Hopkins' trip to England and France was a great disappointment. The British and French were clearly confident about the future war. Otherwise, they would not have rejected such a powerful ally as Soviet Russia. However, Hopkins believes that Germany will not be as simple as Britain and France imagined, and they will certainly not attack Soviet Russia first, as Britain and France thought. Once Germany attacked Britain and France first, it was estimated that Britain and France would have difficulty resisting Germany's attack.

Nevertheless, Britain and France insisted on this, and he had no choice. Hopkins had already planned to wait until he returned to the United States to remind President Roosevelt to focus on Britain and France. If Britain and France show a defeat, we will increase our assistance to them. After all, once Britain and France were defeated by Germany, then Europe could fall. Once Europe falls, the United States may be caught between China and Germany. In that case, the United States will most likely lose the war.

However, this trip to Britain and France was not without results. Britain and France agreed to give American* troops access to the two colonies in the Pacific to bolster the defense of those areas. Australia and New Zealand, in particular, can be stationed in the U.S. military to assist in the defense. This is undoubtedly a great thing for the British and French. They had to deal with the German threat with all their might, and they simply did not have the extra forces to devote to the colonies in the Pacific. Now the Americans help them defend these colonies, which is completely unwanted. Of course, after the war ended, the Americans had to return the colonies. Again, for the United States, this is very advantageous. The United States has a strong military presence in the Pacific Ocean and can resist China's invasion, giving the United States greater room for strategic maneuver. In other words, it's called trading space for time. If China does not pull out the pawns deployed by the United States in the Pacific, it will not be possible to launch an attack on the United States mainland. The full mobilization of the United States takes time, and these Pacific colonies can be used to buy enough time for the United States.

Of course, in this time and space, the mobilization of the American * army was a little earlier. President Roosevelt has ordered that the total strength of the US Army should be expanded from less than 400,000 to 1 million within six months. By this time next year, the total strength of the U.S. Army will be raised to two million troops. The U.S. Navy will also begin to speed up the construction of battleships and aircraft carriers, so that the U.S. Navy will become more powerful and have the strength to compete with the Chinese Navy in the Pacific. So that in a future war, the United States will be able to withstand the attack of the Chinese* army.

After leaving France, Hopkins rushed to the United States as per his previous itinerary. For the sake of secrecy, he was on a French merchant ship. Merchant ships had to pass through the North Sea, then enter the Baltic Sea, and after docking in Soviet Russia, they would take a train to Moscow. It is expected to take about a week along the way. Because of the trip to Britain and France, Hopkins did not achieve the expected goal. Therefore, he could only put his hope in Soviet Russia.

On Hopkins' way to Soviet Russia, in fact, the leaders of Soviet Russia were already expecting his arrival. At present, Soviet Russia is also a little powerless in the face of increasingly powerful military pressure from China and Germany. Even so, the total strength of the standing army of Soviet Russia has reached three million people. But after deducting the armies that were scattered along the long frontiers to defend against China, the Russian Empire, and Germany, there was not much left. This also made Soviet Russia quite unconfident in security. Once the war broke out, the generals of Soviet Russia were really not confident in whether the Soviet Russian army could withstand the enemy's attack.

On January 10, 4637, Stalin summoned People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs Litvinov in the Kremlin.

"Comrade Livinov, how long will it take for the American envoy to arrive in Soviet Russia?" Stalin asked. As for the US envoy, he can be said to have seen through the autumn water. Because, Stalin found that under the present circumstances, if they wanted to resist the attack of China and Germany, especially if China and Germany were to attack Soviet Russia, they would not be able to resist at all, and they would not have any chance. The sudden release of goodwill on them by the Americans made Stalin ecstatic. In his opinion, this was undoubtedly an excellent opportunity for Soviet Russia.

"Comrade Stalin, the envoy has just left France, and it is expected that he will not be able to reach Moscow until the 17th." Litvinov said.

Stalin nodded: "Yes. Comrade Litvinov, this secret visit to Soviet Russia by the US envoy is a major event for us, and we must receive the other side with a high standard so that the other side is satisfied, and there must be no sloppiness. ”

"Yes, Comrade Stalin." Litvinov nodded, he also knew that Comrade Stalin was using the Americans as a lifesaver.

