The initiative of the Chinese and the total annihilation of the Grant Army in the Battle of Vicksburg shocked people from all walks of life in the north and south, especially the upper echelons.

When President Davis of the Confederate States heard the news, he was stunned at first, and then he laughed out loud, saying that the battle was won, and President Lincoln of the United States fainted directly when he received the news.

Why did they react so much? After all, in the eyes of outsiders, the Battle of Vicksburg was nothing more than an ordinary war defeat for the Northern Union Army, although the casualties were somewhat heavy, and even the Grant Army was lost, but the United States was wealthy, and this small loss was not a problem, anyway, they had lost more and won less before, and they should be used to it.

But in fact, things are not as simple as outsiders think, because the defeat of the Battle of Vicksburg is a heavier loss for the Union Army than the loss of Gettysburg, or even the loss of the capital Washington.

Although Washington is the capital of the United States of America, in this era, it is only a political capital, whether it is population, economy or industry, it is not the center of the United States, at most it is the level of a small town, not a metropolis at all, so even if they lose the capital Washington, they can still continue to resist.

I think that back then, Washington, the capital of the United States, was not lost, and even the White House was burned down by the British, and in the end it was not won.

However, the loss of the Battle of Vicksburg was different, especially the loss of nearly 90,000 Grant Corps, which was completely annihilated, which was the largest loss since the start of the Civil War, and the blow to morale alone was not ordinary.

In addition to dealing a blow to the morale of the Federal Army, purely strategically. The crushing defeat of Grant's Tennessee Corps led to the collapse of the Confederate Army's attempt to take control of the entire Mississippi River and divide the Confederate Army into the east and west. From then on, the Confederate states could continue to receive support from Western Texas and other states, had more war potential, and could continue to fight the Northern Confederate States, which undoubtedly delayed the end of the war.

Of course, these are not the most important things, after all, morale is low, and it is possible to rebuild morale. There are many ways to boost morale, and none of them are a problem for the United States.

If one legion is lost, the wealthy United States can continue to form three, or even five legions of the same size, anyway, the United States has money and people, and it is so capricious.

The assault on Vicksburg failed, next time a larger army can be organized to attack, anyway, Vicksburg is there, and it will not run. It's a big deal to make a comeback.

Although General Grant had a good record and was appreciated by Lincoln, he was not irreplaceable for the United States. Because there are too many generals who can match or even surpass Grant in terms of ability.

In other words, on the face of it, the defeat of the Battle of Vickersburg. Although the losses were somewhat large, it was only a legion, and it was just a defeat. It may seem like there's no fuss about it, but it's not.

The reason is very simple, because the defeat of this battle will boost the morale of the Southern Army, allow the Southern Army to continue to receive supplies from the west, and make the end of this war even more distant.

More importantly, this battle was fought by the Chinese, indicating that China has begun to actively intervene in the American Civil War, and this variable is the most worrying thing for Lincoln.

Everyone knows that since the damn 926 incident, China and Britain have declared war on the United States of America, and not long after, France has also begun to declare war on the United States, because the French were also killed in the 926 incident.

After China, Britain, and France declared war on the United States of America, Lincoln mediated in many ways, and it took a lot of effort to use both hard and soft measures, so that a situation of declaring war without war was maintained, so that the declaration of war by China, Britain, and France was only in words, and there were no further practical actions.

To put it simply, in order to prevent the three countries from really interfering in the American civil war, although Lincoln has always been tough on the surface and has always said this at home, in fact, in order to let the three countries not send troops, he paid a lot of price in private, and this price mainly refers to the loss of trade, because he agreed to exempt the goods of China, Britain and France from duty, that is, to implement unilateral most-favored-nation treatment.

Unilateral most-favored-nation treatment is already the limit that Lincoln can give, and no matter how much it is, the United States really can't take anything out, after all, it is impossible to cede land, and if the amount of compensation is small, it is good to say that it can be regarded as compensation for the victims, but if it is too much, to the point of humiliating the national body, then Lincoln will never agree.

And while these three countries quietly surrendered, Lincoln did not forget the deterrence of force, and his greatest reliance was his 300,000 elite reserve army and the growing ironclad fleet of the navy!

That's right, before the re-order for the conscription of a million troops, Lincoln actually had 300,000 elite professional reserves, mainly trained in Pittsburgh and New York State, as the last reserve, even when the Battle of Gettysburg was at its fiercest, Lincoln did not transfer this force to fight.

Even, Lincoln thought that even if Washington was lost, this force could not be dispatched, but must be shot at the most critical moment.

