As soon as Cooper's voice fell, Colonel Robert Lee, who had been silent next to President Davis, said aloud: "I also agree with General Peng's opinion!" As he spoke, his tone paused, and his voice became a little sarcastic: "Although I don't like war, as a military commander, even with my thumb, I can think that the most important thing to do at this time is not to celebrate, but to hurry up and pursue the northern army, capture the capital of the other side, completely destroy the northern government, and realize the unification of the United States." ”

Robert Lee's sarcastic remarks made some of the generals present a little ashamed. Boregaard's face turned even redder, and the joy and pride of victory were swept away.

However, there are still those who disagree with Robert Lee's opinion. Johnston said in a strange way: "Some people will only be alarmist and talk about war. The Battle of Manassas was commanded by me, and I know best the strength of the Yankees, the main force of the opposing side has been defeated by our army, and the rest is nothing to fear. Now that our soldiers are exhausted and unable to pursue, what is wrong with waiting for a few days of rest before concentrating our forces and slowly advancing? Unlike some people, who look at the merits of others and blame them. ”

Robert Lee glared angrily: "You! ”

Johnston didn't let it go: "You what you!" President Davis appointed you brigadier general, and you are still unwilling to accept it, insisting on the rank of colonel of the Yankees, is it in your mind that our Confederate States are not the orthodoxy of the United States at all? So desperately urging our already exhausted army to attack, so that the northern army can rest and defeat us? Mr. President, I see that this man is a spy of the North! ”

Robert Lee snorted coldly, stopped talking, and looked at Johnston with a sneer.

Borlegard still respects Robert Lee, after all, he also came out of West Point, and has always heard of Robert Lee's name, so he can't help but come out and persuade at this moment: "General Johnston, what you said is a bit too much!" Who doesn't know General Lee's deeds, Lincoln of the Northern Confederacy wanted General Lee to be the Commander-in-Chief of the Union Army, but General Lee was concerned about Virginia's hometown and rejected them. ”

The Secretary of War, Judah Benjamin, was also a little stunned, he didn't expect Johnston to use this incident as a reason to attack Robert Lee, which is simply a joke.

Johnston immediately realized his mistake, but still forced himself to defend: "Even if he is not from the Northern Federation, he... Also ......"

"Enough!" Before Johnston could finish his sentence, he was interrupted by President Davis, "Stop attacking General Peng and Colonel Lee. Now I'm talking about General Peng's suggestion, should we immediately send troops to attack the north and attack Washington? ”

Saying that, Davis didn't wait for everyone to answer, so he said directly to Peng Yulin: "General Peng, I'm sorry, they are all a bunch of vulgar barbarians in the army, very rude, please don't blame!" However, I would like to ask you, why did the Coalition forces have to attack Washington at this time? ”

Peng Yulin said: "President Davis, and the generals, in fact, this is very obvious: the overall strength of the states of the Northern Union, especially the industrial strength and population, is much stronger than that of the Southern Union States. The Union of the North now has a population of 17 million, while the Union States, including the newly joined Kentucky and Missouri, which has never expressed its position to join but is clearly inclined to our Union State, has a total population of only 14 million, but there are nearly 5 million black slaves, and the population of white people who can fight is less than 9 million, which is very different from the 17 million in the North. In terms of industry, the Northern Union, especially the northeastern states, has developed basic industries, with 80% of the country's factories, 65% of the railway lines, and major arsenals in the north; The industry on the part of the Union countries has a weak foundation, and the south is dominated by agriculture and animal husbandry, with less than 20% of factories, 35% of railway lines, and no large arsenals. This must be clear to everyone! Moreover, if the war drags on, the population of the north is large and the army is abundant, the weapons are manufactured rapidly, and the naval forces of the two sides are very different, in this case, the Allied countries will definitely suffer great losses. ”

"In addition, the most important thing is actually the economic aspect, which is wealth!" Peng Yulin analyzed: "In a sense, war is about wealth!" In terms of wealth alone, although at present, the wealth of the Confederate State and the North is not much different, but the wealth of the Confederate State is based on the constant selling price of black slaves, but if black slaves are sold on a large scale, can they still be worth so much of the original price? Even, if the Northern Federal Government announced the emancipation of slaves or banned the sale of slaves, more than half of the wealth of the Confederate States would disappear into thin air. Therefore, fundamentally speaking, if the financial resources are insufficient, the war cannot be allowed to stalemate, and for the Allied Powers, a quick victory is the most ideal, and the longer it drags on, the more unfavorable it will be for the Allied Powers! Based on the above reasons, President Davis must take advantage of the victory to pursue him, take advantage of his illness, and ask for his life! ”

A remark that made Davis deeply convinced.

