Cicada Moving

Chapter 1309 Declaration of War

December 7, 1941.

Washington time, 4 p.m.

President Roosevelt convened an emergency meeting with cabinet members and military advisers at the White House. The Secretary of the Navy first recounted the loss of Pearl Harbor in an extremely sad tone with a slightly trembling voice.

The Pacific Fleet suffered 2,403 dead and 2,233 missing or seriously injured; 18 ships were sunk or seriously damaged; 188 fighter jets were damaged and 159 were completely destroyed;

This series of data made the participants dizzy. After this battle, the combat effectiveness of the Pacific Fleet was weakened to a very dangerous point, and it would no longer be able to perform combat missions for at least half a year.

But there is good news. When the attack occurred, several aircraft carriers were out for training and did not return to port, so they narrowly escaped.

Moreover, due to the concealed location or intelligence errors, the Japanese bombing did not cause fatal damage to the docks, oil depots and submarine depots.

Especially the Red Mountain Oil Depot, which stores about 250 million gallons of fuel, is the main artery of the Pacific Fleet.

If there is a problem here, just transporting new fuel to Honolulu will consume a lot of transportation capacity and time. Now every bit of transportation capacity is extremely precious and must not be wasted on transportation.

After hearing the report, Roosevelt looked grave. He turned to question the Director of Naval Intelligence, hoping that the other party could give him an explanation.

"You told me that the Japanese target was the Philippines. Now please answer why my Pacific Fleet was attacked and why!"

The famously strong president was angry. The only sound left in the conference room was the sound of him hammering the table with his hand. White House staff outside the door stopped and waited silently for the outcome of the meeting.

The Director of Naval Intelligence wiped the cold sweat from his head and explained with a grimace: "Mr. President, the Japanese's strategic deception is very successful."

"Shut up!" Roosevelt lost his usual calmness and kept asking questions one after another.

"Are all your intelligence officers in Japan fools?"

"I remember that just a few days ago, you assured me that the **** Combined Fleet officers were resting in Tokyo, right?"

"How did they get from Tokyo to Honolulu? Did they use magic?"

The director of Naval Intelligence was speechless. His men told him more than once that the technical courts in Tokyo were crowded with Japanese naval officers and that the war was still far away from the United States.

After Roosevelt vented his anger, he paused and said: "Why is the Japanese ambassador late? The other party should not make such a stupid mistake."

The United States can accept fair and just challenges, but it will never allow despicable sneak attacks. The Japanese should know this very well.

Therefore, Saburo Nomura should have submitted a declaration of war before the attack, even if it was only a second earlier, those are two completely different results, at least diplomatically.

The Director of Naval Intelligence breathed a sigh of relief, with a gloating expression on his face: "Saburo Nomura encountered trouble on his way to the White House. A group of Asians blocked his car on the road."

"Not only Nomura, the financial officer of the Japanese embassy was also hit and killed by a truck. When the accident happened, the other party was preparing to go to the bank to transfer the embassy funds."

Not only was Roosevelt not happy when he heard this, but he frowned. The Japanese were obviously targeted by a certain force, and at the same time, this mysterious force knew that the Japanese were going to attack Pearl Harbor.

The murder of the financial officer of the Japanese embassy and the delay in Japan's submission of the declaration of war were all troubles caused by mysterious forces to the Japanese.

The United States may be able to obtain intelligence channels on Japan from the other party. This is what the United States urgently needs. Roosevelt immediately asked the Director of Naval Intelligence if he could find those Asians.

"Mr. President, in fact, we have already made some discoveries." The director of Naval Intelligence sat upright and said in an excited tone: "A few days ago, a team of national diplomats arrived in Washington. They were secretly monitoring the Japanese in the embassy and the banks."

"National government?"

Roosevelt fell into deep thought. In his impression, the Republic of China had a very friendly attitude towards the United States, and Captain Wei should not have concealed the information about Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor.

Then he looked at the sweaty Secretary of State: "Did Yamashiro give us a warning?"

The Secretary of State had a bad secret and said hesitantly: "Mr. President, please give me a moment. I need to check the relevant cables and documents."

Seeing the other party's reaction, Roosevelt still didn't understand that the national government must have issued an early warning, but it was ignored by his side.

He understands the Secretary of State's thinking. The credibility of a reminder given by a weak East Asian country is indeed not high.

But war is imminent, and as secretary of state, you cannot ignore any valuable intelligence, even if it sounds ridiculous.

Roosevelt took a deep look at the Secretary of State, and then moved his gaze to Hoover in the corner. The FBI director had not spoken since he came in and acted extremely low-key.

"Director Hoover, please stay after the meeting. I have some work that the FBI needs to complete."

"Yes, Mr. President."

Facing Roosevelt's order, Hoover was moved and nodded slightly. He had already guessed the next task that the FBI would undertake.

8:30pm.

Roosevelt was pushed out of the White House wearing a black veil. He promised the Americans gathered outside: "I swear to you that my colleagues and I will return to each other the shame that the Japanese have imposed on our country."

