However, the turmoil over the Chinese fleet's presence in Yangon has not passed, and the composition of the Chinese fleet has been exposed by the time it passes through the Strait of Malacca.

Eight of the cruisers and eight destroyers did not attract much attention, and the two aircraft carriers of more than 30,000 tons did not bring much surprise except for their strange shapes. But the giant battleship in the middle brought enough shocks to the countries of the world.

Roosevelt didn't sleep well these days, and when the war broke out, the United States could make a lot of money from a neutral position, but busyness also followed.

Oct. 12, 6 p.m. Washington time.

Roosevelt, who had just returned to the lounge, had not yet taken off his clothes when the phone rang again.

Shaking his head helplessly, he picked up the microphone, and the information coming from it made Roosevelt tired at all. After hanging up the phone, he went to the White House conference room again, where Chief of Naval Operations Stark was already pacing back and forth with a photograph.

"Stark, something is wrong, why are you in such a hurry." Roosevelt asked when he saw Stark in turn. He knew Stark's personality very well, and he was always calm, and he rarely happened like this.

"Your Excellency, something has happened. China had previously announced that it would send a fleet to Yangon to ensure the safety of its port in the Indian Ocean until the end of the war. Stark began.

"Didn't we discuss this today?" Roosevelt was even more puzzled.

Stark didn't speak, but directly gave the photo to Roosevelt before he spoke: "That's why I'm so anxious to come to you, as we expected, China's military strength is too hidden." Now that it's a corner again, I don't know how many things will pop up in the future. ”

Roosevelt saw the huge battleship in the photograph and the dragon-shaped flag flying on the battleship. His heart began to sink slowly, and when he heard Stark's last words, Roosevelt also spoke: "I expected it before, after all, China suddenly took out 50,000-ton battleships back then, making all the battleships in the world obsolete." Now that more than ten years have passed, it is not too strange to come up with another one. It would be strange if you didn't take it out. ”

"I'm not worried about this, but we still don't know anything about the current situation in China, and I'm worried that such a battleship is not their strongest yet. I believe that since China has taken it out, there are definitely hole cards. And even more powerful than this battleship. Stark began.

World War II began, but the world's awareness of aircraft carriers was not sufficient. Without the later British sneak attack on the Italian Mediterranean Fleet, aircraft carriers have not yet reached the point where they can replace battleships. So now all countries are very surprised by the sudden appearance of China's main battleship.

"You mean, China also hides more powerful naval ships." Roosevelt's face also began to change slightly.

"It's not impossible, who cared about the southwest government that suddenly appeared back then, but when the 50,000-ton warship appeared in front of everyone's eyes, everyone didn't know anything about it before. Since China was able to hide its power more than ten years ago, now this capital ship is still hidden. No one can say that there is no more powerful force hidden yet. Stark thought a lot, and he had been asking Congress to strengthen its navy, not only for the Atlantic Fleet, but also for the Pacific to strengthen its maritime power.

In the Atlantic, Germany, which can contain Europe, and in the Pacific, Japan and China, neither of which the United States can take lightly. In particular, Japan, with its increasingly inflated ambitions, and China, which has always been mysterious, are the biggest opponents of the United States in the Pacific. And in Stark's opinion, the Pacific Ocean is much more dangerous than the Atlantic.

"Is there any detailed data on this battleship?" Roosevelt thought for a moment and spoke.

"Judging by the photographs and what our intelligence services watched from a distance in the Strait of Malacca, this battleship surpassed the Japanese Yamato-class in terms of displacement, and the main guns were four triple-packed, two in the front and two in the rear, and the caliber was the same as that of their previous Kunlun Shan class and the main guns sold to Germany and Italy, all of which were 406 mm guns. The strength and speed of the armor are not yet known, but according to the data of previous Chinese warships, the speed of this battleship also surpassed that of the Japanese Yamato-class, and it is very likely that it will be above 28 knots, or even 30 knots. Stark said.

These data were all extrapolated from the appearance and the previous Kunlunshan-class battleships, and Stark didn't know whether it was accurate or not, but these numbers were his most optimistic estimates.

"In other words, our current Iowa class is completely behind?" Roosevelt's heart jumped fiercely and he couldn't help but ask.

