Admiral Melkin, Chief of Naval Operations, led two other naval officers into the Oval Office. Seeing President Roosevelt, Congressman Carl Vinson, and several other high-ranking government officials responsible for logistics already present, a sense of wariness rose in Admiral Melkin's heart.

But Admiral Melkin did not feel fear. From its founding, the United States had relied on a certain ferocity to expand rapidly. In America, being a killer was not shameful; if one killed enough people, they might even become a figure praised by the public. Just as when Roosevelt's uncle ordered the massacre of Indians, many bounty hunters, after killing Indian women, would cut off their private parts, string them on iron wire, and stick them on the brims of their hats to display their martial valor.

So, after saluting President Roosevelt, Admiral Melkin asked in a rather imposing tone, "Mr. President, the Navy would like to know your views on implementing reciprocal retaliation for the Chinese military's poison gas attack."

As soon as these words came out, the breathing of the politicians in the Oval Office momentarily stalled. Congressman Carl Vinson's first thought was that this ferocious soldier simply did not consider the political consequences of using poison gas; perhaps Admiral Melkin was not suitable for the position of Chief of Naval Operations.

However, Carl Vinson had deep contact with the US military after all, so a next thought quickly emerged: "Does Admiral Melkin not want to do this job anymore?"

This thought had not just appeared now. The war with China had been fought to this point, and the US military had suffered heavy losses. After US officials used the excuse of a "Chinese sneak attack" to temporarily quell the defeat of US forces in the Philippines, the pressure shifted to the engagement between China and the US in the Pacific. The US upper echelons were becoming increasingly dissatisfied with the stalemate, and some congressmen were already privately discussing whether senior American military officers were competent.

According to Congressman Carl Vinson's observations, the once high morale within the US Navy had also suffered huge damage in the war of attrition. Especially after losing tens of thousands of pilots, the US Navy internally began to express dissatisfaction with Admiral Melkin, believing that Admiral Melkin was incapable of leading the US Navy to victory.

Admiral Melkin did not offer his own views on these criticisms or opposing opinions. Congressman Carl Vinson sensed a flavor of "smashing a cracked jar" — acting recklessly out of despair — from the question Admiral Melkin raised. Because Admiral Melkin was not stupid; he could not possibly be unaware of what consequences using poison gas bombs against China would trigger. Since Admiral Melkin raised it so forcibly despite knowing the outcome, Carl Vinson believed that Admiral Melkin was probably not worried about being dismissed, and might even be expecting it.

Thinking of this, Carl Vinson looked at Roosevelt, wondering if Roosevelt would attack Admiral Melkin, or even dismiss him.

He saw Roosevelt listen quietly to Admiral Melkin's words, think for a moment, and then say, "Admiral Melkin, if you believe China used poison gas, you should submit relevant evidence to Congress."

Congressman Carl Vinson couldn't help but sigh in his heart: *Old fox, truly an old fox!*

The US President is the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces; theoretically, he has the power to issue orders to the US military. But the use of poison gas bombs is no longer a purely military issue, but a political one. Since it involves political issues, it can naturally be taken to Congress. As long as Congress determines that China used poison gas, in addition to condemning China, the Congressmen would naturally discuss whether the United States should use poison gas in retaliation. As long as the US Congress believes the US military can use poison gas against China in retaliation, Roosevelt has pushed all political responsibility onto Congress.

If US Congressmen do not accept the evidence submitted by the US Navy, Roosevelt can essentially push the responsibility onto the US Congress as well, and Roosevelt himself does not have to bear the responsibility for using poison gas against China.

Carl Vinson stared at President Roosevelt, inwardly admiring Roosevelt's practiced political methods. However, Carl Vinson was somewhat over-interpreting Roosevelt's thoughts; President Roosevelt was not thinking that much at this moment. Since he was clear about the gap between himself and He Rui in terms of military talent, Roosevelt had given up any direct interference in the war. Since he could not interfere, not only the matter of poison gas had to be left to the military and Congress to decide, but other specific decisions also had to be pushed to Congress and the military.

Seeing both President Roosevelt and Congressman Carl Vinson staring at him, the little bit of American valor in Admiral Melkin's heart suffered a considerable shock. When fooling his direct superior, the US President, Admiral Melkin was not flustered in the slightest. Although he and the American generals were unhappy because Roosevelt understood military affairs far less than He Rui, when it came to specific work, the generals were quite satisfied with the reality that the US President did not understand military affairs.

The US President is the Commander-in-Chief. The solutions to military problems submitted by the generals must be selected by the President. Because the President does not understand military affairs, he naturally cannot truly understand the professional relationship between the solutions submitted by the generals and the specific problems. Since the solutions the President chooses are all provided by the generals, it seems like the President is making the decision, but in fact, the generals are making the decision.

If American generals worked under a grand strategist like He Rui, any of their plans would have to undergo He Rui's review. One can imagine how great that pressure would be.

However, compared to such pressure, Admiral Melkin found it even more unacceptable to explain military issues to a group of Congressmen. Leaving aside whether Admiral Melkin himself doubted the accuracy of the claim that China used poison gas bombs, even if the matter was absolutely true, the Congressmen were a group of guys who loved to torment people. How would they make things difficult for Admiral Melkin or other American officers attending the inquiry hearing? He feared these officers could not endure such torture.