The leader of the opposition party on the side also responded. He shook Roosevelt's hand: "From now on, our country enters a political holiday." This means that the United States temporarily abandons partisan disputes, politicians, workers, soldiers, businessmen, farmers. Everyone has only one goal - to completely defeat Japan.

At the same time, someone in Yamashiro also received news from different channels that the Japanese launched a sneak attack on Pearl Harbor.

This incident was directly related to the strategic pattern of the Sino-Japanese War and the prospects of military cooperation between China and the United States. Without hesitation, someone immediately returned to the city from his official residence in Huangshan to hold a top meeting.

At the meeting, someone first asked Dai Chunfeng to report the details of the attack on Pearl Harbor and the losses of the US military.

Lao Dai relayed the latest secret message from Hayashi Fuichiro, which was a victory message sent by the United Fleet to the Japanese base camp. The battle results above were almost the same as those of the Americans.

Knowing that the Americans had suffered such heavy losses, all the participants took a breath and felt inexplicably proud. Even the Americans had been defeated by the Japanese. Their previous failures were understandable.

The meeting then turned to a strategic discussion. Someone pointed out that the Pearl Harbor incident might lead to the United States' full involvement in the Pacific War, which was great news for the Republic of China.

He has constantly emphasized that the government needs to quickly adjust its diplomatic and military strategies and strengthen cooperation with the United States and other allies, especially in terms of military and intelligence, which requires the assistance of the intelligence department.

When Dai Chunfeng heard someone's words, he immediately stood up and expressed his position: "Commissioner, Shen Zhong is currently on a mission in Washington. The preliminary communication with the United States can be left to him."

Someone had a smile on his face. Look, the children from his hometown are still reliable. He understands his difficulties and even went overseas in person regardless of the danger.

Thinking again about Zuo Zhong's prediction about Japan's sneak attack on the United States a few months ago, it turned out to be exactly the same as the actual development. The more someone thought about it, the happier he became, and he approved Lao Dai's request on the spot.

The national government has authorized Zuo Zhong to carry out intelligence cooperation and exchanges with the Americans as appropriate. The Americans must be allowed to provide various assistance to the national government and lay a good foundation for the next formal negotiations between the two countries.

When Zuo Zhong received the relevant telegram, it was already the morning of December 8, Washington time. After reading the telegram, he was enjoying breakfast in the restaurant, listening to the broadcast on the radio, and waiting for the guests to arrive.

"Yesterday, December 7, 1941, which will forever be a day of national humiliation, the United States suffered a premeditated surprise attack by the Imperial Japanese Navy and Air Force."

"Yesterday the Japanese government launched an attack on Malay areas."

"The Japanese army attacked Hong Kong Island last night."

"The Japanese army attacked Guam last night."

"Last night Japanese troops attacked the Philippine Islands."

"Japanese troops attacked Wake Island last night."

"Japanese troops attacked Midway this morning."

"As Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy, I have directed that all measures be taken for our defence."

"Our entire nation will forever remember the nature of this Japanese attack on our country."

On the radio was Roosevelt's radio speech to all American citizens in Congress. Zuo Zhong cut a piece of fried egg and put it in his mouth, humming a tune, obviously in a good mood.

Gucci and others at the same table pricked up their ears and listened carefully to the broadcast content. This broadcast and the US government's statement will determine the fate of the entire world.

Roosevelt's voice reached everyone in the restaurant through the loudspeaker. Many American waiters had angry expressions and red eyes. They clenched their fists and cursed the Japanese in low voices.

"No matter how long it takes to defeat this premeditated aggression, the righteous forces of the American people will win a complete victory."

"We trust in our armed forces, and in the unparalleled determination of our people, we will prevail, and God bless America."

"We will stand with our European allies, our Asian allies, and together we will defeat the forces of destruction led by the Japanese Empire and Germany."

"I ask Congress to declare that a state of war has existed between the United States and the Empire of Japan since Japan's unprovoked and despicable surprise attack on our country on Sunday, December 7, 1941."

With Roosevelt's decision to declare war, deafening cheers erupted in Congress and restaurants. At this moment, there was only one voice in the United States, war!

"Dang Cang."

The knife and fork in Gu Qi's hand fell on the plate with a crisp sound. His eyes were filled with tears, and he wanted to shout to relieve his inner anger.

Since 1931, the Republic of China has been resisting Japanese aggression alone. However, one soldier after another has fallen, and cities have fallen. The country and nation have reached a point of no return.

No one understood the loneliness and helplessness of the people of the Republic of China. The defense lines built by countless people with their flesh and blood were blown to pieces, and victory seemed out of reach.

Even the most optimistic people find it difficult to believe that the Republic of China can defeat the Japanese. What these people did was just to live up to their conscience.

Now, the Americans have joined the war, and with the help of the world's most powerful country, victory finally shows a glimmer of hope, and Gucci bursts into tears.

Don’t get me wrong, I am just describing how these people felt about the United States’ participation in the war from the perspective of the members of the Kuomintang and ordinary people at that time. I am by no means praising the ugly country.