Chapter 216: Tricking the Expeditionary Force
After arriving in Manila, Sheffield was extremely busy, continuously contacting the military, Spaniards, Chinese, and the Filipino troops formerly loyal to Spain. It can be said that he devoted himself to the colonial cause of the United States until his death. His seriousness could be seen from the continuous stream of United Company employees disembarking from the port of Manila.
Sheffield now has a sketch of its municipal plan and a rough idea of what to do with Manila, which includes the expansion of Manila Prison, railroad traffic, exploration teams, and so on…
Anyway, the boss of the contemporary East India Company now feels that he is doing a good job in front of several generals. He did not embarrass the United Company at all, which made the generals of the army very satisfied, especially General MacArthur, who directly thanked him, "Everything the United Company has done for the country is touching."
"It's all for the United States. In fact, everyone in the business world knows that our United Company has the best attitude towards the military. This is obvious to all, whether it's the Navy or the Army." Sheffield put his hands in his pockets, with an attitude of taking the lead. It's just like that. Which company will follow the US military wherever it goes? No!
Not to mention that Sheffield himself is an important figure in the business community of the United States. He can take the lead in helping the US military to clear obstacles. Is this something that ordinary people can do? Even the current domestic public opinion praises everything that the United Company has done in the war.
Of course, this cannot be ruled out that some so-called conscientious dung collectors are actually enemies of the United States and criticize the United Company for following the expeditionary army to seize war profits. But this is not related to the overall situation.
Although during the time in Manila, he established good relations with the navy and the army. The opinions of many military generals helped the United Company become the contractor for this war. But no one can deny that Sheffield did it. He was in the Philippines. If Morgan Jr. and Rockefeller Jr. were here, they would probably get a share of the pie, but they didn't, so he couldn't blame himself.
The benefits that can be gained from the war depend on how much military expenditure the United States is prepared to allocate for the conquest of the Philippines. If the entire conquest of the Philippines allocates a military expenditure of one billion US dollars, how much of this share can the United Company get?
Although this is an unpredictable problem, Sheffield has tried his best to meet all the requirements of the expeditionary force. For example, he has renovated a very nice building in the center of Manila to open a casino.
The soldiers of the American Expeditionary Force left their homes thousands of miles away and came to the Philippines to fight with great enthusiasm, living a life of uncertainty. War is cruel, and it is very important to release psychological pressure. As a famous young rich man in the United States, Sheffield was anxious to help others and set up a place for soldiers to release psychological pressure. This is understandable.
You should know that in the United States, not to mention gambling, even lottery is illegal. Soldiers cannot be made to go through life and death and be saints. It is the basic morality of a conscientious entrepreneur to make soldiers live comfortably while they are alive. This is the greatest patriotism.
Sheffield did his best for the U.S. military's actions in the Philippines, which won unanimous praise from the generals present. They all said that if the United States were an enterprise like United Corporation, there would be no need to worry about America's destiny.
The Democratic Army of the Philippines, planned by Sheffield, was called this name because of its identity as a democratic party. Besides, it always needs a nice name to fool people. Haven't you seen a bunch of African warlords, who are liberating this, patriotic that, or republican or democratic? Maybe they don't know what they are. Often the most brutal atrocities come from people who claim to be freedom fighters.
The Democratic Army of the Philippines currently has more than 30,000 members, including employees brought by the United Company from California. Currently, the United Company has recruited more than 70,000 workers. Of course, the Chinese workers who came later were the same as the previous Chinese workers. After arriving in the Philippines, they found out that they had been cheated. However, with the experience of Gu Cheng and others, they immediately appeased them and said that land in the Philippines is not tight and as long as they can make profits for the United Company, they can use the land at a discount.
Sheffield was completely generous to others. Anyway, it was almost impossible for the United States to incorporate the Philippines into the mainland and make it a state. Since it was not their place, he naturally had no regrets about giving it away.
If the Chinese workers had their own piece of land and a woman could support herself, Sheffield believed that they would never cross the ocean or even come to the Philippines. This idea was proven to be correct. In the eyes of the Chinese workers, land was as valuable as the US dollar.
Land embodies the deepest and most simple emotions of people and witnesses the changes of history. It can be said that if the land is stable, the people will be at peace and the country will be solid. The society has built a natural economy of self-sufficiency for each family, which has also led to land becoming the most essential means of production for the Chinese people. "Facing the loess and back to the sky" has become the most realistic portrayal of life. To this day, land is still related to livelihood, but the bond between the Chinese and the land has long been deeply rooted in their blood.
