Chapter 861: Dividing the Spoils

"Ambassador Russell, just now a staff member from the White House came to our embassy. According to him, President Cleveland invited you to the White House for a talk."

At this time, Russell had no idea what Cleveland was doing by inviting him to the White House, because the incident in the Hawaiian Islands was a special operation in East Africa. Except for East African senior officials, the military and the Defense Security Agency, even East Africans rarely knew about it.

However, Russell is not too surprised. Since the restoration of diplomatic relations between East Africa and the United States, such high-level exchanges are not uncommon. However, President Cleveland only took office in March this year and has not had any communication with Russell.

The last president of the United States before President Cleveland was actually Russell Benjamin Harrison, so Russell was relatively unfamiliar with President Cleveland.

Of course, it's not like he didn't understand it at all, because Cleveland is still the 22nd President of the United States. Yes, Cleveland has served as President of the United States for one term. This time he is just taking office again.

The reason why Russell was not re-elected was mainly because he advocated an economic "isolationist" policy, which caused the domestic capital to be dissatisfied with it when it encountered an economic depression. After all, the United States is already the world's largest industrial country, and its policies have made American capital The world feels that its interests have been harmed.

Although Cleveland is a supporter of "liberal economics", he actually changed the policy after taking office. The United States still maintains the "high tariff" policy, but it is weakened compared to the Russell period.

Regarding Cleveland, Russell himself had a general attitude towards the American president, because the two had not had much interaction before, and the restoration of East-US diplomatic relations was mainly due to President Russell's political achievements, although Russell also conformed to the international situation after the South African War. He made flexible adjustments to the general trend, but Russell only looked at the results. When Cleveland was inaugurated as the 22nd President of the United States, he did not have much communication with East Africa.

However, as a diplomat, Russell would not be emotional, so he still went to the White House as scheduled to communicate with this unfamiliar American president and see what medicine he was selling.

…

meeting room.

"Hello, Ambassador Russell, I think this is our first meeting." Cleveland greeted Russell warmly.

"Hello, President Cleveland!" Russell politely replied.

Cleveland noticed that the East African diplomat was very young. Of course, this was not the first impression, but that Russell seemed a bit difficult to deal with as a diplomat. After all, he greeted him with a smile. This Russell's reaction was not like a qualified diplomat at all. of diplomatic personnel.

His feeling was correct. Russell was born in the military, and he had the rigidity and seriousness of a military personnel. East Africa, a country with a history of less than thirty years, did not have many professional diplomats. Of course, in other words, East Africa There are not many professionally trained diplomats in high positions.

The military system in East Africa promotes the fastest, and the East African government is dominated by people from the military system. In addition, East Africa has always been at war, so it is easier for soldiers to be promoted.

"Why did President Cleveland invite me here this time?" Russell asked straight to the point.

This further confirmed President Cleveland's conjecture, but he still said with a smile: "East Africa and the United States are both big countries in the world, so the exchanges between us are not necessarily for national affairs, but can also be for the purpose of increasing the relationship between the two countries. Feelings! I wonder what Ambassador Russell likes to drink?”

"It will be all right."

"Yablon, prepare a cup of coffee for Ambassador Russell." Seeing Russell's answer, Cleveland ordered his secretary.

"Ambassador Russell, you are a straightforward person, and I know people don't tell secrets. What do you think of Hawaii in East Africa?" President Cleveland asked directly.

“Hawaii, what does this have to do with us in East Africa?”

"Well, don't you know!" President Cleveland thought Russell wanted to act stupid. You East Africans have swallowed up Kauai, and you still want to deny it!

Russell was puzzled: "Hawaii should be an island country in the Pacific! The distance between East Africa and Hawaii is very far."

Seeing that Russell really didn't know the situation on the Hawaiian Islands, Cleveland explained to him what was going on: "...So, what is your attitude in East Africa?"

No wonder Russell didn't know about this. After all, Hawaii is far away from the mainland of East Africa. If you want to send the message back to East Africa, you must first take a boat to the Southern Ryukyu Islands and then relay it back to East Africa via telegram.

The East African troops in Hawaii have not yet returned to the Southern Ryukyu Islands. After all, they must first ensure the stability of Kauai, so there is a lot to do.

Naturally, the mainland would not send any news to Russell before receiving the news. After all, it was a special military operation, so the fewer people who knew about it before the dust settled, the better.

But now that Russell heard about it from the president of the United States, he naturally did not dare to make any arbitrary claims. He said to Cleveland: "I want to go back first and then discuss this matter with the locals."

Cleveland could only send Russell back first, but with Russell's line, there was a communication channel between East Africa and the United States. If it were before the South African War, this kind of thing might really cause trouble.

The next day, the East African native sent Russell the specific situation and explained East Africa's attitude, and Russell returned to the White House again.

"It is true that our country will send troops to Kauai, but East Africa has no interest in the Hawaiian islands other than Kauai. Moreover, this troop dispatch was invited by King Kumari to help him avoid the exploitation of unscrupulous businessmen, and his own influence on the Kingdom of Hawaii. dissatisfied, so we must break away and restore the country.”

Only the first part of Russell's words was honest, while the latter part was completely "slander" by East Africa. After all, Kumali did not know any East Africans before, so how could he invite East Africa to send troops?

However, after knowing East Africa's plan, Cleveland was relieved. If East Africa only supported a puppet regime on Kauai, it would be barely acceptable.

After all, the most important thing in Hawaii is Pearl Harbor. If East Africa went to Pearl Harbor, even Cleveland, who opposed the annexation of Hawaii by the United States, would not agree.

Moreover, the United States itself was in the wrong. The coup in southern Hawaii was done by its own people, so the United States could not attack East Africa morally. In this way, scolding East Africa is scolding itself.

Therefore, morally, the United States cannot drive East African forces out of Hawaii, and militarily it cannot be achieved. Now the United States is very cautious in military affairs, and Cleveland is not a warmonger. Moreover, East Africa's military strength deserves the respect of the United States, so it is obviously impossible to expel East Africa from the Hawaiian Islands through tough means.

East Africa does what the United States does on the first day of the month, and the United States and East Africa are fighting, and I am afraid that Britain, France and other countries are the happiest, so Cleveland tends to share Hawaii with East Africa.

That's right, after East Africa expressed its attitude, Cleveland's original decision not to support the annexation of Hawaii also changed.

After all, if the United States does not take action, the Kingdom of Hawaii will not be able to resist the invasion of East Africans. In this case, it is better to recognize the illegal government of the Republic of Hawaii and then include the southern Hawaiian Islands in the sphere of influence of the United States.

Moreover, in Cleveland's view, it is not a bad thing for East Africa to intervene in the Hawaiian Islands. Originally, the United States' annexation of the Hawaiian Islands would attract negative public opinion from the international community, but now East Africa is involved! Sharing the blame can distract the attention of other countries.

In the end, President Cleveland made a decision that went against his own heart and incorporated Hawaii into the territory of the United States in advance. Of course, the future of the state of Hawaii is an incomplete territory without Kauai.