1850 American Gold Tycoon.

Chapter 637 If the enemy can go, I can go too

"I am in favor of promulgating the American Republic Land Act at this time, but setting these five places as North Dakota, South Dakota, Kansas, Oklahoma, and the Nebraska Territory except the North Platte Valley. Is it serious to consider using the demilitarized zone as a buffer zone between the east and the west?" Foreign Minister Robinson thought for a while and stood up to speak.

"Lincoln was a man who grew up in the frontier area. He knew very well the importance of the frontier area to the Union and would not give up the frontier area easily. If we do this, we will definitely anger Lincoln and make him turn his guns originally pointed toward the south to the west. ”

"The enemy can go, and so can I. Whoever controls the Mississippi River Basin will control the future of the American continent." Liang Yao said, "North Dakota, South Dakota, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Nebraska Territory The eastern region is fertile, sparsely populated, and is a natural granary. How can we give up such a good granary just because we are afraid of angering the federation?”

Incorporating the territories of North Dakota, South Dakota, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Nebraska into the western sphere of influence for immigration and reclamation was not a whim of Liang Yao's, but a matter of careful consideration.

Although the land in the western region is vast, except for the Central Valley of California, there is no large plain with an area of ​​more than 4 square kilometers suitable for the development of agriculture.

The eastern areas of North Dakota, South Dakota, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Nebraska Territory are located in the black soil belt of the Great Plains in the Mississippi River Basin. The plain area of ​​any of these territories is larger than that of California.

Moreover, these territories only received a large-scale influx of immigrants from the east after the promulgation of the Homestead Law. Currently, these territories are vast and sparsely populated. Liang Yao is confident that within three years, the western areas, dominated by Han people, will The ethnic group has become the dominant ethnic group in the local area.

Furthermore, at this stage, the logistical supplies of the western frontline army (the main western force of the North Platte Fortress Group) all rely on the Pacific Railway, a single railway line. The supply line is not only single, but also very fragile, and its transportation capacity is also very limited.

It is unrealistic to rely on a single railway logistics capacity to defeat the federation that is four or five times its own size. If we want to make further progress and narrow the geographical difficulties and logistical shortcomings in competing in North America, North Dakota, South Dakota, Kansas, and Oklahoma , the frontier territories in the Great Plains such as the Nebraska Territory were areas that had to be fought over.

These places must not only be captured, but also quickly cultivated and developed. As long as these areas are initially developed, the population reaches the size of Oregon and Liangzhou.

In future wars, the frontline troops will not only be able to obtain supplies locally, they can even recruit troops locally to fight with the federal army. Greatly reduce the logistical pressure on the West Coast.

If the situation is favorable, we can directly use these areas as a springboard to further advance, threaten the eastern breadbasket east of the Mississippi River, and compress the strategic space and war potential of the Northern Federation to the greatest extent.

At the same time, controlling the Great Plains area west of the Mississippi River can also help the South strategically, preventing the Federal Army from opening up the Western Front battlefield, dividing the South into two parts through the Mississippi River, and defeating them one by one.

Therefore, from a strategic perspective, the Great Plains area of ​​the Mississippi River Basin, at least the Great Plains area west of the Mississippi River, must be captured, even if it faces the risk of war.

Offense is the best defense. If we are only satisfied with separatizing a corner of the west and do not think about making progress, the regime of the American Republic will not last long.

The outcome of the Confederate States of America in later generations is the best example. After the Battle of Bull Run (Battle of Manassas), the victorious Confederate army had the opportunity to pursue the remaining soldiers, march directly to Washington, and capture Lincoln alive.

It is a pity that the southern authorities are only satisfied with the status quo of independent structure and have no enterprising spirit. They have not transformed the victory at the operational level into a victory at the strategic level, and missed the closest opportunity to victory.

"Having said that, is our army capable of defeating the federal army?" Robinson was still unsure. After all, the comprehensive national power of the American Republic and the comprehensive national power of the United States of America were very different.

Robinson preferred to sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight, and did not want to have a direct military conflict with the north prematurely.

"Your Excellency, Foreign Minister, you should ask whether our military is capable of annihilating the invading enemy." Secretary of War Elvis said seriously.

Having been immersed in the American military for ten years, Elvis is well aware of the current armament situation of all parties. In terms of the quality of the army, the quality of the army in the west is currently better than that in the south, and the quality of the army in the south is better than that in the north. Foreign wars during the period of the United States were basically fought by the Southern Army and the Western Army. The Northern Army had been in peace for a long time, and its armaments were depleted. Not to mention that there were very few troops and officers who had participated in medium-intensity wars, and they even participated in few wars against Indians. There are not many soldiers and officers involved in low-intensity warfare.

Such an army is nothing to be afraid of. The North does have greater war potential, but it also needs time to transform the war potential on paper into actual war capabilities.

Therefore, Elvis believed that now was the best time to engage in a hot war with the Northern Confederacy for the five territories of North Dakota, South Dakota, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Nebraska.

Moreover, the military pressure faced by the North on the Eastern Front is much greater than that on the Western Front. Even if a war breaks out, the North will not be able to devote all its efforts to project all its main forces to the Western Front.

After the cabinet meeting ended, Liang Yao was invited by Sartre to inspect the arsenal on the outskirts of Sacramento.

After Liang Yao was elected president of the American Republic, Sartre succeeded Liang Yao as governor of California.

California is the most important state in the American Republic, bar none.

Therefore, although Sartre did not join the cabinet, his status was by no means inferior to that of most cabinet members.

The sound of artillery can be heard in the suburbs of Sacramento. This is where students from the artillery section of the California Military Academy and two reserve artillery regiments are conducting live-fire training.

"We developed our own rocket based on the Congreve rocket you provided." Sutter led Liang Yao to the rocket warehouse and introduced it to Liang Yao.

"According to purpose, our rockets can be divided into combustion rockets and explosive rockets. According to size, our rockets can be divided into light rockets, medium rockets, and large rockets according to mass. Those under 32 pounds are light rockets, and those from 32 pounds to 128 pounds Those above 128 pounds and below 256 pounds are heavy rockets.”

During the Second Opium War, Liang Yao picked up a dozen Congreve rockets used by the British army from the battlefield and brought them back to California to the Sacramento Arsenal for imitation.

The appearance of rockets during this period was still very rough, looking like an extremely enlarged version of the Sky Monkey he had played with when he was a child.

"Why are there still 300-pound rockets?" Liang Yao glanced at the rocket with the heaviest weight. The weight of this rocket's arrow was marked as 300 pounds.

"These are custom-made for the Navy," Sutter explained.

"Sven, this guy is such a fucking loser. How much does such a big rocket cost?" Liang Yao couldn't help but cursed, "Is it because the Sacrament cannon doesn't work or something? This thing is for the army, he Why is the navy joining in the fun?"

"It won't be expensive as the output increases." Sartre said with a smile.

"Compared with the British original Congreve rocket, how does our rocket perform?" Liang Yao asked, "Don't tell you that after tinkering for so long, the performance of our rocket is the same as the British original rocket."

(End of this chapter)