On 27 November, at 8:15 a.m. Berlin time, the German Prime Minister made a public statement saying that the U.S. Navy fleet had crossed the midline of the Atlantic Ocean to attack German Navy ships and sank two German submarines on patrol. The German Navy's submarine forces fought back, sinking one US warship and damaging the other. In this statement, the German minister did not say that German submarines attacked transport ships, nor did he officially declare war on the United States, but announced the severance of all diplomatic relations with the United States.

Two hours later, that is, at four o'clock in the afternoon of the Tang Empire's capital time, Tang Empire Minister Xue Xiyue also made a public statement accusing the US warship of crossing the line and causing an accident and attacking a German naval warship on a non-combat mission, and strongly condemned this provocative act, demanding that the United States bear all the consequences, and that the Tang Empire would unconditionally support Germany in all just claims and demands. At the same time, Xue Xiyue also announced that the Tang Empire would sever all diplomatic exchanges with the United States, and the entire Pacific region was a war zone. Similarly, Xue Xiyue's statement did not mention the declaration of war on the United States.

On that day, the Persian Empire, the Kingdom of Korea, the Kingdom of Thailand, the Kingdom of Ceylon, Finland and other countries also made similar statements. It was also after Xue Xiyue's public statement that the senior diplomatic representatives of the Tang Empire, the Persian Empire, and the German Empire met in Tehran to discuss for several hours the matter of the US warship crossing the line and the sunken cruise ship, and the most important thing was the timing and content of the declaration of war against the United States. The three countries have reached an important consensus, that is, this time war will not be declared on any one country alone, but collectively in the name of the Allied bloc. Immediately, this important spirit was passed on to more than a dozen other member countries, which also agreed to this principle on the same day.

The US president did not make any statement on the 27th, and the media in the United States became lively first, and almost every American newspaper commented on the friction and conflict. And the focus is on the sunken cruise ship and the American envoys, women and children on the tanker. The Washington Post and the New York Times also published photos of the sinking of the cruise ship and the bodies of the women and children who were drowned in the morning newspaper on the 27th!

Anger in the United States was quickly galvanized, and students from more than a dozen universities organized demonstrations on the same day to demand strong government measures. Punish those executioners. In addition, trade unions and chambers of commerce also took action, and on this day, even the voluntary blood donation station was lined up in long lines, and the American people began to march towards the war.

The relevant news also spread back to the Tang Empire, and on the afternoon of the 28th, the intelligence officers of the Tang Empire also sent several copies of the morning report of the United States on the 27th to the Navy Command.

"That's what the president of the United States wants."

Tan Renhao put down the newspaper and said to Gan Yongxing: "Chief of Staff, I bet twenty yuan with you." This event was orchestrated by the President of the United States behind the scenes. From escorting warships across the line to attacking German submarines to the sinking of the cruise ship 'Elizabeth'. All this was orchestrated by the Americans. The cruise ship was not sunk by a torpedo, but by the Americans themselves, and those so-called diplomats may be death row inmates in some American prison! ”

Gan Yongxing sneered and shook his head. "I don't want to lose twenty dollars, but I'll make this bet with you."

Tan Renhao also laughed, and he looked at his watch. "In two hours, the President of the United States will enter the Capitol, and perhaps he will bring not only the War Mobilization Act, but a declaration of war!"

"And what is our fleet doing?"

Hear Nie Renfeng's voice. Tan Renhao and Gan Yongxing immediately stood up. "Headmaster!"

"Sit down, I just got on the phone."

Nie Renfeng waved his hand and sat the two of them down, "The prime minister will hold an emergency cabinet meeting in half an hour, and the first order issued by the prime minister is that the two armies of the Imperial Navy 6 will enter a state of full combat readiness to prevent a sudden attack by the United States." How's your arrangement? ”

"The fleet has already entered combat readiness and is now advancing to the predetermined sea area before dark. The first water reconnaissance aircraft will be discharged. ”

Gan Yongxing has already made arrangements in advance: "In addition, all the important bases on the front line have also entered the highest state of combat readiness, and the patrol aircraft group came out two hours ago, and now all the officers and men have entered their positions, and if the United States dares to declare war today, they will not get any chance of sneak attack." ”

"That's good, what we need to guard against is a sudden sneak attack by the United States before and after the declaration of war."

