Chapter 1035

Marshall was silent because of my words. Looking at his embarrassed expression, I didn't want to embarrass him any more. I said hello casually and planned to leave with the interpreter.

I didn't take two steps, but I was stopped by him. When I heard that he asked me to stay, I could not help but wonder if he was going to make an exception for me to meet Roosevelt alone. He quickly stopped again and asked calmly, "chief of staff, what else can I do for you?"

"Well, general oshanina." Marshall hesitated and said, "there will be a new destroyer launched at Norfolk Naval Base tomorrow. Would you like to see it?"

When I heard that Marshall asked me to see the launch of a new ship, my heart was still a little uncomfortable. My heart said that I wanted to see Roosevelt, but you arranged for me to go to the naval base. I just didn't want me to appear in front of the president of the United States. But on second thought, I've never been to a naval base before. I'm just going to see what the US aircraft carrier fleet looks like. He nodded and readily agreed, "thank you. I'd be very happy to visit your naval base. But I don't know who I should call tomorrow. Why don't you come with me? "

"Colonel Henry!" Marshall turned and yelled into the room. An officer in a white navy uniform squeezed out of a group of army officers and came quickly to Marshall to stand. Marshall pointed to me and said, "Captain, you will accompany general o'shanina to Norfolk Naval Base tomorrow."

When the tall captain gave a loud promise, Marshall turned to me with a smile and said, "o'shanina, I'll let Colonel Victor Henry accompany you to Norfolk Naval Base tomorrow."

After the officer behind me finished translating for me, I went forward to shake hands with colonel Henry, and said politely, "Captain, please."

"General," said Colonel Henry, holding my hand and without expression, "I'll pick you up at eight tomorrow morning. Please be prepared in advance."

"All right, Captain, I'll be ready by eight." After these words to Henry, I turned to Marshall again. After thanking him, I turned and left with the interpreter.

Back at the embassy, Molotov called khrushiev and I to his room as usual to inquire about the progress of today's negotiations. When I said that I would go to Norfolk Naval Base tomorrow to watch the launch of a new ship, Molotov didn't say anything, but khluliev was surprised to say: "the Atlantic Fleet is under the leadership of the naval forces and the naval operations minister in peacetime, and under the command of the commander of the US Atlantic headquarters in wartime, Marshall, the chief of staff of the army, had the right to let people see the launch of the new ship? "

After listening to khrushiev's words, my heart could not help but clatter, saying in secret, is Marshall cheating me? Before I could understand it, Molotov waved his hand to refute khluliov, saying: "Comrade minister, the United States is in a state of war at present, and the division of labor within the U.S. military should be adjusted in a way that we do not know. As General Marshall, he certainly would not casually promise oshanina what he could not do. "

After my presentation, Molotov kicked me out of his house as usual, saying that there was something important to discuss with khrushiev. I know that in my current identity, there are many secrets that I can't listen to. Otherwise, I can't rule out the possibility of being killed in the future.

When Captain Henry came to pick me up the next day, the interpreter came with me. He sat in the front co pilot's seat and kept translating for Henry and me.

I asked Henry curiously, "Colonel, how far is it from us to Norfolk Naval Base?"

"582 kilometers." Henry gave the answer without hesitation.

Hearing this figure, I calculated it silently in my heart. If we change Norfolk at the speed of 60 km / h, it will be dark. What new ships will be launched. Thinking of this, I tentatively said: "Colonel, Norfolk is so far away from Washington. When we get there, isn't it evening? Can we catch up with the launch of the new ship?"

"No delay, general." Henry didn't care about my worries at all. He said confidently, "we'll go by military plane. It'll be an hour at most."

Listening to what Henry said, I know that he must have been ready for a long time. He just needs to go with him. He doesn't have to worry about missing the launching ceremony of the warship. Instead of asking further questions, he leans back in his chair, lowers his head and begins to close his eyes.

A transport plane was parked at the military airport. A pilot in a flying cap was waiting beside the plane. When he saw our car passing by, he ran over. He raised his hand to salute Colonel Henry who had just got off the bus and asked, "is that Colonel Henry, please?"

