Lincoln never expected that he would meet Scester. Enfield!

To this Scrut. Enfield, Lincoln is also very familiar, his father is a big coal mine owner in Pittsburgh, or a local mob boss, and several of his uncles are either local city councilors, lawyers, policemen, anyway, the Enfield family is a very powerful family in Pittsburgh, it is a bit too much to say that one hand covers the sky, but it is absolutely right.

And Skerst himself is also very good, he is a top student at West Point, a classmate of the late Grant, participated in the Mexican-American War, at the same time, he is an early member of the Republican Party, and his personal relationship with Lincoln in the past is not bad.

Thanks to Skerst. Enfield's family has several large coal mines in Pittsburgh, is one of the main coal suppliers to many local factories, and has a very important position, Scestert himself has performed well in the army, plus he also sponsored a large amount of military expenses in Lincoln's most difficult time, helping to raise a 50,000-strong army in Pittsburgh, so Lincoln took the opportunity to appoint Enfield as the commander of the OhRussian Regiment.

Because the original camp of the Ohio Russian Army was in Pittsburgh, and Pittsburgh is the largest weapons producer in the United States of America, so at that time, the Ohio Russian Army Corps had many advantages, as early as the beginning of its establishment, the weapons and equipment was the most complete of all the armies, except for little actual battlefield experience, everything else was not bad.

In the beginning, the Ohio Russian Army Corps was only a reserve regiment, and it was formed mainly to protect Pittsburgh and protect the navigation channel of the Ohio River, so 50,000 men were more than enough.

However, as the situation developed, especially when General Grant went deeper and further on the western front, in order to fill the vacuum left by the Grant Corps, the Ohio Russian Army Corps was rapidly expanded, expanding this corps from 50,000 to 150,000.

According to the original plan. The 150,000-strong Ohio Russian regiment will train intensively in Pittsburgh for three months, and then march westward and settle in Memphis, Nashville, and other cities to alleviate the shortage of local troops, completely control these territories that have just been conquered from the south, and at the same time facilitate the reception of Grant in front, and finally completely take over the west.

Although the western front did need support troops at that time, in fact, to put it bluntly, this practice of the Ohio Russian Army Corps was a kind of peach picking behavior.

Because of the purpose of the OhRussian regiment in the past. It's just that they suppress the localities, and they don't need to take too much risk on the front line, and they occupy a lot of southern lands and cities, and they will inevitably get a lot of meritorious deeds and practical benefits, which is clearly a gift to the Ohio Russian army.

The reason for this is simple, in addition to the geographical advantages of the Ohio Russian Regiment, the most important thing is that President Lincoln wants to repay the favor and to the guy who supported him in the first place. In particular, people in the same party give some benefits.

After all, the Ohio Russian regiment was pulled up by Republican supporters, and the commander of this legion, Scester, is a member of the Republican Party, so he doesn't help his family at this time. Who will give Lincoln his life in the future?

But who knows, the plan is not as fast as the change, the Ohio Russian regiment is still training in Pittsburgh, and the Grant regiment in front is suddenly attacked by the Chinese. In the Battle of Vicksburg, the entire army was wiped out, and the previous advantage was completely destroyed.

Then, before the Federation could react. The Chinese quickly moved north, broke through Memphis, and defeated the incoming William on the outskirts. General Ross Krans' Cumberland River Corps.

Since then, the Federation Army has completely failed in the western theater, losing all the main forces, and the original offensive posture has become an embarrassing situation that is difficult to even defend.

In other words, due to the rapid annihilation of Grant's legion and the Cumberland River legion, the federal army had no strength in the western theater at that time, not only lost all the advantages accumulated in the early stage, but also was invaded by the other side, allowing the Chinese to enter their own territory and was forced to lose a large amount of territory one after another.

According to the march route of the expeditionary force at that time, it was obvious that it was going east along the Ohio River, and there was a posture of going all the way to Pittsburgh, so in the face of the aggressiveness of the Chinese Expeditionary Force, the Ohio Russian Regiment, which was supposed to go to the western battlefield to take advantage of the peach, was no, it was a corps for connecting support, and it changed from a second-line corps to a front-line defense corps, and its role was greatly strengthened.

Fortunately, Skerst did not disappoint Lincoln, and after receiving Lincoln's order, without saying a word, he led the main force westward and organized a defense in Smithland in advance.

The reason why the defense was organized in Smithland was because it was a river crossing, and by holding it, it would be possible to continue to support Nashville, which had not yet fallen, from the rear through river transportation.

In fact, Lincoln's plan to keep Nashville at that time was not wrong, after all, there was a Nashville as a nail in the front, at least it could pose a threat to the neighborhood, drag down the pace of the Union army, and make them unable to follow the Chinese to the east without scruples.

What's more, Nashville had been turned into a fortress at that time, with strong defenses, and if Nashville could be kept, it could at least continue to confront the Confederate forces for a while longer, so as to give the Union forces in the rear enough time to react.

