1850 American Gold Tycoon.

Chapter 670 President Liang is such a gentleman

"There are actually some Union troops that dare to go around our flank and engage in mobile warfare with us?" Upon hearing the news, Elvis was quite surprised and couldn't help but look up to this Union troop and their commander who dared to go around their flank.

Unlike the more developed Northeast, which has a relatively developed infrastructure and transportation network, less developed frontier regions like Kansas have very backward infrastructure.

So far, the only railways in Kansas are Kansas City on the eastern border of Kansas and St. Louis, Missouri. And 99% of the mileage of this railway is located in Missouri.

The Maine Brigade was able to break away from its dependence on railroads and lead a brigade of troops to march across the wilderness of northern Kansas. Its courage and organization are truly remarkable.

"The Maine Brigade is a volunteer unit, and these volunteer units are currently one of the backbone forces of the Union Army," Kruger said.

Although MacQuick and his men did not find out which Union cavalry unit was making a detour to northern Kansas, the infantry had already identified the infantry brigade from the flags they were holding as the Maine Brigade from Maine.

The sudden expansion of the Northern Army from more than 10,000 to 300,000 did not mean that all of them could be put into battle. In fact, the Northern Army now relied entirely on the original standing brigades and volunteer brigades, which only had tens of thousands of troops, to support this huge army.

"Sir, give me an artillery battalion, and I will lead the Mexican Brigade to drive them back to Kansas City!" William Hawke, commander of the Mexican militia brigade, volunteered to Liang Yao with a very positive attitude.

The other generals in the command almost unanimously agreed with William Hawke's initiative to volunteer.

The Mexican militia, as the name suggests, is a militia composed mainly of Mexicans from western Mexico. Mexico has rarely performed well in foreign wars in recent years, and the French army has easily defeated Mexico in a very short period of time. All these have given people an inherent impression that the Mexican army is not good at fighting.

Therefore, the generals in the command felt that the Mexican Brigade was dispensable. Although its brigade commander William Hawke was not a Mexican but a real Yankee, he was also looked down upon by his colleagues.

William Hawke's positive attitude was also intended to prove to his colleagues that although his troops were mainly composed of Mexicans, they had nothing to do with the army of the neighboring country to the south.

Not all generals agreed to let the Mexican Brigade fight the Maine Brigade. The commander of the Artillery Brigade, Sutter, opposed it because William Hawke demanded that an artillery battalion be allocated to him from the Artillery Brigade.

"Hawk, I don't ask you to defeat the Maine Brigade. I only ask you to stop the Maine Brigade in northern Kansas. Can you do it?" Rather than defeating the Maine Brigade, Liang Yao wanted to directly destroy the Maine Brigade as a whole.

At the same time, he also wanted to understand through actual combat the level of the Northern Army's elite troops in field battles and mobile warfare.

His plan was to use the Mexican Brigade to lure and tie down the Maine Brigade, then send two regiments of the 103rd Brigade to cut off the Maine Brigade's retreat back to Kansas City, and then encircle the Maine Brigade from both wings and annihilate it.

"I swear on my honor that I can! If I fail to stop the Maine Brigade, I will not have the face to continue to be the brigade commander." William Hawke issued a military order.

"Okay, I'll give you this chance." Liang Yao gave Hawke this opportunity.

After the senior generals left, Liang Yao left Kruger and asked him to draft a reply to Mason. Liang Yao said to Kruger: "The troops at Fort Kearny are divided into two parts. One is Mason's brigade, and the other is the two militia regiments given to him by McClellan. Tell Mason that he and his troops can leave, but the two militia regiments must surrender on the spot. Also, the stockpiled guns, ammunition, mules, horses and livestock must be handed over to us intact."

"The relationship between Mason and McClellan has never been good. If Mason only takes his troops back to Omaha, it will be a show to watch." Kruger smiled maliciously.

Liang Yao didn't let Mason wait too long. In Castle Kearny, the uneasy Mason received Kruger's reply that night.

The weapons and ammunition in Fort Kearny could not be taken away anyway, so he had no objection to the condition that the arsenal in Fort Kearny be handed over to the Western Army intact.

However, after seeing the condition that the two militia regiments must surrender on the spot, Mason still hesitated. He knew that once he did so, the relationship between him and McClellan would never be repaired. But after a brief psychological construction, Mason reluctantly agreed to this condition.

That night, Mason convened the last military meeting in Fort Kearny with the surviving officers, announced the decision to break out in the early morning, and emphasized, intentionally or unintentionally, that the breakout would be an extremely difficult battle and that they must be prepared to sacrifice at any time.

The two militia colonels, who were unaware of the situation, showed fear when they heard about the breakout. Mason took advantage of the situation and allowed them to stay at Fort Kearny and surrender to the Western Army.

The two militia regiment leaders were delighted to hear this, expressed their gratitude to Mason, and said a lot of nice things to praise their General Mason.

After the meeting, Mason couldn't wait to "break out" with his remaining troops. Along the way, Mason was in a state of extreme tension, worried that the Western Army would not keep its promise.

After an hour's forced march, running more than seven kilometers, Mason finally put his mind at ease when he saw that the Western Army showed no signs of pursuing and annihilating them.

Mason, who had escaped death, exclaimed to the officers gathered around him: "President Liang and his generals are such gentlemen!"

All the Northern Army officers and soldiers who survived the disaster nodded in agreement.

As the sky in the east began to darken, the Western Army finally entered Fort Kearny at the urging of the two militia regiment commanders at Fort Kearny and accepted the surrender of the defenders.

"This is the first time I've seen someone so anxious to surrender." Sartre laughed jokingly.

"If we don't surrender, your artillery shells and rockets will raze Fort Kearny to the ground. How can we not be anxious?" the two militia commanders argued.

On May 1861, 5, the tattered American flag was lowered over Fort Kearny and replaced by the rising White Star flag.

The 1570 remnants of the two militia regiments cooperated very well and surrendered in an orderly manner to the Western Army that took over Fort Kearny, and handed over their military flags intact.

The Kearny Fortress Group, which was built at great expense by the Northern Federation and praised highly by the northern elites, only lasted less than two weeks under the artillery fire of the Western Army.

The North's strategic attempt to use the Kearny Fortress Group to block the Western Army's route to the east and confine Western forces to the North Platte River Valley completely failed.

In the battle of the Kearny Fortress Group, Liang Yao reaped a rich harvest. From the five forts, he seized 186 usable Napoleon cannons, 6 unknown cannons (Parrott cannons), 31 mortars, 4750 guns of various types, 121 million rifle bullets of various colors, 53642 artillery shells of various calibers, and 31800 pounds of gunpowder.

The remaining captured military supplies included 840 horses, 210 cattle, 145 mules, 440 sheep, 565 pigs, and 24 tons of dry fodder.

23 pounds of military rations (dry food, canned food, salted meat, pickled vegetables) and more than 4 gallons of various liquors.

3750 packs of bandages, 2080 bottles of painkillers, disinfectants, etc.

4600 quilts and blankets, 600 military tents, 1300 tools, etc.

America is indeed the largest horse producing country. The five garrisoned infantry regiments can produce nearly a thousand military mules and horses.

After reading this long list, Liang Yao couldn't help but sigh that America during the Civil War had already revealed an astonishing potential for warfare.

(End of this chapter)