Douglas MacArthur was a dangerous man in Roosevelt's eyes and a troublemaker in the War Office. The chief of the Army's General Staff, who deliberately sent his orderlies back to their homes to get their military uniforms in Washington four years ago in the process of expelling veterans who demanded early discharge grants, was a controversial figure. The propertied praised him as an angel defending freedom, and the proletarians scolded him as a murderous demon and a warmonger, but fortunately he was sent to the Philippines soon after this trouble.

But after the failure of the London talks, the dangerous man used his usual troublesome nature to start causing trouble in the Philippines — his old friend Manuel Quezon was officially inaugurated as the federal president of the Philippines last year, and he was invited to be a military adviser to the Philippines, and this year the Philippine government awarded the title of Philippine Field Marshal. Stimulated by this, and with the assistance of his adjutant Eisenhower and others, MacArthur formulated a grand military plan for the Philippines.

The plan is basically based on the Swiss army model, on the basis of the original security force, the formation of a small number of standing troops as the backbone of the army, and the training of 50,000 militia every year, so that in 1946, when it can become independent, the Philippines will have 50 divisions with a total of more than 500,000 troops. And that's just the Army, which also envisages the creation of an air force with 550 combat aircraft and a navy of eighty torpedo boats, as well as the creation of a West Point-style officer school.

MacArthur was so confident in this plan that he believed that 'any aggressor would have to pay 500,000 men, three years, and 5 billion dollars to conquer it [the Philippines]" and determined that 'the islands must be defended and can be defended.'

The plan on paper is indeed grandiose, but that raises two questions. One: the plan contradicts the orange plan (orange blends yellow into orange). The Orange Plan believed that in the event of an attack by enemy naval forces on the Luzon Peninsula, the U.S. guards stationed on the island would be supported by the Asian Detachment for three months and delay the enemy's movements. They then retreated to the mountainous Bataan Peninsula and the fortified island of Corregidor to hold out for reinforcements and prevent the enemy from entering Manila Bay. At the same time, the U.S. fleet will rush to support from the mainland and engage in a decisive naval battle with the enemy's naval forces.

Although Project Orange proposed in 1906 to defend the Philippines, especially Manila, which the Navy considered to be as strategically important in the Pacific as Hawaii and Guam, and as "our most powerful strategic location in the western Pacific." However, the Washington Naval Disarmament Treaty stipulated that the states parties must maintain the status quo in the fortresses and territories of the Pacific islands, which made it impossible to expand the Manila base, and the established battle plan became a dead letter, so the Army recommended that the troops be gradually withdrawn from the Philippines after Congress determined that the Philippines should be granted independence after ten years, and that all troops be withdrawn from the Philippines by 1946.

Of course, the retreat was not written into the battle plan and was not endorsed by President Roosevelt. The Philippines did not become independent to avoid war with the growing East Asian alliance, but for another reason. So, officially. MacArthur's plan not only deviated from the consensus of the War Office, but also contradicted the Orange Plan.

In addition, another problem with MacArthur's military plan was that the Philippines could not afford high military spending. In the military expansion plan drawn up by his general staff, the Philippines will have to bear $10 million in military spending every year, which the federal government of the Philippines is unwilling and cannot afford. Moreover, in the minds of Philippine President Quezon and those in power in the Philippines, they do not want to expand their military and have a war with China and Japan, which is extremely unfavorable to the Philippines as a war belligerent.

If China doesn't rise. MacArthur's plan could never be realized, even though Roosevelt saw Japan as a serious threat to the United States. But against the backdrop of China's rapid rise and reluctance to dissolve its alliances with Japan and North Korea. His plan was soon put on President Roosevelt's desk.

Now that the Washington Treaty is about to expire, plans to expand naval facilities in Hawaii, Guam, and Manila are also under intense work on the Planning Bureau of the Department of Naval Operations.

In addition, Maj. Gen. Frank Andrews, commander of the U.S. Army Air Forces Command, who was appointed during MacArthur's tenure as chief of staff and has long stated that his unit will assume "independent air combat missions" in future wars, is also making plans for the defense of the Philippines. He adhered to the tactical theory of the Aviation Tactical School, believing that the B-17 bombers already in service with the Army could not only defend Manila, but also carry out daytime high-altitude large-formation precision bombing (also known as the 'bombing industrial network' theory) to strike at the key weak links in the economic structure of China, Japan and North Korea. In turn, the entire economy and even the entire society collapsed, causing the three countries to finally succumb.

