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As Scrooge said, the weakness of the South is obvious. Their most valuable thing, the basis of their economy, was agriculture on vast fields, and it was indeed very difficult militarily to protect the plantations scattered over large areas. In addition, on the Eastern Front, General Grant continued to attack Richmond almost without casualties. General Li constantly repelled his attacks, although in this series of battles, the Southern Army had a clear advantage in the exchange ratio, and in several battles, even won a two-to-one exchange ratio. What if Robert? General Lee's opponent was a man like General McClellan who could not see his own soldiers killed in battle, and perhaps he would have retreated long ago. But Grant wouldn't do that, and for months, he bit Robert to the death? Lee's legion, relying on the superiority of troops and supplies, was firmly approaching Richmond step by step. Therefore, when Sherman was engaged in the "three-light policy" in Mississippi, and when President Davis's hometown was burned to the ground, the Southern army could not come up with enough troops to deal with Sherman.

Grant's relentless assault dragged down the main force of the Confederate army, giving Sherman a few months of freedom. During this time, he completely destroyed the entire state of Mississippi. His opponent, John? General Hood had only one or fifty thousand men at his disposal, and most of the soldiers in these armies were improvised, many of whom were only fourteen or fifteen years old. Sherman, on the other hand, had a full 100,000 well-trained Union troops.

Every time, John? General Hood always tries to rely on a town to fend off Sherman, and Sherman always sends a part of his army to confront him, and then has the other armies go around with three lights. And go around from behind, cut off John? General Hood's supply lines, and then, John? General Hood could only retreat before the siege of Sherman was completed. In this way, Sherman quickly advanced the front to Georgia, approaching Atlanta, the most important industrial city in the South.

Sherman left Mississippi with his army, but the misery of Mississippi was not over.

……

Dorothea straightened up from the field, gasping for air, and since she had no hoe or any farming tools, she had to use some pointed sticks as farming tools. Most of the free blacks in the manor were taken by Sherman, and some of them didn't know where they had gone, except for Jim and Tom who remained in the manor. But they were also servants who worked at home, and they didn't know anything about farming, and some of them were even worse than Dorothea, who had at least read a little bit about agriculture.

There were two cellars in the manor, one of which was discovered by the North Yankees, and of course, there was nothing left, and a small cellar was preserved, and Dorothea and Lady Stephen, as well as Jim and Tom, survived the winter with a little food inside. Now spring came, and together they planted a small plot of land and planted a little wheat that they had managed to find.

Dorothea thumped her back so hard that she felt like her waist was about to break. "I'm going to grit my teeth, no matter what, I'm going to live, I'm going to keep the manor."

……

"Anna, let me hear it." Scrooge pressed his ear to Anna's bulging belly, "Ah, this kid is so strong, he kicked me again." ”

"Well, just like you're dishonest and don't stop for a moment." Anna said to Scrooge with a smile, but then her face turned gloomy, "It's just that he can't call you Daddy, call me Mommy." ”

Scrooge reached out and gently wiped away a tear from Anna's face, "Anna, but no matter what, he's our son." No matter what he calls us, he is my son and my heir. Moreover, in the future, you can also come to my house, be a grandmother for him, take him from a young age, and watch him grow up little by little. ”

"Well, I know," tears welled up in Anna's eyes like a spring, "I know that only in this way can he have a dignified identity, can he have a decent future, I know ......"

Scrooge hugged Anna, patted her gently on the back with his hand, and when Anna had gradually calmed down, he added:

"Anna, I probably won't be able to stay here with you lately." "The war is coming to an end, and there's a big deal in Mississippi," Scrooge said. I had to go there myself. ”

"When? How long is it going to go? Anna asked.

"Maybe in two months, I'll be gone." Scrooge said.

"Isn't that when the child is about to be born?" Anna grabbed Scrooge's hand.

"yes, but it can't be helped. Now I don't know how many people are staring at that deal, and I have to get ahead of him. Scrooge said.

"Can't you go, can't you not go? I'm so scared without you! Anna grabbed Scrooge's hand tightly, as if she was afraid that if she let go, Scrooge would fly away.

"No, this deal means a lot, even like the railroad in the Pacific. I have to lay a good foundation for my children. Scrooge said.

"You men always ......," Anna seemed to say something, but in the end she didn't say anything, just let out a long sigh.

