"Gentlemen, it now seems that it was a mistake for us to choose to support the Chinese to contain the Japanese monkeys. In the end, it gave us a strong opponent. Although China cannot yet be called an adversary, it can at least see this potential. So, what do we do? Do you want to correct this mistake? President Taft said.

"Your Excellency, we must indeed be wary of the Chinese Empire. However, the current Chinese empire does not pose a threat to us. Although their strength is not weak, it is not easy to threaten the United States. What's more, we and China are separated by the entire Pacific Ocean. At the very least, the continental United States is safe. Secretary of the Navy Meyer said.

"In addition, the strength of the U.S. Navy is not something that the Chinese Navy can confront it. We have more than a dozen former dreadnoughts, and the number of dreadnoughts is no less than that of the Chinese. The industrial power of the United States is much stronger than that of China. We are starting to build, or rather plan to build, dreadnoughts, far more than the Chinese. Meyer continued. It is not that he does not fail to see China's threat to the United States, but in his opinion, the United States is too small in power and poses a very limited threat to the United States.

President Taft nodded, exactly as Minister Meyer had said. China and the United States are simply two opponents who are not in the same heavyweight class. The United States can crush China in any way, except for the population.

"However, we also have to be prepared for prevention. The Pacific Ocean is too wide, which is a guarantee of security for the United States. But again, this also restricts the projection of American power. War Secretary Dickinson said. The United States has the protection of the Pacific Ocean, and China is unlikely to be able to threaten them. Similarly, if the United States were to go to war against China across the Pacific, it would be unlikely. The current Chinese Empire. It's not a small country, but a powerful country that has defeated Japan twice and overturned the polar bear. Although the industrial strength of the United States is very strong, its military strength has always been relatively weak. It would be best if war did not break out.

"Yes, His Excellency Dickinson is very right. The United States has never been a belligerent nation. If you can not get involved in the war. That's for the best. From now on, we can reduce our support for China. In other ways, the Chinese Empire was weakened and contained. I think that in this case, the security of the United States will be almost guaranteed. President Taft said.

"Your Excellency, Britain and France have a plan in which they are ready to fully support Japan and rearm it. As a result, there is a situation in which the Far East is contested by two powers. With the Japanese in front, the Chinese want to continue to expand. You have to defeat the Japanese first. In this way, we can not only contain China, but also buy us enough time to warn. "Philander. C. Knox said.

"Supporting the Japanese? In the past, we did our best to suppress the Japanese. Treasury Secretary Franklin said with a smile.

The expressions on the faces of other senior US officials were also a little unnatural. Yes, the previous policy of the United States was to contain Japan and support China. Now, after discovering that China is a much greater threat than Japan. They immediately changed their tactics and prepared to prop up Japan. Hit China. Sure enough, there are no eternal enemies, only eternal interests.

"It is feasible to let the Japanese go against the Chinese. With the hatred between the Chinese and the Japanese, the two countries will inevitably separate from each other. Although the Japanese have been hit hard, the foundation is still there. If we support Japan. Japan will soon regain its strength. At that time, the Chinese Empire will be dragged down by Japan. President Taft nodded.

"Ladies and gentlemen, since the British and the French have proposed this plan, how feasible do you think it is? Should we join in on this? President Taft asked.

"Although the Japanese seem to be somewhat vulnerable. But. Since they were able to defeat the Russians in the first place, this also shows that the Japanese still have a strong fighting ability. With the support of Britain, France, and the United States, even if the Japanese could not defeat the Chinese Empire, it should not be much of a problem to confront them for a long time. In my opinion, the feasibility of this plan is very high. For the sake of the United States, we should join in. "Secretary of State Philland. C. Knox said.

Subsequently, Secretary of War Dickinson, Secretary of the Navy Meyer, and Secretary of the Treasury Franklin all nodded in support of joining the plan. As a result, President Taft finally made a decision and decided that from now on, the United States would unite with Britain and France to contain the Chinese Empire.

"Your Excellency, containing China, I am afraid that it will damage the relationship between our two countries. In addition, it will also affect our investment in China. China, a huge market, is very important to the United States. Treasury Secretary Benjamin Franklin finally reminded.

