The arrogance started from Chinatown

Chapter 803 Supreme Command
Two hours after the United States declared war, Spain received the news...the British told them!
Prime Minister Sagasta immediately convened an emergency meeting of cabinet members.

Even if they had guessed it before, the US declaration of war was too sudden and unexpected.

"The United States actually declared war on us?"

"Their ship has nothing to do with us! They're just looking for an excuse!"

"It's meaningless to argue about these things now. We should face the war head-on! Since they want war, let's give them war!" The old fox Sagasta showed amazing calmness at this time.

"Now tell me, will we win?" Sagasta looked at the Minister of the Navy, Francesco Pavia.

"Yes, our fleet will send them to the bottom of the Caribbean Sea! To be honest, I still don't understand where they get the courage from!" said the Minister of the Navy.

Then he said decisively: "But the result is already determined, and there is no doubt about it!"

"Those Americans and Chinamen don't seem to know much about the navy!"

"The navy is different from the army. The gap in navy equipment cannot be made up by anything else!"

"The sea is open and everything is in plain view. A cannon one kilometer away is one kilometer away, and an inch more armor is one inch more armor, not to mention that their ships don't even have armor!"

"Also, it may be that the British's obsolete warships gave them unrealistic fantasies!" The Secretary of the Navy felt that there were only these two possibilities for the Americans' confidence.

Their lack of knowledge of the navy, coupled with the British's obsolescence of warships, led them to mistakenly overestimate themselves.

After holding an internal meeting, Prime Minister Sagasta went to the palace.

When he came back, he held a press conference. Facing numerous reporters, he spoke in a deep voice:
"If they want war, give them war!"

"I believe we will be the final winner!"

……

"Are we going to Galveston?" On the train, Cicely DuPont said excitedly while hugging Chen Zhengwei's arm.

She had been to that port city in Texas with Chen Zhengwei before, and the beaches there left her with very fond memories.

The main reason is that Chen Zhengwei is by her side.

"No, we're going to Cuba for vacation!" said Chen Zhengwei.

"Cuba? Are your assets there frozen? I saw it in the newspaper!"

"So I have to get it back!" Chen Zhengwei said meaningfully.

"They have to pay me back double!"

"So you still say you're going on vacation?"

"That's right, it's a vacation!" Chen Zhengwei said with a smile.

A day later, as the train passed through the small town of Yuma in Arizona Territory, several newsboys walked along the platform waving newspapers and shouting: "War has begun! We have declared war on Spain!"

The noise in the train suddenly quieted down.

Everyone looked out the window in disbelief, suspecting that they had heard it wrong and were hungry.

They had only been away from Los Angeles for one day, not a month!

"What were you talking about just now?"

"Sir, would you like a newspaper? The war has begun, we have declared war on Spain!" The newsboy waved the newspaper in his hand.

"The newspaper has the latest and most complete news! Only 10 cents!"

This Arizona Sentinel normally costs only 5 cents.

But such breaking news usually comes with a price tag!

The passengers on the train didn't care about the price.

"Give me a newspaper!"

"Give me one too!" Passengers on the train threw coins one after another, and the newsboy threw newspapers into the train.

Soon, the henchman also brought a newspaper back to Chen Zhengwei.

"boss!"

When Chen Zhengwei took the newspaper, he glanced at the name of the newspaper: Arizona Sentinel, a local tabloid.

Then he looked at the news with interest.

Sure enough, it was full of reports about the outbreak of war, a comparison of the navies of both sides, and speculation about the war. Chen Zhengwei was also mentioned.

It is speculated that he was the one who instigated this war.

"Remember this newspaper!" Chen Zhengwei said to his henchman, "Go back and ask their boss if he has any opinions about me!"

"Defaming me is serious!"

"I actually don't understand why there are always some people who think that freedom of speech in the United States means that you can say anything?" Chen Zhengwei curled his lips.

"Talking about insignificant people is free speech, but talking about me is not! He should know what he can and cannot say!"

"If he doesn't know... then he never has to know again!"

At this time, Cicely was still shocked: "The United States and Spain are at war?"

"Yeah, didn't I tell you?" Chen Zhengwei said lightly without raising his head.

"You just told me to go on a trip! A vacation!"

"That's right, they started a war, and we went on vacation! Otherwise, do you want to go to the battlefield wearing this clothes and shaking your hips?" Chen Zhengwei looked up at Cecily and laughed.

"Why did the war start?" Cicely asked after taking two deep breaths to calm down.

"Don't you know? They froze my assets!" Chen Zhengwei continued reading the newspaper and said casually.

"I am an American and the U.S. government must protect my assets!"

"The embassy massacre happened before that!" Cicely reminded.

