Chapter 456: Red and Blue

Washington, D.C., United States. In the President’s office, a Soviet special envoy sat before President Roosevelt. He had come this time to conduct an unprecedented transnational cooperation, and he was very confident in the proposal he was about to make.

“Mr. President, a strong Germany with unparalleled influence in Europe is something the United States does not want to see—and at the same time, it is absolutely not a result the Soviet Union is willing to see,” the Soviet envoy said with a smile. “Both our countries need a divided and weak Europe. It would be best if this Europe were cut into dozens of small, weak countries, none of which could pose a threat to either of our nations.”

“That is a very interesting proposition. I agree with your assessment of the European situation, and this is the basis for our discussion of cooperation here today,” Roosevelt said with a nod.

The Soviet Union was currently the only communist country in the world. To capitalism, it was more terrifying than poison. The current German rampage through Europe was, to put it bluntly, just a capitalist civil war. If the Soviet Union were to join, the entire flavor of the war would change, becoming something that even the United States would be hesitant to taste.

If the United States were to aid the Soviet Union, then even if Germany were defeated, it was unclear whether a post-war America could withstand the pressure from a powerful Soviet Union. And once this game spun out of America’s control, whether America’s global hegemony could continue, only heaven would know.

The cooperation plan brought by the Soviet Union was essentially a massive aid program. The United States would have to provide the Soviet Union with a series of support, including technology and raw materials, to help the Soviet Union win the war against Germany. Of course, once Germany’s strategic space was compressed, America’s own interests would be more secure.

This was the real reason Roosevelt was tempted. A war between Germany and the Soviet Union was a foregone conclusion. The Anglo-French appeasement policy and America’s own thinking were, in fact, identical: to encourage Germany and the Soviet Union to fight each other while everyone else cheered from the sidelines.

Although this plan had changed slightly, with Germany attacking France and Britain first while holding back from its intended target, the Soviet Union, it seemed the error was now being corrected. The two countries were finally going to fight. Thus, America had a new betting table, the bet this time being on who would win between Germany and the Soviet Union.

As for the Soviet promise of a line of influence in Europe that they would never cross, or the extent to which the red regime would ultimately flourish, the Americans were not interested in the slightest. The Soviet Union, or its predecessor, Tsarist Russia, was the country that had unilaterally torn up the most treaties in the world. Any promise it made now was no different from a fart. In the end, whether Europe would turn completely red or be divided in two would be determined entirely by the strength of the two sides and would have nothing to do with the content of any treaty.

Therefore, the outcome the United States hoped to see was not some post-war division promise, but simply for the Soviet Union and Germany to start fighting. As long as these two countries fought, the subsequent problems would not be problems at all. A fight would mean attrition, and weakening both Germany and the Soviet Union was good news for America.

“Mr. Soviet Envoy, I admit that the United States does not wish to see a unified and powerful Europe, but America also does not wish to see a red Europe emerge. There are still serious ideological differences between our two countries, so I must consider your country’s proposal with great care,” Roosevelt said, deciding to start with a round of bargaining.

“I hear that several dozen of America’s cargo ships have been sunk by German submarines in the North Atlantic, and that the protest lodged with Germany over this matter was ignored by that arrogant Führer?” the Soviet envoy asked.

“Yes. Germany has ignored America’s protest. They have also squandered America’s friendship and trust,” Roosevelt said with a cold snort. Everyone was well aware that the United States was providing aid to Britain, and it was also common knowledge that Germany was attacking American ships. But everyone was pretending to be ignorant, unwilling to bring up the shady details.

The United States was currently dealing with the British over the issues of Canada and Australia. The British were practically willing to pawn their trousers for the sake of their few colonies. Of course, the Japanese invasion of China had also harmed American interests in the Far East, and the two sides were now at daggers drawn in the Pacific. All these unresolved issues made it temporarily impossible for the United States to directly intervene in European affairs.

While Germany was being targeted by a reckless Soviet Union, the United States was also being thrown into confusion by an unreasonable move planted by Germany. The world is not short of existences that other countries cannot comprehend, such as the Soviet Union, which is bent on sowing the seeds of revolution, or Japan, whose source of confidence is a mystery.

“The Soviet Union will defeat Germany. Our request is very simple: if a stalemate occurs between the two countries, or if the situation becomes unfavorable for the Soviet Union, America can provide aid to the Soviet Union,” the Soviet representative said, presenting his terms. He knew that nonsense about carving up Europe would not move the Americans; he had to offer something practical and useful.

