Beiyang reactionaries

Hideki Tojo conveyed the meaning of peace talks to the United States, and came to Roosevelt after several processes.Roosevelt took the terms of the peace talks and thought about it for a long time, but still couldn't make up his mind.US Secretary of State Cordell Hull was therefore asked for his opinion.

The two have been the best partners over the years, and the cooperation is very tacit.Roosevelt had to listen to Cordell Hull's opinion on major issues.

"It should be sincere."

Cordell Hull had his say.

Said to Roosevelt: "I have been collecting information on Japan recently, and some of them are very interesting."

"Oh? Tell me."

"Recently, China has suddenly gotten very close to the governments of Thailand and Myanmar, and signed many cooperation agreements with them. There are political, economic, and military cooperation. China and Thailand even set up a joint force commander in a place called Vientiane. The army has begun to station in Vientiane. Japan has been fighting the British and Indian troops in Myanmar. The biggest ally is Thailand, and the most needed ally is Myanmar. Thailand is the ally that sent the most troops outside Japan in the Myanmar campaign and has the most powerful troops. The Burmese government is used by Japan to appease the various tribes in Burma and prevent attacks by Burmese guerrillas. But now these two countries are suddenly getting closer to China, which must be a big blow to Japan's Burma campaign. Not to mention It is said that Japan suffered a lot of casualties in the Battle of Myitkyina this year, but failed to take Myitkyina.”

"General Stilwell said in his report that China has the ambition to dominate Asia. Now it seems to be true."

Roosevelt was not surprised.

When Duan Xun met with the US President's special envoy Stilwell, Duan Xun expressed this meaning to Stilwell.That is, Asia is the Asia of Asians, the Asia of China, and will not become the Asia of Europe and the United States.Tell European and American countries not to think about meddling in Asia.

The ambition is already "clearly revealed".

Now it's just a concrete action.

"China is a person with a long history. Before modern times, China has always been the hegemony of Asia. The countries around China all pay tribute to China and are protected by China. Now that China is strong, it must be To restore their status in Asia."

"Hmm. Just the news?"

"and also."

Cordell Hull continued: "Recently our people have heard complaints from Japanese traders. They say that important things such as gold and silver in Japan are in the hands of the government. They also do things for the government and help the government import materials. But the government does not give them gold and silver, which makes their business more and more difficult. Now China only accepts gold, silver, and some other precious metals. But because the government does not give them these trading companies gold and silver, But they are asked to import Chinese products, which makes them very distressed."

"Then how did they import the supplies?"

"Sell a lot of antique calligraphy and paintings. Japan searched for a lot of good things in China in the early years, and later collected a lot of good things in Southeast Asia. I heard that there are tens of thousands of Buddhist temples in Southeast Asia, all of which were robbed by the Japanese. Those Buddhist temples are very rich. , are all gold, silver and jewelry collected by the temple for many years, as well as valuable antique calligraphy and paintings. They were all taken away by the Japanese. In some temples in Southeast Asia, their Buddha statues and Buddhist utensils are all made of gold, and they were all robbed by the Japanese. I heard The Japanese government handed over many of the antique calligraphy and paintings they robbed, as well as a lot of jewelry to those traders, asking them to exchange them for Chinese products.”

"What about China?"

"When China was doing business, it didn't recognize these antique calligraphy and paintings. Even some of the Japanese brought out some of them were Chinese national treasures, which flowed out of China and had a history of thousands of years. But China still doesn't recognize them. Now China only recognizes them. Gold and silver, in terms of foreign exchange, only Chinese dollars are recognized. No matter how precious and historically valuable these antique calligraphy and paintings are, China does not recognize them. China suppresses the prices of these antique calligraphy and paintings to the extreme. According to Japanese businessmen, China gives The value of those antique calligraphy and paintings is less than one-tenth of the market price. According to Chinese businessmen, antiques in prosperous times are gold in troubled times. Now it is troubled times, they don’t recognize these antique calligraphy and paintings, only gold and silver.”

"Chinese people are smart."

"Yes."

Roosevelt sighed.

Only recognize gold and silver, this is the way of wise people.Gold and silver are wealth in this chaotic age.Those antique calligraphy and paintings were nothing in the war years.

"Is it sold in Japan?"

"Sell. Although China keeps the price so low, Japan still sells a large number of precious antique calligraphy and paintings in exchange for Chinese products. I heard that the trading company under the Mitsui consortium in Japan took out 7 pieces of various antique calligraphy and paintings at one time. Purchase 2000 sets of precision machine tools imported from Germany from China. According to the information we have obtained, if these antique calligraphy and paintings are placed in normal years, not to mention 2000 sets of precision machine tools, even if you buy [-] to [-] sets, it is more than enough. Franklin, you Don’t you think this information is interesting?”

Cordell Hull looked at Roosevelt.

Roosevelt picked up a cigarette, lit it, and said with a slight smile, "It's very interesting, even more interesting than I imagined. These things should be very precious in Japan, but now the price is so low, they still choose to sell them. This Stuff is fun to work on, really fun."

