(New books are not easy!) 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! Hey! Again, new books don't affect old books! Old books will be updated normally. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.infops: This recommendation is for new books! Don't make a mistake! ）

In 1902, the nascent Chinese Empire won a complete victory in the war against Russia, further expanding its influence in the Far East and the Pacific, from Kamchatka to Dongying, to the Philippines, to Hawaii in the middle of the Pacific, most of the Pacific Ocean was shrouded in the shadow of China, and the following year China still tried to negotiate to buy the colonies of German Samoa and New Guinea, and then build a "Pacific barrier" from Hawaii to New Guinea.

The aggressive expansion of the nascent Chinese empire in these regions seriously threatened American interests. At this time, most of the main forces of the US Navy were concentrated in the Atlantic, and the fleet deployed in the Pacific Ocean was very weak and could not compete with the powerful Chinese fleet at all, coupled with its frank neutrality during the China War, Roosevelt, who had always been bold and ostentatious, had to adopt a policy of retreat, and by recognizing China's occupation of Hawaii, he could temporarily avoid an open conflict with China in the Pacific.

However, as the confrontation between China and the United States in the Pacific region has developed, the hostility between the two sides has become more and more serious. In 1902, the U.S. Congress passed the issue of the expiration extension of the Chinese Exclusion Act passed in 1882, and after it was extended, the time limit was abolished. It requires every Chinese resident to register and obtain a certificate of residence, and those who do not have a certificate will be expelled.

After the news of the passage of the bill reached China, the Chinese public regarded it as a great shame and immediately set off fierce anti-US demonstrations, and the Chinese government also strongly demanded that the US Government give an explanation for this and demanded that "the United States immediately repeal the Chinese Exclusion Act, which is contrary to the spirit of its Constitution."

At the same time, Chinese public opinion bluntly threatened: "The whole world knows that the US Army and Navy are not the opponents of the Imperial Army and Navy......." And "East Asia Japan", which has been the mouthpiece of China's central government for many years, put it bluntly: "In the face of discrimination, it is natural for us to use naval artillery to say no, just as decades ago, Westerners used naval artillery to say no to yellow people...... Why don't we insist on sending warships? ”

In view of the imminent conflict between the two sides, the intelligence that the Chinese Navy had begun to build up in Hawaii, and the Chinese Congress passed a proposal to expand the Pearl Harbor fort, President Roosevelt immediately personally lobbied the US Congress to repeal the "Chinese Exclusion Act" that had just been passed, and the situation was eased in order to avoid war.

But the nearly year-long diplomatic war between the two sides, although it did not eventually turn into a war, was still agonizing over whether to go to war in the face of China's challenge. If it rashly attacks China, will the navy that it has painstakingly managed repeat the mistake of the Russian fleet last year -- being tragically annihilated by the Japanese navy after circumnavigating half the world? How can we find a way to get the best of both worlds, to show the Chinese their strength and avoid war? After much thought, Roosevelt finally decided: to send a huge fleet around the world to show Japan and other countries the strength of the American Navy.

May 16, 1904.

Under the bright spring sunshine of the Chesapeake Bay, 20 glittering and majestic warships that were streaming out of the Hampton anchorage sailed past the "Mayflower" presidential cruise ship on which President Roosevelt was aboard one after another, all ships saluted in unison, the national anthem was played, and the mighty naval officers and men of the 20 battleships lined up along the side of the ships to salute the president.

Once upon a time, the Second Pacific Fleet of the Russian Empire evoked the heart of the sea of this country in the New World, and now, after two years of sharpening its knives, the United States has finally used its great industrial power to build a fleet that in its opinion is comparable to its own economic and industrial strength.

Looking at the powerful fleet in front of him, which had poured countless efforts into him, President Roosevelt waved his top hat in greeting, and said excitedly to the attaché next to him in his voice that was trembling with excitement.

"Have you ever seen such a fleet, have you ever thought of such a moving day!"