Although she didn't like to pay attention to these things, she paid some attention to Chen Zhengwei's affairs. "Of course, the main reason is that I want to beat them up!" Chen Zhengwei raised his head and answered seriously.

"So just beat them!"

"Do you know what this is called?"

“This is called freedom!”

“So I always say that I like America very much, because it is full of the flavor of freedom!”

A week later, a train arrived in Houston.

"I haven't been back for a long time. Things are developing very fast here!" Chen Zhengwei said while sitting in the carriage and looking at the scenery outside the window, just after coming out of the train station.

Houston was originally just a small city, and the port city of Texas is Galveston.

However, with Chen Zhengwei's large investment in Houston and the US government's funding for Texas, the development here is very fast and it has become much more prosperous!

"Send a telegram to inform the White House that I'm in Houston!" Chen Zhengwei ordered his henchmen, and then said in a tone that left no room for refusal:
"The supreme command of this war belongs to me!"

He had never told James Garfield that he would be participating in the war to avoid revealing his whereabouts.

He didn't worry about anything else, except that he kept things secret when traveling by train.

The White House was holding a meeting at the time, and was indeed surprised when it received the telegram.

"Why is he in Houston?" Navy Secretary Chandler frowned.

"He probably wants to take revenge personally!" James Garfield guessed. He could probably guess what Chen Zhengwei was thinking.

"He wants command...I'm concerned, to be honest," Navy Secretary Chandler said.

Although Chen Zhengwei's military record is well-known, it was in the army.

Although the plan for the war against Spain was also formulated by Chen Zhengwei, that was the strategic aspect.

It is natural that Chen Zhengwei has such ability at the strategic level.

But the navy is another matter, and Chen Zhengwei has not confirmed himself in this regard.

"This is a battle that concerns the fate of our American nation!" Chandler said in a deep voice.

"No, it's not that serious. Even if we fail, we still have vast lands!" Unlike the Secretary of the Navy, James Garfield actually did not take the war that seriously.

He is more concerned about domestic developments in the United States.

Even if you fail, it will only be a small loss.

Unlike Spain, the United States has a vast territory and sufficient potential.

"And I believe in his ability! He makes the plan and the Navy acts according to the plan. I think the result will not be too bad!" James reminded.

"If we reject him, that would be trouble! Just think about how he would keep giving you trouble after the war... even if you won..."

"I agree!" Chandler shuddered at the thought of that outcome and immediately changed his words.

Chen Zhengwei is very famous for holding a grudge.

Moreover, he will take revenge from morning to night, and even if he doesn't die, he will at least be skinned alive.

"But how do we announce it to the outside world?"

"Let's not talk about it for now. Wait until the outcome of the war comes out! According to the plan, this war should be over soon!" James Garfield said.

The news of the change of commander-in-chief was then notified to the Navy, causing quite a stir and turmoil in the Navy Headquarters.

"Why is that Chinaman the commander in chief? He's not even in the Navy!"

"And in this war, we are the main force!"

Admiral David Porter slammed the table and shouted in Chandler's office.

He is one of the few admirals in the navy and the most prestigious person, but because of his age, he is not the commander-in-chief this time.

The commander-in-chief is Lieutenant General Stephen Luce, who has already set off on board the ship.

But he had been in the Navy all his life, and when he heard the order that Chen Zhengwei would take over as commander-in-chief, he immediately rushed to the office of Navy Secretary Chandler, slammed the table and cursed.

Chandler was also quite troubled, so he tried to pass the blame on to others before explaining.

"This is the president's order! But we should all believe in his ability!"

"In fact, this battle plan was originally formulated by him!"

"And in this operation, his torpedo launcher will take on more important responsibilities. No one knows this better than him!"

Chandler finally managed to appease the admiral, but within a day, the news leaked out.

Chen Zhengwei became the commander-in-chief of the navy in this war and immediately appeared in the newspapers, causing an uproar.

Chen Zhengwei is very famous in the army, no one can refute this, this is a real record gained through combat.

But the Navy… is another matter.

What's more, Chen Zhengwei is not a member of the Navy at all and does not hold any position in the US government.

Such a person was parachuted in and became the commander-in-chief of the navy in the Spanish-American War?
This kind of thing is simply unheard of!

Countless people opposed this.

Some newspapers even directly criticized that the person who made this decision must have been bribed by Spain.

The president's decision?
Then the president must have been bought by the Spanish!

The fact that the US Navy was already lagging behind Spain in terms of data had already caused many people to oppose the war.

Then the commander-in-chief of this war was parachuted in by a man who had nothing to do with the navy.

What will be the outcome of this war?
(End of this chapter)