Chapter 212: The Inflated Second Class
"Boss, you'd better be careful. Now it's war time, soldiers have more power, and the Philippines is not our homeland!" Jessla was much more cautious than Sheffield. No one knew when the fighting in the Philippines would start again.
"What are you afraid of? Isn't George Dewey going to retire yet? He will be just an ordinary man by then. I am still the boss of United Company and I am quite busy!" Sheffield was very rude while changing his clothes. Look at the two places that the United States has fought for, one is more popular than the other. If it were not for internationalization, would he have to cross half the world to find trouble?
The basic situation in the Philippines now is that everywhere except Manila is in the hands of the Philippine rebels, and some places are actually in the hands of Spain. Spain has lost both battles, and now the two sides are negotiating through an intermediary country. The area controlled by the US military is the smallest, but it is the most important.
Sheffield was definitely not lying when he said he was very busy. He also had to meet with Spanish and Chinese leaders. He was already giving this old man face by wanting to communicate with George Dewey first.
The two sides met in the former Spanish Governor's Palace. Sheffield's main purpose was to get the biggest piece of the pie for domestic companies in the Philippines under the influence of the US military and make the Philippines an important step in the internationalization of the joint company.
So the previous disrespect for George Dewey was just a casual remark, he still respected soldiers very much, so nice...
"Mr. William, thank you for the help of the United Company to the expeditionary force, especially for the soldiers of the Eighth Army. The canned food shipped by the United Company is just in time." George Dewey also expressed a certain degree of gratitude after seeing Sheffield's arrival. The United Company did make great efforts to support the military operations of the United States.
The supply situation of the navy officers and soldiers was better, but the supply of the expeditionary army was really shameful. The soldiers of the Eighth Army ate beef jerky, which was about the same age as their fathers. The last time George Dewey saw this familiar beef jerky was during the Civil War.
George Dewey also wanted to take out some of the food adapted for the navy to supply the army, but the number of people in the army was not something the navy could afford by saving money. So the beef jerky that even a saber could not cut was soon replaced by canned food shipped from the country.
"This is what we should do for the country!" Sheffield accepted George Dewey's compliment calmly. These were all overstocked products that were about to expire. Would the Canned Goods Trust be short of such things? They were going to be destroyed anyway, so why not recycle them?
In George Dewey's office, General Merritt, commander of the Eighth Army of the Expeditionary Force, also praised patriotic enterprises such as the United Company. At the beginning of the meeting with the top generals from both the navy and the army, everything was harmonious.
"Now we can only control Manila with the existing military force. Now most of the Philippines is in the hands of the rebels, and the rest is in the hands of the Spanish army. We still have to wait for the second expeditionary force to set off. They are already on the way." General Merritt did not hide the current situation. Obviously, even the commander of the expeditionary force did not have much faith in the combat effectiveness of the army. With such a commander, the status of the army in the United States can be imagined.
"As I observed, the next tough battle will be between our expeditionary force and the Filipinos." Sheffield did not consider himself an outsider at all, as if there were three giants among the US troops in the Philippines, and he was one of them.
Taking into account the support of the United Company for the war, the commanders of the navy and the army did not object too much. Although the two were in the Philippine war zone, they had learned about the situation in Cuba through some news for such a long time and had a new understanding of the United Company's magical power. Besides, since the company also contributed money and manpower to support the war, it was normal for them to have some opinions.
Besides, doesn't this make sense? George Dewey and Merritt also judged that the Philippine rebels would be the main opponents in the next military operation.
The two were soldiers, so it was normal for them to make such a judgment. However, Sheffield had only arrived in Manila for one day and he had made the same judgment. This made the two of them look up to him. General Merritt exclaimed, "If William enters the military, he will definitely be a shining star."
How could he be so desperate? Why not put such a big company and wealth to good use and risk his life on the battlefield? Sheffield pretended not to hear this so-called compliment and said modestly, "United Company is a company with an international vision. In fact, the current business must also allow me to have some international careers. To put it bluntly, during this special period, what United Company did was almost the same as the East India Company."
Sheffield mentioned the infamous British predecessor company, and a hint of embarrassment flashed across the faces of the two men, because this company was also extremely important to American history. The background of the Boston Tea Party was the monopoly of the East India Company.
