Kwan Zhuofan went on to say in his proposal that after taking Vicksburg, the waterway would be initially opened, and the land route should be started. Chattanou, Tennessee, plus the central transportation hub, can go south, but the enemy cannot go north, and the war on the Western Front is the most crucial. The southern army is not strictly guarded, and it is not difficult to attack, but after the enemy succeeds, the enemy will launch a large-scale counterattack, and his suggestion is that we should not only plan to defend one place, but should use Chattanooga as bait to gather and annihilate the main force of the rebels on the western front under the city, and completely determine the situation of our attack and defense on the western front.

Then, once the Battle of Chattanooga was over, and after a short rest, it was time to move south to capture Atlanta, the most important base in the rebel rear. As soon as Atlanta is lost, the rebels will be drawn from the bottom of the kettle, and no matter how they do the trapped beast fight, it will only be delayed.

In order to speed up this process, Guan Zhuofan suggested starting from Atlanta, cutting off the hinterland of the rebels, penetrating the southeast coast, and attacking Savannah, an important coastal town in the southeast of the Confederacy, by land, so that the control of the Mississippi River would first divide the north and south of the Confederacy into two parts that could not be taken into account in the east and west; From Chattanooga to Atlanta, and from Atlanta to Savannah, the remaining eastern part of the Confederacy was again divided into two diagonally from northwest to southeast, and the South was shattered and was about to be destroyed.

Zuihou, the army marched north from Savannah, and the troops of the Eastern Front attacked from the north and south, surrounded and annihilated the enemy's main force on the Eastern Front, took Richmond, and completely put down the rebellion.

Guan Zhuofan believed that "reunification is the supreme interest of the federation and the supremacy of sacredness, and all possible means should be taken for this purpose", and that when a large army penetrates deep into the enemy's territory, it should "fully destroy the enemy's war potential and strike a blow to the enemy's people's will to support the war," and that "the means of blood and fire" must be used to make "the enemy people no longer able to send a single bullet to the rebellion." "Never dare to come from the heart of the Outer Federation again".

This Recommendation serves as one of the most confidential documents of the Federal Government. It is only issued to the highest-ranking officials and generals. to do a consultation. Sandos had no access to the relevant feedback, so he did not mention it when he met with Kwan Zhuofan.

In fact, Kwan Zhuofan's proposal caused a great shock at the top of the US government.

Americans were amazed that a Chinese who was far away from the ocean could know the ins and outs of the American Civil War so clearly, and that he was so good at judging the situation on the eastern and western fronts at the Battle of Vicksburg, and soon after Chattanooga was attacked by Union troops as he said—what kind of person could see thousands of miles away?

However, regarding Guan Zhuofan's judgment and design of the war situation next, the opinions within the US government are divided into two factions.

One faction, represented by Harek, the commander-in-chief of the US military at the time, felt that Guan Zhuofan's Jihua was too radical and bold. What about Chattanooga, you think of Atlanta? Want to go behind enemy lines and have a big party alone? It's a fantasy.

To explain, the so-called commander-in-chief of the US military is roughly equivalent to the role of the commander-in-chief of the US military or the commander-in-chief of logistics, not the commander-in-chief, and the commander-in-chief of the three armed services is, of course, His Excellency the President.

The other faction is represented by Grant and Sherman: it is really clear from the clouds and fog to see the sunrise, and resolutely support! Strong demands: First, according to this strategic arrangement, second, quickly get this Chinese and his army to the United States!

And the president supports the latter.

Lincoln for this proposal. Not only supportive, but also grateful.

Later generations looked at Lincoln. The first thing that comes to mind is his glorious image of the emancipation of black slaves, and this is regarded as his greatest achievement. For more than a century, American public opinion, both internally and externally, both official and non-governmental, has been trying to strengthen this image.

Guan Zhuofan thinks this is really a joke of history.

It is known that Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, but few people know that before that, the United States Congress had passed a series of bills to combat slavery - and Lincoln was never the promoter of these bills.

