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In the chamber of the White House, William. McKinley and several key members of his administration — Secretary of State Sherman, Secretary of War Algiers, Secretary of the Navy Long and Secretary of the Treasury — and the vast majority of his staff are listening to a rather bad report. And the report was so bad that everyone in the room was sad and angry...... Although in reality a lot of people want to laugh out loud.

Now is not the right time to laugh. Otherwise, if the angry American people, who have only "revenge" in their minds, get any news, everyone in the conference hall will be discredited in an instant, and it is very likely that they will have to leave the United States to seek refuge somewhere else, never to return.

This is a time of grief and anger.

"...... battleship 'Maine' exploded violently and capsized and sank within minutes, including the captain of the ship, Charles Main. Of the 354 officers and enlisted men, including Admiral Sigsby, only one second lieutenant and fifteen sailors were rescued, and the rest were all dead or missing......"

The Secretary of the War interrupted the White House staff as they read the report aloud. "Why were only sixteen people rescued?"

The staff glanced at the report. "The battleship sank very quickly, and most people had no chance of escaping. And it was dinner time when the explosion occurred, and according to one rescued sailor...... "He thought about the name carefully, but in the end he could only turn the report to the page with the name." "George. Mawar. According to his report, almost all sailors who were not on duty at that time gathered in the dining room to discuss issues. ”

"What's the problem?" The Secretary of War asked.

"It doesn't matter, Russell." Before the staff could answer, the Secretary of the Navy interjected, "It is important that because the incident happened rather suddenly, our officers and sailors sank with the battleship before they realized what had happened." ”

"And the vortex created when the battleship sinks will ...... those who have not had time to escape."

"Needless to say." This time it was Sherman who interrupted. Of all the big names in the room, the secretary of state was probably the only one who wasn't happy. In fact, as can be seen from his haggard expression, the recent outburst of calls for the United States to go to war with Spain has put him in a difficult position. Perhaps in the days after the explosion he did not rest at all.

Of course, Sherman was not opposed to war with Spain, and McKinley's government had no ministers who opposed imperialist policies and expansionism. It's just that as the top head of U.S. diplomacy, the secretary of state wants to be cautious about the timing of the bombing and exercise restraint for the time being until the truth is clarified.

"Have you figured out the cause of the explosion?"

"Nope." The staff replied.

Sherman's demands were simply impossible to do. "Maine" is still lying on the bottom of the sea in the port of Havana...... Of course, even if she is fished out, with the existing detection technology, only one thing can be determined, the direct cause of the sinking of the battleship was the explosion of the ammunition depot. But why did the ammunition depot explode? Only God knows, even the culprit, the immortal boiler room sailor George . Mr. Mawar did not know the exact reason.

And he would never be stupid enough to say that he threw a cigarette butt into the coal bunker - if he remembered it.

Fortunately, for the US Congress, the government and the people, the real cause of the explosion of the ammunition depot of the battleship "Maine" was never an important question. There is only one important point, an American warship carrying out the mission of protecting the lives and property of the American people exploded and sank in a Spanish colonial port, and 338 officers and sailors were killed and missing, and someone must be responsible for this; If no one stands up on their own, then the United States will pick one of its own volition.

It's Spain! Evil Spain, bloody Spain, Spain that deceived and humiliated America. Only this country will provoke the United States, and it will have to pay for the explosion and sinking of the battleship "Maine".

"There is no doubt that the Spaniards must have sent spies to blow up our warship." The Admiralty said angrily, clenching his fist in his right hand and waving it like a cowboy who had been thoroughly enraged.

"In recent times, this kind of irresponsible rhetoric has been everywhere." The Secretary of State frowned, "Of course, our people can think of it as straightforward that Spain blew up the Maine, but as government officials, we should be more sensible." ”

"What are you worried about, John?" Algiers asked curiously.

"I just think we have to have enough evidence before we declare war on the Spaniards. This will prevent us from becoming passive in diplomacy. As secretary of state, Sherman had to worry about this, and he did not want to hear the ministers stationed in various countries report to Washington, and the European countries unanimously condemned the United States as a senseless madman.

But others aren't worried about that. And in their opinion, Mr. Secretary is just thinking too much. In addition, his request could not be fulfilled at all.

"We can't find more evidence, and we don't need it." "Our warship exploded, and that's the best evidence -- the explosion must have been done by spies sent by the Spaniards, otherwise how would we explain it?" Could it be that the 'Maine' exploded on its own to our people? ”

In fact, his reasoning is already very close to the truth, the problem is that no one will believe it. The possibility that a battleship could explode on its own is beyond common sense, even though it will happen, past, present, and future.

"Blaming the Spaniards for the explosion is the only logical thing to do." "And that's exactly what we need," Algiers continued, "and that's exactly what we need......," and he realized he was talking too much.

Thankfully, McKinley has taken over the stake and has managed to capture the attention of others. "The government will condemn Spain's atrocities and take retaliatory action." Gentlemen, please note that as the leader of the American people, I must conform to the will of the growing demand of the American people for the punishment of the rogue nation and for the salvation of the Cuban people. ”

He put all the blame on the American people. Politicians are always like this, and when they need it, the will of the people is God's will; Public opinion is nothing when they don't need it; Finally, when public opinion conflicts with the will of politicians, all that is done is to use public opinion to steer public opinion in a direction that is consistent with their will.

