Taft has spent most of his life in government, serving as a judge in state and federal courts, as a lawyer in the Department of Justice, and as a consul in the Philippines. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 ｉｎｆｏ

The problem, however, is that Taft doesn't want to be president himself, he wants to be the chief justice, but the Supreme Court doesn't have a chief justice right away. At the same time, his wife, his brother, and his good friend Theodore. Both Roosevelt urged him to run for president.

So, he agreed to accept the Republican nomination for his 1908 presidential election. When he received the Republican nomination, he said, "Mr. Roosevelt opened the road to reform, and my task is to do his job well." ”

The presidential election was not very exciting. William. Howard. Taft doesn't like campaigns, he's fat, he's reluctant to travel. Roosevelt urged him to run with greater passion, "Be brave, old fellow," Roosevelt told him, "Let people see the real you, let them know that you are a gentleman and that you are friendly, that there is never a society where a man is a good fighter when he needs it." With Roosevelt's help and strong support, Taft won a resounding victory on Election Day.

A few weeks after Taft was sworn in as president, Roosevelt went abroad to embark on a year-long overseas trip, spending most of his time hunting in Africa. President Taft wrote him a letter saying goodbye to his good friend, promising to do his best to be a good president, but he also admitted that he could not do as well as Roosevelt. In fact, Taft said he was surprised when people called him "Mr. President," and whenever that happened, he would look back to see if Roosevelt was around.

No doubt. Taft's governance of the country was very different from Roosevelt's. Taft argues that the president should not interfere too much in the actions of Congress, believing that the law is the supreme authority, even if the law itself is not perfect. Some members of Congress who supported Roosevelt opposed Taft, saying that Taft was too friendly to conservatives. They also say that he surrendered to some special interest groups. For his part, Taft did dislike radicals, who he thought were too emotional and prone to extremes.

Everyone has their own way of thinking and ways of doing things, and although Roosevelt said that Taft was "the most suitable man in the country to be president" and had high hopes for him, Taft was not Roosevelt, and Taft was old-fashioned, not good at rhetoric, and did not have the ability to control the Republican Party. inability to tactfully reconcile hostile factions within the party; He lacks political skill, does not subtly conceal his close relations with monopoly capitalists, but pursues a series of naked extreme and conservative policies; He lacks political sensitivity, and all he has is the ability of a serious judge; He had no independent ideological and political line, and although he was completely obedient to the old clichés of the former president, he lacked the talents of the elder Roosevelt.

In foreign policy, like Roosevelt Sr., Taft was ambitious. Systematically expand the influence of the United States abroad. In Secretary of State Philand? With Knox's help, he replaced the "bullet" with a "gold dollar". This is "gold-dollar diplomacy". But sometimes it is also used alternately with gold dollars and bullets. Taft encouraged American bankers and entrepreneurs to invest abroad. The government provides loans to entrepreneurs who start businesses abroad, all of which open up markets for U.S. goods to be exported.

Chen Wenqiang had established a good personal relationship with Roosevelt during his early visits to the United States, and as Roosevelt's successor, Taft also hoped to continue this friendship. China, a huge market, has huge prospects for investment. Moreover, the goodwill to China in the early stage has indeed been well reciprocated. As the Chinese government gets a firmer grip on the localities. U.S. entrepreneurs are also expanding their reach.

One of the most active is the U.S. Navy-backed Bethlehem Steel Group, which has not only been awarded a contract to build a military port in Hainan, but has also invested heavily in a number of newly built steel mills. Not far behind, Mobil Oil has signed a contract of intent with China to cooperate in the development of Northwest Oil and Natural Gas.

President Roosevelt's "big stick policy" was opposed by the people of all countries in the world, especially Latin America. Therefore, Taft proposed to "replace guns and bullets with gold dollars", and they advocated the use of foreign policy to promote and protect the overseas investments of American bankers, especially in Latin America, the Caribbean and China, and to crowd out and replace other imperialist countries in these regions.

Although the Chinese government welcomes attracting foreign investment, Chen Wenqiang is still wary of the capital penetration of foreign powers. Under his auspices, the Chinese government is enacting a series of laws and regulations to guard against this invisible, hidden risk. And in order to avoid interference from other powers, the loans obtained by the Chinese government have also appeared in other guises as much as possible. For example, the nature of loans should be changed from the state to business or individuals, and from the military to culture, education, and people's livelihood.

