Unlike yesterday, lunch at Clark Airport was brought forward today. While eating, Captain Paul Tibbetts heard an astonishing piece of gossip: Half an hour earlier, the flying fortresses of the six bomber groups deployed at Bangui airfield in the north of the Philippines had taken off -- the declaration of war was set for 3 p.m., and the planes had to take off early in order to avoid night bombing. They will bomb Shanghai and Nankin around five o'clock in the afternoon. It is said that there are shipyards in both places, and the Tientsin-class giant battleships that the Chinese are proud of are located in the docks of these two shipyards.

The pilots chatted about this half-truth and half-truth while eating, so that when they returned to the lounge after eating, everyone was still arguing: some people said that the declaration of war on the Chinese was not because of the neutrality law at all, but that the Chinese Tientsin-class giant battleship would be launched tomorrow, so the Navy asked to sink it before it was launched;

Others say that it is not for the battleship at all, but because the Dr. Devil's weapon is about to be developed. The reason why Washington demanded the Army's entry into Manchuria on the ultimatum was to prevent Dr. from developing a devil's weapon. It is said that this weapon has been studied in Manchuria for ten years, and the amount of money spent on the disclosure alone is more than one billion dollars, while the actual amount is estimated by Life magazine to be more than three billion dollars. Of course, this is not terrible, the terrible thing is that this weapon requires the corpses and souls of tens of thousands of Caucasian or Christian people as raw materials, which is why there are fewer and fewer Christians in China in recent years - they are all secretly killed by the Chinese, and the bodies are transported to secret military bases in Manchuria.

"Is this true, Major?" As a devout Christian, the captain was skeptical of the news, but he still had a feeling of vomiting at the thought of the corpses of tens of thousands of Caucasian Christians. It was only the sight of Curtis Lemay, the squadron leader from Ohio, who was indifferent with a cigar in his mouth, that made him feel a little better.

"What did you say?" Major Curtis Lemay, an old man of the 2nd Bomber Group and now a squadron leader of the 49th Squadron, was enjoying his cigar at his leisure time after lunch waiting for liftoff, not understanding what the captain meant.

"Sir, I'm talking about Dr.'s devil's weapon." Captain Tibbetts said with difficulty the name of this evil Chinese. He didn't believe these rumors at first, but the fact is that China's last cabinet collapsed because it funded his development of devil's weapons. And the most convincing thing is that those people would rather face the trial than reveal the slightest thing.

"Devil's weapon?" The cigar in the Major's mouth was moved to the corner of his mouth by his tongue so that he could speak clearly. He pointed to the Flying Fortress on the tarmac outside the window, "Man, do you see that?" That's the real devil's weapon! ”

"Sir, but why do the Chinese spend countless money on studying a seashell, it's really incomprehensible?" Captain Tibbetts did not deny the Major's explanation, but he was still full of doubts.

"Hey, boy! When we occupied Manchuria and interrogated those guys, it was all clear. Now you're thinking about how to bomb shipyards and airfields and bring the guys back. The cigar at the corner of Major Limay's mouth moved to the middle again, and he stared straight at the captain as he spoke, his gaze running through his heart like a .50 machine gun bullet.

The captain shut up, but his machine gunner, Sachs, was still bragging to the other crew member that Clark Airport was only fifty miles from Manila, and he and a few others had sneaked into the city last night. They get drunkards in a Chinese brothel

'Quack quack......' Sachs began to babble and laugh as the rookies looked at him dumbfounded. The more they were like this, the more smug the sachs became. He said that the woman struggled to escape on the spot, and that it was the brothel owner and the brothel guard who came up a short time later, and of course, seeing that he was American, so nothing happened in the end.

Some people brag and fart, some people read, some people sleep, some people pray, some people stroke their harmonica ......, and in the hot summer of the Philippines, the 700 pilots of the 2nd Bomber Group are all huddled in this barely shaded and empty parking shed, all waiting for orders, orders to leave. The wait was so painful that everyone wanted to take to the skies to complete the bombing mission and then go to Manila for a carnival.

The American pilot could hardly endure the torment of waiting, and in the Wenhua Hall of the Prime Minister's Office in Beijing, 2,000 kilometers away, Weng Wenhao, who had been cleaned up but still had ink on his body, could hardly endure the torment of waiting -- in the morning, he had just stood on the interrogation table and was hit by dozens of inkwells before he could say a word. Fortunately, there had been an incident of an inkwell hurting people before, and the inkwells in the Suspect Institute were all made of plastic, and the stools were extremely heavy, which was by no means something that the delegates could carry, otherwise he would have been lying in the critical care ward of the hospital by now.

