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"Mr. President, have you ever watched a boxing match?"
When faced with the president's question, Mr. Truman did not answer it immediately, but instead asked an unrelated question.
But there is no doubt that all four people in the room know the importance of today's conversation, especially Truman, who initiated it and knows better than the others what he is doing and what he is going to do.
The president did not answer immediately, but considered the purpose of Mr. Truman's question for a moment, and then nodded, "Yes, I have seen it."
Mr. Truman nodded slightly. "Then you must know that boxing matches are divided into several weight classes. Before each match, both fighters must be weighed in before they can fight in the ring."
The president nodded again. "Yes, I know all that you're saying." He was very patient and did not urge Mr. Truman to end these irrelevant topics, but answered very seriously.
"Gefra is an outstanding, excellent heavyweight boxer with an impressive record. He won a gold belt by knocking out one powerful opponent after another."
"In the ring right now, he is undoubtedly the Strongest, while we..." Mr. Truman shook his head, "Are just newcomers who have just joined the ranks of boxers. Nobody cares about us, nobody values us."
"So far, we have been very passive on the diplomatic battlefield of the International Community. I'm sorry, but I consider diplomacy a war, and we are clearly among the losers."
"We have never proven our worth and strength like Gefra or any other country. Even if they outwardly consider us the same, they look down on us deep down because we have never flexed our muscles in front of any of them."
"This is an opportunity, a great opportunity, for us to flex our muscles, let people see our strength, and then make them fear us!"
"This is indeed a war, a war about whether the Federal can rise in a rapidly changing international situation, a war we must fight and must win!"
"Actually, we have an opportunity that no one else has, because in the upcoming military operation, we will be facing the world's number one naval force. We can use this war to test our own strength, which is a very rare opportunity."
"Others don't even have the qualifications to challenge Gefra, but we now have this opportunity. If we can win this war, then we will earn people's respect!"
The president listened attentively throughout, and Mr. Truman's use of the ring and the profession of boxer vividly brought to life the image of the struggle for interests between nations in the president's mind.
It's no longer just a concept, but two strong boxers standing in the ring, ready to fight at any moment when the bell rings.
With such a vivid and clear picture, he found it easier to accept what Mr. Truman said next.
However, he offered a contrasting perspective. "What if we lose?" He shifted his posture, resting his chin on his hand. "Just because you think we'll win doesn't mean we will. What if we lose?"
Mr. Truman fell silent, and the Vice Minister Department of Defense beside him coughed lightly and took over the conversation, "Your Excellency, I need to remind you that we will not lose."
The president looked at him without speaking, waiting for his explanation, while the 42-year-old Second Vice Minister of Department of Defense calmly stated his views.
"First, we are better prepared Gefra, and we have the initiative in this localized military conflict."
"They are unfamiliar with our warship models, our warship performance, our artillery range, and the destructive power of our warheads..."
"They know nothing about us, but we know them better than they know themselves!"
Although the Federal's military development has been greatly limited by escapism (a policy that has been firmly established; there is no isolationism, only escapism), this does not mean that the military has done nothing.
With diplomacy virtually at a standstill, Federal spies and agents continued to roam the world, sending back messages, including information on major Gefra military equipment.
For example, the models, performance, advantages and disadvantages of their various warships, etc., filled a room. People were always studying this data, even studying every naval battle, and constantly reviewing it.
Unable to participate in the war, they could only experience its brutality and a certain passion through this method.
It is precisely because the Federal did not participate in the war that the whole world does not know whether the Federal's current warships can keep up with the times and whether they can still dominate a sea area.
This provides the navy with a great advantage, as they can take advantage of this information asymmetry to wage a variable-speed naval war.
Yes, in the past two days, the staff officers and generals in the Naval Headquarters' operations command have conducted more than a dozen rounds of simulations to devise a variable-speed naval war with constantly changing rhythms to destroy the Gefra Royal Navy, which they know so well.
"Secondly, our secret weapon is already in use. I'm sorry, Mr. President, but since you've only been in office for a short time, there are some classified information you haven't yet accessed."
"In fact, the Navy has been pushing a program called ' Wolf Pack ' for the past few years, and now we have entered the harvest season. This new weapon will greatly change the course of naval warfare."
Submarines have existed for a long time, but due to limitations in materials and technology, they have been unable to play a crucial role in warfare, especially in attack.
In recent years, Vipai Industries has developed a brand-new torpedo that has greatly solved the problem of submarine attack, transforming it from a stealthy transport weapon that cannot influence the course of battle into a ghost hidden beneath the Sea Surface.
As a result, a Shipping Company called Shep received a design and production order from the Navy, commissioning them to produce a combat submarine suitable for the intensity of modern naval warfare and capable of playing a role in naval battles.
After five years of continuous modifications and design, the submarine codenamed "Ghost-I" was officially launched and successfully completed its sea trials.
"Mr. President, from a military perspective, I don't think we will lose to the Gefra Navy; on the contrary, we have a very high chance of winning," the Vice Minister Department of Defense said with unwavering conviction, his eyes also gleaming with fervor.
If we could clash with Gefra's Royal Navy, and defeat what is hailed as the world's strongest navy, the reputation of the Federal Navy would rise dramatically.
This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. You have to understand that the two sides are actually in the same alliance camp. They are "one of us". Apart from this coincidence, they are unlikely to clash militarily for any other reason, unless it is the next World War.
The military also believed that there would be Second World War, a view shared by most people.
If this opportunity is missed, it will take several years or even more than a decade for the Federal Navy to prove that it is no less capable than the Royal Navy of Gefra. This is also the urgent idea of Department of Defense and the military at present – to have a showdown.
Hearing these people's firm voices, the president began to think. These people told him that he had to fight, that he could definitely win, and that he wasn't actually that afraid of such a clash.
He could understand some things without them needing to be repeated a second time. Just as Lin Qi said, the Federal needed a war to reunite and a victory to regain confidence.
"That's just the best-case scenario. Doesn't Nagaril no longer intend to establish diplomatic relations with us?" the president asked again, still somewhat uneasy.
At this moment, the highest-ranking official of the National Security Committee's Action Division, who was sitting on the other side of Mr. Truman, shifted his posture slightly. "Mr. President, if the officials of the Nagaril United Kingdom harm Federal citizens, plunder their Federal property, or even collude with pirates to attack Federal merchant ships without any justification, how should we handle this?"
Politics has always been dirty, and international politics is even more so, because politicians don't feel the most basic sense of guilt when framing other countries. As long as there are enough benefits, there is nothing that politicians dare not say or do.
The words of the top official of the National Security Committee's Action Division made the President realize that these people had already made up their minds, and he could not hesitate at this point, whether he supported or opposed them.
He hesitated, which would make him seem... useless. He looked at Mr. Truman. "This is the war you're talking about?!"
"Yes, Mr. President, this is the war I was talking about, and there is a certain possibility that it could become a reality. We will try our best to avoid this situation, but we still need to be prepared."
"Fortunately, given the current global political landscape, even if we were to launch this war, we would not directly confront the full force of the Upper Gefra, nor would we even face their main fleet!"
"Everyone needs a period of quiet development. Whoever disrupts this peace is a sinner!"
The president took a deep breath, held it in his chest, thought for about ten minutes, and finally nodded. "I agree in principle to your launching this military operation, but I also have one request..."
"First, we must win!"
"Secondly, neither localized military conflicts nor the war against Nagaril can last more than sixty days!"