As soon as the Great Mediterranean plan was launched, the Chinese fleet entered the Mediterranean! What are they going to do? Will it support Greece or attack North Africa, or will it attack the main force of the Italian navy? In order to find out the situation, Raeder refused even to have a dinner party in Messini, and stayed at the Admiralty with Kempioni to wait for confirmation of the information. But what I saw was chaos! Because in the days that followed, Italy proved with confusion and inefficiency how unreliable this ally is. At 11 o'clock in the evening of the same day, when Suez said that there was a passage of the Chinese fleet, Port Said actually said that there was no passage of any Chinese [***] ship. But by the next morning, Alexandria said that two Chinese Anhai-class battleships had indeed entered the Alexandria naval dockyard for routine maintenance (the battleships were to be maintained every three months, cleaning the bottom of the ship, heavy oil tanks and other facilities, and that the whereabouts of two battleships and one aircraft carrier of the Cunningham and the Mediterranean Fleet were unknown.

At 16 o'clock in the afternoon of December 28, 1940, that is, the third day after Zhu Binhou passed through the canal, before Italy confirmed whether there were other Chinese [***] ships entering the Mediterranean, another major news came from Ethiopia! The two mechanized infantry divisions of the Chinese Marine Corps and the Persian Gulf Army, which were originally stationed in French Djibouti, which were temporarily under trusteeship, suddenly gave up their defenses, and 30,000 soldiers, under the cover of 16 warships, hundreds of warplanes, and more than 200 tanks and armored vehicles, attacked Italian Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Italian Somalia in three directions. At speeds of 20 kilometers per hour, the armored forces rushed through the North African desert towards Addis Ababa, Asmara and Mogadishu, and the whereabouts of the two aircraft carriers that had been parked there were unknown.

At the last moment before the United States declared war, Yanjing, who had always shown no interest in Africa, suddenly fought in the "Horn of North Africa", disrupting the entire North African war situation. What made Raeder angry was that for such a big matter, the Italian intelligence department actually gave no warning! Although everyone knows that after the Sino-French naval Lend-Lease agreement, China took over Djibouti and sent two mechanized infantry divisions to defend it to the death, and there were many skirmishes when Italy attacked North Africa. The problem is that it takes many, many preparations for a force to move from defense to offense, and Italy has no idea of the preparations that are close at hand, let alone where the Third Fleet is.

Raeder was so angry that he couldn't use his battleship to flatten the Italian Command, so Nawasita had to send a telegram back to China, asking the Gestapo and German intelligence to get involved. But Germany had not been involved in North Africa before, so the intelligence sources in the region were actually inferior to those of Italy. As for intelligence in the Persian Gulf, it is useless, because the Third Fleet of the Chinese Navy has long since moved its main base to Djibouti, and there are only a few destroyers loitering in the Persian Gulf. Fortunately, Campuoni at least knew that Taranto was in danger, and immediately called the commander of the Taranto base, Arturo Ricardi, and asked to enter combat readiness. Ricardi was very conscientious, immediately blockaded the harbor, entered full combat readiness according to the procedure, and swore that "my Taranto is impregnable!" Anti-aircraft artillery, lighting, and barricades have all been connected, and even the bay is full of fishing boats moored with balloons, and no plane will want to get in!"

After learning that the base was on alert, Campuoni breathed a sigh of relief, as for the army, it was none of his business. However, Raeder was still not at ease, and after consulting with him, he decided to dispatch two Andrea-Doria-class battleships and three heavy cruisers to the Ionian Sea to guard the Ionian Sea, and at the same time ordered all Italian naval and air forces in the Mediterranean to search for Cunningham and the Chinese fleet that might enter the Mediterranean, and to let the German ships and planes operating here also help.

For Malta and 100,000 tons of heavy oil, Campuoni also decided to go out and fight! He was certainly reluctant to fight a decisive battle, but the Italian Navy also had its own secret weapon, which was the Frogman Force. Upon learning that Cunningham's whereabouts were unknown, he immediately ordered the submarine to set off with four "piggy" manual torpedoes to attack the empty Alexandria. According to his words, it would be better to sink even the two Anhai-class battleships of the Third Fleet of the Chinese Navy here.

