World War: Battleship Arms Dealers

Rodman took a deep breath:

"Three years. At the fastest, three years. And there are many technological bottlenecks to overcome—especially the propulsion system. Their warships can run at thirty knots, while ours can only run at twenty-one knots. This is not a matter of adding a few boilers; it is a generational gap in the entire hull design, transmission system, and propeller technology."

"Three years," Wilson repeated the word.

"Yes. And the first one is often a test ship; it takes much longer to truly achieve combat readiness."

Wilson nodded. He didn't say "too slow," nor did he ask "could it be faster?"

He simply walked to the window and looked out at the pale February light.

"Secretary Baker," he suddenly asked, "does the army mobilization really need to take that long?"

Baker paused for a moment, then sat up straight:

"Mr. President, five divisions completing basic training, equipment distribution, and transoceanic transport preparations within six months—that's the most optimistic estimate. Our standing army is too small, and our mobilization system hasn't really functioned since the Spanish-American War. We're short-staffed in officers, inexperienced non-commissioned officers, and our stockpile of heavy equipment isn't even enough to equip a complete expeditionary force."

He paused:

"If Congress can pass mobilization funding within a week, the state draft office can complete the first batch of 100,000 conscriptions within a month, and the industrial mobilization committee can coordinate factories to switch to wartime production within three months—then six months may be compressed into five months."

Wilson didn't turn around: "Five months."

"Yes. It can't be any faster."

Wilson remained silent.

Lansing began, his tone carrying the pragmatism characteristic of a Secretary of State: "Mr. President, mobilizing the army in five months and building new battleships in three years—these two timelines are misaligned. When our army entered the European theater, there were no capital ships in the Pacific capable of confronting the Bismarck-class."

He paused:

"In other words, for at least the next two years, the Mirka Navy will be at a significant disadvantage in the Pacific."

Wilson finally turned around.

"So," he said, "you're suggesting we take a defensive stance in the Pacific?"

"I advise us to avoid any actions that might provoke Lanfang into taking hostile action," Lansing said. "At the same time, we should accelerate the pace of naval construction."

"How fast should it accelerate?"

Lansing didn't answer directly. He looked at Rodman.

Rodman said slowly, "Mr. President, if Congress approves special funding, if we use all available shipyards, if all relevant factories switch to wartime priority production—"

He paused:

"Six new battleships can be built within four years."

Wilson looked at him.

"Four years, six ships," the president repeated.

"Yes. But this is a state of extreme mobilization. The social, economic, and political costs are all extremely high."

Wilson didn't speak. He walked back to his desk and took a document from a drawer. It was the Navy Department's annual shipbuilding plan, which he had received last week, and the cover was marked "Top Secret."

He opened it, read a few lines, and then closed it.

"Six ships in four years," he said. "And Lanfang already has six Bismarck-class ships built in its dock, plus one over 50,000 tons..."

He didn't finish speaking.

Lansing suddenly spoke, his tone carrying something that had been suppressed for a long time:

"Mr. President, if I may be so bold—aren't we being too pessimistic?"

Everyone looked at him.

“Melica’s industrial scale is more than ten times that of Lanfang.” Lansing stood up and walked to the map of American industrial distribution on the wall. “Pittsburgh’s steel production accounts for 40 percent of the world’s total, Detroit’s automobile production lines can be seamlessly converted to produce tanks and trucks, and Bethlehem Shipyard has the world’s largest dry dock. Our workforce is twenty times theirs, our engineers are thirty times theirs, and our capital is fifty times theirs.”

He turned around to face the people in the room:

"We do not deny that we are temporarily lagging behind in quality. But war is never just about quality."

His voice rose slightly:

"Lanfang has six Bismarck-class destroyers, while we've built six Pennsylvania-class destroyers in four years—it's not a fair match. So let's build ten. Twenty. Our industrial potential is on a scale they can't even dream of. If quality isn't enough, quantity will make up for it; if one can't be replaced, can't ten?"

The room was silent for a few seconds.

Baker said slowly, "Mr. Secretary, a battleship is not a tank. It takes two and a half years to build one, it requires thousands of skilled workers, and it requires an entire supply chain. It's not like you can place an order today and have the docks full of ships tomorrow."

"Then let's start piling them up now," Lansing said. "Mr. President, I think we need an emergency naval construction bill. It's not a question of whether we need it, but how quickly and how much."

Wilson looked at him.

"Your suggestion is—to launch a full-scale arms race?"

"My suggestion is—" Lansing paused, "Melica must let Lanfang know that the price of challenging us at sea is too high for them to afford."

Wilson remained silent.

He recalled another statement Chen Feng made in Hawaii: "In international politics, we can speculate and doubt each other, but ultimately, we need to act based on facts and rules."

The current fact is: the navy of Meilika is no match for the navy of Lanfang.

What about the rules? The rules are being rewritten.

"Lansing," Wilson began, his voice slow, "you just said we need an emergency naval construction bill."

"Yes."

"Then let me ask you—where will this money come from?"

Lansing paused for a moment.

Wilson did not wait for his reply:

"Army mobilization requires money, naval shipbuilding requires money, maintaining the existing fleet's readiness requires money, and loans to Britain and France require money. Every appropriation approved by Parliament increases the national debt, which will ultimately be repaid by the people through decades of tax revenue."

He stood up and walked over to Lansing:

"You can tell Congress, 'We need ten new battleships because Lanfang has six.' They'll ask, 'Has Lanfang threatened us? Sinked our ships? Bombarded our ports?'"

He paused:

"No. They just built six warships and then docked them in the harbor."

Lansing opened his mouth, but didn't say anything.

Wilson turned and walked back to the window:

"That's what makes Chen Feng so remarkable. He did nothing, yet he forced us to build ten warships ourselves. He said nothing, yet he made the British ambassador tremble before me, asking, 'Will Lanfang really suffer the same fate?'"

He paused:

"Since returning from Hawaii, I've been thinking about one thing."

He looked out the window:

"Are we competing with Lanfang, or are we being led by Lanfang?"

No one answered.

The fire in the fireplace was dying down, leaving only dark red embers.

Rodman stood up:

"Mr. President, I cannot answer that question. I can only tell you that General Little said something when he saw me off at the port."

"What did you say?"

"He said, 'General, the world is vast. The Pacific is even larger.' Rodman paused. 'He said, 'Large enough to accommodate the navies of two nations, provided both nations choose to remain on their own side.'"

Wilson turned around and looked at him.

"Are these his exact words?"

"Yes. Exactly."