Ruin!

In the rear of the army was completely in ruins!

In November 1864, the Sherman Army left Atlanta for a year-long dehumanizing sweep of the South. Sherman's forces advanced straight to Savannah by the sea at a frontage of 60 miles. Almost all the places it passed through were flattened like a road roller, and everything that was on the ground was completely destroyed.

And it was not the army that was really the most destructive, but the "black locusts" that followed behind the army - those black Georgians welcomed the arrival of the Northern Army. They did not see the Northern Army as vengeful demons, but as God's righteous teachers. Black slaves were often the first property emancipated by the Northern Army. With the exception of strong black men who "can form labor battalions," Sherman tried to stop all blacks from following behind his troops, fearing that the thousands of blacks would affect the mobility of the troops while increasing the depletion of military supplies. He failed to achieve complete success. Thousands of freed people — men, women, old, young, sick and disabled — marched in line with the troops. Officers and soldiers brought black women back to the company to work as cooks or concubines, and hired black men as servants or handymen. Three generations of black people from the family followed the army in the wagons of the plantation. And when these blacks saw the barbarism of the North against the Southerners, the savage and violent factor in their hearts was stimulated.

And these blacks, with the connivance and even permission of the Northern Army, were like barbarians, raping and killing women, stealing their horses, cattle and food, and burning everything that could not be taken away...... Although legends in the South exaggerate the ruins left behind the "Sherman barbarians", the devastation they did was devastating. Even Sherman himself estimates that the damage they caused was "$100 million, of which at least $20 million benefited us, and all that remained was wasteland and ruins."

In ruins!

Eventually, Sherman's army wreaked havoc, leaving a 50-mile-wide strip running through the heart of the Confederacy. And then there are the blood and tears of the southerners.

“…… Sherman was responsible for the deaths of more than 100,000 civilians of the American Union, and it was with his connivance and direct orders that a large number of civilians were killed and women were raped...... We will set up a special military tribunal after the war is over to put Sherman and his barbarian army to trial once and ......"

Putting down the newspaper in his hand, Sherman looked at George Gordon Mead in front of him, and then said in a joking tone:

"George, what are the Chinese talking about? Are they going to judge me? ”

As an advocate of total war, Sherman did not feel that he was doing anything wrong, he was destroying the war potential of the Southern rebels, he was helping the North win the war, but now, the unexpected involvement of the Chinese in the war has fundamentally changed the direction of the war.

"Sherman, not only Chinese, but all Southerners, including Davis, will judge you, the "Attila of North America." ”

Compared with Sherman's playful tone, George Gordon Mead was a little cautious, he knew very well that the situation was changing now because of the intervention of the Chinese.

"My friend, perhaps, the behavior of the barbarians does violate the bottom line of war, after all, we are all civilized people!"

"Nope! It's war! None of them understand, this is war! ”

Sherman explained everything he had done in a very serious tone, though his explanation was pale and weak.

"Everything I do, is to help our country win the war! We must make all of them, all the rebels, understand that "war is synonymous with the destruction of one's own family", otherwise they will carry the war to the end. ”

Meade's expression was a little helpless in the face of Sherman's defense, and the Federal Army led by Sherman left a desolate strip of 200 miles long and 60 miles wide in the heart of Georgia. Homes, granaries and other buildings were burned, crops were eaten or destroyed, cattle and horses were taken away, and people were left destitute. This army of robbery was followed by another army, the freed slaves, who gleefully followed the Union army, and then followed the army to rob and even kill the ragged women, all in a catastrophic way.

Before that, Washington might have turned a blind eye to this, but now, with China's involvement, Washington is no longer able to pretend to be deaf and dumb, because the Chinese simply accuse Sherman of being a "butcher" who is responsible for the "humanitarian catastrophe" they claim.

Although Sherman's expedition to the coast plunged the South into a deep wave of pessimism, his move showed that the Confederacy was powerless to defend its territory or its people. The confidence of the people of the South in their Government and cause has been dealt a near-fatal blow. Sherman was right: the quickest way to end the war was to strike at the will of the enemy people.

But now, everything has changed, and his expedition directly led to the interference of the Chinese, or rather, gave the justification for Chinese interference, in which case everything has now become delicate.

In Mead's view, it is even possible for Washington to betray Sherman if necessary, after all, from a legal point of view, everything Sherman did was illegal, and those orders he issued were contrary to American law.

In this case, Washington can abandon him at any time, and if he is sacrificed, the Chinese can withdraw their troops!

"Now the situation has changed!"

Facing Sherman, Mead reminded him.

"Change? Is Washington ready to hand me over to the Chinese for trial? ”

Sherman shook his head and said in a serious tone.

"I don't believe it, I don't believe that Washington would make such a choice, they would never do it!"

The reason why he can give those orders is because Sherman knows that the most important thing for the politicians in Washington is victory, if he hadn't conquered Atlanta, then, Lincoln would not have won the election, maybe everything he did was against the law, but only God knows, those politicians want him to do everything, as long as he can defeat the Southerners, even if they are willing to make a deal with the devil.

