Chapter 936 The Sunset of the Empire (Continued)

It was late spring and early summer, and the sunshine outside was bright, but Roosevelt's ward was filled with a sense of solemnity. Although there were green leaves and flowers everywhere, hoping to recover the seriously ill president, everyone was still worried. It is clear that the president's illness is different from that of Admiral Kim. The latter can recover within a few days, but the former's vitality is withering at a speed visible to the naked eye, like a candle flame swaying in the strong wind, which may be extinguished at any time.

Doctors have issued several critical illness notices in succession. Although Roosevelt survived each time, his condition was worse than before each time. America's best medicines, best doctors and rehabilitation experts were helpless. Truman knew there was something that could cure Roosevelt's illness, but he couldn't come up with this specific medicine - Victory!

No matter how much Roosevelt fought for power and politics, he was always a patriot and would never fail. In a sense, it was the continuous defeats that pushed Roosevelt's body into the abyss.

Roosevelt's mental state has been good these two days, better than before, but the doctors are very nervous, and everyone thinks of the word "return to the light", so no matter how tense the national affairs are, Truman must take the time to take a look anyway .

Roosevelt seemed particularly talkative today: "I read the debate between you and Dewey in the newspaper, and it was good. But you don't want to take over some of the issues. That's not your problem, it's my problem - you can blame it on me. Anyway, I I don’t have a few days left to live.”

"Your Excellency, I..."

"What happened in the past two days? Li Hai hasn't been here for a while. Whenever there is bad news, he avoids me, thinking that I can't judge?" Roosevelt smiled openly, "I don't have the ability to judge at this point. My life has been in vain, tell me, I can bear it."

"We had a fight with the Germans in the direction of Iceland."

"Lost?"

"Lost! The main reason is that the navy is not good now, and the fleet is not as powerful as the Germans." Truman sighed, "But at least we killed 2 regular aircraft carriers and 3 light aircraft carriers of the Germans..."

Roosevelt looked directly at Truman, and after a long while he managed to say: "The British Empire is over."

Truman remained silent.

"Is Winston stepping down?"

"They wanted to drive him out of office, and he made a request to us, hoping that we could help him in 'stabilizing the overall situation.'"

Roosevelt was stunned for a moment: "Is this really what he said?"

"Yes."

"You agreed?"

"Agreed." Truman stated the basis for his judgment, including the British warship issue and the South American and Brazilian issue. After hesitating for a long time, he also announced the news of the armistice in Moscow. Roosevelt was stunned for a while, his heartbeat quickened and his face flushed.

Truman saw that his face was not very good, so he comforted him: "Don't think too much, these things have already started a few months ago, and we are prepared to deal with them. I don't have much hope for the situation in Britain, mainly because of the above The more than 100,000 troops can't come back anyway. If Churchill wants to make a fuss, let him make a fuss. Good or bad won't affect us. As for Stalin, it's better to delay. It is said that the Russians are finished, and it is simply a miracle that they can survive until now. If we were faced with this situation, it would be impossible to endure until now. "

"Let me think about it..." Roosevelt suddenly closed his eyes and thought hard.

Truman sighed and stood up, looking at the spring scenery in the ward, and sniffing the smell of disinfectant in the air. He felt that he was exhausted mentally and physically, and he might end up being hospitalized in a few months. The position of the president is really *** *** It was not done by humans!

"Harry..."

"I am here."

"I think you may have been fooled."

"Fooled?" Truman was surprised, "You mean?"

"Churchill may be trying to fake a coup and actually disarm him... Of course, he may also be prepared for both." Roosevelt said meaningfully, "Needless to say, the fake coup will definitely fail; the real coup may not necessarily succeed. , so that if it fails, he can drag some people to Canada, and you know that from the long-term interests of the United States, we should not let him come to Canada."

Truman gritted his teeth: "I know that the chance of a successful coup is too low, but I am just not willing to let these 100,000 troops be disarmed in vain. If the Germans are willing to let these 100,000 people come back, I am willing to give them 1,000 B-29s!"

Now it was Roosevelt's turn to be stunned: "You really think so?"

"B-29 is not a particularly valuable thing. The Germans have also obtained some, and they can certainly not be used against us. But I can send these 100,000 people to South America - this is not just a company of troops. The National Guard is not a decent army, but it is a regular army elite! It doesn’t matter how much equipment you want, it’s so nice... Oh, let’s not talk about it!”

"Since you think so, you can go and talk." Roosevelt narrowed his eyes, considering whether to give Old Joseph's line to Truman.

