July 27, 8:40 a.m., in Roosevelt's Al Office, White House, Washington.

Roosevelt and Secretary of State Hull sat across from each other's desks.

"The Japanese, through the German embassy, asked for peace talks with us," Hull said. I've been delaying for half a month, and I have to give an answer, what do you mean? ”

"My meaning is very clear, refuse peace talks and continue to fight the Japanese to the end." Roosevelt said without thinking.

"I agree with you that the defeat at Midway was nothing more than a setback. The loss of two aircraft carriers by the Japanese, and the loss of three by us, only one more than the Japanese, cannot be called a fiasco. Moreover・・・・・・ even if we could not hide the fact of the defeat at Midway from the people, we could have put a little more effort into writing and focused the attention of the people on the fact that we had lost only one more aircraft carrier than the Japanese. Hull said.

"I understand what you mean, most people don't know the predicament we are facing now, and they don't know that the only aircraft carriers we have now are the USS Langley training aircraft carrier and the USS Assault light aircraft carrier." Roosevelt said.

"It doesn't matter if they know, we still have a lot of battleships at our disposal. As long as we hold out until the end of the year, our Independence-class light aircraft carriers will enter service with the Navy one after another, and in another six months, the Essex-class fleet aircraft carriers will be completed one after another. During this period, as long as we guide public opinion correctly, the defeat in the Battle of Midway will not shake the confidence of the people in us. And, most importantly, the people have never thought of making peace with the Japanese, let alone compromised. Hull said.

"I'm relieved to have your support, and I'll give a public speech to show once again that even if you suffer defeat in the Pacific theater. We will not compromise with the despicable Japanese, strengthen the confidence of the people, and dispel the concerns of the British. ”

"I'm going to talk to the people in the military, they're definitely on our side. Speaking of public opinion, Lord Halifax gave me two books yesterday called "Rabe's Diary". Let me pass you on a copy. Hull said as he pulled a book out of his briefcase and handed it to Roosevelt.

"Rabe's Diary? Isn't the book going on sale until August 1st? How did he come up with a book? Roosevelt asked in surprise.

"You know the book?" Hull was also surprised.

"I've seen today's New York Times, and the front page headline is about the book, and I'm curious about who has the energy to advertise on the front page of the New York Times. The Ambassador of Halifax was able to send you a book ahead of schedule, but was it the British who were behind the book? Roosevelt pointed to the newspaper rack next to him and said to Hull.

Hull got up and looked for the New York Times on the newspaper shelf, and sure enough, he saw a large line of text on the front page.

"Extermination of humanity, do you want to know the real Japanese? See "Rabe's Diary". ”

Hull reading the New York Times. Roosevelt opened the "Rabe's Diary" given to him by Hull.

Flipping through a page casually, Roosevelt read it paragraph by paragraph, his brows furrowed tighter and tighter.

In the diary, it records what John Rabe and his wife saw and heard during the Nanjing Massacre.

"December 14, 1937: Driving through the city, we realized the magnitude of the damage. Every 1200 meters, the car would run over the corpses, which were the corpses of civilians. I checked that the bullets were fired from behind, most likely from behind civilians who were killed while fleeing. ”

December 16, 1937: I drove to Shimonoseki to survey the power plant. There are corpses on Zhongshan North Road...... In front of the city gates, the corpses were piled up like a hill...... Killing people everywhere. Some were carried out in the barracks in front of the Ministry of Defense. The sound of machine guns was incessant.

22 December 1937: During the clearance of the security zone, we found many civilians shot dead in the ponds, one of which contained 30 corpses, most with their hands tied, some with stones tied around their necks.

December 24, 1937: I went to the basement where the body was kept...... A common man's eyes burned out...... The whole head was burned...... The Japanese soldiers poured gasoline on his head.

December 25, 1937: The Japanese ordered every refugee to register in person and within 10 days...... 200,000 people! What to do? A whole group of young, strong men have been pulled out. Their fate was either slavery or death. Entire groups of young women were dragged out because of the need to set up a large military brothel.