Sheffield fully understood this plot, and it was an absolutely correct understanding, because the largest asset of the United Company was land, and his involvement in the Spanish-American War was also to buy up the estates at the bottom. In Cuba, he united with his allies, and he personally went to the Philippines to buy up the bottom.
If you don’t even have land, you have nothing. Land is the most important resource. Countries like Britain, France and Germany can only be strong for a while. A hundred years later, no country that dares to speak loudly will have a small territory.
Using the lure of land, Sheffield organized an armed force of more than 30,000 people. The weapons were naturally received from the Spanish colonial army. As for supplies, many Chinese workers are now using the land he bought at a low price to produce, hoping to achieve self-sufficiency. The Philippine Democratic Army already looks like a production and construction corps.
While preparing for war, Chinese workers were also building Manila. In this way, Sheffield formed a cycle, arming Chinese workers with Spanish weapons and promising them land at bargain prices. At the same time, it tied these workers to their jobs, achieving a small investment and a large return to the greatest extent.
He has even planned to build a railway now. When the situation becomes a little safer, even if other domestic companies come to the Philippines, it will not be able to change the fact that the country is dominated by the United Corporation.
"It really solved a lot of difficulties for our military. We originally thought that William might not have enough experience, but now it seems that choosing Sheffield United as a contractor is the most correct decision we have made. You have to know that many members of Congress have complained about this. It was only after our repeated suggestions and with the investment and help of United that this matter was decided." General Merritt, commander of the Fifth Expeditionary Army, said with admiration.
After another round, the generals who inspected were very satisfied and completed the inspection. Sheffield also returned to his residence, waiting for people from the country. Since Evelyn returned home due to health reasons, although there were other female secretaries who took her place, she still felt that something was missing.
Fortunately, these days are coming to an end. Sheffield kept taking out his pocket watch to check the time. It should be almost time for him to fall!
Soon Jesla pushed the door open and Sheffield looked at him suspiciously and said, "It seems that we are still late. This is normal. After all, the Pacific Ocean is so big, it is normal to have a little time error."
"No, boss. Miss Anne has arrived. We were just delayed at the dock. A few drunk soldiers blocked the way of Miss Anne and her group, but nothing happened. The Alamo Guards at the dock discovered it immediately and drove the soldiers away!" Jessla saw Sheffield's face turn from sunny to cloudy, and his voice became smaller and smaller.
"Ah! You mean? A few drunk soldiers saw my woman and wanted to tease her?" Sheffield said with a strange look on his face, rubbing his chin with his hand, and asked, "Do you think this is a trivial matter?"
"Boss!" Jessla opened his mouth and heard Sheffield knocking on the table and shouting, "Bring Annie to me. These hooligans from the expeditionary force are scum and social scum. They are a bunch of people at the bottom of society and cannon fodder on the battlefield. They dare to tease my woman under the influence of alcohol. Who do they think they are?"
When Annie came in, Sheffield hugged the girl into his arms and muttered, "I was scared to death when I heard what Jesla said about the situation."
Anne raised her bare hands and stroked Sheffield's back. She felt a sense of happiness surrounding her and said sweetly, "I'm sorry for making you worry. It's all my fault for having to come to see you. I've missed you a lot over time. It was a false alarm."
"I don't think this is a false alarm. My impression of the expeditionary force has dropped a lot. If something really happens to you, I don't know what to do." Sheffield did not loosen his arms, but made Anne sweat. The weather in Manila is so constant, it is summer every day.
After a long while, Sheffield finally felt relieved after asking questions carefully. He said with a stern face, "You'd better be like me and bring enough bodyguards wherever you go. There are always some idiots who don't know how to be respectful, have no self-awareness, and think that they can do things without paying a price. I mean, there are a lot of such people in the United States."
"Okay. I'll listen to you!" Annie didn't know where to put her hands and rubbed the corner of her clothes embarrassedly.
This look seemed to make Sheffield smell the scent of otaku literature. Let's not talk about this issue for now. This matter will never be let go. Originally, he wanted to wait for the decision of the federal government, but in view of the performance of the drunk soldiers of the expeditionary force, he felt that he could change his thinking, such as replicating the Maine's cry of thief. After all, there are so many soldiers in the expeditionary force, and a few people dying for the country are all worthy deaths.
For the sake of the country, it seems nothing to cheat the expeditionary force.
(End of this chapter)
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