Chapter 197: What did you do earlier?

More than a dozen military and political officials gathered in front of a table and spoke into the phone in front of them, and the conference room was full of noise. The door opened, Roosevelt was pushed in by a wheelchair, and the scene was immediately silent, and everyone put down their phones.

"I have just received a telegram from Prime Minister Winston Churchill, in which he expressed his deep indignation at the attack on an American cruiser by a German submarine and expressed Britain's willingness to join the United States in defending the free world. Prime Minister Winston Churchill formed a free world alliance of Britain, the United States and China. It seems that I thought of going with Mr. Churchill, and I suggested that Mr. Churchill call the great president of China to consult on the alliance of the three countries. Before the leaders of China and Britain reach an agreement, I think you should be able to come to a rough conclusion. So, please tell me, how can I impress the great president of China and make him join the Triple Alliance willingly? ”

After Roosevelt's opening remarks, the free-spirited nature of this meeting was revealed.

An officer raised his hand: "According to intelligence statistics, the size of the ground forces of the Chinese Wehrmacht is about five million, the air force is half a million, and the navy is four hundred thousand." It must be admitted that China has a powerful and modern army, and no matter which camp it throws to, it is enough to change the world pattern. The latest intelligence shows that the Chinese are fighting well in Central Asia and the Far East, have been on the offensive, and have achieved good results before. Representatives of the Military Observer Mission, having the opportunity to visit the prisoner-of-war camps, came to the conclusion that about half a million Soviet servicemen became prisoners of Chinese. My conclusion is, anyway. China cannot be allowed to stand in opposition to the United States. They were much more powerful than we thought, as our intelligence officers in Germany had proven with facts the tactics of the Germans in Europe. Originated in China. ”

Another person raised his hand: "As of October, extrapolating from the figures released by China's official figures, the results are as follows: China's steel production has reached 35 million tons, of which the total output that can be used by military rolling enterprises is not less than 10 million tons. China's oil reserves are 20 million tons, and the annual output of China's oil is about 30 million tons. ……。 ”

A naval officer raised his hand: "In May next year, the Chinese Navy will have two Huguang-class battleships in active service." At that time, the total tonnage of battleships of the Chinese Navy will reach 400,000 tons, and the total tonnage of aircraft carriers will reach 250,000 tons. Our intelligence officers discovered that China's largest shipyard, Jiangnan Group. Before the delivery of the new warships, new orders were again placed with the steel enterprise, which were enough for the enterprise to produce eight aircraft carriers, or three Huguang-class battleships as the Chinese call them. Because it was not found that the order placed by the enterprise to the special rolling mill contained special steel for the manufacture of large-caliber artillery. Intelligence officers deduced that the enterprise received an order for at least five aircraft carriers of the Navy with a displacement of not less than 40,000 tons. ”

"The Sino-US joint venture Wuhu Military Industry Group will produce 500,000 semi-automatic rifles of 7mm caliber next year. 200,000 submachine guns of 7mm caliber and 20,000 mortars of various calibers. 3,000 guns of caliber or more than 75mm. China also has a military industrial complex of comparable size in Wuhan, and combined with this factor, the size of China's ground forces may reach the scale of 8 million people in the coming year. ”

The last to speak was Hopkins, who was trusted by Roosevelt, but what came out of his mouth was not pleasant. "Franklin and Fang Jianxiong are full of disappointment and resentment towards the United States. I must remind you of this. From the telegram sent back by Ambassador Stuart Leiden, combined with the above intelligence analysis, we can deduce the following conclusions: It is impossible for the Chinese government to form an alliance with the United States and Great Britain, at least not until the squadron wins a decisive battle. The reason is simple: the current Sino-Soviet war has not put unbearable pressure on China's industry and national economy. Fang Jianxiong's personality and style of conduct determine that he will not seek an alliance with the United States. In other words, what he wants, the US government is not willing to give at present, and will not make concessions. ”

"What do you think he wants?" Roosevelt did not speak, but listened quietly with his chin in his hand until Hopkins finished speaking, and then looked at the other side with a look of disappointment.

"The conclusion is that Fang Jianxiong will not give up the struggle for control of the Pacific, or that he has a bottom line in his heart, the bottom line of China's maritime rights and interests. We don't know where that bottom line is. The reason for this is that after China's withdrawal from the Washington Naval Treaty and the London Treaty, the strength of the surface ships of the Chinese Navy more than doubled. Obviously, this is not simply aimed at Japan, and from the perspective of the side, it is not difficult to see that the US Pacific Fleet is trying to contain the Japanese maritime threat. Now that the United States is about to enter the war, after declaring war on Germany, Japan, and Italy, there will certainly be a decisive battle between the US and Japanese navies in the Pacific. ”

Hopkins spoke slowly, each word looking dignified. China is already the world's second-largest steel producer, and its navy is strong enough to rival Japan's Combined Fleet and the U.S. Pacific Fleet. Even in terms of the number and tonnage of aircraft carriers, it is already temporarily the first in the world. And that's not counting the several aircraft carriers that may have to start construction again.

