Travel through the Qing Dynasty and become emperor

Chapter 642 God's Blessing

Roosevelt said with a faint smile: "One summer five years ago, I was on vacation with my family on Campobello Island, Maine. During the vacation, after swimming in the icy sea water, my legs suddenly became paralyzed, and it was diagnosed as spinal cord injury. Polio, lost consciousness from below. It is incurable with existing medical conditions. Not a big deal though, I always thought it was a gift from God to be able to sit in a wheelchair Quietly think about life."

Guan Xuqing nodded, and praised: "Okay, if you think this way, it means that you are more mature than before, and I really didn't misunderstand you."

"Your Majesty, at the beginning you said repeatedly that I would be the President of the United States in the future. Now that this dream has finally become a reality, I have always wondered why you are so sure about this matter?" Looking at Roosevelt's expression, this He has been puzzled by this matter for a long time, and is eager to know the answer.

Guan Xuqing laughed loudly: "Haha, I was just guessing, it was the best kind of encouragement for you at that time."

Roosevelt said gratefully: "I have encountered many setbacks over the years. Without your encouragement, I would never have come to where I am today. I sincerely thank you."

"This is all your own good fortune. Do you understand that good fortune can both tease and help people."

Roosevelt carefully considered the other party's words, and finally nodded firmly.

That morning, Miss Catherine Shea, a traffic clerk of the Treasury Department, sent former President Theodore Roosevelt a check for $500, which was his last salary during his presidency.He seemed in good spirits when he received the check, because according to reports received by noon, the financial panic may be fading with the arrival of a new president.

As usual, on the eve of the new president's inauguration, the outgoing president would invite the new president to have dinner, but Theodore was exhausted and full of troubles at this time, so he couldn't muster the energy, so he only invited Roosevelt's family to attend the formal tea at 4 p.m. Syria.As far as Theodore was concerned, he was not unreasonably angry with Roosevelt.This nephew has always stood on the opposite side of himself since he entered politics, so much so that Theodore once called him a "traitor to the Roosevelt family", but the uncle and nephew who have come to the opposite side now have to continue playing political games.

Over tea, he presented numerous data and demanded that Roosevelt promise to join him in bipartisan action.Roosevelt still said he wanted to wait.He straightened the brace on his sick leg, and Theodore was ready to take his leave.At this time, Roosevelt Jr. said to his uncle: "Mr. President, I know that as usual, you have to pay homage, but if you don't want to pay homage, then don't bother."

Theodore strode over from the living room, stood in front of little Roosevelt aggressively, and said in an extremely harsh voice: "Mr. Roosevelt, when you stay in Washington for four years like me, you will know that the President of the United States is I never visit anyone." After saying that, he turned around and walked out of the living room.

Roosevelt Jr.'s son Jimmy glanced at his father. He had never seen Roosevelt so angry.At this time, Mrs. Roosevelt stood up suddenly without waiting for her husband to speak, and said quickly: "It's good to talk, but we should go now."

However, it is impossible to completely sever contact between the two presidents.After returning to the Mayflower Hotel, Roosevelt Jr. communicated with his uncle on the phone. It was not until one o'clock in the morning that Roosevelt suggested that both parties should sleep for a while.After the two presidents had a rest, the advisers of both sides gathered in the Treasury building to discuss in a mess, making various decisions for the two of them on the current bad economic situation in the United States.The advisers had in front of them the just-delivered report from the Federal Reserve that things were not looking good.In the past two days, bank depositors across the country have withdrawn a total of 5 million yuan in cash.They believed that the banks in New York did not understand how serious the current disaster was, and that they should try to protect them.Both Mills and Woodin believed that Gov. Lyman of New York had to be persuaded to order statewide bank closures, and Gov. Horner had to declare that Illinois statewide banks stopped paying.Horner declared a statewide bank holiday at 2 a.m., and Lehman did the same at 4:20 a.m.At 6 o'clock in the morning, Theodore received the report."We are at the end of our rope and there is no other way," he said.

The nation's financial heart stopped beating.Banking operations in various states have come to a complete or partial standstill.While flags flew on the streets of Wall Street to celebrate the inauguration of the new president, the stock exchange was officially closed.The Mercantile Exchange in Chicago was also closed for the first time in 85 years.Norman on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan?Vincent?Reverend Peale was drafting his sermon for the next morning, calling on bankers and corporate executives to kneel before God and repent of their sins.