Yes, at that time, the navies of various countries had never assembled such a large fleet. That fleet was so spectacular that even many of the world's naval powers were deeply shocked. The "Great White Fleet" does not reflect the strength of the US Navy, but reflects the extremely powerful manufacturing capabilities and ocean-going combat capabilities of the United States, which is what shocked the maritime hegemon - Britain, which marks that the United States has officially become one of the maritime hegemons.

However, no one expected that after the "Great White Fleet" returned to the United States, in the face of praise from all over the world, President Roosevelt proudly declared that this round-the-world voyage was a diplomatic "stick policy" and that it was his "major contribution to the cause of peace." At that time, on the other side of the Pacific Ocean, the fleet he tried to "beat", but decisively decided - to meet the challenge from the United States!

…… Until now, many historians still put forward a hypothesis: If the United States had not sent the "Great White Fleet" back then, would there have been an arms race in the Pacific Ocean that would have followed, and without the arms race, would the world war that would have swept the world ten years later be avoided? Can the lives of tens of millions of young people be saved? ”

1902 - The road to war

Mighty!

The 20 white warships, spitting soot and sailing on the sea, their hulls painted in dazzling bright white, and the golden swirl decoration on the bow of the ship sparkled in the sun, this peacetime livery made the battleships look particularly elegant and beautiful, and inevitably weakened their murderous aura. But the 12- and 13-inch cannons that were raised in the air still unmistakably showed the world the difference between them and ordinary ships.

Eleven months ago, when it sailed out of the Hampton Anchorage, the whole world was watching the fleet, and almost everyone was shocked by the huge fleet, the armor of the cannon and the smoke of the sun, all showing the world a country's ambition for the sea.

In the process of leaving San Francisco and visiting New Zealand and Australia, the British, who had the strongest sea power in the face of this huge fleet, were also shocked by this scene when they saw the "Great White Fleet" slowly approaching. The British Admiralty Secretary was even more worried, saying: "The British should understand...... If the Americans had chosen this path, they would have been able to easily build a navy, first equal in size to ours and then larger than ours. As it turned out, this situation was unfortunately stated by him.

On April 23, 1905, after a long journey of nearly one year, the "Great White Fleet" finally arrived at the most important stop of the journey, the port of Yokohama in the Honshu Province of the Chinese Empire.

When the fleet, led by the guide ship sent by the Chinese Navy, headed towards the Fangzong Peninsula, on the bridge of the battleship "Connecticut", the fleet commander, Robbie? Rear Admiral Evans, the only active Admiral in the U.S. Navy who had served in the Civil War, spoke in a slightly proud tone.

"Perhaps, today the whole of East Asia will look at our warships with admiration!"

That's true, Robbie as the commander of the fleet? Over the past year or so, Rear Admiral Evans has fully appreciated the respect that a large fleet has brought to him, and has welcomed them with the highest scale in South America, from the president to the people.

As the most important port city in the northern tip of California, the San Francisco area is under considerable psychological pressure of war due to the hostile relations between China and the United States, so the "Great White Fleet" was enthusiastically welcomed by the local government and the people as soon as it arrived. When the fleet arrived in Santa Cruz, a small town north of San Francisco, tens of thousands of out-of-town tourists rushed into the usually quiet town in the blink of an eye, and the crowds gathered outside the city to watch the excitement line up for 20 miles along the beach!

In the morning, when the fleet spewed black smoke and sailed into the bay at a speed of 8 knots, the inside and outside of the city suddenly turned into a boiling sea. The flag was hung at every window in the city, the artillery of the Coast Defense Force roared, and hundreds of rockets leapt into the sky over the heads of the fleet...... The fleet then conducted drills such as changing formations on the calm waters of the bay.

Over the next few days, the officers and men of the fleet were drowned in a sea of parades, banquets, and balls, and every household in the small town was organized and mobilized to cook food or hold amusement events for the officers and men. Then they left the town and traveled to Australia, New Zealand, and it was in Australia that they did. The Great White Fleet received a new order - to China!

