The president's speech began with a round of applause, and the warm applause was vaguely mixed with some words full of gunpowder.

"Any act of retreat is a betrayal of the United States!"

"I brought a gun! If I see someone voting against it, I will execute the traitor in this holy place! ”

"We cannot ignore such contempt!"

However, loud clamor does not necessarily represent the whole.

"Mr. Speaker, members of the Senate and House of Representatives, yesterday afternoon, the State of ▇ submitted a rude threat of war to the Autonomous State of the Philippines and declared war shortly thereafter."

The president spoke, and the noisy hall fell silent for a moment, except for the creaking of the camera wheel.

A camera made by the Prad Corporation is condensing this historic scene onto a long stretch of Kodak film. [The violating content has been deleted]

"We all know that the Philippines, under the protection of the United States of America, has achieved remarkable economic, commercial, and demographic development, which is a model of peaceful development."

"The federal government has been working hard to maintain peace in Asia and the Pacific and has held many negotiations with the government, but they have not been sincere and have rejected all proposals."

"Seven months ago, the ▇ army attacked Malaya; Six months ago, the ▇ national army occupied Singapore; Five months earlier, the Nationalist army had attacked Dutch East Indu. ”

"As Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, I have commanded the military to be on alert and to take all precautions to protect the people and private property of the United States from danger."

"Gentlemen, this is a long-prepared act of hostility aimed at seizing American interests in the East. It should be clear to the American people that this has violated the interests and security of our country. ”

"Despite the greater threat to our interests in Europe, I don't think we should retreat easily, we can't make any compromises with the hungry lions."

"History will prove that a firm and courageous resistance was the right choice. The actions to defend the interests of citizens and the country are completely just, and I am sure that the Armed Forces will achieve the ultimate victory, God bless us. [The offending content has been deleted]

"It has now been more than a dozen hours since the declaration of war on the Philippines, and I ask Congress to confirm that the United States of America will be at war with the Ming Empire starting at 12:00 Washington time."

As his speech ended, cheers and applause filled the hall in an instant.

After that, the voting began.

The Senate voted 68 in favor and 21 against; The House of Representatives voted 334 in favor and 89 against.

"Damn it! I can't believe there are so many cowards! ”

"Councillor Anderson, calm down! Please stay calm! ”

"You bastard is a disgrace to Montana! I'm going to ......"

"Bang!"

The sudden burst of gunfire shocked the audience, and a councillor fell to the ground screaming.

In a flash of lightning, the Florida congressman who fired the gun was knocked down by several people who reacted next to him, and the Browning pocket pistol in his hand also fell to the ground with a click.

"Protect the President!"

"We need medical care!"

The lawmakers in suits and leather shoes were apprehensive, and congressional security personnel hurried in......

Although there was an accident due to the outrage of the masses, in the end, the resolution of the United States to declare war on the Ming Dynasty was officially passed in legal procedures.

The crowd and reporters who had gathered outside the Capitol were eagerly awaiting, and when they learned of the final result, they burst into cheers.

The Washington Post reporter was already sitting on a motorcycle, and when he heard the news, he immediately drove straight to the newspaper office.

Historically, Costa Rica followed in declaring war on Japan to protect its nationals, and Haiti on the grounds that anyone attacking the United States was an enemy.

This time, the United States officially entered the war on the grounds of protecting national interests and defending peace in the Pacific.

In the afternoon, the Ming Advisory Council also held a symbolic second vote, and passed a series of war bills without any suspense.

After all, everyone knows that declaring war on Luzon is actually tantamount to declaring war on the United States.

The edict, which had been drafted long ago, was then published from the palace, and the prime minister of the imperial court also delivered a national speech that night.

"The emperor issued an edict to the ministers, workers, soldiers and people of the world: But my Celestial Empire has always protected all nations, and I have taken the lives of all people, and I dare not settle China. The people of Luzon have been paying tribute to the Celestial Dynasty since the fifth year of Hongwu, but they have been invaded and occupied by the Buddha Langji, and it has been more than 300 years since the Longqing period."

"In modern times, there has been a struggle between the United States and Buddhism, and Luzon has been based on the United States, and many people are embarrassed, and there have been countless uprisings in the past 30 years.

"It must be known that the Celestial Empire has always maintained a peaceful relationship with each other, hoping to settle the disputes in the South Seas peacefully, but the British and the Dutch refused to give in, so that the soldiers met each other, which was not my original intention. Today, there is a secret document known to the imperial court, which is a matter of Britain, the United States and Australia secretly negotiating the alliance and defense."

