As night approached, Sigsby, who had been comfortably happy for hours, finally gave the order that all the officers and soldiers had been waiting for. Pen ~ Fun ~ Pavilion www.biquge.info" lifts the battle alert. ”

"Lift the battle alert!" The officer on duty repeated the order, his tone revealing a palpable joy and lightheartedness, but even happier were the junior officers and sailors who had spent an afternoon in the gun emplacements, ammunition depots, and boiler rooms. Many collapsed on the deck at once, got up again, and walked to the restaurant elated, albeit exhausted.

Ice cream will be served in the restaurant today! Sailors who feel their throats are so dry that they are about to smoke – there's nothing quite like a cold and delicious meal in the hot Caribbean...... Well, in fact, the ice cream served in the ship's restaurant, made with milk that has gone almost spoiled, is the second worst food after cans, but everyone needs it. The only thing that's a shame is that the sailor's restaurant only serves ice cream once a week, and there's only one serving per person.

"It's a pity, I'd like to have another one." A black-covered sailor working in the boiler room brandished his spoon and yelled at his companion.

"Stop dreaming, man." Everyone shook their heads together.

But the sailor seemed to be still dreaming. After putting the last scoop of ice cream in his mouth and savoring it for a while, he said, "Maybe I can learn the art of ice cream making from the cooks......

"Stop dreaming, man." It's still the same sentence.

"I ......"

"Let's talk about something meaningful, guys...... We can find a way to commemorate this day of the week. One sailor suggested, "What do you think of Ice Cream Day?" ”

Objections were expressed. "We've had 'Cold Beer Day' and 'Rum Day.'"

There were also those who agreed. "So there are two days a week to look forward to" -- beer, like ice cream, is served once a week, and rum is once a month -- "nine days a month." ”

It's easier to have a day to look forward to than to look forward to it, isn't it?

But there are other suggestions to be made. "Why isn't it 'Spoiled Milk Day'?"

The sailors shouted and argued, and more and more people in the dining room joined in the discussion. At first it was just the sailors in the boiler room, then the gunners, the damage management detachment, the marines...... The discussion gradually became intense, and everyone was emotional, dancing and spitting away, sweeping away the exhausted and depressed appearance of the previous - but not everyone liked the discussion. A sailor stood up and parted the crowd and walked towards the hatch.

"George!" His friend stopped him, "You're not part of the discussion? ”

"I'm going to smoke." Sailor George replied in a tone of course and left.

His friend had no choice but to shrug his shoulders. At that moment, he suddenly remembered that in the afternoon, George had left the boiler room to smoke on deck, and had not been caught by the officers. For a moment, the sailor was anxious to catch up with his friend, and asked George what good place he had found, hidden enough to avoid the eyes of the patrolling officers. Soon, however, the sailor's attention was drawn back to the discussion, and he put aside the question in his mind and rejoined the discussion.

Actually, he should have caught up. Of course, it was only now discovered that it was obviously too late for Sailor George to throw a cigarette butt into the coal tank, and the high-quality bituminous coal loaded by the battleship had already been ignited, but it was not yet burning because of the lack of sufficient oxygen in the coal tank due to poor ventilation. However, the temperature of the cabin is indeed rising, and the temperature of the gunpowder in the ammunition depot is slowly rising.

No one realizes that danger is approaching. The sailors who were not on duty crowded into the dining room to discuss their ice cream anniversary, while the senior officers gathered in the captain's room to listen to Sigsby's tirade while enjoying a delicious dinner that only they could enjoy.

“…… War is bound to break out. Again, the Admiral emphasized his conclusion, "After the Spaniards have so arrogantly humiliated the United States and our President, Congress will inevitably authorize the Government to take retaliatory action." And our Excellency the President is not a soft egg like Cleveland. ”

Sigsby picked up a piece of beef and put it in his mouth, crushed it hard, swallowed it, and then cried again. "Democrat softass!"

The officers all frowned and looked bitter. There is no doubt that the Colonel's comment was extremely wrong, and a senior officer of the Navy went so far as to accuse the former president of being a "soft egg" in front of countless colleagues, and casually scolded the entire Democratic Party, and if the Democratic members of Congress knew about it, Sigsby would have to get out of the way immediately. And as an audience, I am afraid that the future of all of you will be affected to some extent.