"The United States is full of goodwill towards its sister republic on the other side of the ocean, and it is also very much looking forward to its strength and rise." Taaffe's fat body filled the chair to the brim, and said with a smile: "Especially in the international recognition of China, it has caused dissatisfaction in many countries. ”

"On behalf of the Chinese government, I would like to express my gratitude to Mr. President." Chen Wenqiang bowed his head slightly to express his gratitude and said: "For the international friendship and selfless help of the United States, the Chinese people will keep it firmly in mind. It is hoped that China and the United States will further deepen this kind of friendly cooperation and close relations in future exchanges. ”

"Mr. Secretary, your country has just won a victory over Russia, and this is something to celebrate." Taft looked very happy, indeed, there is also a credit to the United States, and American businessmen can enter the northwest of China and expand the sales of goods, which can be regarded as a kind of reward for their support of the Chinese government.

"Russia is only temporarily retreating, and the situation in our country is still not optimistic, especially Japan, which is neighboring to the east, and it will be a disturbing thing to wait for him to take a breath." Chen Wenqiang deftly turned the conversation to Japan, a potential enemy of the United States.

The origin of the conflict between Japan and the United States is directly related to the "mainland policy" and "open door" policies formulated by the two countries for the Asia-Pacific region. The "mainland policy" was a product of Japan's ruling class after the Meiji Restoration, which advocated overseas expansion, and the core of this policy was to seize the territory of other countries, and the order was to invade Korea first, then annex China, and use China as a base to further invade and occupy the whole of Asia. And then conquer the world. The "open door" policy of the United States is based on the principle of fair competition and the use of capital and commodity exports to occupy the Chinese market and even the entire Asia-Pacific market. The "open door" policy was to oppose the use of their respective spheres of influence in China by the Great Powers to exclude American goods and capital.

Until 1910, the U.S. war plan against Japan was similar to Japan's war plan against the United States, that is, both began with Japan's surprise attack on a naval base in the Philippines and ended with the final decisive battle between the U.S. fleet and the Japanese fleet in the Far East.

However, judging from the morale of both sides, the United States is undoubtedly inferior to Japan. After all, Japan brazenly launched an attack on Russia, which had fifteen battleships, with only six battleships. So the United States more than once made the worst-case scenario: Japan landed on the Pacific coast and occupied California and Washington states. President Roosevelt even ordered the entire Far East Fleet to withdraw to its homeland at a time when relations between Japan and the United States were at their highest, and urged the Secretary of the Treasury to transfer the gold from the national reserve stored in San Francisco to Denver.

Later, commissioned by the Admiralty, the Naval Military Academy conducted a detailed study of Japan's war potential, mobilization and troop projection capabilities, and completed a combat plan codenamed "Project Orange" against Japan. One of the assumptions is that one or more countries, in order to prevent Japan's policy of dominating Asia, will stop Japan in a war on the East Asian continent. However, the Japan-Britain alliance and the Russo-Japanese pact meant that the United States could only find China on the mainland.

In other words, Germany supported China primarily to contain Russia; And the United States helps China. It is because of the need to contain relations with Japan. In the eyes of the U.S. government, the vision of Project Orange is now likely to become a reality, and China may indeed be able to stop or hold Japan back in a possible East Asian war.

"Japan's threat to your country is truly disturbing." Taft nodded, frowned slightly, and said: "But for now, it is unlikely that Japan's policy toward China will change from gradual economic encroachment to blatant aggression. ”

"We have an old Chinese saying: plan ahead. This means that when it is not raining yet, you should be prepared to take an umbrella. Chen Wenqiang replied: "The Japanese are crazy. The international situation is changing very quickly, and I think be prepared for the worst in advance. It would be much better than a temporary rush. ”

"It can be seen that your country is indeed preparing." "And the reaffirmation and implementation of the Navy Loan Contract will provide a strong guarantee for your country," Taft said. ”

"IMHO, the expansion of the Navy is really important, but we also have to think that it is extremely time-consuming." "Before that, we need to build a strong army and a military force capable of coastal defense," Chen said. Such. It will be difficult for Japan to control the maritime flank (troop transport line) of the invasion of the Asian continent and at the same time ensure the smooth flow of trade. At worst, our army was able to drag Japan's forces on Chinese soil, making it impossible to mobilize heavy forces to attack the rest of the Pacific. Come to think of it, Japan's current standing army is no more than 21 divisions. And our country is ready to build a million-strong army in three years. ”

Taft pondered that if Japan's policy toward China changed from gradual encroachment to overt aggression, as envisaged in Project Orange, it would require the United States to act in support of an "open door" policy.

