Let's turn the clock back to an hour, at 7 o'clock in the morning on January 29, 1910, the high-end Chinese car in which Zhou Ziqi, the Chinese ambassador to the United States, arrived at the U.S. Foreign Ministry building.

After entering the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Zhou Ziqi was immediately reused after a period of training, and was sent to the United States as a diplomat, and was promoted to ambassador in June 1909. His familiarity with American society and his previous experience in diplomatic activities in the United States were the main reasons for Zhou's smooth career.

He is about to present his credentials of great historical significance to the United States, and according to the order of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he must submit his credentials to the US Secretary of State by 7:30 a.m. So Zhou Ziqi came to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building half an hour early, and as expected, he did not go to work here.

"Hello, I am Zhou Ziqi, the Chinese ambassador to the United States, and I have an extremely important matter to discuss with your Secretary of State, Mr. Francis, please be sure to contact Mr. Francis and ask him to come here immediately." Zhou Ziqi got out of the car and said to the two gendarmes standing guard at the door with a serious face.

Maybe it was because the Chinese flag was planted on the high-end car that Zhou Ziqi was riding, maybe it was because of Zhou Ziqi's identity, maybe it was because of the momentum of Zhou Ziqi's superiors, maybe it was because of the word "extremely important" he said, in short, after the two military policemen listened, one of them nodded and immediately got into the watchtower at the door and dialed the phone.

"Mr. Ambassador, please wait inside." A gendarme said politely, but Zhou Ziqi refused, so he stood at the gate and waited, waiting for the arrival of the US Secretary of State's car.

Twenty-three minutes later, U.S. Secretary of State Francis Loomis arrived at the Foreign Ministry, and after seeing Zhou Ziqi standing at the door, he rubbed his eyes in the car to sober himself up. He and Zhou Ziqi are familiar with each other, they have known each other since ten years ago, and they have been in frequent contact for a while because of negotiations, regardless of the differences between countries, the two are good friends.

When he received a call from the gendarmes at home, it took five minutes for Francis to come out of his half-asleep sleep, get dressed, wash, drink a cup of coffee prepared by his wife, and wait for the driver to drive over before leaving home. Luckily, his residence was only five blocks away from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the rush hour for work had not yet arrived, otherwise the streets would be clogged with traffic. Every day at work, Francis is obsessed with traffic jams, a phenomenon that began a year ago when the price of cars dropped and it quickly became popular, and the streets that used to be bustled by cars were replaced by cars. I heard that Huaguo has more cars than the United States, but there is no such jam, I work in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and I know a little more information, saying that it is a kind of "traffic command" system to dredge traffic, including traffic rules, traffic police, traffic lights at intersections, the state also has a special Ministry of Transportation, in short, much more advanced than the United States, we must recommend to the congressmen to take measures to reduce traffic jams.

It took twelve minutes on the road, barely enough for Francis to think about the traffic problem, and the destination had been reached. Before getting out of the car, he looked at his watch, and the minute hand pointed to 28, that is, at 7:28 in the morning, on the other side of the Pacific Ocean at this time, the attack wave of the Chinese plane was about to arrive in the target area.

"Ambassador Zhou, why don't you have a cup of coffee inside?" Francis, who is one of the few white people in the United States who is not racist, smiled and greeted Zhou Ziqi who was standing at the door.

Zhou Ziqi walked a few steps briskly and stood one meter in front of Francis, handed it over to him who had already put the credentials in his hand, and then said solemnly: "Mr. Francis, I am ordered by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China to submit the credentials to your country. From this moment on, China officially declared war on the United States, and the two countries entered a state of war! ”

After the declaration of war ceremony, Zhou Ziqi took a deep breath, and Francis, who was not stunned, raised his wrist and looked at the time, it was exactly 7:30!

Personally, Zhou Ziqi couldn't bear to hurt this old friend, in the pre-Qing Dynasty, Zhou Ziqi's work in the United States was assisted by Francis many times, the Manchu Qing Dynasty perished, and Zhou Ziqi even lived in Francis's house for two days after losing his job. He felt that he was a little shameless, and the traditional moral concept of the Chinese nation that kindness must be repaid made Zhou Ziqi very entangled.