Since the delegates had read the ultimatum handed over by the US ambassador yesterday afternoon, the questioning of him was very simple. When he admitted that even if the conditions of the ultimatum were accepted, the Americans would not sign a non-aggression pact (the representatives of the Inspectorate no longer had the luxury of signing a naval treaty, they only wanted to sign a non-aggression pact as they had done with Soviet Russia last year, without the content of mutual assistance), he was left to the side, and the provincial deputies were caught up in internal disputes.

Representatives of Guangxi, Guangdong, Fujian, Taiwan, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Shandong, and Zhili shouted one after another that they would never accept the US military taking over the commercial ports of their provinces and landing in their own provinces. The Mystery Courtyard was noisy, and the Courtyard was deserted, and several Mongolian princes actually took a nap. Although these people did not say anything, everyone knew that they would never agree to the United States taking over the coastal commercial ports and the border crossings between China and North Korea.

It's not that the ultimatum is not accepted because it involves foreign trade. The entire territory of Northeast China has imposed an embargo on Japan and North Korea in accordance with the Neutrality Act, and it is actually the provinces of Kannai that are really secretly smuggling oil, steel, and grain to Japan, and the prices of these materials have skyrocketed three times as soon as the United States and Japan go to war. As a result, merchants in Tianjin, Shanghai, and even Guangzhou, Fujian, and Taiwan were keen on smuggling trade.

The deputies were arguing from eight in the morning to half past two in the afternoon. Although it was only a few hours, the speaker of the parliament, Wu Jinglian, became more and more clear about the thoughts of the deputies of the coastal provinces, and although they also clamored not to accept those conditions, it was all for the sake of their own names, and even more so, they even proposed: Unless all provinces in the country accept the conditions of the Americans and let the Americans garrison the troops to supervise, our XX province will never agree to Yunyun.

It's actually a trick to pull everyone into the water. Fortunately, the provinces under the jurisdiction of the Imperial Court, as well as the inland provinces of Lianghu, Jiangxi, Anhui, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Sichuan, Yunnan, and Guizhou, have already stated that they will never accept the Americans' conditions, so the coastal provinces will not accept them if they want to, otherwise they will not be able to vote ultimatum, and they will provoke a lot of scolding.

There was no doubt about rejecting the last US ultimatum, but there were further differences on the question of whether to declare war and sever diplomatic relations with the United States, with the Kuomintang representatives proposing to only respond to war and not to declare war, while the members of the Li Fan Yuan held that since the United States had declared war on China, we should declare war on the United States. Seeing that there was only half an hour left in the end, Wu Jinglian had to ask the representatives of both sides to come up and make a final statement.

"Ladies and gentlemen, how can the military and civilians of the whole country go all out to deal with the US naval and land forces without declaring war? This is the case at home, and there are many harms in foreign countries based on international law and international precedents! First, international countries should despise themselves because of this, and there are many inconveniences in foreign affairs. Second, after the United States declares war, it can confiscate our property in the United States and even around the world, but our country cannot confiscate American property. Third, the League of Nations cannot determine whether this is a conflict or a war, and therefore cannot impose an embargo on the United States......"

The representative who spoke in favor of the declaration of war was Yu Ziyi of the Imperial Court, and after counting all the harms of not declaring war, he added: "The current cabinet started because of the peace talks, but so far all we have talked about is war. In this connection, I propose that both Houses of Parliament should immediately vote for a new Cabinet to deal with the current critical situation. Since former Prime Minister Yang Jingcheng will no longer hold the post of Prime Minister, we propose that Zheng Guogong Zhong Xianfeng form a cabinet to govern, and former Prime Minister Yang Jingcheng will preside over the Taiwei Mansion ......"

When Yu Ziyi said the previous paragraph, everyone could not hear any waves, but as soon as the election of the new cabinet was mentioned, more than 400 people in the Lifan Yuan began to make waves. Weng Wenhao was Mu Xiangyue's prime minister before, but when he heard that the Inspectorate had withdrawn from the East Asia Alliance last year, he suddenly suffered a cerebral hemorrhage. Mu Xiangyue can't come forward to form a cabinet, the person proposed by the Revival Association is actually Zhong Xianfang, as one of the eight founding princes, of course his qualifications are enough, and Yang Jingcheng should become the main army, but is it really necessary to declare war on the United States like this and fight to the death?

