On the afternoon of April 16. On the outskirts of Washington, D.C., in a luxury estate.

Winfield Scott, commander-in-chief of the Union Army, was comfortably lying in a soft chair under the freshly sprouted violet vines and grape trellises, served by two maids, and Scott smacked his lips comfortably as he took a sip of hot black tea from the Far East.

His fat body rolled over slightly, and the soft chair creaked and moaned, as if to tell of its unbearable pain and screams. But Scott didn't care, he just sighed heavily: "Damn, Lao Tzu is 75 years old, do you want to let Lao Tzu go to the battlefield again?" ”

He had long known about the dispute between the north and south of the Federation, but the real outbreak of war still caught him by surprise. Although he is now nominally the commander-in-chief of the Federal Army, he is not actually in charge of military affairs. So, when President Lincoln came to persuade him to relinquish his post as commander-in-chief two days ago, he agreed without hesitation, and the bearded Mr. President said that he would persuade Robert Lee to take over his post, which was not surprising to Scott. There are really not many people in the Federal Army who can take his place, and Robert Lee is almost the best candidate.

Soon, the servant brought Robert Lee to the manor.

Seeing the resolute, elegant and handsome Colonel Robert Lee, Scott struggled to stand up rarely, but his bulky figure and fat made him unable to get rid of the soft chair, but fortunately a servant was there to help him up. Scott stepped forward tremblingly, hugged Robert Lee, and laughed: "Lee, I haven't seen you in a year." I invite you to my house as a guest today, and I want you to help me with something! ”

Robert Lee waved his hand and said affectionately: "General, I used to be your subordinate and your student, what help you say, you can just tell me!" ”

Scott was very pleased with Bert Lee's attitude and got straight to the point: "That's right. As you know, the Union has decided to use troops against the rebellion in the South, and you know that although I have been Commander-in-Chief of the Confederacy for many years, I am too old to take care of things, and I recommended to President Lincoln that you succeed me as Commander-in-Chief of the Union, and President Lincoln agreed. How's that, no problem, right? ”

Bert Lee was a little surprised, he didn't expect to be so valued by the upper echelons, and he directly recommended himself to the post of Commander-in-Chief of the Union, you know, he is only a colonel, and there are many brigadier generals and major generals above, and when a major war is about to break out between the North and the South, General Scott and President Lincoln both want to be the commander-in-chief of the Union, and they trust their abilities very much.

However, the key is to understand in your heart that there is another major factor that determines that you cannot easily agree. That's the attitude of his hometown, Virginia.

Seeing that Robert Lee was a little hesitant, Scott was very strange, and he said with some reproach: "Dear Lee, what's wrong with you today?" Where was the brave, decisive, and invincible military commander of the Confederacy, the heir of George Washington? ”

Robert Lee was a little embarrassed, and he was relieved in his heart, too, what do you want to do so much? The home state of Virginia has not yet taken a stand, and has been working hard for the past two months to help the Union and the Southern states to reconcile, not necessarily to secede from the Union. And now this opportunity is very rare!

Isn't it my dream to succeed General Scott as Commander-in-Chief of the Federal Army, to command the entire American Army, to put down the Southern Rebel States, and to bring the United States of America back to unity?

Seeing that Robert Lee was still thinking, Scott said, "Lee, even if you help me, agree!" You see, there is no one in the Union Army, I am already 75 years old, and the President and the War Department have asked me to be this commander-in-chief, which is really a toss for me. If you take my place, you should help me and let me retire early and retire for the rest of my life. ”

Robert Lee looked up at Scott's expectant eyes, and suddenly felt a little guilty, his old superiors trusted and valued him so much, and he really couldn't bear to worry about the war at such an old age. So, Robert Lee nodded and said, "Thanks to the attention of the general and Mr. President, Lee agrees!" ”

Scott was overjoyed and beckoned behind him, and a captain strode in, and Scott commanded: "Go and tell the Secretary of War and Mr. President that Colonel Lee has agreed to be the commander-in-chief of the Union Army!" After speaking, he found the maid and ordered: "Tell the housekeeper to hurry up and set up a banquet in the back garden, I will have a good time with Colonel Li tonight, and I will rest when I get drunk!" ”

.......

