1850 American Gold Tycoon

Chapter 641 We need time

"Good, very good, General Butler, you are here just in time."

The arrival of the New York Seventh Army made Lincoln feel a little relieved. If he had to fight a battle to defend Washington now, at least he had generals and soldiers to fight this battle to defend the capital.

"The rebels in Maryland, especially in Baltimore, are very rampant, and the railway from Wilmington to Washington is completely paralyzed." General Butler said apologetically, "I was able to arrive in Washington smoothly by bypassing Baltimore with the officers and soldiers of the New York Seventh Army."

Lincoln's order to Butler was to arrive in Washington within five days, but Butler took a full two weeks to arrive late.

"It's good that they're here. Is there any news from other troops?" Lincoln said calmly, "The telegraph office in Washington has been paralyzed for two weeks. During these two weeks, I was blind and deaf. It seems that General Dix has not completely controlled the situation in Maryland."

There are not many pro-Southern militants near the capital Washington, but these militants hide among civilians to harass the garrison in Washington, kidnap postmen and messengers, destroy the railways and roads leading to Washington, and cut off the telegraph lines. It really caused a lot of trouble for Lincoln.

"The Rhode Island Corps will arrive in Washington within one or two days." Butler said, "Mr. President, please forgive me for being frank, this is not entirely General Dix's dereliction of duty. General Dix has only 2,000 people under his command. It's hard to rely on these troops to completely control Baltimore, let alone completely control the entire Maryland."

"General Dix has made great contributions to forcing Maryland to stay in the Union in name with two militia regiments." Lincoln gestured to the presidential secretary Nickel to show Butler a seat.

Since the rebellion, the Union Army has gained many generals, but Lincoln knew that if he wanted to stabilize the situation, he had to rely on Scott, Butler, McClellan, Dix, Mason and other Northern veterans, rather than on speculators like Anderson.

Although these Northern veterans were not as famous as the Southern generals, and perhaps slightly inferior in ability, at least they were all tested professional officers and could be used.

"What's wrong with those bureaucrats in New York? If the railways don't work, they can go by sea." Scott was very dissatisfied with the performance of the New York State authorities and the Navy. "And those guys in the Navy are all rubbish. They can't even guarantee the smooth flow of waterways in Washington."

"Order the naval shipyards in Boston, New York, and Philadelphia to each purchase two merchant ships with a displacement of more than 1,000 tons. Within a month, I want to see these merchant ships become usable warships and appear in the Potomac River. If they can't do it, let those useless factory directors get out." Lincoln was angry, and he was also very dissatisfied with the slow-moving bureaucrats in the Northern States.

"The Navy's shipyard needs to obtain authorization from Congress to purchase and modify new ships." Nicholas whispered in Lincoln's ear.

"We must act in an emergency. By the time we get authorization from Congress, the southern rebels will probably have reached Washington." After saying that, Lincoln looked at Butler again, "General Butler, I now appoint you as the commander of the capital region to command the garrison troops in the capital. In addition, are there any engineers in the Seventh Corps?"

"There are two engineer companies." Butler replied.

"Immediately repair the telegraph lines from Washington to the northern states and restore communications between Washington and the northern states as soon as possible." Lincoln said, pulling his beard on his chin, "In addition, the writ of habeas corpus in Washington and Maryland will be revoked immediately. Anyone who violates military control and disturbs public order will be treated as a southern rebel!"

"Mr. President, there are no relevant provisions and precedents for the president to suspend the writ of habeas corpus in either the current law or the past cases." Scott on the side tactfully reminded Lincoln that this move was unconstitutional, hoping that Lincoln, who had just taken office, would use the power in his hands carefully and not give others a handle.

"Scott, I am very sorry that I have to do this at this critical moment of life and death for the Federation." Lincoln defended himself, "If the Federation no longer exists, what is the point of abiding by the Constitution?"

With the Seventh Corps and the Rhode Island Corps stationed in Washington, the situation in the federal capital gradually improved. Thanks to the efforts of the Seventh Corps and the Rhode Island Corps engineers, transportation and communication between Washington and the outside world were restored.

The "Land Act of the American Republic" promulgated by the Western American Republic finally arrived late and was sent to Lincoln's desk.

After reading the contents of this "Land Act of the American Republic", Lincoln felt dizzy, as if the sky was about to fall.

Lincoln considered solving the Western problem, but due to the situation, he had to deal with the Western problem after dealing with the North-South problem.

Therefore, Lincoln's attitude towards the West is that as long as the West remains neutral, stays honestly west of the Rocky Mountains, and does not touch his bottom line, he will turn a blind eye to the West. After all, with the current state of the federal government, it is not ready to go to war with the South and the West at the same time, either militarily or financially.

