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Text Chapter 960 Everyone has their own thoughts

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    Chapter 960 Everyone has their own thoughts

    As soon as the Great Mediterranean Plan was launched, the Chinese fleet entered the Mediterranean!  What are they going to do?  Should it support Greece, attack North Africa, or attack the main force of the Italian navy?  In order to clarify the specific situation, Raeder even refused Mussolini's dinner, and stayed with Campioni at the Admiralty to wait for confirmation of the intelligence.  79 is free but what I saw was chaos!  Because in the following days, Italy proved how unreliable this ally was with its chaos and inefficiency.  At 11 o'clock that night, when Suez said that a Chinese fleet had passed through, Port Said actually said that no Chinese warships had passed through.  But by the next morning, Alexandria said that two Chinese Anhai-class battleships had indeed entered the Alexandria Naval Dockyard for routine maintenance (battleships must be maintained every three months to clean the bottom of the ship, heavy oil tanks and other facilities), and also  Said Cunningham and two battleships and an aircraft carrier of the Mediterranean Fleet were missing.

    By 16:00 pm on December 28, 1940, which was the third day after Zhu Binhou passed through the canal, before Italy could confirm whether other Chinese warships had entered the Mediterranean, another major news came from Ethiopia!  The Chinese Marine Corps and two mechanized infantry divisions of the Persian Gulf Army, originally stationed in the temporarily managed French Djibouti, suddenly gave up their defenses. Thirty thousand soldiers were deployed on 16 warships, hundreds of fighter planes, and more than 200 tanks and armored vehicles.  Under cover, the troops were divided into three groups to attack Italian Ethiopia, Eritrea and Italian Somalia.  The armored forces soared through the North African desert at a speed of twenty kilometers per hour, rapidly advancing towards Addis Ababa, Asmara and Mogadishu, and the two aircraft carriers originally parked here were also missing.

    At the last moment before the United States declared war, Beijing, which had always shown no interest in Africa, suddenly launched a war in the "Horn of North Africa", disrupting the entire North African war situation.  What makes Redl even more angry is that the Italian intelligence agency had no warning about such a big thing!  Although everyone knows that after the "Sino-French Naval Lend-Lease Agreement", China took over Djibouti and sent two mechanized infantry divisions to defend it. There were also many skirmishes when Italy attacked North Africa.  The problem is that a force needs to make a lot of preparations to switch from defense to offense, and Italy has no idea of ??the preparations at hand, let alone where the Third Fleet is.

    Raeder was very angry and wished he could use his battleships to destroy the Italian Armed Forces Command. He had no choice but to send a telegram back home, asking the Gestapo and German intelligence agencies to get involved.  But Germany has not set foot in North Africa before, so the intelligence sources in this region are actually not as good as Italy.  As for the intelligence network in the Persian Gulf, it is useless, because the Chinese Navy¡¯s Third Fleet has long moved its main base to Djibouti, and there are only a few destroyers wandering in the Persian Gulf.  Fortunately, Campioni at least knew that Taranto was in danger, and immediately called Arturo Riccardi, the commander of the Taranto base, requesting to enter combat readiness.  Riccardi was very conscientious and immediately blocked the harbor and entered into full combat readiness according to procedures. He also reported confidently: "My Taranto is impregnable! The anti-aircraft guns, lighting, and obstructions have all been connected to a network, and even the bay is full.  No plane can get into the fishing boat moored with the balloon!"

    After learning that the base was on alert, Campione breathed a sigh of relief. As for the Army, it was none of his business.  But Redl was still worried. After discussing with him, he decided to dispatch two Andrea Doria-class battleships and three heavy cruisers to the Ionian Sea to guard, and at the same time ordered all Italian sea and air forces in the Mediterranean to  We will use all our strength to search for Cunningham and the Chinese fleet that may enter the Mediterranean, and let German ships and aircraft operating here also help.

    For the sake of Malta and 100,000 tons of heavy oil, Campioni also decided to fight for it!  He is definitely not willing to fight in a decisive battle, but the Italian Navy also has its own secret weapon, which is the frogman force.  After learning that Cunningham's whereabouts were unknown, he immediately ordered the submarine to set off with four "Pig" manual torpedoes to attack the empty Alexandria.  According to him, it would be best to also blow up and sink the two Anhai-class battleships of the Chinese Navy's Third Fleet here.