What Yu Ziyi said later, everyone didn't want to hear it anymore, and they couldn't hear it. When he went down, Roger, the representative of the Kuomintang, came up. His first sentence was: "Everyone: not declaring war does not mean not fighting!" Yu Jun of the Appropriate Talent Revival Association said a few reasons, and now I will also say a few reasons: First, once war is declared, Soviet Russia, Miluo, Persia, Turkey, and European countries will all declare neutrality, and once neutral, all kinds of scarce raw materials that China needs cannot be imported. You must not forget that after Japan and Korea declared war on the United States, in addition to the United States, Britain also declared war on Japan and North Korea, and if China also declared war on the United States, then Britain will also declare war on China.

Let's not say that Britain and the United States are the world's leading powers, but now that the sea power along the southeast coast has been seized, and the country's goods import and export rely only on Persia and the Eurasian Canal, we should not declare war on the United States. Once war is declared, Persia is neutral, Soviet Russia is neutral, Turkey is neutral, Romania is neutral, Bulgaria is neutral, and the British Navy blockade in the Mediterranean Sea will completely cut off China's trade access channels. ”

Because the United States still declared war on China after all, the delegates present looked at the Kuomintang gang more and more unpleasantly, but as soon as Roger came up, he mentioned the foreign trade routes, and the provincial representatives had to listen attentively. Roger, as the No. 1 spokesman of the Kuomintang, was greatly satisfied when he saw this, and after everyone thought for a while, he continued to say the second point, "Second, although the overseas Chinese in the United States have withdrawn, if Britain declares war on us, how should the nearly 10 million overseas Chinese in Nanyang, Canada, and Australia be dealt with? Even if the United States evacuated overseas Chinese, only more than 20,000 returned, and many more did not return. These people are all our compatriots, and you can bear to see them being thrown into concentration camps?

Third, with our national strength, even if we unite with Japan, we will not be able to defeat Britain and the United States. Since it is invincible, even if there is a war, we must find a way to negotiate peace. Yesterday, Mr. Hu Shizhi, ambassador to the United States, called and said that he was already holding private talks with US dignitaries in order to find a way to end the war. If we declare war and sever diplomatic relations, won't the efforts of the current Cabinet for a year be in vain?! When will the war end?! And how many compatriots will die? How much money has turned into nothingness?

The late Admiral Xu Yuchu also said: The General Staff has absolutely no operational plan to land in Honolulu and the United States. Since it cannot reach people's homes, the war can only be ended by peace talks. If we want to conclude the peace talks, we must not declare war and sever diplomatic relations now, let alone elect a new cabinet. Otherwise, in the end, we will not only have to rely on peace talks, but also the coastal provinces will be reduced to rubble. Besides, during the European War, France declared war on our country, and the cabinet did not declare war on France at that time......"

"! France did nothing but declare war back then, can you guarantee that the Americans will do nothing? A voice came from the side of the Rifan Temple. Wang Jitong deliberately waited for this to be said before striking the hammer to stop it.

"What if France had called?" Roger was unmoved in the face of questioning, but directly retorted, "You can say whatever happened to you." All I know is that France declared war and we didn't, and that's enough! Since there is such a precedent, it can be used today. I would like to conclude by emphasizing that not declaring war is not the same as not refraining from war. ”

Both sides finally finished arguing, and the meaning of both sides was extremely clear: one side was to declare war on the court; On the other hand, the other side should only respond to war and not declare war, and the cabinet should not be overthrown because of the relationship of peace talks. When Wang Jitong and Wu Jinglian announced the start of voting, Situ Leiden was heading to the Prime Minister's Office with an official declaration of war.

As soon as the car left the U.S. Embassy, all the students of Yan University outside. These are all progressive youths who persecuted the representatives of the Inspectorate last year to 'defend' democracy and peace. Suddenly hearing that the United States had issued an ultimatum to China and that if China did not accept it, the United States would declare war on China. Even if they were familiar with the Neutrality Act, these people were squeezed by the words 'ultimatum for the last 24 hours' and 'declaration of war,' and their enthusiasm surged up, and these people immediately rushed to the US Embassy to question them. Ambassador to the United States Situ Leiden is the old president of Yan University, but he did not expect that he was also an accomplice of the war.

