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Text Chapter 851: America¡¯s Temptation

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    In March of R, the United States completed the presidential transition. President Ciro Roosevelt and his cabinet resigned after eight years in power, and the new cabinet headed by William Howard Taft officially came to power on March 4.  However, Taft still represented the monopoly capitalists and safeguarded their interests at all times. He also completely inherited the policy of arms expansion and war preparation implemented by Theodore Roosevelt, and strengthened it a lot, allowing the United States to use almost all its national power.  They are all invested in military expansion and preparations for war!

    Three months after entering the White House, President Taft has fully adapted to the place.  A new cabinet has been formed, including Vice President James Sherman, Secretary of State Philander Knox, Secretary of the Treasury Franklin McVeigh, Secretary of War Jacob MM Dickinson, and Secretary of the Navy George Feng  Lengelke Meyer, Attorney General George W. Wickersham, Post Office Secretary Frank Harris Hitchcock, Interior Secretary Richard Achilles Ballinger, Agriculture Secretary James Wilson,  Secretary of Commerce and Labor Charles Nagel.  However, the first major event before the new cabinet is the upcoming opening of the Panama Canal, which will be a major event for the entire United States.  President Taft, who had just taken office, hoped to use this to consolidate his prestige in the United States!

    Originally, according to the original plan of the United States, the Panama Canal was prepared to be opened to navigation last year. At that time, it was the last year of President Theodore Roosevelt¡¯s term.  However, due to many reasons, the construction period was not completed on time and had to be postponed for a year.  Among them, there is no reason why the monopoly bourgeoisie represented by President Taft hopes to use the opening of the canal to build momentum for Taft.  After all, the more stable President Taft¡¯s ruling position is, the more benefits he will get for the monopoly capitalist class he represents!

    On the morning of June 16, 190R, President Taft held a cabinet meeting in his office in the White House. Except for the Attorney General and the Secretary of Agriculture who were visiting various parts of the United States, the rest of the cabinet members participated in this meeting!

    "Gentlemen, the time for the opening of the Panama Canal has been determined. On the 18th of next month, this huge project that attracts worldwide attention will begin to fulfill its role. This represents the strength of the American Republic! I believe that this day will  Remembered by history!" President Taft said excitedly.

    ¡°Bah bang bang!¡± All the cabinet members clapped with smiles on their faces!

    "How are the preparations for Lord Knox's opening ceremony?" President Taft asked.

    "Your Excellency, the President, is completely ready. All cabinet members will participate in this navigation ceremony. Former President Theodore Roosevelt will also participate, and various large families in the country will also send representatives to participate in this ceremony.  A grand event! In addition, envoys from various countries stationed in the United States will also be invited to attend the canal¡¯s opening ceremony!¡± said Secretary of State Philander C. Knox.

    "Well! That's good! Mr. Meyer, where is the Navy? Is the Navy ready?" President Taft continued to ask.

    "Your Excellency, the Navy is ready. A brigade of Marines has entered the Canal Zone and they will be responsible for the security of the Canal Zone.

    ¡°If war breaks out we can increase the garrison to a corps within a week, enough to protect the canal and keep it in our hands.  In addition, the battleships 'New York' and 'Texas' battleships are also ready to participate in the opening ceremony. They will form a formation to pass through the canal and cruise to the West Coast!  "Secretary of the Navy George von Lengelke Meyer said. These two battleships are the latest 'New York-class' battleships in service in the U.S. Navy. They adopt the British Navy's

    ¡®King George V class, design drawings of battleships, a total of four ships will be built.  The first two ships, the New York and the Texas, are already in service, and there are two more to come, the New Hampshire and the Louisiana, which will be in service at the end of this year.  In addition, the U.S. Navy also has four Iron Duke-class and Nevada-class battleships that are imitated by the British Navy. The battleships are under intense construction and are expected to officially enter service by the end of next year.

