By the end of 1897, as the situation in Cuba had spiraled out of control, gunshots could now be heard in Havana. The crisp sound of "pop, pop" is the sound of a rifle shooting, and the "slap thud" is the sound of a submachine gun, and sometimes there is a hand. Pomegranate. The explosion of bullets, even the heavy aria of the cannon.

Under these conditions, businessmen who had been trading in Havana, as well as Americans living in Cuba, began to leave Cuba and return to the United States. So the ports of Havana are now crowded with people.

……

Because of his contribution to the development of the Fed's plan, William McKinley received a large amount of political donations in the process of the presidential election, and with more than three times the campaign funds of his Democratic opponents, William McKinley became president at the beginning of the year. And in return for supporting him, both Scrooge and Morgan made the same request to him:

"We need war!"

This demand cannot be violated, although Mr. President publicly stated during the election campaign: oppose an unjust war! But from that point on, not just President William McKinley, but everyone else in his campaign team knew that it was just campaign language. There was no war during the term of office, is this still the president of the United States?

And it was clear that the war was urgent, because Spain was clearly no longer able to withstand the Cuban insurgents. According to the information obtained by the United States Government, the Spaniards have proposed to the Cuban rebels that Cuba be given a high degree of autonomy, according to which Cuba will be granted much more autonomy than the Transvaal Republic. But this is the same kind of mention that was also contemptuously rejected by the rebels, who replied quoting Patrick Henry: "Freedom or death!" "It means that the colonizers will be driven out of Cuba completely, leaving no remnant.

Of course, the main reason why Cubans say this is because they feel that victory is already in sight. In their opinion, the total defeat of the Spaniards was already only a matter of time. In such a situation, why should they compromise with those damned Spaniards? The phrase "Freedom or death" should perhaps be interpreted at this time to mean: If there is no complete freedom and independence, we would rather kill you all!

So now the Americans have to start a war right away, because if they don't do it again, the Cubans themselves will solve the problem. In this case, the Americans, including Scrooge and Morgan, would have much less to gain in the process, except for the question of how to start the war. The principle of the Americans in waging war has always been to be both so-and-so and to build a memorial arch. So although everyone thinks in their hearts "I can't allow others to snore on the side of the couch", there are not many people who are willing to say it honestly like Zhao Kuangyin. A suitable reason is naturally essential.

In the original history, the Americans used the Maine incident as a pretext to start the war. There is no definite theory as to how the Maine sank, but it is certain that the Spaniards did not do it. Now that the Maine is in the Pacific Ocean, it is naturally impossible to count on it. So, the United States urgently needs an excuse.

……

In the port of Havana, the passenger ship Caribbean Pearl is picking up passengers. Groups of people fleeing the war - some Americans, some Spaniards, some Cubans - poured onto the boats. Originally, according to the rules, only American expatriates were allowed to board the ship, but now there are too many people who want to flee Cuba, such as Spaniards who come to try to make a fortune, such as Cubans who have worked with Spaniards. They all knew that if the Cubans were allowed to win, nothing good would come of them. So they will also find all kinds of ways to get on the boat. Of course, the captain and crew of the Caribbean Pearl are very welcoming to such requests. As long as they can come up with the money, they are naturally not opposed to making a fortune or something. So a large number of non-nationals also got on board.

Of course, these people have no good place to stay, and they are all stuffed into the bottom warehouse. These people dragged boxes and bags into the bottom of the black hole. Then the gangplank was lowered and the ship began to anchor.

But at this moment, there was a sudden thud, and the boat jumped up from the sea, and the red-painted bottom of the boat, and the barnacles attached to the bottom of the boat, glittered in the sunlight along with the splashing water. However, immediately afterward, the ship broke in two and sank to the bottom of the sea.

The whole harbor was suddenly in chaos, and the battleship New York, which was originally responsible for protecting the expatriates, immediately raised its anchor, and the gun jackets on the eight 12-inch guns were also withdrawn, and turned to point at the Spaniards' coastal defense batteries.

