America 1881: Legend of the West

"Mr. President, Spain has agreed to give up all overseas colonies except Africa, including the Philippines and all islands in the Caribbean. If there are no problems, we will sign a contract in Paris next month. What do you think?"

In the Office of the President at the White House, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Sherman reported to President McKinley on the status of negotiations with Spain.

"Well done, Sherman. You and your diplomatic team are as reassuring as ever."

McKinley stood up from his seat, shook Sherman's hand, and expressed his appreciation.

"Thank you for your trust, Mr. President," the Secretary of State said. "We must also thank our military for winning the war. Otherwise, no matter how powerful we are, we will not be able to mediate."

McKinley agreed.

But he suddenly remembered something and turned to Senator Hanna.

"Speaking of the military, what should we do with Minister Agee?" he asked. "Myers and Schefter have been complaining about him for the past six months. Can we discuss it within the party?"

Secretary of War Agee was criticized by soldiers on the front lines for his poor performance throughout the Spanish-American War.

Many of his poor operations made the frontline US troops miserable.

For example, firearms and logistics were insufficiently prepared. Half of the people still carried old-fashioned black powder guns, and purchased thick military uniforms and low-quality meat cans.

Another example is that the landing deployment was messed up and the command system was in chaos.

"Edge is just a wood seller, and my son knows how to fight better than him." Schefter told McKinley.

"I have long said not to launch a summer offensive. The Cuban jungle will kill the soldiers. Agee's incompetence is well known. I really don't know who chose him as Secretary of War." Myers told reporters During the interview he conducted, he criticized Sang and Huai.

When McKinley saw the news, his face was the color of liver.

Who chose it? Of course he, McKinley, chose it.

This guy helped a lot during his own election, and he had been in the army during the Civil War. In addition, this guy had a very good relationship with Chen Jianqiu.

Chen Jianqiu?

McKinley felt a sudden jump in his temple at the thought of the name.

Although this person played a major role in his election.

But firstly, he is Chinese, and secondly, he has always been unwilling to join the Republican Party, and it is difficult to even say that he is in the same boat as himself.

He suddenly regretted it.

Why should I take into account the feelings of a Chinese arms dealer when I choose the Secretary of War?

"Mr. President, you need to make your own decision on this. I fully support it. However, if you really want to choose a new minister, you need to be cautious."

Hanna sat on the sofa in the office, interlacing the fingers of his hands and placing them on his belly.

"Then you have to help me start looking." McKinley walked to him, sat down on the sofa next to him, and whispered to him.

"Okay." Hanna replied calmly.

McKinley looked at Hanna and always felt that something was wrong with his old partner.

He knew Hanna's character all too well.

In the past, he had a fiery personality, was impatient, and would say whatever he wanted.

But soon after the battle in Cuba ended, Hanna became very, very, well, very calm.

It seems that the politeness between you and yourself is a bit too much.

However, it is also possible that the Republican leader has taken a dim view of many things after helping the Republican Party regain control of the Senate and the presidency.

"Is there anything else? Maddie (McKinley's nickname)?" Hanna asked in turn when he saw McKinley looking at him.

"Oh, there's nothing going on. You can go back first." McKinley waved his hand.

Hanna stood up from the sofa, said goodbye to the president and walked out of the office, while taking the hat handed by the guard at the door.

Hanna left the White House and quickly got into a carriage.

However, the carriage was not heading to the Capitol, but to the urban area of ​​Washington.

As the capital of the United States, Washington DC is an unusually quiet city.

There was no rumbling sound of machinery that could be heard in other eastern cities at that time, and no towering chimneys could be seen.

The streets are lined with trees and very neat.

There are also large areas of lawn on the roadside, making people feel like they are in a big park.

Pedestrians on the road also seemed very relaxed and not too stressed.

The carriage stopped in front of a mansion.

If it weren't for the sign at the door, no one would have thought this was a cafe.

Hanna got off the carriage, lowered his head and entered the cafe.

There were no other customers in the cafe.

To be honest, this place doesn't look like it's open to the public at all.

Hanna didn't stop and walked straight inside.

When the waiter at the bar saw that he was a congressman, he didn't stop him. He just made a strange gesture towards him.

Hanna just glanced at the gesture, understood it, and continued walking towards the back room.

After passing through a narrow and dark corridor, a wooden door appeared in front of Hanna.

Standing at the wooden door was a young Chinese waiter.

When the waiter saw Hanna arriving, he immediately opened the wooden door.

A bright light shone in from outside the door.

Hanna stepped out the door.

The scenery in front of him suddenly became brighter, which was in sharp contrast to the narrow and dark indoor environment just now.

This is an exquisite outdoor courtyard. The walls are covered with various vines and plants. It is extremely quiet and seems to be completely isolated from the outside world.

Sunlight shines into the center of the courtyard.

A man was sitting there with a newspaper in his hand and a cigar in his mouth.

In front of him was a small round table with a bottle of red wine and three empty goblets on it.

To his right, there was a small coffee table with a ceramic ashtray on it.

"Well, you're here."

Seeing Hanna come in, the man put down the newspaper in his hand and raised the cigar in his mouth. The smoke accidentally drifted into his eyes, causing the man to frown slightly.

"I just met McKinley. He had a lot of things to do after the war, so it took a little time." Hanna walked over and sat down opposite the man.

He glanced at the bottle of red wine and found that it was French red wine produced in Gevrey-Chambertin, and it seemed to be a little old.

"Mr. Chen was drinking red wine in the cafe. He was really enjoying himself." The white beard above Hanna's lips curled up.

The man sitting opposite him was Chen Jianqiu.

"Hey, I just wanted to find a place to stay in Washington, but I didn't expect that the house Rivers sold to me actually had a cellar, and there was actually a cellar of red wine!" Chen Jianqiu rubbed his hands.

He snapped his fingers.

The Chinese waiter just inside the door came in holding a wooden box and handed it to Chen Jianqiu's hand.

Chen Jianqiu threw it directly in front of Hanna casually.