Chapter 189 Ultimatum
In Oak Manor, Sheffield was looking at his eyeballs through a mirror. It must be said that he did not sleep well last night. The lack of a woman to warm the bed was partly the reason, but the main reason was that he was shocked by the news of the explosion of the battleship Maine.
Not long after, McHale, Gail and others came in a hurry. Many manors in New Orleans were now occupied. They all lived nearby and wanted to come to Oak Manor quickly.
McHale sat down with a newspaper in his hand and said angrily, "I heard that the battleship Maine was sunk by the Spanish."
"McHale, listen to what William has to say!" Gail pulled his friend back and looked at Sheffield. "William, what do you think?"
"If Spain had this ability, why would it have waited until today? The battleship Maine has been in Havana for half a month, and almost all the expatriates have been evacuated. Why is this battleship still staying there?" Sheffield put down the mirror, finished maintaining his 19-year-old body, and said with a half-smile, "And there are no Spanish warships nearby. This is all the news sent back by the staff of the United Company. Some telegrams say it's more like an internal explosion."
Carter was shocked when he heard this. He shook his head vigorously and said, "That's impossible. That warship is worth millions of dollars and has hundreds of naval officers and soldiers from the United States on board. Would the federal government stage this incident on its own?"
"Maybe it's not self-directed, but the probability of Spain doing this is lower than self-directed." Sheffield said with a mouthful of white teeth, "Our country is so huge, there are two political parties, countless internal factions, and spokesmen of major companies. Even I don't understand what's going on. Who knows?"
Carter's current performance clearly shows that he still cannot believe that the federal government would do such a thing. He has obviously forgotten that the cause of the outbreak of the Civil War thirty years ago was not the black issue at all, but that the South relied on international trade and was unwilling to be fleeced by the North.
When Gale heard what Sheffield said, he thought it made sense, but he also raised his own doubts, "So Spain is less suspicious, but isn't this operation a bit too crude?"
The rougher ones are all relatively mild statements. Sheffield translated Gail's meaning as follows: if you think carefully about the time and preparations before and after, you feel that a self-directed explosion is a bit too stupid, and the federal government should not do that.
Sheffield did not comment. The Spanish-American War was the beginning of the United States' transition from the Monroe Doctrine to a global empire. It was the first time that the United States planned such a shameless thing. Obviously, it was a bit inexperienced. This is completely understandable. After all, people need a process of growth. Without the explosion of the USS Maine, there would be no laundry detergent later. Laundry detergent cannot be casually mentioned at the United Nations General Assembly, right?
Besides, in this era, due to the limited conditions and technology, creating a time difference was enough to fool the citizens of the United States. Not everyone happened to board the Maine and then ordered to watch at the Havana port, wanting to know what this mysterious case was all about.
So it seems stupid or insulting to intelligence, and it overestimates the intelligence of citizens of the United States. The Kennedy brothers and Kennedy's son all died in unclear circumstances, and the continuous accidents were concentrated among relatives of one family. Even the citizens of the entire United States can see that there is a terrorist force targeting the Kennedy family. The federal government just covered it up and did not make it public, which is clearly humiliating the intelligence of the citizens of the entire country. How can this be so extreme?
"The entire federal government needs our help now. I believe that all newspapers, regardless of their positions, have already pointed their fingers at Spain!" Sheffield licked his lips and said meaningfully, "Public opinion needs this war. We need to help the federal government with public opinion and use all our possible strength. The Democrats should quickly put pressure on the government, and the southern states need war propaganda. Citizens need to spontaneously hold war marches to support the war. This should not be a problem for us Dixies. We have taken all the money for donations."
As a patriotic citizen of the United States, Sheffield understood the difficulties of the federal government at this time very well. Being so patriotic, he naturally wanted to help the federal government solve this difficulty.
Seeing that Gail and McHale both nodded, Sheffield called Jesla over and whispered some instructions to him. Then the bodyguard leader left the manor. As for who was the most suitable person to do this, if the southern states wanted to express patriotic enthusiasm, it would naturally be the KKK. Only the white gloves had the most experience to do this.
Everyone in Oak Manor dispersed and left to contribute their own strength and express their support for the federal government. After Jessla came back, Sheffield issued another private order, "Although I told my partners that it doesn't matter whether it's true or not, it's very important for the United Company to figure this out. I want to know who planned this. I feel that even if Theodore Roosevelt is not the mastermind, he should be an insider. It's better for him to be an insider. First, see if there are any officers who left the battleship that day. It's almost ten o'clock in the evening. Why did they get off the ship?"