MacArthur was primarily a Philippine Army plan, the Navy was primarily a Manila defense and naval base expansion plan, and Andrews was an Army Air Corps operations plan. Of these three battle plans, Roosevelt knew only the first two, and the third was only vaguely known from MacArthur's plan for the expansion of the Philippine army. But that's enough. The expiration of the Washington Treaty coincided with the Joint Military Committee's reformulation of the Orange Plan, which required the United States to have a solid base in the Western Pacific and use this base as a center to defeat the East Asian alliance through increasing military action and economic pressure.

It's just that in these plans, the staunch isolationist Minister of War, Harry Woodlin, is the strongest stumbling block......

*

After half a month in Moscow, Yang Rui and his entourage, who had been delayed on the road for more than ten days due to wind and snow, finally arrived at Artezian on the side of the Eurasian Canal on the day of Laba, and this small city was on the railway line from Stalingrad to Baku in the north-south direction, less than 20 kilometers from the Caspian Sea in the east, and Joren Hamul 130 kilometers away in the west. The 150 kilometres to the east and west of the canal are to be fully excavated, while the more than 500 kilometres west of the channel from Jolen Hamour can be borrowed from the existing waterways in the Kuma-Manech basin and the Don River, and this section is only to be excavated sporadically and dredged to widen and deepen.

It has been six years since Shenwu signed the contract to lay the foundation stone in 20 years, and in these six years, more than 500 kilometers from the Black Sea to Joren Hamur have been basically dredged, but individual sections are still deepening and widening, and the 150 kilometers east of Joren Hamur have also been completed four-fifths, and only 30 kilometers near Artezian have not been completed.

The construction site has been suspended in the cold winter season. Standing on the bank of the canal by the railway station, Yang Rui could only see the vast snowfield with no people, and a railway accompanied by a mighty long canal heading west. Wu Tongju, the Chinese representative in charge of the project here, was accompanying him, and he exhaled a big sigh and said, "My lord, if we sign a treaty with the Russians, then the canal will be dug just around the corner. ”

Wu Tongju was the director of the Department of Water Resources when Yang Rui was prime minister. After the canal was decided to be dug up, although the Russian side was responsible for the project, the Chinese side still had the responsibility of supervising and inspecting it. However, dealing with the Russians is by no means a simple matter, and in the past six years, Wu Tongju has encountered a lot of quarrels and even fights.

"Hehe......" Hearing Wu Tongju sigh like this, Yang Rui looked at him and sighed, "If you don't sign the contract, the 400 million and a half will all be thrown into the water." ”

"Your Excellency is wise." Seeing Yang Rui sighing, Wu Tongju smiled. The meaning of this is tacitly understood by the two.

"Xiafeng, when will this canal be completed?" Yang Rui asked a question that he was most concerned about. "Can you advance it?"

"The earlier plan was for ten years, but at the moment, there is more than enough time, but the Russians have inappropriately arranged manpower and deliberately postponed it." Wu Tongju shook his head and said. The Bolsheviks were better than the capitalists in that the canal was not open for a day, and the investors could not benefit for a day. Therefore, the closer the canal is to navigability. The more the Russian side makes all kinds of unreasonable demands, if it were not for the fact that China still holds the Trans-Siberian Railway and the Vladivostok seaport. I'm afraid that the Russians would have stopped work long ago. Wu Tongju recalled the past six years, and knew that he had a long time before he stabilized his mind and said: "Based on the current engineering volume, the canal can be navigable in two years at most, and once the canal is opened, the transportation will be convenient." The remaining finishing work will be completed within two years. ”

"Xia Feng is really hard!" Even in the wind and snow, Yang Rui could feel Wu Tongju's mood fluctuate, and he couldn't help but praise it.

"Governing water for the country and opening rivers for the people is enough in this life!" Wu Tong replied, which made Yang Rui admire.

