1850 American Gold Tycoon

Chapter 658 Paper Talk

"General Tromelin, it seems that you know the buyer of the Roland very well." Forey began to expose Tromelin's shortcomings in front of Napoleon III, saying in a sarcastic tone.

"You have made outstanding contributions to California's shipbuilding industry and their navy, but it's a pity that Liang Yao has not awarded you a medal so far."

The Roland was a French active warship that Tromelin sold to Liang Yao. What Forey said was true. The Roland was the first large warship Liang Yao obtained.

The Roland not only trained a group of technicians who understood modern steam ships for the California shipyard, but now the naval officers of the Pacific Fleet and the Atlantic Fleet of the Republic of America have served on the Roland.

Forey's intention to mock Tromelin with this matter is self-evident, which is nothing more than criticizing Tromelin for putting personal interests above national interests.

"Selling the Roland to Liang Yao was a last resort after evaluation. Besides, the gold from the sale of the Roland did not go into my pocket." Tromelan righteously retorted.

"My speech was entirely based on considerations of France's interests in America. Mexico can only serve as our bridgehead in North America. If we want to further expand our French influence in North America and intervene in the American Civil War, the American Republic is our best choice.

In addition, maintaining good relations with the American Republic will also help consolidate our rule in Mexico and reduce the cost of maintaining colonies."

Among the French naval generals, Tromelan's eating habits were not so ugly. He did not swallow all the money from the sale of the ship. Therefore, in the face of Forey's sarcasm, Tromelan still dared to respond positively. Forey himself did not hurry up, and Tromelan was not afraid of tearing his face with Forey in front of Napoleon III.

Tromelin's words touched Napoleon III's heart. At present, industrialization in France is in full swing, and the military expenses of the Crimean War also need to be repaid. France's finances are not abundant.

Before the expeditionary army set out, Napoleon III had already been thinking about how to achieve control over Mexico after the war at the lowest cost.

After comprehensively considering the current situation in Mexico, Napoleon III is now more inclined to win over the royalists in Mexico and support a member of the European royal family who is recognized by the Mexican royalists, preferably a member of the Habsburg family, who is easy to control, to be the puppet emperor of Mexico. In this way, indirectly controlling Mexico, putting on a layer of legitimate rule, avoiding excessive angering of European neighbors, and reducing public pressure.

As the second largest colonial power, France has many colonies, but compared with Britain, France has almost no colonies that can transfuse blood to its homeland.

The colonies need transfusions from the French mainland, and the high maintenance costs have always been a headache for successive French governments.

"The American Republic? General Tromelin, I don't think the American Republic is our best choice. In terms of national strength and military power, the Confederate States of America is far stronger than the so-called American Republic."

In the American Civil War, Forey was more inclined to support the Confederacy and was not optimistic about the prospects of the American Republic.

"Forey, you only see the appearance. The American Republic is not as weak as you think." Tromelin still stood firm in his position.

Although Tromelin and Forey had different opinions on whether to support the American Republic or the American Confederacy, they both tacitly stood on the opposite side of the American Federation.

This is also a true portrayal of the mentality of the French ruling class towards America in this era. They are afraid of their brothers' suffering and afraid of their brothers driving Land Rover.

To be fair, as a former British colony, the French ruling class hopes that America will become stronger and contain Britain. Although France and Britain are still allies, the ruling classes of Britain and France are very clear that there is no eternal friendship between Britain and France.

Once France's national strength recovers to a certain extent, the British on the other side of the Channel will feel like a thorn in their backs. The British will definitely use the continental balance policy to unite with other European powers to strangle France and weaken France's national strength.

Similarly, France does not want America to be too powerful and threaten its position as the second great power.

The rapid industrialization of America in the mid-19th century has made the French feel the threat from across the Atlantic. As the representative of American industrialization, the northern regime naturally became the target of containment by the French ruling class.

"Okay, Faure, you do a good job in Mexico City. Tromelin, you follow me to the north, and we will go to meet our new neighbor together." Napoleon III interrupted the two.

He has his own considerations on which side to support more in line with France's interests in North America. Mexico City and California have been connected by train, and it does not take too much time to travel from here to California.

Napoleon III decided to go to California for an inspection before making a decision. Before that, Napoleon III's knowledge of California was almost entirely from the reports of Le Goff and others, and he had not visited California in person.

North Platte City, Frontier Military Region General Staff.

Liang Yao bent over his desk and carefully examined the battle plan drawn up by the staff of the General Staff.

The scale and complexity of this operation far exceeded any military operation Liang Yao had participated in before. His energy was limited, and he could not do everything himself for complex large-scale battles, so he could only control the general direction.

The specific action arrangements could only be handed over to these young staff officers who did not have much experience.

The staff in the General Staff are all very young. Except for 5 staff who are educated young people promoted from the front-line troops, the remaining 16 staff are all military academy graduates from West Point Military Academy and Virginia Military Academy.

To put it bluntly, most of his staff are a group of young people who have only experience in military affairs on paper.

"This battle plan can only be said to be mediocre, and there is nothing outstanding about it." Kruger, who also serves as the Chief of Staff, said to Liang Yao.

The battle plan presented to Liang Yao has been revised and supplemented by him, and the original plan is even more terrible.

"As long as the battle plan can be implemented, there is nothing wrong with a mediocre plan." Liang Yao said.

The participating American Republic Defense Army is only slightly less than the Federal Army in Omaha, but the quality of the American Republic's soldiers, actual combat experience, weapons and equipment, and logistical support are definitely not something that the hastily mobilized mobilized soldiers in Omaha can touch.

Therefore, Liang Yao judged that his own strength was currently inferior to that of the federal army that could participate in the war. As long as this battle plan was implemented without too many disconnections and omissions, he would definitely win the battle.