Roosevelt looked at the veteran soldier in front of him, who was more than 20 years older than him, and said neither humbly nor arrogantly: "But the Philippines is also a very important piece of land for me and the United States, and if we have it, we can use it as a rear base to directly participate in the affairs of the Far East." What's more, the Philippines is larger than Cuba, with more than 9 million indigenous people, such a rich piece of land, are you willing to let the Germans occupy it completely, Mr. Russell? ”

"If I could, of course I would like to take the Philippines from the Spaniards as well, but with the current strength of the United States, we are not allowed to attack in both directions at the same time!" Alger tapped on the wooden handrail next to him and said with some displeasure, "Cuba is now our number one target, and Mr. Theodore will never have any objections!" Now that there are more than 200,000 Spanish troops in Cuba, have you calculated how much military strength the United States needs to invest? There is a proverb in the East that says that a lion hunts a hare with all his might, not to mention that the strength of the Spaniards is not even a rabbit. ”

Alger gushed and added, "Even if the Spaniards were just rabbits, we could easily defeat them, but what about the Germans?" Their willingness to claim Philippine territory is well known, and if we insist on taking the Philippines, we are enemies of the Germans, who are far from being able to compete with the Spaniards! Therefore, Mr. Theodore, I advise you to give up this idea. ”

Hearing this, President McKinley couldn't help but nod. At present, the main strategic goal of the United States is to quickly capture Cuba and eliminate the Spanish forces on the island, not to seize the Philippine region in the Pacific. The reason why he, the president, would order the military to take military action against Cuba, in addition to quelling the anti-Western tide in the country; Much of this was done by the capitalists in Congress in order to preserve the economic benefits of their Cuban plantations. The United States can use troops against Cuba to protect the interests of the capitalists and vent the anger of the people. And if the Philippines were to be used to use force, because the United States would hardly have any economic interests there, and the people at home would generally not know what strength Spain still had in the Pacific, the political benefits for itself would be extremely limited.

In addition to this, it is also a big constraint militarily. The Philippines is separated by oceans and seas, and if it wants to occupy this area, there is no doubt that it must first have a strong navy; Only with these sea monsters can the army used to seize the island be safely transported ashore and ensure the safety of the rear sea transportation line. And the current US Navy is completely incapable of accomplishing this seemingly simple task!

At present, although the U.S. Navy has 5 capital ships, 2 armored cruisers and a dozen protective cruisers, it ranks sixth in the world; But the vast majority of the Navy's warships are concentrated on the East Coast of the United States, where the economy and society are highly developed, and the American warships in the Pacific Ocean can be counted on one hand. Last month, in order to consolidate sea supremacy in the Caribbean Sea and ensure absolute victory in the Cuban campaign, the USS Oregon, the only battleship of the US Navy in the Pacific Ocean, was transferred back to the Atlantic Fleet, resulting in an even greater lack of US naval strength in this region. To this day, the United States has only four protective cruisers led by the "Olympia" in the Pacific Ocean, plus two anti-smuggling gunboats, which can only reach 20,000 tons; However, the German Far East Fleet has more than 50,000 tons of combat ships, of which 3 are first-class capital ships with a displacement of more than 10,000 tons! If the two sides really fight each other, then in less than half an hour, all this bit of American possessions will sink to the bottom of the sea and become artificial coral reefs.

As for the idea of transferring reinforcements from the Atlantic Fleet, it was directly thrown into the back of McKinley's mind! The total distance from the east coast of the United States to the Philippines has reached 20,000 nautical miles due to the need to bypass Cape Horn, the southernmost point of Argentina, and the huge gap between coal consumption, food supply and combat effectiveness maintenance is insurmountable. This is a serious test for even a fleet built for ocean voyages, let alone the U.S. Navy's low-freeboard iron tortoises designed for near-sea combat. In addition, the situation in the Caribbean is also a major constraint. Spain also had a strong navy on its own soil, which threatened the security of the east coast of the United States, and the United States navy at this time was still very weak compared to the great powers such as Britain, France, and Russia, and its strength could only allow them to take care of one of them; Compared to the Philippines, Cuba is the first choice of the United States in terms of geographical location and economic value. Therefore, as long as a person with a little normal brain is a little more reasonable, it is impossible for the main fleet of the United States to carry out such an ultra-long-distance expedition that is desperate for the end!