What the great Abraham ...... It was just a joke, he was just a politician, and when Atlanta was on fire, the president didn't care if civilians were burned to death in the fire, he only cared about one thing - the election, and all he sent was congratulatory telegrams full of glowing praises, and as for the fire, as for the deaths of civilians, the president was like he had never heard of it.

As for the freedom of black people, does he really care? If he really cared, I am afraid that the emancipation of the black slaves was announced as soon as the war broke out, and the so-called emancipation of the black slaves was only a gesture of necessity, in order to seize the moral high ground, and to make the south unable to get the support of the people of European countries.

Xu, as a soldier, but Sherman knows the politicians very well, including the so-called great men, he knows what they want, and he just provides what they need at any cost, although he knows that he will be abandoned in the end, but it will never be such an abandonment.

"Yes, they won't do that, but, do you know what General Grant's order is?"

Looking at Sherman, Mead said in a serious and serious tone.

"The order he received was - he must occupy Richmond and defeat the rebels by April 1, do you think this is realistic?"

"We must defeat them!"

Just as Mead's words fell, a voice appeared outside the door, it was Grant, although there was a conflict with Mead, but it did not prevent him from coming to Sherman's headquarters at this time to comfort this guy who had been designated as a "war criminal" by the South.

"General! How did you get here? ”

The two of them saw Grant walk in and stood up.

"Are you worried about your fate?"

Grant looked at Sherman and asked, although he did not approve of some of Sherman's actions, he would never agree to hand over his subordinates to the Chinese for trial. Because of this, after learning the news, it took him two days to get here.

"No, General, I'm more worried about the fate of the United States!"

Sherman said truthfully.

"General, if we humiliately choose a truce because of the intervention of the Chinese, then the division of the United States is inevitable, and as for me personally, I am not worried about my fate!"

In the face of Sherman's answer, Grant nodded, since Sherman's corps and Mead's Potomac corps met, he had completed the encirclement of the Southern Army, so that Grant had a numerical advantage of more than two to one, and he had the initiative.

But despite this, he could not laugh at all, because the situation of the war was fundamentally reversed.

"Yes, that's why Mr. President, you want us to attack General Lee and General Johnston at once, but they only gave us a few days, my friends, do you think we can do it?"

Staring at Sherman, Grant asked rhetorically, since three days ago Sherman and Mead joined forces, so as to achieve the encirclement of the Northern Army against the Southern Army, although Grant already had a plan, but time, now the Chinese did not give him much time.

"Today is the 24th, even if we concentrate all our forces, it will be difficult to defeat them in the next 6 days, and besides, there are Chinese......"

"Among Johnston's troops there was a regiment of Chinese troops!"

In the face of Sherman's answer, Grant brings them another piece of bad news.

"This is bad news!"

Mead shrugged helplessly.

"If they show up on the battlefield, do we attack or not? If we attack, there is a high probability that a war will be provoked, which is clearly not what Washington wants to see! It's like they forbade the Navy to fire at the Chinese fleet! ”

"No!"

Shaking his head suddenly, Sherman said in a frenzied tone.

"It's at sea, and it's a war zone, and Chinese they appear on the battlefield, they have to take into account the dangers they face, and if we stop attacking because they're here, then this war will never end, at least not the way we want it to, general......"

Looking at Grant, Sherman offered his advice.

"Not only should we not stop the offensive, but we should increase the intensity of the offensive, it is better to attack the Chinese, and we must completely dispel the Chinese's desire to interfere with the United States through a crisp and sharp attack!"

Sherman looked at Grant, and although he could jokingly ridicule the newspapers in the South and the South's designation as a "war criminal," he was also well aware that his fate depended entirely on one point — whether he could defeat the South, and that he would only be an American hero if he defeated the Southern rebels, otherwise he would be a so-called "war criminal."

His advice now is more about trying to protect himself.

"Attack the Chinese, which will cause a war that Washington does not want to see!"

Mead objected almost immediately.

"General, whether they want it or not, this war has already taken place, and if the Chinese army appears in Richmond, General, will we just be there and watch them maintain the so-called peace there?"

Sherman's words made Grant fall into deep thought, before that, as the commander-in-chief of the Union Army, all he needed was to make a battle plan and not consider anything else, and it was because of this that he was able to win the war and defeat the famous Southern Army with the absolute superiority of the North.

But now, as commander-in-chief of the Union Army, he has to consider another factor - foreign interference, unlike what politicians feared at the beginning of the war, and now, Chinese intervention is a reality, their troops have appeared in Richmond, more Chinese troops are entering the United States, in this case, how to deal with the current situation?

"We must put the rebellious government in the south into the past once and for all before China mobilizes their forces, and only then can we end this war!" Only then can we avoid the United States falling into division under the interference of other countries! ”

The president's order is very clear, this order is a race against time, if the rebel government in the south surrenders, then the so-called "Chinese peacekeepers" become a joke, because the war is over, however, is it possible to end the war in just a few days?

And more importantly, Washington, what is Washington's position now? Grant was never much of a politician, but he was well aware that a split in the United States would be inevitable if Washington thought it was going ...... What to do?

Speechless's new book "Daming Iron Bone" has been distributed, this is a full of blood and passion, I hope you can continue to support Speechless, if you have a recommendation ticket in your hand, please also support, and then collect it by the way, thank you again!