Specific questions, details of the operation, all related questions, on the train, Qin Lang had thought deeply and carefully and had answers, and was happy to contribute them - but first, he only needed to find a place to sit down, take a hot cup of coffee from the staff, and watch a good show - just as he expected, the Admiralty vs. War Department debate began. Pen, fun, and www.biquge.info

Who is in charge, whether an army officer or a navy officer, the average person may think that this is just an inconsequential matter, but for the US Army and Navy, it is a serious matter of principle that cannot be avoided, compromised, or abandoned. The controversy was unusually heated and close to white-hot from the start, with Algiers determined to "sink.navy", Ron and Roosevelt planning to "beat.army", and McKinley's office became their battleground.

And Qin Lang was watching, listening, and smiling from the side.

"I insist that Lieutenant Colonel Harrington should be the commander." The Secretary of the Army attacked first, "That Marine Corps Temporary Lieutenant Colonel, he is obviously too young to take on the heavy responsibilities. ”

"Age and ability are not exactly the same thing." Ryu shot back.

His statement was conspicuously lacking in strength, so Roosevelt immediately picked up: "Lieutenant Colonel Yi Shui has performed well in his mission at Canton Bay, and Colonel Mahan has written several times to praise his excellent command, so I think he is fully capable of serving as a commander." ”

But Algiers scoffed at it. "He brilliantly commanded a military operation that was not approved by Washington. With that in mind alone, I firmly believe that such an important task cannot be entrusted to him. ”

"I think the opposite." The Deputy Secretary of the Navy vehemently retorted, "Lieutenant Colonel Yi Shui's actions in Canton Bay show that he has a strong initiative and enthusiasm, which is a trait that a front-line commander should have." ”

"And Lieutenant Colonel Harrington lacks experience. The dossier indicates that he never commanded more than one battalion of troops. As Roosevelt spoke, Long exchanged views with his aides and found a good weapon to fight back—or at least it looked good.

However, it did not work as expected. "That Provisional Marine Lieutenant Colonel obviously doesn't have the experience to command seven thousand soldiers either."

"But he commanded a regiment."

"But only 1,700 soldiers ......"

The quarrel went on like this, most of it was pointless nonsense, but the smell of gunpowder was strong. Qin Lang noticed that McKinley, Sherman, and the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee all had a straight face, and he was annoyed, but he was a little helpless - just now, before he arrived, the two ministers had a long and fruitless argument over the same issue, which he didn't know - but even so, he still wanted to laugh.

However, on such a serious occasion, laughing out loud was obviously an inappropriate mistake, so Qin Lang could only endure it and secretly experience a process in which his facial muscles gradually became uncomfortable.

It's really hard......

"All right, gentlemen, please stop your arguments." At the most critical moment, Mr. President finally couldn't help but end the battle between the army and the navy, "Since you can't reach a unified opinion, I think we should listen to Mr. Qin's opinion." ”

Without warning, McKinley snatched the ball from the feet of Algiers, Long and Roosevelt, and kicked it to Qin Lang. But this is the right thing to do, he is the real person in charge of Umbrella, the boss of the mercenaries, and his opinion is obviously more meaningful and valuable than that of the War Department or the Navy Department, so why not listen to him?

Everyone looked at Qin Lang together. "Your opinion, Mr. Qin?"

He pretended to think for a while, and then said: "I personally think that two independent regimental combat teams can be formed, one with Harrington as the commander and the other with Yi Shui as the commander......"

This is and the mud, everyone can see; This proposal still does not solve the problem of the command of the mercenaries, which everyone thinks. "Mr. Qin," Algiers interrupted Qin Lang, "what we want to know is who is the supreme commander of the intervention forces, Lieutenant Colonel Harrington or Mr. Yi Shui. We have to choose one person among them to be in charge of everything. ”

"Because I'm not done yet, Mr. Minister."

"I'm sorry."

Qin Lang accepted this apology, and then said, "Then, we will hand over the supreme command of the troops to Mr. Conger. ”

Mr. Conger, Edwin. H. Conger, Minister Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to China -- In normal history, the Minister to China in 1897 would have been Charles Brown. Harvey. But in the new world, Conger had already replaced him in 1895 - Qin Lang suggested that the supreme command be handed over to him. Politically, militaryly, American tradition, this is a good idea, not just a muddy.

"Intervening in a coup d'état is first and foremost a political action, and it is clearly logical to have an intervening army under the command of an experienced diplomat than to let the army act on its own." "And I've seen Mr. Conger's account that during the Civil War he served in the 102nd Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment and was promoted to captain and emeritus major." He is qualified and capable of commanding an army. ”

There was silence in the room for a moment, then Sherman nodded. "I agree with Mr. Qin's suggestion."