Early the next morning, Robert Lee opened his eyes, and his second son, Fitzhugh Lee, was already at the head of the bed. Seeing his father wake up, he hurriedly said, "Mr. Colonel! Fitzhugh Lee loves to call his father's rank, from captain when he was a child, to colonel today, but what he thinks is that it will be changed again, "Mr. Colonel, maybe I will change my title to you from today onwards, to Major General!" ”

The young Fitzhugh Lee handed over a letter of appointment bearing President Lincoln's signature and the seal of the War Department, and said: "This is a special order from Mr. Montgomery Blair, Secretary of Post, early in the morning, when you were not awake, and he left again in a hurry, and told you to give it to you as soon as you wake up!" Great, the president has made you a major general! ”

Robert Lee had a terrible headache, and last night's drunkenness still left him with some sequelae, and took the paperwork, which was signed by Secretary of War Simon Cameron himself, and the signature of President Lincoln below, appointing himself to the post of commander-in-chief of the Union Army, and at the same time promoting himself to the rank of major general.

Looking at this paperwork, Robert Lee was in a trance. He became the commander-in-chief of the Federal Army, and he was directly promoted to major general by skipping the rank of brigadier general? Fame, power, and glory, everything came to me so perfectly.

"However, Mr. Major General, you asked me to pay attention to the news of Virginia, and there is news today - the Virginia State Assembly announced today that it has voted to secede from the Union!" Fitzhugh Lee looked at his father.

"What!?" Robert Lee was stunned! He has always had this kind of worry, but he often comforts himself, God forbid, this possibility is not very likely, who does not know, his hometown of Virginia is the most powerful state in the American Union, not only one of the founders of the Union, but also one of the most important forces in the founding principle of the United States, it is the hometown of many successive presidents, and even the birthplace of Washington, Jefferson, and Monroe, such a state has an unusually deep affection for the Union, how can it really break away from the Union!

"Yes, Mr. Major General!" Fitzhugh Lee handed over another newspaper from behind his back, the New York Tribune. He had known about it for a long time, but he had put the appointment of the Federation up front.

Robert Lee glared at his son fiercely, knowing what he had in mind, but could he really ignore the secession of his native state of Virginia from the Union and still serve as the commander-in-chief of the army in the Union on his own, and even Virginia rebelled and led his soldiers to attack his hometown?

But this is the trust of the federal government in himself, and it is the strong support and expectation of his old boss, General Scott, as long as he accepts this position, the coveted rank of major general is also at his fingertips, and even in the future, he can get the dream honor of general, the fame of the entire federation, the power of holding the 100,000-strong army and the glory of Washington's heir, is it really just given up?

Robert Lee waves his hand and kicks his son out of the bedroom, leaving him alone in the middle of a painful choice!

In fact, Robert Lee feels that he has some similarities with Lincoln, in fact, Robert Lee does not like slavery either, although he still has more than 60 slaves in the Stonebridge County farm left by his father-in-law, but because his father-in-law left a large amount of debts to be repaid at the same time, and these slaves need to work for a few years to pay off the debts, his father-in-law also left him a will to free the slaves within 5 years, but in fact, even without his father-in-law's will, he has already decided in his heart that he will not sell these slaves, and the debt will be almost paid in 2-3 years, and set these slaves free.

As a military member and heir to the Washington family, he loved the Union unusually much, believing that it was permanent and that the withdrawal of his native state of Virginia from the Union would be a great disaster. I am a person who opposes the division of the Union and hates slavery, and I have to choose between the Union and the divided hometown, why do I have to bear such a painful thing?

Robert Lee can't help but want to ask God how to choose for himself!

At this time, the bedroom door was pushed open, and his wife Mary walked in with some difficulty, and Robert Lee hurriedly stepped forward to help. Mary Anna Randolph Chris, who suffers from rheumatism and is often bedridden, struggled to come over today, only to make Robert Lee realize that it was already dark outside the window at the moment - before he knew it, he had been thinking in pain for a whole day!

