Chen Qiang began to recruit franchisees in a large scale.

In terms of fame, Chen Qiang's gym is also well-known in New York. I'm afraid no one knows Chen Qiang when he leaves New York. However, there are many people who know the goods. The novel courses offered by Chen Qiang made many people realize that this is a way to make money. For these courses, it is also worth joining.

In just half a month, Chen Qiang talked about two or three franchisees, and according to someone's introduction, a businessman in Washington also expressed a strong interest in Chen Qiang's gym.

So Chen Qiang went to Washington in person, intending to inspect the local market and see if there is any opportunity to develop several franchisees in Washington.

As soon as Chen Qiang arrived in Washington, he had no time to negotiate business, but Hu Shi captured coolies.

Hu Shi took Chen Qiang to the White House together. He planned to ask Roosevelt to see him again, of course, for the purpose of borrowing money from the United States.

The 25 million US dollars loan last year had been spent, and the domestic dignitaries had gained a lot of benefits from it. I don’t know how much it could be used on the station. Now that the Yunnan-Burma Highway has been opened, there is another way to transport materials to China. Since transporting materials is more convenient, Chongqing certainly hopes that Hu Shi can ask for some money from the Americans and exchange them for materials to transport them to China.

Roosevelt was also very busy. If you wanted to get a job, you had to queue up. After Hu Shi and Chen Qiang arrived at the White House, they waited in the lounge. Even when the time was originally scheduled, Roosevelt had not finished his work, they had to wait.

"Ambassador Hu, I'm very sorry. You may have to wait a little longer. Mr. President is still meeting a guest." The White House receptionist smiled and doubled the hot coffee for Hu Shi and Chen Qiang.

Hu Shi was a little depressed. He thought to himself who was so charming that he took up the time he saw Roosevelt. So Hu Shi asked with a little dissatisfaction: "I wonder which VIP Mr. President is meeting?"

The White House receptionist hesitated for two seconds. Perhaps he felt that it was not a matter of principle to disclose the information of the guests to Hu Shi, so he spoke: "The president is now meeting Professor Albert Einstein."

"So it's him!" Hu Shi nodded.

Chen Qiang thought of another thing in his mind. At this time, Einstein should have begun to persuade Roosevelt to develop an atomic bomb, and the United States' Manhattan plan will also be launched soon.

After the receptionist left, Chen Qiang said, "Ambassador Hu, don't worry. The things Professor Einstein talked to President Roosevelt may be more important than borrowing money."

"What else is more important than borrowing money! You can wait for money to help your life in China!" Hu Shi said with some dissatisfaction.

"Einstein was probably thinking about President Roosevelt's suggestion to build a very powerful bomb!" Chen Qiang said with a smile.

"Build a bomb? What if the bomb is powerful? Can it still blow up the Japanese back?" Hu Shi said with some disdain.

"This kind of bomb can really blow the Japanese back." Chen Qiang explained: "That should be a weapon that uses atomic fission to create lethality. The energy generated by atomic fission is very huge, and it can compare to thousands or even tens of thousands of tons of explosives. Just one can destroy a city. Just imagine if Japan had a few such bombs, could Japan not surrender?"

"There is such a powerful thing! It's impossible. What you said is too exaggerated. It would be good if a bomb can destroy a building. How is this possible if it destroys a city?" Hu Shi shook his head and said, obviously he didn't believe what Chen Qiang said.

What Chen Qiang didn't know was that the conversation between him and Hu Shi had been eavesdropped on by others.

This is the White House, with extremely strict security guarantees, and eavesdropping equipment is installed in the lounge where every guest is waiting for. The White House security department has also arranged special arrangements to eavesdrop on what the guests say.

Especially when it comes to diplomatic affairs, sometimes knowing more words and a little more information can gain the upper hand in subsequent diplomatic negotiations. Therefore, diplomats' lounges must be eavesdropped so that they can understand the other party's intentions and the bargaining chips in advance.

Of course, this method is very disgraceful, but Americans do more than this one. For the sake of the country's interests, eavesdropping on diplomats is not a new thing. Besides, the White House is the territory of the Americans. On the territory of the United States, they just eavesdrop on whoever they want to eavesdrop on!

If it were a mature diplomat, such as a diplomatic veteran like Wang Zhengting, he would definitely not talk about important information in the White House lounge, so as not to be heard by Americans. But Hu Shi, a nerd, was not a diplomat, so how could he know this? As an athlete, Chen Qiang didn't know the tricks here, so the two started talking unscrupulously in the lounge.

Although Chen Qiang and Hu Shi were talking in Chinese, the White House also hired people who knew Chinese to eavesdrop. Soon, the conversation between the two about the atomic bomb was sent to the White House intelligence officer.