As early as a few months ago, after careful discussions, the Chinese ambassador to the United States told the US side that he welcomed the "Great White Fleet" to visit China. President Roosevelt and members of his cabinet accepted the invitation after careful consideration. At the end of its visit to Australia, the fleet hurried to set off again, heading for China, the most important target of the trip.

"Your Excellency, this voyage of ours will bring peace to the entire Pacific!"

Rear Admiral Thomas, commander of the 3rd Battleship Detachment, who was standing beside the aging Rear Admiral Robbie, said in a respectful tone.

"I believe that Marshal Li Weizhong, as well as his fleet, when they saw our fleet arrive. You must be able to realize this clearly! ”

The reason why Rear Admiral Thomas specifically mentioned Li Weizhong was because they had already learned that Li Weizhong himself would greet them in Yokohama, and as the commander of the former "Zhenyang Fleet", the victory of the "Battle of Le Maire" made him regarded in the West as the greatest admiral after Nelson, and his personal greeting was naturally regarded as a kind of pride by Thomas and others.

However, Admiral Li Weizhong, who was also on the warship at this time, did not have the same view as Thomas, and at this time, standing on the warship, he just said in a calm tone.

"It will bring war!"

In the face of the imminent visit to the "Great White Fleet," Li Weizhong's whole person appeared extremely calm, and the young naval officers around him were all arrogant; although the Cabinet and the Admiralty had made a viewpoint of "quietly observing and then drawing conclusions," after the Great White Fleet sailed out, the Naval Intelligence Office sent hundreds of intelligence officers to watch the fleet, and it was precisely on the basis of their intelligence that the Admiralty made a temporary decision -- Li Weizhong would lead a warship to "greet" their visit.

"Your Excellency, even if it is a war, it is not caused by us!"

Huang Zhongying, who is the commander of the Pacific Fleet, said in an extremely calm tone.

"War, this is what the Americans want, I remember that when the "Great White Fleet" arrived in San Francisco, an American newspaper commented: "Now only the British Admiralty has in his hands a more powerful fleet than our Admiralty, but never before has the British fleet of this size made such a long voyage...... Today we put flowers in the muzzles of these warships, but perhaps one day we will have to use them to determine the position of our country in the Pacific, and the fate of California will depend on it. ", it can be seen from this that the Americans are trying to stir up the determination of war, after all, the Pacific Ocean is too small!"

"Yes! The Pacific Ocean is too small to accommodate two naval powers! ”

Li Weizhong nodded silently. Compared to China and the United States, the Pacific Ocean is too small......

"Your Excellency, the cruiser "Yokohama" generates electricity, and the "Great White Fleet" is about to sail through the Boso Peninsula! ”

At this moment, a word in the command tower broke everyone's sigh, and Li Weizhong ordered silently.

"Alright, let's set sail! Now, it's time to welcome our guests! ”

The order is just a moment, the boiler has already completed the pressurization, has been stored steam immediately through the pipe spewed out, under the action of steam, the steam turbine quickly turned, the fleet composed of six warships, the speed slowly began to accelerate, because of the relationship just started, so that the chimney spewed out the column of smoke is extremely amazing, the billowing black smoke even has a sense of obscuring the sky, this is because the heavy oil combustion is not sufficient when sailing at low speed, if the high speed sailing, the heavy oil boiler will hardly produce many smoke traces.

The six warships were not escorted by other warships, and they sailed almost straight through the Uraga waterway in the direction of the Boso Peninsula, and in less than an hour, they were able to meet the American "Great White Fleet" on the Boso Peninsula, and as their masters, they personally welcomed them out of their homes.

"Your Excellency, the pilot 'Yokohama' sent a flag signal, and Marshal Li Weizhong personally led the ship to meet us...... My God! ”

Suddenly, the communications officer's voice changed, and almost everyone on the bridge of the battleship "Connecticut" was stunned for that moment, and almost everyone was repeating the same sentence.

"Oh my God, look, that, what is that!" (To be continued.) )