The arrogance started from Chinatown

Chapter 805: The Deterrence Brought by the Fierce Reputation

"Those newspapers talk nonsense every day, and you just stand there and watch? Otherwise, let me take people to burn down their newspaper office!" Rong Jiahong rushed into Xu Yan's office, threw a newspaper on the table in front of Xu Yan, and cursed.

"Brother Wei didn't tell them to shut up!" Xu Yan raised his head and said slowly and leisurely.

"Does Brother Wei need to speak up for this kind of thing?" Rong Jiahong glared at him.

"Do you think you can win?" Xu Yan asked first.

"Need I say more? Has Brother Wei ever lost a battle?" Rong Jiahong became even more annoyed.

"That's it! Let them argue. The bigger the argument, the better!" Xu Yan remained calm and composed.

"The bigger the argument, the more people will know about it...and once we win, we'll become even more famous!" Xu Yan said.

"Did you do this on purpose?" Rong Jiahong suddenly reacted.

Xu Yan just looked at him without saying anything.

Rong Jiahong hated the way Xu Yan looked at him as if he was a fool the most, so he stood up and walked away cursing.

After Rong Jiahong left, Xu Yan picked up the phone and said, "Let's check if there is anyone behind these statements in the newspapers."

He did let the papers run wild.

But we also need to check if anyone is pushing it.

……

"Mr. Chen, Mr. Chen...can I interview you?"

Some reporters who were following the mayor for an interview discovered that the mayor had arrived at the train station. They followed him all the way and indeed discovered the big shot, and they all shouted outside the human wall.

Chen Zhengwei looked outside through the car window and signaled the driver to stop.

In order to welcome Chen Zhengwei, the mayor of Galveston specially arranged a car.

This detail made Chen Zhengwei very satisfied.

Chen Zhengwei pushed open the car door and got out. The reporters stretched their necks and looked at Chen Zhengwei expectantly, hoping that he would say something.

Especially the Galveston Harbor explosion, which is what everyone is concerned about right now.

"I just got here today and heard about some of the situations on the way!"

"The Spanish attacked our port and destroyed a large number of civilian facilities..." Chen Zhengwei looked at the reporters and changed his tone: "I don't want to condemn anything. After all, this is war!"

“Maybe many people think that war should not involve civilians, but this idea is too naive. War is war and it affects everyone!”

"It's just that the Spanish treated us the same way, so we will treat them the same way!"

"The Spaniards will soon realize their mistake!"

"You think I'm going to say that Spain's mistake was bombing the port?"

"You guessed wrong. The Spaniards' mistake made me unhappy!" Chen Zhengwei said meaningfully.

The reporters were very excited.

They thought Chen Zhengwei was saying that he would definitely take revenge... Although this was indeed what Chen Zhengwei meant, it was not what they thought.

"Mr. Chen, do you think we can win this war? How long do you think it will take to end?"

"Just tell me this, don't tell other officers what you think. If 'you think' is useful, there will be no defeat in the world!"

"But I can tell you, we will win, and quickly!"

After Chen Zhengwei finished speaking, he returned to the car and headed for the hotel.

Half a day after Chen Zhengwei arrived at the hotel, the original commander-in-chief, Vice Admiral Stephen Luce, came ashore from the port accompanied by his adjutants and subordinates. He looked at the ruined dock and the smoking wood, a scene of desolation.

This scene also made the naval officers even more indignant.

Some are against the Spaniards, and some are against Chen Zhengwei.

Stephen Luce had a blank expression on his face. As he boarded the carriage, he said to the others:

"Hold your expressions! Whatever you are thinking... don't show it for a moment!"

He was also very dissatisfied with Chen Zhengwei who suddenly showed up.

He felt insulted.

But he also knew that Chen Zhengwei was not someone to be trifled with.

Especially now that the war is imminent, he does not want any conflict between his subordinates and Chen Zhengwei.

Otherwise, instead of fighting with the Spaniards, they would have fought with Chen Zhengwei first.

He was ready to accept Washington's orders, but if Chen Zhengwei's plan was unreasonable, he would speak up and fight for it.

This is not for personal gain or to prove myself, but for this war.

Half an hour later, the group arrived at the hotel where Chen Zhengwei was staying. Standing at the door of the hotel were a dozen Chinese youths wearing gentleman's suits, bulging waists, and wearing thug hats.

"I am Vice Admiral Stephen Luce."

"Come in, the boss is waiting for you!"

When the group entered the hotel, they saw a young Chinese man sitting on the sofa talking to a few people.

Even when he was sitting there, one could tell that this man was extremely tall, with a wanton look on his face.

"Brother Wei, someone is coming!"

Chen Zhengwei extended his hand to signal the mayor and police chief of Galveston that they could leave.

Stephen Lucas and other navy personnel were then brought before Chen Zhengwei.

"Mr. Chen!"

Although those sailors tried their best not to show their expressions on their faces, their eyes were full of dissatisfaction.

