"Mr. President, Spain has agreed to give up all its overseas colonies except Africa, including the Philippines and all the islands in the Caribbean, and if there is no problem, we will sign a treaty in Paris next month, what do you think?"

In the White House presidential office, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Sherman reports to President McKinley on negotiations with Spain.

"Well done, Sherman, you and your diplomatic team are as reassuring as ever."

McKinley stood up from his seat, shook Sherman's hand, and expressed his appreciation to him.

"Thank you for your trust, Mr. President." "We have to thank our military for winning the war, otherwise we wouldn't be able to mediate," the secretary said. ”

McKinley agreed.

But he suddenly remembered something and turned to Senator Hannah to the side.

"Speaking of the military, what about Minister Aijie's side?" He asked, "Miles and Sheft have been complaining about him for half a year, is it a discussion within the party?"

War Secretary Edger was criticized by the soldiers at the front for his poor performance throughout the Spanish-American War.

Many of his bad operations made the American troops on the front line miserable.

For example, guns and logistical preparations were inadequate, and half of them were armed with old-fashioned black powder guns, and thick military uniforms and low-quality canned meat were procured.

Another example is that the landing deployment is chaotic and the command system is chaotic.

"Agey is a wood seller, and my son knows how to fight better than he does." That's what Sheft said to McKinley.

"I said a long time ago not to launch a summer offensive, the jungles of Cuba will kill the soldiers, and Eijay's incompetence is well known, I really don't know who chose him as Minister of War in the first place." Miles accused Sang and scolded Huai in an interview with reporters.

When McKinley saw the news, his face was the color of pork liver.

Who picked? Of course, he McKinley chose it.

This product made a lot of efforts in his own election, plus he had been mixed in the army during the Civil War, and this person had a good relationship with Chen Jianqiu.

Chen Jianqiu?

Thinking of the name, McKinley's temples suddenly jumped.

Although this person was a great contributor to his own election.

But first, he is a Chinese, and second, he has always been reluctant to join the Republican Party, and it is even difficult to say that he is in the same boat as himself.

He suddenly regretted it a little.

Why should you take into account the feelings of a Chinese arms dealer when you choose your own war minister?

"Mr. President, it's up to you to decide, and I fully support it, but if you really want to elect a new minister, you need to be careful."

Hannah sat on the couch in his office, fingers crossed on his lower abdomen.

"Then you'll have to help me start looking." McKinley walked up to him, sat down on the couch next to him, and whispered to him.

"Yes." Hannah replied lightly.

McKinley looked at Hannah and felt that something was wrong with his old partner.

He knew Hannah's character all the better.

In the past, he was as hot as fire, and he was restless, and he had something to say.

Soon after the end of the battle in Cuba, Hanna became very, very, uh, very tranquil.

It seems that the politeness between himself and himself is a little excessive.

However, it is also possible that the Republican bigwig has taken a lot of things down after helping the Republican Party regain control of the Senate and the presidency.

"Anything else? Maddie (McKinley's nickname)? Hannah asked in turn when he saw McKinley looking at him.

"Oh, there's nothing to do, you can go back first." McKinley waved his hand.

Hanna got up from the couch and walked out of his office after saying goodbye to the president, taking the hat from the guard at the door.

Hannah, who left the White House, quickly got into a carriage.

However, the carriage did not go to the Capitol, but to the downtown area of Washington.

As the capital of the United States, Washington, D.C. is an unusually quiet city.

There was no rumbling machine like the other eastern cities of the time, and there were no towering chimneys.

The streets are lined with trees and the streets are very neat.

There is also a large lawn on the side of the road, which makes people feel like they are in a large park.

The pedestrians on the road also look very relaxed and don't have too much stress.

The carriage stopped in front of a mansion.

If it weren't for the sign at the door, no one would have thought that this was actually a café.

Hanna stepped out of the carriage and bowed his head into the café.

There were no other guests in the café.

To be honest, it doesn't look like it's open to the public at all.

Hannah didn't stop and walked straight inside.

When the waiter at the bar saw that it was a member of the council, he didn't stop him, but just made a strange gesture to him.

Hannah only glanced at the gesture, then understood, and continued towards the back room.

After passing through a narrow, dark hallway, a wooden door appeared in front of Hannah.

At the wooden door, a young Chinese waiter stood.

When the waiter saw Hannah coming, he immediately opened the wooden door.

A bright light shone in through the door.

Hannah stepped out the door.

The scenery in front of me suddenly became clear, in stark contrast to the cramped and gloomy environment of the house just now.

It is an exquisite outdoor courtyard with a variety of vines and plants on the walls, which is exceptionally quiet and seems to be completely isolated from the outside world.

Sunlight shines into the center of the courtyard.

A man was sitting there with a newspaper in his hand and a cigar in his mouth.

In front of him was a small round table with a bottle of red wine and three empty goblets.

On his right-hand side, there is a small coffee table with a ceramic ashtray on it.

"Well, you're here."

Seeing Hanna walk in, the man put down the newspaper in his hand, the cigar in his mouth cocked, and the smoke accidentally drifted to his eyes, causing the man to frown slightly.

"I just met McKinley, and he had a little more things to do after the war, so he was delayed a little bit." Hannah walked over to the man and sat down.

He glanced at the bottle and saw that it was a French red wine from Gevré-Chambedin, and it looked like it was some vintage.

"Mr. Chen is drinking red wine in the café, and it is really good." Hannah's white beard curled up above his lips.

