Chen Qiang installed a large mirror in the gym, which can make the space in the gym appear larger, and secondly, so that those members can clearly see their fitness results. Not to mention anything else, simply seeing yourself sweating profusely in the mirror will also give you a sense of accomplishment in fitness.

Anthony, the whiskey merchant, was standing in front of the mirror, trying to tense his muscles, as if to tell everyone that he had achieved good fitness results in recent times.

"Mr. Anthony, you seem to be in pretty good shape in the last few days." Chen Qiang praised from the side.

"Hahaha, maybe it's because business has been better lately." Anthony paused, then said, "There is a war in Europe, and my business has improved. ”

Chen Qiang was stunned, and then asked, "Does fighting a war have anything to do with selling wine?" You're selling whiskey, not medical alcohol. ”

"Of course it does." Anthony explained: "When the war comes, food will become important, the production of alcohol in Europe will decrease, and there will even be many places that do not make wine, so there will be a lot less alcohol imported from Europe, and the market will be occupied by alcohol produced in the United States, and the sales of my whiskey will naturally increase." In addition, there is also a demand for whisky in Europe, and now that the production of whisky in Europe has been greatly reduced, they will inevitably import whisky from the United States to fill the demand, and my whisky will also be sold in large quantities to Europe! ”

"I see." Chen Qiang nodded.

Anthony continued: "The war in Europe is a good opportunity for us American businessmen to make money, my father made a lot of money in the world war twenty years ago, and now it's my turn!" But the most profitable ones are the arms dealers! Compared to them, I make only a drop in the bucket. ”

"It's true that selling arms is very profitable, but the law in the United States seems to stipulate that you can't sell weapons to belligerents, right?" Chen Qiang asked.

"You're talking about the Neutrality Act, right? You don't know yet, do you? That thing is about to be revised! Now those arms manufacturers, as well as the upstream industries of weapons manufacturers, lobby the White House every day, and if it were not for those Republican congressmen to block it, the arms ban law would have been lifted long ago. Anthony spoke.

……

When he borrowed $25 million from the United States last year, Chen Qiang learned about the relevant laws of the United States, and at that time the United States had a neutrality law, which prohibited the sale of weapons to both belligerents, and because of this restriction, the $25 million borrowed at that time could only be used to buy civilian goods, not weapons.

So Chen Qiang learned about the US neutrality law from the side.

At that time, the United States pursued isolationism and advocated non-intervention in the affairs of other countries. This is different from the current United States, in the current situation, if something happens in any country, the United States is eager to intervene immediately, and even if it is fine, the United States will create something and then intervene.

The Neutrality Act is a product of isolationism. At that time, the United States would impose a comprehensive embargo on weapons and war materials against countries that were at war, and at the worst time, the United States would terminate trade with whichever country was at war.

As early as 1935, Roosevelt began to lobby Congress to selectively implement the embargo, but was vetoed by the US Congress.

In 1936, the Neutrality Act was escalated again, this time not only with an embargo on supplies, but also with a clause prohibiting loans to belligerents.

In 1937, in the midst of the Spanish Civil War, the U.S. Congress passed a resolution outlawing the arms trade with Spain, and subsequently added a new clause to the Neutrality Act, which prohibited U.S. ships from transporting any passengers or goods to belligerents and U.S. citizens from traveling on ships of belligerent countries. This time, not only the supplies could not be sold, but even the people could not be transported.

But because Roosevelt was gaining momentum, the U.S. Congress also made concessions to Roosevelt, and Roosevelt, as president, could issue presidential orders to sell supplies to specific countries, but the goods could not be transported by the United States, and could only be paid for in cash, to ensure that the United States would not be involved in the conflict.

The $25 million loan used this clause to buy the goods, and Roosevelt issued a presidential decree approving the sale of the goods to China, thus bypassing the neutrality clause. And in the process of transporting materials to China, it was not American freighters, but British freighters.

Now in 1939, war has broken out in Europe, the United States will once again revise the Neutrality Act, and Roosevelt will once again clash with the isolationists.

……

Hu Shi came to New York again and had a meal with Chen Qiang by the way.

