightly, frowning slightly, his eyes full of curiosity and doubt. He secretly thought to himself, could it really be that something happened in Gibraltar, as he had guessed before? Or is the situation worse and the British Isles have been occupied by the German army? But I have been paying close attention to relevant news during this period, so why haven't I heard of such a big event happening? "Gibraltar has been lost." Stilwell's voice came from the other end of the phone. His tone was as heavy as a heavy burden, and every word was filled with deep sorrow and anxiety. Hearing this, Cun Yunsheng suddenly felt as if someone had punched him in the back, and he couldn't help but take a deep breath. Oh my God, Gibraltar was actually lost. This news was beyond his expectation! His eyes widened with disbelief on his face. Whose handiwork is this? Cun Yunsheng thought quickly in his mind. He quickly clarified in his mind that he had not participated in any planning of this matter, and it had absolutely nothing to do with him. Could it be that the Germans themselves did it? But when I think about it carefully, I feel something is not quite right. The German army's war on the European continent is already tense enough. Do they still have the energy to open up new battlefields and attack such an important strategic location as Gibraltar? According to common sense, it seems unlikely. If not the Germans, who would it be? A name flashed in Cun Yunsheng's mind instantly - Nagumo Chuichi.

He couldn't help but narrow his eyes slightly, thinking to himself. It's not completely impossible. After all, the attack on Pearl Harbor was the fault of the aircraft carrier fleet led by this guy. Nagumo Chuichi is really good at conducting sneak attacks. Maybe the loss of Gibraltar this time was also related to his skill in sneak attacks. But why did he suddenly target Gibraltar? What kind of complex planning and layout is behind this? The more Cun Yunsheng thought about it, the more confused he became about this matter, and his heart was full of worries and doubts. But Cun Yunsheng couldn't figure it out. Gibraltar was lost. According to common sense, shouldn't the British army be extremely anxious? What does it have to do with him? Why do we have to form a European expeditionary force? No matter how you look at it, this matter has nothing to do with him. He is really confused. However, Stilwell's next words made Cun Yunsheng suddenly understand why he was in such a hurry to form an expeditionary force. It turns out that the main reason lies with the US military itself. The number of existing troops in the US military is too small, and most of the newly formed troops are new recruits with no combat experience at all. If these troops were sent directly to the battlefield, they would be no different than cannon fodder. Although they are holding advanced weapons and equipment, good weapons alone are not enough for this battle. Without actual combat training and excellent combat literacy, their combat effectiveness will be extremely low. Let alone confront the elite German troops, even if they encounter the German second-line troops, they may not be able to win. It is precisely because of this situation that the US military, after comprehensively considering various factors, figured out a way, which was to decide to summon a group of servant troops. To put it bluntly, this so-called servant army is not just there to be cannon fodder, but to let them go up first and block the fierce German offensive. As for Stilwell, after receiving the relevant orders from his superiors, he began to make plans in his mind. He thought that in order to gain more points and earn more performance with the Army Department, he had to plan this matter carefully. After much thought, he finally decided to form an expeditionary force. The backbone of this expeditionary force is planned to be the Nanyang Task Force under Cun Yunsheng. After Cun Yunsheng understood all the causes and consequences, his heart suddenly felt like a big stone was blocked, and he felt very uncomfortable. He knew in his heart that the Nanyang Task Force under his command were all brothers who had been with him through life and death. They were treated as the backbone of the expeditionary force and sent to the European battlefield to face the powerful firepower and elites of the German army. The army, isn't this clearly asking brothers to die? How could he accept this? His brows were knitted tightly together, and his face was full of helplessness and pain. From the phone call, Cun Yunsheng clearly knew that this task could not be refused. Unless he wants to fall out with Stilwell. But in that case, I am afraid that I will be easily replaced. After all, his current strength is still very weak. "General Stilwell, is the mission urgent?" Cun Yunsheng held the phone receiver tightly and asked again without giving up. There was still a trace of luck in his heart, hoping to get a slightly gentler answer from Stilwell. After all, it was too difficult to complete such an arduous task of forming an expeditionary force in just one month. "Yes, it must be completed within a month at most." Stilwell's tone was decisive, without any room for maneuver, and he said without mercy. There was nothing he could do. The pressure from above was huge, and the situation on the European battlefield couldn't wait. Every day it was delayed, the situation might get worse, so he could only pass on this pressure to Cun Yunsheng intact. .

