Frankly speaking, George Gordon Meade was very worried about being called back to Washington for debriefing, and the biggest reason was that the thing he was called back this time was not a normal procedure, but an abnormal procedure.

You know, if it's normal to ask him to go back to report on his work, because Washington has a telegraph line with this side, so he usually sends a telegram directly, roughly explaining what the situation is, and letting General Mead go back by himself.

But the current situation is that Washington did not send a telegram, but directly sent a few men in black, that is, agents of the Federal Intelligence Agency, to show only President Lincoln's autographed warrant, and did not say anything else, and immediately asked General Mead to return to Washington, and specifically explained that this return was a secret act, and it would not take much time, so do not let outsiders know.

In short, everything is mysterious, and it is this mystery that makes General Mead very worried. To be honest, if he wasn't very familiar with Lincoln's autograph and knew that it wasn't fake, and the other party was very polite, plus the reputation of the FBI's agent in black, George. It's likely that Mead won't listen to these people, after all, in the front-line barracks, he is the boss.

Although Lincoln's signature has been recognized, and the identity of the other party has been recognized, it is very strange to go back this time, and there is no news in advance, and these men in black can't say why, they only said that they were ordered to come and take him back to Washington, and they must do it secretly during the period, and try not to let others know.

In other words, Mead's entry into Washington this time was not only not to make a big show. You have to dress up in disguise, and you have to keep a low profile without being noticed, and these men in black. It is the messenger and protector of this secret return to Washington.

It seemed to see Mead's concerns, so after abandoning the outsiders, these men in black explained the reason, saying that they were indeed specially sent by President Lincoln, and the reason why they were sent here was to ensure the secrecy of this order.

According to those few men in black, the Chinese are in terms of intelligence acquisition. In particular, it was very good at eavesdropping on telegraph lines, and it is said that a large part of the reason for the previous battles in the western theater was that one's own telegraph lines were stolen by local authorities. He even used the telegraph line to transmit false information, which completely exposed his troops under the nose of the other side, so that every action of the other side was very targeted, and he was caught off guard.

This is the talk of tapping the telegraph line. In the past, it was something that many people did not think of. But with the once captured former commander of the Ohio Russian Regiment, Scker. The return of General Enfield brought with him a lot of information about the Chinese army, including information about tapping telegraph lines.

After learning about this information, Lincoln also consulted several technicians, and the answer was that eavesdropping and transmitting fake orders could be done, but only after knowing the telegraph code, Lincoln realized the importance of this information.

Obviously. If the Chinese really mastered this eavesdropping technique, then all the orders issued by their own side through the telegram would be equivalent to being sent to the Chinese at the same time.

Although the Americans did not write the so-called Art of War. But they also know how to know themselves and win every battle, and they understand the importance of intelligence.

Therefore, after learning about this matter, although it is not certain whether the Chinese have the ability to eavesdrop on the telegraph line on Washington's side, Lincoln is still not very reassured, and when using the telegraph in the future, he always issues some orders that are not light or heavy, and the real key orders have resumed the way of transmission by people.

It is said that this was all the advice of the former regiment commander of the Ohio Russian Army Corps, Skerst, who advised President Lincoln not to trust the telegraph transmission, because even if the Chinese and the United States of America now ceased war, it was difficult to ensure that they did not teach this technique to the Union Army, so in any case, the telegraph line could not continue to transmit important orders, especially military orders.

But at the same time, Skerst also suggested that in order to confuse outsiders, the telegraph line should not be stopped immediately, but should continue to be used, but only increase the civilian frequency, and some important military orders should be transmitted by people again, so that the other side can be careless and will not be vigilant.

Lincoln was so impressed with this suggestion that he adopted the method, that is, the telegraph line continued to be used, but no longer transmitted important military orders, and if there were any important orders, they were re-sent.

Even, in order to prevent the person who delivered the order from having an accident on the road and causing the order to be leaked, President Lincoln made these people remember his order, in other words, it was a password, as for the warrant, only Lincoln's handwritten signature, and there was no other text about the content of the order, which was to prevent the warrant from being taken away.

In this way, the order is dictated by the person, and as long as the person who conveys the order is loyal enough, the safety of the order can basically be guaranteed.

Obviously, this order to Commander Mead was an attempt at this secret plan, because the Potomac Regiment had not received any instructions about Washington until the agents in black came to deliver the secret order, and if they did, they were all insignificant telegrams.