    Cunningham didn¡¯t know that Redl was in Italy, nor did he know that Germany was already paying attention to Malta, nor did he know that the old fox Campioni, who couldn¡¯t avoid war, would actually decide to fight for Malta.  He did not change his plans after learning that two Andrea Doria-class battleships and three heavy cruisers had left Taranto.  Because for the Mediterranean Fleet, the two Veneto-class battleships in the port are the biggest enemies.

    However, just as China and Britain sent troops to the "Horn of North Africa" ??to distract Italy's attention and cover Cunningham's sneak attack on Taranto, most of the world's attention was still focused on the fact that the United States was about to enter the war.  Even Raeder believed that even if Cunningham and Zhu Binhou wanted to attack, they would wait until the United States officially entered the war.  As the count of votes in the U.S. election comes to an end, diplomats from various countries are getting anxious. Countless planes shuttle between continents. The governments of each warring country are constantly meeting, studying, and discussing to deduce the power of the United States in the war.  Contrast and situation direction.At this time, Hopkins also came to Beijing again with a special mission.  "Harry, can the election results be predicted? When will Washington decide to declare war?" After getting in the car, Jason, who came to greet him, immediately asked about the election results.  As a diplomat, he hopes to grasp the situation early.

    "The votes in half of the states have been counted, and the president's current vote rate is more than 60 percent." After Roosevelt played the tragedy card and the war card, most Americans chose stability and unity.  So when he heard that re-election was not a problem, Johnson breathed a sigh of relief.  Because diplomats were afraid of adjustments to national policies, Roosevelt's re-election would help continue the previous national strategy.

    "Have you contacted Yang Qiu?"

    "The contact has been made. In one hour, Yang Qiu will have time to meet you. But Harry, what happened?"

    As early as when the plane landed in Riyadh for refueling, Hopkins sent a telegram asking Johnson to contact Yang Qiu and hold a secret meeting as soon as he arrived.  So Johnson was very surprised. You must know that Roosevelt would join the war immediately after being re-elected. At such a critical time, what was Hopkins, the presidential assistant, doing in Beijing?

    Regardless of the narrow compartment, Hopkins lit up a cigarette out of habit. Before he said the reason for coming to Beijing, he asked about another important matter: "Jensen, is Beijing willing to sell uranium stones?"

    The whole world knows that the United States is the country with the strongest comprehensive national strength, but in fact, Roosevelt has not had much confidence in winning so far.  He joined the war because he must not see Britain fall, and see Asia and Europe occupied by Yang Qiu and Hitler. He did it for the future of the United States.  Therefore, before the "Nantucket Incident" occurred, he began to carefully listen to the advice of experts such as Szilard and Wigner, and sought to research nuclear weapons that could ensure victory.  To research nuclear weapons, you need enough uranium (the technology of using plutonium as fissile material was only brought to the United States by Bohr at the end of 1943).  However, the U.S. government only recently discovered that Yang Qiu had bought a total of 2,500 tons of uranium from the Belgian Congo when Germany attacked Poland. The low-quality uranium left in the uranium well could not ensure demand, so it secretly entrusted Jensen to  Seeking to purchase half of uranium requirements from the Chinese government.

    This matter is highly confidential, and only a few people know about it.  Jason shook his head: "As required, I have quoted a price of 50 million US dollars, but they also denied that they had purchased uranium demand stones. But I got very definite information that these uranium demand stones were bought by a company in China and were also purchased by a company in China.  Transferred to a national laboratory established last year. The strange thing is that they are not processed, but stored somewhere in Shandong. By the way, they have been sending invitation letters to physicists in Europe recently, but most of them  No one came."

    "Harry, is this why you came to Beijing?" Johnson didn't know much about nuclear physics, so he felt it wasn't worth giving up the important matter of declaring war for a few stones.  Hopkins frowned quietly. In fact, the United States had guessed that Yang Qiu's hoarding of uranium was to research nuclear weapons. The purchase of half of the uranium was not only to speed up U.S. nuclear research, but also to test China's progress through this method.  It can be inferred from Johnson's words that China still lacks technological reserves, so it needs to seek European scientists, and it has not even processed the necessary stones.  After recording this important information, he returned to the previous topic: "Jason, there is something I need to tell you first. The president hopes to reach an understanding with Yang Qiu, because we will not declare war on the Soviet Union for the time being."