"It's just that the expenses are excessive." Wu Tongju is a fly in the ointment. "The Russians will celebrate May Day, celebrate the victory of the revolution, and what Women's Day is really countless, and every time they celebrate the holiday, they have to drink and eat and pay money, which costs a lot."

"It's good if the canal is open, it's really not worth mentioning overspending or anything." Yang Rui comforted. He had known about this for a long time, and not only did the workers who dig the river make all kinds of demands, but the cadres of the neighboring cities and villages also often took cards, and on one occasion they were forcibly borrowed by the mayor of Hesk, and more than 400 trucks have not been returned. Yang Rui is really not surprised by these messy things, in the Bolshevik country, there are no laws, only documents, and it would be strange if there were no such things. The only fortunate thing is that most of the area through which the canal passes is sparsely populated, and the canal company later set up a special public relations department, and hired more than 300 public relations ladies from all over the wandering Belarus, so that the project can be carried out relatively smoothly.

"Father......" When Yang Rui wanted to ask something, Yang Wuming and Yang Du hurriedly ran over, "Telegram from the capital." ”

"What's the matter?" Yang Rui asked. Yang Du was resting in the carriage due to poor health, and since he got off the train, something must have happened.

"...... over there in the United States" Yang Wuming looked at the telegram, which was actually sent by Xichang, "It was said that the Secretary of War resigned, and he was replaced by Henry **** Sheng......" Yang Wuming read an unfamiliar name, and then said: "The U.S. Congress also approved the third naval bill to build six Montana-class battleships......"

Historically, the Montana class was only on the drawings, but it was because of the Yamato-class (because the parameters of the battleship were first announced by China, and the first one was named Tianjin Wei, so this class of battleships was called the Tianjin class by the navies of various countries; Japan was only after China announced the construction of two super battleships, and the Diet passed a bill to also build two battleships of the same type) really came out. Yang Rui smiled: "Aren't Americans very rich? Why not eight Montana-class? ”

Seeing that Yang Rui still had something on his mind to make fun of the Americans, Yang Du, whose face was pale, said weakly: "Actually, the Americans are... It's ......"

He saw Wu Tong on the side and stopped talking, but Yang Rui said, "Xia Feng is his own person." Isn't this canal exactly what it was meant to be for? Say whatever you have, don't hold it back and suffocate it. ”

"Yes." Yang Du bowed his hand to Wu Tong apologetically, and then said: "The Navy Act is one, and the one in front is also a thing." You may not know the **** Sheng, this person is not like his predecessor Woodlin, he is an internationalist. ”

Henry **** was the secretary of state of Roosevelt's predecessor President Dawes, and Yang Rui had resigned at home at that time. I only know that this person is indeed the most famous in history as '**** life does not admit it', but at this time Yang Du said that this person is internationalism, Yang Rui was stunned and said: "This person ...... Seems to be quite honest, when he was secretary of state......"

"Well, it was the time when the U.S. economy was in the midst of the Great Depression, and there were a lot of rumors about him in European diplomatic circles. Among them is the need to destroy the navies of China and Japan, so that China, Japan and North Korea will completely abandon the feudal monarchy system and implement a democratic system. "Yang Du's face was already pale, but at this time, he was frozen by the wind and snow, and he was even more blue," Roosevelt appointed this person as secretary of war, and his intention was self-evident. ”

"Alright, let's go back." Yang Rui saw that his face was ugly, and said immediately.

"The car is full of Russians, it's hard to say when you go back." The train stops at the train station. The car was full of Russians, and Yang Du was helpless when he got down.

"There's nothing to say about that." Yang Rui shook his head. "Roosevelt meant to strengthen the Philippines. This has been discussed by the General Staff earlier, and now I don't know how strong he wants to make the Philippines stronger. How much money did the U.S. Congress approve this Navy bill? ”

"Three billion!" Yang Du grabbed the telegram from Yang Wuming's hand and stuffed it into Yang Rui's hand. "See for yourself."

