Li Yongji is also ruthless enough, obviously he had just experienced a bloody battle in Smithland before, but he still stayed firmly in Smithland, neither advancing nor retreating, and made it clear that he would wait for the weather to get warmer before leaving.

In fact, you can also understand Li Yongji's thoughts, after all, he has so much heavy equipment here, and he can't throw it away.

Although theoretically speaking, Li Yongji can use his teleportation tonnage to send part of the equipment to the modern society every day, little by little, until all of it is sent back to the modern society, but he doesn't consider this means at all, not because he can't, but because he doesn't want to.

The reason is very simple, the ability to trade in time and space is his ultimate secret, and it can't be revealed no matter what, like the current situation, it's okay to secretly change equipment on a small scale, but to send away equipment on a large scale, no one knows that there is a problem here.

After all, they are now trapped by ice and snow, so even if the so-called mysterious organization can help transport some things, they can't pull everything away, if they really have the ability, just take the troops away, why let everyone stay here.

In addition, the large-scale transportation of weapons and equipment in the past is also a trouble for Zhang Xinda in another time and space, you must know that these equipment are quite eye-catching things, Zhang Xinda also has a lot of people staring at them, once a large number of weapons and equipment suddenly appear, the trouble is not small. It's not like food and other things that are easy to hide, and you can secretly digest them without knowing it.

Moreover, without these equipment, more than half of the combat effectiveness of the troops will be lost, and what can they do without equipment? It can only be convenient to march lightly, but in today's harsh environment, marching is troublesome, and it is also very dangerous, it is far better to continue to hold the troops, continue to increase their own firepower, and wait for the weather to improve and the river surface to thaw. Relying on the Ohio River and taking a boat again is a safer approach.

In addition, Li Yongji understands very well that the place of Smithland itself has a low latitude and belongs to a subtropical humid climate, and the temperature in all seasons is very obvious, although now it suddenly encountered a strong cold air and a snowstorm, and was temporarily trapped, but this is definitely not the norm.

Therefore. Li Yongji felt that at most, by April, the temperature would rise in an all-round way, and even if the road surface would be muddy due to the melting of snow, the surface of the Ohio River would also thaw, and as soon as the river thawed and ships could pass, then his troops would be able to move again, and when the time came, they would continue to advance. Or go first and backward, it can be more convenient.

In short, staying in Smithland is to play to the strengths and avoid the weaknesses. It is also to preserve the vital forces to the greatest extent, and as for the possible attack of the US military, Li Yongji is not worried, as long as the firepower is strong enough. The troops are cautious enough, and it is absolutely right to fight a defensive counterattack in such weather, far better than a hasty march. It's also much safer.

Sure enough, just as Li Yongji continued to lead his troops to recuperate in Smithland, the news that the expeditionary force had once again annihilated the New Virginia Legion in Smithland spread outward rapidly with the retreat of the James River Legion, and reached the White House and Lincoln's ears as quickly as possible.

After receiving this news, Lincoln did not hesitate and immediately summoned the commander-in-chief of the Union Army overnight, George Brown. Gordon. Mead came over and discussed what to do about it.

Soon, the commander-in-chief of the Union Army, George . Gordon. Mead entered Lincoln's office, "Mr. President, what happened?" Good news or bad news? ”

"It's bad news, very bad news." Lincoln shook his head tiredly.

"How bad is it?" Mead frowned.

"Bernse is defeated." Lincoln said softly, "The entire New Virginia Legion, more than 300,000 people, was completely annihilated by the Chinese, and now the entire army has been wiped out. ”

"Annihilation? New Virginia Legion? Mead was stunned, "Is the news reliable?" ”

"It was a handwritten telegram from Benjamin, the commander of the James River Corps, and it should be reliable." Lincoln pursed his lips, "He would never dare to fool me about such a big thing." ”

"How so?" Mead said, "I know that the Chinese are very strong in combat, but the New Virginia Legion is our trump card, the soldiers are very good, the number is as high as 300,000, the weapons and equipment are good, and Burnside is even more cautious and careful, no matter how bad it is, it will not be completely destroyed, right?" ”

"Intelligence said that it was Bernset who first took the initiative to retreat, and then led the army back halfway to take the initiative to attack the strong camp of the Chinese, but was counterattacked by the Chinese, and finally the whole army was destroyed, almost all surrendered to the Chinese, and few people could escape."

