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In March 1909, the United States completed the presidential change, President Theodore Roosevelt and his cabinet resigned after eight years in power, and William Howard Taft became the president, and the new cabinet officially took office on March 4. However, Taft still represents the monopoly capitalists, safeguarding their interests everywhere, and has completely inherited and strengthened the policy of arms expansion and warfare implemented by Theodore Roosevelt, so that the United States has invested almost all its national strength in arms expansion and warfare!

Three months into the White House, President Taft has fully adapted to the place. The new Cabinet has been formed, consisting of Vice President James Sherman, Secretary of State Philand C. Knox, Secretary of the Treasury Franklin McVeigh, Secretary of War Jacob M. Dickinson, Secretary of the Navy George von Ringkemeyer, Attorney General George W. Wickham, Secretary of Posts Frank Harris Hitchcock, Secretary of the Interior Richard Achilles Barringer, Secretary of Agriculture James Wilson, and Secretary of Commerce and Labor Charles Nagel. However, the first major event in front of the new cabinet is the imminent opening of the Panama Canal, which will be a major event for the whole of the United States. President Taft, who has just come to power, hopes to consolidate his prestige in the United States!

Originally, according to the original plan of the United States, the Panama Canal was to be opened last year, which was the last year of Theodore Roosevelt's presidency. For many reasons, though. The project was not completed on time and had to be postponed by a year. Among them, there is no reason why the monopoly bourgeoisie, represented by President Taft, wants to use the opening of the canal to build momentum for Taft. After all, the more stable President Taft's dominance is, the more benefits he will receive for the monopoly bourgeoisie he represents!

On the morning of June 16, 1909, President Taft convened a cabinet meeting in his White House office, which was attended by all the cabinet members, except for the Attorney General and the Secretary of Agriculture, who were visiting the United States!

"Gentlemen. The opening date of the Panama Canal has been set, and on the 18th of next month, this huge project that has attracted worldwide attention will begin to fulfill its role. This represents the strength of the American Republic! I believe that this day will be remembered by history! President Taft said excitedly.

"Bang Bang!" All the cabinet members applauded with smiles on their faces!

"Your Excellency Knox, how are the preparations for the opening ceremony?" President Taft asked.

"Your Excellency. It is fully ready for the opening ceremony of the whole cabinet. His Excellency Former President Theodore Roosevelt will also attend, and representatives from all major families in the country will also attend this grand event! In addition, foreign envoys to the United States will also be invited to attend the opening ceremony of the canal! Secretary of State Filand C. Knox said.

"Hmmm! That's it! Lord Meyer, what about the Navy? Is the Navy ready? President Taft continued.

"Your Excellency, the Navy is ready. A brigade of marines has already entered the Canal Zone, and they will be responsible for the security of the Canal Zone. If war breaks out, we will be able to increase the garrison to one corps in a week. Enough to protect the canal is in our hands. In addition, the battleships for the opening ceremony are also ready, and the battleships 'New York' and 'Texas' will form a formation to cross the Guò Canal and cruise to the west coast! "said the Minister of the Navy, Georg von Lengelkemeyer. These two battleships are the newest 'New York-class' battleships to enter service with the U.S. Navy. The design drawings of the British Navy's 'King George V-class' battleships were adopted, and a total of four ships were to be built. The USS New York and USS Texas were the first two ships already in service, followed by the battleship USS New Hampshire and the battleship USS Louisiana. It will enter service at the end of the year. In addition, the U.S. Navy has four 'Nevada-class' battleships imitating the British Navy's 'Iron Duke-class' battleships under intense construction. It is expected to be able to officially enter service by the end of next year.

