When boarding the "Victoria" passenger ship, Pan Zekang also felt very unexpected, just when everyone thought that the operation had been successful, an unknown American soldier finally made the operation fall short. Pan Zekang watched as the hundreds of tons of heavy water sank to the bottom of the sea at a depth of more than 4,000 meters, which is more valuable than hundreds of tons of gold, and if these heavy waters are transported back to the empire, then the empire's atomic bomb can be manufactured half a year in advance! But who would have thought that such an outcome would be?

Soon, Pan Zekang reacted from the blow. In addition to mentioning that the "Lady Liberty" freighter was carrying about 400 heavy water, it also mentioned other freighters in the fleet, as well as other important cargo and people on passenger ships. The Victoria is a luxury cruise ship that was requisitioned during the war and has been on the task of transporting important people in the Atlantic. Pan Zekang immediately went to find the officer in charge of the Marine Corps and asked the Marine Corps to isolate the "guests" on the ship first, and then investigate and interrogate them one by one. Because Tan Renhao gave Pan Zekang all the authorization, the Marine Corps officers did not dare to slack off in the slightest, and the 100 Marine officers and men who were on the "Victoria" at that time immediately took action.

The 400 "guests" on board the liner were first segregated for men and women, and then segregated according to their age. The interrogation was carried out by several officers of the Marine Corps. These officers had experience interrogating prisoners of war and would not be polite in their dealings with non-combatants. Soon. The results of the interrogation revealed that there were really several important people among these "guests", including three participants in the "Manhattan Project" in the United States. In addition, Pan Zekang also learned from the interrogation that several other captured freighters were carrying these other valuable cargoes.

Pan Zekang sent the report back as soon as possible, which can be regarded as an unexpected bonus, because in the information Pan Zekang received, there was no mention of the participants of the "Manhattan Project" in the fleet. The three American scientists must have gone to the UK under a pseudonym to receive heavy water, so they were not discovered by the intelligence services. Soon, Tan Renhao sent a telegram back, instructing the Marine Corps officers to cooperate with Pan Zekang as much as possible to figure out the whole matter, and at the same time isolate the three most important American scientists separately and interrogate them repeatedly. Other than that. Pan Zekang had to personally go to several other freighters to confirm the actual situation of the cargo, and after obtaining a richer interrogation result, he would return to Task Force 1 and report directly to the fleet commander.

The interrogation was given to the Marine Corps, and Pan Zekang simply listed a few questions for the Marine officers to ask. Soon, the cruiser's seaplanes rushed over and sent Pan Zekang to a nearby freighter. As the Americans confessed, the other four freighters captured at that time carried a number of important instruments and equipment related to the manufacture of the atomic bomb. There are also drawings that were forwarded to the United States by the British government, most of which are related to the manufacture of atomic bombs. Or drawings of equipment related to the atomic bomb. What surprised Pan Zekang the most was on a bulk carrier. Also loaded with hundreds of tons of natural ore!

This discovery was so important that after confirming the cargo on these freighters, Pan Zekang immediately returned to the "Victoria" passenger ship, and the separate interrogation of the three American scientists was almost complete. The three scientists answered all the questions, but gave the wrong answers to a few of them. Perhaps those Marine Corps officers could not distinguish the truth from the falsehood of the answer, but in the eyes of Pan Zekang, an "expert", the truth and falsehood could be immediately distinguished. After determining which issues needed to be re-interrogated, the officers and men of the Marine Corps got busy again. By noon. The three American scientists probably also felt that their "peers" were assisting in the interrogation, and they all ended up answering the questions in an old-fashioned manner. After getting the results of the interrogation. Pan Zekang left the "Victoria" on a seaplane.

When Tan Renhao was about to go to lunch, Pan Zekang rushed back. Instead of discussing the interrogation in the command cabin, the two went to the officers' cafeteria. Most of the officers had already had lunch before that, and a few of the officers who were enjoying lunch also left in good spirits. Tan Renhao ordered a few stir-fried dishes, as well as two bottles of beer, and after the cook brought the beer, the two chatted.

