Chapter 823 Will the Fish Die or Will the Net Break? (Medium, 4400 Votes and More)

Roosevelt finally returned to the iconic Oval Office. During this process, Churchill, who was 8 years older than him, actually accompanied him to talk and diligently helped to push the wheelchair. He looked like a little follower - in terms of the current relationship between Britain and the United States, it was just right.

Wallace and Roosevelt finally met. The scene was very awkward. He only said: "Sir, I feel very happy to see you recover from your illness." He didn't know what to say next.

Roosevelt still smiled kindly and nodded: "You worked hard when I was away. Many of your ideas are good, and I can understand, but the current situation may not allow this luxury to be realized. I hope you can understand my painstaking efforts and suffering."

"President, I..."

"Forget it, don't think too much. Have a good rest, you are still young, and there will be plenty of opportunities in the future." Roosevelt said with a double meaning, "It's not too late to make a decision after full consideration."

Churchill also smiled at him, but everyone thought that Fatty Churchill's smile was too hypocritical.

Edgar Hoover soon came in, greeted Roosevelt and Churchill, then looked at Wallace with ill intent and deliberately asked: "Mr. Vice President, do you still need me to submit my resignation to you?"

"No, you can report directly to the President."

Roosevelt, Hull and others frowned, but Roosevelt didn't say anything. Instead, he lectured Hoover in a serious tone: "You should ask and report more to the Vice President in the future. How many years can I have this body?"

"Yes!" Hoover walked to Wallace with his head lowered and his eyes lowered. "I'm sorry, I will understand your intentions more deeply next time."

Wallace nodded weakly. What else could he say in this situation? Then, others heard Hoover rushing out to make a phone call: "Washington Post editorial department?"

"Yes , may I ask who you are?"

"I am Hoover!"

The man on the other side took a breath, and then said respectfully: "I wonder what your Excellency wants to tell you."

"The president has recovered from his illness and returned to Washington. Prime Minister Churchill is also on a state visit to Washington. The two leaders had in-depth and friendly talks and will issue a public statement later. Tomorrow, February 5th, the afternoon, the president will give a speech to Congress to explain his opinions on some recent issues and his overall views on the world anti-fascist war. You must send the best reporters to report these two things with the strongest power, the most prominent headlines, and the most inspiring articles to the fighting will and confidence of the American people. Do you understand?"

"I understand, as you wish."

Everyone heard this conversation, and everyone sighed in their hearts. Wallace was on pins and needles, not knowing what to say.

Nimitz and a group of senior Joint Chiefs of Staff came later, and the first thing they reported was the problem of the Australia-New Zealand route being cut off.

Roosevelt nodded, without saying his own judgment, and only asked Wallace: "Henry, if you were to make the decision, do you think Australia and New Zealand should be assisted?"

"Yes." Wallace said, "They are the first line of defense against Japanese aggression in the Pacific (the second is Hawaii), which is very beneficial to enhancing our counterattack capabilities."

"Then why do you think it is not important to assist Great Britain?" Roosevelt said, "Great Britain is obviously our first line of defense against German aggression in the Atlantic."

"This, I..."

"You hope to reach an understanding with Germany, right?" Roosevelt sighed, "Unfortunately, this idea is not accepted by Hitler. Not only will he not give up the idea of ​​invading Britain, he will not give up the idea of ​​occupying South America and supporting Japan. If there is such a Germany, he pretends to cease fire with us, occupies Great Britain on the one hand, and continues to use the latest weapons and equipment to assist Argentines and Japan to fight against us, do you think it is acceptable?"

"We can talk to him." Wallace simply gave it a try.

"Of course we can talk, but now is wartime, every minute and every second of time is extremely precious." Roosevelt said angrily, "If the Axis fleet wants to blockade Great Britain now, are you ready to take action or not?" "I..." "Don't think that sending supplies to Great Britain is a waste. They are resisting the pressure of the Germans on the British Isles for us and attracting the Germans' firepower for us. If there were no 40 to 50 million brave and unyielding British people who supported us on the front line and shed blood and sacrificed for us, the Germans would have already pressed all their forces. At that time, the American people would have to pay more sacrifices, pay a greater price, and die more people!" Roosevelt said seriously, "Don't think that you can be completely safe by shrinking your head back to the North American continent. Japan The Americans bombed New York, and the Germans attacked Bermuda and Newfoundland. These are all very close to us. Shouldn't we intercept these threats from a distance and deal with them near us and at home? "

Churchill interrupted: "Mr. Vice President, I just want to remind you that if I am willing to lead the British people to surrender, Great Britain does not need to shed more blood, and the Germans will not do anything to the British people and me personally - didn't Germany do anything after the French surrender! It's just that the Germans will use our resources, our shipyards, and our workers to build more warships and weapons to attack you..."