Cunningham didn't know that Raeder was in Italy, that Germany had already beaten Malta's attention, and that the old fox Campuoni, who couldn't avoid the war, would actually decide to fight for Malta. After learning that two Andrea-Doria-class battleships and three heavy cruisers had left Taranto, he did not change his plans. Because for the Mediterranean Fleet, the two Veneto-class battleships in the harbor are the big enemy.

However, just as China and Britain sent troops to the "Horn of North Africa" to distract Italy from Cunningham's surprise attack on Taranto, much of the world's attention was still focused on the imminent entry of the United States into the war. Even Raeder believed that even if Cunningham and Zhu Binhou were to attack, they would wait until the United States officially entered the war. As the vote count in the U.S. election came to an end, diplomats from various countries fell into agitation, several planes shuttled between continents, and each belligerent political axe kept meeting, studying, and discussing, deducing the balance of power and the trend of the situation after the United States entered the war.

At this time, Hopkins also came to Yanjing again with a special mission. "Harry, can the election outcome be predicted? When did Washington decide to declare war? As soon as he got into the car, Jensen, who came to greet him, immediately asked about the election results. As a diplomat, he hopes to get to grips with the situation early.

"Half of the state votes have already been counted, and the president is currently receiving more than 60 percent of the vote." After Roosevelt played the sad card and the war card, most Americans chose stability and unity. So when he heard that re-election was not a problem, Jensen quietly breathed a sigh of relief. Because diplomats were afraid of national policy adjustments, Roosevelt's re-election would help to continue the previous national strategy.

"Have you contacted Yang Qiu?"

"After contacting, Yang Qiu will have time to meet you in an hour. But Harry, what the hell is going on. ”

As early as when the plane landed in Riyadh to refuel, Hopkins sent a telegram asking Jensen to contact Yang Qiu and hold a secret meeting as soon as he arrived. So Jensen is very strange, you must know that Roosevelt will enter the war immediately after his re-election, and at such a critical time, what is Hopkins, as an assistant to the president, doing in Yanjing?

Regardless of the cramped carriage, Hopkins used to light a cigarette, and before he said the reason for coming to Yanjing, he first asked another important matter: "Jensen, is Yanjing willing to sell uranium ore?" ”

The whole world knows that the United States is the country with the strongest overall national strength, but in fact, Roosevelt has not been much sure of victory so far. He entered the war because he must not see Britain fall and see Asia and Europe being occupied by Yang Qiu and Hitler for the sake of the future of the United States. Therefore, before the "Nantucket incident" occurred, he began to listen carefully to the advice of Szilard, Vigner, and other experts, seeking to study nuclear weapons that could ensure victory. To study nuclear weapons, it is necessary to have enough uranium (the technology of making fissile material from plutonium was brought to the United States by Bohr only at the end of 1943. However, the American political axe recently discovered that Yang Qiu had bought a total of 2,500 tons of uranium ore from the Belgian Congo when Germany attacked Poland, and the inferior ore remaining in the mine was fundamentally guaranteed to meet the demand, so he secretly entrusted Jensen to seek to buy half of the uranium ore from the Chinese political axe.

The matter is highly classified, and only a few people know about it. Jensen shook his head: "As requested, I have quoted a price of fifty million dollars, but they have also denied buying uranium ore. But I got very definite information that the ore had been bought by a Chinese company and transferred to a national laboratory that had been set up last year. Oddly enough, they did not dispose of it, but stored it somewhere in Shandong. By the way, they've been sending invitations to physicists in Europe lately, but most of them haven't come. ”

"Harry, that's why you came to Yanjing?" Jensen didn't know much about nuclear physics, so he didn't think it was worth giving up a declaration of war for a little ore. Hopkins frowned quietly, in fact, the United States had already guessed that Yang Qiu's hoarding of ore was to research nuclear weapons, and the purchase of half of the uranium ore was not only in the hope of accelerating US nuclear research, but also in the hope of testing China's progress through this method. From Jensen's words, it can be inferred that China still lacks technological reserves, so it needs to seek European scientists, and even the ore has not been processed. After recording this important information, he returned to the topic just now: "Jensen, there is something I need to tell you first, the president hopes to reach an understanding with Yang Qiu, because we will not declare war on the Soviet Union for the time being. ”

"No declaration of war on the USSR?"

