"Your Excellency, even if we express our support for the Portuguese government, in reality the support we can provide to them is still very limited. Therefore, I am afraid it will be difficult to prevent them from selling or leasing the Azores to Germany. After all, the threat posed to them by Germany was simply too great. For the sake of their safety, they may have to give in. U.S. Secretary of War Garrison said.

Woodrow? President Wilson nodded solemnly, knowing that what Secretary Garrison feared was very likely to happen.

"Guys, what should we do?" President Wilson asked.

"Your Excellency, if the Germans do occupy the Azores, it will be a great threat to us directly. So, we should do everything to prevent them from occupying the Azores. Secretary of the Navy Daniels said.

"Your Excellency President, I think that if the German occupation of the Azores is a foregone conclusion, can we send troops to occupy the Azores before the Germans? I have studied the topography of the Azores, and with a small number of troops I can occupy the islands. When the time comes, it will not be easy for the Germans to occupy there again. Garrison continued.

"Oh God! Your Excellency, are you planning to make us go to war with the Germans? If we had taken the Azores with troops, the Germans would have definitely sent troops to attack. When the time comes, we will be drawn into a great war. That would be very bad for us! Secretary of State Brian exclaimed.

"The Germans, who are now trying to digest the fruits of victory in the last world war and the destruction of Austria-Hungary, will not necessarily go to war with us. If there was to be a war with us, the last time we sent a fleet to the eastern Atlantic, they attacked us. Garrison said.

Obviously, he was a fluke, and if Germany did not want a large-scale war at this time, it might have abandoned the Azores. Of course, this possibility is not non-existent, but it is relatively unlikely.

"It's so risky! In the event that the Germans attack the Azores, then what should we do? "Woodrow? President Wilson said.

"If the Germans do attack and we can't hold it, it's a big deal to abandon the Azores. I believe that even if a war breaks out, the scale of the war will be controlled around the Azores. The Germans would not be stupid enough to attack our homeland. They don't have that kind of strength at all, and they don't have that kind of courage. Secretary Garrison said.

Woodrow? President Wilson, it seems, was moved. After all, such a plan, albeit risky, would be able to secure a bridgehead in the eastern part of the North Atlantic, if successful. When the time comes, it will be much easier to attack the European continent.

"This plan can be considered, and if the Germans really want to occupy the Azores, we can try it. However, the premise is that the scale of the war can only be limited to the Azores! "Woodrow? President Wilson said.

"Yes, Your Excellency." Garrison and Daniels replied.

Immediately after the meeting, the U.S. government issued an order to the embassy in Portugal, asking the ambassador to Portugal to immediately contact the Portuguese government, hoping that the Portuguese government would refuse to sell or lease the Azores to the German Empire.

The U.S. ambassador to Portugal urgently met with Portuguese Foreign Minister Fidel Castro and made clear to him the attitude of the U.S. Government.

"Your Excellency, the United States of America hopes that the Portuguese Republic will remain neutral in our confrontation with Germany, and not get involved in it and facilitate Germany. In this case, there is no benefit to the Portuguese government! The U.S. ambassador said.

"Your Excellency, we also do not want to sell or lease the Azores to the Germans, but Germany is putting strong pressure on us, and we simply cannot resist their pressure!" Castro looked innocent.

For the Portuguese, it is true that people sit at home, and disaster comes from heaven. They just want to live their own small life, and they don't want to get involved in the struggle for hegemony among the great powers. But unfortunately, those big powers don't seem to want to let them go at all.

"Your Excellency, you can refuse the Germans. In that case, the Germans won't do anything to you. The Germans have just established an image of world peace in front of the whole world. I don't think they want to slap themselves in the face right away! The U.S. ambassador said.

Castro's eyes lit up, but he was still a little worried.

"Your Excellency, if the Portuguese Government ends up selling or leasing the Azores to Germany, it will be an enemy of the United States of America. Although Germany is the world hegemon, the United States is not easy to bully. Germany, in particular, is now almost the enemy of many great powers. The future war will inevitably be a war in which many great powers unite to besiege Germany. At that time, Germany will not necessarily be able to win. If Portugal got on the German tank because of this. So, once Germany is defeated, you should know very well what it means. "The U.S. ambassador is starting to threaten Castro.

Castro couldn't help but smile wryly, this is undoubtedly what the Portuguese government is worried about. If this were not the case, they would have sold or leased the Azores to Germany long ago.

"Your Excellency, I hope that your Government will think carefully about it and not make a decision lightly. After all, Portugal's future is at stake. The U.S. ambassador continued.

After seeing off the American ambassador, Castro went to the presidential palace and asked for a message to Sidonio? President Pis reported on the situation.

Sidonio? Once again, President Pais convened the senior officials of the Portuguese government to discuss the matter.

It took a whole afternoon for the Portuguese government to unify everyone's mind, which was to reject the German demands.

The reason why the Portuguese government dared to do this was that the Portuguese government also believed that Germany had just expressed its intention to maintain world peace, and if it used force against Portugal for this reason, it would be a slap in the face. What's more, Portugal did not want to offend Germany, but just wanted to remain neutral and did not want to get involved in the confrontation of the great powers.

On November 11, 1918, Portuguese Foreign Minister Fidel Castro, on behalf of the Portuguese government, rejected Germany's request to buy or lease the Azores.