January 1, 1938: The mother of a beautiful woman came to me, got down on her knees, wept incessantly, and begged me to do her a favor. When I walked into a room. I saw a Japanese soldier lying naked on top of a girl crying hoarsely. I immediately drank the shameless Japanese soldier and shouted at him in any language that could be understood. He dropped a "Happy New Year" and fled. When he fled, he was still **** all over, holding only a pair of pants in his hand.

January 3, 1938: I am afraid that 2,000 of these Chinese soldiers who laid down their arms after the fall of the city were assassinated by the Japanese, which is very cruel and absolutely contrary to international law; During the siege, about 2,000 civilians were killed.

January 6, 1938: Kroger sees about 3,000 corpses in the main canal next to the Hanzhong Gate, all of whom have been killed by machine-gun fire or other methods.

・・・・・・”

After reading paragraph after paragraph of text without any artistic processing, but exuding a bloody atmosphere, the gloomy atmosphere in Roosevelt's eyes became stronger and stronger.

Placing "Rabe's Diary" on his desk, Roosevelt took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes.

"If I hadn't seen this diary, I would hardly have believed that the enemies we are facing are so inhumane, and their actions have trampled on the bottom line of human morality."

"The content of this book really made me reacquaint myself with the Japanese people, and behind their polite appearance, there is a beastly behavior. Even if the contents of this diary are exaggerated to some extent, I would like to believe that it is true. Hull said.

Roosevelt stopped rubbing his eyes and jerked his head up at Hull, who could hear the hidden meaning behind Hull's last words.

"You mean・・・・・・ use this book to create public opinion?"

Hull nodded slightly, confirming Roosevelt's guess.

"Yes, don't you think it's strange? This diary covers the events of late 1937 and early 1938. Now it's July 1942. It's been four and a half years, and I don't believe the book was just sorted out this year. ”

"Huh? Is there any inside story here? Roosevelt asked.

"I asked Lord Halifax about the diary, which had been compiled a long time ago, but it was banned by the Germans from being published in Germany. Not only that, the author of the book. Johann Rabe was also arrested by the German secret police, recently released, and now in London, England. Hull said.

"In this way, the Germans are very reluctant to let the world know about this book, no, they are afraid that the world will know that their allies, the Japanese, are so inhumane, and they are afraid that it will indirectly affect the image of Germany and even the Axis in the world."

After listening to Hull's explanation, Roosevelt's brilliant political mind immediately ran at high speed, and instantly grasped the key to it.

"I don't know why the Germans released Mr. Rabe," Hull said. In short, this book is an important weapon for us to guide public opinion, to make it impossible for the Japanese to gain a foothold in the international arena, and to put pressure on the Axis bloc to stop openly supporting Japan. In short, we have to make this book a bestseller, a bestseller all over the world. ”

Roosevelt laughed and said, "It's a must, but it's not enough to be a bestseller." The text is just too boring and lacks impact. We must use a more vivid and powerful form of expression to increase the impact of this book. ”

"What do you want to do?"

"After "Rabe's Diary" officially came out, Hollywood took the book as the original book, changed a script, made a movie, and released it all over the world. I want to see it. How would the Axis react when they saw this film? ”

Hull smiled and stood up.

"I'll do it, Hollywood studios, I still know a few, I will definitely let the best company make this movie."

Roosevelt also smiled at Hull and said, "I've already figured it out." Let Humphrey Bogart play Mr. Rabe, and as for Mrs. Rabe, let them choose from it, preferably according to German standards, with a blonde beauty. ”

From July 27 to 31, just before Rabe's Diary was sold in major bookstores in the United States, an undercurrent quietly surged in the United States, and then expanded to the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and other countries.

Over the course of five days, major newspapers in the United States and Britain devoted front-page headlines to the launch of Rabe's Diary.

Major bookstores, such as the most famous Barnes & Noble bookstore chain in the United States, also put up pre-sale posters for "Rabe's Diary" on the doors.

For a time, "Rabe's Diary" became a hotly discussed term on the streets and alleys of most of the world.

