Chapter 832 Roosevelt at a Historical Turning Point (Continued)

On the evening of February 12, the day before the independent investigative committee reported the preliminary conclusions of the "protection money" incident to Congress, St. Louis Democratic Party leader Robert E. Hannigan, chairman of the Democratic National Committee and also a member of the investigative committee, approached Truman to exchange views. , the two have a very close relationship on weekdays, always supporting each other, and not talking too much in circles.

"The conclusion is now obvious. All detailed verification, insider interviews and file research cannot establish the 'protection money' matter. In other words, no matter what the truth is, at least there is insufficient evidence for conviction!" Hannigan said, "In fact, In front of this, I believe Republicans have nothing to say.”

Truman nodded: "We have spent so much effort, so much brains, and listened to so many complaints, and finally we have this result, which is good."

"But Turner's case is more difficult, and everyone is still debating it. There is a view that even if it is necessary, it seems that it is not enough for General Ingersoll to take responsibility, and Turner should also resign - but this It is inconsistent with the president's request. Not only does the Republican Party have this attitude, but several other members of our party also seem to have this awareness, but they just don't show it. In addition, the Republicans are inciting the dissatisfaction of the Army's grassroots troops against the Navy, saying that if it is not dealt with unfairly. Factors exist, why did the two divisions 'revolt in front of the formation' instead of surrendering calmly? Trying to deduce the navy's bad intentions through counter-evidence..."

Truman nodded and said with a wry smile: "Actually, there is a more obvious statement to sow discord: Turner said that day that the Army has many such divisions, but the Navy only has one. The implication is that two Army divisions are not as important as the fleet. Then the navy may continue to abandon the army in emergencies in the future? Many middle- and lower-level officers are dissatisfied."

This is very troublesome. Which is more important, a fleet or two army divisions? Anyone who understands military affairs knows how to choose. Just like in daily life, it is easy to judge whether a young man in his prime and with a bright future is more valuable or an old man who is dying and dying, but this obvious conclusion is not "correct" , or it does not comply with the principle of "political correctness" - the Constitution says that everyone is equal, and no one is nobler or more important than anyone else. In this situation, can it be clearly stated that the army or the navy is more important?

"So the Turner matter is very troublesome. I don't know what to say..." Hannigan sighed, "Especially after they checked the information and found that Turner had proposed many combat plan ideas, including using 50-60 It’s such a crazy idea to use an escort aircraft carrier to attack the Azores to kill German aircraft and open the way for the subsequent fleet to land.”

Truman shook his head and said: "I don't see the problem that way. I actually think Turner is right. Not only that, the reason why we suffered a series of defeats is because we did not use our best advantages."

"Can you tell me about it?"

"I checked the combat command records of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and compared them with the battle communiqué, and found a very interesting scene: when the Combined Fleet fought against the Germans and us on the front line in Africa last year, General Nimitz's Pacific Fleet and General MacArthur The ground forces are continuing to counterattack in Southeast Asia, and the Japanese troops on the islands are dying one by one - completely in isolation. If it is our army, the army must protest indignantly, where are our aircraft? However, the Japanese used tens of thousands of casualties to hold us back, creating a good opportunity for the combined fleet to win. Although I don't like the Japanese, I have to admit that this crazy spirit of sacrifice is better than our damned one. "Political correctness is much better. Is it possible that the Japanese Army is willing to die for the Navy?"

Hannigan nodded. He was not very familiar with the army. This was the first time he heard this statement. It was very fresh.

"Let me give you another very typical example. This is something I only learned after communicating with the Soviets in the past few days..." Truman explained, "Horikoshi launched a coup in Tokyo. Who carried out the specific instructions? It was a man named Megumi Shibasaki. He was a lieutenant general in the Army, and he commanded an American Marine Brigade. Neither you nor I know this man, but you will understand when he mentions it - he was the top commander of the Japanese garrison of Tarawa at that time, Tara. During the Battle of Wa, General Nimitz annihilated the Japanese troops on the island from 5,000 to just a few dozen. He was one of the few survivors. Then I checked the naval combat records and found that Horikichi led the combined fleet to sweep Australia and New Zealand. Instead of directly rescuing him, in other words, the reason Shibasaki Keiji was so miserable was entirely due to Horikichi's slow rescue action. But such a person, in turn, worked for Horikichi. What do you think? In the army, do we have such officers in our system who have the spirit of self-sacrifice and serve their superiors without hesitation?”

"Horrible, horrifying..." Hannigan muttered.

The tradition of the U.S. military calls for loyalty to the country and the American people. How can it be possible to emphasize loyalty to the commander and die for the commander? ——This is undemocratic!