Having a diplomat under the leadership of the State Department as the commander of the intervention operation, that is, the State Department leading the entire operation, means that the State Department will receive more credit after the intervention is successful, so why oppose this proposal?

Of course, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee would not object to Qin Lang's proposal - at any time, members of Congress liked to strictly limit the development of the army and navy, and now it was clear that as long as the supreme commander of the intervention army was still one of them, whether it was Harrington or Yi Shui, Congress would have to promote him to brigadier general, so that his rank would be in line with the size of the army. But this promotion is a nuisance, not a matter of procedure, but when the Army or Navy encounters a similar situation in the future, they will ask Congress to follow the example of this time and promote the commander to brigadier general -- but Congress does not want to see so many brigadier generals.

In fact, Congress even wanted to make colonel the highest rank in the Union Army, if possible, and of course the backlash from the Army and Navy made this idea impossible for the time being......

The chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee quietly looked at Algiers, Long, and Roosevelt, who were whispering with their respective aides, and seemed reluctant to accept Qin Lang's suggestion. But in the end, they still accepted it.

Why not? Since the Army does not want a naval officer to be a commander, the Navy does not agree to an appointment of an Army officer, and neither side is able to take down an opponent head-on, it is the best outcome that neither the Army nor the Navy can get this position.

Expected results.

"We've finally solved another problem," said William. McKinley let out a sigh of relief. He had had enough of the quarrels between Algiers and Long, but thank God the matter was coming to an end. "Let's take a break for a while and then come back to the next question." With that, he got up and left the office.

Then, the two ministers, the Deputy Secretary of the Navy and their staff, also left. However, the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee and the secretary of state remained in the room, and shifted their positions to opposite and next to Qin Lang - they had something to discuss with him.

"There's one thing we think you should know, and we want to hear from you." "The Senate and the State Department have not yet agreed on the political and economic benefits that the United States will gain from this intervention," Sherman said. The Senate ...... "he glanced at the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee," he said...... It is hoped that military intervention will induce China to completely open its markets to U.S. companies and commercial institutions, but the State Department believes that the political and economic benefits of further opening China's markets are very limited, so it prefers to open new concessions. ”

"But it's also a bad decision." The chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee went on to say, "And like you said, both Congress and the State Department don't know enough about China, so we want to know what you think, Mr. Qin." ”

Qin Lang almost didn't know what he should say. Months have passed since he predicted a coup d'état in China and suggested armed intervention, but the Senate and the State Department have yet to figure out what the United States should gain from intervention. Of course, it may simply be that congressmen and State Department thinkers didn't take his predictions to heart and waited until they heard about the coup d'état before they began to think about it, but couldn't these people think of something constructive?

Opening up new concessions and opening up the market more thoroughly is simply stupid to the extreme.

He sighed. "I must say that the ideas of either the Senate or the State Department are devoid of practical significance."

Qin Lang didn't want to explain why, and there was no need for the lawmakers and the secretary of state to think for themselves: unless the Chinese people could be forced to buy, and only buy American products, the opening of the market was a pointless act. and open up a new concession...... The great powers have already confirmed their spheres of influence in China, and it is the luck of the United States to be able to drive a nail in the Guangzhou Bay, but this luck cannot be repeated, and if it rashly enters the spheres of influence of other countries, it will definitely provoke a strong backlash, but Washington does not intend to go toe-to-toe with any European country.

For now, at least, the United States is only a spectator of international affairs, a third-class power that lacks sufficient weight. Washington has always been well aware of this, so it has to be cautious in doing things.

But the State Council still made "opening up new concessions" a goal, and had no choice, and from 1842 to the present, after half a century, the direct benefits that the great powers could still gain from China were almost minimal, and some of them were too intense in the eyes of the State Department's think tanks to be acceptable to the hapless Chinese emperor......

"Personally, I believe that after the intervention is successful, in addition to covering the full military expenditure, Washington and London should ask His Majesty the Rescued Emperor to grant American and British companies the right to build railroads in China." Qin Lang suggested.

"Build a railroad?"

"Yes, railroads, and two." Qin Lang smiled, "The first railway, from Beijing to the British Concession in Kowloon, as a return paid to Britain, and the second railway, from Beijing to Guangzhou, and then to the Guangzhou Bay Concession, is a return paid to the United States." ”

"You're kidding!" There was palpable disbelief in the Secretary of State's voice.

The chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee was also not convinced. "Mr. Qin, please forgive me for being blunt, but asking the Emperor of China to allow us to build a railway that runs almost all of China from south to north is simply impossible, let alone another railway."

"Gentlemen, I'm sorry, but it's possible." Qin Lang shrugged his shoulders, "There is no doubt that it is possible. ”

Sherman exchanged a look with the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee. "What do you mean......"

He sighed. "We are saving the position of an emperor, gentlemen. The emperor, the emperor of China, the supreme dictator of the vast land and hundreds of millions of people - whether this is the case or not, at least nominally. So in order to protect his position, our Emperor His Majesty is willing to do anything, two railways, just a small matter, and it is worth the price, in fact we can ask for more. ”

The Secretary of State and the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee still couldn't believe what they heard. Although Qin Lang was in no way wrong about one thing, the intervention army was going to save the position of the emperor of China, and he was the dictator of the vast land and hundreds of millions of people, but the demands he made were ...... It is unbelievable that even the British did not have the courage to make such a condition, but he actually said that "there can be more".

But Qin Lang had never made a mistake, and those who knew him knew that his judgment should never be underestimated, so it was still possible for his request to become a reality. And the temptation of a railway connecting the north and south of China is so strong that no one wants to resist it.

After a period of silence, the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee said: "I think this needs to be discussed in more detail." ”

"I agree." Sherman nodded, and then asked, "What do you mean by saying, 'You can get more', Mr. Qin?" ”

"A little bit of an add-on, a side benefit, but more valuable." Qin Lang's smile became more obvious, "Washington and London can also ask His Majesty the Emperor to designate Dongjiaomin Lane[Note 2] as an embassy district, allow countries to send troops to garrison it, and set up a foreign ministry to replace the untimely prime minister's yamen." Of course, as a gesture of goodwill, I think the United States and China should upgrade diplomatic relations to the ambassadorial level. ”

"Political rewards." Sherman thought about it, and the suggestion was more practical than the railroad; If you think about it, it is. "I don't think anything else needs to be discussed other than diplomatic relations at the ambassadorial level."

The Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee agreed.

"That's true." Qin Lang also said, but then urged: "But the Senate must move quickly, there is not much time, and we must also communicate with London first." Then he stood up. I beg your pardon, but I'm going to leave for a moment. ”

Qin Lang walked out of the conference room and returned to the place where he had chatted with Bush and Harriman at the beginning. They were still there, talking in whispers, not paying attention to him until he called out Harriman's name.

"George," he said earnestly, "can I contact your cousin, I wonder if he is interested in a business." ”

"What business?" Harriman is weird. His cousin runs the family business, Harriman Company, and its main business is railroads, but this should not have anything to do with Qin Lang's business, unless......

Qin Lang's answer was his guess. "Railroad."

"Do you want to invest in the railroad industry?" Harriman was surprised. As a friend, he decided to advise Qin Lang to abandon this idea, the American railroad industry has been unified into the hands of a very small group such as Morgan and Harriman, not only that, but due to the blind competition of the previous disorderly era, it has been seriously saturated, and in a few years everyone may be busy dismantling the railroad tracks, and reinvesting in the railroad industry is almost equivalent to suicide. "Qin ......"

Qin Lang motioned for him to stop. "I know what you're trying to say, but I'm not going to invest in railroads in the United States. George, I just wonder if Harriman is going to be part of a huge project to build railroads in China. ”

Harriman thought for a moment. "Maybe. But I don't understand why you want to bring Harriman with you, your partners have always been Morgan and Rockefeller. ”

"Because it was a big project, like the one I made in 1894, it required a lot of people." Qin Lang explained, "And I think Harriman is very good. ”

"Very good at building railways?"

"Not exactly." Qin Lang said in a voice that only they could hear, "George, I'm referring to another thing, last year, Harriman Company ......"

"I know what you mean, Qin." Harriman interrupted Qin Lang, now that he fully understood what his plan was—an evil plan that could ruin the stockholders, but it was one of the ways for the consortium to make high profits, and all it needed was a railroad on the blueprint—but he still needed to make sure. "Qin, do you really want to do that?"

"Since we're going to get a chance soon, why not?" Qin Lang shrugged nonchalantly.

"Opportunity?"

"If Congress and the State Council accept my proposal and ask His Majesty the Emperor, whom we are about to save, to build a railroad...... Yes, we have a chance. ”

"I see, Qin." Harriman said, "I'll contact my cousin right away." (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.) )