    ¡°Not to declare war on the Soviet Union?¡±

    ¡°Do not declare war on the Soviet Union!¡±

    An hour after Johnson made a cry of surprise, in the Presidential Palace in Beijing, Jiang Baili, who had just recovered from a serious illness, also shouted out in surprise, staring at Hopkins and Johnson sitting opposite, looking extremely angry!

    Yang Qiu, who was sitting next to him, also stood up suddenly, with a cold look in his eyes, and waved his arms vigorously: "Mr. Hopkins, why do you have to make this decision? Does Mr. Roosevelt think that this war can only rely on you?"  Can you win by yourself? As a country that has blocked the channel for the spread of gc international to the world, and as a country that has been fighting the Soviet government on all fronts on the border for more than 20 years, and has endured most of the pressure for this, this is what you want to say  His reward?¡±

    Yang Qiu was very angry because he really didn¡¯t expect that Roosevelt was going to exclude the Soviet Union from the U.S. declaration of war.

    Sen Han¡¯s gaze made Hopkins feel like he was being stared at by a poisonous snake.  Fortunately, he was fully prepared and tried to keep his tone as calm as possible: "Mr. President, Chief of Staff, I know this is very difficult to accept, but I would like to first fully explain the war strategy of Mr. Roosevelt and the U.S. government."

    "Say it, I'm listening." Yang Qiu took a deep breath and suppressed his anger.  Yue Peng next to him didn't change his expression, holding the teacup motionless.  Hopkins also became nervous, and sweat even broke out on his back.  He knew that he had to convince Yang Qiu, so he quickly sorted out his thoughts in his mind and said slowly: "Mr. President, the U.S. government?Unable to abandon his responsibilities, Mr. Roosevelt will also adhere to the alliance agreement and will not have any form of unilateral contact with the Soviet government until the end of the war.  Likewise, he wants you to consider the challenges we face in America.  First of all, there is no formal alliance between the Soviet Union and Germany. Although both your country and the British government have declared war on the Soviet Union, we cannot convince the American people to declare war on the Soviet government that has not formed an alliance with Germany until the war against Germany, Japan, and Italy achieves a strategic reversal.  declare war.  You should know that the United States has not had a war for more than 20 years, and we must gradually allow the people to accept and adapt to the huge losses that may occur.  And Germany is very, very powerful, and the US government needs to concentrate on dealing with them first.  Therefore, only after gaining the initiative in the war against Germany can we spare the effort to declare war on the Soviet government.

    Secondly, both Mr. Roosevelt and the U.S. government believe that once we declare war on the Soviet Union, there is a 90% chance that Moscow will be forced to formally establish a military alliance with Germany.  They have the population, they have the industry, they have the resources, and we have to be careful to avoid that.  And neither you nor we can accurately predict whether the Soviet Union and Germany will join forces to send troops to Western Europe, the Balkans, Turkey and the Middle East after the military alliance.  Therefore, we believe that as long as the U.S. government does not declare war on the Soviet Union for a day, Hitler will not really believe Stalin and must ensure a certain military presence on the Eastern Front.  Stalin would also think that there was still a way out and would not actively cooperate with Germany's move south.  In this way, both to the United States Government, to Great Britain, to Free France, to Poland and to your country!  All can reduce stress.  Of course, before I came, Mr. Roosevelt also asked me to convey his exact words clearly. If he could take the strategic initiative against Germany and win a decisive victory, he would immediately consider declaring war on the Soviet Union.

    Second, although we cannot declare war on the Soviet Union immediately, the U.S. government is a responsible government. We support your country's strategic contribution in the war against the Soviet Union, so we will continue to do our best to help your country defeat the Soviet Union.  Soviet Union, to re-establish a liberal and democratic Russian government.  Therefore, this difficult decision was entirely based on the grand strategy of winning the final victory of the war.  In order to achieve this goal, Mr. Roosevelt decided that after the Lend-Lease Act officially takes effect, the U.S. government will provide at least two billion U.S. dollars worth of material assistance to your country every year, including food, heavy metals, trucks, and arms. All materials needed for the war will be provided by the U.S. government.  Open to supply allies.

