When Roosevelt finally returned to the iconic Oval Office, Churchill, who was eight years his senior, was talking and helping to push his wheelchair as he looked like a little henchman — a fitting fit for the current relationship between Britain and the United States. Pen % fun % Pavilion www.biquge.info

Wallace and Roosevelt finally met, and the scene looked awkward, and Wallace only said: "Your Excellency, I am very happy to see you return from your illness." I don't know what to say next.

Roosevelt still smiled kindly, nodded and said, "You worked hard while I was away." Many of your ideas are very good, and I can understand them, but the current situation may not allow for this luxury, and I hope you can understand my painstaking and suffering. ”

"President, I ......"

"Forget it, don't think too much, rest well, you are still young, and there will be opportunities in the future." Roosevelt pun on it, "It's entirely okay to think about maturity before making a decision." ”

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

Edgar Hoover soon came in as well, greeted Roosevelt and Churchill first, then gave Wallace a malicious glance and deliberately asked, "Your Excellency 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 on the side frowned when they heard this, but Roosevelt didn't say anything, but reprimanded Hoover in a serious tone: "You have to ask for more instructions and report to His Excellency the Vice President in the future, I am old, how many years can I have?" ”

"Yes." Hoover lowered his eyebrows and walked over to Wallace, "I'm sorry, next time I'll understand your intentions more deeply." ”

Wallace nodded weakly, what else could he say after all that.

Then, after a while, others heard Hoover pounce on the phone: "The Washington Post editorial board?" ”

"Yes, may I ask who you are?"

"I'm Hoover!"

The other side gasped, and then said respectfully: "I don't know what Your Excellency commands." ”

"The President has returned from illness, Prime Minister Winston Churchill is on a state visit to Washington, and the two leaders have had in-depth friendly talks, which will be followed by a public statement. Tomorrow, on the afternoon of 5 February, the President will address Congress in which he will explain his views on some recent issues and his views on the world anti-fascist war. You have to send the best reporters to report these two things, with the strongest force, with the most prominent headlines, and with the most encouraging articles that inspire the will and confidence of the American people to fight, you know? ”

"Got it, as you wish."

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

Coincidentally, Nimitz and a group of high-level officials of the Joint Chiefs of Staff also came, and the first thing to report was the problem of the Australia-New Zealand route being cut off.

Roosevelt nodded, and without saying his own judgment, he only asked Wallace: "Henry, if you make the decision, do you think Australia and New Zealand should help?" ”

"Yes." "They are the first line of defense against Japanese aggression in the Pacific (the second line is the Hawaiian line) and are good for enhancing our ability to counterattack." ”

"Why, then, do you think that aid to Great Britain is not important?" Roosevelt said, "Great Britain was clearly our first line of defense against German aggression in the Atlantic. ”

"This, I ......"

"You hope for an understanding with Germany, don't you?" Roosevelt sighed, "It is a pity that this idea was not accepted by Hitler, and he would not give up not only the idea of occupying Britain, but also the idea of entrenching himself in South America and supporting Japan." Do you think it is acceptable if there is such a Germany, who pretends to have an armistice with us, occupies Great Britain while constantly aiding the Argentines and Japan against us with the latest weapons and equipment? ”

"We can talk to him." Wallace simply let it go.

"Of course, it's okay to talk, but it's wartime, and every minute and every second of time is extremely precious." Roosevelt hated the iron and said, "If the Axis fleet is going to blockade Great Britain now, are you ready to make a move or not?" ”

"I ......"

"Don't think that it is a waste to send supplies to Great Britain, they are resisting the pressure of the Germans for us on the island of Britain, attracting the firepower of the Germans for us, if it were not for the 40 or 50 million brave and unyielding British people who fought hard for us on the front line, shed blood and sacrificed for us, the Germans would have pressed all their strength long ago, and the Americans would have to pay more sacrifices, greater costs, and more deaths." Roosevelt said, "Don't you think that it is completely safe to retract your head back to the North American continent, the Japanese have bombed New York, the Germans have attacked Bermuda and Newfoundland, this is all close at hand, don't we intercept these threats from a distance and put them around and at home to deal with them?" ”

Churchill interjected: "Your Excellency, I just want to take the liberty of reminding me that if I am willing to lead the people of LinkedIn to their knees, Great Britain will not need to shed more blood, and the Germans will not actually do what the British people and I personally do - Germany will not do much 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 yesterday, smiling bitterly and speechless, and could only respectfully and be a schoolboy.

