**Chapter 878: Time for North America (5)**

Washington, D.C. Roosevelt's plane for his vacation had already taken off, a departure the cabinet members had grown accustomed to. Under the continuous blows of defeat, the members of the Roosevelt administration all felt a desperate need for rest. This was especially true for the Chiefs of Staff of the Army, Navy, and Air Force—including Marshall—who had gathered in a small restaurant just as the President's plane left Washington.

It was just after noon, and the restaurant was nearly empty of diners. A waiter crossed the vacant floor to the three men. Admiral Kimmel, the Chief of Naval Operations, looked up and said, "Absinthe, please."

The waiter was taken aback and about to speak when Kimmel added, "Make it the green leaf."

The other two Chiefs said nothing. The US Prohibition had begun in early 1920 and was repealed in December 1933. But Absinthe, banned in Europe and America since 1915, had yet to be legalized.

Just as the thirteen-year Prohibition had thoroughly altered American liquor supply channels, the Western ban on Absinthe had made China the world's primary producer of the spirit. Because brewing Absinthe required a high level of technical skill, all the Absinthe available in America was imported via smuggling channels from China.

The kitchen was preparing a meal centered on roasted cod. Appetizers like bacon and eggs and fries were brought out first. Simultaneously, a brown bottle was placed on the table. From the outside, the liquid within looked dark, but when poured, it was a vibrant emerald green and filled the air with its aroma.

Kimmel raised his glass toward Marshall and General Carl Spaatz. "To your health."

The two took a drink and felt their spirits lift. One of the primary reasons Absinthe had been banned and highlighted in propaganda was its alleged hallucinogenic properties and its tendency to incite criminal impulses.

Once China had secured its position as the world's leading producer, it began to debunk these myths. The Chinese distilleries' counter-propaganda didn't claim hallucinations didn't exist, but rather informed the public that Absinthe compliant with Chinese food safety regulations contained no hallucinogenic or psychoactive stimulants.

Any such reaction in a drinker, they argued, was because the distillers had added ingredients specifically to cause hallucinations during the production process.

To support this, the Chinese Food Association had released several reports labeled by the Western media as the work of "muckraking experts." These reports detailed the two-hundred-year history of "food additives" in Europe and America. Because the content was so close to Western daily life yet so horrifying, Marshall felt a strange mental shock even as the Chinese Absinthe provided him with a sense of ease.

Marshall was not the only one affected; the entire American elite was shaken. During lunch, Roosevelt had read an insider report by the muckrakers on American meat processing plants; he was so disgusted he vomited up the meat he had just eaten. Thereafter, Roosevelt refused to eat food produced by processing plants. He was not alone; the American upper class all began eating privately slaughtered meat.

Admiral Kimmel clearly didn't care about the meat. After two quick glasses, he spoke: "The Navy is at a total disadvantage in the Pacific and can only offer a passive defense. Furthermore, once China launches a landing operation, our Navy will be exhausted in a very short time."

General Carl Spaatz, the Air Force Chief of Staff, did not agree. He stared at Kimmel and said, "The Air Force can coordinate with the Army and Navy. Isn't that how China won its previous battles?"

Kimmel downed another glass before retorting, "We can build numerous fortifications along the coast, but what about Canada? Can we enter Canada immediately upon discovering a Chinese move toward the West Coast?"

Spaatz fell silent. The Roosevelt administration had discussed common defense with Britain regarding Canada, and the British government's attitude had been decent. But someone had leaked the news, and all of Canada was now in a panic. Local Canadian units had mobilized and begun taking up positions along the US-Canada border. Clearly, the Canadians' wariness of America far outweighed their fear of China.

Marshall had a modest tolerance for alcohol, and with Absinthe being a potent spirit, he hadn't touched his glass again after the first. Only then did he say to the other two, "The Army has completed its plan to enter Canada. This plan *must* be carried out."

"Why?" Spaatz asked, somewhat puzzled.

Marshall found the question foolish but felt he had to explain: "If we fail to acquire Canada, we will be nailed to the pillar of shame."

Even with Marshall speaking so bluntly, it took Spaatz a moment to understand. Draining his glass, he sighed, "Damnable politics!"

Yes. This was politics—damnable politics. The US military had suffered defeat after defeat, and at the hands of the once-"weak" Chinese. Domestic public opinion was largely one of bewilderment. Fortunately, the American media was highly disciplined, desperately portraying China as an evil, barbaric, and ferocious nation that won only through numerical superiority. This had finally given the American public a reason they could accept.

But swallowing Canada was another matter. With his level of comprehension, Spaatz now understood the reason: the Roosevelt administration was preparing for defeat. If they merely lost men and territory like the Philippines and Hawaii, the administration would be viewed as incompetent.

If they swallowed Canada, Roosevelt would undoubtedly have fulfilled a mission of expansion. Losing to a "barbaric" China with vast numbers would then seem not so unacceptable.

Perhaps unable to stomach such political maneuvering, or perhaps out of unease, Spaatz asked, "What if China occupies the West Coast?"

Marshall did not want to answer. Kimmel, however, gave a nonchalant laugh. "By then I'll have been dismissed; whatever I say won't matter."

This self-abandoning attitude displeased Spaatz. Becoming emotional, he pressed, "What does Chief Kimmel believe we should do?"

Kimmel had long made up his mind and replied immediately, "Seek peace with China immediately and exit the war. That way, we can bring the units in New Zealand back."

The suggestion was so decisive that Spaatz found the shock hard to accept. Yet upon reflection, he felt Kimmel's words weren't without merit. But his pride as a US General made him voice his opposition: "Our Air Force will surely hold the West Coast. Does China truly dare to attack it?"

Marshall agreed with this assessment. The Army Staff had conducted two simulations and concluded that millions of US soldiers and hundreds of thousands of Air Force personnel could thoroughly annihilate any Chinese landing force. So Marshall said, "China may not even have the capability to take New Zealand."

Hearing this, Admiral Kimmel downed another glass of Absinthe and let out a low, cold laugh. The laugh contained no disdain, but rather a profound sense of sympathy and a weary, weathered feeling.

For some reason, both Marshall and Spaatz felt a sudden, inexplicable unease.