Chapter 803 Food Orders

"The 1939 Neutrality Act Amendment is officially passed...Gentlemen, this meeting is over." When the result came out, some people were disappointed and some were excited.

The new neutrality act stipulates that belligerent countries are allowed to conduct transactions in the form of cash purchase and self-supply, that is, purchase in cash, and the buyer provides transportation by himself.

And since Great Britain and France controlled the sea routes, the act clearly favored them.

However, under the pressure of isolationism, the bill still requires American ships to be prohibited from entering the war zone, and American citizens continue to be prohibited from boarding ships of participating countries.

This is the result of mutual compromise between Congress and the President.

It was not very ideal for Roosevelt. He had to find a way to change the serious isolation of the United States and provide more help to Britain and France.

At the same time, it will gradually expand the influence of the United States in Europe and the world, and it is best to replace the United Kingdom.

…………

September 3, 1939, at 5 p.m.

Five hours and 40 minutes after Britain officially declared war on Germany, France also announced that it would fully fulfill its obligations to Poland.

Subsequently, the British Dominions Australia, New Zealand, the Commonwealth of South Africa and Canada successively declared war on Germany, and the Second World War broke out.

At this time, one of the future Big Three, V-shaped hand Churchill is visiting France.

After the formal declaration of war, Churchill held talks with Georges, commander of the French Field Army.

After learning about the deployment and specific strength of the French army, Churchill praised the French army as "the most well-trained and most mobile army in Europe." '

With 110 divisions, including a large number of mechanized units, plus France's performance in World War I, Churchill said firmly: "We will win."

Prior to this, the United States sent several superliners to pick up its own nationals in Europe, and prepared for war at home.

This made the British very excited, as did Churchill. At the recent meeting of the House of Commons, he proposed: "The United States is about to join the war, and they are actively preparing. You'll be scared to pee your pants."

Because of this, Britain and France did not immediately join the war after declaring war on Germany, but sat back and watched Poland be divided by Germany and the Soviet Union.

In the minds of the British, they are still looking forward to the achievement of the Allied Forces of the Three Kingdoms.

The achievement of the neutrality amendment has made the British more urgent. The British government can't wait to call the US government to ask their next move.

However, the British government has not received a specific reply until the ambassador in London declared: "Until the United States is attacked, the United States will never be involved in any form of war." The British government was devastated.

At this time, Britain and France are already riding a tiger, and Poland has existed in name only.

…………

Rewind time to September 3rd.

Within 2 hours of announcing its participation in the war, the United Kingdom quickly established the Ministry of Food to be responsible for the food supply during the war.

At 4 o'clock in the afternoon, on the eve of the French declaration of war, Jonathan's assistant had arrived in London.

"Dear Mr. Minister, canned Merlin ham has become one of the military food reserves of the US military several years ago.

Its taste is unanimously praised by soldiers, we have sufficient production capacity to ensure supply, price... You know, Marquess Charles is my boss's friend. "

"Of course I am very clear that the British Empire will not forget the help of Marquis Charles and His Excellency Astor. Now you can talk about the price."

"40 cents. With the special relationship between Britain and the United States, I think you should be aware that this price is only 1 cent higher than the supply to the US military."

Although he didn't understand why the boss didn't take advantage of the fire, he had no choice but to follow the boss's order and offer the British army a low price.

"I feel your sincerity, but... I have to say, we have better options." The newly appointed minister of food played with taste.

"Before you came, Hormel Foods Chicago also wanted to get an order from the food department, and their canned spam was only 15 cents.

"

The assistant who heard the news was not surprised, everyone knew that this was a big deal.

"Mr. Minister, please wait a moment." The assistant calmly opened the leather bag and took out two cans from it.

Spam and canned Merlin luncheon meat, he just carried them with him.

"Can you provide me with a knife? I want to open them and ask you to taste them yourself." The assistant pointed to the can and smiled.

The minister sent for a knife and opened two boxes of spam, and the assistant dumped the spam on a plate on the table.

Spam's luncheon meat is all thumb-sized sugar cube-shaped pieces, while Merlin's is 2 centimeters later.

The flesh of the two looks brighter and more delicious in Spam, and the flesh of Merlin is a little pink.

"Try it." The assistant said, pointing to the meat in front of him.

The minister and his staff looked at each other, then reached for the plate and put the piece of meat into their mouths.

"...What did I eat? Poisonous stinky meat?" The minister looked suspiciously at the minced meat on the plate.

"Try this again." The assistant pushed the whole luncheon meat plate forward, then raised his hand and said, "But before that, I suggest you rinse your mouth first."

Longer shelf life, perfect taste, fresh enough food, and a perfect ratio of minced meat that has been invested in research and development with a lot of money.

Merlin got the order from the food department without any surprise, but the price dropped 5 cents here.

At 35 cents per can, the War Food Department guaranteed that all purchases of canned meat would be handed over to Merlin Foods for supply.

Of course, the premise is that it can meet the consumption of the British army.

The assistant answered in the affirmative, "We will guarantee a weekly output of no less than 20 million cans, and the output can be increased if necessary."

…………

West and Li Zitao were sitting in the office of the Secretary of War of the United States when Merlin Foods took the order from the British Ministry of Food.

The U.S. Department of War was established in 1789. For a century, the role of the minister of the highest leadership of the U.S. military was actually performed by civilians.

Although it is called the "Ministry of War" in name, the most important responsibility of this institution is finance and procurement.

West Point is the masterpiece of the Department of War, and this department is full of accounting, auditing, statistics, purchasing and other personnel.

Some say the War Department is the best gilded place, but it's also one of the hardest for soldiers to get into directly.

This situation has not changed until today, when Marshall, who served as Army Chief of Staff, also served as Secretary of War.

As a staunch supporter of President Roosevelt's aid plan to Britain, Marshall naturally understood the importance of food.

And his concurrent Minister of War is responsible for the finance and procurement of the army.

"Charlie, the war is about to start, and this is an opportunity for you... I don't mean money, but your embarrassing situation, I think you know what I mean."

Less than 5 minutes after the two sides met, Marshall pointed out his purpose bluntly. This major general who has ascended to a high position is here to fight the autumn wind.