"This is absolutely not possible. If what happens is that the entire Spanish ocean fleet comes in, those second-class protected cruisers and third-class protected cruisers will have no effect at all!" Dewey directly rejected Magiffin's plan.

"I felt like we were committing a crime at the time. We were using a coping method to offload other people's responsibilities, and sending too many lives as sacrifices to the altar of war! But we had no choice, the fleet was like this

If the Second Fleet is severely damaged, then we will have lost

Half of the war will be lost. We cannot split the fleet according to Colonel Magiffin's opinion. Although Colonel Magiffin has proposed this idea more than once before, it is impossible for the Admiralty to accept this method because the Navy needs to be in a short time.

Give the Spaniards a powerful counterattack!

Concentrate your most elite troops to avenge the Killshark and Kentucky, and avenge the fleet that sank outside Hamilton Naval Harbor! I admit that the preparations for this war were too hasty, but once it begins, we have no choice."

After the meeting, Admiral Simpson wrote these words in his diary.

"We still send out the Third Fleet. After all, we need an explanation from the Army! Actually, Colonel McGiffin, you don't have to worry too much about this. It's impossible for another Spanish fleet to sneak through our defense area."

Otto Roosevelt hesitated for a long time, but decided to maintain the original plan.

"Mr. Roosevelt, you will cause the United States to lose the war! We must leave as many new warships as possible for the final decisive battle! If you need a scapegoat, I can use my life to cover up the true nature of this history.

." After hearing this, Magiffin said loudly! Theodore Roosevelt glanced at Magiffin who was full of worry and anger, and then left the venue with an indifferent expression.

"Shelly, your fleet will be in danger, why don't you object?" After Roosevelt left, Magiffin looked at Shelly and asked. He didn't understand why Shelly turned a blind eye to this crisis.

"Actually, I think the probability of the Spanish fleet sneaking through the Eastern Caribbean blockade is low." Shelly thought for a while and said.

"This is an excuse. Any possibility of danger should be eliminated. We cannot place our hope of survival on luck." Ma Jifen expressed very puzzled.

"This is a war. As long as it is a war, there will be dangers. There is no absolute safety. Okay, let the others leave first. Colonel McGiffin will stay for a while." General Simpson frowned and said.

"Mr. Colonel, tell me what you think of this meeting." General Simpson said after everyone left.

"This meeting may lead us from one failure to another. The escort force is not enough to fight the opponent. This is a fatal loophole." Magiffin said with some annoyance. "If the Spanish expeditionary fleet all enters the battlefield from the Eastern Caribbean, we will

Can retreat quickly. Concentrate and fight the opponent decisively.

, if the opponent is divided into two fleets, then the second fleet can be in a stalemate with another Spanish fleet, and our fleet in the Eastern Caribbean can easily collect 4 Spanish warships. No matter which choice the opponent chooses, we can

Deal with it." Magiffin tried to persuade Simpson at the last minute.

"This idea seems good, and I have thought of this countermeasure before. But it was rejected. Guess who?" Admiral Simpson said with a strange smile.

"Brigadier General Dewey?" McGiffin asked tentatively.

"It's Inoue Ryoxin, who is from Japan. Relatively speaking, they, the top brass of the Japanese army, know the combat effectiveness of Beiyang battleships better than you." Admiral Simpson said.

"How is that possible? I know the performance of Beiyang battleships better than they do. I once inspected Admiral Xu's flagship, and I have visited almost every cabin on it, whether it is the Pisa class or the Guiyuan class!" Ma Jifen felt that it was

As if he was insulted, he protested loudly!

"But do you know what results these data can translate into in actual combat? For example, what will happen when a 10-inch shell hits a dome-armed battleship? A 7,000-ton dome-armed cruiser faces a returning ship.

What exactly will happen when a long-distance cruiser is deployed? Do you know this? Have you ever boarded the Battle End?

Have you seen the Japanese battleship in the future? You haven't. You only know that you won. But you don't know how much the opponent paid. Whether a punch hurts or not is not the person who throws the punch, but the person who sees it.

How does it feel to take that punch?" Admiral Simpson's words left Magiffin stunned.

"Yoshika Inoue once showed me some photos, including the naval battle off Izu and the naval battle off the Datong River. There are also some detailed information on the damage to Japanese warships after the war. I have to say that these Japanese people are still

Very detailed. Then from his description and the information provided, I came to a conclusion. That is, even if the Second Fleet encounters 6 Spanish warships, they will definitely not be able to defeat them." Admiral Simpson said with some helplessness.

.

"We have 5 battleships, 2 armored cruisers of more than 8,000 tons, 2 protected cruisers of 7,000 tons and one protected cruiser of nearly 6,000 tons. The opponent has 2 10,000-ton armored cruisers and 2 more than 5,000 tons.

A light armored cruiser and two protected cruisers. Among them, the New York and the Brooklyn are naturally not the other two.

The opponent of a 10,000-ton cruiser. And the two 7,000-ton cruisers..." Admiral Simpson paused and then said: "The armament above does not match its tonnage. And the Olympia cannot defeat it even if it is powerful.

Two protected cruisers. According to Ri’s own records, the dome-armored cruiser can easily be slowed down in battle, so..."

"So you chose to let Commodore Shelly's fleet die? And left the more powerful Dewey fleet? Do we have to let some of our people make unnecessary sacrifices? We can completely defend the transportation line until the army captures the entire Cuba

." Ma Jifen still expressed her complete incomprehension.

