Australian Storm 1876

   Chapter 871 Great White Fleet

   Washington, White House

   "Oh me, these people are crazy, how dare they..." President Roosevelt held an urgent diplomatic message from Buenos Aires pleading for aid.

   For a time, I almost went crazy.

   Secretary of State Rutte shrugged helplessly and replied with a frown;

   "It's clear Mr. President, we're in big trouble, and we're about to face the most painful choice since the founding of our nation.

   Although it is a bit of an afterthought to say this now, I would like to tell Mr. President that this is paying for the rampant remarks made by you and by radical politicians who share your views.

  The dictator of the Ocean Empire will not tolerate unbridled offenses, see what you say when you are proud?

   Just two days ago, the far-right Congressman Rumsfeld made a public speech in response to the chaos in Argentina, claiming;

  Citiland will fully support the just actions taken by the Argentine government. If necessary, we will not hesitate to fight for this, and will use the artillery fire of the Great White Fleet to blast all these ugly yellow monkeys to the bottom of the sea.

   I have been advising Mr. President that these ignorant and rampant remarks will fundamentally damage the bilateral relationship between our country and the Ocean Empire. When you regard it as an enemy, then it is an enemy.

  Unfortunately, my words were unfortunately verified.

   You are like a group of rude cowboys who have just hunted bison and are happily preparing to hold a bonfire party, unaware that you have been targeted by the black muzzle.

  Mr. President, Citi Nation will pay for your arrogance, which was a heavy price we didn’t have to pay. "

"If I can apologize, I sincerely ask for your forgiveness, Root." President Roosevelt also calmed down a lot under the blow of these words, and sat down on the chair in the Oval Office with his arms slumped on the table. Shang scratched his hair hard, then raised his head and said, "We can't avoid such a serious challenge, and now I need your precious support, man."

   "No, you'll see my resignation later."

   "Why Root?"

"The Admiralty has sent strong opinions against the war. Our young men are all rookies. The fleet has expanded dramatically in the past two years. They are not even well trained or experienced enough to deal with such severe challenges. They can put The warship has gone through the wind-ravaged Cape Horn on the east coast and finally arrived at San Francisco on the west coast, which is already the ultimate capability." Secretary of State Rutte shook his head with a heavy expression, and said in a low mood;

   "The boys were horrified to hear that the bilateral relationship between Citi and Oceania had deteriorated sharply and that a war might break out.

Rear Admiral Evans and Rear Admiral Sperry are also deeply lacking in confidence. Mr. President, the Royal Ocean Empire is a world-class maritime force. They once created a brilliant record of annihilating the combined fleet of the Fuso Kingdom in the Battle of Shekang. , is far from a formidable enemy that a navy rookie can deal with.

   If war was declared openly, we would face an invincible enemy, and it would be a total disaster. "

   "Lute, that was more than ten years ago. We have the world's third largest main battle fleet after Britain and Germany. You know... we can't back down."

   "I'm sorry, Mr. President. That's your problem, not ours. Last but not least, don't open the door to war. It will interrupt the process of national development and you will be torn to shreds by the capitalists."

  Secretary of State Root finished speaking, turned around and left the Oval Office without any hesitation, and closed the door.

   "Damn it!" President Roosevelt slammed the table with extreme struggle on his face.

Citigroup's national policy is the "Monroe Doctrine", which believes that America is the America of the American people. It has always regarded Central and South America as the back garden of Citigroup, and it is forbidden for outsiders to meddle in it. national policy.

   Now that the back garden is not secure, facing an elephant rushing in and savagely ravaged, if Citigroup keeps its head and does not say a word at this moment, then the prestige accumulated for more than 100 years will be lost. Besides, the back garden is a joke, who will take it seriously?

  If you were brave enough to rush up, this small body would be unstoppable!

The timing of the    Ocean Empire's choice was too tricky. It was really painful for President Roosevelt to lift him in the air and stab him in the waist.

   Eight months have passed since we made up our mind to form the Great White Fleet for a global visit. All aspects of the foiling and publicity have been put in place. The countries visited along the way and the supply ports have also been implemented one by one.

  This mighty Great White Fleet, with an estimated range of 46,000 nautical miles, silently displayed the majesty of the new Navy of the United States of America in a peaceful manner.