However, he still completed his work perfectly, and the identities and positions of the two determine that they need to put their personal feelings aside when dating, maybe from today onwards, the two will be strangers!

"Ambassador Zhou, please make sure you don't joke! Our two countries are negotiating cooperation, and there are so many interests between the two sides, how can we go to war so easily? Half a minute later, Francis spoke, excited to Zhou Ziqi.

"Whether it's true or not, you can tell it by looking at the national letter. Mr. Francis, this is not the right place for diplomacy, and none of us wants to see two civilized diplomats standing at the gates of the Foreign Office arguing. Moreover, my mission is accomplished, goodbye! Zhou Ziqi quickly finished speaking and turned to leave.

"Go to the White House!" After watching Zhou Ziqi leave, Francis yelled at the driver, and thirty minutes later he staggered into the White House, and pushed open the heavy wooden door of the president's office under the leadership of the White House butler.

Putting the credentials on the desk in front of President Taft, Francis calmed his heavy breathing and said solemnly: "Mr. President, China has declared war on our country!" ”

The war has begun! From this moment on, the United States will enter a state of war with another great power, so at what point will China attack the United States? Is it Japan? Or Hawaii? Or the West Coast?

Almost at the same time, an urgent telegram was sent to Taft, answering his doubts: the Chinese fleet had attacked the port of Yokosuka, the bombing was underway, and the American warships had suffered heavy losses!

Taft, shrouded in shock and anger, did not lose his mind and immediately summoned the staff generals, and at 8:35 a.m., the president's office was already crowded with high-ranking generals.

"Gentlemen, at 7:30 a.m., the Chinese diplomat Zhou Ziqi handed over the declaration of war to Francis, and at 7:50 a.m., the Chinese fleet attacked the Yokosuka military port, and the warships anchored there of the Pacific Fleet suffered heavy losses, and the specific loss reports have not yet been transmitted, but according to the news that has come one after another, the sneak attack is still continuing, and our warships are sinking. Follow-up information is still coming. Taft had regained his composure and briefed the crowd on the situation.

"Shameless! Shameless! This is a shameless sneak attack, the United States of America must declare war on China immediately, and the American army will defend the honor of the United States! ”

"Yes, let's teach the arrogant Eastern monkeys a lesson, let them know who is the hegemon of the Pacific!"

"Gentlemen, there is no doubt that this is a shameful day, and although China declared war on us twenty minutes before the start of the war, the sneak attack is an indisputable fact. Anger helps the American people share the same hatred, but it's the most urgent thing for our leaders to respond. Taft said after the others had calmed down a bit.

"We should immediately declare war on China, Mr. President, we want to make this clear to Parliament, and you need to make a speech in Parliament." Francis said, Taft nodded, he had even made a clear draft in his mind that Congress would never block the adoption of a declaration of war on China, which would be an enemy of the entire United States.

"I propose to immediately integrate domestic resources, formulate a military industrial plan, and increase the number of warships, tanks, aircraft and other key weapons and equipment." said the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

"How is the situation in Europe handled? Did you join the Entente side? "Suddenly there was a state of war, there was chaos in the upper echelons of the United States, all kinds of suggestions and questions were a headache, and no one knew what to do. Peace has been enjoyed for too long, and even if there is a war, it is a civil war, and the presidential cabinet is overwhelmed by the great international war and the confrontation between countries.

Secretary of the Admiralty Chandler was even more anxious: "Gentlemen, these are all issues that must be solved, but now the most pressing issue is the situation with the Pacific Fleet. How many warships did the Chinese fleet dispatch? Does our Pacific Fleet in Yokosuka have the ability to fight back? If we lose the Pacific Fleet, we will lose our sea power in the entire Pacific Ocean, and the west coast will be directly threatened by the Chinese Navy! ”

Secretary Chandler's words made Taft break out in a cold sweat, if there was a military threat on the West Coast, even if only one Chinese soldier landed, his career would be over.

"Is there any new news from Yokosuka?" Taft asked the White House staff, and the person being questioned shook his head, and Taft lost his cool and sat in his chair with some panic. Indeed, the Pacific Fleet is the key, and there must not be too many losses! (To be continued.) )