Originally, those FBI agents didn't have to talk about these things, but considering that George. Gordon. Meade's identity and importance, in order to dispel his doubts, the real herald among the men in black patiently explained in detail.

That's all the people have said, and it's clear that it's a special order from the president, so even if Mead still has some doubts, he can only press it in his stomach first, obediently dress up, and then take the train to Washington overnight with these people.

As for the barracks, he temporarily closed himself on the grounds of illness, and all orders were left to his henchmen.

But fortunately, according to the man in black, it won't take much time to go to Washington this time, and he will be back in two or three days at most, so he doesn't have to worry too much.

In this way, the dignified commander-in-chief of the Union Army, George . Gordon. Mead, disguised as an ordinary train handler, squeezed into a night coal truck with several FBI agents in the same costume, and drove to Washington overnight.

At dawn. The commander-in-chief of the Union Army, George, who had a bumpy road. Gordon. Mead finally arrived in Washington, D.C., where he washed up a little. After changing his clothes, he had a hurried breakfast, and then he didn't bother to rest, and was taken directly to the White House to meet the supreme head of the United States of America, Abraham. Lincoln!

The meeting took place in Lincoln's office, and Mead had come to meet with President Lincoln more than once when he was still in Washington. It was only after he went to the Potomac River front that he gradually distanced himself from President Lincoln.

But no matter how estranged. As a close confidant of President Lincoln, George Brown. Mead couldn't even take off the Lincoln Party label, so Lincoln was George. Mead's real backer is also the thigh he has to hold tightly.

Because of this. George. Mead was very focused on managing his personal relationship with Lincoln. Every time he saw Lincoln, he would deliberately dress up and behave, neither humble nor arrogant, because he knew that Lincoln liked such people and felt that such talents were reliable performances.

Sure enough, see George again. After Mead, President Lincoln, who was still wearing a tuxedo, immediately laughed and took the initiative to come over. did not shake hands, and directly gave the commander-in-chief of the federal army a hug.

"Hi. My old fellow, you're finally here. After hugging, Lincoln smiled lightly, "I'm really sorry, I have to let you come overnight, it must be difficult on the road, right?" ”

"It's okay, Mr. President." George. Mead smiled and nodded, "At least let me know that our coal train is not that bad, although it is a little slower, but it is still quite comfortable, I actually slept all the way on the car." ”

"Hehe, no wonder your spirit seems to be good, it turns out that you slept all the way." Lincoln smiled and nodded, "But that's fine, I was worried about your lack of energy and wanted you to sleep a little longer, but since you are in good spirits and anxious to see me, then I can't let you down." ”

At this, Lincoln pursed his lips and frowned slightly, as if considering what to say next.

Finally, after thinking about it for about a minute, President Lincoln sighed: "George, you must have a lot of doubts when I called you suddenly this time, right?" ”

"Yes, Mr. President." George. Mead nodded, "Originally, I thought that if you had any orders to me, just send a telegram directly, why did you send someone to come over secretly, so I once suspected the identity of the other party." However, I saw that they had your autograph, and I had heard their explanation, so I agreed. At the very least, I know that your autograph is not a lie. ”

"That's right." Lincoln nodded, "Skerst, do you remember?" Former corps commander of the OhRussian Regiment. ”

"You mean the former captured Mr. Field?" George. Mead nodded, "Of course I know him, although I haven't had much contact before, but I'm also the commander-in-chief of the Federation Army, and he's also a legion commander, so I still know some information about him." It is said that he was once born at West Point, and he is very good at defensive operations, so he seems to be in the same class as Mr. Grant? ”

"Yes." Lincoln nodded, "Not only that, this Scrut. Mr. Enfield was also a member of the Republican Party, and his father was also a big capitalist with several large coal and iron ore mines, and he was very influential in the Pittsburgh area. Even, that Ohio Russian regiment was almost single-handedly pulled up by him. ”

"I've heard that, too." George. Mead nodded again, "The combat effectiveness of the Ohio Russian regiment is still very strong, although its reputation has plummeted because of the relationship between being completely annihilated by the Chinese in World War I, but this cannot be said that this unit cannot fight, nor can it be said that General Enfield is incompetent, it can only be said that he was too unlucky and ran into the Chinese army that seemed to be a monster." ”

"Yes." President Lincoln said, "Sckerst I know that, although I dare not say that he is a brilliant general, he is steady, and he is especially good at defense. And his battle in Smithland, I also inquired afterwards, his approach is basically not wrong, the blame is only on the Chinese for moving too fast, the attack is too strong, and the difference in strength between the two sides is too great, so even if it fails, it cannot be blamed on Skerst. ”

"yes, he's still very competent." George. Meade followed.

