January 28, 1869.

In winter, there are some phenomena that are always inadvertently distracting.

It's like a teacup on the table, and this thing is emitting white smoke outside, and naturally everyone knows that it's because of the cold weather, but it's easy to make people think, think about these white smoke, change into all kinds of shapes, such as horses, guns, cannons, people, or a bottle of spirits.

Grant is the guy looking at the white smoke now, and a bottle of liquor appears in his head, the stronger the better, and it is best to let himself get drunk immediately after taking a sip, well, apparently he deliberately focused his attention on the top of that teacup.

As the supreme commander of the United States Army, Grant had never doubted himself, but now it was a little different, because his army had many, many problems in Washington that he had never thought about before.

Now in Washington, the weather is cold, but its soldiers are short of food and clothing, the food shortage is getting bigger and bigger, and the materials for the winter are also difficult to arrive, which is simply incredible!

You know, Washington, the capital of the United States, what else can't be done here?

Grant doesn't think there's anything wrong with his retreat and sticking to Washington's orders, this is an obvious battle plan, and the most important thing is that he knows that his old partner Sherman is not an idiot, and that guy has long been a tough warrior for many years, but in Vicksburg, his old partner didn't escape, he didn't escape.

So, Grant, he judged, what the American Empire was. It's definitely a surprising force. Their strength is anything but ordinary.

All right. It must be admitted that Grant is indeed a little uncertain about this big battle, because the opponent in front of him is unpredictable in strength and tactics, and as far as the information obtained by the United States is concerned, the opponent is well-armed, the range of the guns is much longer than ours, and the Willy of the artillery is much more ferocious than ours. The accuracy is also higher, and what is even more terrifying is that there are many lightweight, high-power weapons, which can create all kinds of explosions anytime and anywhere, and the marching speed is also extremely fast, which is ......

Grant is not a timid person, he joined the army after graduating from West Point, participated in the Mexican-American War, fought quite well, he was never afraid of war, but he was more afraid of peace.

After the Mexican-American War. Grant left the army because of alcoholism...... I can't fight, and I have nowhere to vent my energy. I had to drink, and many American generals left the troops like this, and of course, after the civil war, they came back.

Grant was a relatively short fellow, and his character was very resolute, just like his stature, stocky, and such a general, the highest commander of the United States Army, he felt that the war was not good, this ......

Anyway, he knew that his emotions couldn't be shown, he couldn't let his emotions be contagious, so he had to hold back, he held back that he wanted to drink, but he couldn't drink, he couldn't go back to the past......

"General Grant! Mr. President is here! ”

The herald's voice interrupted Grant, Lincoln is coming?

"Oh." Grant shook his senses and stood up to straighten his uniform.

"Good morning, General Grant." Lincoln was still so thin, but his hair was grayer, and he was about to become a dry old man like Cameron.

"Good morning, Mr. President." Grant greeted Lincoln, there is not much intersection between the two of them, don't look at Lincoln appointed Grant as the supreme commander, and also promoted him to lieutenant general, you know, lieutenant general is Washington's military rank, but the personal relationship between the two of them is really average.

Both of them are Republicans, you must know that someone has elected Grant to run for president before.

"General, I'm really sorry to bother you so early, but I'm a little worried about the battle on the front." Lincoln naturally knew about the election of Grant for president, and normally he should let it, but now is really the time for the country's survival, and those who are responsible have to be on top.

At this time, the U.S. Constitution does not have any provisions on this matter, but Washington, the founding father of the United States, has not been more than twice, so for now, everyone agrees that it is at most two times, and it cannot be more.

Of course, some people pushed for this legislation, which is to restrict an American citizen from being president more than twice, but it was not passed, and whoever wants to pass this legislation, everyone can think of it, it must be the Democratic Party.

And Lincoln this time, in order to be able to convince the public, he could only make a temporary bill, and he would resign after the end of the Civil War.

All this is based on the current matter, both in public and private...... No one is a bad person, everyone is a political move based on their position.

"What does Mr. President want to ask?" Grant's face is a little unsightly, because this war is his general's business, and your president always wants to interfere?