Indeed, as Chen Wenqiang argues, if China had enough power, even to rely on manpower to fight a war of attrition with Japan, it would make it difficult for Japan to drive American power out of the western Pacific by seizing the Philippines, Guam, and possibly Hawaii. The US military will no longer be fighting alone, and the two oceanic fleets will have enough time to react to joint actions. In doing so, the United States would gain sea supremacy, regain lost territory, and curb Japanese commerce.

"Japan has a fatal flaw, which is that it is poor in resources and extremely dependent on outside inputs." Chen Wenqiang continued: "Although our navy is not enough to confront Japan, it should not be a problem to pose a threat to its maritime communications. In addition, the Japanese government will suspend the export of raw materials to Japan, so that it will not have enough stamina. ”

Having said that, the Chinese government has fully expressed its vigilance and hatred for Japan. If it weren't for China's weakness, Taft reckoned that China would have taken tougher measures against Japan.

"I'm very concerned about the Chinese government's vision, but it needs to be studied by bringing together professionals." Taft nodded, "I don't think it's very difficult to get a low-interest loan in the name of international aid, as well as a request for a large amount of food on credit, as mentioned by Mr. Secretary. ”

"Thank you, Mr. President, for your generosity." Chen Wenqiang said with a smile: "Regarding the issue of sending experts, please also ask Mr. President to agree." ”

"It's not up to me." Taft laughed, "If you offer good terms, I think there will be a lot of Americans who want to go to China." ”

"The living package is top notch and I can guarantee it here." Chen Wenqiang said solemnly.

…………………………

After the talks, Chen Wenqiang and others returned to the station, only to find that many people had strange faces and snickered. When I inquired closely, I realized that something very interesting had happened.

It turned out that in order to welcome the visit of the Chinese warship, the US Navy Department sent the 10,000-ton cruiser USS North Dakota as an escort ship to anchor side by side with Haiqi, and designated a lieutenant colonel officer as the liaison officer to coordinate with the ship. Today, the liaison officer invited Cheng Biguang and other officers on board the ship to watch the famous drama "Red Widow," which became a sensation in the United States and has been performed for more than 300 consecutive performances.

Sitting in the VIP box, Cheng Biguang watched it with taste under the explanation of the English translator. An entourage had an idea and tested the US liaison officer: "After the performance, I wonder if I can arrange a backstage visit?" Cheng Biguang was noncommittal, obviously moved. The U.S. liaison officer understood this and immediately whispered to the waiter to handle it. At the end of the play, as soon as Cheng Biguang got up, the theater manager stood at the door of the box with a smile and respectfully invited the group to come backstage to give advice.

Cheng Biguang happily followed the manager to the backstage with the attitude of "respectful is better than obeying fate". At this time, the entire cast and crew began with the heroine who played the role of the Red Widow, and the men and women applauded to welcome the Chinese admiral. Cheng Biguang was overjoyed when he saw this, and gave an impromptu speech, highly praising the wonderful performance of the cast and crew, saying that "this play is the best and most exquisite performing arts I have seen since my visit abroad", and the words of praise won the applause of the audience.

The theater manager excitedly encouraged: "Girls, getacquaintancewiththeadmiral! (Ladies, get acquainted with this admiral!) Before Cheng Biguang understood what it meant, dozens of beautiful women with heavy makeup and **** towering surged up, aiming at the target and kissing wildly. Suddenly, Cheng Ship's face turned into a big flower, and his cheeks were densely covered with lipstick marks left by the beauties. Cheng Biguang, who adheres to the creed of "men and women are not kissed", can be regarded as a full "foreign meat" this time.

…………… (To be continued.) )