Chapter 202 Annexation of Hawaii
Before leaving New Orleans, Sheffield witnessed the assembled American Expeditionary Force boarding the ship. They would perform the duties of the Army and complete the military occupation of Cuba, which was a necessary step. The United States in later generations obviously went astray, and obviously believed that the navy and air force could handle everything. For some countries that only had tents and camels, it would never be possible to make them surrender without investing ground forces.
It's just a problem of the army, and it can be said that this is the national condition of our great America. Since the Spanish-American War, the federal government has faced countries that are much weaker than itself every time it has participated in a war. Even when it participated in the world war, it only stabbed the enemy when it was dying. In World War II, the United Kingdom and France only annihilated one-fifth of Germany's military power, and the Soviet Union was the country that killed 80% of Germany's military power. The exploitation of loopholes in World War I was even more obvious, and the war was over as soon as it arrived at the battlefield.
Sheffield admired the federal government's integrity in joining the war. Like himself, they never thought that the weaker the opponent, the better. When they met a country with a little bit of status, they would not bring dozens of countries to fight. They would be embarrassed to greet people when they went out to meet. What is the United States Army? It only chooses the weakest, not the strongest.
I can only show my awesomeness by bullying weak opponents, but what if I run into a tough guy and get exposed? Just like Sheffield said that the damp cold in Texas is colder than the dry cold in Chicago, but he can brag in Texas, but he will never live in Chicago for even a day. Bragging is okay, but it is not worth it if you risk your life.
Sheffield returned to Arlington, packed his bags, and began to prepare for the international corporate trip. He also told Mr. Lagerfeld about his plan. This was just a notification, not a request.
"Is it a little dangerous over there?" After hearing this, Annabell did not express obvious opposition, but instead pointed out a few points of caution. "The situation is unclear right now, and the expeditionary force has not arrived yet."
"When I was in school, I learned a saying, 'Fortune comes with risk.' The situation in the Philippines is indeed unclear, but there is one thing that is certain: the United States will occupy the Philippines." Sheffield pondered for a moment and said, "Precisely because of a certain degree of danger, other companies in the United States choose to wait. If the United Company marches into the Philippines in a big way at this time, it will gain the greatest benefits, so this risk is completely acceptable."
Hmm? Annabell stroked her forehead and suddenly tilted her head and said, "No, you have another reason. Is it related to Mexico's debt? The headquarters of the three parties that took over Mexico's debt is closest to Mexico. If you stay in the country, plus you have gained a lot of benefits in the war, it would be a bit too noticeable."
Sheffield didn't know whether he was lucky to have such an old lady. If Annabelle was the same as the old lady in the East, his life would definitely be very difficult. But fortunately, his family did not interfere with the behavior of the heir.
"That's partly because if I wasn't here, this would be a plan led by Rockefeller," Sheffield said succinctly. "I was also looking for an alibi for myself."
"I've really learned something from having you manage the prison." Annabell nodded with great satisfaction. She was quite happy with the heir's way of diverting trouble. No matter what the effect was, the fact that it could be put into practice proved that Sheffield had thought it through.
Although finding an alibi is just a term to describe a crime, neither the grandfather nor the grandson cared about it. In the eyes of some proletarians, people like them are committing a crime by living.
Simply setting out with the expeditionary force was still beyond the limit of seeking wealth and fame at the risk of one's own risk. Annabelle suggested that after arriving in Hawaii, they should wait and see the progress of the Asian battlefield, and when it was slightly more stable, they could intervene with the capital of the United Company.
A few days later, Sheffield appeared in California. He did not come alone, but brought two retired companies of the Alamo Guard. At this time, San Francisco was still busy. The Eighth Army of the American Expeditionary Force, led by General Merritt, had just left the mainland, and with them left were a total of 30,000 Chinese workers.
As for other Chinese workers, the United Company also signed contracts with them, but these other contract workers would have to stay here temporarily before completely conquering the Philippines.
The port is still very busy, and requisitioned cargo ships are still transporting military supplies, such as beef jerky left over from the Civil War. The army's consumables like these should not be treated in comparison with the navy's first-class treatment, as the navy is an aristocratic branch of the military.