Robert Lee next to him directly exclaimed: "General Peng said it is so good! I just think that we should fight quickly, and purely from the perspective of the war, I think it is necessary to take advantage of the victory and pursue it. I didn't expect that General Peng, as a foreigner, thought so comprehensively! It's a shame on me! Mr. President, my loyalty to the Confederate States has just been questioned, and to show my heart, I request to lead a force against Washington! ”

Minister of War Yunda Benjamin was originally a little uninterested in Peng Yulin, but after listening to his words, he also began to change his opinion and praised: "General Peng is very knowledgeable, and he deserves to be an outstanding general of the Chinese Empire!" Although I don't agree with some of General Peng's views, on the whole, it is still worth pondering for the Allied War Department. I'm in favor of immediate troops! ”

Brigadier General Cooper said directly to President Davis: "Mr. President, General Peng is very reasonable, please give an order, agree to Colonel Lee's request, and immediately set off with the whole army to pursue the defeated troops of the Federation and go straight to Washington!" ”

Several generals stared at Davis intently. Only Johnston pouted and said, "Mr. President, my soldiers are exhausted after a day and a night of hard fighting. If you don't let them rest for three days, after three days, I'll lead them straight to Washington! ”

Robert Lee shouted: "No, troops must be sent immediately!" In the current situation, the only way to attack is to attack and attack! ”

Davis took a deep breath, looked at Robert Lee and Johnston, and said, "In that case, I hereby order, in the name of the President of the Confederate States of America, that 12,000 East Virginia Theater soldiers led by Colonel Robert Lee, together with 1,800 West Virginia Theater soldiers led by Brigadier General Borlegard, immediately pursue the enemy army as a whole army and attack Washington directly as the vanguard!" The War Department continued to mobilize troops from the states by rail, led by myself and General Cooper personally, followed by support! ”

With Davis's order, the whole town of Manassas became even more agitated, and 30,000 Confederate soldiers, breaking away from the original revelry, returned to their ranks one after another, and the shouts of the officers, the neighing of mules and horses, the muffling of the baggage carts, and the slogans of the soldiers, mixed together, alarmed the town of Manassas and the surrounding area in the early morning.

In a small wooden house in the town, Peng Yulin and Shi Zhenji sat opposite each other.

Peng Yulin told Shi Zhenji what he had just said to the political leaders of the alliance state. Shi Zhenji was overjoyed and said: "Commander Peng, this is great, in this way, the change in the political situation in the United States will be closer to His Majesty's goal!" As you analyzed, the Confederate army was defeated, crushed, and retreated all the way to Washington. In the case that their entire army is in chaos and completely loses its combat effectiveness, as long as the Southern Union State attacks with its entire army, it will definitely be able to conquer Washington! Fortunately, Commander Peng came forward to directly suggest to their president that the military command of the Southern Alliance States is still in the hands of Davis, and as long as he supports the dispatch of troops, there will probably be no changes! ”

Peng Yulin smiled slightly and replied, "Yes! In fact, I also have some adventures, who knows if these foreigners will follow my advice! Fortunately, there is that Robert Lee is there, he is very discerning and not blindly optimistic. Otherwise, a guy like Johnston and the like, not to mention the great opportunity, when the Northern Federation eases up and reorganizes a large-scale army, the Southern Union may not be able to resist it! ”

"How many of these foreigners can have the vision of the commander?"

"Nor can it be said that they have their considerations in there. It's just naïve! Peng Yulin said: "That guy named Johnston, as well as the two commanders of Borlegard, they thought that everything would be all right after defeating the federal army. They were so optimistic, especially that Johnston fool, that he even said that the war was over! I really can't figure out how these foreigners' heads grow, do they think that if they are defeated once, they will make the other party surrender obediently? ”

"Commander, it is now just as His Majesty had envisioned, the Northern Union army is ill-prepared, the Southern Confederate army has won the first large-scale battle, and the Southern army is further attacking the Northern Union. What's next, in your opinion? Shi Zhenji asked.

Peng Yulin said: "It depends on whether the troops of the Confederate States in the south can take Washington!" If the federal capital is taken, I suspect that the Northern Union government, under their President Lincoln, will move to Philadelphia, and when it is properly buffered, it will come back with troops. But it is also possible that the Confederate forces will continue to press the border and continue to retreat north, until New York or even Boston. Of course, there is also the possibility that President Lincoln sued for peace and maintained the division between the North and the South, and the war would end there. But judging by the character of that Lincoln, this is unlikely to happen, that guy is not afraid of failure, unforgiving, although barely considered our enemy, but also admirable. ”

Shi Zhenji tilted his head: "Commander, what if you can't take Washington?" ”

Peng Yulin shook his head and said in a deep voice: "As long as the 30,000 soldiers of the Union State attack it, the federal army will not be able to resist it at all, and Washington will be taken nine times out of ten." The morale of the federal army has been lost, after all, they are mostly new recruits, and there is no training at all, on the contrary, although the army of the Southern Union State has not been recruited for a long time, they have made preparations in advance, and they have trained for two months more than the federal army, and more importantly, if they win this time, they will fight with the confidence of victory, and everyone is brave. Of course, if we can't take Washington in this way, we can only carry out the last step of the plan. As he spoke, Peng Yulin stretched out his hand to make a motion to wipe his neck, as for who the object of the wipe, Shi Zhenji naturally understood. Once President Lincoln is gone, the Northern Union will certainly seek peace very quickly, and it is very likely that the North and the South will reach a consensus that they will have nothing to do with each other and become two fraternal countries living in peace.

As governor of New Mexico, Peng studied the North-South dispute in the United States thoroughly. He knew that the defeat of the Northern Union in the Battle of Manassas was more about the other side underestimating the enemy, and the strategy adopted was to quickly force the South to surrender through strong strength, and the Southern Army was relatively better than the Northern Army, especially the infantry brigade commanded by Thomas Jackson, and the final outcome of the battle Peng Yulin had actually predicted.