The weapons and equipment of the 300,000 troops were the best, although it cannot be said that all of them were equipped with breech-loading guns, but at least one-tenth were equipped with Sharps rifles, and the others were also Yishui's new Springfield rifles and 12-pounder guns.

In addition, Lincoln also approved the Navy's large-scale shipbuilding plan, and began to build ironclad ships in New York Harbor and other places, and wanted to form a large-scale ironclad fleet with a total of 100 ironclad ships, so it is also called the 100-ship plan.

Yes, today, the industrial capacity of the United States is not as good as that of the United Kingdom, and even not as good as that of France, but the United States is a young country and does not have any colonies to maintain, so the number of warships in the United States Navy is quite small, which gives the United States a chance to catch up.

To put it simply, the U.S. Navy doesn't have many wooden sail warships, and it doesn't have so many overseas colonies to maintain, so he can concentrate on building ironclads for coastal defense and use a large number of ironclads to counter the maritime threats of Britain, France and other countries.

Relatively speaking, Britain and France, although they are the traditional maritime powers of the world, have a lot of colonies to maintain, and they also have a large number of wooden sail warships, so they cannot be like the United States. Put all the steel into the construction of the ironclad ship, and the ironclad ship with an iron heart will be blasted, because it is too cost-effective, after all, the ironclad ship at this time is limited by power and other reasons, and it cannot sail far.

In other words, Lincoln had been on guard against China, Britain, and France, especially Britain, because in Lincoln's view, Britain was the most likely to intervene in the American Civil War, given their strong navy. And there are also troops stationed around the perimeter of the United States.

As for China and France, Lincoln was equally worried, especially about their large army, but that concern was not now.

Because as far as he knows, the Chinese and the French are fighting in Mexico, and they cannot spare troops to interfere with the United States, so in the short term, at least until the end of the affairs in Mexico, I am afraid that the Chinese and the French will not find time to find the Americans.

Britain is different. Although Britain initially colluded with the French and participated in the Mexican intervention, it soon withdrew on its own, so Britain still retained a lot of battle forces.

Meantime. At the border between Canada and the eastern part of the United States, the number of British troops is said to have risen to 60,000, and it has the strength to threaten the United States. In Havana, Cuba, the British also had a 10,000-strong Marine Corps and a 5,000-strong fleet, both of which were a real threat to the United States.

In a word. In the past, Lin's main focus was on the British, and the location of his attention was also on the eastern region, after all, the eastern region could facilitate the British army's naval raids, and at the same time, it could also cooperate with Robert. Lee's forces were the most likely plan for intervention.

But no one expected that the first to strike was the Chinese, and the first battle of the Chinese was actually not in the eastern battlefield, but in the western battlefield.

Obviously, the Chinese did hit the right place this time, and the importance of Vicksburg is undoubted, once the southern rebels continue to control the hub of communication between the east and the west, and even let the south master the Mississippi River, even if it is only the downstream area, it will be a worse thing for the United States.

"The situation is very bad for us." Lincoln looked stern at Vice President Stephen. Douglas said, "My friend, we have to prepare for the worst and be prepared...... In case it doesn't work, the intention of the Union to become independent is recognized, even if it's temporary. ”

"No, how can this be!" Stephen. Douglas immediately shook his head, "Want to admit the Southern rebels? It's impossible! The great United States of America will never be divided into two countries, no, I will not allow it! ”

Speaking of which, Stephen. Douglas raised his voice: "Why don't I go out of my way to support you?" Isn't it because you and I have the same philosophy, and we both vowed to use our lives to maintain the unity and independence of the United States of America, but now you actually say that you want to give up, this, is this still the same you?

I put my words here, as soon as you dare to make a move to recognize the South, I will definitely fight you to the end, and at that time, you who have lost the hearts and minds of the people will no longer be my opponent, and you will become the sinner of this country! ”

"Don't get so excited, my friend." Lincoln smiled, "I'm just talking about the worst-case scenario, and for now, we're not there yet." Moreover, even if it really comes to the worst, I only intend to sacrifice me alone and let me bear the guilt myself, anyway, even if I admit it, it will only represent myself, and when I go down in the future, you can overturn my decision, it's nothing. ”

Speaking of this, Lincoln slowly stood up, walked to the window, and sighed softly: "What matters is timing, do you know timing, my friend?" We have already paid too much for this war, and the government has also shouldered too heavy a burden, if China, Britain and France all come together to fight us, then the situation will really be difficult to say. ”

"Perhaps, it's not as bad as you say." Stephen. Douglas suddenly said, "I know, Chinese's approach is a bit surprising, but Chinese doesn't have much conflict with us after all, as long as we ......"

