"John, I heard you went to Kingsland Street today, how is it going there? I had planned to go with His Majesty the King to comfort the wounded, but the Cabinet meeting was delayed. "In the small library at 10 Downing Street, Churchill was chatting with John seemingly casually, while tucking his chubby body into a very soft single sofa.www.biquge.info

John knew that Captain Wilson would report his whereabouts to the higher-ups, and he was not in the least surprised that Churchill knew that he had gone to Kingsland Street. He gave a general account of what he had seen this morning, specifically mentioning Boss Cook and his pie and mash shop.

"Thank you for telling me this, John." Churchill lit a cigar: "Randolph, remember to contact The Times, I think they'll love Boss Cook's story." ”

"Yes, Father. I'll call them in a moment. Randolph, who was making after-dinner cocktails for everyone, replied.

"Today His Majesty the King approached me and proposed to establish a George Cross to honour the men and women of the common people who have acted valiantly in time of war." Churchill continued: "The new medal will be on par with the Victoria Cross and will be worn in front of all other medals. I think the Kingsland Street residents who participated in the rescue deserve to be the first to be commended. ”

"That's great. I wish I had the privilege of witnessing this glorious occasion. Ambassador Kennedy's words made John frown.

At this time, Kennedy did not understand his situation, and was still thinking about how to find an opportunity to camp in British high society circles (usually celebrities gather at the award ceremony). This lowered his opinion in John's mind by another notch.

Speaking of which, Kennedy's mission tonight was to be a quiet witness. Had it not been for the fact that John had a military position and that he had to be present to meet foreign heads of government, Churchill would not have invited him at all. But apparently, Kennedy didn't know much about his role.

"Of course, Mr. Ambassador." Although Churchill did not like Kennedy, he would not refuse in person his request to attend the ceremony of awarding the new medal. "Speaking of honours, John, I have good news here. His Majesty the King has decided to confer on Mr. Alfred the KBE (Knight of the Order of Merit) at the end of the year. (It is not that American citizens cannot accept KBE decorations, but can only receive medals, not corresponding titles of nobility, that is, they cannot have knighthoods in front of their names.) ）

John quickly stood up and thanked Churchill on Alfred's behalf.

Churchill smiled and took the wine glass handed over by Randolph: "You don't have to thank me, this is His Majesty's decision." And, I think that's what Mr. Alfred deserves. The British people will always remember the help they received from the Vanderbilt family and all the good Americans. This also includes you and Adele, and I wish you all good health! cheers！ ”

“cheers！” Everyone present raised their glasses and thanked or congratulated John.

Putting down his wine glass, Kennedy, who felt honored to be with him, began to boast endlessly about the "good deeds" of the United States in helping other countries in recent years. Blow it, but he gave the example of the United States helping Ireland eliminate the food crisis some time ago. Doesn't this guy know that the main culprit for Ireland's food shortage this year is Churchill, who is sitting across from you?

Yes, on the surface, Ireland's sharp decline in agricultural and livestock production this year is due to a sharp drop in feed and fertilizer imports due to the war. But anyone with a discerning eye can see that this is actually a retaliatory measure taken by the British in response to the Irish government's repeated refusal to use their ports. It was Churchill himself who ordered the cancellation of the supply of feed and fertilizer to Ireland within the Commonwealth this year, and the so-called wartime transportation difficulties were just an excuse, and Kennedy would not have believed it.

John quietly observed that Randolph's face was a little unnatural when Kennedy talked about how the United States could help the hungry Irish peasants, but Churchill still looked the same. is really worthy of being a veteran politician, and he can be thick-skinned, John nodded secretly, the so-called spit on himself is about this level.

I saw Churchill take a puff of his cigar and say to Kennedy with a smile on his face: "Mr. Ambassador, your country's generosity and benevolence are well known. You see, the first group of children will leave for the United States next month, and I wonder if your country can provide some help for the safety of the children's journey, and I don't think you want to see the tragedy of the Benares City happen again. ”

A month ago, the Benares City, laden with refugees, was sunk by a German submarine in the Atlantic, and 77 of the 325 people killed on board were British children evacuated to Canada. The death of these 77 children has caused a big stir in Europe and the United States. Even the Germans had to get Dönitz to speak out, arguing that they had attacked the Benares because intelligence showed that the British government had loaded a large amount of gold destined for Canada on board.

Churchill put it mildly, and threw Kennedy into the corner. Don't agree, just now Kennedy was still blowing about the humanitarian spirit of the United States, and the tone was so high, and now he turned his face and said that the safety of these children has nothing to do with the United States, which is really a bit unspeakable. Agreed, Kennedy didn't have the guts to do so, because it violated the principle of American neutrality.

In a dilemma, Kennedy could only sneer and say that he would help Churchill ask for instructions from the State Department and wait for a domestic decision.

Now that Kennedy had obediently shut up, Churchill could finally get down to business with John. "John, after the cabinet meeting this afternoon, Ernest came to me specifically to talk about something related to you."

"Mr. Ernest Bevan?" John wasn't surprised, as Randolph had told him that the Minister of Labour and National Affairs was interested in his container terminal project. Recently, Leith's expedition to Xiao Zu has almost become his personal advisory group.

Churchill nodded: "That's right. Ernest proposed a proposal last week to build a container terminal at Felixstowe, but Sir Wood (Chancellor of the Exchequer, Kingsley Wood) argued that the upfront investment was too large and the transport effect was unknown, so it was not worth it. Ernest asked me about it again today. He said you first came up with the idea, and you've been experimenting with this new mode of transportation in the United States, right?"

"We just shipped our first shipment from New York to Houston at the end of last month in 20-foot containers. Originally 17 transportation links were required for bulk transportation, and the transportation cost was about 4 US dollars per ton, now there are only 7 links, and the transportation cost is about 25 cents per ton, and the transportation time is also reduced by 1/3. John is still used to speaking with facts.

Hearing his words, Churchill's reaction was quite normal, but Randolph and Kennedy on the side were taken aback. No matter how layman, you can also see the huge advantages of containers in the field of shipping.

Churchill flicked his cigar and said thoughtfully, "John, I think we're going to need these big iron boxes, but we'll have to come up with something hard to convince Sir Wood." ”

John understood that Churchill had been on the side of Chancellor Bevan from the beginning. What Sir Wood objected to was nothing more than an excuse for asking for a sky-high price. He was hinting at himself. If you want to get a piece of the pie in the Felixstowe container terminal project, you have to invest a little money. I just don't know how big Churchill's appetite is this time.