However, this "Land Act of the American Republic" has completely touched Lincoln's bottom line, which Lincoln could not accept no matter what.

The farmers in the central region can not only provide food security for the federal government, but also provide a much better source of soldiers than urban workers. When necessary, the central region can also become a pressure relief valve for the federal government.

To put it bluntly, whoever can effectively control the central region and allocate resources in the central region has a better chance of winning this civil war and dominating the American continent.

Lincoln held a cabinet meeting to discuss the thorny issue of the West's attempt to encroach on the central border areas.

The cabinet ministers who attended the meeting were all frowning. It was obvious that they were not mentally prepared for this issue, let alone had any plan. After reading the "American Republic Land Act", the cabinet ministers were all silent.

"Secretary Scott, can General Mason block the western army in the North Platte Valley?" Lincoln broke the silence and turned to look at Secretary of Defense Scott, who had gray hair and trembling hands.

"Although we have built Fort Gershon, Fort Cod, Fort Lexington, and Fort Kearny high and low along the North Pla River and are constantly adding troops to these military forts. However, due to the rush of time and the shortage of funds and materials, this current Of the four military forts used to contain the western army from moving eastward, only Fort Gershon and Fort Kearney have been initially completed, while Fort Cod and Fort Lexington have not yet been completed," Scott said with familiarity.

"What's even more deadly is that our federal garrison in this area is only one brigade of General Mason, and according to General Mason's report, the army deployed in the west in North Platte has at least 30,000 to 40,000 regular troops."

At the end of President Buchanan's administration, Scott had realized that the west was likely to be an unstable part of the United States, so he built forts and increased troops along the North Pla River to prevent any eventuality.

Unfortunately, Scott's preparations were too late after all. Relying on these hastily built unfinished forts and the strength of a brigade was obviously unable to prevent the tiger and wolf divisions from the west from moving eastward and ensure the federal government's control over the central border area.

Furthermore, the Western Army is strategically located in the Rocky Mountains and has a commanding position over the central Great Plains. The offensive and defensive initiative rests entirely with the Western Army.

"Thirty to forty thousand regular troops? Where did they get so many regular troops?" The Secretary of State of the federal government couldn't help frowning after hearing this number. He even suspected that Scott, the Secretary of War, was exaggerating the strength of the Spanish Army to obtain more funds. .

"To mobilize and maintain such a large regular army, they need to effectively control at least a population of more than 2 million."

Seward is not a mediocre person, but as a native of New York State, Seward spent most of his life in New York. Like most typical northern politicians, Seward focused more on the North-South issue, which was, after all, the most serious concern for the Union.

It wasn't that Seward didn't know anything about the border areas, but Seward's knowledge of the border areas was more limited to hotspots like Illinois and Kansas.

But west of the Rockies, Seward's knowledge was very limited. After all, the history of these areas joining the Federation is only about ten years, less than a generation.

"Previously, the treatment of the western army was the best in the federation. It attracted many outstanding veterans from all over the country and even some officers. Seward, I can tell you clearly that the population that the west can effectively control is far more than 200. More than ten thousand," Lincoln said seriously.

Lincoln knew the frontier areas, especially the West, far better than other northern elites, and he knew very well that the problems in the West were as serious as those in the South. The ethnic groups in the west are very different from them, and Liang Yao is an excellent young leader. Under his leadership, even if the west secedes from the Federation for too long, there is a chance that the Federation will reunite this vast territory after a generation. will approach zero infinitely.

By then, the geopolitical situation in the United States will be extremely deteriorating, and the upper limit of development will be locked. At that time, the powerful countries in Europe can also use the strategic means of offshore checks and balances to stir up or even control the political situation in North America at a relatively low cost. This was the last thing Lincoln wanted to see.

"With the original standing troops of more than 10,000, plus the 75,000 volunteers and militia that have just been mobilized, we can now mobilize nearly 90,000 troops. If we face either the west or the south, the advantage lies with us." Ward pondered for a moment and then said, "But if we fight two sides at the same time, our military strength and financial resources do not allow us to do so. We need to make a choice."

"Unfortunately, both the West and the South are suffering from serious problems. It is not a disease caused by mustard. We have no chance to choose." Lincoln said, "This is the most difficult period for the Union, but I believe that the future is in our hands. We just need to A little time, precious time.”

The Union's population size and industrial scale are far greater than those in the South and West. The Union has higher war potential. What Lincoln needs most right now is some time, some time for the American war machine to operate efficiently.