Roosevelt said: " Mr. Ambassador, with all due respect, under the present circumstances, although the predicament faced by Japan in retreating to the Korean Peninsula seems to be smaller than that of Russia, there is almost no chance of victory, because Japan is an island country, and the foundation of the country is the navy, but Japan's navy has already suffered a devastating blow and cannot be restored in a short period of time, which is doomed to Japan to lose the capital to strive for victory。 ”

Kentaro Kaneko smiled bitterly and said, "Of course, we hope to sign an armistice treaty with the East China government, but the conditions of the East China government, Mr. President, are known, and they insist on demanding reparations from Japan, which is a condition that Japan will never accept." ”

Roosevelt shrugged his shoulders and said, "I don't think this is an unacceptable condition, Mr. Ambassador, I can understand that accepting the conditions of reparations will be a very difficult decision, but as a politician, you should have the courage to take responsibility for the interests of the country." Now the East China Government needs to deal with Russia, so as long as Japan can negotiate with the East China Government now and sign an armistice treaty at a relatively small cost, Japan can still restore its national strength in a short period of time. Of course, if the East China government fails to defeat Russia, Japan will indeed be exempt from compensation, but I think this is a very low probability and we should not put our hopes on such an opportunity that is akin to gambling. ”

Kentaro Kaneko said: "Mr. President, Japan also has Japan's national conditions, and in Japanese culture, it is very much about surrender, and would rather die in battle than give in to the outside world, so it is impossible for us to accept the demand for compensation to the East China government. ”

Roosevelt said: "It is right to maintain respect for traditional culture, but as a politician, the first thing is to ensure the interests of the country and guide the country on the right path, and I have no intention of judging the advantages and disadvantages of Japanese culture, but when there is a conflict between traditional culture and national interests, politicians must have the courage to take responsibility." After a pause, he said: "If the Japanese government is willing to accept the conditions of the reparations, I can negotiate and ensure that the amount of reparations in Japan is controlled within 100 million yen." ”

In fact, Kaneko Kentaro knows very well that what Roosevelt said is correct, and now Japan should indeed exchange for an armistice at a smaller price, if only 100 million yen is paid, it is still affordable for Japan, but Kaneko Kentaro knows better what the situation is in Japan, if the truce is now and can be accepted by the country, then the reparation is absolutely unforgivable, who leads the negotiation of reparations, I am afraid that if he does not wait for the silence to dry, he will be punished by God first.

Kaneko Kentaro could only smile bitterly and said, "Can Mr. President exert influence on the East China government to make them give up their demand for compensation?" ”

Roosevelt was stunned, shook his head, and said: "I'm sorry, Mr. Ambassador, I really can't help this, and I don't think that the East China government will be influenced by the United States and give up the demand for compensation, after all, they have paid a great price for this war, only in Germany, the United States issued bonds reached 60 million pounds, these payments must be compensated with reparations, and they are now the victors of this war, and it is also an international practice to ask for reparations." ”

Kentaro Kaneko said: "Okay, Mr. President, I will convey your opinion to the country, I will leave first, thank you very much for your help to Japan." ”

Roosevelt also said, "Okay, the United States will always be a friend of Japan." ”

Kaneko Kentaro stood up and bowed deeply to Roosevelt before turning to leave.

After Kentaro Kaneko left, Roosevelt sat in his chair and pondered.

Although the United States supported Japan in the Russo-Japanese War, this does not mean that the United States is on Japan's side under any circumstances, and its choice to support Japan is entirely based on the consideration of US interests. On the one hand, Russia's expansion in the Far East has seriously threatened US interests in the Far East, and on the other hand, the United States wants its capital to enter Northeast China. However, the situation that is most in line with the interests of the United States is that in the war between Russia and Russia, both sides will lose and then contain each other, and there will not be a super-powerful government force in the Far East, so that the United States can divide and fight for the greatest interests.

Originally, after Japan won the Battle of Mukden, it aroused the vigilance of the United States, because at this time Japan could have defeated Russia and won the victory, but then the East China government intervened in the war too strongly, defeating the Japanese and Russian naval and land armies in one fell swoop, so the United States had already aimed its next opponent at the East China government.