"Sir, how's the borrowing going?" Chen Qiang asked, he knew that this was something that Hu Shi had been busy with recently.

"I've already got an eyebrow, but I'm actually here in New York for this purpose. Although we borrowed $25 million last time, there was a problem when purchasing materials, and this time I plan to take charge of this matter myself, so as not to make a mistake like last time. Hu Shi said.

Chen Qiang knew that the mistake that Hu Shi said meant that some people in China then borrowed money to make a fortune in the country, so Chen Qiang said: "Sir, you want to offend some people in China like this!" ”

"When did I, Hu someone, be afraid of offending people! *******，*******！ Hu Shi said categorically.

Chen Qiang smiled helplessly, he understood why Hu Shi had made great contributions in the United States, but he couldn't return to China after stepping down as ambassador to the United States, I am afraid that it was because he had offended too many people, and those high-ranking officials and nobles in China did not want Hu Shi to go back.

I saw Hu Shi sigh lightly, and then said: "Actually, I also know that I can't change anything by myself, and I can't stop those dignitaries and nobles in the country, they must have a way to make a big profit, and I do this just to hope that those people can be more restrained and don't go too far." ”

Chen Qiang thought of the Neutrality Act.

So Chen Qiang said: "Sir, I think your top priority now is not to negotiate with the supplier of materials, but to find a relationship and urge the United States to revise the neutrality law as soon as possible." ”

"Amendment to the Neutrality Act? I also want the Americans to give up their neutrality and help us fight little Japan, but I can't do it, and the Americans won't listen to me. Hu Shi said.

"We have to eat a bite to eat, and letting the Americans enter the war is a matter of the future, and now we are mainly urging the United States to revise the provisions of the neutrality law on the arms embargo." Chen Qiang said.

"Are you going to buy weapons from the Americans?" Hu Shi immediately understood.

Chen Qiang nodded, and then said, "Weapons are more difficult to buy than other materials. The food is gone, we can plant it again, and it will grow again in the next year, but if the weapon is broken, we can't make it, I heard that there is a shortage of weapons on the front line, and many soldiers even use a gun! ”

"What you said makes sense, if this loan can be used to buy weapons, it can indeed solve the urgent needs of the country, and if you arm one more soldier, you can cause a little more damage to the Japanese!" Hu Shi stood up as he spoke, and continued: "Listening to what you said, the matter of getting the United States to revise the Neutrality Act has become our top priority, and I will return to Washington right now." ”

"Sir, I think it's not just that we want the Neutrality Act to be amended, but Britain and France definitely want to amend the Neutrality Act, the war in Europe has broken out, and Britain and France also need to import weapons, so you might as well join forces with the British and French ambassadors to the United States, and the three of us will work together to definitely be much better than you working alone." Chen Qiang opened his mouth to remind.

Hu Shi nodded suddenly: "You are really a person who wakes up in a dream, after I return to Washington, I will immediately visit the British and French ambassadors to the United States!" ”

……

The current situation in China, of course, is lacking in everything, no matter what location it is shipped back, it is what the country needs, but Chen Qiang believes that this time it is best to purchase some weapons and send them back to China.

Up to now, the Chinese army's weapon loss is also very large, even the well-armed Central Army, the weapon consumption is also very large, and many local armies have even consumed the family funds they have saved in the past few years, such as the Sichuan Army's third-line troops, usually grandfathers don't love uncles don't love, equipment is even more scarce, on average, no one can even a gun.

The most important thing is that China's industrial capacity is not good, and most weapons cannot be made. Many so-called arsenals are actually assembly plants or repair shops, which disassemble unusable weapons into parts, and then use these weapon parts to make a weapon together.

For China at that time, weapons were non-renewable materials, so the purchase of weapons is also a top priority at present, as Hu Shi said, one more gun, one more soldier, can cause more damage to the Japanese army.

And if you want to buy weapons from the United States, in addition to having money, you also need to ask the United States to amend the neutrality bill, at least remove the clause on arms sales. Now that war is breaking out in Europe, the United States is about to revise the Neutrality Act, and this is a golden opportunity, if it is done properly, to let the United States remove the provisions of the arms embargo so that the United States can buy weapons for China, which is tantamount to giving the Chinese army a mouthful of old blood.