The Chinese Navy's enthusiasm for aircraft carriers seems to be high, something that the US Navy did not pay much attention to at first. After the Prince Wilson was sunk by planes as Japan moved south, the power of the aircraft carrier was proven. With the industrial capacity of the United States, as long as the government pays the money, the US aircraft carrier will be able to lead the world in a year at most.

This conclusion deeply disturbed Roosevelt, and the US political system decided that once the United States entered the war, it did not pull in China, a powerful ally entangled with American interests, which was not good news for American voters. Out of political considerations, Roosevelt contacted Fang Jianxiong as soon as possible, but he didn't expect to get such a depressing news.

"Is it really hard to convince the Chinese side? Then make some more concessions in terms of financial aid! Roosevelt asked again, and Hopkins shook his head affirmatively: "This is a difficult task to accomplish!" The Chinese side has always been a strong-willed leader, and we judge that his words to Ambassador Sù Stuart are the final conclusion. ”

"From a purely military point of view, China is not ready to fight on two fronts. After Japan obtained the benefits of Nanyang, it was not too much of a problem for Japan to arm 100 divisions within half a year. And Japan in the Far East, there is also a piece of land as a springboard! Fang will not tolerate his country being caught in a two-sided situation until the crisis of the USSR is resolved! ”

"That's a terrible conclusion!" Roosevelt muttered, completely forgetting what he had done in secret to restrain China.

"Yes, this conclusion is depressing! The only thing to be thankful for is that the Chinese side and his family have huge interests in the United States. One of his wives was an American! We believe that we can start from this aspect, so that China can join the camp of the Anglo-American alliance earlier! We can also consider mediating the Sino-Soviet war! Hopkins was speaking from a group of thinkers, but it wasn't very optimistic to him. What did you do to mediate the Sino-Soviet war? When war broke out between China and the Soviet Union, it seemed that the mainstream of American politics was very happy to see it. President Roosevelt merely expressed regret and did not make a more positive move. Now that the United States is about to enter the war, I remember the importance of China. In this sense, the withdrawal of the United States from the Philippines was a serious mistake! The ultimate consequence of this mistake was that it directly led Japan to the south without any pressure. China, on the other hand, has always been anti-Soviet, and in fact there has always been a state of hostility between China and the Soviet Union.

Fang Jianxiong's office was also in a meeting, and it was of course very unpleasant for a group of bigwigs to be woken up late at night. However, the people who can sit in Fang Jianxiong's study for a meeting will not have any dissatisfaction with this other president, but will feel honored because of it.

"Well, I have to tell you all the good news, the United States is going to war. Roosevelt's desire for China to join the Anglo-American alliance was rejected by me. This decision was made long before the start of the war between China and the Soviet Union, and now we can discuss under what circumstances we should join the Anglo-American alliance. ”

"Great President, now that the elite of the Wehrmacht are all in Siberia and Central Asia, your decision is wise! When to go to war depends on the efficiency of the reserves. The question of alliance was not considered until an attack that could come from no less than three million troops on Japanese land. Xu Shuzheng simply expressed the support of the other party Jianxiong, as the chief of the general staff, he has a full understanding of the current situation of the squadron.

Fang Jianxiong set his eyes on Zhang Xiaohuai, he was in charge of the situation of the new troops.

"President, the current national statistics show that the number of recruits recruited in the provinces is about 1.2 million. The suzhì of these soldiers is still good, and they have received at least five years of compulsory education. Based on past experience, the training of recruits takes at least three to four months, and the technical arms need six to eight months. There is a problem that must be noted, of the fifty infantry divisions currently used to defend against the Japanese, except for a few units, the rest of the troops are eighty percent recruited. I have an idea to put these newly formed units into the battlefield as much as possible, and replace some of the old units that have been fighting for a long time to rest. It will take about six to eight months, and all the newly formed troops will be able to go to the battlefield. The pros and cons of this are obvious, and all need to be cautious. Zhang Xiaohuai finished speaking and glanced at Jiang Fangzhen.

"Now that the Americans want to pull us into the water, what are they doing earlier?" Jiang Fangzhen opened his mouth with a word of schadenfreude, and everyone couldn't help but laugh out loud. "Okay, let's not mention that. I think Runnong's construction is very insightful, and it will be helpful to use the Sino-Soviet war to put the newly formed troops into actual combat as much as possible. It's a long-term perspective. (To be continued......)