Chapter 190 William Serves Justice
Oak Manor was as peaceful as ever, full of southern pastoral scenery. Only the hustle and bustle inside was unknown to the public. Until the ultimatum was issued to Spain, Sheffield and the investigation team of the battleship Maine also investigated the matter. He had boarded the battleship, but got off quickly.
"The federal government refused the Spanish investigation team to board the ship, and with the report from the New York Herald, my dear friends, you can see that the Yankees are still so shameless after 30 years. From last year to now, there are too many unreasonable things in the whole matter that are worth talking about." Sheffield took a pile of investigation reports and slammed them on the table twice. "These Yankees thought they were doing it in secret, but they didn't expect that I was more secretive than them. Haiti is an overseas base of the United Company that has been deeply rooted for many years and a transit station for the Black Gold Transport Company. They want to hide it from me? Impossible!"
Sheffield laughed wildly, causing everyone to agree, then he stopped laughing and said, "The Asiatic Fleet has left South China, and our branch there has proved this. In fact, this is the biggest evidence that the Yankees have been planning for a long time. Although the United States is currently interested in Hawaii, this is a well-known fact, but we don't have a piece of territory in the Pacific. Why would the West Coast Fleet run so far and wait in the northern waters of the Philippines?"
"Also, the New York Daily News quoted a speech by Undersecretary of the Navy Theodore Roosevelt. Doesn't the Navy have a secretary? Why could our Undersecretary bypass the secretary and directly order the Asiatic Fleet to be on combat readiness? He bypassed Congress and the President. There are too many strange things about the Spanish issue. If we really go to their house and ask, no one can justify themselves. It seems that our Mr. Roosevelt must be playing a big game."
Surrounded by the crowd, Sheffield walked back and forth, enjoying the feeling of being the center of attention. This gave him a noble sense of being a teacher, educating people. "The New York Herald was quite direct. I believe that all large companies support the war. So the question is, is United considered a large company?"
"Haha!" As soon as Sheffield opened his mouth, a burst of laughter rang out in the manor. When the laughter died down, Sheffield looked at the big man representing the economy of the southern states and said, "We must find out the role Mr. Roosevelt played in the war. In this war, he has violated the law. As a leader of an active military, he alone ordered the Asian Fleet to prepare for war. There is no problem during the war. When the war is over, we will have a good talk with Mr. Roosevelt."
"My friends, get ready. It's time to show our Dixie people's patriotism. We can't let the Yankees take over the majority of our southern home. Let's fight this war against Spain as if it were the Civil War. But we have to keep Standard Oil's share, and the Boston Bank's share." Sheffield hadn't forgotten the Rockefeller family's share. Although he was determined to snatch it from the tiger's mouth, he couldn't eat it all. "Manifest Destiny..."
In all the telegrams sent from Oak Grove to the Southern states, the term Manifest Destiny would be mentioned. It was the slogan of the Democrats during the expansion period, and all people in the Southern states, whether farmers or ordinary citizens, were familiar with this term.
Sheffield actually didn't care about the outcome of the Spanish-American War. Why would he care about a war that was sure to win? Would he feel ashamed for Spain? Was the sunset battle of the first empire on which the sun never sets worse than the Qing army's war of the First Sino-Japanese War?
Speaking of concern, Sheffield's concern is naturally about the domestic battlefield. He has now confirmed that it must be some powerful large companies that have come up with such a flawed operation, but he certainly didn't expect that he had been prepared and was ready to intercept.
Sheffield then allocated $50,000 in the name of the United Company to treat the survivors of the battleship Maine. He also stated that after returning home, the wounded would be recuperated in a hospital in New Orleans because their injuries might worsen. The news soon spread through newspapers.
When the citizens of the United States were mourning the Maine incident, Sheffield's actions as a patriotic businessman and compassionate young wealthy man were consistently praised by the citizens. Many newspapers stated that the war was of course very important, but the humanitarian care that Sheffield showed during the war was the most precious wealth of the citizens of the United States.
Although Sheffield himself did not respond to this report, it did not prevent this one-way flattery from continuing.
Under the premise of winning for sure, Sheffield knew that the focus of the competition was the intrigue with domestic competitors. Who would receive more of the legacy of the defeated Spain? As for what happened to Spain as a country, who would care about a loser?