However, in reality, politicians are only high-level wage earners, and it is always the economic base that determines the superstructure of the country......

"Will Congress approve a bill to declare war on Spain?" Sherman asked. Since McKinley has decided to go along with public opinion...... To be precise, in accordance with the will of the conglomerates and the big capitalists, he can only turn his attention to other, more realistic directions.

"It will take some time." A senior aide replied, a little helpless, "It's mainly a procedural issue." Lawmakers don't want to bypass those rules and regulations. ”

"How long will it take?" The Secretary of State asked.

"Ten days, up to two weeks, if the president formally requests it to Congress."

"It's too long." McKinley grunted.

"It's too short." Algiers and Long said at the same time.

Bewildered eyes were on both of them at the same time. Everyone wondered why they, as the most staunch main fighters, felt that this period of time was too short.

"We need time to assemble and mobilize troops." The Secretary of War explained.

Takashi went on to say: "While the Army can directly use mercenaries to enter the war, the Navy needs to be long enough to transfer warships to the East Coast and the Far East, respectively......"

"The army does not need to use mercenaries." Algiers tapped on the table. As a representative of the Army, he did not want mercenaries to be involved in the war - all opportunities for promotions and medals must be reserved for active duty servicemen.

"The Army needs mercenaries." This time it was Harriman, and he still remembered the agreement with Qin Lang, which had been signed for too long and could not make any minor changes. Fortunately, he had enough reason to convince the Secretary of War...... At the very least, it can convince the president. "There's no way Congress can approve any request for an expansion of the Army, and it's too late to recruit for training. If we are to occupy both Cuba and the Philippines and at the same time prepare a reserve in case Spain sends reinforcements, the use of mercenaries is the most appropriate option. ”

Of course, there is another sentence, which Harriman did not say out for fear of Algiers' face: if you rely only on that third-rate army, which has only 28,000 badly trained and cowboy soldiers, perhaps only God knows how long the ground battle will last. Three months or half a year? Then the US Army will be a joke for the whole world, and then the United States will be a joke.

Harriman didn't want to see that happen, and neither did anyone else.

"That's how I see it." "If the Army is not willing to use mercenaries, it can be incorporated into the combat sequence of the Marine Corps." ”

It's a great move. Long had carefully studied Umbrella's military power with Assistant Secretary of the Navy Roosevelt, and at its current size, it was likely that a brigadier general, or even a rear admiral, would be added to the army once all the mercenaries were in the war. Thus, if the Marine Corps were to be expanded to the same size or perform similar missions in the future, Congress would have to confer the same rank on the Marine Corps officer.

Although the Navy and the Marine Corps have never liked the rank of brigadier general and have always wanted to abolish it, no soldier will object to his promotion to general, so why not?

Algiers understood Long's plan for a moment, but it was too late - he had just rejected the offer to use mercenaries, and it would be a bit ...... to ask for it again Lose face.

Damn it! He thought depressedly, indignant.

McKinley also seemed to understand the crux of the matter, and he thought about it. "The question of who commands the mercenaries is put aside for the time being. The question now is how long it will take the Navy to mobilize warships. ”

"Get all the warships in place, sixty days." Thinking about it more carefully, Long added: "I think that in April we can formally submit a request for a declaration of war to Congress." ”

McKinley fell into deep thought: the time required by the Navy may be a little long.

In fact, the Navy began to prepare for it very early. In accordance with Roosevelt's suggestion, the Asian detachment was ready last December, replenished its ammunition, all combat ships entered the dock for major repairs, and the underwater part was cleared, the sailors conducted combat drills every day, and the situation in the Philippines was basically investigated. With orders from Washington, Dewey and Mahan could command the fleet to advance towards Manila and completely destroy the Spanish fleet there.

And the preparation of the Umbrella mercenaries was no less rapid. Three regimental combat teams reached Canton Bay, while the fourth had half of the soldiers in place. Of course, this was the news that Harriman had brought back after attending Yi Shui's wedding, and now, the mercenaries must all be ready.

Just one small issue can be a bit of a hassle. There are slightly more recruits in the mercenary army. Last year, when it was on an intervention mission in Beijing, it had only two regimental combat teams, but after only half a year, Umbrella had more than doubled in size, hopefully that would not affect its combat capability.

The Minister of the Navy slowly recalled what he knew and Algiers did not know, and then he heard the president's decision.

"You have forty days." McKinley turned to Sherman, "In the meantime, the State Department should instruct the Minister in Madrid to exert constant pressure on the Spanish government, and at the same time make a gesture that a diplomatic solution can be solved, so as to confuse the Spaniards and confuse them for a sufficient period of time to confuse us of our true purpose." ”

"I understand, Mr. President." Sherman nodded.

It seems that war is inevitable.

Poor Spaniards.

While he was thinking about this, McKinley had already set his sights on the Treasury Secretary. "Ministry of Finance ......"

"The Treasury Department has carefully studied with the War Department and the Navy Department to develop a draft budget for the war that will cost 50 million dollars." The Minister of Finance replied, "But if mercenaries are to be used, the figure will have to be increased, but the exact amount will not be determined until the contract is signed." ”

"Then contact Umbrella immediately." (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.) )