Bush walked into the club. Harriman and two other Republicans were already at www.biquge.info the same table they usually occupy, their heads together whispering about the situation. But what made Bush feel strange was that the expressions of several people had some rare solemnity, as if they had received some bad news.

What news would be bad news now? The senator pondered, walked over and sat down on the only empty chair, nodded to everyone as a greeting to him, then called the waiter, asked him to bring a cup of coffee, and said, "Gentlemen, I have good news. ”

He didn't ask them directly what they were discussing, because they would have told him about it themselves, and now he wanted to share the good news he had just gotten with a few friends.

"Rear Admiral Dewey's fleet has completely destroyed the Spanish fleet in the Philippines. Qin Lang's Volunteers are rushing to Manila - maybe tomorrow, American troops will be able to land on the coast. ”

"Great." Harriman whispered, "In this way, the Philippines is already under the control of the United States." ”

The Republican to his left nodded, and then said, "But we have some bad news here." Two days ago, Severa's fleet left the Cape Verde Islands. ”

Bush took a sip of coffee, picked up his card, and asked casually, "What is his goal?" ”

"The bad news is that we don't know where he is, we don't know where he's going, and Severa has managed to hide the whereabouts of his fleet." "Both Rear Admiral Sampson and Mahan thought he might go to San Juan to refuel, but others were skeptical," Harriman said. ”

"We can send a cruiser to San Juan to reconnoiter ......"

"The Army and Navy commissioners have already made recommendations to Sampson." Another interjected, "But our biggest problem is that the public has been in a state of panic and hysteria." ”

"That's the second piece of bad news." Harriman added, looking helpless.

The panic of the public was a completely unforeseen problem -- no one could have predicted that the American people, who were so strongly demanding war against Spain and seeking revenge for the "Maine," would have such a lack of confidence in American military power and maritime defense, that when the news of the loss of Severa's fleet was revealed in the newspapers, the first thing that could be thought of was the imminent invasion of the United States by Spain - although the moment earlier they were clamoring for a "lesson to the evil Spaniards."

In this world, there is probably nothing more ridiculous than this sudden change of 180 degrees...... And pathetic.

"Sadly, our newspapers are still creating more panic." This time it's the gentleman to Harriman's right. His beard was shaking slightly, giving the impression that he was a little angry.

He should be outraged. It had only been two days since Severa's fleet had left the Cape Verde Islands and disappeared, but the newspapers were already full of strange news, some claiming that the Spanish fleet was about to reach the waters near Boston, some shouting that Spanish battleships had been found off the coast near New York, some predicting that Severa's goal was Philadelphia, and some simply hysterically exclaiming that somewhere had been shelled and suffered heavy losses......

"It's all." Bush commented.

"Yes, it's all." Harriman sighed, "We know, but the people don't know. ”

"You know those stupid guys who only want to believe what they see in the newspapers, not the facts." The one to his left snorted, "I used to think that this was a good thing, and by manipulating public opinion, we could make people believe what we wanted them to believe......"

"Mr. Bennett!"

"I'm sorry, Christopher." Bennett shrugged his shoulders and went straight to the end of the conversation: "Anyway, the people's blind trust of newspapers has caused us a lot of trouble. ”

"How bad?" Bush asked, praying that the situation would not become too bad.

But it's too late now.

The panic among the population had grown to uncontrollable proportions, and even the upper classes were affected: fearing that Boston would be shelled by the Spanish fleet, the financiers there had collectively relocated fifty miles inland, taking with them their families, their possessions, all the wealth they could take with them. But they weren't the only ones doing so, many were fleeing their homes, and the rest were organizing militias ready to fight back against the Spanish invasion.

Even municipal bodies and councils in coastal cities have been involved, with officials and city councillors putting pressure on Washington and Congress on behalf of their constituents for protection from the Navy and making the situation worse.