Hearing this, Cun Yunsheng took a deep breath, as if he wanted to **** in all the helplessness and pressure in his heart with this breath. Then, he slowly explained: "General Stilwell, I'm afraid it won't be completed in a month. If you just need some cannon fodder, it's easy. I can easily summon two to three hundred thousand, but the combat effectiveness cannot be guaranteed." Cun Yunsheng knew very well that if he simply gathered the number of people and called some untrained or undertrained people from various places, he would be able to raise two to three hundred thousand, but what would be the use of bringing such a team to the battlefield? It's nothing more than being cannon fodder and dying in vain. "Damn it, what do I need these cannon fodder for? I need an elite army." Stilwell roared angrily as soon as he heard Cun Yunsheng's words. He fully thought that Cun Yunsheng could understand his needs and be able to assemble a decent and combat-effective army in a short period of time, but he didn't expect that Cun Yunsheng would actually say such a thing. How could he not be annoyed? ? In his opinion, those rabble-rousers with no fighting capacity could not solve the urgent needs on the European battlefield. What he needed was an elite division that could truly confront the German army and play a role on the battlefield. Hearing this, Cun Yunsheng finally understood that high-level cannon fodder was needed, and those ordinary natives could not catch Stilwell's eyes. To be honest, he himself looked down upon those rabble. Sending these people to the battlefield is to fill in the lines, but the key point is that normal filling in the lines can still consume part of the enemy's troops, and a mob like these with no organizational discipline and no fighting qualities is probably a The division can easily defeat them, and it will not have any substantive effect at all. "General Stilwell, if this is the case, it is even more impossible. We now only have tens of thousands of well-trained soldiers, and we are still far short of what you require." Cun Yunsheng shook his head helplessly and said. He knew very well the strength of the troops he had on hand. It was simply a fantasy to expand the tens of thousands of formally trained soldiers into an elite force that could meet Stilwell's requirements in just one month. Impossible. "Damn, Cun, I'm not negotiating with you, I'm asking you to complete it." Stilwell suddenly became furious on the other end of the phone, and his voice unconsciously raised several decibels. His tone was full of unquestionable toughness. It seems as if as long as he gives this order, things must be done according to his wishes. Hearing this, Cun Yunsheng seemed quite calm. He calmly said to Stilwell on the other end of the phone: "General Stilwell, we need to make it clear that what you are asking for is a well-trained Soldier, this is very difficult to complete. Unless the mountain city can support some of our troops, it will definitely not be completed in a month. " Cun Yunsheng knew very well that forming an elite force that met Stilwell's requirements was not something that could be done casually. This required a sufficient number of soldiers who had undergone rigorous training and had actual combat experience. With the little force he currently has, it is far from enough. Only by hoping that the mountain city can lend a helping hand and call in some troops can there be a slight possibility of completing the task. Otherwise, within a month's time limit, this task will be impossible to complete. Hearing this, Stilwell suddenly fell into silence. In fact, it is not that he has not considered this issue. If the mountain city can support some troops, it will indeed be of great help in completing the formation of the expeditionary force. But the key point is that his relationship with Yamashiro was not very good during this period. There were many conflicts and differences between the two parties, and communication and collaboration between them became somewhat difficult. Under such circumstances, if you ask for help from the other party at this time, they may not necessarily agree, and they may even be rejected. This was exactly why he had become so angry just now. He was anxious to complete the task, but he knew clearly that there were insurmountable obstacles in this regard, so his emotions suddenly lost control. "And even if the formation is completed, weapons and equipment, logistics supplies, transport ships, etc., how should we solve these problems? And choose a landing place? If I remember correctly, the Suez Canal is now in the hands of the German army. How should we get there? Europe?" Cun Yunsheng's words were like a barrage of questions, one after another. He knew very well that setting up an expeditionary force was not just as simple as gathering enough people, but the subsequent series of supporting issues were the real problem. Without enough weapons and equipment, what would soldiers use to fight? If logistical supplies cannot keep up, then why should we be hungry and out of ammunition on the battlefield? If there are not enough transport ships, how can we transport troops and supplies there? And the choice of the landing site is even more crucial. After all, the Suez Canal is controlled by the German army, which cuts off an important waterway to Europe. How can we successfully reach Europe? These problems were like mountains, weighing heavily on Cun Yunsheng's heart. "The landing location is Egypt." Stilwell said in a calm tone on the other end of the phone, as if these problems were not big problems that were difficult to solve in his opinion. Hearing this, Cun Yunsheng was stunned for a moment. He couldn't help but mutter in his heart, what kind of expedition to Europe was this? This was clearly asking them to attack the North African Army. Although he also knew that the main force of the North African Army was currently busy in the Middle East, there were also many troops left to garrison.

If they rashly land in Egypt to attack, it will not be an easy task. Otherwise, they will fall into a fierce battle, and they will face the elite troops of the German army in North Africa. (End of chapter)