Hu Shi, a nerd, couldn't have imagined that this guy would go straight to the point when he engaged in diplomacy, without much spending, borrowed money from the United States, and immediately thought about buying supplies and shipping them back, as for the Americans who don't sell weapons, then buy something else! This method of going around in a circle to support the Anti-Japanese War, no one pointed out, and Hu Shi really couldn't think of it.

Chen Qiang naturally woke up Hu Shi, he is just an athlete, not a diplomat, nor a soldier, and this is the only thing he can help the cause of the domestic anti-Japanese war. If the arms embargo can be lifted one day earlier, US weapons can be shipped to China one day earlier, and those soldiers defending the motherland will be able to have one more cannon, one more grenade, one more gun, even one more bullet.

As Chen Qiang expected, the British and French ambassadors to the United States are also visiting members of the US Congress, hoping that the United States can amend the neutrality bill and lift the terms of the arms embargo.

Hu Shi ran to meet the ambassadors of Britain and France, and the three parties immediately hit it off and reached cooperation in an instant.

On the other hand, the Japanese Embassy in the United States is doing everything possible to keep the terms of the arms embargo going.

In fact, Japan at this time was a victim of the Neutrality Act. China relied on Roosevelt's special approval to buy 25 million US dollars in supplies, while Japan did not have Roosevelt's approval, so it could not buy anything, and in October 1937, Roosevelt also imposed an embargo on the export of aircraft parts to Japan in the name of "moral embargo".

However, Japan is very clear that once the United States lifts the arms embargo, it will not benefit Japan at all, but it will be a great help to China.

The reason is simple, Japan can produce weapons, but China cannot.

With Japan's industrial capacity at that time, there was no problem in building aircraft carriers, let alone producing various weapons. Therefore, even if the United States lifts the arms embargo, Japan will not need to buy weapons from the Americans, they can make their own. What's more, the United States will not sell weapons to Japan.

China is different, China's weapons are all about buying, and if they can buy high-quality American weapons, they will definitely cause great damage to the Japanese army on the battlefield.

And once the United States sells weapons to China, will Japan care or not? If you do, then you have to seize the US freighter carrying weapons, which means that you can't get along with the United States, and it is almost tantamount to declaring war on the United States. Regardless of this, if a large number of weapons are transported to China, and with China's abundant human resources, millions of soldiers will burst out every minute, how can Japan fight this war?

The Japanese are not ready to go foul with the United States, and they do not want to see Chinese riots, so at this stage, they can only use diplomatic means to desperately prevent the revision of the neutrality law and the lifting of the arms embargo.

The biggest obstacle to lifting the arms ban in the US neutrality bill is still the isolation faction in the United States, such as the previously mentioned Republican leader Arthur Vandenberg.

The last time he lent money to China, Arthur Vandenberg did not stop the passage of the loan bill because of an exhibition about Nanjing, but this time, Arthur Vandenberg was not so eloquent, he had been preventing Roosevelt from lifting the ban on the neutrality bill since 1934, and this time of course he would do his best to keep the arms ban going.

The Japanese embassy also pinned its hopes on Arthur Vandenberg to prevent the lifting of the arms embargo.

After the "918" incident, Arthur Vandenberg was worried that China would retake the Northeast by force, and he hoped that Britain could balance it, and the so-called "balance" was to recognize the Japanese occupation of the Northeast and let the Chinese army not act rashly.

In 1939, Arthur Vandenberg also proposed to abolish the Treaty of Navigation and Commerce between the United States and Japan, because it restricted Japan's purchase of supplies from the United States, and Arthur Vandenberg urged the U.S. government to renegotiate with Japan, arguing that the U.S. government should recognize Japan's occupation of Chinese territory.

It is also because Arthur Vandenberg is a "pro-Japanese faction" in the United States, so after Japan's surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Arthur Vandenberg strongly demanded war with Japan, and he showed more hatred for Japan than Roosevelt. When the United States wanted to drop atomic bombs on Japan, Arthur Vandenberg strongly agreed, and throwing two was not enough, and he wanted to throw a few more.