Harriman sighed reluctantly. "Cities along the coast demanded that the Navy take steps to provide security to the public and to crush the Spanish fleet that had invaded the United States. Unfortunately, the Admiralty had to meet these stupid demands. The Atlantic Fleet had been divided into three parts, with Rear Admiral Sampson leading a fleet blockading Cuba, Commodore Schleier leading a fleet on standby in the Hamptons to reinforce the Caribbean or the North Atlantic, and finally, the cruiser USS Charleston and four armed merchant ships cruising the waters north of Cape Delaware to pacify the panicked population. ”

"It's so stupid!" Bush whispered -- the Admiralty's division of five battleships and two armored cruisers into two fleets meant only one thing: neither Sampson nor Schleih had the ability to annihilate the Spanish fleet alone, Severa would have a chance to break through the blockade and enter Havana, and the course of the war would be greatly prolonged -- a foolish decision!

He accused: "I think Theodore is a smart man, how can he do that? ”

"On the orders of Secretary Long, Mr. Roosevelt has resigned." Bennett explained.

"Resign?" This is again news that Bush did not expect. But in reality, he should have expected this.

"You know, Mr. Roosevelt used to be a cowboy and sheriff for a while, and he was an idle man, and he didn't like clerical work." Harriman smiled wryly, "So he resigned from the post of Deputy Secretary of the Navy and joined the Leonard Commandment. General Wood's Volunteers. ”

"My God!" The senator stroked his forehead. The Deputy Secretary of the Navy resigned to join the Volunteers to fight in Cuba...... Perhaps Roosevelt's move had a high propaganda value and was able to encourage more patriotic youth to join the army...... But he picked the wrong time.

He should stay in Washington.

However, now that Roosevelt has resigned, there is no chance that this matter will change. Bush shook his head, cleared the complaints from his head, and continued to ask: "What is the attitude of the War Department?" ”

"The Minister of Algiers has agreed to issue stockpiles of weapons to militias everywhere - of course, I don't think this has any practical significance. The weapons that the War Department was able to provide were almost all antiques from the Civil War, and at best they brought only a little psychological comfort. ”

etc. Christopher. As MacDonald finished speaking, Bennett immediately picked up: "Actually, I don't think there's even psychological comfort. Even a fool knows that a couple of twelve-pounder front-loading guns simply could not have dealt with the armored battleships of the Spaniards. ”

"At least the Army's generosity will make them feel a little better." Harriman especially emphasized that "slightly". He also did not think that a few old twelve-pounder mountain howitzers could be used against armored cruisers, but what else could Algiers do? The equipment used by the army is not much better than the weapons obtained by the Self-Defense Forces, and the only thing worth mentioning is probably the rifle produced under the license of the Great Viper.

He smiled. "I just hope that, after this war, Congress will remember to increase the military's budget."

"Then you'll be disappointed." Bush replied immediately, without any hesitation. Getting Congress to pass a special budget for the $55 million[2] war is already a very troublesome affair, even within the Republican Party. Increase military spending in peacetime? That's dreaming.

However, this is not a topic worth discussing now, and the focus is on how to get rid of the current catastrophic social problems. "We need some good news to boost people's ......"

"You just said that Dewey wiped out the Spanish fleet in the Philippines." Bennett interrupted him, "There is also Qin Lang's army about to land in the Philippines. But those two pieces of news aren't good enough. ”

The Philippines is a place far too far away, and the American people pay far less attention to it than they do to their homeland, and may not even know where the Philippines is. One or two small victories for the American army there were not enough to shake the panic among the population.

"The situation will only improve if Severa's fleet is defeated."

"Richard, you should change your mind." Bush knocked on the table, "The people don't know the specifics of the Spanish Navy -- we can create rumors in the newspapers that Severa's fleet has gone to the Far East to save the Spaniards there." ”

"But there will still be many people who are worried about ......"

Harriman apparently knew his senatorial friend better than the other two. "Christopher, I think Samuel means that since we can't dispel the rumors, then create more rumors to confuse the people's eyes and make them uncomfortable. Then they choose a reassuring message and force themselves to believe that no one wants to live in fear all the time. ”

He paused and thought about it for a moment. "Why don't we make some better news."

"What's the news?"

"U.S. forces have occupied Manila."

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Note: Historically, it was the USS San Francisco that carried out this mission, but in this book the USS San Francisco is in the Philippines

Note 2: The special appropriation of the Congress for the Spanish-American War is 50 million, and Qin Lang's 5 million commission will be added to the book (to be continued, if you want to know what will happen next, please log in to the www.qidian.com, there are more chapters, support the author, support genuine reading!) (To be continued.) )