"Politics is politics, and economics is economy. We want to contain the Chinese Empire, but our economic exchanges with the Chinese Empire will not be interrupted. What's more, we support Japan, which is the choice of the United States and has nothing to do with China. The Chinese will never be able to break off relations with us because of this. "Secretary of State Philland. C. Knox said with certainty.

President Taft also thinks so: "The Chinese still owe us huge loans, and if they dare to embarrass us financially, we will let them pay them back." In addition, their prince has a lot of property in the United States. We are not afraid of them! ”

This meeting determined that the United States will take a 180-degree turn in its China policy in the coming period. Originally, the United States was trying to support the Chinese Empire, providing a large number of loans to the Chinese Empire and selling a large amount of advanced industrial equipment. As a result, the industrialization process of the Chinese Empire was able to develop rapidly. Otherwise, it will not be so easy to achieve rapid industrialization in a poor and white country. However, now US policy has changed. They will get out of the neck of China with loans and advanced machinery and equipment.

The Americans, Britain and France, also held secret meetings. Britain, France, and the United States formally reached an agreement and began to work together to contain the Chinese Empire. Of course, this containment is mainly embodied in military and political aspects.

Britain and France jointly provided Japan with an emergency loan worth 10 million pounds, which was mainly used to purchase food, medicines, and some much-needed industrial equipment from Britain and France. Several Japanese cities were bombed to ruins by the Chinese Imperial Navy, and they urgently needed large quantities of food to stabilize the people. At the same time, the reconstruction of the destroyed industrial areas also requires a large amount of machinery and equipment.

After Britain and France, the Americans were not willing to be lonely. U.S. Secretary of State Philland. C. Knox summoned the Japanese ambassador to the United States. The two sides held confidential talks that lasted for three hours. When the Japanese ambassador to the United States left the U.S. State Department, he had a smile on his face, as if he had picked up a lot of money.

Subsequently, the Japanese ambassador to the United States contacted China, and in a telegram, he reported to China that Americans' attitude toward Japan had changed dramatically. The U.S. government has decided that from now on, it will supply Japan with scrap steel and petroleum products at extremely low prices. In addition, the repayment of loans owed by Japan to the United States can also be deferred. During the Russo-Japanese War, Japan, like the United States, borrowed large sums of money for military expenses in the war against Russia. After the end of the Russo-Japanese War, the United States felt threatened by Japan and demanded that Japan repay those loans.

In addition, the British also felt the wolf ambitions of Japan. Therefore, Britain and the United States demanded that Japan repay the loan at the same time, so that Japan had to spend one-third of its annual fiscal revenue to repay the loan. This greatly caused Japan's financial constraints, and indirectly led to Japan's crushing defeat in the First Sino-Japanese War due to lack of military spending and insufficient military mobilization.

Later, the United States also pursued a policy of supporting the Chinese Empire and containing Japan. As a result, the Chinese Empire was able to develop rapidly, while Japan's situation became more and more difficult. Sure enough, in the Second Sino-Japanese War, Japan suffered another crushing defeat. It is precisely because of this that the threat of the Chinese empire has become prominent, and the United States has once again changed its policy toward China and Japan.

However, this is a great thing for the Japanese. The support of Britain and France for Japan gave Japan hope for revival. However, Japan is still in a difficult situation. However, they saw hope for revenge. Now, the United States has also changed its attitude towards Japan, which makes the Japanese believe that their chances of victory will be further improved.

The Japanese Government immediately instructed its ambassador to the United States to further contact the US Government in order to gain more benefits for Japan. Japan needs not only U.S. scrap steel and oil, but also more loans. Britain and France were too busy preparing for war to provide limited support to Japan. But the United States is different, they are the world's number one industrial power, and they have deep pockets. If the United States is willing to lend a loan to Japan, the speed at which Japan can rearm itself will be much faster. Perhaps, in less than five years, Japan will have the strength to fight China.

Japan and the United States are starting to hook up. After many secret meetings, the US Government finally decided to provide Japan with a low-interest loan totaling $50 million, equivalent to 10 million pounds, 100 million Chinese dollars, or 200 million yen. This loan was nominally to resettle the victims of the war, but in reality, it was clearly a war fund for Japan.

It is precisely because of this loan that the honeymoon between China and the United States has come to an end. (To be continued.) )

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