(The book of empires is coming to an end, and on the question of whether to write about the First World War, Speechless has also considered it, but in the case of completing the layout of the First World War, that is, the Sino-German, Russian-Austrian alliance, the outcome of the First World War is almost no suspense, there is really no need to write it, I hope you can understand...... The speechless new book "Iron and Blood Ambition" has been updated synchronously, and every recommendation and collection of your "Iron and Blood Ambition" is extremely precious! It's not easy to get a new book, so please support it, thank you! "Iron and Blood" Novel Group: 150536833, welcome book friends to join and discuss the plot together! PS: This recommendation is for new books! Don't make a mistake! ）

Until today, in the history of the world's navies, it is clearly mentioned that the "Wei Qing" battleship, a super battleship with a standard displacement of 42,000 tons and four twin 15-inch naval guns, was in the first Pacific War, again and again with its 15-inch naval guns fired 871 kg shells smashed at the opponent, with its heavy armor, again and again proved the role of super battleships. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

In May 1911, when the world saw the battleship "Wei Qing" for the first time, everyone clearly knew that a new era had arrived, a new era belonging to the navy, and almost all the admirals were surprised to see that the human ship-building technology had changed so rapidly, and the "Warring States Ships," which had caused a sensation in the world less than a few years earlier, had become "outdated" at this time.

It has a displacement of more than 40,000 tons, a main gun caliber of 15 inches, and a speed of 27 knots...... This is the standard for warships in the new era, and any naval country that wants to seek the sea must build warships of the same kind, just when Britain and Germany and other countries have adjusted their shipbuilding plans in an attempt to reverse this unfavorable situation. What no one expected was that the real naval reform had actually quietly begun, but for the world at that time, the "Wei Qing", which existed like a giant, and the "Huo Quai", which served three months later, entered service in the Pacific Fleet. Undoubtedly symbolizes some kind of signal.

And this signal, sometimes, is often misinterpreted......"

History of World Wars

War!

In Washington, D.C., almost all newspapers have the word "war" written in a striking headline, and on the streets, newspaper sellers are screaming with all their might.

"Look at the newspaper, read the newspaper, the Chinese have strengthened the Pacific Fleet again, and the second ship of the Weiqing-class battleship "Huo Quai" is about to be transferred to Hawaii! ”

"Looking at the newspaper, the Chinese said they would never make any concessions on the issue of Mexico......"

In fact, similar shouts in New York, Los Angeles and other places will always continue to sound, in the past period of time, the clouds of war have shrouded the United States, but to people's surprise, although the people of the West Coast states are terrified, but for the vast majority of Americans, they surprisingly did not choose to back down because of the threat of war. Instead, under the dominance of public opinion, it has become more and more tough.

In response to China's troop build-up in the Pacific, the United States has increased its forces to the Pacific Fleet three times in the past month or so, and each time they have increased their troops, they have added fuel to the fire and made the situation more and more tense.

In the US Congress, there are many members of Congress who are shouting for war in public, as if the war is on the verge of ignition, but for Gu Weijun, who is the ambassador to the United States, he is still seeking peace in every possible way.

Again, after ending the unofficial discussion on Mexico with the U.S. Secretary of State, Gu Weijun looked at the scenery outside the window with some uncertainties, and he suddenly spoke.

"Pingdu, do you know today's results?"

Sun Jiping, a first-class counselor of the embassy, is naturally concerned about the outcome of today's talks, and he is naturally interested in the ambassador's efforts all along.

"The Americans have once again increased their forces in the Pacific, this time with two combat ships!"

Two combat ships! It doesn't seem like much, but in fact, the current Taiping Fleet, after another increase in troops, has as many as 32 combat ships, of which 21 are Warring States-class warships, and its fleet has surpassed the Imperial Pacific Fleet in terms of fleet numbers.

"Two ......"

Sun Jiping first recited this number, and then deliberately emphasized.

"Do these Americans really want to fight?"

He could not find any other explanation than this, the Americans wanted to go to war!

"Fighting ......"

After pondering for a moment, Gu Weijun said in an almost helpless tone.

"This, I'm afraid only God knows, is that among the Americans with whom I have come into contact, there are now three groups of people who believe in our demands for peace, who believe that war is not the last option between China and the United States, and those who accuse us of so-called aggression and demand that the government take appropriate action to ensure that the Americas are not touched by us. There is a more direct group that demands a declaration of war on us, and the situation is very unoptimistic, and the latter two categories account for nearly half of the population in the United States in Washington! ”

Compared with others, this is what Gu Weijun is worried about, the United States is a place where public opinion influences behavior, and when most of the public opinion is inclined to war, then the United States is bound to be involved in war.

"That's because in the eyes of the American people, our actions against Mexico directly threaten their security, or rather, American public opinion has created this illusion for them!"

"This delusion is not limited to the United States!"

With a sigh, Gu Weijun continued.

"Do you know about the Chinese Exclusion Act back then? I saw a newspaper at that time, do you know what the newspaper is saying? ”

"Huh?"

Looking at the ambassador with some surprise, at that time, he was still too young, and he was studying in the UK, so he naturally didn't know what was being said in the newspapers at that time.

"If the Yankees threaten us again, then just send the fleet to California and declare war on the Yankees! Do you know what percentage of the population in the country now supports the war? More than half of them, if the United States intensifies the contradictions again, I can guarantee that it will rise to a higher level, and the Chinese people do not like to be pointed at by others, especially these colonialists in order to enslave the colonial Asians! ”

If the Americans are changing, then the Chinese people have changed a long time ago, for the Chinese people, they have always been vigilant against external threats, the past history has made the Chinese people extremely sensitive to all this, sensitive dignity makes it impossible for them to make many concessions, or even they can not make any concessions at all.