"A successful international enterprise cannot just focus on the domestic market." International entrepreneur Sheffield gave the accompanying company staff a round of chicken soup. "Of course there are risks, but as the first large-scale enterprise to enter the Philippines, this will also bring huge benefits. You know, the Philippines is a place with a population and area several times that of Cuba. The population is more than three times that of Cuba, and the area is more than three times. Of course, our company has a very big advantage, which is that we have established a good relationship with the Chinese. In this way, we can understand the situation in the Philippines through the Chinese, which will definitely help us establish industries in the Philippines faster than other companies."
In front of Evelyn, Sheffield habitually boasted about his foresight, as if he was planning for this and waiting for it to come true.
"Okay, here are the basic materials prepared by the boss." Evelin lifted the hair by her ear and distributed general information about the Philippines to the other secretaries in the secretariat, emphasizing, "Although the development rate of the Philippines is relatively low, it has great potential for development and can serve as a huge driving force for the development of the joint company."
There are many higher plants in the Philippines. The main ones are pine, bamboo, camphor, mangrove, pine, etc. Moreover, as an archipelago, although the degree of development is low, the geographical environment is similar to that near San Francisco, and there may be many rare metal resources. Compared with California, which is also close to the sea and has frequent earthquakes, there should be no problem with copper, gold, silver, iron, and other resources.
"The Philippines will be the United Company's key overseas business location. After the boss's inspection, he will also work with domestic mining companies to conduct exploration." Evelyn nodded. "Of course, this is far from all. Banks will also move into Manila later. This depends on the progress of the expeditionary force."
Evelyn wanted to continue talking, but was interrupted by Sheffield. She rolled her eyes and said, "So, an unprecedented opportunity is before us. Compared with other companies, we are not only one step ahead, but also have a very good foundation. It can be said that this foundation is built on the good relationship with the Chinese community. Of course, I also know that some newspapers in San Francisco have objected to this recently. If those Irish people want to fart, they can do it themselves. All we can do is close the door and let them produce and sell by themselves. As a large company, there is no objection to this level of objection."
Sheffield encouraged the entourage who were about to leave, telling them that as long as they followed him, blessings would surely come to them. "I am not interested in money."
When boarding the cruise ship, Evelyn and the others each carried a suitcase containing novels by Hugo and Tolstoy. The United States is a cultural desert with no literary accumulation at all. Local novel literature cannot be compared with that of France and Russia, where there is controversy over who is the best. As for popularity, Sheffield was influenced by online literature and he had read all the popular works.
When boarding the ship, he had nothing in his hands, while the young woman behind him was carrying a suitcase. This scene made some gentlemanly men want to show off their hormones, but after seeing the Alamo Company behind them, they restrained themselves again.
“Look at those men who are secretly watching you. Don’t they look like dogs?” Sheffield put his arm around Evelyn’s shoulders and pointed at the men who had just peeked at him with his other hand.
"Can't you be more friendly to ordinary people? Don't trample on their dignity." Evelyn glanced at the spectators who were avoiding her gaze and said softly, "Yes, okay!"
"I think the best way to take care of ordinary people is to tell them the real world. Of course, I can also take care of them, just like I take care of my Spanish Shepherd." Sheffield said with a playful smile, "I am too lazy to lie to individuals. If I have to lie, I will lie to the entire citizen class and tell them not to think too much and just live one day at a time. Naturally, there are bosses like me who plan their lives, and all they have to do is live their lives within my plan and create value for me."
Hawaii is located at the "crossroads" of the Pacific Ocean, and is a hub for sea and air transportation between Asia, America and Oceania. It has an important strategic position. With this position, it naturally attracted the covetousness of imperialist powers. As early as fifty years ago, the two most powerful colonial empires, England and France, successively claimed their sovereignty over Hawaii.
Just before Sheffield arrived in Hawaii, US President William McKinley made a difficult decision. In view of Hawaii's initiative to exchange sovereignty for tariff exemption, the federal government decided to annex Hawaii and make it an overseas territory of the United States of America.
Sheffield just listened to this kind of thing. Before the war with Spain really started, William McKinley's peace initiative might have worried about the risk of defeat. But now the difficult decision to annex Hawaii must have been staged to keep the last bit of eating not too ugly.
The annexation of Hawaii was more like a historical legacy that the American Expeditionary Force easily solved. However, after landing on the island, Sheffield clearly felt a deep hostility towards the largest ethnic group on the island, the Japanese.
(End of this chapter)
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