If the Soviet Union’s attack on Germany was unstoppable, then America would have no role to play. The result would be a Soviet-dominated Eurasia and the birth of the world’s number one superpower. But what if the Soviet Union failed to achieve its operational objectives? Then the subsequent problems would arise.

If the battlefield between the two countries became deadlocked, then America’s position would become crucial. Once the Soviet Union received American aid, its chances of defeating Germany would be even greater. Of course, on the other hand, if the Soviet Union were to be defeated and the war were to develop in Germany’s favor, then the aid provided by the United States to the Soviet Union would be even more important. These supplies could at least ensure that a more balanced world order would emerge in the future.

For the United States, watching the fire from across the river, the best outcome would be for this world war to leave all other countries impoverished, with only America left standing. This way, America could become the world leader, replacing Britain as the next world hegemon. This, of course, was the best-case scenario.

Now it seemed that America would most likely be drawn into this world war, either to fight the Japanese in the Far East or the Germans in Europe. The question now was how America wanted to choose its future competitor: to join with the Soviet Union to take down Germany, or to stand by and watch Germany grow stronger and compete with it for world leadership in the future.

“This result is more acceptable,” Roosevelt said with a nod after long consideration. “I will raise the relevant issue and propose to Congress that the Soviet Union be added to the ‘US-Canada-UK Tripartite Alliance Agreement’ as the fourth member.”

However, before the Soviet representative could speak, he continued, “But the Soviet Union is not a signatory to the Washington Naval Treaty. The eight battleships the Soviet Union planned to build have already seen four completed. The number of these advanced battleships and any future Soviet aircraft carriers must be controlled. Our two countries should begin negotiations on naval tonnage.”

“That is no problem, Mr. President,” the Soviet representative quickly nodded in agreement. After all, at this moment, the Soviet Union did not have the strength to play the game of world domination with the United States. Its focus was very short-term: gaining American support to win the impending German-Soviet war was its top priority.

Then the Soviet representative offered his gesture of sincerity. “The Soviet Navy’s Far East Fleet will visit Las Vegas and San Francisco in the United States to open a new chapter in the friendly relations between our two countries. In addition, the Soviet Navy is willing to halt the construction of two battleships. In return, we ask the United States to do the Soviet Union a small favor.”

“Nomonhan?” Roosevelt was no fool. He naturally knew what the Soviet Union’s real concern was. No country wants to fight a war on two fronts. When going to war, they will do everything possible to keep their backyard in a relatively stable state.

But the timing of the outbreak of the Battle of Nomonhan was too coincidental, so coincidental that it angered both the Soviets and the Americans. It was obvious that the Germans had a hand in it. The series of victories achieved by the Japanese army in China could be seen as an exchange between Germany and the Japanese government, with Germany using its interests in the Far East as a bargaining chip.

However, this exchange was indeed effective. It forced the Soviet Union to consider the consequences of fighting a two-front war. So, the war on the Western Front, which was already prepared, was forced to a halt, waiting for a proper explanation from Japan in the Far East and the more distant United States.

“Yes, President Roosevelt. The Soviet Union hopes that the United States will put pressure on Japan to end the Nomonhan incident and to make Japan completely abandon its ‘Strike North’ ambitions,” the Soviet envoy said with a nod.

“What does America need to do?” Roosevelt asked.

“Very simple. If the United States stops exporting oil to Japan, it will ensure that Japan will not have any unrealistic ideas about the Soviet Union,” the Soviet envoy replied directly.

“This will lead to war between the United States and Japan! It will drag America into this world war!” Roosevelt said with a frown. “How could America possibly do such a thing?”

“At a time like this, does America still want to stay out of the war? Even if America does not cut off Japan’s oil supply, Japan will attack American military bases in the Far East at an opportune moment,” the Soviet envoy said.

Japan’s southward advance was an indisputable fact. Its attacks on British and French territories were meeting with success after success. At the rate of Japan’s advance, it seemed it wouldn’t be long before it ran into the American Philippines and Malaysia, and these regions had the oil resources that Japan lacked. Although the output was small, it was still something, wasn’t it? So Japan would definitely go to war with the United States. This was already an open secret.

“Let me think about it! I need to have a meeting with my advisors. Three days… I can only give you an answer in three days,” Roosevelt said, closing his eyes, feeling extremely tired.

Published: 2025-08-26T05:09:54.000+00:00
Last Edited: 2025-11-15T07:14:31.000+00:00
URL: https://www.patreon.com/caleredhair/posts/mtr-c456-red-and-137361609

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