Then, for this purpose, stationing Smithland in order to keep the shipping channel is a good move, and Skerst did not take the initiative to attack, limited choice of defense, and the practice is indisputable, after all, the attack of the Chinese is too scary, and it is a large army that is completely annihilated at every turn, who can stand it.

In fact, Skerst had no choice at that time, after all, he represented the interests of the industrial capitalists in the Pittsburgh area, and the Chinese Expeditionary Force obviously had the intention of constantly attacking, and he was not familiar with this army, so in order to defend his hometown, he could only fight hard.

Moreover, it seemed better to defend far away from home than to resist near home, so Scist took the initiative to lead his troops to attack, just to prevent the war from disrupting the normal order of Pittsburgh.

Since it is a representative of the chaebol and has the support of Lincoln, this Ohio Russian regiment is the most wealthy, and it will send a boatload to Smithland for what it wants, what sand, cement, stones, etc., hoping to rely on these hard powers to build a strong fortress in Smithland, which is not dangerous to defend.

But no one expected that the speed of the Chinese was so fast, and not long after occupying Memphis, they quickly marched north to the east, and not only dispatched the army. And with the task force!

In this way, before the fortress of Skerst was built, he had to confront the Chinese who came quickly, and as a result, the Chinese, with their advantage in firepower and mobility, bypassed the strong defensive line in front of him, and actually attacked from the rear of their camp.

The Chinese's raids were too fierce and simply unreasonable, not only from their own weak points in the rear, but also in invulnerable ironclad vehicles. Heavily using repeating guns and rapid-fire guns that seemed to be raining, a single blow would completely collapse your own troops.

Since then, Scrutster has become a prisoner of the Chinese, and Lincoln has never seen this guy with elegant manners, decent conversation, and good looks. Not only had he never seen him, but Lincoln hadn't even heard anything from him, so much so that Lincoln once thought that this guy who valued honor and face was like Grant. He has been honorably martyred.

But now...... He's back!

"Oh my God!" After the shock, Lincoln walked over in surprise and opened his arms. hugged the guy who was holding a civilization staff and wearing a black tuxedo, and then said happily, "I really didn't expect it." You're still alive! ”

"yes, I'm alive." Skerst narrowed his eyes and smiled meaningfully. "Came back alive."

"How did you get back? Didn't the Chinese refuse to release the prisoners? Lincoln quickly frowned, "Did you escape on your own?" It's not like ah, ah, I see, you paid the ransom! Your family paid the ransom for you, right? ”

Indeed, although when negotiating with the Chinese, they wanted the Chinese to release the prisoners, but this article was not agreed to by the Chinese. Because at that time, the United States was asking for the Chinese and eagerly hoped for an armistice, so they did not dwell on the issue of prisoners, but quickly brought it over and signed the armistice agreement first.

However, although it was not possible to obtain the unconditional release of the prisoners, Lincoln also heard that the Chinese did not block the passage for the release of the prisoners, but issued a price list for the redemption of prisoners, saying that anyone who was willing to pay enough ransom could release the prisoners.

The ransom listed in that price list is different, soldiers have soldiers' prices, officers have officers' prices, but without exception, these prices are quite high, even a little outrageous, not to mention ordinary soldiers, even those officers' families, most of them can't afford to pay that kind of ransom.

Only some people who are not up to the rank of lieutenant colonel, who have money in the family, who are within the acceptable range, and who are more important in the family, will be ransomed by the family, but the number of those people is too small to make any sense at all.

As a corps commander, the price of the ransom is even more sky-high, but most of those who serve as the corps commander go up by ability, simply compared to their family background, and many people can't even compare with their majors and lieutenant colonels.

Because of this, none of the captured corps commanders had been released before Scester's appearance, just because the families of those people couldn't come up with the money.

But others are like that, but if it is replaced by Skerst. Enfield, then Lincoln had no doubts.

Because Skerst's family opened a coal mine, and coal was one of the most important strategic resources in this era of steam industry, just like oil in later generations, the status and influence of coal mine owners in this era were not much different from those of later oil tycoons.

Therefore, if others can't afford to pay the ransom, the Scester's family can definitely take it, and Scester's status in the family is quite important, not the kind of insignificant pawn, so it is completely possible for the Enfield family to come up with a sky-high ransom for him.

In fact, as far as Lincoln guessed, since the expeditionary force released the ransom table, the Enfield family began to send people to contact him, wanting to redeem Skerst. Enfield, who knows, but Scist himself didn't want to go back.

The reason is simple, Sckerst. Enfield had already defected, he had already turned his back on the United States of America, chose to join the nationality of the Chinese Empire, and planned to go to China to develop in the future.

No one forced him to do this, and Skerst's choice to betray was completely his own will, and what supported him to do so was the high-tech equipment of the expeditionary force.

Skerst was not the child of a traditional aristocracy, nor was he a native resident of the United States, but an immigrant family.

When Scester was a child, he was still in the slums of England, and his father was a coal mine worker, and later his father accidentally killed someone, so he fled England with his family and came to Pittsburgh, USA.