In fact, when Congress announced the emancipation of all slaves owned by slave owners who supported the rebellious Union in July 1862, Lincoln even opposed the passage of the bill.

A closer study of the text reveals that the Emancipation Proclamation, which he signed in early 1863, did not give slaves even a dime of benefits; In other words, the Emancipation Proclamation could not free any slave that could not be emancipated by an act of Congress.

Not only that, but three months after the declaration was signed, Lincoln proposed an intractable constitutional amendment that would postpone the final abolition of slavery until 1900.

To put it more clearly, the Emancipation Proclamation was just a beautiful PR and propaganda campaign for the various previously fait accompli bills restricting the fight against slavery.

Lincoln was never an abolitionist, at best a slave sympathizer. For him, abolition of slavery is only a "technique", not a "way", and he can only use it when he needs it, and if he doesn't need it, he won't touch it.

So, what is Lincoln's "Tao"?

The unification of the Union and the unification of the United States is Lincoln's "Tao".

In fact, Kwan Zhuofan believes that not only is the former of great significance to the United States by no means comparable to that of the latter, but also that the former's statement is not enough to summarize Lincoln's merits: it is not "the unification of the United States", but "the unification of the United States" at all.

In Guan Zhuofan's eyes, the United States before the Civil War was just a loose community of interests, not a country in the true sense. People are loyal to the interests to which they belong - their homeland, not to the country - the federation. They can stay together when their interests are roughly the same, and if there is a conflict between them, breaking up is a natural choice.

In this regard, there is no essential difference between the north and the south in one virtue. In the War of 1812, New England was both relatively pro-British and impatient with the war, and clamoured for a separate peace with Great Britain - tantamount to secession from the Union.

At the beginning of the Civil War, a large number of Southerners who served in the Union Army left their posts and returned to their hometowns to confront their former comrades-in-arms, colleagues, and classmates. The federal government did nothing to stop it. For many years, this behavior was regarded as an elegant and chivalrous political civilization. Guan Zhuofan believes that this is because the then Democratic President Buchanan intended to release the water, and the second is that at that time, people -- both the North and the South -- thought that it was natural and natural for them to rank their hometown before the country, and even to confront the country for the sake of their hometown.

This is also an important reason for the lack of performance in the north at the beginning, the confusion of thoughts, and the fact that they do not know for whom to fight.

It was only after the Civil War that Americans really began to put their country back home that they really considered themselves "Americans" and not just "Virginians" and "Illinoisers". It is only then that I really understand: the country is not a place where you can come and go when you want, you have to go, and the land has to stay; If you don't want to leave the land, you have to leave your life.

Guan Zhuofan believes that it can even be said that the real founder of the empire of tomorrow in the late 20th century and early 21st century was not Washington, but Lincoln.

But all the above truths have to wait until the war is over, and after many years of reflection and summary, to truly comprehend, at this time, most of the red-eyed Americans are still confused in their minds.

Lincoln was alone.

Strictly speaking, Lincoln was not a great strategist, and he played a lot of bad games. His greatest strength is that he has steely nerves and will, as well as the consciousness of going to his body for his "Tao", which makes him not fall down when he can't see the road ahead clearly, or even when he loses confidence, at this time, if someone helps him clear the fog and give him confidence, he can wait for Zuihou's victory.

Guan Zhuofan played such a role.

Seeing that "unity is the best interest of the Union, holy and supreme," and that "all means ought to be taken for this purpose," Lincoln really had the feeling that God had "opened a door" for him; And Guan Zhuofan's tirade, saying that this war must have a process from small to large, is actually repeatedly hinting that the government actually responded appropriately and did not make any mistakes, which in addition to being used to plug the mouths of political opponents, it was also a major psychological relief for Lincoln himself, and self-confidence was spontaneously born.

In this state of mind, looking at the Western Front strategy proposed by Guan Zhuofan, Lincoln certainly thinks: high, really high!

*(To be continued......)