"Before you go, give your child a name." Anna said.

Scrooge thought for a moment and said, "Let's call it Donald." ”

……

"Miss Dorothea, someone is going to look for you!" Mrs. Stephen shouted as she ran towards the wheat field.

Dorothea put down the farm tools in her hand and asked, "Lady Stephen, who is it?" At this time, the farm tool in her hand was a real farm tool, and not long ago, one of her father's old friends, Mr. Leonto, had come to visit her, and Mr. Leonto also had a very remote hunting ground, which had escaped the catastrophe, so that he could still give Dorothea a little help. However, his manor was burned down, and he couldn't help Dorothea much.

Dorothea wondered, "Could it be my father's other friends?" Now that the war is over, my father's friends are just as poor, and if my father still has some friends from the north, they will definitely have more money. ”

Although she would feel disgusted when she thought of "Beiyan", even if it was her father's friend, as long as they were willing to come up with money so that she could rebuild her father's manor, then she could bear it.

"It's a bunch of Northerners!" Mrs. Stephen gasped and said, "They say they're federal, and I phew!" Tax officers who are sent. ”

"The tax collectors of the federal government, what are they doing here? They come to collect taxes? Where can there be any taxes now! A sense of foreboding left Dorothea almost breathless.

"Miss, go over and have a look, they have brought the soldiers." Mrs. Stephen said.

"Help me hold it!" Dorothea shoved the hoe into Jim's hand next to her. They walked towards the place where they lived.

In the fire, the whole house burned down, and then Dorothea and Jim cut down branches and found tiles on the ground that were not all broken, and barely covered the roof of one house. Now, those damn federal tax collectors are waiting for her right there.

Dorothea walked over and saw a guy who looked like a man and a ghost with a few soldiers with guns on his back waiting there. Well, there was another person she knew, and it was the youngest son of the Bremer family in the east.

"Are you the owner of this land?" The ugly monster looked Dorothea up and down, and finally said this.

"Yes, this is my home, and we don't welcome the Northerners!" Dorothea said, and at the same time she looked at the Bremer boy with disdain, and said contemptuously: "Traitor! ”

The Bremer boy bowed his head, and the ugly bastard said, "This is your home, and soon it won't be!" According to the federal decree, you must pay this year's taxes, which is $4oo! President Lincoln was merciful, and he said that considering that the war had just passed, half of the taxes could be waived for families who did not support the rebels, and even then, you would have to pay 2oo dollars, and if you didn't pay it all within three days, you would wait for the land to be auctioned! ”

"Mr. Soros, their family is a traitor!" The brat of the Bremer family suddenly spoke, "Her brother is an officer of the rebels!" ”

"Ciel! You bastard! Viper! Judas! Dorothea wanted to rush up and beat him. But a soldier stopped her with a rifle with a bayonet on it.

"Ah, so you're not in the range of slowing down. We'll be back in three days, miss, please be ready for $4oo. Alright, let's go! So the tax collector and the soldiers and Judas departed.

Dorothea stood there dumbfounded, feeling that this time, she really couldn't stand it. 4oo dollars, if it was before the war, it wasn't a big deal for them, but now, after so much going through, they can't even find five dollars in the entire estate. The wheat is almost ripe, and now you can cut them for about twenty-five dollars, and sell all the tools you have, about eight or ten dollars, and then ......

Dorothea tried to think about it, and her head was a big one, but she couldn't think of anything else she could sell in exchange for the $4oo.

"I can't think about it anymore, I'm going to go crazy if I think about it anymore. Think about it tomorrow, I'll figure it out tomorrow......" Dorothea said to herself.

……

"Elizabeth, we're here." Scrooge and Elizabeth disembarked from the ship, and the damned Sherman was so wrecked that the railroad was not working at all, and Scrooge had to change to a ship on the Mississippi River before he arrived.

"Look! Elizabeth, look at this vast land! I've got to hold them in my hands! …… By the way, Elizabeth, do you have any acquaintances, do you want to pay a visit? Scrooge asked.

"My acquaintance? I really want to see them now! Hahahaha! Elizabeth lowered her voice and laughed, "It's a pity that they all live far away, and they can't be there today." ”

"We're going to spend the night in Picaone today, I have a friend here, and we can visit him tomorrow, well, let's hope they're safe." Scrooge said.