"Mr. President, I believe it is your authority to make a decision on this matter," Melkin began trying to hoodwink Roosevelt.

Congressman Carl Vinson immediately understood that there must be major problems with Admiral Melkin's claim that China used poison gas. If the evidence for this matter was conclusive, Admiral Melkin would have to gamble in Congress no matter what.

More importantly, the US Navy must have encountered very big problems at this stage. So much so that Admiral Melkin hurriedly wanted President Roosevelt to lift restrictions and let the US military fight with all they had.

Just as Congressman Carl Vinson was considering how to get Admiral Melkin to state the problem, President Roosevelt asked, "Admiral, can you recount the latest situation of the war?"

Admiral Melkin was already prepared for this. Although the news of losing four islands would likely get him reprimanded or even dismissed, Admiral Melkin had no intention of concealing it. Facing the President and the Chairman of the House Naval Affairs Committee, Melkin said in a steady voice, "Mr. President, the Japanese Navy used poison gas attacks on seven small islands in the Hawaiian chain. After receiving distress calls, we immediately counterattacked and retook three islands. On the three islands, we found US officers and soldiers who had died from poisoning. They were all foaming at the mouth with purple-black faces. Data and photos are on their way to Washington. Four other islands were taken by the Japanese army. The Pacific Naval Command is organizing forces to retake those four islands."

After speaking, Melkin signaled to the adjutant beside him, who hurriedly took out a report and presented it to Roosevelt. Roosevelt originally believed that He Rui would not approve of the decision to use poison gas bombs. With the Chinese navy gaining the advantage, it was even less likely for them to take the lead in using special weapons like poison gas bombs that would inevitably invite fierce retaliation.

But Japan is not China. Roosevelt believed that in their thirst to win victory in the Hawaii campaign, Japan was indeed very likely to use such underhanded weapons as poison gas bombs.

With this thought, Roosevelt read the document carefully. After finishing, Roosevelt, who had been a lawyer for many years and especially had defended numerous gangs, already did not believe Admiral Melkin's claims. When defending various gangs in the US, Roosevelt demanded these gangs tell the truth. As a lawyer, he would naturally adjust the wording. If the US Navy was viewed as the victim, the report by the US Navy on China's use of poison gas bombs could only be considered legally as a wishful statement. Apart from the description of the terrible appearance of the deceased, the only things that could serve as evidence were some testimonies from those who had been forensic doctors before enlisting, the content being "should have been killed by an unknown toxin."

If the families of the victims back then could only provide such testimony, perhaps a prosecutor would take the case, but Roosevelt could certainly prove the defendant innocent. The defendant appeared at the scene of the crime, the deceased appeared at the scene of the crime, and the deceased looked terrible, seemingly poisoned. It looked like a chain of criminal evidence. But this chain of evidence was entirely the defendant's statement, without any factual evidence, and simply could not stand up to scrutiny.

Roosevelt did not want to make Admiral Melkin look too bad, so he asked in a calm tone, "When can it be determined what toxin the deceased were poisoned with?"

Admiral Melkin was not surprised that he failed to hoodwink the President, because he had indeed asked the Pacific Command about this specific question. The Pacific Command gave a response of "we are researching carefully," and after such a brief response, attached a long-winded argument that the appearance of the deceased was enough to prove China used poison gas bombs.

Now that the President asked about this obvious flaw, Admiral Melkin signaled his adjutant to take out the three response plans from the Navy General Staff and submit them to President Roosevelt.

Roosevelt began to look them over. Plan 1: The US military continues to expose China's act of using poison gas bombs, while continuing to confront the Chinese army with the current forces in the Hawaiian Islands. Plan 2: The US military directly uses poison gas bombs in the Hawaiian Islands to attack the Chinese army, retake the captured small islands, and drive the enemy out of the Hawaiian Islands. Plan 3: The US military increases its forces in the Hawaiian Islands, relying on superior strength to drive the enemy out of the Hawaiian Islands.

The Naval Staff submitted three solutions to the current problem following the most common pattern. One was the most conservative status quo plan. One was the most radical plan. And one was a plan in between the two.

Generally speaking, a US President who does not understand military affairs will abandon the most conservative plan and will not choose the most radical plan either. The plan between radical and conservative will undoubtedly be chosen. The US Navy General Staff believed that the US currently needs to invest 30,000 to 50,000 new combat aircraft to form an overwhelming advantage over the Japanese army, thereby driving the Japanese army out of the Hawaiian Islands.

Admiral Melkin also hoped to adopt this plan. Moreover, when thinking alone, Admiral Melkin also substituted himself into the position of the opponent, Japan. He discovered that the biggest disadvantage of working under a grand strategist was losing the initiative of the actual command structure.

He Rui would definitely ask very sharp questions, requiring the Navy General Staff to explain the thinking behind every plan. Moreover, He Rui could understand the various details of such explanations. This was a terrifying thing. Because the US Navy General Staff was not confident of achieving the goal at this stage, they proposed these three plans. If the operational thinking was really clarified, one plan plus one contingency plan would be enough; why formulate three plans?

Looking at the contemplating President Roosevelt, Admiral Melkin hoped that Roosevelt, this President who did not understand military affairs, could make a decision quickly. That is to say, President Roosevelt should hurry up and shoulder the responsibility.