It is estimated that Arthur Vandenberg was really annoyed by the Japanese, Lao Tzu was originally so supportive of you Japan, and worked hard to help you speak for Japan in the US Congress, but you stabbed Lao Tzu in the back! In other words, whoever encounters this situation has to turn their faces.

Of course, it is also because of Arthur Vandenberg's pro-Japanese stance, so after Pearl Harbor, he must be more anti-Japanese than others, and he must completely cut ties with Japan and make people forget that he was once a "pro-Japanese faction", otherwise his political career will be over.

If there is an opposition, there will be supporters, and US President Franklin D. Roosevelt is the biggest supporter of the ban on access to weapons.

In early 1939, Roosevelt lobbied the U.S. Congress to provide Czechoslovakia with weapons in cash to prevent Czechoslovakia from being invaded by Germany, but Congress rejected it. Now, taking advantage of the outbreak of war in Europe, Roosevelt has once again proposed lifting the arms ban.

Roosevelt believed that the existing arms ban was to deceive himself, because Italy was still in a neutral state, so Italy could buy weapons from the United States and then sell them to Germany, and the arms ban in the neutrality bill could not restrict the Germans from buying weapons from the United States.

Britain and France, which had already declared war on Germany, could not buy American weapons in accordance with the Neutrality Act because they were belligerent countries, and if the arms ban continued, then the American arsenal would be relocated to Canada in order to circumvent the arms ban and sell weapons to Britain and France, and the United States would lose a lot of money and jobs for no reason.

After all, the United States is a country where capital is king, and no one can stop the capitalists from making money. Arms dealers in the United States need to make money, and those steelmakers upstream of the arms dealers also need to make money. Twenty years ago, in the First World War, the U.S. arms manufacturing industry had already made a lot of money, and now it's time to pick up the money, and those arms manufacturers are like sharks that smell blood, and it's not who stops them from eating whom!

Moreover, the efforts of the ambassadors of Britain, France and China have also played a key role. In fact, among the ambassadors of the three countries, Hu Shi, the Chinese ambassador, seems to be very busy, but in fact he is a coax, standing next to him and waving his flag and shouting; France's influence on the United States is also limited, mainly to support the individual field, and the most important thing is to rely on the British ambassador.

Britain's influence on the United States is extraordinary, and most of the members of the US Congress are of British descent, and many members of the US Congress support lifting the arms ban under the lobbying of the British.

……

In November, Chen Qiang came to Washington, D.C., to sign a contract with Washington's first franchisee, and then Chen Qiang came to the embassy to visit Hu Shih.

Compared with the last time they met, Hu Shi lost seven or eight pounds, and it can be seen that he has been heartbroken about lifting the ban on weapons recently. However, Hu Shi's mental state is very good, and he looks beaming.

"The U.S. neutrality bill has been amended, the arms ban has been lifted, and we can buy weapons from the United States." Hu Shi said happily.

"That's great, with American weapons and equipment, the soldiers on the front line will be much easier." Chen Qiang said.

Hu Shi pointed to the documents on the table and said: "Chongqing has just sent me a telegram, although we have held Changsha and caused huge casualties to the Japanese army, but our weapons have suffered very large losses, and the Central Army is also facing a shortage of weapons and ammunition. Being able to purchase weapons from the United States this time really solves the urgent needs of the country. ”

Chen Qiang opened his mouth and said: "I hope to buy weapons this time, but not like last time." ”

Hu Shi knew what Chen Qiang was referring to, the 25 million US dollars in materials last time eventually became a tool for domestic dignitaries to make war money.

"It shouldn't be like last time, this time the purchase of weapons is mainly to supplement the consumption of the Central Army, it is the direct army of the chairman, no one will dare to get involved, right?"

Hu Shi said this, but his heart was full of unconfidence, those high-ranking officials and nobles in China even dared to make money in the country, and it was not completely impossible to resell weapons!

……

After returning to New York, Chen Qiang returned home, only to see Esther looking depressed.

"What's wrong? What's upsetting you? Chen Qiang asked.

"Next year's Olympics are gone! I can't go to the Olympics anymore! Esther said with a sad face.

Chen Qiang instantly understood that the news of the cancellation of the 1940 Olympic Games had reached the United States.

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