"You're wrong!" Lincoln suddenly turned around and looked at Stephen fixedly. Douglas said with a heavy face, "It's not just you, we're all wrong. ”

"What do you mean?" Stephen. Douglas asked.

"I feel that the biggest enemy of our United States of America at present, except for the rebels in the south, should be the Chinese." Lincoln said slowly.

"How is that possible?" Stephen. Douglas shook his head in disbelief, "I believe you say the British, and I also agree with the French, but Chinese...... They are still too young and their strength is limited. And it's too far away for us to be our main rival, at least for now. ”

"I used to think so too." Lincoln sighed, "But these recent events have made me understand, although we don't take the Chinese in our eyes, but from the beginning, the Chinese have been plotting against us everywhere, and their ambition is not difficult to guess, to put it bluntly, it is nothing more than land." ”

"Land?"

"Yes, land." Lincoln nodded. "The goal of the Chinese has been land from the beginning, and the land they value is the land that belongs to our United States of America, that is, the land to the west, near the Pacific Ocean."

"Our land in the west...... You mean California? ”

"That's right, it's California." Lincoln said, "And, as far as I guess. California is just a basic requirement for them, and it's likely that they'll have more, like Oregon, and possibly their target. ”

"This. This ...... "Stephen. Douglas frowned, "You mean, the Chinese fought and died with us for the sake of those barren lands in the west?" ”

"Barren land? You're wrong. That's just undeveloped land, but it's actually quite rich land, especially in California. Lincoln shook his head. I won't talk about the gold fever in California, which is said to have a good climate and is good for farming, and there may be other minerals.

In short, our western region is a rich and undeveloped land, and the Chinese are probably eyeing it and want to take advantage of the opportunity of our life and death with the southern rebels to fish in troubled waters and find a way to justifiably take that land. ”

"This, this ......" Stephen. Douglas thought for a moment and shook his head again, "Mr. President, this idea of yours is good, but you ignore the fact that the Pacific Ocean is too big, and you want to colonize California across the Pacific Ocean...... Do the Chinese have that ability and strength? ”

"Even now, do you still look down on the Chinese?" Lincoln said with some unhappiness, "Let's not talk about the far, let's talk about the near, they can move more than 500,000 people to California in just one or two years, and the speed of this immigration is getting faster and faster."

Although I don't know how many Chinese are currently in California, I think that if they continue to maintain the current rate of immigration, in another year or two, the number of Chinese in California is likely to exceed one million, and by that time, we Americans will become an absolute minority there, and the cause of the 926 incident is said to be because of ethnic conflicts, and the root cause of the conflict is that there are too many Chinese immigrants. ”

After a pause, Lincoln continued: "Actually, as early as the year before last, the state government of California submitted a proposal to me, hoping that I would come forward and enact a bill to expel the Chinese, but I did not approve it because of the relationship with the Chinese and the fact that we are fighting against the southerners. Who knew that they would want to enact a local law that excludes the Chinese.

At that time, I personally sent a telegram to their governors, asking them to be cautious, and although they did not enact the Chinese Exclusion Act, it was not because of my original intention, but because the Chinese were so strong that they were afraid that they did not dare to continue to enact the Chinese Exclusion Act to stimulate the Chinese.

Their people once told me that although the Chinese look a little similar to the Indians, they are much stronger than the Indians. Almost every Chinese immigrant has a gun, and they are all rear-loading guns and revolvers, and they are disciplined, persevering, and hardworking, and the hundreds of thousands of immigrants, men, women, and children, are better able to fight than our regular army.

It is precisely because the Chinese can no longer be expelled by force, and the Chinese have been staying near the Red Fort in Los Angeles, that the California government has softened the Chinese and drawn a clear sphere of influence with the Chinese, which is equivalent to assigning the Los Angeles area to the Chinese.

At that time, the governor of California told me that they could no longer do anything against the Chinese by their strength alone, so he had been restraining his own people and trying to reduce friction with the Chinese, and he also believed that if he wanted to deal with the Chinese problem there, he could only solve it by communicating with me and the Chinese government, otherwise it would be impossible to attack the Chinese by force alone.

In fact, I was very worried at that time, after all, the ability of Chinese immigrants was too terrifying, but at that time we were fighting with the southern rebels, and I really didn't have time to deal with the Chinese. Because this matter is obviously intentional by the Chinese, it will definitely not stop because of a few war of words, we can only wait for the war, and when the southern rebels are eliminated, we will concentrate on rationalizing with the Chinese.

That's why I'm so worried about ending the war as much as possible, otherwise, if time drags on, the consequences will be unimaginable.