In fact, Skerst is incompetent, George. Mead didn't care, after all, everyone didn't know each other very well before, but he could see that the Lincoln president trusted him very much, so he followed up with a few praises.

"Anyway." Lincoln suddenly said, "After this general was captured, his family paid a great price, and it took several times to come back. As soon as he returned, he brought us a lot of important news, especially first-hand information about the mysterious Chinese army. ”

"Oh? It's true? ”

Hear this, George. Mead really paid attention to it, after all, they were quite interested in the mysterious and powerful Chinese expeditionary force, and they also wanted to know the real reality of the other party.

However, it is a pity that although the expeditionary force sent by China is strong in combat effectiveness, the secrecy measures are quite good, and it is difficult for outsiders to get close to them, and they cannot obtain detailed information nearby, so they can only observe from a distance.

At present, it is only known that the Chinese army has a large number of machinery and vehicles, which are made of steel, do not eat, drink, and do not have high chimneys, but they can trek through mountains and rivers as if they were walking on flat ground, sprinting faster than the fastest horses, not to mention, and have a strong sense of long-lasting action, which is far from being comparable to horses.

It is precisely because of these mysterious machine combat vehicles that the Chinese can carry out a wide range of interspersed maneuvers every day, and even fight a total annihilation battle in the field every time, because after having that kind of mobility ability, whether it is cavalry or infantry, they cannot outrun them, so once defeated, in the case of not being able to run, it seems that the only way to go is surrender.

The most important thing is that those robots are not only fast, but also carry a lot of powerful weapons, such as rapid-fire machine guns, which are almost all standard, and many vehicles are said to have artillery that can fire continuously, which is their extremely powerful fundamental strength.

But that's all a legend, after all, the Chinese army is far away in the western theater, and many people have not actually seen it, and those who have seen it have either died in battle or become prisoners, and those who can really escape are rarely returned to serve as soldiers, so the actual combat effectiveness of the Chinese army, especially their weapons, is mostly transmitted back by the intelligence officers of the United States, and most of this information is obtained in non-combat situations, and many of them are hearsay, and the accuracy can be imagined.

Therefore, if someone can obtain first-hand information about the Chinese army, and then come back and tell it in detail, it is undoubtedly a very important thing for the federal army, because it can give the federal army a clearer understanding of the actual combat effectiveness of the Chinese army, unlike in the past, where they can only look at the flowers in the fog and speculate on the combat effectiveness of the other side through one defeat after another.

"Yes, Scester once commanded the army to confront the Chinese head-on, and later spent some time in the Chinese prisoner camp, so he has a relatively clear understanding of the Chinese's tactics, especially their weapons and equipment." Lincoln nodded, "When he came back this time, he took the initiative to find me and told me in detail what he saw and heard, which also made us know more and more about the Chinese army." ”

"Oh, I see." George. Mead nodded, "Your Excellency, did you call me here this time just to let me know this new information?" ”

"No, if that's all there is, I don't need to be in such a hurry." Lincoln shook his head, "Coming to you this time and giving you new information about these Chinese is just a matter of incident, the real intention is that I want to discuss with you how we should deal with the Southern Alliance next." ”

"What to do with the Confederate Federation?" George. Mead chewed on the sentence slowly, as if considering the true meaning of the sentence.

"That's right." President Lincoln glanced at him, then quietly lowered his eyelids, "You say, what if we had a complete truce with the Confederate Army now?" ”

"A total truce? With the Confederates? ”

"Yes!" Lincoln looked up again and looked at George, whose face was full of surprise. Mead, "Let's be honest, the coalition has privately negotiated with me, hoping to achieve a complete truce between the two sides on the current line of engagement.

In other words, the Southerners want to make peace with us this time, and they don't want to continue fighting, so I want to ask you, the commander-in-chief of the Union Army, and the person I trust the most, what he thinks about this matter. (To be continued......)