"It is impossible for us to gather the entire fleet to escort every transportation. And if the navy is only a supporting role in this war, then tell me where is the future of the navy? What's more, the supplies and soldiers of the army do not set sail from one place.

Yes, before they are concentrated, they will still be attacked. The Spanish fleet can attack the eastern coast and can also guerrilla on the Florida Peninsula. Tell me, what should the U.S. Navy do?" Admiral Simpson explained patiently.

"And you should also know that our pressure does not only come from the enemy." Admiral Simpson paused and said. "We must make the White House and the American people aware of the strength of our opponents. Only in this way, they will not because of a certain port

Or a certain ship was beaten to denounce our navy. We need to create an environment as unrestricted as possible for ourselves to fight.

, the best result is to subordinate the army to the needs of our navy. If this goal can be achieved, I don't mind losing 2 to 3 protected cruisers. If this loss is within a tolerable range, we can concentrate on fighting the Spanish

There's a war!" General Simpson said with all his heart. He told the colonel everything he knew.

"Actually, I think it is not a wise choice to start this war at this time. If we wait another two years, our fleet will have an absolute advantage. The Spanish have spent their last silver dollar on the navy, but the United States

The United States has not yet exerted its strength. Time is on our side." Maggie Fen said with a sigh.

"If we are just dealing with Spain, we do have plenty of time, but you have to know that what we need is an opportunity, an opportunity for the American people to realize the importance of the navy. This can provide a better development environment for the navy. In addition, we

We also need to expand our sphere of influence as much as possible before the European powers pay attention to us. European countries will not pay attention to a country with 4 battleships, but they will definitely pay attention to a country with 10 battleships!" Simpson said.

"Actually, before this, Mr. Roosevelt planned to bring the Philippines and Cuba under the control of the United States of America, and also complete the occupation of Hawaii. But now it seems that we will not be able to enter the Far East for a while. If

If we fail this time, I'm afraid the U.S. Navy's entry into the ocean will be delayed indefinitely." Admiral Simpson's eyes were full of worry.

"Actually, the root cause of this dilemma is the intervention of the United States of America in the war in the Far East! We chose the wrong target. Japan was defeated by the Qing Dynasty. Now the Qing Dynasty and Russia are competing for dominance in the Far East. The Russians are seriously xenophobic.

Xing will not share interests with the United States of America, and the Qing Dynasty is hostile to the United States for well-known reasons. More importantly, they have chosen revenge!" Ma Jifen said with a long sigh.

"Is this what Admiral Xu told you?" Admiral Simpson asked with interest.

"How should I put it? The Beiyang system is not very friendly to the United States. Even some young children who have studied in the United States are not good heroes to the United States. They know that their compatriots have been treated unfairly here, they know the Chinese Exclusion Act, and they know

The United States has helped their enemies in the past, and all this is enough for them to choose to side with the Spanish. What is even more frightening is that this is very likely to plunge the two countries into a cycle of mutual revenge." McGiffin said this, his face

A drop of cold sweat broke out on my face.

"Don't worry about this. Do you know what the biggest diplomatic advantage of a two-party administration is?" Simpson said with a smile. There was a hint of ugliness and a hint of joking in his smile.

"The newly elected political party can completely ignore what the previous government did and directly choose what is best for the country. In other words, this government may be hostile to a certain country, but the next government may be hostile to a certain country.

This country becomes a friend!" Simpson said.

"So what you're saying is that you or some people in the upper echelons of the United States may be considering improving relations with the Qing Dynasty?" Ma Jifen was startled by this idea. In his opinion, the American government has never been one that would take the initiative to reconcile with the other party.

country.

"There is a kind of friendship in this world that is formed like this. When you find that you cannot defeat your enemy, or that there is no benefit in fighting your enemy, the two parties already have a basis for becoming friends! Explain clearly.

One thing is that an unbeatable enemy becomes a friend!" Simpson taught McGiffin like a teacher.

"This..." Ma Jifen was so shocked that she couldn't speak for a long time.

"It is definitely not possible to help Russia. It is tantamount to direct hostility to Britain. Since the end of the Alliance of Three Emperors, Germany and Russia have gradually drifted apart. So if you want to get a share of the Far East, you can only cooperate with the Qing Dynasty.

.And those domestic capitalists are encouraging the president to support Japan,

In the final analysis, it is also to open the door of the Qing Dynasty through the Japanese bayonet, and then give the United States the opportunity to enter! But now, it is obviously not possible, so in this case, why doesn't the United States do something about economic cooperation?" Simpson ignored Magiffin.

reaction.

"You know? If this war fails, Mr. Roosevelt and I will become scapegoats, and even Dewey and Shelly will not be immune, but you can't be affected. Do you know why?" Simpson seemed to be a different person at this time, very worried.

Said seriously.

"Because Beiyang is the most powerful faction in this big empire, and because I have fought side by side with Beiyang's top leaders? So I am suitable to be this intermediary?" Ma Jifen was speechless.

"Yes, that's what I mean. That's why I'm telling you so much. You still have a long way to go. There is no need to risk yourself for a war that you are not prepared for. I remember that when you left the Qing Dynasty, Yang Yonglin once sent you

You? You are enemies now, but one day, you will sit together and drink tea again." After saying this, Admiral Simpson waved his hand, meaning that I am very tired, and you can leave!
Chapter completed!