Amid public anticipation, August 1, 1942 finally arrived.

Almost as soon as they opened, there were long queues in front of large bookstores in major cities in the United States to snap up "Rabe's Diary" to whet their appetite.

As a publisher, Random House has received a number of special orders from libraries in various states in the United States, both private and public, including thousands of school libraries, and at the same time in the footsteps of pursuing political correctness, purchasing "Rabe's Diary" to fill its shelves.

The big cities of the United Kingdom, London, Manchester, Birmingham, and Liverpool, also saw a buying boom for "Rabe's Diary".

On 2 August, major newspapers in the Commonwealth and the United States published articles by well-known writers, editors, and commentators in the United States and Britain.

By radio, the German embassies in Britain and the United States forwarded the hot sales of "Rabe's Diary" to the German mainland.

In Berlin, Chen Dao and Goering sat on the sofa in Goering's study, sorting out the information fed back by the embassy.

"These are all celebrities, and the Americans seem to have put a lot of effort into it, lest we not put enough pressure on us to even ask Margaret Mitchell to come out as a commentator for the New York Times."

"Who is this woman? Is it famous? Goering asked.

Chen Daobai glanced at Goering, undisguised the contempt in his eyes.

"It's terrible to be uneducated. Have you seen "Gone with the Wind"? Margaret Mitchell is the author of the novel and a former journalist herself. ”

Goering rolled his eyes and humbly accepted Chen Dao's criticism.

Within a few minutes, Chen Dao exclaimed again.

"Hemingway, Hemingway actually took action, publishing an article in the Los Angeles Daily News, denouncing the brutal behavior of the Japanese, and claiming that he wanted to sign up for the army and kill all the Japanese."

Chen Dao exclaimed and looked up at Goering.

"You don't even know who Hemingway is, do you?"

"How is it possible, of course I know who Hemingway is." Goering argued.

"Why did you mention Hemingway? Do you want to develop in the literary world? A voice reached the ears of the two of them.

"You're finally here, we've been waiting for you for a long time." Chen Dao and Goering got up to greet their eldest brother-in-law, Count Fock, who had just arrived from Sweden.

"You sent a telegram asking me to come to Berlin, so I'm here, there's something I need to do." Earl Falk said.

"There's a best-selling book called Rabe's Diary lately, have you heard of it?" Chen Dao asked.

"I haven't heard of it, what does this book have to do with you? Did you write it? Earl Falk asked.

"Haven't you heard? It does not matter. I need a favor from you, do you have any friends at the Swedish Academy? Chen Dao asked.

"Yes, what do you want to do?" Earl Falk asked.

"The Swedish Academy of Literature is the Nobel Prize for Literature, and I need you to help me run this Rabe's Diary at the Swedish Academy, preferably so that it can win this year's Nobel Prize in Literature." Chen Dao said.

"The Nobel Prize in Literature is a rigorous process, and it is not something that can be interfered with by vulgar methods, not to mention, because of the war, it has not been awarded for two years." Earl Falk said.

"Rabe's Diary is definitely a book of great significance, you just have to give it to your friends at the Swedish Academy, and someone will do the rest for you later."

"Well, if it's just a book delivery, I can help."

"The eldest brother-in-law will come forward on the Swedish side, and the Norwegian side will rely on you." Chen Dao looked at Goering.

The Nobel Prize is awarded in accordance with Nobel's will, and the Prize in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, and Literature is awarded by Sweden, and only ****** are elected by the Norwegian Parliament.

Goering understood Chen Dao's thoughts, and immediately took care of everything. "Our friendship with the Norwegian government was established in the midst of war, and the Norwegian parliament will give me this face, and I will ****** solve it."

"Now that the United States and Britain have taken action to promote "Rabe's Diary", we can't lag behind, let Blizzard Press do it, and let the German version of "Rabe's Diary" come out as soon as possible." Chen Dao said.

"I'm betting that within a week, Hiroshi Oshima will come looking for you." Goering said.

"A week is too long, I'll bet on it in five days." Chen Dao said. (To be continued.) )