**Chapter 817: Empire's Survival (5)**

Roosevelt found that he seemed to have grasped He Rui's thinking, but every realization, after initially reinforcing his confidence, created new, opposing perplexities for him. Roosevelt knew that He Rui must have already arranged roles for countries like the United States, Britain, the Soviet Union, and Germany in his future New Order. Roosevelt knew that for the US to obtain greater benefits in this new order, it had to demonstrate its ability to destroy He Rui's New Order.

To the extent that the US possessed the capability to destroy He Rui's New Order, it would possess the power to demand a higher price. If the US fully opposed He Rui's New Order, it could prevent He Rui from establishing it entirely. Then, the US would have the capability to establish a "US-China New Order."

At this stage, Roosevelt discovered that the abilities He Rui displayed were gradually exerted in response to American capabilities. The US had taken the path of aircraft carriers and air-land integrated warfare, and China was taking the same path—and seemingly walking faster and further on it than the US.

In order to gain a combat advantage, the US had deployed its nascent air night-fighting system into the war. The He Rui government immediately countered by deploying an air night-fighting system that was clearly more mature than the American one, giving the US a head-on blow and severely frustrating its confidence.

Roosevelt currently couldn't figure out if He Rui truly intended to rely on absolute strength to grab other countries by the collar, drag them to the negotiating table, and force them to agree to his New Order.

The actual New Order Roosevelt envisioned overlapped significantly with He Rui's. Roosevelt agreed with the global market that He Rui's New Order could bring to the US, which was precisely the source of his greatest current dilemma. If the US could not lead the New World Order but were instead forced to join He Rui's, it would be unable to obtain the maximum benefits. Besides this reason, which forced Roosevelt to choose to fight on against China, he also had a profound fear.

Just as Roosevelt was holding his secretary, using the touch of a warm and soft female body to alleviate the anxious pain brought by rational thought, there was another knock on the door. The person outside was well aware of Roosevelt's interests; barging into the office while Roosevelt was alone with his female secretary often meant seeing content not suitable for children.

Roosevelt released the secretary's waist, and she smoothed her skirt a bit before opening the office door. Another secretary stood outside. The female secretary politely made way, and once the official secretary entered, she walked out of the office and closed the door.

Three hours later, Roosevelt left the White House by car. The car stopped in front of a hotel in Washington. With the help of Secret Service agents, Roosevelt, in his wheelchair, reached the hotel elevator.

The wheelchair stopped, and Roosevelt looked back at the agents. The agents looked at Roosevelt with troubled expressions, but they saw determination in his cold gaze. With a "ding," the elevator doors opened. The agents finally yielded; they pushed Roosevelt into the elevator, but when it stopped on the third floor, they stepped out first. Seeing no bystanders in the corridor, they headed for the stairs and soon vanished.

Roosevelt turned the steel rims of his wheelchair alone to the door of room 3014. A true playboy would have seen the passion hidden behind his cold gaze and set jaw. It was a passion usually reserved for youth—or rather, the emotion a mature man feels only when facing his true soulmate.

After knocking a few times, Roosevelt listened to the sounds inside the room, but didn't hear the expected footsteps. A sense of worry spontaneously arose in his heart. This emotion moved him to raise his head and knock twice more with greater force, though the third knock was slightly weaker. However, the subsequent knocks became powerful but less frantic.

After about ten or twelve knocks, footsteps finally came from inside. A moment later, the door opened. A woman in the late stages of middle age opened the door. Seeing his beloved, who had finally appeared before him of her own accord after more than twenty years of forced separation, Roosevelt's long-dry eyes suddenly welled up.

Lucy Page Mercer Rutherfurd was a beautiful woman. Her beauty was not the sharp, striking kind, but a gentle, inclusive feminine beauty, loyal to love—even if that loyalty was directed at his infidelity, Lucy herself remained loyal to her love. Unlike many women, Lucy was someone who truly shared a deep love with Roosevelt. She didn't take love for granted and knew what it truly was.

Seeing Roosevelt before her, Lucy stepped out of the room and looked casually down the empty corridor before pushing him inside. After closing the door, she knelt down and stared intently at his aged face. Just looking at him brought her joy. Realizing they were alone, she knew Roosevelt had come specifically for her; after receiving her letter, he hadn't wasted a moment and had come to meet her as quickly as possible.

Then Lucy knelt on the floor and, at a height slightly lower than Roosevelt in his wheelchair, took him into her arms. Feeling her warm embrace, Roosevelt held her back.

In 1913, because Roosevelt's wife, Eleanor, was in poor health, a secretary named Lucy Mercer was hired for her through an introduction. Lucy was young and beautiful, got along well with others, had a gentle voice, and was charming. Roosevelt was mature, steady, and an extraordinary conversationalist. Thus, an affair began between the two.