    Finally, when making this decision, we also integrated the opinions of various countries, including the United Kingdom, Free France, Poland and Turkey. They have all accepted our country's opinion not to declare war on the Soviet Union for the time being.  "

    "Tš¹rkiye?"

    "Yes, the Turkish government has promised to push for joining the alliance as soon as possible after our country declares war. Of course, out of pressure, they will not declare war on the Soviet Union for the time being. But they promised that if the Italians and Germans cross the strait, or the Soviet army attacks  Baghdad is willing to provide all necessary help to your country and to us."

    Hopkins is worthy of being Roosevelt's top aide, and he analyzed in a clear and simple way why the United States did not declare war on the Soviet Union.  To outsiders, it sounds as if Roosevelt wanted to concentrate on defeating Germany first and avoid an alliance between the Soviet Union and Germany, and he could not do this through compromise.  But everyone in this room knows that this is actually a way to consume China and prevent the United States from attacking the Soviet Union and Germany at the same time.  As for the annual aid of two billion US dollars, it sounds like a lot, but in fact last year alone, the total domestic military expenditure was as high as 40 billion yuan (about 20 billion US dollars).  According to Bei Zuyi's calculations, military spending next year may reach as high as 40 billion U.S. dollars, and a mere two billion U.S. dollars is not even enough to fill the gap between the teeth.

    What¡¯s more, it¡¯s still unknown whether the money will be available.

    But this explanation also made him calm down quickly.  To be honest, Roosevelt could take the initiative to send Hopkins to explain the situation before declaring war, and also offered reasons to divide Soviet-German relations and reduce the pressure on countries such as the Balkans and Turkey. It is indeed impossible to find fault.  From the standpoint of the United States, we are indeed afraid that the Soviet and German forces will move south at the same time.  Because he knows very well that unless there is a major mistake that affects the outcome of the war, China will definitely not send troops to the area west of the Suez Canal. Even Taranto, which is about to start, is because Yang Qiu is worried about Cunningham.  The strength has dropped too much, and the decision was made to give Britain and the United States a reassurance that they could enter North Africa with confidence.

    ¡°And Roosevelt was so aboveboard, which shows that he was not afraid that he would fall out.  Because he knows that China has been involved in the war and will not and cannot withdraw before the end.  Final victory is the goal that China, the United States and Britain will never change. All structures for the future new world must be based on this premise.  Of course, Yang Qiu definitely didn't believe Roosevelt's nonsense. Perhaps his real purpose was to save the Soviet Union and use it to contain China in the long term.  But this is something he cannot accept. In order to tie Su and Germany together, he started planning after the end of the war. After spending so much money, he stillAfter sacrificing so many elite dragons and teeth, if we don't take advantage of this battle to completely split the Soviet Union, there will be no chance in the future.  But there is one thing that no one, including myself, can change, and that is that all strategies are not based on paper, but rely on countless tactics.  Therefore, Roosevelt adopted the term "not declaring war for the time being" because he did not know how far the situation would develop.

    You know, so far, the German Army has not even reached half of its strength!  And this is exactly what the whole world doesn¡¯t know except yourself.  As long as the German army can reproduce the tenacity of the Soviet-German war in the parallel world, I am afraid that Roosevelt's "cerebral hemorrhage" will come earlier than history.

    After thinking about this clearly, Yang Qiu's expression gradually softened, and even Yue Peng and Jiang Baili beside him fell into deep thought.  After walking a few steps back and forth in the office, he stopped in front of the wall hanging a large combat map and asked without looking back: "Mr. Hopkins, President Roosevelt's strategic conception surprised me. If your country attacks the Soviet Union,  Declaring war, no one can guarantee that the Soviet-German coalition will not move south from the Balkans and Turkey. But I have a question, how are you going to attack Germany?"

    "His Excellency Churchill's advice was to first establish a foothold in the "soft belly of Europe" (referring to North Africa) and ensure the security of Gibraltar, Malta, Greece, Turkey and Egypt. Then defeat Italy, forcing them first to withdraw from the war, and finally from the Balkans  The peninsula and Italy launched a counterattack on the European continent at the same time." After hearing Yang Qiu's words, Hopkins finally slowly let go of his hanging heart.  Whether it is true acceptance or pretending, at least the United States must take the initiative in the war and not follow Beijing's footsteps. This is the core of the struggle between the two countries!

    "What about Japan?" Yang Qiu continued to ask.