"Alright, Comrade Litvinov, you go and get busy. In addition, Comrade Molotov, Comrade Voroshilov, Comrade Kaganovich and Comrade Mikoyan were called. Stalin commanded.

"Okay, Comrade Stalin." Litvinov nodded and withdrew from Stalin's office.

In less than half an hour, Molotov, Voroshilov, Kaganovich and Mikoyan arrived in Stalin's office.

"Comrades, the American envoy is already on his way to Soviet Russia and will arrive in Moscow in a few days. This is undoubtedly an excellent opportunity for Soviet Russia. We should make good use of this opportunity to get more support from the Americans. Everyone thinks about it, how can we get more out of the Americans this time? In addition, what is the purpose of the sudden release of goodwill on us by the Americans? Stalin said.

"Comrade Stalin, the Americans also feel the threat of the Chinese. Chinese and Americans have been fighting over hegemony in the Pacific. However, after the economic crisis, China surpassed the United States in terms of industrial power and became the most powerful industrial country. On the military front, China is crushing the United States. Therefore, in the face of increasing international tensions, the Americans know that they cannot defeat China by relying on their strength, so they show favor to us. Molotov said.

Stalin nodded, he thought so too. There is no such thing as a free lunch in the world, and the Americans are not fools, and if they had not had a plan, they would certainly not have changed their attitude towards Soviet Russia so quickly. You must know that the United States was hostile to Soviet Russia at the beginning.

"Comrade Stalin, in the event of the outbreak of war, the United States will face the all-out attack of the Chinese Empire. Judging from what we have, it will be very difficult for the Americans to resist the attack of the Chinese Empire. So, the Americans probably want us to attack the Chinese Empire from behind to relieve the pressure on them. Voroshilov also said.

"Well, that makes sense. However, it is not so easy for the Americans to use us as gunmen. "Stalin was obviously not going to let the Americans get their wish so easily.

"Comrades, what conditions should we put forward to the American envoy when they come?" Stalin asked. This time, he apparently slaughtered the Americans as wronged ones. Although Soviet Russia now claims to be the third largest in the world, there is still a big gap between it and China and the United States. One of the main problems is that in high-tech fields, the gap between China and the United States is too large. Because of the gap in precision equipment and materials, Soviet Russia was unable to manufacture high-performance equipment. This is also the reason why Soviet Russia's military products have always been rough and their performance cannot be compared with world-class armaments.

"Comrade Stalin, this time it was the Americans who turned to us for help, and we could ask them to supply us with high-precision industrial machine tools in order to compensate for our gap in this regard. In addition, oil is also urgently needed. Kaganovic said.

The inability of Soviet Russia to manufacture high-precision equipment is largely due to the lack of high-precision industrial machine tools, which makes the industry of Soviet Russia as a whole have a big gap with China and the United States. In addition, the current Soviet Russia is also short of oil. The Baku oil fields have long been seized by the Chinese Empire, and Western Siberia is also under Chinese control. The oil that Soviet Russia needed could only be imported from abroad. The United States undoubtedly became the place where Soviet Russia could import oil. If war breaks out, the consumption of less oil will skyrocket. If more oil is not stockpiled as soon as possible, Soviet Russia will not be able to hold out for long in the war. It's not World War I anymore, and countless pieces of equipment need to be burned with oil. Without fuel, planes can't take off, tanks and armored vehicles can't move, they can only become a pile of scrap metal. At that time, the Russian Red Army will only be able to use its own flesh and blood to resist the enemy's torrent of steel. What the consequences of that will be, fools know.

Stalin nodded, if they could get these things from the Americans, their war potential would be able to be realized. In this way, it will be able to hold out for a longer time in future wars.

"Comrade Stalin, I think that what we ask of the Americans is not limited to these two aspects, we can totally ask for more from them. From steel and aluminum ingots to weapons and equipment, they can be presented to the Americans. After all, if we want to go to war with the Chinese Empire, the current three million troops alone are absolutely not enough, we need to arm more troops, and the weapons and equipment needed are difficult to achieve on our own. Mikoyan said.

Stalin's eyes suddenly lit up, the Russian Red Army now had 3 million troops, but he planned to expand the Russian Red Army to 10 million people. Arming 10 million people is not an easy task. But with the support of the Americans, it would be much easier. (To be continued.) )