The crew of the USS Maine, who were transported back to the mainland, were soon treated like heroes. Although their situation was actually very embarrassing, they were heroes in the context of the surge in patriotic citizens. Don't you know that my Indian pilot was also treated like this when he returned home after being shot down by Pakistan?
When these wounded were admitted to the New Orleans Hospital, ready to wait for the angels in white, they probably didn't expect that they almost met real angels.
"It's private time now!" Jesla rolled up his sleeves and looked at the two officers who happened to get off the ship when the USS Maine exploded that day. He said calmly, "If you can tell me what happened to the USS Maine that day, you two will still be heroes of the United States. Otherwise, I can't guarantee how long you two can survive next."
"What are you going to do?" The two naval officers who were isolated looked at the men in black in the room in panic and shouted, "We are officers of the Federal Navy and we are protecting Cuban expatriates. What are you going to do to us?"
"I won't do anything now. If you don't cooperate, I can't guarantee what I will do." Jesla looked at the two active-duty soldiers of the United States coldly. "We can do whatever we want in the entire South. No one will care. Even if you die, the newspapers will say that you died of guilt, unable to bear the pressure of losing your comrades, and excessive grief. No one will doubt it. You know, war is much more attractive than the death of two officers."
Just when the private occasion was about to be put into action, the door behind Jesla creaked open, and Sheffield came in tiptoeing with a white handkerchief covering his nose. He frowned and complained in a muffled voice, "Can't you find a place with a decent environment? Where did you find such a small ward?"
"Boss!" Jesla turned around quickly and saw his boss covering his nose. He was obviously quite dissatisfied with the environment here. He said awkwardly, "This is the only place where there are no patients staying. It's the most secluded. I didn't expect you to come."
"It's okay, as long as the matter is done. Are these the two officers who got off the ship that day? Hello, a relative of a friend of mine also served on the battleship Maine, but unfortunately he died." Sheffield put down his white handkerchief, lied to the two officers without blushing, and then asked with a cold expression, "Who did it?"
There are naturally no so-called relatives, but choosing a dead person as a relative can make things more justified. The dead do need justice, don't they? As a patriotic businessman, it is understandable that he is ready to seek justice at this time. As a patriotic businessman, he needs to protect the power of justice, so the existence of people like Jesla is not surprising at all.
"Tell the truth. It will benefit both you and me. Do you think we don't know that the Maine had an internal explosion? After doing something like this, aren't you worried about being killed to silence you?" Sheffield walked up to the two officers tied to the chairs, slowed down his tone, and tried to reason with them, as if he was doing this for your own good.
"You can't treat a naval officer like this. You still have the federal government in your eyes..."
Bang... The officer who was speaking kicked the chair more than a meter away, and the words in his mouth were also held back with this scene. Sheffield was the only one in the room, moving his right foot in place, pointing at the bodyguards present, and cursing, "You are an ordinary person, how can you be qualified to talk about the federal government? What kind of bastard are you? The federal government belongs to people like me, it belongs to me. If I say a word, even your graves will be dug up. You don't have to cooperate. Bring me some paper to suffocate these two bastards. Pull out their belts. They want to hang themselves. They are ashamed of their dead companions. Don't you see it?"
"Go!" Jesla nodded and turned to order the bodyguard behind him, who pushed the door open and walked out.
"Wait, we really just got off the boat and don't know what's going on on the boat!"
"We didn't know there would be such a big explosion. We just followed orders."
The two officers proved with their actions that being afraid of death has nothing to do with being a soldier. At Sheffield's signal, two bodyguards came up and helped the officer lying on the ground up. "Whose order was it? Where did you get the order from?"
When the bodyguard came back with tissue paper in his hand, the scene in the ward changed. His boss and direct superior asked the two officers to take care of themselves in a friendly manner. The federal government would definitely take revenge on the Spaniards, and it would take time to assemble the troops. They should understand the difficulties of the federal government.
Everything is so peaceful and harmonious. The patriotic businessman is visiting the officers who sacrificed their lives for the country. "I believe that the two officers are blessed with good fortune and will live a long life. After all, those who survive a great disaster will have good fortune in the future."
"Keep investigating. It's the biggest cover during the war. Hold the evidence in your hands." After walking out of the ward, Sheffield became well-dressed again, covering his mouth with a white handkerchief, and gave orders softly. Jesla, who was following behind him, nodded frequently.
(End of this chapter)
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