The man sitting across from him was none other than Chen Jianqiu.

"Hey, I just wanted to get a foothold in Washington, but I didn't expect that the house that Rivers sold me actually had a cellar, and there was still a cellar of red wine in the cellar!" Chen Jianqiu rubbed his hands.

He snapped his fingers.

Just now, the Chinese waiter inside the door walked in with a wooden box and handed it to Chen Jianqiu.

And Chen Jianqiu threw it directly in front of Hanna very casually.

Hannah gently opened the wooden box.

A rich aroma of tobacco came from the box.

"The best Cuban cigars are produced in Pinar del Río in western Cuba, where I control a tobacco plantation from the Spaniards." Chen Jianqiu winked at Hannah.

Control the plantation? I'm afraid it wasn't snatched directly from the Spaniards!

Hannah took one out of it and lit it for himself, while glancing at the other empty chair next to him, and raised an eyebrow:

"Anyone else?"

Chen Jianqiu said "um" in affirmation.

He leaned over and asked, half-jokingly, half-seriously:

"What, is McKinley ready to start making good on his pre-election promise to repeal the PH Act?"

Hannah stared at the fire of the cigar and shook his head:

"That's not true, but I don't think that's a problem, this war is won, what the United States is going to meet is the infinite ocean and the whole world, it is a bright future, no one should care about it, I think it just needs a suitable time."

"We're talking about your old friend, War Minister Aijay."

"Oh?" Chen Jianqiu rested one arm on the armrest, leaning forward slightly, showing great interest.

"None of the generals on the front line thought he was reliable, and none of them could afford him, and McKinley wanted to replace him." Hannah took a puff on his cigar and shook his head.

Chen Jianqiu's eyelids lifted, but his gaze immediately returned to Hanna's face:

"But I think he's okay, at least I didn't complain about him when I led the troops on the front line."

"That's because you have all the logistics on your own, and you don't need to use the War Department at all, and you really don't know how bad he can do." Hannah waved his hand impatiently, "I know he's on good terms with you, but you have to at least be able to tell him a little bit about him!" ”

Chen Jianqiu thought for a moment.

"I think his popularity is quite good, I heard that the War Department is quite united, and his subordinates are loyal to him." He smiled and said to Hannah, "He's pretty good at the War Department."

"But what's the use of that? The generals say he can't do it, the president says he can't do it, then he may really be not! Hanna said meaningfully to Chen Jianqiu.

Chen Jianqiu nodded thoughtfully.

Suddenly, he raised his head and beckoned in the direction of the door behind Hannah:

"Hi Aijay, when did you come? I didn't even notice! “

Hannah jerked his head back to find Army Secretary Jack standing in the doorway in a suit with a look that didn't look good.

"Come, come, please be seated, my friend." Chen Jianqiu looked quite enthusiastic.

Agey walked over to the empty spot next to Hannah and sat down.

Hannah was embarrassed.

Sometimes, the truth hurts, and the truth hurts.

If you say something that shouldn't be said, even if you have fought side by side, it will not be easy to get along in the future.

"Uh, Ajay, you know, this," Hannah tried to explain.

But Ai Jay didn't pay attention to him, just made a bitter face.

The two old men remained silent.

"Everyone is here, we can taste this bottle of red wine." Chen Jianqiu recruited the waiter outside the door again.

"Open the wine? Is it in honor of me being fired by McKinley? Ai Jie looked at Chen Jianqiu self-deprecatingly.

"No, no, just to share the wine in the cellar with the two of you." Chen Jianqiu said as he asked the waiter to share the wine.

Soon the three goblets were filled with some wine.

"Chen, do you think there's a way?" Aijay doesn't seem to want to step down from his position as Secretary of War.

"When it's time to let go, let it go." Chen Jianqiu smiled and handed him a glass of wine, "What kind of job are you worried about as a millionaire?" ”

"But once I'm gone, I'm afraid my assistants will have to go too. They don't have any family background. Applejack sighed, "I'm going to let them follow me for a few more years." ”

When people are older, they tend to have too many things to put down, and they do the same thing.

"Then let them come to our company." Chen Jianqiu picked up the wine glass and said lightly.

"Your company?" Ai Jie and Hanna looked at Chen Jianqiu almost at the same time.

"Ours, to be exact." Chen Jianqiu pointed at them with two fingers, and then pointed at himself with his thumb, "I have started to integrate the military shipyards in the east and build a gunpowder branch in Pennsylvania. ”

"I am willing to share some shares with you of these two companies and share some investment opportunities." Chen Jianqiu looked at the red wine in the glass and said, "Just like Hannah said, America has a bright future. ”

Hannah and Applejack's eyes lit up at the same time.

In addition to being parliamentarians and secretary of the War Department, these two men also have a common profession and are both businessmen.

They all understood what it meant for Chen Jianqiu to be willing to share the shares.

"In the future, people who retire from the Ministry of Defense and the military can come to our company to continue working, and we will hire them back." Chen Jianqiu smiled slightly, "We all have what we need. ”

Yes, parliamentarians need jobs and votes, people in the army need retreats, arms dealers need orders.

Together, everyone has a bright future.

He raised his glass and said to the other two:

"Cheers, for wealth and the future."

The three of them wiped out the wine in their glasses.

Chen Jianqiu wiped his mouth with a handkerchief, and then his lips moved slightly:

"Now, let's talk about Mr. Aijay's replacement." (End of chapter)