"That's probably the case." Pan Zekang's expression was a little tired, and he only got a little better after a few sips of beer. Since talking to Tan Renhao on the night of the 22nd, Pan Zekang has not really slept yet.

"You're saying that all three scientists were involved in the U.S. atomic bomb program?"

"Definitely, I'm absolutely sure of this, and they are still one of the core members, but how many secrets they know, I can't judge now, and they need to be interrogated more deeply and professionally." Pan Zekang poured himself another glass, "I just listed a few simple questions, and from the answers of the three people, they mainly involved the purification of nuclear materials and the maintenance of reactors. ”

Tan Renhao was also a little tired, but he still concentrated.

"Judging from the answers of these people, the 'Manhattan Project' of the United States is about to enter the actual experimental stage." Pan Zekang sighed, "In addition, I also learned about the cooperation between Britain and the United States in the joint development of nuclear weapons, as well as the role played by Britain in the 'Manhattan Project'. I will write a detailed report as soon as possible. Talking generals, now are we ready to return to the Gibraltar fortress? ”

"Yes, the fleet is heading east, and in about four days we will be at the Gibraltar Fortress."

"Then, I will finish the report before then, and I will have to arrange for someone to send it back as soon as possible." Pan Zekang hesitated slightly, "I'm going to go back with those three American scientists." If possible, those three should be transferred to our battleship as soon as possible for solitary isolation. That way, I will have the opportunity to talk to them individually, and maybe I will be able to get more information. ”

"No problem, I'll arrange this myself. Tomorrow you will go to the flagship of Task Force 3, and I will have the new general Chang recommended to keep the three of them alone on the flagship. ”

"That's for the best." Pan Zekang immediately nodded gratefully.

"So, as far as you know, where is the Manhattan Project in the United States?" Tan Renhao is most concerned about when the Americans will be able to build an atomic bomb. Ever since Pan Zekang repeatedly emphasized the immense power of the atomic bomb, and its impact on the war, and even in the post-war world

After the sound, Tan Renhao also began to pay attention to this new weapon.

"What do you mean by that?" Pan Zekang thought about it, and didn't know where to start for a while.

At this time, the cook brought up the stir-fried dishes ordered by Tan Renhao, and at the same time brought two bottles of beer. At least, you don't have to pay for beer on a battleship, as long as you don't get drunk, you can drink beer on a battleship, and the officers and men of the Navy have also exercised their alcohol consumption in this way.

"At the beginning, the United States launched the Manhattan Project not much later than we did." Pan Zekang did not move his chopsticks, "Before the United States entered the war, the theoretical research on the atomic bomb was already quite in-depth, especially after the theory of relativity was proved experimentally, and there was no problem with the feasibility of making the atomic bomb. At that time, almost all the great powers were conducting relevant research, and most of it remained within the scope of theory. With the outbreak of war, several of our outstanding scientists established experimental mathematical models, and finally succeeded in convincing the Prime Minister to launch the 'Pangu Project', and the development of the atomic bomb officially began. Although the 'Pangu Project' is quite secretive, there are no impermeable walls in this world. After the United States entered the war, dozens of well-known scientists, including some scientists who emigrated to the United States from Europe, signed a petition asking the president to allocate funds to start the development of the atomic bomb as soon as possible, and the Manhattan Project was established. In other words, less than a year after we began to develop the atomic bomb, the United States launched the Manhattan Project. And the UK. Germany, Russia, and even Japan have similar plans. ”

"That said, Americans are not late to start."

"Yes, not only is it not too late to start, but the U.S. government has invested a lot." Pan Zekang picked up the beer glass, "The plan is top secret in the United States. It was only a year before our intelligence services got the news. The United States has a lot of resources, at least not lack of electricity, and there is no shortage of extremely critical resources such as natural minerals. The most important thing is that the United States has a large number of outstanding atomic physicists who are not much behind us in theoretical research. If the United States were to push forward with the Manhattan Project, it would be very likely that the atomic bomb would be built before us. ”

Tan Renhao's expression became serious. In terms of national strength, at that time, only the United States had the ability to compete with the Tang Empire in the development of the atomic bomb.