The affair lasted for several years until 1918, when Eleanor accidentally found love letters from Lucy to Roosevelt in his bag. Faced with his wife's interrogation, Roosevelt admitted it.

At the time, divorce meant "political suicide." For the sake of his political future, Roosevelt did not intend to divorce. Eleanor didn't want to give up her current position and proposed conditions for not divorcing: first, to break up with Lucy, and second, to live separate lives. Thus, both got what they needed, and the marriage continued.

Thereafter, Roosevelt and Eleanor became political partners who shared the same bed but had different dreams. He once told Eleanor: "You are my First Lady, we can discuss all issues, but except for emotional ones." Lucy showed great understanding of Roosevelt and married someone else after leaving him.

Although Roosevelt found ways to find Lucy again, they maintained an "ambiguous" relationship. But this ambiguity had become a kind of Platonic love. Roosevelt knew he could never be with Lucy in this life, and Lucy knew she could never affect her lover's political future. In this emotional entanglement, although their love seemed to have no future, it became simpler and more solid through this struggle.

By February 1942, suffering under the brutal war of attrition between China and the US, Roosevelt finally realized the possibility that even after a cruel war, the sacrifice of millions of lives and the expenditure of trillions of dollars, the US might still lose to China.

In this emotional state, under such immense pressure, Roosevelt wrote a letter to Lucy. In it, he didn't mention the pain he faced but couldn't help but express his most sincere love for her.

After receiving the letter and thinking it over, Lucy went to Washington. Lucy also came from a prominent family, and as early as 1918, all of Washington's elite knew of her relationship with Roosevelt. Now, although she didn't know the course of the war, she felt the despair inadvertently revealed between the lines of her lover's writing. Lucy decided to no longer worry about her reputation and would accompany her lover to the end of this journey of love.

Feeling her lover's breath by her ear and the warm, wet tears on her cheek, Lucy knew she hadn't misunderstood his current mood. She let go of her embrace, took out a handkerchief, and wiped away Roosevelt's tears.

Then, Lucy pushed Roosevelt to the bedside, helped him up, and assisted him in lying on the bed. Lucy first undressed herself, then helped Roosevelt undress, and soon they were lying in bed together in an embrace. They didn't do anything; they simply nestled together.

Before Roosevelt could speak, Lucy said, "I won't leave. As long as you dare to contact me, I will go to the White House."

Roosevelt gave a bitter smile. "Heh, I don't like the White House."

Lucy gently stroked his chest and smiled. "I'll go wherever you like to go."

Hearing this, Roosevelt knew Lucy had made her decision. He didn't ask about her family, nor did he consider what her husband would think. Roosevelt asked, "Have you ever been to the town of Warm Springs?"

Lucy propped up her upper body and looked at him. "Will you go there often?"

Warm Springs in western Georgia was Roosevelt's favorite vacation spot. Seeing Lucy's question, Roosevelt replied, "I'll be going to Warm Springs in two days. I'll have the agents contact you first."

Lucy happily gave Roosevelt a kiss before asking, "How long will we stay there?"

Roosevelt smiled and reached out to touch her face. "I'll arrange a place for you to stay in Washington."

Lucy leaned back into his arms and replied in a lazy voice, "I'll go to Warm Springs tomorrow."

Different from what Lucy expected, early the next morning, agents came to find her and took her to the Washington airport. That evening, in a quiet suburban residence in Warm Springs, Lucy had just finished her bath and walked out of the bathroom in her nightgown, only to see Roosevelt already sitting in his wheelchair at the living room table, looking at a document.

Lucy didn't rush over; she stood by the bathroom door in her nightgown, watching Roosevelt look at the document in the living room. In her dreams, she had seen this scene countless times. She and Roosevelt in a room where no other mistress existed. Roosevelt was her man alone, and she was his woman alone.

After watching for a while, Roosevelt closed the file and looked up at Lucy. Their eyes met for a moment, and Lucy walked toward him. Halfway there, her robe slipped off, landing softly on the wooden floor.

An hour later, Lucy and Roosevelt were sitting in the bathtub. Roosevelt felt the warmth and said with emotion, "Lucy, I might become the lowest-rated president in American history."

"Can you decide if that happens?" Lucy asked lazily.

A surge of tenderness rose in Roosevelt's heart. Lucy loved the living person that was Roosevelt, not the politician. The pain he faced could not cause her pain. Lucy might not be able to help him solve his problems, but she had never considered being his help. She only wanted to give him love.

So, Roosevelt spoke to her of his pain. This was a fear that belonged only to him, which he had never dared to tell anyone else. Lucy just listened. When he paused, she asked, "Will this affect the time we spend together?"

After saying so much, Roosevelt's mood had improved significantly. He finally recovered some courage and confidence and replied, "The time we spend together has nothing to do with the outcome of the war."