"Where did the battle take place?"

"Smithland!"

"That's right." Mead nodded, "The Chinese have occupied Smithland for a while, it can be said that it is the home of the Chinese, and the defense must be tight." And there is a port there, moored with the Chinese task force, able to use their naval guns, so that the Chinese do have the strength to completely annihilate the New Virginia Legion. ”

"What an idiot!" Lincoln suddenly slapped the table, "Since you have already retreated with your troops, why do you want to go back again?" Isn't this a clear sign that my troops are going to hell? That Bernside, he might as well stand still and wait for the Chinese to fight, there is still a little advantage. ”

"Mr. President." Mead said, "We can investigate the inside story slowly, but the top priority is not to hold this accountable, but how to deal with the next situation." ”

"Situation, yes, that's why I called you overnight." Lincoln nodded, "This news cannot be hidden, the British, the French, and the Southern rebels will know this news sooner or later, and when the time comes, the situation will only get worse." ”

Hearing Lincoln say this, Mead quickly got into the groove, took the initiative to walk to Lincoln's desk, and skillfully opened a map, which was the military situation map of the United States of America.

"Mr. President, have the Chinese in Smithland done anything after this war?" Mead tapped Smithland's position.

"Nope." Lincoln said, "According to intelligence, after the Chinese won a big battle, it seems that they themselves have lost a lot, plus there has just experienced a snowstorm nearby, the road surface is all covered with ice and snow, and the river surface is also frozen, so the Chinese are still staying in Smithland, not moving, well." They can't move even if they want to. ”

"That's right." Mead nodded, "In this way, in the short term, the threat of the Chinese can be eliminated first, and as for the Anglo-French alliance, it has just suffered a setback, and it is not possible to organize a large-scale attack in the short term, and it is not enough to fear." Then, all that remains is our worst enemy. That is, the rebels of the South. ”

Mead poked his finger in the direction of Fredericksburg fiercely: "Here, Robert. Commander Lee's Northern Theater is our biggest threat! ”

"Thought of it with me." Lincoln nodded, looking at the place on the map that represented Fredericksburg, "So you mean that the Southerners will take the opportunity to attack us?" ”

"It's hard to say." Mead shook his head, "Mr. President, unlike the Southern rebels, we have enemies in three directions. So it was necessary to disperse the forces in order to deal with the threat from different directions, and because of this, in the direction of Fredericksburg. We only put the Potomac Corps, which, although strengthened, did not exceed 300,000 in total number.

On the other hand, the southern rebels were helped by the Chinese on the western front. It's not like us, it's the enemy on the belly, so there is no need to divide the army. It is only necessary to draw all the main forces and concentrate them on Robert. In Lee's hands, it will be okay to threaten our south.

Nowadays, Robert. Lee had become the commander of the Confederate Army, and had specially formed the Northern Theater of Operations, and after successive expansions, this theater had a total of five legions, with a total number of more than 800,000, almost three times the number of the Potomac Army in person!

With such a disparity in numbers, even if we had built a well-established defensive position near Fredericksburg, it would be difficult to offset this three-fold numerical advantage.

In the past, the Southern Army had not attacked, and I think it should have been unprepared, for fear that the casualties would be too great, or waiting for helpers from other directions to attack first, so as to wait for the best time to strike.

Now, when the time comes, as long as the southerners hear the news that we have once again been annihilated by the Chinese with an important legion, I am afraid that they will not be able to bear it and will jump out and take the initiative to attack us in order to gain more benefits. ”

"Hmph." Lincoln said coldly, "If they don't come, if they dare to come, they will make Fredericksburg their graveyard!" ”

"Mr. President." Mead shook his head, "It's not like anything else, but the Fredericksburg direction has always been my main focus, and it's the real front line that directly affects the survival of Washington." ”

Speaking of this, Meade paused, as if thinking about how to phrase it, and finally sighed: "Dear Mr. President, although I am very reluctant to admit it, what I want to say is that for the time being, Robert. Lee's Northern Theater of Operations had completely suppressed the Potomac Corps in terms of strength.

As far as I know, the Southern Army's Northern Theater not only outnumbered nearly three times the number of the Potomac Corps, but also introduced a lot of heavy artillery, of which their twelve-pounder guns alone were five times the total number of all the guns of the Potomac Corps! With such a strong force, but it has not flare-up, it is obvious that it is waiting for an opportunity!