In the face of Roosevelt and Churchill's sharp attacks, Wallace was no longer as brave as he was yesterday. He smiled bitterly and was speechless. He could only respectfully serve as a primary school student.

Roosevelt hosted a banquet for Churchill in the evening and promised in front of many reporters that he would continue to assist Great Britain. Churchill expressed his gratitude and vowed to stick to it. The atmosphere between the two countries' dignitaries seemed to be very harmonious and friendly. Reporters gathered around them to ask questions, but no one noticed the lonely back of Wallace, who was drinking alone in a dark corner.

After sending Churchill back to the hotel, Roosevelt held a military meeting with everyone in the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Everyone was worried about his health, but he said he could withstand it. What really worried him was the problem of the Japanese fleet. He couldn't defeat it or drive it away. But from now on A passive situation that has never happened before.

"The current situation is more troublesome. The Pacific Fleet is not strong enough. Currently there are only 2 battleships and some auxiliary warships. There are more than 10 escort aircraft carriers, but they cannot participate in fleet battles to attack the Japanese fleet." Nimitz frowned, "Now It’s not sure if this fleet intends to attack us or if it comes purely to blockade and break diplomatic relations.”

"What's the difference between the two?"

"If it is for offense, it seems that the strength is slightly insufficient; if it is to break diplomatic relations, it seems that there is too much strength - I have never heard of a super battleship formation being pulled out to break diplomatic relations." Nimitz explained, "The self-sustainability of this fleet About 3 months, excluding the round trip time, it can last about 2 months at sea. If the diplomatic relations are broken purely for the blockade, Australia and New Zealand will need to survive for 2 months without supplies. "

Roosevelt asked nervously: "Can you hold on?"

"There is no problem in Australia and New Zealand, but there is some trouble in the surrounding islands, especially the Solomon line. If there is a lack of supplies, the ability to hold on will gradually decline - after all, our army's standards for material requirements are much higher than those of the Japanese army. Of course, you can still persist, but the big deal It means losing the ability to attack." Nimitz thought for a while and then said, "If the enemy attacks, it will be more troublesome, including Tuvalu, Tokelau, Tonga, American Samoa and other places, because they may fall. The defenses in these places are not strong. If they are fully occupied by the Japanese army and further deploy enough combat aircraft and personnel to form an island control network, the transportation line in the direction of Australia and New Zealand may be completely severed. "

Admiral Kim sighed: "Horikoshi made a good move. Now is the time when the Pacific Fleet is in decline. The fleet cannot fight and the island cannot be defended. All we can do is watch the Japanese committing violence and there is nothing we can do. And even if Even if there are enough warships on the east coast, the Falkland Islands are still in the hands of the Germans. It is impossible to get there without a fierce battle. Unless we take a long way from South Africa to Australia and New Zealand through the Indian Ocean, it may be slightly safer, but time is It’s troublesome…”

"So Wallace really doesn't understand. He's still saying to stop aiding Britain at this time. Believe it or not, he stops aiding Britain today, and tomorrow Cunningham will pull the Royal Navy fleet back to Great Britain! Once these warships join the German army, North America will There will never be peace in the mainland." Roosevelt sighed, "Since a war is not possible, let's just sit back and defend ourselves for a few days, or we may follow the example of India and engage in rat smuggling."

The so-called rat smuggling refers to the hidden supply lines of the United Kingdom and the United States from South Africa or Perth, Australia, to India, using a single freighter flying the flag of a third country to smuggle supplies without escort. Although the Japanese Navy has complete control of the Indian Ocean, the Indian Ocean is so large and the climate is changing. There will always be times when it cannot be monitored. At this time, cargo ships will secretly go north to replenish military supplies for the British army in India. Although the losses were not small, it was still a road after all. It transported tens of thousands of tons of supplies and solved India's urgent needs. Otherwise, the Allied forces would have collapsed long ago just relying on India's original stockpile of supplies.

Everyone nodded, feeling quite helpless. However, Admiral King and Marshall still had confidence in their hearts: Roosevelt himself was much more knowledgeable and prestigious than Wallace. With such a president in charge, they could do whatever they wanted without worrying about others interfering.

How apt it is that the president summed up Wallace in terms of idealism: a fantasy that the United States would go all out against Argentina after the armistice between Germany and Germany? After the armistice, wouldn't Germany be able to use all its strength in the direction of Argentina? If everyone takes the Atlantic supply route, the distance difference will be less than 2,000 kilometers. Can the United States ensure its advantage?

Late at night, after everyone discussed countermeasures, they discussed the core content of Roosevelt's speech to Congress tomorrow. The top brass of the Joint Chiefs of Staff decided to accompany all the attendees.

When the meeting ended, looking at Roosevelt's retreating back, Turner suddenly said: "Now I really want to give some of my life to the president, even if it's just one year for 10 years!"