"No declaration of war on the USSR!"

An hour after Jensen made a surprised sound, in the Yanjing Presidential Palace, Jiang Baili, who had just recovered from a serious illness, also shouted out in surprise, staring at Hopkins and Jensen who were sitting opposite, looking extremely angry!

Yang Qiu, who was sitting next to him, also got up, his eyes were full of coldness, and he waved his arms vigorously: "Mr. Hopkins, why did you make this decision?" Did Lord Roosevelt think that this war could be won by yourselves alone? As a country that has blocked the spread of the GC International to the world for you, and as a country that has been fighting against the Soviet political axe on all fronts for more than 20 years, for which most of the pressure has been beared, this is what you have rewarded him? ”

Yang Qiu was very angry, because he really didn't expect that Roosevelt was actually going to exclude the Soviet Union from the United States declaration of war.

Sen Han's gaze made Hopkins even feel like he was being targeted by a poisonous snake. Fortunately, he was well prepared and tried to keep his tone as calm as possible: "Mr. President, Your Excellency Chief of Staff, I know that this is very difficult to accept, but I would like to first fully explain the war strategy of Mr. Roosevelt and the American political axe. ”

"Say, I'll listen." Yang Qiu took a deep breath and suppressed his anger hard. Yue Peng next to him didn't change his face, holding the teacup without moving. Hopkins was also nervous, and even sweat was oozing from his back. He knew that Yang Qiu had to be convinced, so he quickly sorted out his thoughts in his mind and said slowly: "Mr. President, the American political axe will not abandon its responsibility, and Mr. Roosevelt will also adhere to the alliance agreement, and will not unilaterally have any form of contact with the Soviet political axe before the end of the war." In the same vein, he wants you to think about the challenges we face in the United States. First of all, there was no formal alliance between the Soviet Union and Germany, and although both your country and the British political axe had declared war on the Soviet Union, we persuaded the American people to declare war on the Soviet political axe, which was not allied with Germany, before the strategic reversal of the war against Germany and Italy. You should be aware that the United States has not been at war for more than 20 years, and we must gradually get the people to accept and adapt to the huge losses that may arise. And Germany is very, very powerful, and the American political axe needs to concentrate on dealing with them first. Therefore, only after gaining the initiative in the war against Germany can we draw on the strength to declare war on the Soviet political axe......

Second, both Mr. Roosevelt and the American political axe believed that if we declared war on the Soviet Union, there was a 90 percent chance that Moscow would be forced to formally enter into a military alliance with Germany. They have the population, they have the industry, they have the resources, and we have to be careful to avoid that. Moreover, both you and we can accurately predict whether the Soviet Union and Germany will join forces in Western Europe, the Balkans, Turkey, and the Middle East after the military alliance. So we believe that as long as the American political axe does not declare war on the USSR for a day, then Hitler will not really believe in Stalin and will have to guarantee a certain military presence on the Eastern Front. And Stalin would also think that there was a way out, and would not take the initiative to cooperate with Germany in the south. In this way, whether it is against the political axe of the United States, or of Great Britain, Free France, Poland and your country! can all reduce stress. Of course, before I came, Mr. Roosevelt also asked me to convey unequivocally what he had said that if he could gain the strategic initiative against Germany and win a decisive victory, he would immediately consider declaring war on the Soviet Union.

Third, although we immediately declared war on the Soviet Union, the US political axe is a responsible political axe, and we support your country's strategic contribution in the war against the Soviet Union, so we will continue to do our best to help your country defeat the Soviet Union and re-establish a free Russian political axe. Therefore, this difficult decision was made entirely from the perspective of the grand strategy of winning the final victory in the war. In order to achieve this goal, Mr. Roosevelt decided that after the Lend-Lease Act came into effect, he would provide your country with at least $2 billion worth of material aid every year, including food, heavy metals, trucks, munitions, and all materials needed for the war.