"What's the situation? Where did the Chinese learn about our plan? This is the most secret plan, and even in the US government, few people know about it!" The intelligence officer was shocked.

As the White House intelligence officer, he knew much more than others, and even many things that Roosevelt didn't know were known to him. He did not tell Roosevelt many things, and he did not want the President to lie in front of the people, which would affect his image.

Therefore, intelligence officials are also very familiar with the United States' development of atomic bombs.

"From the conversation between the two, Hu Shi seemed to be unaware of it, and he knew nothing about atomic fission. On the contrary, Chen Qiang seemed to know very well about that kind of bomb. Chen Qiang was just an athlete, and he knew more than the ambassador to the United States? He believed it! And they dared to discuss such sensitive information in such a place? Aren't they afraid of being listened to by us? These two drama actors must have deliberately performed it for us to see!"

"But why did they deliberately act in this drama? This Chinese ambassador is here to seek loans. If I guess correctly, he is using this method to show his bargaining chips! Yes, it must be like this."

This White House intelligence officer has seen too many diplomats. Although those diplomats are full of nonsense, every move of diplomats is meaningful when it comes to diplomatic affairs. So the intelligence officer took it for granted that this was Hu Shi deliberately showing bargaining chips before he started borrowing money.

The intelligence officer didn't know that it was, Hu Shi really didn't know what atomic fission was, and the conversation between the two was not about acting. Hu Shi, a nerd, didn't know the tricks of those diplomats.

...

The intelligence officer was as fierce as a tiger, and then handed over his analysis to US President Roosevelt. After listening to the intelligence officer's analysis, Roosevelt nodded with satisfaction, not knowing that he had been cheated by his teammates.

"Such important information was leaked. Is there a problem in which link we have?" Roosevelt asked.

"I will investigate immediately." The intelligence officer paused and continued: "Fortunately, the Chinese who have mastered this information. Even if they know, it's okay for us to use atomic fission to create weapons. With China's technological level, even in another 100 years, they will not use atomic fission."

Roosevelt nodded: "If that super bomb really has the power to destroy a city like Professor Einstein said, then this weapon should not be mastered by countries outside the United States. What I am worried about is not China, but Germany and the Soviet Union, who are fully capable of studying atomic fission. Fortunately, Chinese ambassador Hu Shi is a smart man and knows that there is such a way to tell us that he has chips in his hand, and it seems that we have to lend them money again."

"Mr. President, the Chinese are deliberately threatening us!" said the staff member next to him.

"This is not a threat! Isn't this the case between countries?" Roosevelt said as he took a Far East military intelligence from the table and said, "China opened a highway connecting Myanmar, so that materials can be transported to China. The tung oil mortgaged to us by China last borrowed can also be transported out. In other words, we have made a profit by using tung oil to mortgage the loan. If the Chinese are willing to provide collateral, it doesn't matter if we lend them money. The most important thing is that our plan to create super bombs is top secret and must not be leaked. Once that super bomb is successful, the United States will become the overlord of the whole world! In this regard, we must also stabilize the Chinese!"

The staff nodded. Roosevelt commented that the previous tung oil loan was "earning", which also showed Roosevelt's attitude towards borrowing again.

...

When Hu Shi walked out of the White House gate, his mind was still confused. He didn't expect the trip to go so smoothly. Roosevelt agreed happily and borrowed money to China again. Although the specific amount and borrowing method have to be discussed again, the result of this was far beyond Hu Shi's expectations.

Hu Shi would never know in his life that the reason why Roosevelt agreed so smoothly this time was mainly because in the lounge, Chen Qiang talked about the atomic bomb. Chen Qiang inadvertently introduced the atomic bomb, but it made Roosevelt agree to borrow money very happily.

In Roosevelt's view, since Hu Shi received the money, he would definitely keep the secret of developing an atomic bomb for the United States. Roosevelt didn't know at all, and Hu Shi didn't understand what an atomic bomb was.

Hu Shi said happily: "Let's go, Chen Qiang, let's go back to the embassy. I'll ask the chef to cook two dishes well, let's celebrate!"

After returning to the embassy, ​​Hu Shi couldn't wait to send a telegram to Chongqing, reporting the good news, and also asked Chongqing for instructions on what to use as collateral to borrow money this time.

Soon, Chongqing gave a call back, hoping that Hu Shi could implement the loan as soon as possible. As for the collateral, see what Americans want and try to satisfy the Americans as much as possible.

At the same time, the telegram also stated that the main Japanese army had begun to gather in northern Jiangxi, southern Hubei and northern Hunan, and would immediately launch an attack on the Ninth War Zone.

