1850 American Gold Tycoon.

Chapter 654: Thin White Line

The overall idea of ​​the Python Plan in Liang Yao's hand has not changed from the Python Plan proposed by Scott in history, but there are some differences in details.

The Anaconda Plan emphasized the use of the Mississippi River system and the existing railway network to build a complete defense system in the central frontier region in order to achieve the strategic goal of containing western forces in the North Platte Valley.

"If Scott wants to realize his Anaconda Plan, he must at least take over the entire Texas." Kruger saw the flaws of the Anaconda Plan at a glance and added, "In addition to the Pacific Railway, we can also establish a connection with the South through the Garde Railway."

Kruger admired Liang Yao's strategic vision very much. When the plan of the Canada-Germany railway was proposed, not many people were optimistic about and supported the construction of the Canada-Germany railway. Most people believed that a Pacific railway connecting the east and the west was enough. The economy in the south was relatively backward and the population was sparse, so the economic benefits of building the Canada-Germany railway were really limited.

Kruger even suspected that Liang Yao had anticipated this day and had rushed to complete the Gard Railway before 1860, regardless of cost.

"Scott, the old fox, should be able to see this problem, but he is powerless to do anything about it for the time being." Liang Yao looked around at the senior generals of the National Defense Forces of the Republic of America present. What made him feel gratified was that there were many new faces. The group of young people who were sent to West Point Military Academy and Virginia Military Academy were gradually beginning to take up the responsibility of the army.

"If the intensity of the Crimean War is maintained, how long can we continue the war with our current ammunition reserves?"

"Three months." Elvis gave a rough answer after a rough calculation, but he still added, "But considering that our opponent is the Northern Union Army, our ammunition reserves can at least support us in fighting a high-intensity war for five months."

Elvis once led a military expedition to Crimea. This war was the most intense war in Europe in recent years.

  Liang Yao compared the war in North America to the war between the European powers. Does Liang Yao think that the intensity of this war will be comparable to the war between the European powers?

This seemed incredible to Elvis. After all, since the advent of the industrial age, no region had fought wars as fiercely as the European continent. The civil war in the Qing Dynasty was large in scale, so it might be comparable, but in essence it was still a war between classical war and modern war, not a war in the industrial age.

"You mean, the Northern Federation Army is not as good as the Russian Tsarist Army?" Liang Yao asked back.

"No, sir. According to my investigation, the quality of the Northern Federal Army is better than that of the Russian Army, but it cannot be compared with the Russian Army in terms of scale," said Elvis.

Although the current federal army is weak, the industrial level of the Northern Federation is stronger than that of Tsarist Russia, and the quality of its soldiers is better than that of the Russian serfs. Therefore, Elvis still believes that the Northern Federal Army is stronger than the Russian Army.

"It depends on the level of mobilization of the federal government." Kruger thought for a long time before speaking.

"The last time the federal government implemented a full mobilization was more than 40 years ago. If the federal government's mobilization capabilities remain at the level of more than 40 years ago, the federal army will not be a threat. If the federal army can reach the mobilization capabilities of second-rate European countries, the federal army will be able to compete with European armies except Britain and France."

Obviously, Liang Yao was more satisfied with Kruger's answer. Mobilization capability is an important criterion for testing a modern country.

More than forty years ago, the United States was generally still an agricultural country. Its organizational and mobilization capabilities during the Second War of Independence were undoubtedly disastrous. Therefore, it was not unfair for the United States to lose to Britain in that war.

As for the two more recent Mexican-American Wars, the United States had not yet reached the level where a nationwide mobilization was required. Therefore, Krugman had no idea about the mobilization capabilities of the United States as it entered the industrial age, and he did not dare to make any rash judgments.

However, Liang Yao, who came into the world more than a hundred years later, had a clear understanding of the mobilization capabilities of the United States in the industrial age. Under Lincoln's organization, the Northern Federation certainly had the mobilization capabilities and organizational level of a second-rate European power, or even close to a quasi-first-rate European power.

It’s just that the first general mobilization of the United States was for the Civil War. I don’t know whether this is a blessing or a curse. At least for the American people at that time, at least for the people in the South, it was unfortunate.

"You have three months to develop a plan to annihilate the Northern Army at the Kearny Fortress Group and Omaha. I want to see your battle plan within five days." Liang Yao gave the order.

The fact that the existing ammunition and military supply reserves can fight a three-month high-intensity war does not mean that the National Defense Forces of the American Republic can only fight for three months. It is just that due to the limited transportation capacity of the Pacific Railway and the limited production capacity of the North Platte Arsenal, the subsequent offensive will definitely be slower than at the beginning of the campaign.

After the meeting, Liang Yao asked Zeiss to send a telegram to Robert Lee and Davis, revealing to the South that they would launch a military operation in the near future, so as to give the Southern top leaders a reassurance.

The indecisive attitude of the southern high-level officials made Liang Yao despise these slave owners in the South. He knew what these slave owners in the South were thinking.

They simply hoped for support from the European powers and that the Western Front would be able to share their military pressure.

Wanting independence without shedding too much blood, how can there be such a beautiful thing in this world? After all, these people in the South are still a group of guys who can't accomplish anything great.

  Do these guys really think that their position as the origin of cotton is irreplaceable?

"The cotton thread is very thin and fragile, so fragile that a three-year-old child can easily break it. At the same time, it is the thickest and most powerful rope in the world. As long as we want, this thin cotton thread can suffocate the whole world!"

At the same time, thousands of miles away in Richmond, the President of the Confederacy, Davis, was giving an inflammatory speech in Congress, showing his fellow congressmen something in his hand called white gold.

"The cotton textile industry in Lancaster, Derbyshire, Cheshire and other places in England is experiencing an unprecedented period of prosperity. What has caused this prosperity?"

"It's cotton!" Senator James Henry Hammond from South Carolina was the first to answer. "To be precise, it's cheaper than India and Egypt!"

Hammond was a staunch secessionist as well as an influential Southern politician and plantation owner. In his early years, he was well-known in the South for his "Cotton King Theory."

The so-called "King Cotton Theory" was an extremely popular economic and political belief in the American South in the mid-19th century. It believed that cotton was the core of the American economy and even the global economy, and emphasized the important position of the Southern plantation economy in the world economy.

This concept can be briefly summarized as follows: the world economy depends on Britain, the British economy depends on the cotton textile industry, and the British cotton textile industry depends on cotton imports from the South. Rounding it off, the world economy depends on cotton from the South.

Southern planters believed that European nations, especially Britain, which relied on cotton imports, had to support the South in the war or at least mediate to ease the conflict.

(End of this chapter)