In fact, the Constitution stipulates that the President of the United States is the Supreme Commander of the United States, so there is no problem with Lincoln's meddling in military affairs, and it is completely correct in legal theory, but now this matter is indeed Lincoln's fault, because he should not interfere more, he should trust Grant.

However, Lincoln also had his reasons, only to see him pat Grant on the shoulder, and then smiled and said, "General, let's sit down and talk." ”

"......" Grant can only comply.

"God testifies!" As soon as he sat down, Lincoln drew a cross on his chest, "I have no selfish intentions on this trip, I just want to ask the general, is it really necessary to recruit another 100,000 soldiers?" ”

Yes, Lincoln wanted to ask about it, because there was a lot more to it behind it.

"This ......" Grant was very uncomfortable at the time, because he hadn't said everything he was thinking before, and now he actually felt that maybe another 100,000 people would not be enough!

But can this be said?

As soon as these words came out, it was simply a direct admission that he, the supreme commander of the US Army, had already admitted defeat!

"Mr. President, 100,000 is a relatively safe number." Grant changed his way of speaking, "I guess Mr. President doesn't think Sherman is a wine bag and a rice bag, right?" Therefore, the 100,000 soldiers I asked for were always considered for insurance. ”

You see, that's a good statement.

Lincoln was naturally very happy, but well, he was not so easy to fool, "General, is this war really dangerous?" ”

At this point, Grant can't just fool around, "The opponent is very strong!" ”

That said, then it is understood, and the key to Lincoln's coming is ......

"General, I understand your situation, but now that the United States is worried about internal and external troubles, it is really difficult to feed the 100,000 army, so I understand the difficulties of the general, and the general also understands the difficulties of the United States, how about the 50,000 army? 50,000? ”

This is actually the real purpose of Lincoln, and the bargain is coming!

Attorney General Best once said after the Battle of Bull River, that is, after the great rout in the North, if 100,000 is not enough, we will conscript another 100,000 soldiers, and if it is not possible, another 100,000......

He was right, the United States did have this strength at that time, and after the Battle of Fredericksburg, the United States claimed to have an army of 500,000, but in fact, it was only 300,000 at that time.

But at that time, it was just the beginning of the American Civil War, and the United States at that time was like a healthy person, in good health, but now?

To be precise, the civil war has been fought for more than eight years, and the south is full of holes, and the north is not having a good time, although they can still maintain normal economic activities, but it is also very empty!

At this time, the current special economic crisis in Washington, the reason why it can erupt may be directly because Chase is more greedy, and Wall Street has cheated them, but if you look at it at a deeper level.

Why do you think a finance minister should be so greedy? Why were Wall Street people so greedy in the first place?

It's not easy!

The United States is still implementing that kind of protective tariff policy, and they are fighting a civil war with the South, and the exports of the United States are shrinking very badly, and your taxes are high, and you can't borrow a lot of raw materials in the South, and the whole cost is high, so in the international market competition, it is naturally at a disadvantage.

Actually, that's it...... Obviously, a lot of business was taken away by the American Empire, their products were new, the added value of technology was high, and the tariffs were low.

So, at a deeper level, the economy of the United States has been in trouble for a long time, but these problems have not yet erupted, as if they have a terminal illness, but at the beginning, it was just a fever and a cold.

Grant naturally didn't know about these things, but when the supreme authority of the United States told him so, he could only nod.

"Mr. President! 50,000 people is enough! I'm here to swear to God! I'm going to live and die together in Washington, D.C.! Grant spoke, and he said it very solemnly.

"General! You're a well-versed person. Lincoln was also pleased, and he held out his hand.

Two people, a president, a lieutenant general, two people of the highest power in the United States, shook hands together, but!

Yo~

A long chirp broke through the air, followed by a loud bang!

"......" Lincoln and Grant were a little unsteady on their feet, the color of their faces changed sharply, and they both understood that this was a cannonball, an enemy cannonball!

"What's wrong?!"

Go out and see what is going on, and just south of Grant's tent, the northern edge of the United States' position, a large crater has been blown out, and black smoke is burrowing into the sky...... (To be continued......)

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