However, the United States will not easily intervene in the war, because the isolation mood in the United States is still very large, because the United States has a vast land area and a large population, and the country can already provide a huge market and resources for the economic development of the United States, so there is no need to plunder overseas colonies, so the American people are generally not interested in waging war, unless other countries attack the United States first.

However, a group of American elites represented by Roosevelt knew that the United States should no longer only focus on the domestic market, but should make its own voice heard in the international community and show its strength, so as to better safeguard the interests of the United States, after all, American capital has poured out of the country in large quantities, so in 1898, when Roosevelt was still the deputy secretary of the Navy, he declared war on Spain when he seized the "Maine Incident", and as a result, the United States defeated Spain in World War I and won Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam, Colonies such as the Philippines, which originally belonged to Spain, have gained enormously both economically and geopolitically.

However, Roosevelt also knew very well that the "Maine Incident" was a thing that could be encountered but not sought, and since it happened again, the United States might not be able to grasp it, after all, Russia, Japan, and the governments of East China competing in the Far East were not comparable to the aging Spain, and the current United States, although its national strength was sufficient, its military strength was still quite insufficient, and the country's army force was only more than 100,000 people. Although Roosevelt vigorously developed the navy during his tenure as deputy secretary of the navy, and finally let Congress approve the navy's shipbuilding plan, most of the warships are still lying in the dock and have not been completed, and even if the warships are completed, they still need to be debugged and trained, so it is estimated that it will not be until 1908 to form combat effectiveness, and as for the actual combat experience, I don't know when it will have to wait, so it is not appropriate for the United States to directly participate in the war at present, and it is best to adopt the method of supporting agents.

However, Japan's refusal to make peace with the East China Government now means that it may lose even more bitterly and let the East China Government win more, and will it still have the strength to contain the East China Government in the future? In addition, what will be the attitude of the East China Government toward the United States after winning this war? Roosevelt also admitted that since the establishment of the East China government, its attitude toward the United States has been relatively open, and although it is impossible to obtain a large amount of benefits from the Qing court's deals, normal trade exchanges are still very free, and more Chinese markets can be opened through the East China government, so if the East China government wins the victory and controls the northeast, it should also welcome the entry of American capital, which is of course a good thing for the United States in the short term, but in the long run, if the East China government becomes dominant in the Far East, it will be absolutely harmful to the interests of the United States。

At this moment, the secretary came over and said, "Mr. President, the time for the meeting has arrived, and they are all waiting for Mr. President." ”

Roosevelt nodded and said, "Let them in." ”

After the secretary left, the door of the Oval Office opened and five people entered, including Vice President Charles W. Fairbanks, Secretary of State Elihu Rutter, Secretary of War Admiral Adner Howard Taft, Army Chief of Staff, Vice Admiral Charles Joseph Bonaparte, Secretary of the Navy.

Roosevelt said, "Sit down, gentlemen." ”

These people are also regular visitors to the Oval Office, so they each sit on a sofa or chair, and the Oval Office has a total of 10 seats, and it is usually the office where small meetings of the President of the United States are held.

Roosevelt said: "Gentlemen, I have just met with the Japanese ambassador, and it seems that our Japanese friends do not want to hold negotiations with the East China government on the premise of reparations, but insist on continuing the war. ”

Fairbanks said: "This is a rather unwise decision, and it will only cause Japan to lose more in this war." ”

Roosevelt nodded and said, "I think so too." ”

"Perhaps Japan thinks that by fighting in conjunction with Russia, there is still a chance to win, or it will force the East China government to abandon its demand for reparations," Rutter said. ”

Fairbanks said: "The East China government will not give up the demand for reparations, according to our estimates, plus the issuance of bonds, the East China government has borrowed 70 million pounds worth of foreign debt, and their annual fiscal revenue is about 8 million pounds, so to pay off the foreign debt, can only be paid by war reparations." ”

"But if Japan and Russia join forces, the East China government may not have a chance to win," Rout said. ”

Roosevelt said, "How are the negotiations between Japan and Russia going?"

"It didn't go well, according to what we had, both sides obviously think that they are now in a better position than the other side, or that the other side needs themselves more, so in the negotiations, both sides hope that the other side will give up greater interests, although these interests are only in name, after all, if you can't win on the battlefield, all the benefits will be in vain." ”

Roosevelt laughed: "This is very interesting, what about the attitude of Britain?"

"At the moment, neither Britain nor France has any attitude, but is completely neutral. ”