Nearly 1,000 students from Yan University and Furen rushed to the US Embassy, but fortunately, the Cabinet had already foreseen this, and since 4 o'clock yesterday afternoon, two battalions of Praetorian Guards have been sent to protect them, so these students were all stopped outside the embassy by the soldiers. When he saw some students behind the soldiers in the Cadillac car, holding English banners such as "cheating" and "war criminals," he couldn't figure out why Washington had made the decision to declare war on China so quickly, which would have brought catastrophic damage to his cause and the cause of the American Presbyterian Church in China. Even if the war was won, there was a deep hatred between the two countries.

"God. What should I say to them......" Situ Leiden looked at the expectant eyes of the students outside the window, and involuntarily said a word to the driver in front of him, but before he could finish speaking, he was stopped by Fu Jingbo, the secretary beside him. While signaling the driver not to stop, he emphasized, "Sir, the students are angry, and it will be very unsafe for you to go out." ”

"Nope! In the conscience of Christ, I must say something to the children! Stuart Layden insisted: "Stop!!" ”

In a natural reaction, the driver stepped on the brakes heavily, and with a squeak, the locked tires left several deep scratches on the cement road. As soon as the car stopped, the students on both sides of the car sprinted towards the parking lot, believing that the old principal would come out and say something, and sure enough, the old principal really stopped the car and stood up.

Choosing the side with more people, across the Praetorian Guard, Stuart began to speak, "Students, children, I am very, very surprised that Washington made this decision. I thought that China and the United States would enjoy peace forever, but because the United States was at war with Japan and North Korea, there were too many people in Washington who believed that China was secretly financing Japan and North Korea, and that they were even preparing to declare war at the right time, so they persuaded the president to make this decision. Students, I'm sorry about this, really sorry......"

"Students, he's still lying to us!" A voice rang out from the outside of the crowd, and then a stick with a banner attached to it was thrown high, and the stick was trying to smash Situ Leiden, but it was unexpectedly missed. This behavior not only made the vast majority of the students present look at each other angrily, but Fu Jingbo also immediately pulled Situ Leiden into the car. "Sir, this is too dangerous! We should now immediately go to the Prime Minister's Office, if the Cabinet accepts those conditions......"

"Fu, do you really think the cabinet will accept those conditions?" Stuart asked rhetorically.

"Then we should also submit a formal declaration of war to Prime Minister Weng." Fu Jingbo sighed with emotion. Like Stuart, he didn't expect the situation to change so dramatically, everything was like a dream.

When Stuart arrived at the Prime Minister's Office, all the cabinet members in the Mandarin Hall were there, including Zhan Tianyou, who was on a business trip yesterday. In the presence of Chinese and American personnel, Prime Minister Weng Wen-ho officially rejected all the demands listed in the ultimatum of the United States of America on the grounds of an ultimatum for interfering in the internal affairs of the Chinese government.

Then, unsurprisingly, Situ Leiden took out the declaration of war that he had prepared long ago with a somewhat trembling hand, and after reading most of the contents of the declaration of war in an equally trembling tone, he finally took a heavy breath and finally said, "...... From now on, on August 14, 1938, the 19th day of the seventh month of the 27th year of the Chinese calendar, the United States of America and the Great China State were officially in a state of war, except for the abrogation of all previous treaties and agreements concluded between the two countries. ”

*

An hour and a half later, Premier Weng Van Ho issued a "Declaration on Self-Defense and War of Resistance" to the people of the whole country and made a radio speech:

“…… In short, the Cabinet has established a consistent policy and position on the declaration of war with the United States, and it must make every effort to uphold this position. We want peace, not peace; Be ready to fight, not fight. We know that the whole country can only cope with the post-war situation, and there is no reason to sacrifice to the end without the slightest chance to avoid it. If the war starts, there is no distinction between north and south, no one is old or young, no matter who they are, they all have the responsibility to defend the land and resist the war, and they should all have the determination to sacrifice everything. Therefore, the Cabinet is extremely cautious, and the people of the whole country must be serious and prepared to defend themselves in the face of such a major event. At this critical moment, we rely on the unanimity of the whole country, obedience to discipline, and strict observance of order......"

Weng Wenhao's voice floated over the radio, and outside the Wenhua Palace, General Guo Bi, acting chief of the General Staff, Vice Admiral Qin Guoyong, commander of the Air Force, and Vice Admiral Shen Honglie of the Navy Office looked at Wu Jingchao and Jiang Baili who were blocking him with angry expressions on their faces -- after learning yesterday that the US ambassador had submitted a 20-hour ultimatum, Guo Bi called the Prime Minister's Office to urgently discuss the defense of the southeastern provinces, but Wu Jingchao, who answered the phone, shirked and said that the cabinet was in a meeting; As soon as he got to work today, Guo Bi took people to wait in the Wenhua Palace, and Wu said that the prime minister went to the Inspector's Institute, and when he came back in the afternoon, he pushed back to hold a meeting, and he had not seen anyone until now. It's infuriating to be so intrigued by not taking defense seriously.

