1850 American Gold Tycoon

Chapter 637 Where the enemy goes, I can go too

"I agree to announce the Land Act of the American Republic at this time, but would you consider carefully setting North Dakota, South Dakota, Kansas, Oklahoma, and the Nebraska Territory except the North Platte River Valley as demilitarized zones as a buffer zone between the East and the West?" Foreign Minister Robinson thought for a moment and stood up to speak.

"Lincoln grew up in the frontier area. He knew the importance of the frontier area to the Union and would not give it up easily. If we do this, it will definitely anger Lincoln and make him turn the gun that was originally pointed at the South to the West."

"If the enemy can go, I can go too. Whoever controls the Mississippi River Basin controls the future of the American continent." Liang Yao said, "The eastern part of North Dakota, South Dakota, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Nebraska Territory has fertile land, vast land and sparse population. It is a natural granary. How can we give up such a good granary because of fear of angering the Union?"

It was not a whim of Liang Yao to incorporate North Dakota, South Dakota, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Nebraska Territory into the sphere of influence of the West and carry out immigration and reclamation, but it was a well-thought-out decision.

Although the land in the West is vast, except for the Central Valley of California, there is no large plain with an area of ​​more than 40,000 square kilometers suitable for agricultural development.

The eastern part of North Dakota, South Dakota, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Nebraska is located in the Great Plains Black Soil Belt of the Mississippi River Basin. The plain area of ​​any of these territories is larger than that of California.

Moreover, these territories have only seen a large influx of immigrants from the East after the promulgation of the Homestead Act. Currently, these places are sparsely populated. Liang Yao is confident that within three years, the western ethnic group, mainly Han people, will become the main ethnic group in the area.

Furthermore, at this stage, the logistics supply of the front-line western army (the western main force of the North Platte Fortress Group) all relies on the Pacific Railway, which is the only railway line for supply. The supply line is not only single, but also very fragile, and the transportation capacity is also very limited.

𝟞𝟡𝕤𝕙𝕦𝕩.𝕟𝕖𝕥】

It is unrealistic to rely on the logistics capacity of a railway to defeat the Federation, which is four or five times larger than itself. If you want to make further progress and narrow the geopolitical difficulties and logistical shortcomings in the competition for North America, the frontier territories in the Great Plains such as North Dakota, South Dakota, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Nebraska Territory must be fought for.

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

In future wars, the front-line troops will not only be able to obtain supplies locally, but can even recruit soldiers locally and fight against the federal army. Greatly reduce the logistical pressure on the West Coast.

If the situation is favorable, these areas can be used as a springboard to further advance, threatening the eastern granary east of the Mississippi River, and compressing the strategic space and war potential of the Northern Federation to the greatest extent.

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

Therefore, from a strategic perspective, the Great Plains in the Mississippi River Basin, at least the Great Plains west of the Mississippi River, must be taken, even if there is a risk of war.

Offense is the best defense. If you are only satisfied with occupying a corner of the West and do not make progress, the American Republic regime will inevitably not last long.

The ending of the Confederate States of America in later generations is the best example. After the Battle of Bull Run (Battle of Manassas), the victorious Southern Army had the opportunity to pursue the enemy with all its remaining courage, attack Washington, and capture Lincoln alive.

It's a pity that the Southern authorities were only satisfied with the status quo of independence, had no enterprising spirit, did not transform the victory at the battle level into a victory at the strategic level, and missed this opportunity closest to victory.

"That being said, does our army have the ability to defeat the federal army?" Robinson still had no idea. After all, the comprehensive national strength of the American Republic and the United States of America was too 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 too early.

"Mr. Foreign Minister, you should ask whether our army is capable of annihilating the invading enemy." Army Secretary Elvis said seriously.

Having been immersed in the American military for ten years, Elvis is very familiar with the current armaments of all parties. In terms of military quality, the quality of the Western Army is currently stronger than that of the South, and the quality of the Southern Army is stronger than that of the North.

The foreign wars during the United States period were basically fought by the Southern Army and the Western Army. The Northern Army had been at peace for a long time, and its armaments were slack. Not to mention that there were very few troops and officers who had participated in medium-intensity wars, there were not many soldiers and officers who participated in low-intensity wars such as the war against the Indians.

Such an army is not to be feared. The North does have greater war potential, but the North 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 fierce war with the Northern Union for the five territories of North Dakota, South Dakota, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Nebraska.

Besides, the military pressure faced by the North on the Eastern Front is much greater than that on the Western Front. Even if the war breaks out, the North cannot go all out and send all its main forces to the Western Front.

After the cabinet meeting, 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 took over Liang Yao's post 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 not lower than that of most cabinet members.

The sound of artillery in the suburbs of Sacramento was endless. This was the live-fire training of the artillery students of the California Military Academy and two reserve artillery regiments.

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

"According to the purpose, our rockets can be divided into incendiary rockets and explosive rockets. According to the size, our rockets can be divided into light rockets, medium rockets, and large rockets according to the mass. Rockets below 32 pounds are light rockets, rockets between 32 pounds and 128 pounds are medium rockets, and rockets above 128 pounds and below 256 pounds are heavy rockets."

During the Second Opium War, Liang Yao picked up more than 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 the rockets during this period was still very rough, and they looked like an extremely enlarged version of the sky rocket he played with when he was a child.

"Why are there 300-pound rockets?" Liang Yao glanced at the heaviest rocket, which was marked with a weight of 300 pounds on the arrow body.

"These are custom-made by the Navy." Sartre explained.

"Sven is such a spendthrift. How much does such a big rocket cost?" Liang Yao couldn't help but curse, "Is the Sacramento gun not working or what? This thing is for the army, why is the navy joining in the fun?"

"It won't be expensive if the production volume increases." Sartre said with a smile.

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