  The Great White Fleet's voyage sent a message to the world:

   The Citizenship Navy can be deployed anywhere in the world, even from ports in the Atlantic Ocean, enough to protect Citizenship interests, and the Pacific Ocean is no exception.

The fleet set off on December 16, 1907, first to Trinidad in the British West Indies, then to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Punta Arenas, Chile, Callao, Peru, and Magdalena, Mexico. Bay, came to the west coast of Citiland, and finally arrived in San Francisco on May 6, 1908.

After    arrived in San Francisco, due to the poor health of Rear Admiral Evans, the entire fleet was temporarily rested, and Rear Admiral Sperry was appointed as the commander of the fleet just a week ago.

   At this time, Rear Admiral Sperry estimates that the situation in South America and Argentina has deteriorated sharply before he fully understands every captain.

   that is to say

The Great White Fleet has been vigorously promoting it for more than half a year. From the east coast of Huaqi Country to the north all the way around the storm-ravaged Cape Horn, it finally arrived in San Francisco on the west coast of the Pacific Ocean, which is equivalent to a large circle around Citi Country, visiting many cities in South American countries along the way. , has not yet embarked on a journey around the world, at most a friendly visit around South America.

   at this juncture

  The Argentine crisis broke out, and the Great White Fleet moored in San Francisco panicked. It was really impossible to advance, and it was impossible to retreat. It was embarrassing in the port.

  Because the next phase is planned to be a long voyage of 16,336 nautical miles (30,254 km) from San Francisco to Manila. The Great White Fleet passed through Honolulu to Hawaii, and then traveled south to Auckland, New Zealand and Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane, Australia.

Then take a rest from Brisbane, go south through Qingdao, Darwin to Moresby, then circle Tianquan, Longmen, Jayapura to Cebu, then continue north to Manila, continue after Manila rest Heading north through Taiwan, the Ryukyu finally arrived in Yokohama.

   Calculate the 30,000-kilometer voyage. Ninety percent of them are within the scope of the Ocean Empire. According to the rapidly deteriorating bilateral relationship between Citi and Ocean Empire, isn’t this not the case?

  The Great White Fleet is very talented, and there is no way to jump over half of the world. The greatness of the global voyage has been blown out, so why don't you go back?

  I dare not move forward when I go forward, and my face is swollen when I go back. Do you feel uncomfortable?

  How did things turn out like this?

President Roosevelt sat blankly in the chair, feeling a splitting headache. The sixth sense in the dark felt like he had fallen into a long-planned trap, as if a noose was tightening around his neck, making him breathless. gas.

   panting, he picked up the phone on the table and commanded; "I need to see Secretary of the Navy Mr. Doug and National Security Advisor Adam Smith immediately, please arrange as soon as possible."

  Think about it

About to see Vice Admiral Doug, the Secretary of the Navy who strongly opposed the Great White Fleet's global voyage, President Roosevelt's head hurt again, he rubbed his eyebrows forcefully, and made a phone call; "Give me the residence of Admiral George Dewey. ,It's now……"

  After waiting for long, the call was connected.

   President Roosevelt's voice softened and he said softly; "George, old man, I need your help now."

after an hour

In the Oval Office of the White House, National Security Advisor Adam Smith, Navy Secretary Lieutenant Admiral Doug, and former retired Admiral George Dewey all came here. Looking at President Roosevelt standing by the window and looking out, he felt invisible. The atmosphere is solemn.

  President Roosevelt was still looking out the window, but the voice came over; "Here is an emergency call from Argentina, you can take a look first, and then we will discuss how to make difficult decisions."

   As soon as this remark comes out

  Adam Smith's face changed immediately, he took a step forward quickly, picked up the telegram on the table and read it. In a blink of an eye, it was gloomy like a drop of water, and silently handed the telegram in his hand to Lieutenant General Doug.

   Soon, the telegram was circulated, and the atmosphere in the office was depressing and suffocating.

   Without much to say, who knows what this means?

Lieutenant General    Doug also did not show a strong accusation attitude, but was thinking with a solemn expression. He weighed the pros and cons in his heart, and he was hard to decide.

