Chapter 734: Smart Plan to Join the War
Not to mention how the New York banking group headed by the Morgan family celebrated, but Sheffield understood at once that it was the joy of having their long-cherished wish come true. He left this time to Morgan Jr. himself, as he had other things to do.
The significance of the Federal Reserve is of course unprecedentedly significant, and it can even be said that it has changed the history of the United States. However, to change world history, it depends on whether the slave owners can take control of the Persian Gulf. If they can, it is still worth discussing who will eventually get the Federal Reserve brand.
Sheffield invited Secretary of the Treasury McAdoo and Secretary of War Newton to visit his estate in Washington in a private capacity. He also invited a close friend, Franklin Roosevelt. The first reason for inviting Franklin Roosevelt was that he was the Undersecretary of the Navy, but there was also a second reason.
Historically, McAdoo, who is now sitting in front of Sheffield, has long served as a leader of the Democratic Party and was the main candidate of the Democratic Party against the Republican Party before Franklin Roosevelt. He also helped Franklin Roosevelt a lot during his first term in office.
Judging from the current trend, McAdoo and Franklin Roosevelt will definitely have some interactions in the future. Meeting them in advance can be considered as a period of adjustment. As for the last reason, it is related to the current world war.
To McAdoo, Sheffield expressed his congratulations to the Secretary of the Treasury. There were two points of congratulations. The first was the establishment of the Federal Reserve, and the other was to congratulate McAdoo in advance on his successful fourth fundraising of the Allied loans, although he was not impressed by the latter slave owner.
"William, you have always been very cautious about loans. In fact, I can't understand your conservative attitude towards financial issues. Think about the huge profits. This is not only a good thing for bankers, but also for many citizens across the country." McAdoo happily accepted Sheffield's congratulations, but also asked his own doubts.
"Gibbs, although I also run a bank, I have always focused on industrial production." Sheffield smiled and explained, "This may be a trade-off. Of course, this is not the only reason."
"What's the reason?" McAdoo asked puzzledly, "Could it be that the truth is that someone said that you were afraid that you couldn't get the loan back."
"That's not the case. We will definitely get some of it back. It's impossible that we can't get all of it back." Sheffield confirmed this statement from the side, and then kept silent. After the servants brought dinner and left, he said to the Minister of War, Newton, "War is inherently risky. Mr. Minister of War, how is our plan for joining the war? Is it proceeding step by step?"
The topic was immediately brought to the question of joining the war, and Franklin Roosevelt could not help but say, "William, your thinking is too jumpy."
"Not at all!" Sheffield took a sip of champagne and shook his head slightly. "Let's be frank. On the day of the official declaration of war, the federal government will definitely say that it is to stop the war, preserve civilization, and maintain democracy, but that is not the point. The less important point is that after all, our country is mainly based on English culture. Even if we don't want to, we will eventually stand on the side of the British. What is really important is that domestic large companies, bankers, and even a large number of citizens have loaned more than 10 billion to the Allies, not counting the fourth fundraising that is coming soon. If the Allies lose the war, where can we get the money back? Right, Mr. Secretary of the Treasury?"
"It's very blunt, but that's the truth." McAdoo said with a wry smile, "Once the Allies collapse, the losses to the United States will be immeasurable."
"That's why I invited McAdoo and Newton, my two friends, to dinner at the same time," Sheffield said to his brother-in-law. "The reason we went to war was for money. It was related to the telegram but not very related. It was to protect the interests of the entire country."
"So that's why you invited me here?" Franklin Roosevelt asked. "I'm only responsible for the construction of the navy."
"Of course, Franklin!" Sheffield said succinctly, "Although I have always had doubts about lending money to the Allies, I don't want everyone from the upper class to the common people to suffer heavy losses. Even if I didn't lose any money, I still don't want anything to happen to the money, which is over 10 billion US dollars."
"After this round of fundraising, the Allies owe us more than 18 billion US dollars. We have to join the war, which is related to the Minister of War. Our greatest strength lies in our navy, which is currently the second largest in the world. At least on paper, it is indeed the second largest in the world." Sheffield sorted out the chain of logic and asked, "Am I right?"
After a few seconds of silence, McAdoo, Newton Jr., and Franklin Roosevelt all nodded, and the chain of logic was correct.
"We joined the war to protect the future recovery of the Allied loans, there is no problem with that. But think about it, is our army strong enough? Even though it has been tempered by the war with Spain?" Sheffield saw the three people were silent, and then said, "Although I don't know much about the navy, I also know that the pre-dreadnought cannot beat the dreadnought, and the dreadnought cannot beat the super-dreadnought. The so-called great naval tradition and spirit, I have always regarded it as fart. The navy is a standard military branch with clear strengths and weaknesses. When both sides are ready, the stronger side will win. Take the three recent Anglo-German naval battles as an example. Germany went from a complete victory in the first one to a disadvantage in the last one, and now it can't leave the port again."