"It can be seen that the ambition of the Three Kingdoms to instigate trouble and dominate the ocean is obvious; It has also been discovered that the United States has deployed a number of long-range aircraft and submarines in Luzon, which in fact poses a great threat to the safety of the people of the DPRK and endangers the shipping industry.

"So far, all foreign affairs communication has ended in vain, and there is no other way to do it, so I order the civil and military ministers to gather in the court to negotiate defense affairs and protect the safety of the place where the sun and the moon shine...... Greatly. Telegram to China and foreign countries. October 1, 39th year of Zhichang. The Emperor's Treasure."

Compared with the emperor's edict, the official documents of the imperial court are much simpler and more direct.

There have long been discussions among the people, and newspapers have often argued with each other, some saying that there will be no war in the short term, and some saying that they will definitely take advantage of the victory to pursue and pacify the remaining Philippines.

Now, the arguments that had been going on have ceased.

According to the information released by the imperial court, people knew that the Australian Corps, an army of hundreds of thousands, had moved south; And the Seventh Army against the Philippines has also set off.

Next, for ordinary people, all they can do is wait quietly except for talking.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the first round of air strikes by our army on Luzon has begun to ......"

"Good! Let's see how long these lone soldiers can last. ”

"I've said it a long time ago, it's a month on top, and it is estimated that most of it is dragged out by the Bataan fortress area."

"The siege heavy artillery brigade can be considered to come in handy."

At the headquarters of the Surabaya Naval Base, officers of the 1st Marine Brigade, the 4th Engineering Brigade, the 3rd Field Heavy Artillery Brigade, and the 27th Infantry Division all gathered here and talked with great interest and gossip.

Although the Dutch burned most of the important documents before surrendering, they were not willing to set fire to such an elegantly decorated headquarters.

"The so-called 100,000 defenders are purely blown out of the chickens and dogs, and there are only 20,000 or 30,000 people who can actually be called an army.

"Well, those temporarily mobilized reservists and militias have little combat power to speak of, and the key depends on how many American troops can be annihilated at the beginning."

Zhou Changfeng crossed his waist, thinking about the scene that would happen thousands of miles away, and he wandered for a while.

The Ming army's operations against the Philippines were separate, codenamed "Jiji", and were under the responsibility of the newly formed Seventh Army.

The Seventh Army has a total strength of about 40,000 troops, including the 2nd Marine Brigade, the 43rd Infantry Division, the 2nd Field Heavy Artillery Brigade, the 1st Siege Heavy Artillery Brigade, the 3rd Tank Brigade, the 2nd Assault Vehicle Battalion, and the 1st Engineering Brigade.

"I don't know what will happen to that MacArthur guy this time." Zhou Changfeng said to himself.

Douglas McMarshal was born in a military camp in Little Rock, Arkansas, and his father was a soldier, so it can be said that McMarshal was familiar with barracks life when he was just a baby in his mother's arms.

Although his grades as a child were mediocre, and his teachers commented that he was "bored with studying, inattentive, and smart but not hardworking", as he grew older, his hard work also increased, and he finally graduated from West Point with honors.

After that, he fought in the Mexican War and then in Europe, rising in rank until he was promoted to brigadier general at the age of thirty-seven, and became the principal of West Point upon his return. Later, because of his old acquaintance with Hoover, Marshal Mak became the youngest chief of staff of the Army.

However, for many reasons, McMarshal did not have a good relationship with President Franklin, who appreciated George Marshall more. So Mai was sent to the Philippines, where his father once worked, to serve as a special military adviser and was awarded the title of marshal.

After more than two years of hard work, the Philippines has a fairly small armed force under the guidance of Mak, with a total of seven infantry divisions and a total strength of about 100,000 troops.

However, in view of the Ming army's previous fierce offensive against the British and Dutch colonies, the president of the autonomous state of the Philippines had shaken his determination to defend himself and started to submit to the Ming Dynasty.

Washington was very unhappy with this, and threatened to cancel the independence of the autonomous state of the Philippines if it dared to turn against the Ming Dynasty.

Day after day, the Filipinos waited in a state of anxiety until war broke out.

At 16:00 on October 1, the air raid operation of the Daming Air Force was officially launched.

