~Date: ~October 10~

November 3, 1939, Burleigh, the capital of the Far Eastern Republic.

An American-made DC-3 airliner hovers over the socialist nation's capital, its wings becoming clear in the warm sunlight, and the city's Russian-style architecture gives the city a European feel. Harry. Hopkins is holding a high-powered telescope and looking with great interest at the rapid development of the city under the leadership of GCD.

On the northeastern side of the city, there are construction sites everywhere, and from time to time you can see a few Star-Spangled Banners fluttering high, which are factories ♀ invested by the United States or jointly built by American businessmen with the government of the Far Eastern Republics. Low labor costs, a clean and efficient government, a stable social environment, and friendly trade unions...... It is said that they will never organize a strike! It's just a pity that the territory of the Far Eastern republics is too small, and the people under their leadership are too few. Otherwise, your mission will be much easier. Come to think of it, Harry. Hopkins sighed softly, his mood getting a little heavy.

The general secretary of the US GCD beside him, Blaud, seemed to feel his emotions, gently patted him on the shoulder, and whispered: "Believe me, the leaders of China and G will have a way, they know how to get China to join this war." ”

Harry. Hopkins smiled wryly and nodded◎ One night, when they spent the night in Magadan, the capital of China's Northern Xinjiang Province. Colonel Weidemeyer, the representative of the U.S. Army, who accompanied him, told him that the U.S. intelligence agencies had discovered that the Russian Empress Anastasia had quietly come to Beiping and was living in the palace of Prince Gong, where Luo Yaoguo was "recuperating"!

It is clear that this Russian empress was a lobbyist for Hitler. Is there worse news for him, the special envoy of the President of the United States?

"Mr. Minister. Look! Blaud suddenly pointed out the window and cried out excitedly. Follow the direction of his finger. Harry. Hopkins saw it clearly. The airport on the outskirts of Boeh is surrounded by colorful flags and a crowd of black-pressed welcomes filling the road from the airport to the city, always in the hundreds of thousands! I wonder how the Far Eastern Republics, with a population of just over a million people, managed to organize such a large welcoming lineup?

"Welcome! Welcome! Put out the welcome mat! ”

As soon as the door of the plane opened, Harry. Hopkins heard the cheers of the Shanhuhai Office. When he stepped out of the hatch, he hadn't yet stepped down the gangway. I saw Zhou Elai wearing a black tweed coat, with Zhang Guotao, Chen Changhao, Pan Hannian, Deng Yichao, and some Harry. Hopkins has not seen a photograph of the leaders of the Far Eastern Republic or GC International already standing below≡ a little further away are two neatly lined up GC International officers and soldiers. One of them is the military band, and the other is the honor guard of the three services.

Harry. As soon as Hopkins stepped down the gangway, Zhou Enlai greeted him and shook hands with him, and then pointed to a middle-aged woman wearing a black cheongsam and introduced in fluent English: "Mr. Hopkins, this is Ms. Soong Ching Ling, the widow of Mr. Sun Yat-sen, the founding father of the Republic of China, and she is also a member of the Supervisory Yuan, the upper house of the Chinese Parliament. It has a high prestige in the civil and government of China. ”

Hopkins couldn't help but be stunned for a moment when he heard that it was the former first lady who didn't deal much with the Kuomintang. Song Qingling nodded at him with a smile: "It's a great honor to meet you, Mr. Hopkins." ”

"Me too, Mrs. Sun." Hopkins also smiled gently: "I didn't expect to see you in the capital of the Far Eastern Republic, I originally thought that China would come to visit me later, but now I got my wish in advance." ”

Song Qingling nodded lightly: "It's because I can't wait to see Mr., so I came to Boli with Mr. Zhou from Zhongg, and I can exchange views on the World Anti-Fascist War with Mr. in advance." ”

Song Qingling's straightforwardness made Hopkins stunned, and from Song Qingling's tone, he could also hear that the other party was inclined to let China join the anti-fascist camp.

"Now China is likely to be the key force in determining the outcome of this war, as long as China can join the anti-fascist camp, then the end of Hitler and his henchmen is near." Zhou Elai also smiled and said to Hopkins. And he also mentioned Hitler directly, not Japan.

"Could it be that both Mrs. Sun and Mr. Zhou support China's participation in the anti-fascist camp?" Hopkins smiled faintly and asked rhetorically.

"Of course!" Song Qingling's answer was very affirmative. Zhou Elai also nodded with a smile: "The consistent position of GC International is to oppose all forms of wars of aggression, fascism, and imperialism!" And we are very much in favor of the Atlantic Charter. ”

Hopkins nodded with some relief, regardless of whether the two people in front of him and the political faction behind them had the strength to make China go to war with Germany. However, this statement is still the greatest support for the United States in a difficult situation, and it is clear that they are true friends of the United States! It seems that Roth's vision is still very unique.