"William, what do you mean?" A light bulb went off in little Newton's head, as if he had grasped something, but also as if he had grasped nothing.
"It will take time for our army to be truly suitable for the European battlefield. On the contrary, the navy is already strong enough to represent the United States." Sheffield's eyes fell on Franklin Roosevelt, who nodded and said, "Yes."
"That's good. I have always been against joining the war because I am afraid that there will be a big gap between the combat effectiveness of our army soldiers and those of European countries. This will make European countries look down on our military strength, and now they still owe us a lot of money." Sheffield said helplessly, "If our military strength is not enough to calm our creditors, they may default on their debts. Mr. Secretary of War, if possible, can you tell me about the war plan we have formulated now?"
Newton Jr. hesitated for a moment and gave a general account of the current combat plan of the War Department, which was similar to the historical plan. War would be officially declared in two months, and then the army training would be carried out in an orderly manner. As for the commander of the American Expeditionary Force in the plan, it was undoubtedly General Pershing, who had just returned from leading the American intervention army.
"General Pershing is a good choice." Sheffield remembered that the American Expeditionary Force set foot on European soil as a living force, and their mission was to help the British and French armies defeat the German army. However, Pershing was not eager to join the battle, but instead conducted pre-war training seriously, which made the British and French who were fighting hard in the trenches very anxious.
Even Pershing's staff reminded him: "Our training plan takes too long, which will make people feel that the Germans' prediction is correct - the US military cannot reach the front before the British and French armies collapse!" Who knows that Pershing just coldly said: "I don't know what the Germans think, I only know that untrained soldiers can't fight!"
The slave owners knew that General Pershing was right, and he had a clear understanding of the combat effectiveness of the American Expeditionary Force. In fact, General Pershing took the trouble to obtain independent command for the American Expeditionary Force, instead of being commanded by the British and French forces like the colonial army, and it did not change the fact that the American Expeditionary Force was a secondary force on the battlefield until the defeat of Germany.
"I hope we won't succumb to the pressure from the Allies, and we should find a way to use the navy's powerful hardware to cover up the problem of the army's insufficient combat effectiveness." Sheffield told Newton, "Once the quality of the soldiers of the American Expeditionary Force is despised by the British and French coalition forces, Britain and France will despise our country."
While the Secretary of War was still considering it, Sheffield had already set his sights on Franklin Roosevelt and asked, "Mr. Secretary of the Navy, can we work out a plan so that our navy, which is far more sophisticated than the army, can play a major role in demonstrating the strength of the United States at the beginning of the war? I believe that in the Grand Fleet, we will definitely gain the respect of the British, but the same cannot be said for the ground war."
"It should be possible!" Franklin Roosevelt thought for a moment and said, "The Allied fleet in the Mediterranean is still very powerful."
"As for the direction of our ground war, I think Italy is a good opponent." Sheffield followed up with his victory and said, "Among the Allied ground forces, the most suitable for our expeditionary force is the Italian army. We are not relying solely on the navy, as it would appear insincere to participate in the war. The ground forces can be placed on the front lines of southeastern France and Italy. Oh, and there is also the Persian Gulf."
On the surface, Sheffield was working hard to establish the prestige of the United States of America, but in fact, the last sentence was what he wanted to say. The Western Front and the Mediterranean Sea were not important in his eyes. Only the Persian Gulf was important. Once the United States joined the war, the first expeditionary force should be sent to the Persian Gulf to share the pressure of his mercenary army.
There are many advantages to this. First, once the American Expeditionary Force arrives in the Persian Gulf, there will be room for collusion between officials and businessmen. Sheffield can support an army of more than 200,000 without relying on the United Company. It is a huge expense anyway, and it would be best if it could be included in the war expenses. If not, the American Expeditionary Force is stationed in the Persian Gulf anyway, not far from the Eighth Army, so it is easy to transfer the investment.
For example, some of the supplies given to the American Expeditionary Force could be allocated to the Eighth Army.
There was only one purpose for this private dinner, which was to be smart when joining the war. But in the eyes of the other three, Sheffield was doing it for the country, trying his best to prevent the soldiers of the American Expeditionary Force from being consumed in the hellish battlefield.
It makes perfect sense that the soldiers of the American Expeditionary Force were considered to have joined the war as soon as they landed on the Persian Gulf.
(End of this chapter)
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