On the day after Wilson delivered his inauguration speech, the U.S. Naval Military Port in Manila in Luzon was attacked by China. The U.S. Far East Fleet was completely wiped out and not a single ship survived. The Manila port was occupied by the Chinese South China Sea Fleet, and the Chinese army entered all of Luzon. On the border, the local indigenous people cooperated with the Chinese Army and the local US military in Luzon launched a fierce battle. The 50,000 US troops were defeated and retreated steadily, with all casualties and casualties. The entire territory of Luzon fell into the hands of the Chinese.
Three days later, the war report reached the United States. The news was like a hurricane sweeping the entire United States. The American people were shocked and couldn't believe the news. Newspapers and magazines in major cities in the United States began to report the matter in a series of articles, condemning China's betrayal. Before the ink on the Treaty of Guam was dry, China openly tore up this peace treaty and deceived the United States. Such behavior is shameless and despicable.
The streets of the United States were full of people condemning China's blatant attack on the port of Luzon and Manila. The American people held grand demonstrations in major cities. This time, the mood of the American people was completely different from the previous one. If we say that China's invasion The Hawaiian Islands are the American people's tolerance towards China, so the sneak attack on Manila Port has touched the bottom line of the American people. After all, more than ten years ago, the United States finally won Luzon, Guam and other places through the Spanish-American War. Now, Hawaii has been lost, and Luzon has been captured by China again, which means that the benefits gained by the United States in the Spanish-American War have basically been taken away by China.
Having lost Hawaii and now Luzon, Guam, caught between the two, has fallen into an embarrassing situation. There are only a few thousand US troops on the island, and it has fallen into a siege by China. Communications are interrupted and supplies are difficult to provide. Subsequently, it has become a piece of fat on the lips of the Chinese Pacific Fleet. As long as China is willing, the Chinese Pacific Fleet can swallow Guam at any time.
So the American people began to take to the streets to demonstrate, expressing that they wanted the U.S. government to go to war with China, and clamoring to teach China a lesson!
But what is ridiculous is that Wilson gave his inaugural speech a few days ago, answering the question of peace between China and the United States, and vowed to assure the American people that China and the United States have always been peaceful and friendly, and there will never be friction or war. However, Before the lingering sound dissipated, Chinese artillery fire had already reached Luzon Island.
In the newsstands that can be seen everywhere on the street, Time magazine with Wilson's photo on the cover is still placed in the most conspicuous position. The word "peace" is clearly visible, but the cover of today's newspaper next to it is all about China's sneak attack on Luzon. On the news, the smoke of war is vividly displayed on the page, which has to be said to be a great irony.
In the U.S. Congress building, the Democratic Party, which had been promoting pacifism a few days ago, has now turned into hysterical war fanatics, constantly clamoring at congressional meetings to use force to teach the arrogant China a lesson.
In a corner of the Congress, the Republican Party, which had been advocating tough diplomacy but had a strong stick, stopped its activities and silently watched the noisy Republicans. After hearing the news, Roosevelt was immediately disheartened. He had already They guessed that the Treaty of Guam was a conspiracy and kept warning Taft, the then president, but Taft always turned a deaf ear and scorned Roosevelt's warnings, thinking that with China's current strength, it would not dare to defeat the behemoth of the United States. Must.
However, facts have proven that through the Hawaii incident, China not only slapped the United States in the face, but also severely slapped the United States in the face through the sneak attack on the Manila port. The key is that the United States was extremely confident one second before China slapped the United States. I think there is peace between the United States and China.
This slap was neither harsh nor accurate, which made Wilson extremely embarrassed. In his opinion, China turned his inaugural speech into a big joke. Wilson knew that he was being slapped by Tang Jian was tricked thoroughly, and he was still being tricked.
In addition to cursing Tang Jian, Wilson hurriedly summoned Roosevelt to come. Whether from a personal emotional point of view or from the perspective of the vital interests of the United States, China's behavior had offended the United States, and the war between China and the United States was already over. It's inevitable.
The only solution now is to send the U.S. fleet into the Pacific for a decisive battle with China, defeat China in one fell swoop, recapture Luzon and Hawaii, and regain control of the Pacific Ocean.
The U.S. Navy was not very strong before Roosevelt came to power. Roosevelt was still a Deputy Secretary of the Navy at that time. However, under his leadership, the United States defeated Spain, an established naval power, in one fell swoop in the Spanish-American War. However, the U.S. Navy at that time could only It is considered a second-rate navy. During Roosevelt's term, Roosevelt highly praised his friend Mahan's "On Sea Power" and vigorously developed the U.S. Navy. In just a few years, the U.S. Navy developed rapidly. Finally, in 1908, Roosevelt's term ended. Later, it became the fourth largest naval power in the world, second only to Britain, Germany, France, and the United States.?'s Far East Fleet has become the world's first-class fleet.