Finally, in making this decision, we also synthesized the views of various countries, including Great Britain, Free France, Poland and Turkey, all of which had accepted the idea that we would not declare war on the Soviet Union for the time being. ”

"Turkey?"

"Yes, the Turkish political axe has promised to join the alliance as much as possible after the declaration of war on our country. Of course, out of pressure, they will not declare war on the USSR for the time being. But they promised to be ready to provide all necessary help to your country and to us if the Italians and Germans crossed the strait, or if the Soviets attacked Baghdad. ”

Hopkins is worthy of Roosevelt's number one aide, and he analyzes in simple and coherent ways why the United States did not declare war on the Soviet Union. To outsiders, it seemed as if Roosevelt wanted to concentrate on defeating Germany first and avoiding an alliance between the Soviet Union and Germany. But everyone in this room knows that this is the way to consume China and keep the United States from attacking both the Soviet Union and Germany at the same time. As for $2 billion in aid a year, it sounds like a lot, but in fact, last year alone, the country's total military spending amounted to 40 billion yuan (about $20 billion). According to Pei Zuyi's calculations, next year's military spending may reach $40 billion, and $2 billion is not enough to plug his teeth.

What's more, it is still unknown whether this money can be obtained.

However, this explanation also made him calm down quickly. Speaking from the heart, Roosevelt was able to take the initiative to send Hopkins over to explain the situation before the declaration of war, and also came up with a reason to divide Soviet-German relations and reduce the pressure on countries such as the Balkans and Turkey. From the standpoint of the United States, it is indeed afraid that the Soviet-German forces will move south at the same time. Because he knows very well that unless there is a major mistake related to the victory or defeat of the war, China will definitely not send an army to the area west of the Suez Canal, and even Taranto, which is about to start, is also a decision made by Yang Qiu because Yang Qiu was worried that Cunningham's strength would decline too much, and in order to give Britain and the United States a reassurance pill to enter North Africa with confidence.

And Roosevelt was so open-minded, which shows that he was not afraid that he would turn his face. Because he knows that China is already involved in the war and will not and cannot withdraw before it ends. Eventual victory is the goal that China, the United States, and Britain will never change, and all the structures for the future world must be built on this premise. Of course, Yang Qiu definitely didn't believe Roosevelt's nonsense, perhaps his real purpose was to save the Soviet Union and use it to contain China in the long term in the future. But this point is unacceptable to himself, in order to tie the Soviet Union and Germany together, he began to lay out after the end of the First World War, spent so much money, and sacrificed so many elite dragon teeth, and if he did not take advantage of this war to completely split the Soviet Union, he would have no chance in the future. However, there is one thing that anyone, including myself, can change, and that is that all strategies are not built on paper, but rely on several tactics to play. So Roosevelt adopted the phrase "no declaration of war for the time being" because he did not know how far the situation would go.

You know, so far, the German Army has not even taken out half of its strength! And this is precisely what the whole world does not know except for himself. As long as the German army can reproduce the tenacity of the Soviet-German war in the parallel world, I am afraid that Roosevelt's "cerebral hemorrhage" will come earlier than history.

Thinking about this clearly, Yang Qiu's face gradually softened, and even Yue Peng and Jiang Baili next to him fell into deep thought. After walking a few steps back and forth in the office, he stopped in front of the wall where the large battle map was hung, and asked without looking back: "Mr. Hopkins, I am surprised by President Roosevelt's strategic concept, if your country declares war on the Soviet Union, there is indeed no guarantee that the Soviet-German forces will not move south from the Balkans and Turkey." But I have a question, how are you going to attack Germany? ”

His Excellency Churchill suggested that first of all it should be to gain a foothold in the "soft belly of Europe" (referring to North Africa, securing the security of Gibraltar, Malta, Greece, Turkey and Egypt. Then defeat Italy, forcing them to withdraw first from the war, and finally launch a counteroffensive from the Balkans and Italy simultaneously on the European continent. Hearing Yang Qiu speak, Hopkins' hanging heart finally slowly let go. Whether it is really accepted or pretended, at least the United States must grasp the initiative in the war, not follow in the footsteps of Yanjing, which is the core of the struggle between the two countries!