"Yes, that's more than our Iowa. The Iowa class's main guns are of the same caliber as this battleship, but the opponent has three more guns than us. And it is expected that the speed of the other side is not at all much slower than our thirty-one knots. With the tonnage, there is a big gap between the two. Although our Iowa class is not weak at all against the Japanese Yamato-class, if we are against this new capital ship of China, our advantage will be completely absent and will be suppressed to the death. Although Stark is reluctant to admit that other countries' navies are very strong, and China is still a super backward country in their eyes before, the facts are in front of them, and they don't want to accept it.

"In other words, we're going to design a capital ship that surpasses the other side?" Roosevelt's mood was a little heavy.

"That's right, in order to maintain our initiative in the Pacific, there must be a capital ship that can counter this capital ship of China, otherwise in the event of a conflict, we will fall into an absolute disadvantage." Stark did not hold back his opinion, and this matter is already imperative, otherwise the future of the United States is in jeopardy. The United States, which naturally has no enemies, is now facing a huge threat, and if it cannot stop the other side's navy, the natural barrier is a joke.

"What about the plan for the construction of the new battleship that the Admiralty came up with before?" Hearing Stark's words, Roosevelt also thought of the Admiralty that had submitted a plan for the construction of a new capital ship before. It also proposed to build a capital ship with a displacement of 70,000 tons, but it was not approved by Congress at that time. Now when it comes to building more powerful capital ships, Roosevelt remembered.

"Your Excellency, please wait a moment, I'll go and get it." Stark was in a hurry, and immediately walked out of the conference room.

Seeing Stark's figure in the distance, Roosevelt's mood became heavier and heavier. Xindao: I have been worried about when the dormant dragon of China will move, but I didn't expect it to be so fast. And one move will bring a huge shock to himself, it seems that China must not be underestimated, otherwise the United States will be in danger.

Looking at the photo in his hand again, Roosevelt shook his head and casually placed the photo on the table. He now felt a deep sense of crisis, and also felt that the future competitor of the United States would not be Germany or the Soviet Union, but this dragon of the East. However, the United States knows very little about China's intelligence, and it is impossible to really determine how powerful the empire now stands in the East and what level of threat it poses to the United States.

At this time, Roosevelt was also a little angry, before the founding of China, after many wars, and also defeated Britain, France, and Japan, these old countries, why did the United States not take military action against China at that time. If Britain and France had joined forces to suppress the rise of China when they sought help from the United States, there would not have been so many troubles today.

Roosevelt was very unwilling to know why he was not in power in the first place. Otherwise, where would such a powerful potential enemy of China develop and grow, and now that they have full wings, it will be difficult to shake the United States alone. Maybe it's good that there isn't a damn war now, and we will unite European countries to suppress China.

But there are no ifs in the world.

When China was founded, there were only a few troops in the United States and what to use to help Britain and France. Moreover, Roosevelt had hoped for war before, but now it has changed. It can only be said that now his mind is confused and he has lost his usual sanity.

Stark didn't keep Roosevelt too long, and soon he walked in with a drawing. He handed the drawings to Roosevelt and said, "Your Excellency the President, this new capital ship has been designated as the 'Montana' class, and its full load displacement has also reached more than 70,000 tons. Many of the layouts of this capital ship of China are the same, and I even wonder if our designers have seen this capital ship of China before. It is a very peculiar phenomenon, judging from the drawings, this new capital ship of ours is also a four-seat triple 406 mm caliber main gun. In terms of secondary guns and bridge layout, everything else is the same as this capital ship of China. ”

Stark didn't say whether China had peeked at the design drawings of the United States, because the capital ship had already been built, and the design time was definitely earlier than that of the United States, so he said that the American designers had seen China's capital ships before.

"The caliber and displacement of the main guns are the same, doesn't that mean that even if we build it, it won't have much advantage over this capital ship of China?" Roosevelt thought for a moment and asked.

"Yes." Stark didn't deny it.

"Since we can't surpass this capital ship of China, and we are worried that China still has hole cards, we need to design a much more powerful capital ship. At least stronger than the other side in terms of displacement and naval artillery. Roosevelt said.

Stark nodded, agreeing with Roosevelt, and that was what he was here for.

"In this case, in order to ensure the safety of our coastline, let's design a battleship that surpasses this capital ship of China. As for Congress, I'm going to convince them that we can't be pulled away anymore! It is imperative to strengthen the navy. Roosevelt said with a firm face. Now the United States can no longer lag behind, nor can it continue to remain silent.

(To be continued)