"So ......"

"So, in fact, now whether it's us or the United States, everyone is gambling, betting on who will be the first to make concessions, and who will be the first to back down!"

This is a very simple diplomatic strategy, and whoever makes the first concession will be at a disadvantage at the negotiating table, which also means that China and the United States are already on the brink of sorts.

Now, not only the United States, but also Britain and France are on the side of the United States, while Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Russia have all publicly expressed their support for us, in fact, that is, the confrontation between the "Four Emperors Alliance" and the "Triple Entente", whether it is the dignity of the country or the dignity of the "Four Emperors Alliance", it is impossible for us to make substantive concessions. ”

The big countries are involved, who will mediate?

At this point, Gu Weijun's face showed a helpless wry smile, now there is no country to mediate, it seems that everyone is sharpening their knives and staring at each other.

"Ambassador, you mean, there's no way to get it back now?"

Hearing that the situation had reached such a bad point, Sun Jiping's heart trembled again, if he was young, it did not mean that he was in favor of war, in fact, his character was very radical, but it did not prevent him from resisting war.

"Now, no one knows if there is a chance!"

Gu Weijun's tone seemed a little pessimistic, and the cries for war in Washington were getting worse every day.

"What is even more worrying is that the United States, because of the Torreón incident, has decided that we intend to get involved in the Americas and has ambitions against the United States, and they have completely disrespected our reasonable demands, attributing the cause of the incident to our expansionist intentions, and the Americans even feel that they are now defending the Americas......"

If it were just a national frenzy, maybe there would be room, but what about now? But the citizens of both countries are in a certain state of emotion.

"Emotional views that make the situation very dangerous......"

"Yes, emotional...... This is the situation now! They always think that we will compromise, but they forget that we will never compromise in the face of pressure! And this intransigence, neither you nor I knows, will lead to! ”

The reason why he does not compromise is because compromise means the loss of national dignity, and in order to maintain the dignity of the country, sometimes he has to make some extremely helpless choices, as a diplomat, Gu Weijun is very aware of this fact, but what makes him feel sad is that this is incomprehensible to foreigners, they have no way to understand the sensitivity of a country that has been enslaved to dignity.

The car was driving on the streets of Washington, and soon the car drove into the embassy, and when the car stopped in front of the embassy, Gu Weijun stepped out of the car, and an assistant Xianzan said softly when he got out of the car.

"Your Excellency, the Army Enlargement Act passed by the U.S. Congress ......"

What the!

In fact, in the past few months, the US Congress has been discussing the expansion of the army, and just two months ago, the "face of the Chinese threat" US Congress legislation called for the consolidation of the regular army in five years, so that it will increase to 175,000 people, the target of which is not 300,000 in wartime, and 400,000 National Guard troops will be formed.

Now that they have passed the "Army Expansion Case", what are they doing?

"Our information shows that the Americans will expand the strength of the Army to 286,000, the National Guard to 450,000, and the strength of the Army to 1 million, and if they achieve this goal, then the strength of the Army will exceed that of our ......."

The assistant counselor's words made Gu Weijun's face smile bitterly, and his shoulders even drooped sharply, at this moment, the hope for peace was completely reported because of this bill.

Looking at the uncertain ambassador, Sun Jiping hurriedly asked.

"Ambassador ......"

"Alright, it's over...... All our efforts...... It's all in vain! ”

When he said this, Gu Weijun glanced in the direction of the White House and said in an extremely heavy tone.

"I want Taft to know what he's up to......"

"What am I doing here?"

Taft, as the president, looked at the bill in front of him, and when he picked up the pen and was about to sign the bill, he suddenly spoke. He looked at his secretary of state and said in a tone that bordered on helplessness.

"Never before has the United States mobilized so many troops since the end of the Civil War, and how long did it take to complete such a mobilization?"

Before Knox could reply, Taft continued.

"I don't know, I'm not a soldier, but I do know that even if we mobilize so many troops now, we won't be able to arm and train so many troops in the next few months, because we've never had that many troops......"

This is the reality of the United States, and the barrier between the Pacific and the Atlantic Ocean makes it impossible for the United States to maintain a large army, and now as president, he is about to sign a bill to create a military that has never been seen in the history of the United States.

"Mr. President, members of the Senate and House of Representatives believe that this is the last resort to stop the ambitions of the Chinese!"

Sherman, as vice president, said in an extremely calm tone.

"Members of Congress, especially those in the western states, think that the threat that the United States is facing now is not only Chinese maritime threat, but also a land threat, and in the case of Mexico, if China sends troops to Mexico, now we have no power to stop them, and the same is true in Panama, if we want to defend the Americas, we have to expand our land forces, this is the only option......"

As the leader of Congress, Sherman expressed precisely the attitude of many senators and representatives -- the US land power is not only unable to protect the Americas, but also cannot even defend the United States, which is also the reason why the western states are anxious, and the land power of the United States is almost worthless compared with China.

"But who can send millions of troops across the Pacific?"

Taft first let out such an exclamation, the vast Pacific Ocean, has always been the largest barrier of the United States, and now, the western states obviously do not feel so, they feel that the Pacific Ocean is not enough to protect them, so they need the United States Army to immediately expand to protect their security.

But they did not expect what kind of impact their request would have on the situation.

"Yes, perhaps, no one will ever have the ability to do that, but when we choose to do so, it actually ......"

Then Taft continued.

"Now, I only hope that God will understand our choice!"

As he uttered this exclamation, Taft casually signed his name on the bill, and at the turn of the tip of the pen, he himself did not even know what it meant...... (To be continued.) )