"What about Ben?" Yang Qiu continued to ask.

"We're still working on it." Naturally, Hopkins would not say anything about the US strategy in the Southwest Pacific.

"Very well, convey to His Excellency Roosevelt, that I hope he will reconsider his decision not to declare war on the Soviet Union. Please also remind him that, according to the Cairo Declaration, any Allied ship in the South-West Pacific must be under the unified command of our country, so I hope that you will attack Rabaul as much as possible to cut off the shipping in the Coral Sea! I will also fully cooperate with your country to win this war. ”

"Rabaul, Southwest Pacific Command." Hopkins remembered the terms of the distribution of Allied command rights agreed between China and Britain after the Cairo Declaration, and his face was moved for the first time after entering the room. But before he could figure out how to answer, Yang Qiu had already asked Gu Yuwen to send off the guest. When the two of them reached the door, they suddenly shouted to them: "You are welcome to join this anti-fascist war." ”

"Thank you for your understanding, Mr. President." Hopkins politely bent over, remembering about China's nuclear program and command in the Southwest Pacific, and decided to rush back to the United States immediately. As soon as he left, Jiang Baili asked: "President, you don't really believe Roosevelt's nonsense, do you?" ”

Yang Qiu's face, which was still gloomy just now, gradually became cheerful: "There is something bad about me as a person, that is, I never believe in promises that have not been received, and I don't believe in nonsense. Seeing this, Yue Peng also said: "I heard that Jensen has been listening to the nuclear physics laboratory we built during this time, and half of the reason for coming to Roosevelt is sincere. ”

"So what? It's not that you want us to stand up to the USSR alone. I bet that if they could defeat Germany, the first thing they would do would be to find a truce. Jiang Baili snorted coldly, looked at his watch, and looked unhappy: "It's a pity, Zhu Binhou has already set off, otherwise he can find an excuse to draw it back." As he spoke, he still felt very angry and scolded: "Made! It's infuriating. President, is there really no way to fight back? ”

Yang Qiu sneered: "Who said there was no way?" Yuwen, go find Chen Guofu and Wang Zhaoming, their affairs in Eastern Siberia have been developing for a long time, and they will understand it after the beginning of spring. I'd like to see if Roosevelt chooses the Soviet Union or us this time! ”

Yue Peng and Jiang Baili's eyes lit up, and they had been planning for a long time to push for a referendum on joining China in the East Siberian region east of the Yenisei River. Since there are fewer than 100,000 Soviets here, and most of them are in the Sea of Okhotsk region controlled by Ben, the current population of 2 million in Eastern Siberia is mainly internal immigrants and natives. Both the National Socialist Party and the Kuomintang Party have been propagandizing and developing there for more than a decade, and even the ethnic minorities living in East Siberia have been bought off and promised to immediately approve and join China as soon as the referendum begins. Didn't Roosevelt not want to offend the Soviet Union? Well, just start it right away and see what you do.

Even if it doesn't cause a rupture of the substance, you should breathe out nausea, and it is best to have an early cerebral hemorrhage!

President Yang, who has always been smooth sailing, was really angry this time, because Roosevelt almost disintegrated the layout he had painstakingly worked on for decades with a small declaration of war, resulting in a comprehensive adjustment of the later strategy. This also aroused his temper when he was a soldier, and after secretly cursing a few words, he decided to take action in advance: "Let Yan Baohang and Xue Yue come to see me, and give away those gifts." The two of you also made adjustments, and when Zhu Binhou finished, he would take back all his strength and solve the problem first. Ethiopia and Somalia should be intervened, and the rest should not be left alone for the time being, but also be prepared that Stalin would not necessarily follow Roosevelt's baton. ”

Jiang Baili still felt that it was not enough: "What about Spain?" Hitler has not yet shown a single tone, if Spain can't make trouble, North Africa, Germany without a navy may not be able to toss. ”

"It's not easy, Hitler wants an excuse, and we'll send him." Yue Peng smiled, walked to the map and swiped his finger lightly: "President, I heard Baohang say that when we supported the two factions in Spain in the civil war, we arranged for a lot of people to go in." ”

"You mean to get rid of Franco?!". To be continued. )，