America 1881: They Call Me Legend

"Mr. President, Spain agrees to give up all overseas colonies except Africa, including the Philippines and all islands in the Caribbean Sea. If there is no problem, we will sign the agreement in Paris next month. What do you think?"

In the Oval Office of the President in the White House, Secretary of State Sherman, who was in charge of foreign affairs, reported to President McKinley about the negotiations with Spain.

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

McKinley rose from his seat, took Sherman's hand, and expressed his appreciation.

"Thank you for your trust, Mr. President." The Secretary of State said, "We also have to thank our army for winning the war. Otherwise, no matter how powerful we are, we would not be able to mediate."

McKinley agreed.

But he suddenly remembered something, and turned to Senator Hannah.

"Speaking of the army, what about Minister Aijie?" He asked, "Myers and Shaft have been complaining about him for the past six months, should we discuss it within the party?"

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

Many of his poor operations made the frontline US troops miserable.

For example, the guns and logistical preparations were insufficient. Half of the people still held old-fashioned black powder guns, and purchased thick military uniforms and low-quality canned meat.

Another example is that the landing deployment is messed up, and the command system is chaotic.
"Adger is a lumber seller, and my son knows how to fight better than him," Schefter told McKinley.

"I said long ago not to launch a summer offensive. The Cuban jungle will kill the soldiers. Aijie's incompetence is well known. I really don't know who chose him as the Minister of War." Myers said in a reporter's interview In the interview he conducted, he pointed at Sang and cursed Huai.

When McKinley saw the news, his face was liver-colored.

Who chose?Of course he McKinley chose.

This guy made a lot of effort in his own election, plus he used to be in the army during the Civil War, and this guy has a very good relationship with Chen Jianqiu.

Chen Jianqiu?
McKinley's temples twitched suddenly at the thought of the name.

Although this person made great contributions to his own election.

But on the one hand, he is a Chinese, and on the other hand, he has always been unwilling to join the Republican Party, and it is even hard to say that he is in the same boat as himself.

He suddenly regretted it.

Why do you have to take into account the feelings of a Chinese arms dealer when you choose the Minister of War?
"Mr. President, this needs to be decided by yourself. I fully support it. However, if you really want to elect a new minister, you need to be cautious."

Hannah sits on the couch in his office, fingers crossed on his stomach.

"Then you have to help me start looking." McKinley walked to his side, sat down on the sofa next to him, and whispered to him.

"Yes." Hannah answered calmly.

Looking at Hannah, McKinley always felt that something was wrong with his old partner.

He knew Hannah's character all too well.

In the past, he was fierce and irritable, saying what he had to say.

But not long after the Cuban campaign ended, Hannah became very, very, uh, very calm.

It seems that the politeness between him and himself is a bit too much.

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

"Is there anything else? Tracy (McKinley's nickname)?" Hannah asked McKinley looking at him in turn.

"Oh, it's nothing, you go back first." McKinley waved his hand.

Hannah stood up from the sofa, said goodbye to the president, and walked out of the office, taking the hat from the guard at the door.

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

It's just that this carriage didn't go to the Capitol, but to the downtown area of ​​Washington.

As the capital of the United States, the city of Washington DC is unusually quiet.

There was no rumbling machinery that was often heard in other eastern cities at that time, and there were no towering chimneys.

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

There are also large expanses of lawns on the side of the road, making people feel like they are in a large park.

Pedestrians on the road also look very relaxed, without too much pressure.

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 place is actually a coffee shop.

Hannah got off the carriage, bowed his head and entered the cafe.

There were no other customers in the cafe.

To be honest, it doesn't look like it's open for business at all.

Hannah didn't stop and walked straight in.

The waiter at the bar saw that he was a member of parliament, so he didn't try to stop him, but just made a strange gesture at him.

Hannah just glanced at the gesture, understood it, and continued walking towards the back room.

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

At the wooden door, stood a young Chinese waiter.

Seeing Hannah coming, the waiter immediately opened the wooden door.

A bright light came in from outside the door.

Hannah stepped out the door.

The scenery in front of him suddenly became brighter, forming a sharp contrast with the narrow and dark interior environment just now.

This is an exquisite outdoor courtyard. The walls of the courtyard are covered with various vine-type plants. It is extraordinarily quiet and seems to be completely isolated from the outside world.

The sun 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 it.

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

"Well, here you are."

Seeing Hannah walking in, the man put down the newspaper in his hand, and the cigar in his mouth turned up, and the smoke accidentally drifted to his eyes, causing the man to frown slightly.

"I just finished meeting with McKinley. He has more things to do after the war, so I wasted a little time." Hannah walked to the opposite side of the man and sat down.

