Central Pacific Ocean, U.S. East Samoa. Surrounded by mountains, Pago Pago Harbor was shrouded in a large cloud of lead-gray tropical rain clouds, and the pouring rain washed over the teak deck of the armored cruiser "Missoula" in the harbor. Lieutenant Commander MacArthur watched the mountains and seas through the thick glass portholes, holding a cup of steaming coffee in his hand.

With a broad face, sharp eyebrows and eyes, a slightly straight nose, and a pair of narrow and long Buddha ears, Lieutenant Colonel MacArthur was born in the prime of life: grandfather Arthur I. MacArthur was a member of the Supreme Court of the United States, and his father, Arthur II. MacArthur was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, the country's highest award, in the Civil War as a lieutenant and adjutant in the infantry regiment, and went to the Philippines more than 30 years later in the Spanish-American War, personally led the vanguard infantry brigade to capture Manila, and was immediately appointed commander-in-chief and military governor of the US forces in the Philippines.

Douglas. MacArthur is the third son of Arthur II, born in the army camp in Little Rock, Arkansas, in the southern United States, did not excel in childhood, and gradually rose to prominence after entering middle school, becoming an honor student who excelled in all aspects, and was successfully admitted to West Point, the cradle of officers in the United States Army, in 1899. He graduated first in the school and the highest score ever achieved by a West Point student in 25 years.

After graduating, he served in the 3rd Engineer Battalion and went to the Philippines to participate in the suppression of the guerrillas, shooting two guerrillas with his own hands during the battle. After the outbreak of the Russo-Asian War, his father Arthur II was assigned as a military observer in China, and Douglas went to serve as an adjutant in his entourage...... It has an extraordinary temperament that transcends the times and sees through the future".

Before and after the end of the Asian-Russian War, the father and son successively traveled to Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, French Indochina, Singapore, British India, the Dutch East Indies, and Thailand, analyzed and evaluated in detail the development of the situation in the Far East, and concluded that after the Asian-Russian War, China had dominated the Far East, and the next step was to conquer the Pacific Ocean and the Asian continent and compete for hegemony in the world, in order to become the center of the world and the apex of civilization, that is, the "Huayi order" that it has emphasized since ancient times. However, this assertion was made by the then Secretary of the Army, who was later elected to the 27th term of the United States. Taft seems to be purely unfounded, and this is not unrelated to the rift between Arthur II when he was the military governor of the Philippines and Taft, the chairman of the four-member group sent to organize a civilian government.

In 1906, MacArthur Jr. was selected to study at the Washington School of Engineers, where he served as a member of Theodore Jr. President Roosevelt's low-ranking aide-de-camp, who was addicted to officialdom and socialized and affected his studies, ranked first in his class. After Marshall, this apparently affected the military's evaluation of him. After completing his training, he was appointed lieutenant and company commander of the engineer battalion, and was promoted to captain until 1911. The following year his father died, but he came and went from time to time under the Army Chief of Staff Leonard. With Wood's help, he entered the War Department, officially becoming one of the thirty-six members of the Army General Staff in 1913, and in April 1914 he made a big splash in the battle to capture Veracruz, the largest city on the east coast of Mexico.

On September 7, 1914, President Wilson delivered a speech to Congress, declaring the need for the United States to make "war preparations" and ordering the main force of the fleet to be stationed at Pearl Harbor to "ensure peace and stability in the Pacific region." MacArthur, who had been promoted to major upon his return, was actively involved in the expansion of the Army as an assistant to the Chief of Staff and Secretary of the Army.

After Pearl Harbor, MacArthur asked to "go to the front" several times, but his superiors forced him to retain him on the grounds of "work needs" and made him a part-time press censor for the War Department. He was responsible for liaising with the press, and during his tenure, he carefully organized and planned to explain the Army's policies to the press in a gentle and sincere manner, which was well received by most reporters.

Finally, when formulating the operational plan for a counteroffensive against Alaska, MacArthur's enthusiasm was overwhelmed, and his superiors appointed him as the operational staff officer of the 7th Infantry Division. Lieutenant General Robinson's Alaskan Regiment landed on Kodiak Island.

At this moment, MacArthur, who had just crossed half of the Pacific with the "Missoula", was still under the command of Vice Admiral Robinson, but this time, he was already the operational staff officer of the Australian Corps under the command of Robinson, and as the advance liaison of the staff team of the headquarters, he rushed to Sydney to "step on the point" first.

