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 Hannah come in, the man put down the newspaper in his hand, and the cigar in his mouth was lifted up. The smoke accidentally drifted to his eyes, making the man frown slightly. "I just met with McKinley. He had a lot of post-war things to do, so he was delayed for a while." Hannah walked over to the man and sat down.

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.

Hannah gently opened the wooden box.

A rich aroma of tobacco wafted out of the box.

"Real, high-quality Cuban cigars, produced in Pinar del Rio in western Cuba. I took control of a tobacco plantation there from the Spaniards." Chen Jianqiu winked at Hannah.

Controlling the plantation? I'm afraid they didn't just take it from the Spanish!
Hannah took one out and lit it for herself. At the same time, she glanced at the other empty chair next to her and raised her eyebrows.

"Anyone else?"

Chen Jianqiu nodded in affirmation.

He leaned forward and asked half-jokingly and half-seriously:

“What, is McKinley going to start fulfilling his pre-election promise to repeal the PH Act?”

Hannah stared at the cigar fire and shook her head:
"No, but I don't think that's a problem. If we win this war, America will be greeted by the boundless ocean and the entire world, and a bright future. No one should care about this. I think it just takes the right time."

"We are discussing the matter of your old friend, Minister of War, Agee."

"Oh?" Chen Jianqiu put one arm on the armrest, leaning forward slightly, showing great interest.

"None of the generals on the front line thought he was reliable, and no one looked up to him. McKinley wanted to replace him." Hanna took a puff of his cigar and shook his head.

Chen Jianqiu raised his eyelids, but his gaze immediately returned to Hannah's face:

"But I think he's okay. At least I never complained about him when I was leading the troops on the front line."

"That's because you provide all the logistics support yourself and don't need to use the Army Department at all. You really don't know how bad he can do." Hanna waved his hand impatiently. "I know he has a good relationship with you, but you should at least be able to point out some useful advantages of him!"

Chen Jianqiu thought about it for a moment.

"I think he's quite popular. I heard that the War Department is quite united and his subordinates are very loyal to him." He said to Hanna with a smile, "He's quite popular in the Army Department."

"But what's the use? The generals say he can't do it, the president says he can't do it, then he may really be incapable!" Hannah said to Chen Jianqiu meaningfully.

Chen Jianqiu nodded thoughtfully.

Suddenly, he raised his head and waved in the direction of the door behind Hannah:

“Hey, AJ, when did you come? I didn’t even notice!”

Hannah turned around suddenly and found Army Secretary Agee standing at the door in a suit, looking unhappy.

"Come, come, please sit down, my friend." Chen Jianqiu looked quite enthusiastic.

AJ walked to the empty seat next to Hannah and sat down.

Hannah was a little embarrassed.

Sometimes, the truth hurts, and the truth also hurts.

If you say something you shouldn't say, it will be difficult to get along with someone in the future, even if that person is someone you once fought alongside.

"Um, Ajie, you know, this..." Hannah wanted to explain something.

But Aijie had no intention of paying attention to him and just had a distressed look on his face.

The two old men remained silent.

"Everyone is here, we can taste this bottle of red wine." Chen Jianqiu called in the waiter outside the door.

"Open the wine? Is it to commemorate the fact that I'm going to be fired by McKinley?" Aijie looked at Chen Jianqiu self-deprecatingly.

"No, no, I just want to share the red wine in the cellar with you two." Chen Jianqiu said as he asked the waiter to serve the wine.

Soon, some wine was poured into the three goblets.

"Chen, do you think there is any other way?" Aijie seemed reluctant to step down from the position of Army Minister.

"When it's time to let go, let go." Chen Jianqiu handed him a glass of wine with a smile, "Why would you worry about a job as a millionaire?"

"But once I leave, my assistants will probably have to leave too. They don't have much money." Aijie sighed, "I plan to have them work with me for a few more years."

When people get older, it’s easy for them to have too many things to let go, no matter what they do.

"Then let them come to our company." Chen Jianqiu picked up the wine glass and said lightly.

"Your company?" Aijie and Hannah looked at Chen Jianqiu almost at the same time.

"To be precise, ours." Chen Jianqiu pointed at them with two fingers, and then pointed at himself with his thumb. "I have begun to integrate the military shipyards in the east and build a gunpowder branch in Pennsylvania."

"I am willing to share some shares and investment opportunities with you in both companies." Chen Jianqiu looked at the red wine in the glass and said, "Just like Hannah said, America has a bright future."

Hannah and Aggie's eyes lit up at the same time.

In addition to being a congressman and the Minister of the Army, these two people also have a common profession: they are both businessmen.

They all understood what Chen Jianqiu's willingness to share shares meant.

"In the future, retired people from the Ministry of National Defense and the military can come to our company to continue working, and we will re-employ them." Chen Jianqiu smiled slightly, "We have what we need."

Yes, lawmakers need jobs and votes, people in the military need a way out, and arms dealers need orders.

Together, everyone has a bright future.

He raised his glass high and said to the other two:
"Cheers, to wealth and the future."

The three of them drank all the wine in their glasses.

Chen Jianqiu wiped his mouth with a handkerchief, then moved his lips slightly:
"Now, let's discuss Mr. Ager's successor." (End of this chapter)