"What about the Chinese? What is the reaction of the Chinese? President Taft asked. According to the treaty signed with China, the United States could not deploy more than 10,000 tons of battleships on the west coast, and the 'New York-class' battleships had a full load displacement of up to 30,000 tons, which had already exceeded the provisions of the original treaty. President Taft agreed to such an arrangement in order to test China's reaction. There will be a war between the United States and China in the future, and this has long been the consensus of the US government. If you prepare in advance, you will be able to gain a head start in future wars. The treaty signed at the beginning of the treaty put a great deal of restraint on the United States and had a severe impact on the security of the United States. As the strength of the United States has become stronger and stronger, especially after the army and navy have made great progress, the call for the abolition of the peace treaty signed with China in the United States has also become louder and louder! President Taft and the monopoly capitalists he represents behind him are also willing to do so. Therefore, the U.S. government is preparing to make the two newest battleships of the U.S. Navy the first to pass through the Guò Canal. If there is a strong opposition from the Chinese side, the U.S. government will claim that the two battleships are only cruising on the West Coast, and will not be permanently stationed on the West Coast. But if China doesn't react, the two battleships will be home at the San Diego Naval Base. Moreover, a large number of subsequent battleships will be stationed there. After all, the main threat to the United States comes from China, especially the Chinese Navy. As long as the U.S. Navy can defeat the Chinese Navy, China will not want to attack the U.S. territory!

"Your Excellency, so far, the Chinese have not reacted at all, as if they have completely ignored this news!" Secretary of State Knox said. After the decision to send battleships through the Guò Canal, the U.S. government was somewhat worried that China would strongly oppose it. The United States does not yet have the strength to go to war with China, and in the previous South American war, China sent a large fleet to protect the Chileans in the South Atlantic, and the U.S. Navy had to retreat at that time, and the U.S. Navy was difficult to compete with that huge fleet alone. Therefore, the United States has to tread cautiously. The U.S. government was ready to change its plans and replace the battleships with light cruisers in the event of China's opposition. However, the Chinese side did not react to this, which was a surprise to the Americans!

"Could it be that the Chinese have taken the initiative to compromise? After all, our navy has achieved rapid development, and judging by the number of battleships alone, it is not much less than that of the Chinese. What's more, we don't have to use the Navy in a decentralized way, like China, locally, our Navy has even gained the upper hand! Vice President James Sherman said!

"Your Excellency the Vice President, this is impossible! The British and French navies are currently being dragged in Europe by the Germans, and although the Chinese navy is divided into three fleets, their main forces are facing us. Judging from the current shape, before the 'Nevada-class' battleships were commissioned, we did not have the strength to fight with the Chinese. And, worryingly, there are all signs that the Chinese have begun to build a new class of battleships. There is no doubt that this will be a more powerful battleship, but because the Chinese keep it strictly secret, the outside world will not know about it. However, even then, the US Navy does not yet have the strength to defeat the Chinese Navy! "Said the Secretary of the Navy Meyer!

"Could it be that the Chinese have some conspiracy? For example, after our two battleships opened the guò canal, the Chinese suddenly attacked us and sank these two battleships! Treasury Secretary Franklin McVeigh said.

"It's very unlikely. According to the information we have obtained, although the Chinese have also begun to prepare for war, their progress is not fast, and they have not completed war preparations now. In order to sink two battleships, a full-scale war with us will be launched, which will trigger the outbreak of a world war, which is also worth the loss for the Chinese. "Secretary of War Jacob M Dickinson said!

"Let our people pay close attention to the movements of the Chinese, and if they have any changes, we must be the first to know." In addition, from now on, the army and navy must maintain a high degree of vigilance and be ready for war at any time! President Taft said. He was also very worried that this move would provoke China's excesses, which could lead to the outbreak of war. Of course, deep down, he also did not want war to break out at this time. What he hopes most is that China can compromise and ignore the actions of the United States, so that the United States can essentially tear up the treaty that was signed in the first place. It's just that it's obviously impossible!

From Wang Yuze's control of the supreme power in western Sichuan to his becoming emperor, he has always regarded the United States as his biggest enemy. Therefore, China also attaches the most importance to the actions of the United States. This time, the United States will let the two battleships pass the Guò Canal first at the opening ceremony of the Panama Canal, which has already aroused strong concern from the Chinese side. The military and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs even demanded that the Americans be given a stern warning, warning them not to play with fire, otherwise the time would be out of control. However, these demands were blocked by the emperor.

In Wang Yuze's view, as the United States becomes more and more powerful, sooner or later it will be tempted to start provoking China, and China has already been prepared. Since the Americans plan to use this canal navigation to challenge China's bottom line, China will not mind slapping the United States hard and making them forget the pain without scarring!