……

The Caribbean Pearl sank so quickly that people didn't have time to react at all. On the entire ship, except for a few sailors who were thrown into the sea by the explosion, the rest of the people, nearly a thousand passengers and nearly a hundred crew members were all killed. The disaster immediately caused an uproar in the United States.

First, some newspapers began to accuse the Spaniards of being unfavorable in the rescue.

"The ship sank in the port of the Spaniards, and with so many people on board, and only a few people were rescued, we can't help but wonder why the Spaniards were so slow to react......

Then more "details" were revealed:

"The Spaniards didn't come to the rescue at all, they even applauded the sunken ship!" The Sun newspaper first made such a report, accompanied by a photograph on the back of the photo. The scene is still a little exposed about the shipwreck, and in the main part of the photograph is a guy who looks like an official in a port staff uniform, looking at the camera with a disgusting idiot-like smile.

Although all Americans know that if the Sun's report was reliable, the sow would have gone up the tree and Judas would have been canonized. But it can't be covered, and people have pictures and truths. The picture is actually here.

Of course, ordinary people don't know, although there was no PS technology that could change the day at that time, but it was not impossible to combine a few knives, brushes, and some other negatives into a photo. At least, this technique is not new in the Cleveland Syrien.

Then all sorts of news came in an uncertain way for the Spaniards, and two days later, the New York Times, which had always been known for its attention to facts and never talking nonsense, published such a report, declaring that well-informed sources had told them that the Caribbean Pearl had been blown up and sunk by the Spaniards!

Although this statement seems completely illogical, because everyone can see the situation of the Spaniards, how dare they provoke the United States when they have no strength to deal with the rebels? But what is the media used for? Isn't it just used to fool the people? If they can't even fool the common people, then what do they need them to do?

Besides, the common people in ancient and modern China and abroad are very stupid and easy to be deceived. Don't say that at the end of the 19th century, even in the 21st century, there were not a large group of fools who believed that a theocracy of serfdom was a peaceful saint who advocated freedom. And if anyone tries to tell him the truth, he will shout at you: "You stupid bird, you have been brainwashed!" Or: "You dead five-hair, you have the truth, but do you have a conscience?" Thank you for taking five cents! "The most shameful thing about being people is that they always say that, but they never really come up with five cents, not even five cents. It's really, really like a certain high-level executive who owes me 10,000 yuan for the SU-35 but refuses to take the money out.

In short, as the prestigious New York Times took the lead in spreading rumors, other newspapers quickly followed, and it didn't take long for all of America to be left with one voice: "Justice for the Spaniards!" In fact, it was not that no one doubted this event, and many years later, a journalist mentioned this in his memoirs:

"At that time, I said to the editor-in-chief of Bill: 'Why would the Spaniards attack a passenger ship?' It's not going to do any good. If it's really laid under water. Time. Explode. Why not install it under the battleship New York? Wouldn't the sinking of the USS New York be a bigger blow? Spaniards are bastards, but they don't look like such stupid fools. I think it was just an accident, but the Spaniards' rescue operation was really ......

And Bill's editor-in-chief said to me, 'Young man, you're not thinking without reason, but we can't get that out there. Because this idea may be correct in fact, but it is wrong in politics. If such an article were published, we would all be regarded as traitors, and the newspaper itself would be abandoned by its readers. ’”

Some hot-blooded young people even ran directly to the White House to demonstrate, shouting: "War! We need war! "Of course, at five o'clock in the afternoon, when it is time to go home from work for dinner, the young men will put away their flags and disperse, and the leader of them will gather together, and then one of them will take out a pocket and feel something shiny out of it, and then everyone will go home very happily and contentedly.

……

"It's a great opportunity." President William McKinley said, "Tomorrow we will release the official findings and give them an ultimatum!" ”R1058