"If it weren't for the fact that the United States has been in a passive position in the war and has had to devote more resources to the war, it is very likely that the United States would have built the atomic bomb at the beginning of this year." Pan Zekang smiled bitterly, "Our 'Pangu Project' started early, but the development speed in the early stage was not fast, especially before the Navy joined, when the army was only responsible for providing funds and other materials for the plan, its development progress was quite slow, otherwise. We're pretty much done with the atomic bomb by now. ”

"So, what is the relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom?" Tan Renhao asked a question he had always wanted to ask.

"The British had a separate program for the development of an atomic bomb. However, after the outbreak of war, Britain faced serious war pressures. During the period of 23 to 25 years, Britain could not even deal with the blockade of German submarines alone, and had to rely on strategic assistance from the United States. Under these circumstances, Britain simply did not have the ability to develop an atomic bomb on its own. Under these circumstances, Britain would have to cooperate with the United States to obtain the atomic bomb by joining the Manhattan Project. At that time, the United States also happened to have some technical deficiencies and needed the help of the United Kingdom. As a result, the two sides reached a plan to jointly develop an atomic bomb. The UK will undertake part of the research and development work, and the two sides will also send scientists to each other. You know that, too. This time we intercepted the heavy water as part of the British Manhattan Project. If the British government had not destroyed the relevant documents, our intelligence services would have been able to obtain some more important information from the British government soon. ”

"That is, the Manhattan Project is also in trouble?"

Pan Zekang nodded, took a sip of beer, and continued: "It must be the case, this time, the fleet is not only transporting heavy water, but also a batch of natural ore. This should all be provided to the United States by the United Kingdom. However, from what we know, there is no shortage of natural ores in the United States, and the American mineral refining industry should already have a certain scale, probably because there is a problem in the purification process, so more ore is needed. In addition, the United States must have limited capacity for heavy water production, otherwise Britain would not have been able to take on the task of heavy water production. Also, part of the Manhattan Project must have been carried out in the United Kingdom, otherwise the United States would not have sent scientists to the United Kingdom. ”

"So, it's not very likely that the United States will build an atomic bomb in the short term, right?"

"I hope so, but who can guarantee that?" Pan Zekang shrugged his shoulders, "Just as the United States doesn't know much about our 'Pangu Project', we actually know very little about the 'Manhattan Project'. Under such circumstances, we must not underestimate the enemy, but only overestimate the enemy as much as possible, so that we can ensure that we can develop the atomic bomb before the enemy, and not let the enemy use the atomic bomb in the first place in the war, and ultimately change the outcome of the war. ”

Tan Renhao also pondered, Pan Zekang's words are not wrong, if the atomic bomb can really change the outcome of the war, then it is necessary to build the atomic bomb before the Americans, and stop the Americans from making the atomic bomb.

"We will try to interrogate the three American scientists, and then use the information obtained from other sources to judge the progress of the Manhattan Project as much as possible. Of course, this will take time, and the final judgment may not be completely correct. Pan Zekang picked up his chopsticks, "I will return to the empire as soon as possible and report the relevant situation to my superiors, perhaps, this will stimulate our 'Pangu Project', in this case, the fundamental purpose of our operation has been achieved." ”

"Hopefully, if the atomic bomb will change the whole world, as you said, then we must do our best to complete the 'Pangu Project'!"

Neither of them said anything more, and after lunch, Tan Renhao went to contact Chang Jianxin, and at the same time asked Pan Zekang to rest for a few hours before going to the Third Task Force. As Pan Zekang said, this operation was not a complete failure, and what American scientists knew would have a major impact on the "Pangu Project."