When his family came to Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh is still a small city, but because of the discovery of coal mines, it is growing rapidly, and it is also a time of rapid urban expansion, but also a time of chaos.

His father relied on being ruthless and fierce, and with some luck, he finally became a coal miner, a typical nouveau riche, so it was only after the age of thirteen that Scester's life completely changed.

As a young impoverished. The rich second generation, who has experienced bumps and displacement, and later became wealthy, Skerst knows very well what he wants, and he also has a very light view of the country and the nation.

In Skerst's mind, his own interests come first, the second is the family, and as for the country, only those who are powerful can bring benefits to himself and his family. is worthy of one's own allegiance.

In short, after seeing the equipment of the Chinese, plus listening to some flickers of the translation, Scist suddenly realized. The Chinese have these equipment, they are simply invincible, plus China's territory is large enough, and now they have taken the western land of North America. The future development is limitless!

In particular, China has just given birth to a new regime and has acquired a large number of colonies in a short period of time. It is the time when talents are needed, so at this time, the benefits will definitely be greater.

It was for this purpose that Scester took a gamble and turned his back on the weakened United States of America to the more powerful Chinese Empire, which had profited the most from the war.

At the beginning, in order to show his determination, Scist even took the initiative to make a proposal to Li Yongji, wanting to use his family's influence and ability to give Pittsburgh to the expeditionary force first, as his step forward.

But who knew that he had communicated with his family and the arrangements were initially in place, but the Chinese suddenly gave up continuing to go east, did not go to Pittsburgh, and then negotiated peace with the United States of America in Smithland.

In this way, Scest's attempt was frustrated, because without great merit, he could not receive the reward of the Chinese Empire!

After all, Skerst is an outsider, or a general, if he wants to quickly obtain a high position in an imperial country like the Chinese Empire, he must have enough contributions, and then obtain the corresponding status, and the best is of course to obtain a knighthood, which is what his father has been striving for all his life.

In other words, Skerst is very obsessed with nobility, but unfortunately the United States of America is a federal state, not an imperial system, and no matter how much credit he has, it is useless.

There are quite a few imperial systems in European countries, but they are all solidified, and he, an American nouveau riche, cannot get a knighthood in Europe.

Only the Chinese Empire, a newly emerging imperial state, can achieve Skerst's long-cherished wish, and of course, the most important thing is that the Chinese Empire is a strong country, and only when a strong country obtains a knighthood is it truly glorious.

All in all, without being sent to Pittsburgh and without making a contribution, Skerst could not quickly receive the rewards of the Chinese Empire and could not obtain a high position, which was quite disadvantageous for him as a foreigner.

So during that time, Scester had been conscientiously serving as a dog-headed military advisor by Li Yongji's side, and began to explain the situation in the United States of America to Li Yongji, hoping to get acquainted with it first.

Later, Skerst found an opportunity, that is, Li Yongji hoped to make an early truce between the north and the south, so as to make the split between the north and the south a fait accompli as soon as possible.

However, Li Yongji's return to China is imminent, and he cannot continue to drag on here, so he is worried about how to bring about an armistice and peace talks between the north and the south at an early date before he returns home with his troops.

This was a new opportunity, so Scruther offered to act as a lobbyist to convince the United States of the North to agree to a truce.

Because in the current situation, the Southern Confederate countries have once again shown fatigue and willingness to negotiate peace, but the United States of the North, which is being pressed and beaten by the south, is still very stubborn, and even has the intention of counterattacking.

Therefore, the biggest problem now is the government of the United States of the North, and as long as the United States is willing to recognize the government of the Confederate States of the South and is willing to sit down and negotiate peace, everything will be easy to say.

In the mindset of giving it a try, Li Yongji appointed Scist as a special envoy for negotiations and asked him to talk to Lincoln as a lobbyist. It's best if you can talk about it, and it doesn't matter if you can't talk about it, anyway, Li Yongji has other ways, at most, he can't see the two sides strike before leaving North America.

In this way, Sckerst, the former corps commander of the United States of America, turned into his former nemesis, a lobbyist of the Chinese Expeditionary Force, and in turn calculated his original host, the United States of America, in order to demand that the other side be able to cease war with the South as soon as possible, end the war as soon as possible, and completely realize the situation of division and confrontation between the North and the South, so as to serve Li Yongji's plan to master North America.

However, Skerst was clever enough not to identify himself as soon as he came up, but to approach Lincoln first in a private capacity.

Because he knew that if he came up and said that he represented the expeditionary force, Lincoln would probably not even see him, and only by meeting first and then taking his time could he be persuaded to persuade him.

Therefore, seeing that Lincoln misunderstood himself and thought that he was redeemed by his family, he chose to acquiesce.

Then, after the two sides exchanged pleasantries, they quickly sat aside, and after the waiters served each other a cup of coffee, Lincoln began to formally inquire about Skerst's past, especially the situation of the defensive battle of Smithland. (To be continued......)