He glanced at the bottle of red wine and found that it was a French red wine from Gevrey-Chambertin, which also looked a little old.

"Mr. Chen is really enjoying himself drinking red wine in the cafe." The white beard above Hannah's lips curled up.

The man sitting opposite him was none other than Chen Jianqiu.

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

He snapped his fingers.

Just now the Chinese waiter from the door came in holding a wooden box and handed it to Chen Jianqiu.

And Chen Jianqiu threw it in front of Hanna casually.

Hannah gently opened the wooden box.

A strong tobacco fragrance blows from the box.

"Seriously good Cuban cigars are produced in Pinar del Río in western Cuba. I controlled a tobacco plantation there from the Spaniards." Chen Jianqiu winked at Hannah.

Control the plantation?I'm afraid it wasn't directly snatched from the Spaniards!
Hannah directly took one out of it and lit it for himself. At the same time, he glanced at another empty chair beside him and raised his eyebrows:

"Anyone else?"

Chen Jianqiu said "Yes" in affirmation.

He bowed his body and asked half-jokingly and half-seriously:

"What, is McKinley going to start fulfilling 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. If this battle is won, what the United States will welcome is the boundless ocean and the whole world. It's a beautiful future. No one should care about it. I think It just takes the right moment.”

"We're talking about your old friend Secretary of War Adger."

"Oh?" Chen Jianqiu put one arm on the armrest and leaned forward slightly, showing great interest.

"None of the generals on the front line thinks he is reliable, and no one thinks highly of him. McKinley wants to replace him." Hannah took a sip of his cigar and shook his head.

Chen Jianqiu raised his eyelids, but then his eyes returned to Hannah'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 all your logistical support comes from yourself, and you don't need to use the Ministry of War at all. You really don't know how bad he can do." Hannah waved his hand impatiently, "I know he I have a good relationship with you, but you must at least tell him something useful!"

Chen Jianqiu thought for a while.

"I think his popularity is quite good. I heard that the Ministry of War is quite united, and his subordinates are loyal to him." He smiled and said to Hannah, "He is very popular in the Ministry of War."

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

Chen Jianqiu nodded thoughtfully.

Suddenly, he raised his head and waved towards the door behind Hannah:

"Hey Ajay, when did you come? I didn't even notice!"

Hannah turned his head abruptly, and found that Secretary of the Army Ai Jie was standing at the door in a suit, with an uneasy expression on his face.

"Come, come, sit down, my friend." Chen Jianqiu looked quite enthusiastic.

Ajie walked to the empty seat next to Hannah and sat down.

Hannah was a little embarrassed.

Sometimes the truth hurts and the truth hurts.

If you say what you shouldn't say, even those who have fought side by side will not be easy to associate with in the future.

"Um, Ai Jie, you know, this" Hannah wanted to explain something.

But Ai Jie didn't pay attention to him, but just had a depressed face.

The two old men remained silent.

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

"Brew? Is it to commemorate that I will be fired by McKinley?" Ai Jie looked at Chen Jianqiu mockingly.

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

Soon, some wine was poured into the three goblets.

"Chen, do you think there is still a way?" Ai Jie didn't seem to want to step down from the position of Minister of Army.

"When it's time to let go, just let go." Chen Jianqiu handed him a glass of wine with a smile, "What job do you worry about as a millionaire?"

"But once I leave, my assistants may have to leave too. They don't have any family background." Ai Jie sighed, "I plan to let them work with me for a few more years."

When people get older, it is easy to have too many things to let go, and it is the same to do anything.

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

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

"To be precise, ours." Chen Jianqiu pointed at them with two fingers, and then pointed at himself with his thumb, "I have already begun to integrate the military shipyards in the east and build a branch of gunpowder in Pennsylvania."

"I would like to share some shares and investment opportunities with you in both companies." Chen Jianqiu looked at the red wine in the glass and said, "As Hanna said, America has a bright future."

The eyes of Hannah and Aijie lit up at the same time.

In addition to their identities as congressmen and ministers of the war department, these two people also have a common occupation, they are both businessmen.

They all understood what it meant that Chen Jianqiu was willing to share the shares.

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

Yes, MPs need jobs and votes, men in the military need retreats, and arms dealers need orders.

Taken together, everyone has a bright future.

He raised his glass high and said to the other two:
"Cheers, for wealth and future."

The three of them cleaned up all the wine in their glasses.

Chen Jianqiu wiped his mouth with a handkerchief, then moved his lips slightly:
"Now, let's discuss Mr. Edger's successor." (End of this chapter)