Yang Du still had some grievances in his words, he thought that since Soviet Russia would not believe in its words, it would be enough to sign a non-aggression agreement with him, but Yang Rui believed that the non-ferrous metals and minerals of the Soviet Union were needed by China and Japan, and the Eurasian Canal was a strategic passage, and it was impossible for the US Navy to enter the Black Sea even if it blocked the Mediterranean. China can re-export through Ottoman, Romania and other countries, so it believes that it should still help each other. Say it's mutual aid. It is impossible for the Soviet Navy to come to the aid of China and Japan in a war with the United States, on the contrary, the Soviet Union is invaded, and China and Japan will send their land forces, although the draft agreement is only written about ten divisions, but half of them are armored divisions.

In addition to this mutual assistance, there is also military and technical mutual assistance. In essence, this is also the Soviet Union's advantage and China and Japan suffer, and Yang Rui said in the Stalin's talks about those naval demands, and the Russians want all of them. Moreover, this mutual assistance will arouse the resentment of the Nordic countries, including Germany, and make them see China and Japan as indistinguishable from the Soviet Union. Extremely detrimental to diplomacy and foreign trade.

Yang Du stayed in Europe for too long, and although he had a good impression of Stalin, he still thought that the Soviet Union was a country of tigers and wolves, and was reluctant to have too deep relations with such a country; Yang Rui knows the natural trend of the Soviet Union, not to mention the current fire eyebrows, even if the wind is calm, he also hopes that the Soviet Union will last for a long time.

Yang Rui didn't care about the differences between the two a few days ago, but when he heard that the third naval bill approved three billion, no matter how calm he was, he was a little disillusioned, three billion dollars, that is six billion Chinese dollars, how many aircraft carriers can be built?

After reading the telegram word by word, Yang Rui handed the telegram back to Yang Wuming, he swept the snow on his shirt, and said, "I really want to return to China." ”

"It's long overdue to go back home." Yang Du also said. It's really bad weather, otherwise I'm already in the country at this time.

"Then I have to eat with Xia Feng and the others before leaving." Yang Rui turned his head to look at Wu Tongju. "Xiafeng, bring your people tonight, find the best hotel, it's best to charter it, and we'll talk about it."

"This ......" Wu Tongju was a little moved, he smiled bitterly: "Where is there a restaurant in this place, or go to the company, there is a rice stall opened by Sichuan people......"

Wu Tongju was stunned when he talked about the food stall, what is Yang Rui's identity, how can he eat at the food stall. Unexpectedly, Yang Rui laughed when he heard the Sichuan people, "I haven't eaten Sichuan food for a long time, and the Russians' leba (bread) eats the dead, just to change the taste." ”

Yang Rui and Wu Tongju ate Sichuan rice stalls, but Premier Mu Xiangyue in the capital couldn't swallow it. He had just returned from the Inspector's Court -- when he saw that the United States had quickly passed the Third Naval Bill with a total budget of $3 billion due to the stimulus of the Sino-Soviet Anti-Aggression and Mutual Assistance Treaty, the frightened old men all regretted the original resolution to build two Tianjin-class ships, and even regretted that they had agreed to sign a contract with Soviet Russia.

But it's just a matter of building a ship, the treaty has basically been negotiated, and it will be signed soon, wouldn't it be a reversal for them to change their minds now, so Mu Xiangyue spent a lot of effort to make them barely feel at ease. At this time, he remembered the words of the late Shangshu Zhang Taiyan of the Ministry of Rites: scribes must not enter politics, otherwise they will fall into the same mistakes at the end of the Ming Dynasty.

"Mr. Xiao Xu, what do you mean by Mr. Cheng?" Mu Xiangyue, who was invited by Wang Jitong, said that he was made by those people in the Mystery Academy, and he just wanted to know what Yang Rui thought and how to deal with this situation.

"Cheng didn't say what he meant, but his meaning was very clear." Wang Ji is the same way. "Americans do whatever they like. Let's make our own. ”

"But this ......" Mu Xiangyue wanted to speak and stopped, he met Xu Jingxi of the General Staff and Zhang Shi of the West Factory Bureau before being questioned by the Inspectorate, although Xu Jingxi was disdainful of the Americans, but he asked for money with a mouth, and the news from Zhang Shi's side made him tremble, according to the situation of the West Factory. In addition to the construction of six battleships of the same class as the Tianjin class, the $3 billion will also build four new aircraft carriers and a large number of cruisers, destroyers, and submarines, of which 800 million will be earmarked for the expansion of three naval bases in Hawaii, Guam, and Manila.