Nie Renfeng sat down: "As long as the United States does not move and sneak attack, then we have a good chance of winning." Do you now know what the US Pacific Fleet is doing? ”

Gan Yongxing shook his head. "The submarine in charge of reconnaissance is not yet fully in place, and the Intelligence Service has not provided more information. The only thing we know now is that the U.S. Pacific Fleet's Task Force 16 left Pearl Harbor 24 days ago, and the 17th Fleet left Pearl Harbor 18 days ago, to unknown destinations. I've got the intelligence staff to do their best to gather information on both fleets. ”

The 16th and 17th task forces of the U.S. Pacific Fleet are both aircraft carrier task forces, and they are also the biggest enemies of the Tang Imperial Naval Fleet. Relatively speaking, the other task forces of the US Pacific Fleet are not terrible, and the aircraft carriers in these two task forces that really pose a threat to the Tang Imperial Navy are the ones in these two task forces.

"It seems that these two fleets have been maneuvering, and tonight is crucial, if ......"

Tan Renhao was suddenly startled, and then looked out the window, the sun had already set on the top of the mountain to the west, the sky was getting dark, and night was coming.

"The headmaster's war won't break out."

Nie Renfeng and Gan Yongxing immediately looked at Tan Renhao.

"Our fleet has not been attacked now, and the war will not break out today."

Tan Renhao laughed: "Aircraft carriers cannot send bomber groups at night, and if the US Navy is ready to use aircraft carriers as an assault force, then they will not choose to start a war at night." And the battleships of the US Navy are still at Pearl Harbor, so the US Navy is actually not ready for war, and the war will not break out today. ”

"This is the best chance to sneak up......"

Gan Yongxing was very puzzled.

"Chief of Staff: Now it's night near the Mariana Islands, and we haven't received a report of an attack on the fleet, so there won't be anything new tonight."

Tan Renhao stood up: "I missed this opportunity today. It is impossible for the US Navy to launch a surprise attack on us, so the war will certainly not break out in the next few days. ”

Nie Renfeng nodded slightly and let Tan Renhao sit down. "This analysis makes sense, but we'll have to see what kind of speech the president of the United States makes in Congress."

"It's critical to this."

"Then let's wait a few hours, maybe the intelligence services will send the news in time."

Gan Yongxing no longer argued, and he also knew very well that the aircraft carrier task force would not take the initiative to attack at night. Unless the American pilots all have owl-like eyes.

The wait of several hours was very long, although they all wanted to know what was going on in front of them, but now there is no news, which is the best news. Fleets at the highest level of readiness must be kept radio-silent to avoid being exposed by the enemy's radiolocation system. Overseas bases that do not need to be kept in radio silence will not return telegrams without a presence.

At this time, the busiest should be Luo Yunchong on Iwo Jima, after receiving the war alert, Luo Yunchong canceled the bombing of Iwo Jima that night, and the bombers on Iwo Jima and several nearby islands were sent out. Perform combat patrols and reconnaissance missions. Its main surveillance direction is the Mariana Islands south of Iwo Jima.

All the naval forces in the South Seas were also mobilized. A large number of reconnaissance planes (most of which were actually tactical planes that temporarily served as reconnaissance planes) and seaplanes were arranged in the direction of Australia to closely monitor the activities of those US troops deployed in Australia.

Minutes and seconds passed. When Tan Renhao didn't know how many times he looked at his watch, it was already half past one in the morning. The President of the United States entered the Capitol four and a half hours ago.

"There will certainly be no danger tonight."