Roosevelt hosted a banquet for Churchill in the evening and promised to continue to aid Denton Britain in the presence of many reporters, while Churchill expressed his gratitude and promised to stay the course. The atmosphere seemed to be very harmonious and friendly, and the reporters gathered around the two leaders to ask questions, but their confidence was as strong as ever—no one noticed the lonely back of Wallace, who was sitting alone in a dark corner.

After sending Churchill back to the hotel, Roosevelt held a military meeting with the members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and everyone was very worried about his health, but he said that he could withstand it, and what really worried him was the problem of the Japanese fleet's broken diplomatic relations, which could not be driven away if it could not be defeated, and this was a situation that had never happened before.

"The situation is more troublesome now, the Pacific Fleet is not strong enough, there are only 2 battleships and some auxiliary warships, and there are more than 10 escort aircraft carriers, but it is impossible for them to participate in the fleet engagement to attack the Japanese fleet." Nimitz frowned, "What we don't know now is whether this fleet is intending to attack us or if it's purely for the blockade to break up. ”

"What's the difference between the two?"

"If it's for the attack, it seems that the strength is a little insufficient, and if it is a break, it is too much strength -- I haven't heard of pulling out a super battleship formation to break the relationship." Nimitz explained, "Such a fleet is about three months self-sustaining, deducting the round-trip time, it can hold out at sea for about two months, and if it is purely for the blockade, Australia and New Zealand need to survive two months without supplies." ”

Roosevelt frowned and asked, "Can you hold on?" ”

"Australia and New Zealand are okay, the surrounding islands are a bit troublesome, especially the Solomon line, if there is a lack of supplies, the ability to defend will gradually decline - after all, our army and the Japanese army have different standards for material needs. Of course, persistence can still be persistent, but the big deal is the loss of offensive ability. Nimitz thought for a moment and said, "If it is an attack, then the trouble will be greater, including Tuvalu, Tokelau, Tonga, and American Samoa, all of which may fall, because the defense strength of these places is not strong." If sufficient combat aircraft and personnel are further deployed after the full occupation by the Japanese army to form an island control network, the transportation routes in the direction of Australia and New Zealand may be completely severed. ”

Admiral Jin sighed: "Hori Yoshiyoshi has made a good move, and now is the time when the Pacific Fleet is in a state of flux, the fleet cannot be defeated, and the island cannot be defended, so it can only watch the Japanese commit violence and have no choice." And even if there are enough warships on the east coast, the Falkland Islands are still in the hands of the Germans, and it is impossible to fight without an abnormal fierce war, unless it is ......"

"Unless we take a long detour, from South Africa to Australia and New Zealand, it may be a little safer, but time will be in trouble......"

"So Wallace really doesn't understand, at this time he also said to stop aiding Britain, believe it or not, he stopped aiding Britain today, and tomorrow Cunningham will pull the Royal Navy fleet back to Great Britain! Once these warships join the German army, there will be no peace on the North American continent......" Roosevelt sighed, "since the big war is not possible, it is better to retreat and defend." Let the Australian and New Zealand side live a hard life for a few days, or they can also learn from the Indian side to engage in rat smuggling. ”

The so-called rat smuggling refers to the British and American fast transport ships departing from South Africa or Perth, Australia, using a single cargo ship to carry the flag of a third country to covertly transport materials without escort. Although the Japanese Navy has completely controlled the Indian Ocean, the size of the sea area and the changing climate will always lead to unsupervised times, when cargo ships will sneak north to replenish military supplies for the British army in India. Although the losses were not small, after all, this was a road, and tens of thousands of tons of supplies were transported after all, which solved the urgent needs of the Indian side, otherwise relying only on the materials that India had originally hoarded, the relevant allied forces would have collapsed long ago.

Everyone nodded, feeling very helpless. Still, Admiral King and Marshall were very happy, at least Roosevelt himself was much more knowledgeable than Wallace, and with such a president in charge, they could do whatever they wanted without worrying about someone meddling.

How apt is the president summing up Wallace in terms of idealism: Fantasy that the United States will be in full force against Argentina after the American-German armistice? Couldn't Germany use all its forces against Argentina after the armistice? If you take the Atlantic Ocean for supplies, the distance is less than 2,000 kilometers, is it that simple?

In the middle of the night, after discussing the countermeasures, the core content of Roosevelt's speech to Congress tomorrow was discussed, and the top level of the Joint Chiefs of Staff decided to accompany the president in attendance.

Looking at Roosevelt's distant back, Turner suddenly said: "I really want to give a little of my life to the president now, even if it is 10 years for 1 year......

ps: 4400 votes have arrived, tomorrow's 4600 must not be far away...... Thank you