Mary looked at her husband's red eyes and naturally understood what was going on. She grabbed her husband's hand with some pity and said, "My dear, no matter what you choose, my children and I will follow you!" Still, I want you to think about my late father, and the Virginian spirit, the American spirit, championed by my ancestor General Washington! ”

His wife's words stunned Robert Lee. He slapped his thigh and said, "I understand, I understand where I should go!" Thank you Madame for your advice! ”

Mary was stunned for a moment, but she didn't understand: "Honey, you made a choice. So, what is it? ”

"Go south! Back home, back to Virginia! Robert Lee told his wife about his decision: "I will write a letter to General Scott to thank this old boss for his attention and support, but I can only live up to his kindness and ask him to resign as commander-in-chief of the federal army on my behalf, fortunately not yet." ”

Mary looked at her husband with a look of affection, and seeing that he was still a little painful, she comforted: "I understand your feelings, in fact, I am also worried and regretful!" We all love the Union as much as our grandfather, General Washington. But now, the federal state of America has completely become a federation of northern states, a Republican government. Our roots are always in Virginia, in our hometown, and you have to protect her! ”

"Therefore, dear, there is nothing wrong with your choice! It is the federal government that is at fault, and if they can peacefully resolve the problems of the southern states and do not rush to attack, our hometown will not declare its secession from the Union. But the federal government had already made up its mind to attack the South, and they had forgotten the spirit of the founding of the Union, and Washington, together with Jefferson, Franklin, and Madison, had already determined what the spirit of the United States of America was by proclaiming the Declaration of Independence and formulating the Constitution of the United States of America. Every state has the freedom to join and leave the Union. If it is because of the secession of the South, the Federation controlled by the North will forcibly attack the South with the threat of force, which has no legal basis or moral basis, and completely violates the freedom of the sages. ”

Robert Lee clasped his wife's hand tightly and asked, "Dear Mary, you are right! We need to stand up to the will of our ancestors, defend the American spirit, and, of course, most importantly, defend our homeland. It seems that secession from the Union is not beneficial to Virginia at all, and Virginia's state legislature also voted to secede, largely because the Northern Union was too eager to act, and the stimulus of the war made those lawmakers in their hometown sympathize with the South. ”

"Not bad! Although Virginia also opposed secession, members of the state legislature had said that Virginia would also secede if the Confederate Army invaded the Southern states by force. It was President Lincoln who ignored this, who took too much of his power and believed that the interests of the Union were higher than everything else, even the interests of the states, which was undoubtedly wrong! Every state has the legal right to secede from the Union, which in itself has been provided for in the federal constitution since the founding of the United States. Mr. President, even if he is president, he cannot violate the Constitution, and the federal government, even if it is a federation, cannot interfere with the freedom and rights of the states. Neither Lincoln nor the Federal Congress had such a legal right! The congressmen of Virginia probably want to warn the cabinet bigwigs in the White House by secessing from the Union! Although Mary was suffering from rheumatism and was weak, she had a very clear mind and carefully analyzed these political matters for her husband. For a long time, she was born in a wealthy family, and since she married Robert Lee, she has become a political assistant to Robert Lee, who only likes military affairs, is not good at government affairs and dealing with people, and helps him give advice, and this time is no exception.

"President Lincoln probably regretted his stupid decision very much, and he should not have ordered the support of Fort Sumter in the south, let alone let the defenders of Fort Sumter foolishly start a war first!" Robert Lee kissed his wife's forehead and whispered, "Thank you, dear Mary!" Thank you for analyzing all this for me, so that I can untie my knot and leave here with peace of mind and return to my hometown! I know what I have to do! ”

The two hugged each other!

In the middle of the ring, Mary suddenly remembered something and said, "Are you going to inform Dabao tonight?" ”

Mary was referring to their eldest son, George Washington Casdis Lee, who graduated magna laude from West Point six years ago and is currently serving as a captain in the 1st Cavalry Regiment of the American Union.

"Of course! Naturally, we want to be together as a family! Robert Lee said directly: "Tell him to come home overnight." Let the servants pack their bags now, and tomorrow when Dabao Sanbao and his daughter arrive home, we will leave here directly and return to our hometown! ”