"If everyone thinks that they are important and cannot be sacrificed, then who will be sacrificed?" Truman said with disinterest, "The president has arranged for someone to appear tomorrow, hoping to use his speech to boost morale and thwart the Republican conspiracy, and then This is all he can do if he delays the matter with Turner to see if there is any improvement. I understand what the president wants, and I also understand what Dewey means. I just don't understand why the Republicans would use this. What good does it do to them to mess up the military? Are they not Americans? Do they never want to be president?"

"This is just a way for them to fight for power. The president is not in good health, and our party has a traitor like Wallace, so they are not only focusing on the general election, but also on the congressional election." Hannigan sighed, "I understand. The president wants to keep Turner, but you have gone too far in the past few days. Not only the Republican Party is deeply surprised, but even the military circles who do not know the truth are also criticizing you. Of course, I think the top military circles understand this and understand this. This is a political trick - if the case is completed with high standards and strict requirements, the case will not be overturned in the future."

"Yeah... this is good. If I want to do something in the future, I will be ruthless."

"Again?" Hannigan asked in surprise, "What are you going to do?"

"Do you think this war can still be won?" Truman asked in a playful tone.

"This...I can't tell."

"I think it's hard to win." Truman smiled slightly. "Not only do I think so, the president may think so too."

"What about him?"

"There are still 11 months left in his term. He talks tough verbally, but in essence he just doesn't want to be a failed president, so he has to delay this year regardless of life or death. As for future negotiations..." Truman laughed, " That’s none of his business.”

Hannigan nodded: "No wonder he gave up re-election so readily. When asked on Thanksgiving Eve, he still hesitated to tell his story."

"This is also the real reason why Wallace jumped out in a hurry to escape. He didn't want to sink with this big ship. It's just that his jumping posture was wrong, and Dewey took advantage of him."

"Then what are your considerations? Didn't the president also nominate you to be the vice president? Are you quitting?"

Truman smiled slyly: "Of course I have to be the vice president, but it's not easy for the next president. One of the missions of the next president is probably to go to Berlin to kowtow to Hitler and beg for peace. What would you do instead?"

"I..." Hannigan was embarrassed and didn't know how to answer this sentence.

"Then these senior executives of the Joint Chiefs of Staff will definitely resign. No one understands them better than me - they are all gangsters. Even the most honest Eisenhower has learned bad things now." Truman smiled and said, "Suppose I win the party If I am elected to run for president, I will be faced with the situation of whether to withdraw from the war. Maybe I will not be able to stop the war immediately and clearly, and I will have to delay it for a while. If Dewey can shout the slogan of isolationism again, can we follow him? ? Even if I can shout, no matter what my relationship with the military is, they will jump out to express opposition in order to maintain the dignity of the military-after all, no one wants to be a general who surrenders after a defeat. "

Hannigan vaguely guessed what Truman was thinking. The latter did not think it was glorious to serve as a president who represented the surrender of the United States, nor did he think that close relations with the military would allow him to accept defeat frankly.

"We still have to look at the situation. Maybe the war situation will improve?" Truman smiled slightly, "As long as Congress can smoothly push forward the issuance of 50 billion treasury bonds, we will have more money to build warships and equipment. Keep fighting the Germans and the Japanese."

"Now the oligarchs are dissatisfied with such high tax rates and hope to reduce taxes."

"This is impossible, don't even think about it!" Truman categorically refused. "The Germans have extended their hands to South America. No matter how isolationist they are, you can't just ignore South America, right? Don't look at the strong opposition of the capitalists to expansionary spending. , they will scold us even more if we really stop aiding Britain completely.”

"Why?" Hannigan asked in surprise, "If there was no aid to the British, wouldn't we be able to save funds and use them in other places?"

"You haven't understood?" Truman smiled slyly. "How many types of materials are included in the aid to Britain? From daily supplies to logistics products, from energy to raw materials, military equipment only accounts for a small part of it. If it is stopped Of course arms capitalists will be more satisfied if they focus on the production of armaments. Can the capitalists who produce civilian products be satisfied? In the end, how many of these materials are sunk has nothing to do with the capitalists. It is the government and the American people who pay for it. Whether the loss rate is high or low, it does not affect their profit margins. Sometimes I even wonder if the profiteers wish that all the supplies would be sunk by the Germans, and then the government would have to spend money to purchase them again. A batch.”

Hannigan was horrified. He had never thought about the problem from this perspective.

"So you see, when Wallace asked to stop aid to Britain, the Soviet Union, and all foreign aid, very few people responded to him - the oligarchs are all smart people, and only this fool naively thought that he was really doing something for the American people. Fundamental interests speak for themselves.”