"I want to know exactly how many people your company can send to fight if Congress and the president authorize the Navy to seize the Philippines?" George Walker Harriman is much more direct than Samuel Bush. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo

"It has to do with the timing of the start of the war, Mr. Harriman. But I don't think war would have broken out during President Cleveland's administration. ”

"Yes, Democrats have always lacked aggressiveness."

Harriman's accusation made Qin Lang feel strange: Normally, this only appears when the interlocutors are all Republican members or supporters of the Republican Party, but now ...... Samuel Bush is a Republican, and he also supports the Republican Party, but Harriman ...... He seems to be a member or supporter of the Democratic Party.

Will there be a Republican Navy Secretary in a Democratic-run administration? Although Clinton did appoint a Republican secretary of defense......

And as far as he knows, President Bush's great-grandfather has always been called "the force behind the Democratic Party"; He is a supporter of the Democratic Party.

Why?

"Mr. Qin, what are you thinking?" Samuel Bush noticed that Qin Lang was wandering. But as a politician, he didn't point it out straight.

"I just think that it would be more advantageous for us to declare war on the Spanish government when they are at their worst. The situation between Cuba and the Philippines is gradually deteriorating, and opportunities will arise in three to four years. Qin Lang defended himself, "I personally think it's 1898. ”

"I doubt it," said Harriman, "but, according to your speculation, how many 'guards' of your company in 1898 would have been able to cooperate with naval operations?" ”

"Two thousand, or two thousand five hundred."

"But you just said that you could take Manila with five thousand men." He almost remembered what Qin Lang had said.

"Nope." Qin Lang corrected, "Mr. Harriman, what I said just now was, 'If this mercenary army is expanded to 5,000 people, I guarantee that they can capture Manila.'" ”

"Is this possible...... I mean, is it difficult to expand the number of guards that Umbrella has to five thousand? ”

"If it's a funding issue, it's not hard to solve." Bush added.

"Funding is just one of many issues." Qin Lang shrugged, then turned to Harriman, "First of all, we must pay attention to a commercial company with five thousand armed men, it will cause dissatisfaction among many people. I don't want to be accused of trying to create riots or riots in the United States. ”

"There is some truth to your concerns, but there is no law in either the federal or state government that prohibits American companies from hiring armed men in large numbers." Bush said, "As for the San Diego local government, I think it's just a small meaning to you, Mr. Qin. ”

"Mr. Senator, we can't help but see that the next Governor of California will be a Democrat," according to Qin Lang's information, although it partially satisfied the voters' desire to expel the Chinese, Mr. Markham still failed to change history; He has already lost the gubernatorial election.

"But the state legislature is still our party in the ascendancy." Harriman's use of "we" suggests that he is indeed a Republican member - the Republican undersecretary of the Navy in his Democratic administration.

Qin Lang was completely confused. "I thought the Harriman family would be closer to the Democratic Party."

"That's Mr. Edward Henry Harriman," Bush explained, "George's uncle." However, he was just as strange - why didn't Qin Lang know about George's party? He had extensive and secretive sources, and it seemed that Morgan should have mentioned it to him. This shouldn't happen.

But in fact, Morgan never mentioned Harriman to Qin Lang, and in fact, he suddenly realized that he might have recognized the wrong person[Note 2].

"Let's discuss more important matters," Harriman, apparently not wanting to talk about the different party leanings between himself and a relative, "Mr. Qin, what questions do you have with excluding the interference that the Democrats might cause to you?" ”

Since he was willing to bypass that embarrassing topic, Qin Lang was of course very happy. He thought for a moment and continued: "The military quality of the guards - even now, only a few of the seven hundred guards have served in the army, and most only know how to aim and shoot. ”

This is not a reason, at least not a persuasive one. "This can be solved with training. Even if you speculate, you have more than three years. Harriman said.

"Mercenaries are not federal troops." Qin Lang reminded, "Unless there are really cornered guys, no one wants to undergo strict military training." But without rigorous military training, civilians will never be able to become the warriors we want. And even with rigorous training, they are not qualified. ”

"Why?"