The job of Roosevelt and others is to analyze all aspects of intelligence, and then make decisions that are most beneficial to themselves.Now listening to the trade situation between China and Japan, both Roosevelt and Cordell Hull felt the hidden problems behind it.

"I analyzed that the money in Japan's hands should not be much, or not so abundant. That's why they sold those antique calligraphy and paintings regardless. And I heard that Japanese consortiums are doing business with China, and even began to use a lot of collection value. high gold and silver coins."

"Ah."

Roosevelt quietly considered Cordell Hull's words.

After sinking for a while, he said: "You mean, the reason why Japan asked us for peace talks is because it felt the threat from China. Also, Japan is short of money?"

"Correct."

Cordell Hull nodded and said: "I have carefully studied China's economic situation. At present, the number of machine tools in China is more than 70, and China's current annual production of machine tools exceeds 20. A large number of machine tools are imported, resulting in a rapid increase in the number of machine tools. Among the machinery and equipment imported by China, machine tools occupy the highest share. Such a large demand for machine tools shows that China's machinery industry is booming. It is precisely Because of this kind of machine tool inventory, China is able to produce all kinds of mechanical products, including a large number of weapons and equipment. In comparison, Japan's machine tool inventory is only about [-] units. Although they are currently fully producing machine tools, they are increasing at a similar rate. Compared with other industrial countries, it is much slower. China and Japan are side by side. Does Japan really not worry about China's industrial strength? Moreover, China is currently at war with Japan, and there is no way to get rid of the current trade between China and Japan. Opportunities for other countries to import materials and drive up prices have made Japan's finances more and more difficult."

"That is to say, Japan is sincere in wanting to negotiate peace with us."

"Correct."

Japan suddenly proposed peace talks, and Roosevelt fell into a choice.

In the eyes of politicians like Roosevelt, right and wrong are not important, and interests are the most important.What he wants to weigh is whether negotiating with Japan is beneficial or unfavorable to the United States.If it is really beneficial to the United States, Roosevelt really dared to negotiate peace with Japan.

But looking at the terms of the peace talks proposed by Japan, Roosevelt said slowly: "Kordell, what do you think?"

"Peace talks with Japan are not a bad thing."

Cordell Hull immediately said: "Now we need more time, and peace talks with Japan are beneficial to us. It is best if Japan talks with us, and then turns around and fights with China. This will greatly reduce our burden. The pressure of the Pacific Ocean can give us a breather. But..."

Cordell Helton paused and said: "But once we have peace talks with Japan and sign an agreement, then the Far East really has nothing to do with us in the future. In the Pacific, we will be much more passive. Japan requires us to withdraw Troops from the Hawaiian Islands cannot deploy troops in the Hawaiian Islands. But the Marshall Islands is a Japanese naval base and a military base for Japan to attack the Hawaiian Islands. In addition, Japan now controls the Gilbert Islands, Tuvalu Islands, Christmas These Pacific islands have huge strategic advantages in the Pacific Ocean. Although Japan said it would not attack Australia, it also completely cut off the connection between us and Australia."

Need to choose.

Peace talks with Japan have advantages and disadvantages.

The benefits are obvious.At present, Japan has the upper hand, and what the United States lacks is time.As long as there is enough time, many American troops can be quickly replenished.But the disadvantages are also very obvious.

If the military bases are revoked in the Hawaiian Islands, then the current military facilities must be dismantled.It's easy to disassemble this thing, but it's not easy to put it back together.Because Japan controls many important islands in the Pacific Ocean.The Hawaiian Islands can be reoccupied at any time.

In particular, the Marshall Islands currently controlled by Japan are about 3000 kilometers away from the Hawaiian Islands.For the Japanese navy, as long as it is well prepared, it can launch an attack on Hawaii within three days.

"You said that it is a good time for us to intervene in the European battlefield?"

"No."

Cordell Hull immediately shook his head.

The two had a tacit understanding, and Roosevelt also nodded, saying: "Yes, it is definitely not a good time for us to participate in the European battlefield. As long as the Soviet Union can withstand it, we should not rush into the war. When the Soviet Union can counterattack Germany, That's the perfect time for us to go to war."

Take advantage of strength.

Roosevelt didn't want his army to be cannon fodder.

At present, Germany is attacking the Soviet Union with all its strength. If the United States joins the war at this time, it will attract Germany to the United States.Roosevelt didn't want to harden the German army on land.

Just look at the Soviet-German war and you will know that these two countries are completely crazy.Hundreds of thousands of casualties in a battle, the United States is absolutely unbearable.In the Pacific naval battle between the United States and Japan, more than 5 U.S. troops died in battle, which has made the U.S. military shout unbearable.Not to mention going to war with Germany.Therefore, the United States now supports the European battlefield more by relying on the "Lease Act" instead of sending troops to support it.

"I still need to listen to General Marshall's opinion on this matter."

699

"General Marshall, I want to ask you something now."

After Roosevelt finished talking with Cordell Hull, he immediately met with Chief of Staff Marshall.Roosevelt was a statesman, and he considered issues of general direction, but also from a political perspective.Therefore, on specific military issues, Roosevelt had to listen to Marshall's opinions.