At the Second Chantilly Conference of the Allied Powers held in the second half of last year, Britain and the United States reached an agreement on the US military to assist in the defense of Australia and the western Indian Ocean, and the US Australian Legion, which was organized in November 1915 to assist in the defense of Australia, was under the jurisdiction of the 6th Brigade of the US Army, plus other independent support units, with a total strength of nearly 100,000 troops, and was scheduled to complete the deployment in mainland Australia, Samoa, Fiji, and other places by April.

"Hold Australia, if possible, knock the enemy from the side, and don't let their lives go too easy."

Before leaving, the words of the new Army Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Scott, were still lingering in MacArthur's ears.

"Hey, Doug, what are you doing here alone?"

A colonel, with a full forehead, a towering nose, small eyes and ears, about MacArthur's age, leaned in from outside the half-open hatch and greeted him in an intimate tone.

"Billy. You're just in time, sit down - a cup of coffee? ”

MacArthur also seemed very affectionate, and the two were both fellow Wisconsin and friends who had known each other since childhood, and both fathers served in the 24th Infantry Regiment in Wisconsin during the Civil War. MacArthur's father, Arthur II, was involved in the suppression of Philippine guerrillas – he was William, the current commander of the U.S. Army's 10th Air Force. Billy. Mitchell.

"That's exactly what I want – how? Didn't get seasick, right? ”

Mitchell asked with concern as he took off his military hat and rested it on the table.

"Of course it's okay, I've been on a lot more boats than you, and I've never seen any strong winds and waves."

MacArthur replied without flinching, picking up the coffee pot and pouring most of Mitchell's cup in one gulp.

"That's good......"

Mitchell picked up the hot coffee, blew into the cup first, took a small sip, and smacked his lips, "Is there any sugar?" ”

MacArthur grabbed the sugar jar in the corner of the table and handed it over: "Here you go, the Philippine sugar cube." ”

"The Philippines?"

"A few of my Filipino friends used to send me things as one of the gifts they received the previous Christmas, and they knew that I liked the sugar cubes there, but I haven't heard from them since last year – that's all I have left, and I wish I could get a new one before I run out of them."

"I think you'll have to save some money."

Mitchell smirked and slanted across the sugar bowl, pouring a few large pieces into his palm without hesitation, and with a flip of his hand, they all fell into the coffee cup.

MacArthur shrugged and smiled, "You've loved sweets since you were a child. ”

"Aren't you the same? Do you know the way? The first time I went to your house, I was most envious of nothing else. It's your big iron box with candy, God, how can you have so much sugar to eat? ”

"And then you go home with a bag full of sweets, and I wonder what my mother said. She said, Doug, this kid is going to have a lifelong friendship with you. ”

Mitchell nodded nostalgically: "The old lady is really a prophet, you see, although we have taken different paths, we still set foot on the same battlefield in the end. ”

MacArthur shook his head repeatedly: "No, no, this is not the most embarrassing. Look at it. We'll go back to the Philippines together, refill this sugar jar, and eat until our teeth are gone. ”

"Do you think we can do it?" Mitchell squinted.

"That's why we're here."

MacArthur lifted his chin with pride, thought for a moment, and quickly added, "One."

Mitchell nodded and smiled, took a big sip of coffee, and suddenly changed the subject: "I heard that your opponent, the one who robbed you of the first place. Marshall, now in General Pershing's Mexican Intervention Force Command, and General Pershing has been designated as the commander-in-chief of the future expeditionary force, and he can play in Europe in the future, don't you have any ideas? ”

MacArthur raised his head disapprovingly: "The Chinese beat us, of course we have to go back and beat them out of anger, hit the Mexicans, beat the Germans, what kind of heroes?" My father and I had predicted the ambitions of the Chinese for a long time, but everyone was indifferent, how many years of time were wasted? Now that my father has passed away, it's up to me to prove that the MacArthurs can not only predict the future, but also change it! ”

"Doug, you're still the same, doing whatever it takes for honor."

MacArthur narrowed his eyes in self-absorption, "I was born for war, Billy, what about you?" ”

Without hesitation, Mitchell continued: "I think I was born for air warfare." ”

"Then let's join forces and do a big fight, I will fight from the land, you from the air, if they want war, give them war, let them taste the shame and pain that have been imposed on us!" MacArthur pumped his fist into the air excitedly.

"Don't forget the Navy, we can't do anything without the backing of Admiral Schroeder's 5th Fleet." Mitchell reminded.

MacArthur turned his face contemptuously and said, "Navy? What can these cruisers do? ”

"Fool, what you see with your eyes is only the tip of the iceberg......"