Advancing from north to south, some warplanes took off from Tagu and some planes took off from Sabah in Borneo, and rushed to Luzon in search of their respective targets.

"Woooooooo

When the air defense observation post and air defense microphones confirmed that the Ming army was coming, the sharp and piercing air defense sirens sounded throughout the city of Manila!

Because the time is earlier than the original history, the Americans have not yet placed a complete radar system in Manila, and radars such as the SCR-268 and SCR-270 have just been put into mass production.

Barracks, docks, airfields, and railway shunting yards were all bombed.

"Da-da-da-"

"Enemy planes are coming! Captain, we ......"

"Boom! Rumble! ”

The destroyer USS Ingersoll moored at the pier was slowly picking up speed, and the American sailors used twin 12.7mm anti-aircraft machine guns to fire fiercely at the Ming bombers in the sky, but to no avail.

The 184 100-kilogram bombs dropped by 23 Type 36 light bombers dropped on the pier were like hailstones, and columns of water and clouds of smoke and dust burst out from the sea and on the shore.

The Ingersoll was damaged by several near-misses, the deck and superstructure were splashed with water, and the boiling water caused the destroyer to roll noticeably......

According to the pre-war plan, in the event of a Ming invasion, the surface ships of the Asian fleet should be withdrawn directly, and the submarines must set off as soon as possible, leaving the port where a devastating air attack could be carried out at any time.

The Ming army was worried about this situation, so the naval aviation formation immediately followed by flew to Manila Bay, and more than 20 Type 37 twin-engine torpedo planes dropped hundreds of mines to block the shipping route.

"Sir, we shouldn't hesitate any longer, the bomber must take off immediately......"

"But we don't have accurate intelligence, what are the bombing targets? You didn't plan the route, and you didn't have a plan available. ”

The commander of the Far East Air Force, Colonel Alex, requested that all B-17 bombers be lifted into the air at once in case they were blown up on the ground during an air raid by the Ming army.

Douglas, however, hesitated and rejected Alex's application.

The latter, unwilling to sit idly by, ordered Clark Airport to refuel the B-17 and mount the bombs before continuing to try to convince the opinionated Douglas.

At this time, the headquarters was already flooded with all kinds of information, instructions, and intelligence, and the crackling sound of typewriters came from one typewriter after another, and the anxious civilian staff walked briskly with documents in their hands, looking disorganized.

One moment someone reported that Dagupan had discovered the Ming fleet, and the next time it was said that the information was wrong......

In the midst of this chaos, Douglas's mind seemed to be in shambles, and Alex's repeated pleas annoyed him.

"Do whatever you want, Colonel, don't call again!"

"Yes! Sir! ”

Overjoyed, Colonel Alex hung up the phone and ordered all B-17 bombers at Clark Airport to rise to the air as fast as they could!

His previous approach was undoubtedly the most correct, and one after another, the refueled B-17s roared off the runway.

However, before they could all rise into the air, a series of small black dots had already appeared in the sky due north.

In a few moments, the fighters of the Far East Air Force defending the airport launched a fierce air battle with the attacking Ming army group.

Thirty-seven P-36D fighters and four XP-40s participated in the battle, and the Ming bomber formation was escorted by 35 Type 36 B-type destroyers.

US fighter planes met the attack from the southeast, and more than 30 fighters lined up in a horizontal formation and neatly pounced on the Ming army's aircraft group.

After closing the distance, they opened fire in unison, trying to scare and break up the formation of the Ming army's aircraft group, but it did not work as expected.

On the contrary, the Ming fighters had four twin aircraft in formation that seized the opportunity to seize the altitude and dive and strafe head-on, setting fire to several P-36s in one shot.

At the same time, the Type 36 B, which was escorting the flight on the side of the formation, also seized the opportunity to make a sudden attack, striking backward and becoming entangled with the US fighters that were scattered in pairs.

The fierce close-quarters combat began, and the two sides were quite close in performance and quality, and if you had to study it carefully, the Ming Air Force would have an advantage. [The violating content has been deleted]

Beside the runway of the airport and on the streets of the city, people and soldiers raised their hands to watch the fierce battle in the sun, and planes were constantly shot down, dragging black and white smoke into the distance......

In the end, 25 of the 34 B-17Bs that Colonel Alex had in mind were successfully lifted into the air, and the remaining 9 were all attacked, and all but 2 were destroyed on the ground.

(End of chapter)