America 1881: Legend of the West

The House of Representatives remained bustling on Monday.

Compared with the elite-studded Senate, members of the House of Representatives are more down-to-earth.

Unlike the senators, they all receive a very good education, and their careers are often diverse.

Therefore, this place is often like a vegetable market.

Especially after Cleveland lost the presidency, the Democratic Party also completely lost power in the Senate and the Senate.

But the Democrats would not pass up any opportunity to disgust McKinley.

So the House of Representatives became such a place.

"The next proposal is the military reform plan of the Ministry of War." The speaker put on his glasses, "Secretary of War Root will explain to us the new plan they formulated."

Suddenly there was a burst of discussion in the House of Representatives.

The members of the House of Representatives began to whisper among themselves.

Under normal circumstances, the cabinet will communicate with members of both parties in advance about bills passed in parliament.

Whether you pass or fail, you will at least be informed to prevent the scene from being too ugly.

But no one told them about this bill.

President McKinley sat quietly in his seat, his expression gloomy.

Root didn't know this.

He walked up to the front desk and began to explain his plan to the people below.

What Root said was basically the same as what he told McKinley at the War Department. There was not much difference.

Most lawmakers have little interest in the military reform plan.

During the war, the domestic media basically reported good news but not bad news, so they only knew that the US military fought bravely in the Caribbean and the Philippines, beating the Spanish to their knees.

In their view, their military has performed so well that there is no need for reform.

The current system of the U.S. military has won the War of Independence, the Mexican-American War, the Civil War, and now it has defeated the Spanish.

No one would attribute the victory to the North American continent's excellent matchmaking.

The US military is invincible and invincible! Glory belongs to America!
Of course, the congressmen will not know how embarrassingly the U.S. military is fighting on the front line in Cuba.

The outstanding performance of Chen Jianqiu's Chinese army became their fig leaf.

Lawmakers were relatively calm when Rutte began introducing changes to the chain of command.

After all, the ones most affected by this matter are the army commanders-in-chief, and they have nothing to do with them.

Most people felt a little bored at most, and some even yawned.

But when he mentioned that he wanted to expand the size of the conventional army, everyone immediately exploded.

The MPs began to discuss heatedly.

This plan had a huge impact on their existing knowledge.

"We have the sea to the west and the sea to the east. Neither Mexico to the south nor Canada to the north pose any threat to us. So why expand our military?"

An Ohio congressman named Anthony stood up and expressed dissent.

"If we need to be more involved in international affairs, we will need more standing troops. These troops will be used to protect our rights and interests overseas." Root explained.

"Intervening in international affairs? Isn't our country big enough? Let the Europeans handle their own affairs. Why should we intervene?"

Anthony retorted.

"As long as they don't interfere with ours, there's no need for us to interfere with theirs."

Root was too lazy to explain the national strategy to these people. He looked at President McKinley sitting below.

This kind of thing should be explained by him.

But what is surprising is that the president is still sitting there steadily, his face calm and motionless.

This made Root a little surprised.

It was McKinley who used himself to reform the army, and it was McKinley who agreed with this plan, but why is he silent now?
A moment's hesitation gave the opposing congressmen below an opportunity.

They began to attack in groups.

"More troops means that taxpayers need to spend more money to support them. How do we explain to them? I don't think this is necessary!" A Republican congressman from Virginia expressed his opinion.

His words represented the views of many other congressmen below, and many people began to agree.

"Yes! We should spend money on more necessary places, such as the construction of urban infrastructure, instead of going militarily!"

"It's so stupid to spend money to form an army to maintain order for those Cubans. Besides sugar and cigars, what else is there?"

If those in the Republican Party are all focused on "money" and their views are relatively mild, then the Democratic congressmen are much sharper.

A white-haired Democratic congressman stood up.

This man's name was Bertrand Lambert, and he was quite famous in the House of Representatives.

His voice is rich and infectious.

"Since the founding of the United States, our country's armed forces have been dominated by militias."

“Why did those great men who founded our country do this?”

"Because they understand that the military, like the police, is a violent machine of the state."

"If one day, this country no longer has hope and there is oppression, then the people should take up arms and resist tyranny!"

"And the presence of the federal army will make all this come to nothing."

Lambert suddenly pointed at Root and asked:

"The military is trying to expand. Is it taking this opportunity to strengthen its influence? Does it want to increase its voice?! Or does it have other motives?"

He said sharply:
"I tell you, the freedom of this country cannot be trampled on, and don't try to build a hotbed of military dictatorship here!"

Root was so angry at what the old man said on the line.

He wished he could smash the manuscript in his hand right now into the face of the old man opposite.

Where is this going?

He just made some adjustments to the army based on some problems that occurred in the army during the Spanish-American War.

The purpose couldn't be simpler.

But this old bastard stood up and went online, trying his best to slap him.

The key point is that judging from the expressions of the congressmen below, many people still believe this! Started to boo from behind.

There were boos and boos below.

What a hell.

As expected, the House of Representatives is full of all kinds of monsters and monsters, and it is no place for humans.

The beleaguered Root looked at McKinley again.

The President did not stand up to help him as expected, but just looked at the Speaker.

The speaker finally realized that he should maintain order in the House of Representatives. After shouting two silences, he began to organize a vote on the military reform plan.

As expected, this uncommunicated plan was rejected by the House of Representatives. Not only did the Democrats vote against it, but many Republicans also stood against it.