Subsequently, President Zhang Guotao of the Far Eastern Republic, Prime Minister Chen Changhao and others stepped forward to shake hands and talk with Hopkins one by one, and V Guotao and Chen Changhao also made it clear that they would soon declare war on fascist countries such as Germany, Italy and Russia! Of course, the Far Eastern republics do not have their own army, and the matter of sending troops to the war still needs to be decided by the GC International.

After a cordial conversation between the guests and the host, it was a routine ceremony such as raising the national flag and reviewing the guard of honor. By the way, the flag of the Far Eastern Republic is also the sickle and hammer flag of the GCD, and the national anthem is the "Internationale", which is exactly the same as the former Soviet Union, which has already perished.

After reviewing the honor guards of the three services, Hopkins boarded an open-top car directly in the same week and drove to the city of Burleigh in the middle of the crowd of hundreds of thousands of people in the Far Eastern Republic......

"The people of the Far Eastern republics seem to be very friendly to us, the United States." Looking at the cheering crowds on both sides of the road, Hopkins couldn't help but sigh: "If only I could see this scene in Wuhan." ”

"That's impossible." Zhou Elai waved to the welcoming crowd and poured cold water on Hopkins. "If you don't see a crowd of protesters in Wuhan, you're lucky."

"Protest?" Hopkins frowned slightly, the United States doesn't seem to have offended China?

Zhou Elai glanced at Hopkins and explained: "There are many far-right parties in China now, such as the China Youth Party, the National Socialist Workers' Party, the Fascist Party, etc., they are all pro-German. At that time, most of them will organize demonstrations and protests. Moreover, there are many pro-German factions in the Kuomintang and the National Defense Forces, and Luo Yaoguo's brother-in-law, Marshal An Sihua, is the leader of the pro-German faction in the National Defense Forces. So they will definitely let this kind of parade go unchecked. ”

Most of the provinces in the southern part of China have completed or are about to complete their training. It's time to enter the constitutional period of democracy! As a certain big brother in another time and space said, "Chinese are in charge", and now the Chinese, who have no one to discipline well, are naturally gradually losing their way in the so-called democratic constitutional government. Reactionary parties of all stripes have emerged. In particular, the far-right ideology is rampant, almost to the point where it can compete with the left-wing parties! And these right-wing parties, though not necessarily in favor of uniting Germany to eliminate the United States. But without exception, they were opposed to war with Germany. They believed that if there was a war between China and Germany, the benefit would be their sworn enemy GC International, in addition to the United States......

"Yes, now China's democratic politics has gone to a fork in the road!" Harry. Hopkins nodded∧ but he thought that the far-right forces in the United States were gradually rising. If the United States is bogged down in this war. It cannot be ruled out that the United States will eventually become a fascist centralized state.

"It's just a small twist and turn, and the road to democracy in any country will not be smooth sailing." Zhou Elai looked at the welcoming crowd on both sides of the road and smiled confidently. "The masses of the people are only temporarily confused by the aggressive and expansionist policies of these rightists, and once the war is mired in the quagmire, they will surely wake up. I believe that day will come eventually. ”

"But, Mr. Zhou." Hopkins raised his eyebrows and said lightly: "Do you have a way to make China fight against Germany?" Otherwise, the war may not last long, right? ”

Zhou Elai said with a smile: "The way is what people think, and ♀ we will come up with a way in two days." As he spoke, he leaned into Hopkins' ear and whispered: "It is unrealistic for the Nationalist Government to declare war on Germany for the time being, but they have already started a war against Japan, and it is entirely possible to conclude an alliance with the ♀ United States. The Nationalist Government may ask the United States to recognize that all of Australia was owned by China after the war...... Even if the United States is more difficult in this regard, it is not inflexible. For example, the United States and China could issue a joint communiqué to make it clear that the United States does not take any position on Australia. ”

"That's fine." Hopkins nodded: "But what does this have to do with China's entry into the war against Germany?" ”

Zhou Elai smiled at Hopkins: "Of course it matters, otherwise Ross would not have sent you to China, right?" Speaking of this, he paused slightly and said in an accentuated tone: "With the relationship between China and the United States, our party will have the means to launch a campaign to resist Germany and aid the United States in China and recruit Chinese people's volunteers, just as we supported the Soviet Union in resisting fascist Germany." What will Hitler think so then? Where will Sino-German relations go? ”

When Hopkins heard this, his eyes lit up, and he said in a loud voice: "Good! Good way! Now that fascist Germany has also recruited many volunteers from pro-German homes to participate in the war of invasion of the United States, it makes perfect sense that GC International recruited volunteers from China to help the United States resist Germany. I just don't know how many Chinese will be willing to help the United States fight? ”

Zhou Elai looked at Hopkins with a serious face, stretched out his right hand, and made a gesture to count the money, "The key is this, as long as the United States can pay a reasonable return, the Chinese people are very willing to join the world anti-fascist war." ”

……

"Did the reconnaissance plane make any new discoveries?"

"No, sir, there is no shadow of the American fleet nearby, not even a single destroyer."