    "We are still studying it." Hopkins naturally would not tell the US strategy in the Southwest Pacific.

    "Very well, tell Mr. Roosevelt that I hope he can reconsider his decision not to declare war on the Soviet Union. Please also remind him that according to the Cairo Declaration, any Allied ships in the Southwest Pacific must be under the unified command of our country, so I hope you  We can attack Rabaul as soon as possible to cut off Japanese shipping in the Coral Sea! I will also fully cooperate with your country to win this war."

    "Rabaul, command of the Southwest Pacific." Hopkins recalled the terms of the distribution of Allied command reached between China and Britain after the Cairo Declaration, and his face moved for the first time after entering the room.  But before he could think of how to answer, Yang Qiu had already asked Gu Yuwen to see off the guest.  When the two of them reached the door, they suddenly stopped and said, "Welcome to join this anti-fascist war."

    "Thank you for your understanding, Mr. President." Hopkins bowed politely, thinking of China's nuclear program and command authority in the Southwest Pacific, and decided to rush back to the United States immediately.  As soon as he left, Jiang Baili asked: "President, you don't really believe Roosevelt's lies, do you?"

    Yang Qiu's face, which was still gloomy just now, gradually became brighter: "The one thing wrong with me is that I never believe in unfulfilled promises, nor do I believe in nonsense." Seeing this, Yue Peng also said: "I heard that Jason  I have been inquiring about our new nuclear physics laboratory during this period, and I think half of Roosevelt¡¯s reasons are sincere.¡±

    "So what? You don't want us to stand up to the Soviet Union alone. I bet that if they can defeat Germany, the first thing they will do is find a way to cease the war." Jiang Baili snorted coldly, and looked at his watch with a look of displeasure on his face: "  It's a pity that Marquis Zhu Bin has already set off, otherwise we can find excuses to withdraw." As he said this, he still felt angry and cursed: "Mader! It's really annoying. President, is there really no way to fight back?"

    Yang Qiu sneered: "Who said there is no way? Yuwen, go find Chen Guofu and Wang Zhaoming. Their affairs in Eastern Siberia have been developing for a long time. You will understand after the spring begins. I want to see whether Roosevelt will choose this time  The Soviet Union still chooses us!¡±

    Yue Peng and Jiang Baili¡¯s eyes lit up, and they had been planning for a long time to promote a referendum on joining China in the Eastern Siberian region east of the Yenisei River.  Since there are less than 100,000 Soviets here, and most of them are in the Sea of ??Okhotsk area controlled by Japan, the current population of two million in Eastern Siberia is mainly domestic immigrants and indigenous people.  Both the National Socialist Party and the Democratic Party have been propagating and developing there for more than ten years. Even the ethnic minorities living in Eastern Siberia have been bribed, promising to immediately approve and join China as soon as the referendum begins.  Didn¡¯t Roosevelt want to offend the Soviet Union?  Well, just start it immediately and see what you do.

    Even if it doesn¡¯t cause actual rupture, you still have to be disgusted and exhale, it is best to prevent cerebral hemorrhage in advance!

    President Yang, who had always had smooth sailing, was really angry this time, because Roosevelt, with a small declaration of war, almost disintegrated the layout he had worked hard for decades, necessitating a comprehensive adjustment of the later strategy.  This also aroused his temper that he had to retaliate for his flaws when he was a soldier. After secretly cursing a few words, he decided to take action in advance: "Let Yan Baohang andWhen Yue comes to see me, those gifts must be sent out as soon as possible.  The two of you also re-adjust as soon as possible, and when Zhu Binhou is over, you will take back all your strength and deal with Japan first.  Ethiopia and Somalia must have a foothold in these places, and the rest should be left alone for the time being, but we must also be prepared. Stalin may not necessarily follow Roosevelt's baton.  "

    Jiang Baili still felt that it was not enough: "What about Spain? Hitler has not revealed anything yet. If Spain can't make trouble, Germany without a navy in this part of North Africa may not be able to do anything."

    "This is not simple. What Hitler wants is an excuse, so we will give it to him." Yue Peng smiled, walked to the map and lightly swiped his finger: "President, I heard Baohang said that it supported the Spanish two countries back then.  When we were sent to fight the civil war, we arranged for a lot of people to go in."

    ¡°You mean to get rid of Franco?!¡±

    (To be continued.
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