Before he could think about it, he heard Roosevelt say slowly: "The 4 protective cruisers of the Pacific Fleet are no match for the 3 German battleships in any case; From a purely military point of view, the United States does not have the strength to compete with Germany for the Philippines. Politically, however, we are not without a little opportunity. As long as we do it right, we can snatch a piece of meat from the mouths of the Germans and annex part of the territory of the Philippines to the territory of our United States of America! ”

President McKinley looked expectant and said, "Theodore, tell me what are we going to do?" ”

"The pretext used by Germany for the annexation of the Philippines was to help the Spaniards to suppress the rebellious natives there. Although Germany's ambitions to annex the whole of the Philippines were well known, they never claimed sovereignty over the captured Philippine territory for the sake of their international reputation. In other words, the Philippines is still nominally Spanish territory, which is much easier for us. At present, the United States is already in a state of war with Spain, so our invasion of the Philippines, a colony belonging to Spain, is a completely moral act, and no one has the right to obstruct it! Roosevelt said in an expectant tone.

Alger said lightly: "Mr. Theodore, international law is a fart in the face of absolute strength!" In order to seize the Philippines, the Germans have invested 50,000 tons of fleet and more than 5,000 officers and soldiers on this land in more than half a year; They have absolute superiority in both the navy and the army, how can they sit idly by and watch us capture the Philippines without taking action? As soon as our fleet appeared off the coast of the Philippines, the Germans would inevitably come with a fleet to expel them, and at that time, what should we do? ”

Roosevelt shook his head slightly and said softly: "General Russell, the binding force of international law is far from being as unbearable as you think. If Germany can dominate the world like the British Empire did 40 years ago, then international law really means nothing to them. But today, Europe is rising and boiling, Britain, France, Austria and Russia are each dominating one side, and Germany is far from sweeping away the national strength of the heroes; If they want to thrive in the presence of these great powers, they must rely on a kind of diplomacy, and this requires a good international image as a basis. Germany can fail to comply with the provisions of international law to a certain extent, but there is absolutely a limit to this; Looking at the world and the world, I am afraid that the only one who really regards international law as nothing is that Japan, which fought undeclared war in the Qing-Japanese War! ”

Roosevelt paused, and then said: "In addition, there are more than 7,000 islands in the Philippines, and there are many places for us to capture. Leyte, Bohol and even Mindanao are all targets. These places are 800 kilometers away from the German-controlled northern part of Luzon, and there are large seas and islands in between, so I don't believe that the Germans can even take care of such a distant place! The army departed from San Francisco on the west coast and was able to reach the Philippines in more than half a month; With 4 cruisers, it is enough to lay the foundation for victory in the battle to seize the island. As long as we have created the established facts, the Germans have no reason to expel us from the Philippines! If we miss this opportunity, when Germany takes full control of the Philippines, there will be no place for us in the Far East, the United States! ”

McKinley had a complicated look on his face, as if he was hesitating between steadiness and risk. To be sure, he didn't approve of Roosevelt's risky move; Even in the period before the explosion of the USS Maine, he did not think about meeting the Spanish soldiers. However, because the greedy big capitalists in China were happy to invest in Cuban plantations, they were trapped in too much money in the Cuban turmoil, and if they did not send troops directly, they would not be able to recover this loss. These days, they've been pressuring Congress, giving McKinley a headache; Coupled with the fact that Maine was now in place, McKinley decided to sign the order to go to war with Spain. In his conception, war is in the service of the economy; And Cuba is at the forefront of the direct interests of domestic capitalists!

However, Roosevelt's picture of the scene is also quite tempting, even if it occupies only part of the Philippines, it can greatly extend the scope of American power and create an excellent rear base for the United States to penetrate East Asia in the future. He glanced at the Minister of War, who was about to speak, and then said slowly: "Theodore, you go and draw up a plan first." After the military department has discussed this plan, I will make a decision. ”

Roosevelt smiled slightly and said, "I have already drawn up the entire plan for the capture of the Philippines a week ago. After 1 hour, it will appear in front of you. ”

When the author uploaded the chapter today, he found that the number of collections was a few less than yesterday, what is the situation? As an office worker, it's not easy for the author to code words, and now the plot has gradually unfolded, and it's one thing to keep it