Gan Yongxing also glanced at his watch: "It seems that the President of the United States did not order a war today, and he will not make a declaration of war today." ”

Nie Renfeng let out a sigh, as if he had unloaded the burden of a thousand catties on his body. "That's good news, but war is inevitable. Diplomats of the Central Powers are now discussing a specific date for declaring war no later than December 10. ”

"It's better to have more days to prepare than to have a few days less."

Tan Renhao picked up the cigarette and there were three empty cigarette cases on the coffee table. "Right now, our deployment in the Western Pacific is not fully in place. These days are critical. If the United States takes the main offensive in the early stages of the war, then we will have to strengthen our forces on the forward islands, and our defensive deployment will be determined in a few days. ”

"Then they'll have to take out our fleet first."

Gan Yongxing sneered: "As long as our fleet is still active, the US military will not rashly move to fight on the 6." ”

"This is true, but what about bombing?"

Tan Renhao first lit a cigarette for Gan Yongxing: "The US military can deploy bombers on Guam to directly threaten Iwo Jima, Ogasawara Islands, and Hachijo Island. Other than that. U.S. bombers deployed in Australia and the Caroline Islands will pose a threat to the South Seas. Our air defense in these areas is inadequate, and in the event of a sudden bombardment, the losses will be significant. ”

"The most important thing is to keep the fleet."

Nie Renfeng glanced at the two students: "Without the fleet, we will lose everything, as long as the fleet still exists, even if it is bombed, this loss can be bearable." In addition, we have bombers that can launch a counterattack against the American military. ”

Both nodded, and after the start of the war, the importance of bombers was not below the fleet, especially in the early days of the war. A few days ago, Nie Renfeng formally submitted to the prime minister a request for the establishment of a third strategic strike army, and the prime minister has approved this request, suspending the supply of heavy bombers to Germany and Persia, and providing all the bombers that are about to roll off the assembly line to the Navy's strategic strike force to establish the third strategic strike army. A separate strategic strike training unit will also be established to train bomber crews.

Bombers were also placed in a very important position in the plans of the Navy. After the outbreak of the war, the first thing the navy had to solve was the Mariana Islands, which had broken into the inner defense circle of the empire, and in addition to the dispatch of fleet 6 squadrons, the bombers deployed on Iwo Jima and Ogasawara Islands would be an important force for attacking the Mariana Islands. At that time, the First Strategic Strike Army will mainly provide support for the 6th Squadron and the fleet to carry out the preliminary bombing mission. Operations in the Australian direction require more bombers, but the plan in this area has been put on the back burner, and the most important thing is to ensure the safety of the inner defense circle of the empire and drive the American army out of the western Pacific.

At 1:45 a.m., the first message came from the staff officer, not from the front-line troops and fleet, but from the speech of the President of the United States to Congress. The performance of the Imperial intelligence services at this time was very good, and the preparation time of the previous months allowed the intelligence services to readjust their intelligence network in the United States, otherwise it would not have been possible to send back the intelligence in such a timely manner.

"The president of the United States did not propose a declaration of war."

Nie Renfeng sent the telegram to Gan Yongxing: "In addition, the War Mobilization Law was rejected by the House of Representatives for the second time by a narrow majority. ”

Tan Renhao sighed and said when he received the telegram: "It seems that the anti-war forces in the United States are still very strong. Now the president of the United States must pass the Senate. The war should have broken out around December 5th. During this period, the US president will certainly lobby the members of the Senate to try to gain the majority support, and if it fails, then the United States will take the initiative to provoke a war around December 5, and if it succeeds, perhaps the time for the war to break out will be delayed until mid-December or even late December. ”

"Keeping the fleet at the highest level of combat readiness allows the base forces to lower the alert status by one level."

Nie Renfeng stood up: "The war may break out at any time, we have to make mental preparations, and at the same time keep an eye on the enemy." The chief of staff arranged the submarine reconnaissance line as soon as possible so that the US fleet would not be able to make a sneak attack. ”

After Gan Yongxing agreed, Nie Renfeng left first, and he couldn't stay up late as often as young people like Tan Renhao. Tan Renhao and Gan Yongxing also breathed a sigh of relief, these few hours were as long as months.