The United States is not a country where military personnel can casually criticize state policies and politicians, and Congress, which regards the military as the greatest enemy of the country and democracy, will never miss any opportunity to weaken the military, even if more than half of its members are advocating expansionism.

It's a strange country......

Thankfully, Siggsby quickly shifted the conversation to tactical issues that the military was more interested in and better understood. "If war breaks out, we, the battleship 'Maine', will be the first naval ship to arrive in the combat area, and we will face the Spanish troops in Cuba alone until reinforcements arrive......"

"It's not relevant, Charles." Vice-Captain James knocked on the table, "We don't have the ability to face the coastal batteries of Havana alone. ”

In the minds of naval officers, it was a foolish thing to engage a battleship with a coastal battery - it was difficult for a shell fired from a ship's gun to cause any substantial damage to a coastal battery, but if a battleship was hit by a shell fired from a battery, it would usually be forced to withdraw from the battle and return to the dock to lick its wounds, even if it was not sunk or severely damaged.

But the "Maine" certainly does not have the opportunity to lick its wounds. The Spaniards had an absolute superiority in the number of artillery, and if Siggsby had really commanded the battleships to rush into the bay like a lone hero and engage the batteries with the batteries, it is estimated that not many of the three hundred and fifty-four officers and sailors, including him, would have survived.

"If war breaks out, we must withdraw from the port of Havana as soon as possible." The vice captain resolutely emphasized.

"I'm not going to leave a war zone without fighting." "This is a cowardly act that a soldier should not have," Sigsby shouted. And I don't think that those Spanish gunners of inferior quality could hit our battleships. ”

"The Spaniards have much more artillery than we do, Charles, and even if their gunners only have a one percent hit rate, we will be overwhelmed by bullets." The vice-captain was determined to convince his old friend at all costs, not only for the sake of all the officers and sailors on the warship, but also for the honor of the U.S. Navy. If one of the main warships of the United States and Spain had been sunk by the Spaniards on the first day of the war between the United States and Spain, the blow would probably have caused the resignation of the Secretary of the Admiralty......

However, whether war will actually break out is still an uncertain question. Maybe Charles. Sigsby was just Kim Jung getting too nervous, or too eager to fight, to the point that there were some errors in his judgment...... Who knows?

In short, James himself did not believe that war would break out. If the United States really declared war on Spain because of a personal letter from the Spanish minister, it would be the most comical thing since the founding of the United States; If Congress really plans to fight a war, it needs a stronger case.

For example, it was the Spaniards who attacked first......

A loud explosion suddenly reached the ears of every senior officer in the captain's quarters, and at the same time, the hull of the battleship shook violently, slamming everyone at the table and every piece of cutlery on the table to the deck. And the lights were all out, and the cabin was pitch black.

"God, what happened?" Sigsby didn't seem to figure out what was going on, but the next moment, he shouted, "Explosion! We are under attack! ”

As if to match his guess, the officers heard another dull explosion, and the battleship continued to shake, and the deck began to tilt to one side.

"We're under attack!" This seemed to be the only reasonable conclusion, and the officers all got up and rushed out of the cabin. Sigsby screamed behind them. "Battle alert, everyone goes into combat positions and strikes back at the damned Spaniards! Immediate damage control-"

The admiral did not see that the bow deck of the "Maine" completely collapsed at the first explosion, revealing a large ugly hole, and on the port side of the battleship, also in the bow position, there was another huge hole. The sea was pouring into the ship from the breakage, causing her to sink rapidly and tilt to the left.

All his orders are meaningless.

Then, a third explosion rang out as well, and it was more violent than the previous two. Next to the large hole on the port side, a ball of fireball burst through the steel plate and sprayed out of the hull, reflecting a bright reflection on the water. And at this moment, the roll of the "Maine" began to increase, and it became faster and faster. After only a few seconds, none of the officers was able to stand up straight.

"We're done!" The gunslinger shouted in despair. Of course, even if he didn't say anything, the officers knew that the battleship was going to sink and that they were in danger.

"Get out of the cabin......"

That was the last sound - in a continuous burst of explosions from within, the "Maine" turned over, exposing the bottom of the ship, which was covered with rattans and shells, to the air, and then disappeared from the surface of the sea. (To be continued, if you want to know what will happen next, please log in to the www.qidian.com, more chapters, support the author, support genuine reading!) (To be continued.) )