Chen Zhengwei crossed his legs and looked at a few people for a while, then his eyes fell on Lieutenant General Stephen Luce. "You don't really think that I took your command as people say, do you?" Chen Zhengwei put a cigar in his mouth and turned his head slightly. The henchman next to him immediately lit it for him.

Stephen Luce's expression changed slightly after hearing this.

Without even opening his mouth, he had already made his thoughts clear.

"How did you become a vice admiral with a brain like yours?" Chen Zhengwei asked in surprise.

"Is the navy empty?"

After these words were spoken, everyone else behind Stephen Luce showed anger.

"I have been the commander-in-chief of this war from the very beginning!" Chen Zhengwei sneered.

"I planned this war. The war plan against the Spanish was mine. I arranged for the Spanish warships to appear in Cuba. I also arranged for the Cuban Freedom Army to blow up the Spanish naval base. I planned it all from beginning to end!"

After Chen Zhengwei finished speaking, the expressions of those naval officers also changed, but they still looked very unconvinced.

"What can those ships in your navy do? Can they defeat Spain?" Chen Zhengwei asked back.

The naval officers fell silent, although they didn't want to admit it... the U.S. Navy was indeed no match for the Spanish Navy.

"In this war, my fleet is the main force!"

"So what makes you the commander? From the beginning to the end, I am the commander!" Chen Zhengwei said in a deep voice.

"If it had been announced at the beginning, there wouldn't be so much debate!" Stephen Luce retorted.

The fact is just as he said. If it was stated from the beginning that Chen Zhengwei was the commander, there might be some controversy, but it would never be this big.

Changing commanders at the last minute is something that is criticized in any country, especially when it is a political appointment.

"That's the White House's problem, not mine! In fact, you were not the commander-in-chief from the beginning!"

Chen Zhengwei couldn't say that he was afraid of someone bombing his train, so he never said that he would participate in the war, and only asked the White House for the commander-in-chief after arriving in Houston.

"I'm just letting you know!"

"Like I said, you are not the main force in this war. You just need to follow my orders and cooperate in the battle!"

"If anyone disobeys orders in secret, he will not even live to see the day of the military court! I will sink him directly into the sea. If one person disobeys orders, I will sink him alone. If one hundred people disobey orders, I will sink them all. If all of you disobey, then there is no need for your navy to exist. I will sink you directly!"

"The U.S. government will write 'Treason' on the letters to your homes, not Killed in Action!".

"And rebuild a navy!"

"You should know who I am and what I have done!"

"Do you understand now?"

Chen Zhengwei's words had no ups and downs in tone, which was totally inconsistent with the pronunciation characteristics of English and sounded extremely bland.

But Stephen Luce felt a sense of pressure.

The calmness on Stephen Luce's face could no longer be maintained, and it began to change.

Chen Zhengwei just sat there and looked at him, but he felt tremendous pressure.

Even though he had thought a lot when he came, he couldn't utter any rebuttal when facing Chen Zhengwei.

Chen Zhengwei's reputation is so fierce and his methods are so brutal that it is hard for normal people not to feel pressured when facing him. This is the deterrent brought by his reputation.

After a while, he lowered his head slightly: "We will obey your orders!"

"Very good! Sit down and tell me about the situation of your fleet!" Chen Zhengwei said directly.

The US Atlantic Fleet only has nine ships this time, three of which are light cruisers, all of which were launched in the past two years.

The others are old wooden warships.

These are the best things the United States can offer now.

Gross tonnage 36500 tons.

After they set off, they resupplied at the Pensacola Naval Base, 800 kilometers from Galveston.

Therefore, although the port of Galveston was bombed, the impact was not significant because it was not a naval base.

"This war in Cuba is mainly divided into two battlefields, Havana and Santiago!"

"In two and a half days, the Cuban Liberation Army will attack the naval bases in Havana and Santiago and blow up their arsenals."

Chen Zhengwei finally entered a state of war at this time.

"We will set out tomorrow morning and split our forces into two groups. One group will head to Havana and sink the Quinto de Ortega in the Havana harbor!"

"The main force will head to Santiago to sink the fleet from the Spanish mainland!"

"They didn't even have the chance to leave the port!" Chen Zhengwei briefly introduced what happened next.

In fact, the battle plan had been arranged long before he arrived.

Just as he said, the Spanish fleet didn't even have a chance to leave the port.

"That's the situation! Do you have any questions?"

"no!"

"Very good, you guys make preparations, take back what I said, and be honest. I am not a good-tempered person." Chen Zhengwei nodded.

The other party's attitude finally satisfied him.

"I'll be on board tomorrow morning!"

　I didn’t think about water, I didn’t think about water, I didn’t think about water… I can’t just want to start a war today and sink the Spanish fleet tomorrow, right?
　　There are so many things that need to be explained... I have tried to reduce them as much as possible, which also resulted in many places not being written enough. For example, the impact of the Galveston explosion in the United States.

　　Fortunately, I have explained almost everything that needs to be explained...

　　
　
(End of this chapter)