"They don't have real combat experience. Even with the most rigorous training, only new recruits are trained, and only real battlefields can turn them into experienced veterans. ”

"In other words, your 'guards' will never be able to meet our needs, will they?" Bush has begun to abandon the idea of using mercenaries. A real battlefield? Unless the United States breaks out in another civil war or another war with Mexico, where will there be a real battlefield?

Harriman's expression was also changing. Of course, in his opinion, Qin Lang's performance was more like looking for some excuse to refuse. "Mr. Qin, it seems that you are not very interested in cooperating with the Navy's operations."

"Actually, I'm interested in helping the Navy occupy the Philippines -- it's pretty good business." Qin Lang made a gesture, "But I have to get some guarantees first." ”

"What guarantees?"

"First of all, I don't want to be troubled by federal and state agencies, parliaments or courts."

"We've promised that no one will trouble you." Talking about this issue repeatedly made Bush very impatient, and he felt that Qin Lang was acting too cautiously. "You've got the friendship of a number of conglomerates, including Morgan, and the Democrats will seriously consider whether it's worth it when they're ready to get you in trouble."

Qin Lang shrugged. "I'm a Chinese, Mr. Bush, and I have to be a little more cautious about a lot of things."

"Perhaps only a written guarantee can give you complete peace of mind," Harriman smiled, "but no one, either the Senate or the Admiralty, would give such a written guarantee." ”

"Of course, I'm absolutely sure of that. But I only hope that when I send a telegram to Washington asking for help, I won't be thrown aside. Qin Lang pouted.

"Of course, that's no problem at all - as long as you don't start a rebellion." Bush assured.

Harriman made the same assurance.

"What if I hire a lot of minorities, blacks or even Chinese as guards?" Qin Lang still didn't look very relieved—but it wasn't. "In addition, I will also send the company's guards to war-torn areas abroad, so that they can gain valuable practical experience."

Bush and Harriman glanced at each other. "It may be troublesome," Bush said, "and if your company's employees are captured abroad, their U.S. citizenship will cause a lot of trouble for the federal government, and the federal government will not be able to do anything to rescue them......

"So I'm going to use minorities, illegal immigrants, blacks, and Chinese people in my company in a way that doesn't bother the federal government, and the federal government doesn't need to do anything to save them." As cruel as it is, it is true, "No one cares if they live or die." ”

"If so...... Yes, you can do exactly what you want, Mr. Qin. Trust me, there will never be any trouble. Harriman reassured.

Bush's assurances were more cautious than his. "Even if there is any trouble, it is easy to solve."

"In that case," Qin Lang showed a faint smile that often hung on his face, "the obstacles that prevented us from reaching an agreement have finally disappeared. Now, gentlemen, let's talk about the other parts of the agreement......"

After some heated debate and bargaining, Qin Lang reached a preliminary agreement with Bush and Harriman -- the specific agreement could only be finalized after discussion with the real person in charge -- that before the United States declared war on Spain, he should send a guard force of no less than 5,000 men to the Far East to defend the American expatriates there, and the Navy and Foreign Affairs Committee would ensure that he would raise this force without any interference.

In addition to this, given that U.S. nationals may not be able to afford to hire security guards, and that Umbrella may receive 65 percent of the total funds in the Philippine treasury to compensate for the human and material losses it may incur.

Although this ratio seems slightly higher, Qin Lang, Bush and Harriman all believe that American politicians will not care about this small amount of money because they are not taxpayers' money; Although it is not so reluctant, it will never hurt how to use it.

Moreover, it takes a lot of money to assemble and arm an army of 5,000 men, and no one will do such a thing without a guarantee of adequate returns.

Of course, Qin Lang's plan is not just to recoup the cost and make a little money. Bush and Harriman did not know how much gold and silver was in the Philippine treasury - although he did not know - but it contained at least tens of millions of dollars worth of wealth plundered by Spanish colonizers in the Philippines over the centuries.

Sixty-five percent, and what he got was by no means a small number.

The only problem is that he will repay half of it to the various consortia. After all, only by borrowing money from the consortium can he have the funds to form a mercenary.

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Note: Edward. Henry. Harriman is a well-known American railroad tycoon and the founder of Harriman Investment Bank. Averyff. Harriman's father

Note 2: To correct the previous mistake, Bush's great-grandfather should be George W. Bush. Herbert. Walker, of course, was also an early founder of Harriman Investment Bank

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