The Brooklyn Shipyard in New York is the most technical shipyard in the U.S. Navy, so more than half of America's large warships are built here. As the first American armored cruiser of more than 10,000 tons, two Pennsylvania-class ships were built here.

And today's Brooklyn shipyard is dressed up, because today is a good day for the launch of the first battleship of the class, the USS Pennsylvania.

So on both sides of the dock No. 2, where the Pennsylvania is located, there was a crowd of people attending the launching ceremony.

"What a beautiful battleship."

As the most important guest of honor at today's launching ceremony, Theodore Roosevelt, who was the director of New York two years ago, is now in the post of deputy secretary of the Navy.

Of course, the deputy secretary alone is not a big deal, but Roosevelt's deputy secretary is not ordinary. Because his immediate boss, Secretary of the Navy John Long, has been sick for a long time and cannot manage political affairs, it is equivalent to that he is the full minister, and President Mr. McKinley is not interested in the Navy, so this Mr. Roosevelt can control the US Navy as a deputy secretary and monopolize power, and more importantly, he is only 39 years old, and it is not an exaggeration to say that he is a son of destiny.

"A beautiful battleship indeed."

This was the praise of his friend Commodore George Dewey, and he was right, compared to the current large warships of the US Navy, the slender Pennsylvania is indeed very good-looking.

"Yes, the workers at the Brooklyn shipyard have worked so hard for the Pennsylvania and West Virginia."

Rear Admiral Samplin looked at the battleship that was about to be launched, smiled and said words of thanks to the shipyard workers.

"Samplin, I heard that these four ships will be arranged in your South Atlantic Fleet?"

Dewey looked at Major General Samplin on the side and couldn't help but ask.

In the face of Dewey's inquiry, Samplin did not deny it. "It's just to get them acquainted with the Caribbean sea as soon as possible, and you know, the Cubans don't know when they'll be independent without our help."

"It's true that these Cubans are still a little bit worse, and they are still almost on fire when facing the Spanish army."

"That's why we need to help the Cuban people gain independence, and the navy needs to play a leading role in promoting Cuban independence."

Theodore Roosevelt was so naked as soon as he opened his mouth that it could be regarded as explicit.

That's right, in order to demonstrate the power of the United States, and also to get Cuban benefits, the American capitalists can't wait.

In 1880, the United States offered Cuba the idea of buying it from Spain, which was heavily indebted at the time, and offered as much as $120 million. This price is almost 17 times more expensive than buying Alaska from Russia. The willingness of the United States to buy Cuba at such a high price also shows its desire for Cuba.

However, the American proposal was categorically rejected by Spain, and Cuba was one of the few high-quality colonies of Spain, and how could it be sold for this amount of money to provide generous tax cows every year.

In the face of the rejection of the Spaniards, the United States subsequently supported the independence of the Cuban people and directly separated from Spanish rule. In recent years, the Cuban independence movements have risen and fallen, and Americans can be seen behind them to a greater or lesser extent. In addition, due to the distance, the United States is even closer to the water, and it has invested a lot of money in Cuba, which has aggravated the influence of the Americans on Cuba.

Coupled with the smooth development of these years, the U.S. economy has become the world's first. The exploding economy has pushed the already aggressive United States to expand even more frantically, seeking new raw material production areas, commodity sales markets, and investment venues in order to extract more high monopoly profits. But just as the United States was preparing to expand overseas, the whole world had been carved up by the old colonial powers.

At this time, the old Spain came into view, firstly, its strength is not strong, suitable for the United States to practice, secondly, its colony Cuba is very coveted, in addition, there are Puerto Rico and the Philippines in Asia, all of which have a very high strategic position, and they are simply perfect candidates for leveling.

Therefore, people of insight in the United States are very interested in Spain, and if it were not for Spain's sudden purchase of two ships, the United States would have begun to plot a war against Spain.

Of course, it is not too late, Spain has only purchased two ships for the cruise, the United States has the deep pockets to build four directly, plus several cutting-edge battleships built before, Spain will not be spared unless God shows up to help.

"Please rest assured, Your Excellency Minister, I know how to do it, and I will make it combat as soon as possible."

Major-General Samplin, who was full of ambition, knew his purpose and opened his mouth to promise.

"That's good, but you have to be aware that these ships will be launched within three months, and you need to arrange for good people to operate the ships."

Theodore Roosevelt knew so well why he was able to launch the shipyard in a rare and centralized manner because he strictly required the shipyard to guarantee the delivery time.

"Can we send veterans from the fleets to support?"

That's right, Major General Samplin, who knows the heavy task, will open his mouth to give his opinion.

"No problem, I'll send a telegram to General Walker and Colonel Evans, asking them to draw officers and sailors with a lot of experience."

Faced with Major General Samplin's request, Theodore Roosevelt agreed immediately. Because he knows the urgency of the matter, the US Navy is currently only waiting for four Pennsylvania-class ships to enter service before they can prepare to make trouble in Cuba.

"Your Excellency Deputy Minister, can the launching ceremony begin?"

While the three of them were chatting, the shipyard manager ran over and asked.

"Okay, no problem."

Faced with the manager's inquiry, the three immediately stopped talking and prepared to participate in the ceremony. Theodore Roosevelt tightened his clothes even more and appeared in front of everyone with a smile on his face.

With his appearance, there was a burst of cheers at the scene, and it was not known whether it was for the battleship that was about to be launched, or for His Excellency the Deputy Minister of the Navy.

However, it seems that Theodore Roosevelt enjoyed this, and he waved his hand to the ceremony.

"My good friend seems to be very fond of being a public figure, and he feels like a veteran who has been in politics for decades."

Dewey spoke to Major General Samplin about Theodore Roosevelt.

"You're right, maybe you might call him President Roosevelt in the future."

Samplin very much agreed with Dewey's words,

"Your Excellency, this is champagne."

Roosevelt, who was completely unaware of the comments of the two, took a bottle of 5 liters of champagne tied with flowers and threw it towards the bow of the USS Pennsylvania, which was five meters away.

In the expectant eyes of everyone, the champagne was smashed, and then the Pennsylvania slowly slid towards the sea, and after a splash, it came to a steady stop in the sea.

There was another cheer from the crowd, who cheered for the battleship that had been launched.