Think about it. In just one year, they can emigrate half a million people, no, maybe even more, then in two years, they will have at least a million people, three years, four years?

I have asked many people, and those who have been to the East say. The Chinese are different from us Americans, they are very obedient to authority, and they are much better than us in hard-working aspects, and they only need very few resources to survive. Other than that. Chinese are much stronger than us Americans, both in farming and working, and are natural farmers and workers.

As for fighting as soldiers, perhaps the Chinese are not as good as us Americans. But they have better weapons, better logistics, and more numbers than we do. After all, 500,000 immigrants are 500,000 troops!

China is said to have 500 million people, and we, plus those rebels in the south, are only 50 million people, that is, the population of the Chinese is ten times that of us! What's more, the Chinese pay attention to more births and more blessings, and the birth rate is much higher than ours, which means that once the Chinese are determined to play colonization, we can't compete with them at all!

Do you understand, my friend, this is the Chinese, a horde of terrible locusts!

In the past, although the Chinese had a large population, they were ignorant and ignorant, and they would only rest on their laurels, not knowing how to go out and grab resources, but now, this nascent China has changed, and it has become exactly like other powers, and it is more aggressive.

They have defeated the nearby Koreas and Japan, which are suitable places for Chinese to live, and now they have their eyes on our country, and they have turned their eyes on our western territories...... That's right, the Chinese intended to snatch that land from our mouths from the very beginning, and that's what they thought and did! ”

Speaking of this, Lincoln stood up excitedly, clenched his fists and waved: "I have already thought about it, my friend, the war with the Southerners is indeed very important, but in the final analysis, we are all compatriots, even if we are temporarily divided, there will always be a chance to reunite in the future, after all, our language and culture are the same."

However, if we continue like this and let the Chinese seize the opportunity to split the land in our western region, then it will be extremely difficult for us to get it back afterwards, and that land, although we have not yet developed it, will certainly be the treasure land of our United States of America in the future, and it is the core territory that must not be lost!

I can say, my friend, that the land of the south is lost, only temporarily, and we can easily get it back sooner or later. However, once the land in the west is lost and becomes the territory of the Chinese, then because our ethnicity, culture and language are different, and the Chinese have the advantage of numbers, we will never be able to get back that rich treasure land, do you understand? ”

"I think I get it." Stephen. Douglas nodded, "You mean, in order to be able to keep the land in the west, even if you recognize the independence of the South?" ”

"That's right, my friend!" Lincoln nodded.

"Ridiculous!" Stephen. Douglas slammed his fist on the table angrily, "I see you've been sleep deprived lately, and you're mentally ill, right?" If it is true as you say, even if we recognize the independence of the south, will we be able to protect the land in the west from being lost? Hmph, in my opinion, when the time comes, the Chinese will colonize California more unscrupulously, and that is our tragedy! ”

"That's not how it is, my friend." Lincoln shook his head, "You think, once we agree to the independence of the South, then our strength will be greatly reduced on the surface, and at that time, our contradictions with the British and the French will be greatly reduced, and they will have no reason to oppose us again, because it will not do them the slightest benefit."

In other words, at that time, the Chinese will not be able to take advantage of the opportunity of our civil war to justifiably steal our land, and will also lose his allies, and if he still wants to colonize our land, it will be alone, and the British, the French, and even those southern Yankees will not agree to the Chinese unscrupulously encroaching on our western United States, and will inevitably unite to resist the expansion of the Chinese in the California region, so that at least the expansion of the Chinese can be curbed.

When the footsteps of the Chinese are curbed, we can speed up the development of the western region, launch the westward movement at an early date, encourage childbearing, and compete with the Chinese for the dominance of the western region!

Believe me, the hope of the United States is in the west, not in the south, those in the south are unpopular, sooner or later they will return to our arms, so once things are impossible, we can temporarily agree to the independence of the south, so that we can stop the internal attrition of the war, reduce population losses, obtain the support of Britain and France, and stop the expansion of the Chinese together! ”

"Ridiculous, whimsical!" Stephen. Douglas said coldly, "I don't care what reason you have, and whether you really have this intention or are nervous, in short, the South must not be independent, and the unity of the United States cannot be desecrated!"

Whoever he dares to agree to the independence of the South, my friends and I will swear to him that we will not give up and fight to the end, even if it is you, honorable Mr. President! ”

With all said and done, Stephen. Douglas no longer cared about Lincoln's face and walked out of the president's office on his own, leaving Lincoln alone.

"You still haven't seen it through, Stephen." Lincoln sighed tiredly again, turned around, and looked out the window again, "You don't understand, you really don't understand, everything else is secondary, the Chinese are our common enemy!" (To be continued......)