  The matter has come to this point, it is useless to say superfluous words.

   After half an hour

President Roosevelt turned around and let out a long sigh as if he had just finished making a big sword. He stared solemnly at the three heavyweights in the Oval Office, and asked in a deep voice; "Now tell me, your Decide."

   "War, it must be war, there is no doubt about it." Adam Smith answered without hesitation, his expression very firm.

   President Roosevelt turned to Admiral George Dewey, his eyes full of expectations. The now 71-year-old retired Admiral George Dewey had gray temples, but his eyes were frighteningly bright. He hesitated and slowly shook his head.

  Admiral George Dewey chose to obey his heart between his beloved naval career and his best friend, President Roosevelt. He once served as the commander of the US Fleet in the Far East and knew the power of the Royal Navy of the Ocean Empire;

   First-class training, first-class discipline, first-class technology, and it is a powerful fleet that fanatically worships the founding monarch. The spirit of chivalry that advocates sacrifice is the soul of this fleet.

   In addition to bullying the declining Spanish fleet in Cuba in 1898, the Citi National Fleet has not fought for 50 years.

   If the equipment is second-rate (all 16 battleships of the Great White Fleet are former dreadnoughts), training and combat effectiveness can only be said to be third-rate.

  North America is too far from Europe, the center of the world. The peaceful and peaceful life has wiped out the cowboy's fighting spirit. It seems to be a beat worse than Europe in every aspect, including the construction of the army and the creation of advanced technology.

Europe has launched a vigorous competition for dreadnoughts. In the shipyards of Citi, the pre-dreadnought battleships scheduled for production in 1907, 1908 and the future in 1909 are the main battleships that have been eliminated in Europe. But it was a lively scene.

   This is not the problem of any one person, but the entire national defense system from the Congress to the Navy, from the ship designer to the shipyard is slow.

It has become like this in the shipbuilding. Both Europe and Ocean Empire are going all out to build dreadnought-class battleships. Only Citigroup is still vigorously building old-fashioned warships. In 1906, 6 battleships were launched into service, namely USS Connecticut, USS Georgia, USS New Jersey, USS Rhode Island, USS Louisiana, USS Virginia.

   In 1907, 4 battleships were launched into service, namely, USS Kansas, USS Minnesota, USS Vermont, and USS Nebraska.

Plus USS Missouri (1903), USS Ohio (1904), USS Wisconsin (1901), USS Illinois (1901), USS Kearsarge (1900), USS Kentucky (1900) 6 battleships, Great White A total of 16 battleships in the fleet are all former dreadnought battleships, uniformly using 305mm main guns with a range of 15 kilometers.

  Admiral George Dewey has been retired for 6 years, and he does not have the most advanced naval information in this era. He has a very dangerous feeling based on the intuition he has cultivated in his 10-year naval career.

   I have to say that Citigroup still has a lot of people who understand it.

  The moment he saw General George Dewey shaking his head, President Roosevelt's heart sank into the abyss, and his body began to tremble slightly.

   For him who regards honor as his life;

  If he is afraid to take up the national policy in the face of overseas power challenges, or if the Great White Fleet stops at the Port of San Francisco and dares not advance an inch, the consequences of any one of these will be a serious shame that he cannot bear.

   He will bear the infamy of "cowardly president" and be nailed to the pillar of shame in the history of the United States, destroying the political future of both individuals and families.

   in American humor

   "Roosevelt", the once glorious surname, will be equated with despicable cowards and bombastic liars, and this invisible humiliation will last for a long, long time.

With a stiff neck, President Roosevelt turned to Vice Admiral Doug, the Secretary of the Navy who had been strongly opposed to his sending the Great White Fleet around the world. He seemed like a prisoner awaiting sentencing, with pleading eyes in his eyes.

   "Doug, if needed, there are 5 more battleships on the west coast, we can form a huge lineup of 21 battleships, and as far as I know, the Ocean Empire has only 11 battleships, less than half of ours..."

"Twelve, Mr. President, the newest battleship Tasmaria has been outfitting for over two months, and will be in the Royal Ocean Empire's expeditionary fleet if needed." Lieutenant Admiral Doug A solemn answer.

   (end of this chapter)