"The prime minister is still speaking, and after the speech, he will choose a meeting at an appropriate time to discuss defense ......affairs," Wu Jingchao was still talking, but suddenly saw a dark shadow attacking him. Boom's head hurt, and he immediately couldn't tell the difference between southeast and northwest.

"How do you beat people?!" Jiang Baili, the prime minister's military adviser on one side, was immediately startled when he saw that Wu Jingchao had been slapped with a sheathed sword by Lieutenant General Huang Zongwei, the minister of operations, and his nosebleed was also out.

"Not only should you beat people, but you should also be shot if you obstruct military affairs!" Lieutenant General Huang Zongwei had just arrived, and at this time the United States had already declared war, and without the Prime Minister's seal authorization and the most critical identification key, the General Staff would not be able to mobilize troops. The fire burns his ass over there, but there is nothing to do here, of course he can't help but do it.

Huang Zongwei roared angrily, and even pulled out the gun, and the insurance was lifted. Taking advantage of the fact that the people who were blocking him were suppressed by himself, he rushed into the house with Guo Bi and others and rushed directly to the radio recording studio.

A handsome general came angrily, and a general led by him was still holding a gun, and the officials of the Prime Minister's Office outside the door of the recording studio did not dare to put it on the column. 'Bang' kicked open the door of the recording studio, and Huang Zongwei shouted: "Let's put it away first!" I ask the Prime Minister to authorize the General Staff to mobilize the armies immediately. ”

Huang Zongwei took the lead, and behind him was Guo Bi, the acting chief of the general staff, Guo Bi saw Weng Wenhao with headphones looking at him dumbfounded, but he still held back his anger and arched his hand, and said: "The war is urgent, please authorize the prime minister immediately!" ”

Weng Wenhao's speech was broadcast live, and under the circumstance that the United States only responded to the war and did not declare war, the army, navy, and air force could not take the initiative to attack and could only be beaten. But when the prime minister's military authorization was set at the beginning, it could be divided so finely, so Weng Wenhao kept dragging on the authorization, but he didn't expect these generals to be so rude that they rushed into the radio recording studio.

"You ...... You ......" Weng Wenhao was speechless angrily, but fortunately, the recording engineer of the broadcasting company signaled that the recording had been turned off, and he said loudly: "What are you doing here?" Is it forced to force the palace with a gun? ”

"Nothing else. It's just that there are vicious dogs blocking the way outside, and they have to do it as a last resort from yesterday to today. Guo Bi glanced at Huang Zongwei, who didn't have time to put away the gun, and explained. Prime Minister, since the United States has declared war, I would like to ask the Prime Minister to authorize the General Staff to mobilize all armies to respond to the war......"

"You go out first, the cabinet has its own measure on this matter!" Wu Jingchao also chased after him at this time, and when he saw that his secretary's face was full of blood, Weng Wenhao was even more annoyed.

"Please authorize the Prime Minister immediately, so as not to delay the military aircraft!" Guo Bi saw that Weng Wenhao didn't want to authorize at all, so he immediately stepped forward.

"What do you want to do? What do you want to do?! Weng Wenhao was a little afraid when he saw him go up, especially Huang Zongwei's gun was still in his hand, but when he thought of dedicating himself to freedom and democracy, his voice became louder again. How to fight the cabinet has its own measure, there is no need for the General Staff to intervene, you can go back and wait for orders! ”

"Since the prime minister doesn't want the General Staff to intervene, there is no need for the General Staff to exist, and I, Guo Bi, will resign!" Guo Bi wanted to take another step forward, but after all, he sighed and resigned instead.

"Do you think you can blackmail the cabinet by resigning?" Weng Wenhao laughed angrily, "Okay! Since you resigned, then I will approve it, and I do not believe that the war cannot be fought without the General Staff. ”

Weng Wenhao hadn't finished laughing yet, and the generals behind Guo Bi looked at each other and said in agreement, "Since the prime minister doesn't need the General Staff, then we also resign!" ”

"Good! Good!! I approve both. Weng Wenhao was a little hysterical at this time, and he said loudly: "Who else wants to resign?" Who else is resigning? Who else is going to resign?! Let me tell you: even if all the generals of the whole country resign, I will approve it immediately! (To be continued.) )