In the middle of the North Atlantic, near the Arctic Circle, Iceland is the second largest island in Europe and the westernmost region of Europe. In the Danish Strait west of Iceland, more than a dozen German ships are cruising slowly, and the tall ship of the aircraft carrier Rhine (merchant ship transformation) in the center is on the island. Bundy turned a deaf ear to the rumbling of artillery in the distance, and he only cared if the American fleet would suddenly appear near Iceland.

Thirty nautical miles away, in Fahsa Bay, huge steamers, under the cover of two battle cruisers, were constantly releasing a dense mass of small boats to send groups of heavily armed fascist troops to Iceland's beaches ♀, and the invasion known as Operation Iceberg was part of Germany's plan to conquer North America. At the same time as the Bermuda voyage was carried out, two infantry divisions, 28,000 German troops were to be quietly transported to the island, which was controlled by the Free British!

The aim was to open another path for Germany to invade North America. Iceland is located right in the middle of the Nordic continent and the North American continent. It faces Greenland on the west across the Danish Strait. Bounded by the Norwegian Sea to the east, the Greenland Sea to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, it was historically a springboard for the Nordics to enter Greenland.

And this time. In the plans drawn up by the German High Command, Iceland was also a transit point for German troops into Greenland. After the capture of Greenland. Germany is going to use this island in the Arctic Circle as a base to invade northeastern Canada and set foot on the North American continent!

In fact, the Battle of Bermuda was only a feint attempt to lure out the main forces of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet (U.S.-British Combined Fleet). The Iceland-Greenland-northeastern Canada route is one of the two main German directions of attack; The other main direction of attack is Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory more than 1,500 kilometers south of Bermuda. Once the combined German-Italian fleet had defeated the U.S. and British fleets near Bermuda, another German landing fleet would depart from Cape Verde and send a full 50,000 men to Puerto Rico, while the combined German-Italian fleet would head south to the waters off Puerto Rico two days before the start of the Puerto Rican campaign to attack the island, which was heavily defended by the United States.

Unlike the massive battles of Bermuda and Puerto Rico, the Icelandic campaign seems to have been much smaller. Only one 20,000-ton aircraft carrier and two Dunkirk-class battlecruisers were dispatched. There were also a dozen light cruisers and destroyers. Because intelligence said that Iceland only had a small patrol fleet of free British, and the defenders were no more than 10,000 men.

And the attack of the German-Italian fleet on Bermuda will certainly attract the attention of the United States and Free Britain. At least able to attract their naval fleet. But then the news came that made Friedrich . Bondi was a bit because the American and Free Britain had not shown up their battleship forces during the Battle of Bermuda.

He was sure that at least the Free British would not watch Iceland and Greenland fall, and perhaps their fleets were approaching at full speed and could appear in the Greenland Channel at any moment. If the army has not taken Iceland by then, then my small fleet may have to flee in the wilderness!

It should be said that Friedrich. As soon as British Prime Minister Winston Churchill received the news that Iceland had been attacked by the Germans, he could no longer sit still and immediately convened an emergency cabinet meeting to deploy reinforcements for Iceland.

"Dudley, where is the Royal Navy's closest capital ship to Iceland?" In the official residence of the British Prime Minister at 24 Sussex Street, Churchill, who looked a little angry, asked the Admiralty Dudley, who had just arrived. Admiral Pound.

"Your Excellency Prime Minister, our HMS Royal Oak and HMS Malaya are now at the Agencier Naval Base on the island of Newfoundland." The Admiralty's reply seemed to have given Churchill a slap in the face: "It is more than 1,300 nautical miles from Iceland, and it will take at least two and a half days to reach it at a speed of 20 knots, but I do not think that those two battleships can deal with the German navy." According to reports from the Icelandic side, the Germans sent two Dunkirk-class battle cruisers for shelling. ”

"Damn it!" Churchill clenched his fists, the Dunkirk-class battlecruisers belonged to Britain's ally, France, but the cowardly French gave them to Germany to pay their own reparations!

"And the Germans also sent Ju-87 dive bombers to bomb the airfield in Iceland, it is impossible for such aircraft to fly from Norway to Iceland to fight, and it is clear that the Germans also dispatched at least one aircraft carrier!" Admiral Pound would continue to undermine Churchill's confidence, and he seemed to have no interest in sending out the little capital of the Free British Navy to fight a war of attrition. The loss of the aircraft carrier USS Dreadnought in the Battle of Bermuda a few days ago already made him feel distressed.

Since Canada is still basically undeveloped land, it cannot build large warships on its own, and once these warships brought out of Britain are lost, there is no way to replenish them. Therefore, the Free British Navy is not highly motivated to fight now, and only wants to stay in the base as a fleet.

"So what do we do? Dudley? Will they just let Iceland fall, and then the Germans will take Greenland, and then they will go to North America, then to Canada! Churchill shook his fist and yelled at Pound.

Pound replied coldly: "Your Excellency, Iceland is definitely hopeless, and Greenland is estimated to be difficult to ...... I'm afraid we're going to have to resist the German invasion on Newfoundland! ”

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