As a slave owner, he certainly had no interest in justice or injustice, so there was no room for the Spaniards to judge justice. However, if the secret of this matter was in hand, it might be a trump card. Especially now that the United States is still in the climbing stage, a good reputation is also very important. Holding evidence in hand is also a response to some possible changes.
You have to know that Theodore Roosevelt will become the president in the future. Sheffield has always followed the trend of history and tried to keep history on the normal track as much as possible, so that he can grasp the context as much as possible. Moreover, William Bryan, the most popular Democrat at present, is really unpopular in the United Company.
In this way, it is also possible to choose Theodore Roosevelt. If the other party is really involved in the explosion of the Maine, the United Company will have a handle on him.
Jesla nodded, understanding his boss's latest idea. "I will arrange for someone to conduct a secret investigation and collect as much evidence as possible."
Jesla started to turn back. Sheffield poured himself a glass and toasted to the air as a celebration. He knew that all he could do now was to wait. There was no such thing as revenge on the spot in war. Being humiliated on the first day and seeking revenge on the second day was not something he could even think about. He had to wait until public opinion was initially formed. He believed that he was not the only one who could help the federal government make up its mind.
"What matters most in war is the willingness of soldiers to risk their lives to fight the war. We have a well-trained and mobile military, we forget that the vast majority of the military in the past was filled with people who showed cowardice in the face of danger, and then they had to face a bunch of assholes who called themselves the rulers, ruled their country, and robbed their people. The military must be there when needed, because by doing so, you expose the enemy and the enemy's family to the wrath of God, and that is what the current federal government and military should do."
The Chicago Daily Times used the most incisive articles to urge the federal government and the military to intervene in Cuba immediately. This was not only to seek justice for the officers and soldiers on the battleship Maine, but also to help the Cuban people get rid of the bloody colonial rule of a European country.
It was not only Sheffield's newspapers that did this. In addition to him as a slave owner, the United States also had two other giants in the newspaper industry. Although they were not as powerful as the United Corporation in cross-industry development, they were also giants in the newspaper industry. Hearst and Pulitzer also used their own newspapers to incite war.
The San Francisco Examiner and the New York Times all used the explosion of the battleship Maine as an excuse to point out Spain's provocation against the United States and express that this war is inevitable. At the dawn of the American century, all patriotic citizens will not tolerate this humiliation.
Strictly speaking, Hearst was Sheffield's enemy, because in California, his newspapers were always competing with his own Los Angeles Times, and the issue of Chinese workers was the main issue in the confrontation between the two. I forgot to mention that this man was of Irish descent. Sheffield was ready to deal with this bastard who was against him after the war, but for now, this newspaper giant was considered a partner, and the two had the same goals.
Although the newspapers under this bastard usually have headlines like, "The mysterious murderer who killed little Bessie!", "Why did the young girl commit suicide?", "Playboys are looking for prostitutes!", "Why do young people in small towns do this to young women!".
William McKinley was under tremendous pressure from the surging public opinion at home. Many public figures accused him of being weak, and Democratic members of Congress mocked the cowardice of Republicans. Citizens in southern states were marching for war.
Just today in the New York Daily News, the remarks of Undersecretary of the Navy Theodore Roosevelt were revealed again, "In the incident of the Maine, the United States suffered the worst betrayal from Spain, and the officers and men of the navy must never forget it."
Later, during a joint American and Spanish investigation into the reasons for the silence, the New York Herald publicly reported, "Big business here is convinced we will have a war. It is believed that everyone will welcome the war and be free from worries."
"Send a telegram to Haiti and have our people on standby. The President is a pacifist, but he can't hold on for much longer!" Sheffield was holding the New York Herald in his hand. This was a report that big business was sending a message, forcing the president to go to war. In other words, all citizens were eagerly waiting for William McClay's order.
The president's peace ideas lasted for a month, and in April, a joint resolution of both houses of Congress declared Cuban independence and demanded the withdrawal of Spanish troops. The Senate added the Taylor Amendment, denying any American intentions on Cuban territory. McKinley signed the war resolution and sent a copy to the Spanish government, with the notice that unless Spain gave a satisfactory answer before April 23, McKinley would implement it.
He didn't know that Theodore Roosevelt had already taken advantage of the Secretary of the Navy's absence to issue a combat readiness order to the Asiatic Fleet.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