This is not the most embarrassing thing. Sheffield compared his company to the East India Company, and almost directly said that the current actions of the two people are exactly the same as Britain's behavior all over the world. It is not noble at all. It can be said that all the reasons for the United States to start a war are trampled underfoot and stripped away.
What was even more embarrassing was that an officer pushed the door open at this moment and saw this scene. He looked hesitant, as if he was embarrassed to talk about the matter.
General Merritt coughed lightly and said, "This is the representative of the private company that supplies the expeditionary force. If you have anything to say, just talk to me directly!"
General Merritt then wanted to slap himself in the face. The officer's report was that several US soldiers had caused dissatisfaction among some Filipino rebels by raping local women, which exacerbated tensions.
"Deal with it immediately and find someone to communicate with the Philippines." General Merritt looked embarrassed, but quickly gave the order for the officer to go out.
Puff! Sheffield couldn't help but quickly stopped smiling. Isn't this a tradition of the US military? He can't control his crotch wherever he goes. From General Merritt's decisive handling of the order, it can be seen that this doesn't seem to be the first time it has happened.
The American soldiers' style of never being picky about food is really admirable. They will eat anything as long as it is female. It doesn't matter if they are from a European power or an island native.
This also had nothing to do with him, but there was one thing Sheffield told the two generals directly, and that was about the 30,000 Chinese workers who came with them, as well as the issue of subsequent Chinese workers. Now he wanted to take these Chinese workers away and use them for the strategic layout of the joint company, and he could no longer continue to act as a nanny for the military.
"These Chinese workers will be used for the construction of the United Company. If the two generals feel that it is not feasible, they can pay their wages on behalf of the United Company!" Sheffield crossed his fingers and pointed out the current real situation. "Tens of thousands of workers, each with a monthly salary of more than $200,000. Even if the United Company is large in scale, it cannot always afford such a large expense. There is no law that states that private enterprises must pay for war. Generals, I believe you also understand the law."
Eh? George Dewey and Merritt looked at each other and finally agreed, "Thank you to the United Company for helping the expeditionary army through the most difficult period, but William..."
"There's nothing to worry about. If you can afford the salary, it won't be too late." When Sheffield heard that the two seemed to be ready to talk, he quickly stopped talking. He was not here to do charity.
"I have one thing, but I would like to inform the two generals first. Considering that the native ethnic groups in the Philippines account for more than 80%, any colony must attract a foreign ethnic group to check and balance the local area. India is known as the pearl of the British Empire. In non-white territories, Indians have assumed the responsibility of maintaining order. This can be seen in the British colonies in Africa and Southeast Asia, and even British Guiana in Latin America. In the local population composition of the Philippines, only the Chinese can assume this responsibility."
Sheffield has now entered the role of the East India Company and explained the plan of the joint company. "The most threatening country in Asia at present is Japan. The arms of the Philippine rebels were purchased from Japan. This is a very dangerous sign. That is, many people in Asian countries have already unconsciously relied on Japan. I just came from Hawaii. I believe that the two generals also saw the huge Japanese population during their short rest in Hawaii."
"So Japan cannot be trusted and should be guarded against. The United Company will get along harmoniously with the local Chinese in the Philippines, relying on the relatively good relationship with the Chinese in California. The United Company is well prepared for this. I hope the two generals will know about this and not let military soldiers interfere. That's what I want to say." Sheffield spoke out his idea of ​​supporting the Chinese and dealing with the native Filipinos in one breath and waited for the two men's responses.
"Will this cause a hidden danger?" George Dewey frowned slightly and raised his doubts. Although it was sensitive for military personnel to interfere in private enterprises, he still had some concerns in his heart.
"General Dewey, you don't think the Philippines will be incorporated into the United States, do you? There are nearly 10 million people here, and the federal government just treats it as a colony. If so many people were incorporated into the United States, it would bring huge uncertainty to the country." Sheffield smiled coldly, "It's good enough to find a helper now, but you picked it?"
"Yes, we must calm down the Philippines immediately. If we can quickly get rid of the rebels, we won't have to worry about the Chinese balancing the indigenous people." Merritt thought things were not too bad and comforted George Dewey.
Can the United States Army fight a tough battle? As the chief of the Army, Sheffield had no idea. He rolled his eyes and thought of the Army's invincible record. Its opponents included Panama, Guatemala, Guyana, Congo, and the Dominican Republic. Everyone knew of its glorious military prowess.
(End of this chapter)
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