Root is a very nurturing person.

But this time, he left the meeting early and drove his Ford back to the Quartermaster Building to sulk.

Democratic lawmakers were surprised to find that this was a rare victory for them in Congress, and it was so effortless.

This boosted their morale, and at the same time brought them to the next and last bill to be passed in this session.

Standing on the stage was a Republican congressman from Massachusetts.

His name is George Hall.

Eighteen years ago, it was he who spoke up for the Chinese here, but in the end he was outnumbered and defeated.

Eighteen years have passed, and Congressman Howe is still serving in the House of Representatives after going through election after election.

His integrity was recognized by most people.

However, since then, Howe has always regarded the passage of the PAI-CHU Act as a shame.

In his view, this is a disgrace to American democracy.

But today, he stood here again.

Because President McKinley told him that he and his party would support him in repealing the bill.

So Hower stood on the stage again, hoping to make up for his regrets and resolve the knot from eighteen years ago.

The beard, which was originally long and black, has now turned gray.

However, the congressman's posture remained upright, like a pine tree.

"Eighteen years ago, a law was passed here that excluded an ethnic group from the country. It brought decades of humiliation to the Chinese people,"

"But this is also a disgrace to America! It is a blasphemy against the Constitution!"

"But in the past 18 years, the Chinese who have remained in this country and have citizenship have integrated into this country through their own efforts."

"They are contributing their strength to the construction of this country in various fields!"

Howl glanced at the people below.

The congressmen were a little confused. Just like the military reform plan, they did not receive any communication about this bill in advance, so they began to look through the documents on their desks.

"They work in factories and toil in fields like people of other colors; they go to schools and contribute inventions and scientific research to this country."

"In the recent war with the Spanish, Chinese soldiers performed extremely well and were the first to capture the San Juan Heights. They are bleeding for this country."

"They are no longer as apathetic as they used to be. I have been in the House of Representatives for more than 20 years, and in recent years, I have seen the emergence of Chinese people here."

"Except for the skin color, they are no different from us, and they are also working diligently to contribute to this country!"

“So, I suggest that this bill be repealed!”

What Howe was referring to were several Chinese congressmen sitting among the Republicans in the third row.

They are led by Wang Qingfu and serve as representatives from several states, including New Mexico, Oklahoma, and California.

Wang Qingfu and several Chinese parliamentarians looked at each other.

They were also a little awkward.

No one informed them about this matter in advance.

Chen Jianqiu privately gave them the goal of repealing the "PAI-CHUA Act", and they are also carrying out related work.

However, according to their analysis, the time is not right yet, so it has not been officially released.

Unexpectedly, at today's meeting, Howe took the lead in initiating this proposal in the House of Representatives.

Howe then went on to elaborate on some reasons and legal grounds, but this has already been discussed below.

Many members of the House of Representatives do not have much idea about this matter, especially those from the eastern states.

In their eyes, the Chinese are not a problem because the impact on them is so small.

Few of them pay much attention to this matter.

But what Howe said today made them realize that the Chinese are really gradually becoming a force that cannot be ignored in this country.

Many of them have quietly stepped to the front and sat on an equal footing with them, such as the Chinese parliamentarians around them now, and the famous "national hero" Mr. Chen!

Chinese people are quietly influencing this country!

There were considerable divisions among the members of Parliament.

Some agreed with Hall's words, believing that Chinese were also legal citizens of the United States and should be respected;
Some have become wary, and instead feel that the development of the Chinese has exceeded their imagination and will shake the foundation of the white people;

But for more people, the emotions are more complicated.

Some of them are on good terms with Chen Jianqiu or other Chinese people, and feel that these people are actually worthy of respect, but at the same time they realize that if they completely relax the policy, it may bring huge risks to the country itself.

After all, few of these people are Christians.

Unlike the military reform bill, no one immediately stood up to refute Howe.

Because they really are not sure about Chinese people's affairs.

The resolution to repeal the bill was ultimately not passed.

The final vote was 95 in favor, 108 against, and 44 abstentions.

The number of abstentions was somewhat shockingly high.

This result made Howe a little depressed, but it didn't seem to affect McKinley's mood at all.

The President breathed a sigh of relief and walked out of the House of Representatives.

Since the House of Representatives did not pass it, he doesn't need to worry about the Senate anymore.

After the meeting, Wang Qingfu immediately returned to the headquarters of the "Chinese Political Participation Alliance" and contacted Chen Jianqiu.

On the phone, he told Chen Jianqiu exactly what happened in the House of Representatives today.

"We received absolutely no communication about the two motions today, which caught us off guard."

"Oh, this is really a great opportunity! But it was missed." Wang Qingfu was a little annoyed.

On the other end of the phone, Chen Jianqiu fell silent.

After a long while, his voice finally came through the receiver:

"Did the president attend? What was the reaction?"

Wang Qingfu was stunned and immediately replied:
“I participated, but there wasn’t much reaction.”

Chen Jianqiu hummed.

"Keep working hard and don't let this incident affect you."

After Chen Jianqiu finished speaking, he hung up the phone.

After hanging up the phone, he sat on a chair in his home and looked out the window.

It was drizzling outside at the moment.
Chen Jianqiu narrowed his eyes and said to himself:
"It's interesting to startle the snake." (End of this chapter)