"No, this is too passive. If we talk like this, unless I negotiate a package peace agreement with the Germans, the problem is that the Germans will not agree." Truman was also really distressed. He also wanted to have a decent peace with Germany. Now the Joint Chiefs of Staff have lowered their demands for peace with Germany again: even if they pay a little more for arms and supplies, or even give South Africa to Germany and let Germany occupy half of South America, the problem is that Hitler, that bastard, refuses to give up Japan. —What can I do?

Of course, maybe the Germans can accept this condition. The issue is now a critical moment in the general election. If such conditions are thrown out, there will be an uproar. The most disadvantageous thing for the United States is that its current military strength has not been fully reflected. When Essek The Sri Lankan class has reached a scale of 24 ships a year. When the eight Montana ships are gradually put into service, the atomic bomb is successfully developed, and the 5 million army is reorganized, let alone Germany, even Truman will be confident in confronting the entire Europe!

"So whether we let Churchill make a fuss, it can at least involve some of the Germans' energy. A week or a month is extremely precious to us. Even if we can't get those few warships, we can let the British sink them. ! As for whether Churchill will come to Canada and the relationship between the United States and Canada, I am not as pessimistic as you are. In a democratic system, international politics and relations between major powers are not determined by one or two people. Churchill is much older than you and me. He is much older. How many more years can I keep in charge?" Truman said, "It doesn't matter whether I am the president in the future, but since I can't do anything in my position now, I will try my best to give it a try!"

"If you think so, then go ahead and do it boldly, I support you!" Roosevelt smiled, "I read the newspapers recently, and everyone still recognized your work: regardless of the results, at least you are doing a solid job It’s much easier to do things, do the work, and find a way out than just talk!”

"Talking" is the Democrats' mockery of Dewey, which means that he can do nothing and has no constructive opinions except finding faults. If we talk about making big talk, the Democratic Party has long been able to do so: many years before the war, Roosevelt announced that he would expand the military and increase military spending, but the isolationists did not listen (including, of course, some Democrats). The United States is in this situation now, and it’s probably because of the original situation! But Truman never said this, which made many reporters feel that he was very elegant.

"Thank you for the advice you gave me. This valuable political experience is enough for me to learn for a lifetime. You can rest in peace and recover, and leave the war to us."

"Harry, I read you right...can you come to me? I want to shake your hand and say goodbye."

"Of course I'm very happy!" Truman slowly walked over, stood beside the wheelchair, and held Roosevelt's right hand tightly with both hands. In the late spring, he felt the warmth of the other's palm becoming cold.

"Harry... thank you... for your hard work... I feel relieved to leave this country to you... I hope you can bring a hopeful and bright future to the American people... I..." At this point, Roosevelt His speaking speed became slower and slower, and suddenly he tilted his head and fell down softly...

"President!" Truman shouted in shock, "Doctors, nurses, come quickly! Come quickly!"

The doctors on duty outside immediately rushed in and checked the heart and pulse. The puppy Farah, who had been squatting quietly in the corner, seemed to sense that something had happened, rushed out of the door, barked wildly, and jumped up to a nearby hill. Then it calmed down, motionless, like a wake.

After struggling for a while, a doctor said in a regretful tone: "Your Excellency, the President has passed away to heaven. Please express your condolences."

"This is impossible, he was talking to me just now!"

"Your Excellency, we understand how you feel, and I am very sad...but this is a fact. Your Excellency the President has indeed passed away, and all signs of his life have disappeared." The doctor whispered, "It was probably a cerebral hemorrhage."

"I..." Truman fell heavily on his chair and muttered to himself, "I hurt him, I hurt him."

He thought that he had just reported so much news, and Roosevelt might not be able to bear the excitement, so he blamed himself very much.

"No...no, the president's condition is indeed unstable these past few days, otherwise we wouldn't have notified you to visit."

Tully, secretary of President Roosevelt's office, came in sobbing. She leaned down, kissed Roosevelt's forehead, said goodbye to the president's body, and then asked Truman with tears in her eyes: "Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Please inform Madam to come here as soon as possible..." Truman gasped, restraining his emotions to prevent tears from falling, and then told his secretary, "Inform the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the cabinet officials to come see the president for the last time. "

At 3 o'clock in the afternoon, the president's wife Eleanor, who was participating in an event at the Thrift Club, was told that the president was "coma". Soon she received a second call and was told to rush to the hospital. The special car roared into the club and then flew away. After picking her up normally, everyone had a premonition that something bad was going to happen, and the scene looked like it was going to explode.

Several members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff were discussing the use of troops in South America. When they received a call from Secretary Truman, it was like a bolt from the blue, which shocked them all...