Darkness is a famous barn in China. During the War of Resistance Against Japan, it was an important supply base for China's food, military sources and industrial resources. Changsha was the location of the command center of the Ninth War Zone, so it must not be lost. Once Changsha is lost, the Japanese army will attack Chongqing along the Yangtze River.

It is also for this reason that the country is very eager to obtain loans from the United States so that it can provide sufficient material support to protect Changsha.

Hu Shi also knew the importance of Changsha. When he heard that the Japanese army was going to attack Changsha, he was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan. He was very worried that Changsha would fall.

Chen Qiang had to calm down a lot. He knew that Changsha had finally defended, and the War of Resistance Against Japan finally ushered in a turning point!

...

New York is still on the evening of August 31, 1939, and Europe is already in the early morning of September 1, 1939. At 4:45 am Central European time, it was the darkest time before dawn, when German troops crossed the border and invaded Poland.

During the day, news of Germany's invasion of Poland spread throughout Europe, and the whole of Europe was in an uproar.

Norway, Finland, Sweden, and Switzerland, in Nordic countries, obviously did not want to mix in this matter, so they announced neutrality as soon as possible.

The whole world knows that Germany will attack Poland sooner or later, so this result is not surprising. Many people even do not think that this will lead to the entire Europe being trapped in a full-scale war.

In fact, countries around the world do not have the same time as the beginning of World War II. Chinese scholars believe that the beginning of World War II should be the day of the Lugou Bridge Incident on July 7, 1937; European scholars believe that the beginning of World War II should be the day when the German attacked Poland on September 1, 1939; former Soviet countries believe that the beginning of World War II should be the day when Germany attacked the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941, while the United States believes that the beginning of World War II should be the day when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.

In short, Wuchang felt that only the day he participated in the war would mean the real outbreak of the world war. If his country did not participate in the war, what kind of world war would it be?

Britain and France did not make a statement on September 1, while the United States appointed George Marshall as the chief of staff of the US military on September 1.

George Marshall is famous for the "Marshall Plan". During World War II, Marshall also advocated giving priority to aid Britain and France to defeat Germany. As for Japan, it could be put aside first, and Marshall did not even intend to start a war with Japan. Unexpectedly, Japan took the lead in taking action and stabbed the United States in the back on the Pacific battlefield. The US military had not sent troops to Europe yet, so they fought with the Japanese first.

On September 2, Britain and France still did not make any statements, but Spain and Ireland announced neutrality first.

On September 3, the governors of Britain, France, New Zealand, Australia and India declared war on Germany at the same time, while the Canadian Prime Minister said in an international broadcast that Canada also intends to declare war on Germany.

The whole world looked at the United States, hoping to know how the United States would react, and US President Roosevelt also advocated neutrality on national broadcasts.

It was also on September 3 that the ocean liner Athena was sunk by a German submarine and more than 100 civilians were killed. The famous U30 submarine of the German Navy in World War II was a civilian passenger ship.

On the same day, Churchill, the first "hawk" in Britain, was recruited into the cabinet by British Prime Minister Chamberlain and re-appointed as the Navy Minister. Churchill's first thing after taking office was not to deal with the Germans, but to think about how to oust Chamberlain.

On September 4, Nepal declared war on Germany, which was like two lions fighting. A pine tree next to it pointed at one of the lions and said, "Come on, fight!"

On September 5, the United States officially announced its neutrality.

On September 6, South Africa declared war on Germany, and on September 10, Canada declared war on Germany.

In just a few days, a large number of countries declared war on Germany one after another, but there was no actual action. The Germans had already arrived at the city of Warsaw, but Britain and France did not do anything except say "I want to kill you." At least the Polish people who suffered in the end.

At this time, the only major power that had not yet made a statement was left, the Soviet Union.

On September 17, the Soviet Union finally took action. The Soviet army's steel torrent crossed the border. At this time, the Polish army was defending Warsaw, and the eastern defense was empty, so the Soviet Union easily occupied eastern Poland.

Taking advantage of this momentum, the Soviet Union issued an ultimatum to Estonia, demanding that the Soviet Union establish a military base in Estonia. Estonia was forced to agree. The Soviet Union, which tasted the sweetness, issued an ultimatum to Latvia and Lithuania, and Latvia and Lithuania had to accept it. Without spending one soldier and one soldier, the Soviet Union incorporated the three Baltic countries into its sphere of influence by taking advantage of the situation.

On September 28, Germany and the Soviet Union reached an agreement on the division of Poland. A day later, Warsaw surrendered to Germany, and Poland officially delivered a speech, becoming the first country to be disappointed since the beginning of World War II.

It was also in September 1939 that the Japanese army launched an attack on the northern Jiangxi region, and the first battle in Changsha officially began.

—————
Chapter completed!