However, on the day when the Chinese emperor came and the new president was inaugurated, the U.S. financial sector suddenly experienced a miraculous recovery, and the stock prices of major Wall Street stock exchanges rose sharply. Driven by such a good situation, The New York Stock Exchange was re-listed, and the Dow Jones Index rose by nearly 560 points in just one morning, which made all the business people in the United States dumbfounded.There is a kind of speculation in people's hearts: Could it be that even God is on the side of the new president at the critical moment?
The morning of the next day, Saturday, October 1906, 10, was cold and gray, a stark contrast to the sunny weather that had followed Roosevelt at each campaign stop the previous fall (the press dubbed it "Roosevelt weather").On the 4 acres of gardens and open space to the east of the Capitol, more than 40 people stood in black crowds, waiting for the inauguration of the new president to begin.It was MacArthur who was in charge of commanding the military parade. He expected that someone would make trouble, so he sent troops to mount machine guns at all key locations.But in many ways, the inauguration appeared sloppy.The new vice president, Truman, was impatient with the wind and cold, so he temporarily borrowed a scarf.The new Minister of Finance, Woodin, was unable to take a seat because of the crowd, so he had to stand high on the railing with the photographers.

When the manservant, Owen McDuffie, helped him put on his suit, Roosevelt lifted his old gloom and became more energetic. The arrival of the Chinese emperor and the good news of the economic reversal this morning gave him a backbone.

At a quarter past 10 a.m., a short private prayer was held at St. John's Catholic Church, the small "presidential church" across from the White House in Lafayette Square.Roosevelt wanted to invite Endicott Peabody, a mentor at Groton University, to bless him in Groton South, "respecting teachers and respecting Tao", which he learned from China.Unbeknownst to the new president, Peabody had voted for Roosevelt's opponent in previous gubernatorial races, and the stubborn Peabody believed that man was better equipped for the job.But shortly after the election, despite the strong opposition of Groton alumni who underestimated and disliked Roosevelt (Harvard alumni supported Roosevelt), he firmly became a loyal supporter of his former disciples.

100 friends, relatives and cabinet members were invited to attend the prayer. The 76-year-old principal prayed, "Oh, God, we sincerely pray to you, bless your servant Franklin who was elected President of the United States." After Peabody's sonorous "Amen", Roosevelt continued to put his hands on his forehead for half a minute.

Nearly 11 o'clock, Franklin and his wife Eleanor arrived at the North Corridor of the White House.Before the parade began, they had been sitting in the convertible with the grim-looking uncle's family.However, after the parade started, there was a security breach.The convertible cars of the new and old presidents were followed by the secret agents' cars, followed by the cars of the two president's wives.However, when all the cars turned to Pennsylvania Avenue, a taxi carrying three female passengers unexpectedly appeared, and rushed into the middle of the secret agent's car and the car carrying the first lady.Police had to walk 3 streets to remove taxis from the solemn procession because of the crowds.

The outgoing and incoming president sat side by side in a sign of the peaceful transition of power that has prevailed for nearly 150 years, but a false alarm on the way to the Capitol turned the mood into an awkward one.After a few minutes of silence, the car passed the Ministry of Commerce building, which was still under construction at the time.This was Theodore's "political achievement" when he was a minister, but he was widely criticized because the office layout was like a prison cell.Little Roosevelt, who could no longer bear the silence, pointed to the building and said, "What a building!" Theodore snorted without saying a word.That was the only conversation they had during the whole parade.

The car arrived at the location of the inauguration amid the applause of the welcoming crowd.The schedule for the inauguration was slightly different than in the past, mainly due to the new president's disability.This time, Interior Secretary Grayson was tasked with arranging the entire inauguration.Both Grayson and Edmund Starling, the special agent in charge of security for the ceremonies, knew that although Roosevelt could strenuously walk forward in the posture he specially practiced for political occasions, he could never go down the stairs, so Starling ordered the construction of a series of slopes.In order to prevent the spectators of the Capitol from seeing the new president in a wheelchair, he deliberately placed wooden barriers in the Capitol, extending from the rotunda to the podium to create a private passage for the president.

The inaugural address was held on the east side in front of the Capitol, and there was an ironic episode during it.The cars of Henry Wallace and Frances Perkins, the new agriculture and labor ministers, took a wrong turn and got stuck in traffic.In the end, Wallace could only say to Perkins, "I wish you were wearing galoshes", and the two ran across the wet grass.After finally arriving at the podium, they found that the seats had already been occupied by several prominent Chinese VIPs, so they could only sit far away, neither seeing Roosevelt nor hearing the complete speech.

The diminutive new treasury secretary, William Wooding, was also blocked by the crowd from seeing the swearing-in ceremony.

Miss Lillian Cross rose to fame for saving Roosevelt's life last month, and now she has the honor of sitting on the podium with the distinguished Chinese guests.From the moment she stepped onto the podium, her eyes never left the famous Chinese emperor.

(End of this chapter)