    "Where are the Chinese? Did the Chinese react at all?" President Taft asked.  According to the original treaty signed with China, the United States cannot deploy battleships of more than 10,000 tons on the west coast, and the New York-class battleships, with a full load displacement of up to 30,000 tons, have already exceeded the provisions of the original treaty.  The reason why President Taft agreed to this arrangement was to test China's reaction.  There will be a war between the United States and China in the future. This has long been the consensus of the U.S. government.  Being prepared in advance can give you an advantage in future wars.  The treaty signed at the time put great constraints on the United States and had a serious impact on U.S. security.  As the United States becomes stronger and stronger, especially after the army and navy have achieved considerable development, the internal calls for the abolition of the peace treaty signed with China are also increasing!  President Taft andThe monopoly capitalists represented behind the scenes also have this intention.  Therefore, the U.S. government is preparing to allow the two latest battleships of the U.S. Navy to become the first ships to pass through the canal.  If there is strong opposition from China, the US government will claim that the two battleships are only cruising on the West Coast and will not be permanently stationed on the West Coast.  But if China does not respond, the two battleships will use the San Diego Naval Base as their home port.  Moreover, a large number of subsequent battleships will be stationed there.  After all, the main threat to the United States comes from China, especially the Chinese Navy.  As long as the U.S. Navy can defeat the Chinese Navy, China will not even think about attacking the United States!

    "Your Excellency, so far, the Chinese have not responded at all and seem to have completely ignored the news!" Secretary of State Knox said.  After deciding to send battleships through the canal, the U.S. government has been worried about China's strong opposition.  The United States does not yet have the strength to go to war with China. In the previous South American war, China dispatched a large fleet to protect the Chileans in the South Atlantic. At that time, the U.S. Navy had to retreat. With that huge fleet alone, it was difficult for the U.S. Navy to  contend.  Therefore, the United States has to act cautiously.  The U.S. government is already prepared. If China objects, the United States will change its plan and replace its battleships with light cruisers.  However, China has no response to this, which is beyond the expectations of the Americans!

    "Did the Chinese take the initiative to compromise? After all, our navy has developed rapidly. Judging from the number of battleships alone, it is not much less than the Chinese. What's more, we don't have to disperse the navy like China.  , Locally, our navy has even gained the upper hand!" Vice President James S. Sherman said!

    "Your Excellency, Vice President, this is impossible! The British and French navies are currently being dragged by the Germans in Europe. Although the Chinese navy is divided into three fleets, their main forces are facing us. Judging from the current situation, in  'Before the Nevada-class battleships were put into service, we did not have the strength to fight with the Chinese. And what is worrying is that various signs indicate that the Chinese have begun to build a new class of battleships. There is no doubt that this  It will be a more powerful battleship, but because the Chinese keep it strictly confidential, the outside world has no way of knowing it. However, even so, the U.S. Navy currently does not have the strength to defeat the Chinese Navy!" said Navy Secretary Meyer!

    "Does the Chinese have any conspiracy? For example, after our two battleships passed through the canal, the Chinese suddenly attacked us and sank the two battleships!" said Finance Minister Franklin McVeigh.

    ¡°This possibility is very small.

    According to the intelligence we have obtained, although the Chinese have begun to prepare for war, their progress is not fast and they have not completed war preparations yet.  In order to sink two battleships, they started a full-scale war with us and triggered the outbreak of a world war. For the Chinese, the gains outweighed the losses.  "Secretary of War Jacob=MK Dickinson said!

    "Let our people pay close attention to the movements of the Chinese. If they make any changes, we must know it as soon as possible. In addition, from now on, the army and navy must maintain a high degree of vigilance and be ready for war at any time!"  President Fut said.  He is also very worried that this move will trigger China's excessive behavior and lead to the outbreak of war.  Of course, deep down in his heart, he also did not want the war to break out at this time.  What he hopes most is that China can compromise and ignore this action by the United States, allowing the United States to essentially tear up the treaty it originally signed.  However, this is obviously impossible!

    From the moment Wang Yuze took control of the highest power in western Sichuan to the time he became emperor, he has always regarded the United States as his biggest enemy.  Therefore, China also attaches great importance to the actions of the United States.  This time, the United States will let two battleships pass through the Panama Canal first during the opening ceremony of the Panama Canal. This has aroused strong concern from China.  People from the military and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs even asked for a serious warning to the Americans, warning them not to play with fire, otherwise it would be out of control.  However, these requests were blocked by the emperor.

    In Wang Yuze¡¯s view, as the United States becomes more powerful, sooner or later it will be unable to help but start provoking China, and China is already prepared.  Since the Americans plan to challenge China's bottom line through the opening of the canal, China would not mind giving the United States a slap in the face so that they would not heal the scars but forget the pain!
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