That is to say, after the completion of these warships, the strength of the Chinese, Japanese and U.S. navies will be compared with 18:10 for the old battleships and 18 for the new ones (2 North Carolina, 4 South Dakota, 6 Iowa, 6 Montana): 4; Aircraft carriers are 16: 10; 78:36 for light and heavy patrols; Destroyer 163:72; Submarines 83: 30.

With such a huge contrast, Mu Xiangyue only sneered, but fortunately, he heard that the US Army plus the National Guard was less than 600,000 people, which made him breathe a sigh of relief. However, he remembered the battle of Jiawu in the former Qing Dynasty very clearly, once the sea was lost, it would be difficult for Gyeonggi to be safe.

Even if the U.S. economy is in a recession, with the national strength of China and Japan, it will not be able to compete with him to build ships, but what if they don't build ships? This issue was the most discussed in the newspapers, with some saying that we should strike first, but of course this was a very small minority, and many more people thought that we should renegotiate with the United States. It's a big deal to explain the alliance with Japan, or to move it with emotion and reason. Tell me that China has no intention of using force. All this only makes people more and more confused.

"Don't worry about it at the beginning of the lotus. Even if the United States wants to go to war, it will not start fighting until these warships are finished. Wang Jitong looked at the panicked Mu Xiangyue, and it was rare to laugh once. At that time, maybe there will be a turnaround? ”

"After spending so much money to build a ship, how can there be a turnaround?" Mu Xiangyue can be the prime minister. Of course not. However, since the London naval negotiations in November due to the refusal of China and Japan to dissolve the alliance and the protests of Britain and the United States, many disturbances have suddenly appeared, which has made him at a loss, and he can still see what the international situation is.

"If there is no turnaround, let's fight." Wang Jitong said calmly, "Anyway, this battle will be fought sooner or later." ”

"Mr. Xiao Xu. Can we win? Mu Xiangyue asked, his eyes fixed on Wang Jitong's face, hoping to see any clues, but to his disappointment, Wang Jitong's expression was as calm as water.

"Cheng Cheng said that this world is a world of competition. Although we and the United States are separated by oceans and two continents, they still want to interfere in Asian affairs and build naval bases at our doorstep. Wang Jitong glanced at Mu Xiangyue, and saw that his heart was still hanging, so he said again: "Whether you win or not is another matter, you should ask those representatives of the Inspector's Academy: If the Americans fight, will we fight or surrender?" You are the prime minister, since everyone said that they want to surrender, then we will surrender, and then we will be at the disposal of the Americans, and it is another matter if you want to pay compensation or cede land; If everyone says to fight, then you will be loyal to your duty and lead everyone to fight, why are you so troubled? ”

"But ......" anything seems to have faded away from the flashiness and become extremely simple when it comes to Wang Jitong, but Mu Xiangyue is still distressed: "But now everyone thinks that as long as the alliance with Japan is dissolved, the war can be avoided." ”

"Then it depends on whether there are many people, and if there are many, it may not be impossible." Wang Ji said, "But how can these people guarantee that the Americans will not come after the alliance is terminated?" Besides, withdrawing from the alliance will not only be hostile to Japan, but the navy will also be reduced by half, so wouldn't it be more difficult to win? ”

"That's it!" When the question came to the critical point, Mu Xiangyue was so anxious that she wanted to stomp her feet. "This can only be waited for Mr. Cheng to come back, if Mr. is ......" he showed the last straw.

"I won't go to Beijing." Wang Ji is the same way. "He looked at it along the way from Beiting, and then returned to Tonghua in Tianjin."

"Ahh How can you ......" Mu Xiangyue suddenly stood up and sat down again, "Sir, at the moment, people's hearts can only be stabilized by Mr. Jingcheng." Whether it is a war, surrender or dissolution of the covenant, it will all be ......."

Mu Xiangyue was talking, but Wang Jitong took out a telegram from his sleeve and handed it to him, and said calmly: "Cheng Cheng said in the telegram that if a generation the hearts of a generation, you will treat him as dead." (To be continued.) )