I was acting crazy in North America, and all the crazy people there took it seriously.

Chapter 58: Anglo-American Naval Mutual Destruction, The Sun (Please Read Further)
When the British government angrily presented Washington with its strongest diplomatic note, accusing it of openly supporting rebels and militarily interfering in the internal affairs of the British Empire, the gentlemen in Washington were collectively dumbfounded.

This isn't how the script is going! Didn't we just shift the blame for Chicago onto the Europeans?
How come the blame has been shifted back to us in the blink of an eye?
Besides, can't you British civil servants be a little more creative? Don't you have any other excuses besides "interference in internal affairs"?

Abstractly speaking, Logan knew what had happened even before Mr. Washington.

"You're right, Britain really is newsworthy!"

In the newspaper office, Richard said this to the weary Logan.

Logan ignored the objections and went to France, saying he wanted to "bury" a few journalists "across the river" in Ireland.

—Given the British tendency to act recklessly, they might just launch a “purge” of the Irish people one day, and that’s when journalists will come in handy.

Sure enough, Logan had barely returned when the reporters brought back some big news!

The British are definitely not human—they were beaten like dogs!

Logan almost burst out laughing when he saw Fatty Qiu in the photo!
It was totally worth it! Just for this one photo, the trip was absolutely worth it!

In his memory, although Fatty Qiu had suffered repeated defeats, he should never have been captured.

Now that he's a glorious prisoner, will Qiu Pangzi still be able to smoothly become the Prime Minister of Britain?
Logan made up his mind; he would definitely treasure this issue's front page of The Sun!
Yes, a disheveled and chubby Qiu made it to the front page of The Sun!

The front-page headlines were so sensational they were breathtaking—

"America is waging war against the British Empire without a declaration!"

The Sun obtained several crystal-clear photos: smiling IRA soldiers leaning against a gleaming Browning M1917 heavy machine gun.
A group of people are operating a US-made 81mm mortar;
There was even an open wooden crate containing American-made artillery shells wrapped in oiled paper with clear inscriptions.

When the gentlemen in Washington finally learned from The Sun that the British Empire had suffered a loss, they were in a real bind.

The White House quickly convened an emergency press conference, issuing a series of scathing denials:

"The Chicago Sun-Times' report is utter nonsense!"

"His remarks do not represent the position of Washington!"

"The federal government has absolutely not, and will never, provide any form of military assistance to any organization in Ireland! This is blatant falsehood!"

The White House tried to quell the situation, but the wheels of history seemed to be turning at this point in time!

—Following the Sun's report, the U.S. Coast Guard seized a British vessel named "Pocomorque" during a routine crackdown on bootlegging on the East Coast.

On the East Coast, the British Bahamas colony was particularly notorious for smuggling alcohol into the United States.

The Bahamas is located at the northernmost tip of the West Indies, controlling a vital sea route between North and South America and serving as an important gateway to the Caribbean Sea. Its main western islands face the Florida peninsula across the sea, less than 60 nautical miles away.

Previously, Bahamian wine merchants would transport the wine to the high seas, and Americans would collect it and ship it back home.

Following the previous wave of massive gambling across the United States, gamblers who lost a lot of money needed to drink to vent their frustrations, leading to a surge in demand for alcohol on the East Coast!

In this way, the Bahamas took matters into its own hands, using British-flagged ships to transport goods directly to the eastern coast, three nautical miles from the shore, in order to improve transshipment efficiency.

Then, he was caught by the Coast Guard!
This was originally just a routine law enforcement operation, but at this critical juncture, it has been given a completely different meaning.

For example, The Sun newspaper was absolutely thrilled!

"The battle at sea has begun! The Coast Guard strikes hard, seizing a British smuggling vessel!"

The Sun newspaper, in a frenzy of analysis, declared: "We may not be able to defeat the British on land, but at sea, the United States of America is fearless! Our shipbuilding capabilities have already crushed that declining empire!" "Washington is playing a long game; war may break out at any moment, with the US and Britain formally declaring war!"

This wave of war fantasies has even drawn criticism from American media outlets.

The Sun was ridiculed for being "obsessed with anti-British sentiment" and for "always fantasizing about making big news, fantasizing about absurd and impossible things happening..."

However, London sees it differently.

The series of "provocations" infuriated the British government.

After failing to get Washington to release the ships and crew immediately and unconditionally, Britain announced that it would send destroyers to "escort" British merchant ships in the Bahamas to ensure their "freedom of navigation is not violated."

The U.S. Navy was the first to feel embarrassed. "Explain to me what 'freedom of navigation' means!"
In response, the U.S. Navy immediately dispatched a destroyer to the same area to "provide security" for the Coast Guard's law enforcement operations.

As the Coast Guard boat intercepted another British smuggling vessel, a Vickers-class destroyer of the U.S. Navy and a V-class destroyer of the Royal Navy were confronting each other on the sea not far away.

The radio was filled with heated, uncompromising warnings from both captains.

The captain of the Vickers-class destroyer was a hot-tempered German. After warnings went unheeded, in order to demonstrate his resolve, he shouted into the megaphone: "Aim the guns at the waters ahead of the British ship and fire a warning shot!"

The gears of fate began to mesh in an absurd way.

The gunner in charge of the main gun was a young man of pure Irish descent.

These days, he has been filled with hatred for the "Great Britain and Great Morality" newspaper, and before setting sail, he also received his brother's obituary - his brother went to his homeland in Ireland to join the resistance and unfortunately died.

At that moment, he stared intently through the scope at the destroyer flying the Union Jack, the captain's order to "fire warning shots" ringing in his ears, but his mind was filled with the telegram announcing his brother's death.

Hatred instantly overwhelmed his reason.

He aimed the crosshairs of his scope at the British ship's bridge conning tower, shouting, "You British executioners! Die!"

"boom!!"

The 100mm main guns spewed out huge tongues of fire and thick smoke! The shells, with extremely high muzzle velocities, accurately hit the British ship's bridge conning tower at very close range!
The American ship's captain was dumbfounded. He only wanted to give a warning, so why did they just start bombing?

But the Royal Navy's centuries-old tradition is—if you dare to fire the first shot, I will never give you the chance to fire the second!
Without the captain needing to give an order (or perhaps he couldn't), the British gunners launched a fierce counterattack almost reflexively!
There's no need for precise aiming; it's purely direct fire!

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The scorching shells whistled across the short stretch of sea and slammed into the American warship.

At such close range, there was no way to escape—driven by the instinct for survival, the US warship gunners had no choice but to fight back with all their might!

The two destroyers were practically locked in a head-on brawl! Shells rained down on each other, deafening explosions ripped through the air, and metal fragments flew everywhere as flames and thick smoke engulfed them in an instant!
On the smuggling ship, the captain, his voice trembling with tears, shouted into the radio, "Stop fighting! Stop fighting! I surrender! I accept the punishment! Is it really necessary?! All for a ship full of wine!!"

He felt he was probably the unluckiest smuggler in history. He was just smuggling some alcohol; how could he have possibly caused a war between the two navies?
The news spread back to the shore like a tsunami.

Logan, who was completely unprepared: Ah!
The Sun, purely for fun: Ah...

Almost everyone yelled at this jinxed person, "Shut up!"

……

　Ah~~~
　　
　
(End of this chapter)