Lucy actually knew this was largely a lie, but she didn't dwell on it. She pinned her hair up, as this was the look he liked best. Lucy stepped out of the bath and wrapped herself in a towel. She took out another towel and then said, "My dear, I wonder if I have enough strength now to lift you up."

If General Zheng Silang and General Zhong Yifu knew of Roosevelt's current situation, they would likely be very envious. They were so busy they didn't even have time to write to their wives thousands of miles away.

When the four-engine H-5 bomber landed at the Asian Allied airbase fifty kilometers south of Darwin, the moment the massive tires touched the runway, a piercing sound reached the ears of Zheng Silang, Commander of the Southeast Asian Theater of the Asian Allied Forces, who was there for an inspection.

Standing by the runway, feeling the vibration as the massive H-5 moved along it, Zheng Silang nodded with satisfaction and turned to his old comrade, Zhong Yifu. "Yifu, can we combine the bomber units of the Southeast Asian Theater and the Australian bomber groups into a larger centralized bomber hub?"

Generally speaking, every branch and unit of the military hoped to receive the best logistical support for itself and was not keen on sharing bases with friendly forces. Seeing Zheng Silang's sincere expression, Zhong Yifu sighed, "It's been hard on you all, building airfields in Southeast Asia."

"It's not that it's hard," Zheng Silang shook his head frankly. "It's just that it's impossible to complete runways for large bombers in the short term."

"Meaning, you actually can do it?" Zhong Yifu teased Zheng Silang, who was considered a brave general.

Zheng Silang replied heartily, "Even if they're built, the subsequent maintenance costs are too high. After all, ordinary fighters can take off and land just by laying perforated steel mats on the ground. Large bombers require specialized runways."

Zhong Yifu didn't intend to tease him further; he also needed Zheng's cooperation at this stage. There is a north-south divide near the eastern coast of Australia; the mountains block the moisture in the monsoons from east to west, resulting in abundant rainfall in the narrow eastern coastal region. This created fertile land in the east. West of the divide, the climate is dry and rainfall is scarce, providing good conditions for building solid foundations.

Since his old comrade had shown an intention to cooperate, Zhong Yifu also stated his own requirements. "Silang, the biggest problem currently facing the Australian theater is that fresh water resources in central and western Australia are too scarce! We need you to keep the British and American forces occupied in the Solomon Islands."

Zheng Silang nodded. Water resources are a very peculiar resource; both too much and too little can have a very detrimental effect on war. Zhong Yifu complained of too little water, while Zheng Silang complained of too much. Zheng Silang asked, "Yifu, do you think the Chairman will agree to our request to build a joint airbase?"

Zhong Yifu was quite confident about this. "The Chairman now requires us to achieve the results we expect. As long as we can sufficiently weaken the American forces, there's no difference between building joint airbases and building them separately."

Hearing this, Zheng Silang thought of the American fighters with night-fighting capabilities. Those hateful things had caused China greater losses in Southeast Asia. If the order he received hadn't been to "exhaust the US military," he would have long ago used his powerful air force to destroy the American logistical bases in the Solomon Islands.

General Zheng Silang, who commanded operations in Southeast Asia, also worked hard to build airfields in the region as a foundation for war. However, the damp and rainy Southeast Asian islands made the engineers complain incessantly. Moreover, the US had been putting military equipment with new devices into the war, which forced Zheng to seek help from Zhong Yifu.

Facing Zheng's expectations, Zhong Yifu was also quite helpless. In his plan, a powerful Chinese army unit would depart from Darwin, cross the vast wilderness, and launch an offensive against the core ruling area of eastern Australia. But in several preparations, Zhong had been forced to repeatedly postpone operations. He sighed, "According to our surveys, fresh water resources along this offensive route are too scarce. Without sufficient water sources, it's very hard for us to ensure the successful completion of the campaign. Although I believe the US military lacks the ability to fight a guerrilla war against us in Australia, I don't dare bet on that possibility. Silang, I've read your report; the combat power shown by the US military in the Solomon Islands proves they aren't as bad as the legends say. The US military has combat power!"

President Roosevelt was worried about the "industrial heritage" shown by China; if the US could never suppress China, it might fail. If Roosevelt's thoughts were known to Zheng Silang and Zhong Yifu, they would likely feel that he was underestimating the US military.

In the Solomon Islands campaign, the US military was not at all like the "rich boys" of legend. The real weakness of the US military was a lack of army tradition, but a lack of tradition wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Especially when both the US and China adopted air-land integration, both sides didn't hesitate to provide air support for company-level combat.

Although the Chinese army was strong enough, Chinese soldiers weren't supermen either. Fierce bombing by the US Air Force could indeed effectively block the vigorous attacks of the Chinese army. And the US military could not only hold the line to the death but also launch powerful offensives.

Zheng Silang gave a bitter smile. "Then how do we decide who the Air Force helps first?"