And what about now? The number of troops is already insufficient, and it is impossible to draw forces from other sources to strengthen the southern defense line in the short term.

You must know that in addition to the 300,000 recruits stationed in Washington, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh, the only forces we can draw on now are the two forces of the Shenandoah River Army in the East and the James River Army in the West.

However, if the Shenandor River Corps wants to continue to resist the Anglo-French forces, and the James River Corps wants to continue to contain the Chinese, neither of them can be arbitrarily withdrawn.

So, in this case, what do you think are the chances that we will be able to hold off Robert in the event of a full-scale attack by the Confederates. What about Lee's Northern Operational Cluster? ”

"What the hell are you trying to say?" Lincoln suddenly raised his head and stared straight at Meade, "You are the person I trust the most, you can say whatever you want, no need to beat around the bush." ”

"I think we're in a particularly bad situation right now." Mead said solemnly, "So, during the safe period, let's move the capital, and if we want to be fast, we must be in Robert. Before Lee could react, he quickly retreated to Pittsburgh, where he regrouped his defenses. ”

"Move the capital?" Hearing Mead say this, Lincoln rarely lost his temper, but shook his head slightly, "Move the capital to Pittsburgh, can we win?" ”

"As things stand, no." Mead was sure, "But we can greatly delay the defeat, and moving the capital to Pittsburgh will allow the opponent to stretch the battle line and also benefit the defensive ......."

"But Washington will be lost to those damned Southern rebels!" Lincoln coldly interrupted him and said, "If we can win, it would be fine, but you say, this can only delay our defeat, is it still useful for me to do that?" ”

"Of course it works, Mr. President." Mead replied, "We are now besieged on three sides by the Chinese, the southern rebels and the Anglo-French coalition forces, and we are strategically in a rather disadvantageous situation, in this case, even if the tactics are good, we are still inferior, not to mention that we have done quite poorly in terms of tactics, at least in the war with the Chinese, we have lost consecutive battles, and we have been greatly damaged and cannot continue to support this high-intensity battle."

Therefore, if we want to win, we must first break this strategic alliance of the other side, and on the whole, we must first negotiate with the Chinese and try to agree to the Chinese's conditions in exchange for the Chinese's withdrawal, only in this way can we have a chance to keep our current position. ”

"Negotiate with the Chinese? Try to agree to their terms? Lincoln's face turned pale, "Do you know what you're talking about?" Do you know how big the appetite of the Chinese really is? ”

"I know." Mead nodded, "Chinese want our western territories, the western territories that we have worked so hard to snatch from the Mexicans, and maybe ......even more."

"Then you still said that you agreed to their conditions?" Lincoln said angrily.

"The question is, if we don't agree to their terms, will we be able to keep that land?" Mead said calmly, "Look at the current shape, Mr. President, we are already surrounded, and the military side is in a comprehensive inferiority, especially the Chinese, almost inexplicable."

You must know that if the Chinese want that land, we will not perish, but if we continue to go on like this, when the Chinese join forces with the southern rebels and the Anglo-French army to fight, then we will not even be able to hold this land under our feet!

Or to put it this way, against the Anglo-French coalition and the rebels in the south, I still have some means, or I am confident that I can win, but I can deal with those mysterious Chinese...... To be honest, I don't know the bottom of my heart at all, because the combat effectiveness of the Chinese army is outrageously strong, and even their strength is the smallest...... Can you imagine what that would have been like?

Therefore, we must first eliminate the strongest Chinese, and then concentrate on dealing with the Anglo-French coalition and the southern rebels, and when they are repulsed, we will go back and slowly settle accounts with the Chinese, then it is not too late, isn't it? ”

"But ......"

"Don't be, Mr. President." Mead hurriedly said, "Hurry up and stop fighting with the Chinese, if it goes on like this, when the weather warms up, the Chinese will fight along the Ohio River all the way to Pittsburgh, if that is the case, we will have no chance at all, after all, I can't think of any troops that can block the Chinese's attack."

Therefore, instead of losing everything, it is better to take this opportunity to end the confrontation with the Chinese with dignity, as long as the Chinese withdraw, I am confident that I can stop the southern rebels and the Anglo-French coalition and keep our beautiful and free United States of America! (To be continued......)