"Yes, captain." After glancing at each other's ranks, Henry asked politely, "are the planes ready?"

"The plane can take off at any time. I'm at your command." The pilot captain replied respectfully.

Colonel Henry turned to look at me, gestured please, and said, "please, general." Seeing that I stepped on the gangway into the cabin, I turned around and told the pilot, "get ready to take off."

On the way to Norfolk Naval base, I asked Henry in a loud voice amid the deafening roar of the motor: "are you a combat officer, Colonel?"

After hearing this, Henry shook his head and said, "no, I'm the captain of a warship. Originally, I was appointed captain of the California, but before I took office, my ship was bombed and sunk in Pearl Harbor by the damned Japanese, so I was re appointed captain of the Northampton. At present, my warship is still under repair in the shipyard, so I am temporarily seconded to Washington to work When our plane approached Norfolk, he began to introduce the local conditions and customs: "Norfolk is an important industrial and commercial center across the river from Portsmouth, Hampton and Newport News. After the outbreak of the war, the city developed rapidly and established huge naval and air force facilities one after another. It is the location of the Atlantic Fleet Command of the United States. Norfolk Area is the largest concentration of naval activities on the east coast of China. It is located in the southeast of Virginia and has a large number of shipbuilding facilities and cargo handling terminals in Newport News. The area includes Norfolk Naval base, Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Atlantic Fleet Combat Training Center, Naval Amphibious Base, naval ammunition depot and naval aviation base. Norfolk Naval base is the largest naval base in the world at present. It can enter the ocean about 18 nautical miles to the West. There are 15 docks for ships to berth. There are about 90 ships of various types in the harbor at any time. They are moored in the harbor for repair, modification and training. The naval base is the home port for aircraft carriers, cruisers, destroyers, large amphibious ships, submarines and Logistics ships. " When our plane landed, I saw a jeep coming in the distance and stopping not far from the plane. Out of the car came a second lieutenant, wearing a cornice hat and a starched white navy uniform with gold-plated buttons, standing straight outside the cabin door. When Captain Henry got off the plane, the second lieutenant quickly saluted him. After glancing at me, he said to Henry, "Captain, I'm here to meet you."“ Have you arranged the location for the ceremony? " Henry asked in a low voice. Although the translation behind me didn't translate this sentence for me, I still understood it. Just because I understood, I couldn't help muttering again, wondering if we had to hide from everyone when we arrived? The second lieutenant nodded and said with certainty, "yes, Captain, the position has been arranged for you. Please follow me." I sat on the jeep driven by the second lieutenant and looked towards the port. I saw a lot of buildings on the water, which made me wonder. Xin said that there are only dozens of ships. They all look so spectacular. If all the 5000 or 6000 ships landed in Normandy were concentrated in one place, what an amazing sight it would be. Our car stopped at the door of a gray container on the bank. The second lieutenant turned to Henry and said, "Captain, here we are. In the box reconstructed from the container, you can clearly see the whole process of launching the new ship."“ Lieutenant, where are you going? " Asked Henry curiously. The second lieutenant shrugged his shoulders and said, "where else can I go, of course, I'll stay in the car waiting for you to come out." Then he handed a bunch of keys to Colonel Henry. Henry took the key in his hand, said thanks, took me to the door of the container, and opened the door with the key. I walked in and saw that the facilities inside were very simple, with a long table on the left and several chairs on the right. Maybe it's because people often watch the launching ceremony of the new ship here, and there are some telescopes on the table. Henry went over, then picked up a telescope and headed for the window at the other end of the container. I quickly followed him to the window and looked out. Only a few hundred meters away, there is a brand-new gray warship, is parked on the water side of the berth. Seeing this situation, I can't help but wonder, because in my impression, ships are usually launched by floating docks similar to super large aircraft carrier ships, and longitudinal launching mode suitable for most ships. At the moment, the warship parked on the berth doesn't look like it will launch in either way. I just wanted to ask Henry how this new ship will be launched. He had turned to me and said with a smile, "general, I don't think you've seen a new ship launched. Did you see the destroyer? It's called the Eldridge, and it's going to launch in a way you don't expect