It can be said that Roosevelt is the father of the modern U.S. Navy and the originator of U.S. power diplomacy. Now if Roosevelt can be asked to come forward and lead the U.S. fleet to the Pacific, then the U.S. fleet will have a better chance of winning against the Chinese Pacific Fleet.
However, at this time, Wilson was waiting uneasily in the President's Office of the White House. Wilson did not know whether Roosevelt, his defeated presidential candidate, would come as scheduled. If Roosevelt did not come, Wilson would not be able to do anything for a while. Decide which naval admiral should be sent to take charge of the overall situation. Brand has died in the battle, and Admiral Dewey is old and spending his old age in a manor in the countryside. We cannot let an old man who is about to go to see God command the U.S. fleet. ? Even though Dewey led the U.S. fleet to fight against the Spanish defenders of Luzon more than ten years ago and won a great victory.
"Dong dong" There was a knock on the door of Wilson's office. Wilson's presidential assistant opened the wooden door of the office. Another assistant outside the door said: "President, Mr. Roosevelt is here!"
"Let him in quickly!" Wilson said urgently.
"Yes! Mr. President!" the assistant replied.
A moment later, Roosevelt stepped into the President's Office. Roosevelt glanced around, with a complicated look in his eyes. Four years ago, he was the owner of this place. Four years later, he could have returned to the White House. However, the Republican Party was divided. , causing him to lose in front of the newcomer Wilson,
I visited my old place again, but the things were the same and the people were not.
Wilson stepped forward and shook Roosevelt's right hand cordially, saying, "Oh my God, Teddy, you are finally here."
Roosevelt¡¯s expression remained unchanged and he said calmly: ¡°Mr. President, you know that I am a non-Christian.¡±
Hearing this, Wilson laughed awkwardly twice, went straight to the topic, and said, "Teddy, actually, I invite you to come here this time, mainly because I want to talk to you in detail about the attack on Manila."
Wilson very humbly asked Roosevelt to step down, ordered someone to serve him coffee, and then filled his pipe with the best tobacco leaves. Roosevelt blew out a smoke ring and sneered: "Mr. President, I have advised you a hundred times before. , Tang Jian is ambitious. As a rapidly developing country, it is extremely aggressive, so the United States and China are destined not to be friends. However, Mr. President is stubborn and insists on signing the "Guam Treaty" with China, which is like a piece of paper. "Now that raising tigers is causing trouble, it's too late to regret it."
Wilson's face was red and the fight was in vain. When he implemented the appeasement policy towards China, he thought that China would give up. When he was in Guam, Wilson went to negotiate with Tang Jian sincerely. However, the result was that Tang Jian used "Guam" to Treaty to deceive others and delay time so that they could prepare for a surprise attack on Manila Port. Wilson should actually bear a large part of the responsibility for the annihilation of the U.S. Far East Fleet.
So when Wilson heard what Roosevelt said, he was not annoyed at all. Instead, he nodded repeatedly. However, the irony is that the signing of the Treaty of Guam greatly increased Wilson's support and successfully defeated Roosevelt and Taft. He was also on the right track. This is how he ascended to the position of President of the United States. From this perspective, Wilson should really thank Tang Jian.
Wilson said directly: "Teddy, you are indeed right, but saying this now is of no use. How should we respond to China's blatant provocation?"
Roosevelt said categorically: "Declare war on China immediately, send troops to the Pacific, and take back what belongs to the United States, including dignity!"
Wilson smiled bitterly, picked up a document from the table, handed it to Roosevelt, and said, "This is the telegram just sent from the Chinese Embassy in the United States!"
"The U.S. Far East Fleet deliberately rammed and sank Chinese fishermen's ships at Huangyan Island and arbitrarily killed Chinese fishermen in the South China Sea. In order to protect the lives and safety of the Chinese people, Tang Jian, President of China and Commander-in-Chief of the Chinese Navy, Army and Air Force, on behalf of the government of the Democratic Republic of China, formally expresses his gratitude to the government of the United States of America. Declare war!" Seeing this, Roosevelt angrily slapped the telegram on the table, gritted his teeth and said bitterly: "What a poor excuse!"
Wilson said: "Teddy, you once commanded the U.S. Navy to defeat Spain in Luzon and North America. Therefore, I want to appoint you as the Secretary of the U.S. Navy and command the U.S. Navy to formally declare war on China!" Wilson was a little worried. Next, Roosevelt was originally the President of the United States, and now he is asked to condescend to assume the position he held more than ten years ago. I don¡¯t know if Roosevelt will agree.
When Roosevelt heard this, he nodded decisively without a trace of hesitation and said: "Okay, going into battle to kill the enemy is the greatest honor for a soldier. I have long wanted to meet Tang Jian's fleet galloping in the Far East in person. I want to let Tang Jian Do you know which country's fleet is the master of the Pacific?This is the real Pacific Fleet! "
Wilson was overjoyed: "Teddy, what are you going to do?"
"Mobilize the U.S. North Atlantic Fleet and fight China to the death in the Pacific!" Roosevelt clenched his fists and said firmly.