1850 American Gold Tycoon.

Chapter 680: The Southern Army's Logistics Relies on the Northern Army

"Satisfied as hell! You're a profiteer! You're even greedier than the Jews!" Willis was furious when he heard the offer. "Don't think I don't know anything just because I came from the countryside of South Carolina. This thing costs the same as this in the North!"

Supplies were scarce in the South, and the prices of the same goods on the black market in the South and the North were very different. Willis thought that the price offered by Hong Delie was a rip-off.

He took a big risk to export these medical supplies for resale, hoping to get a good price. Obviously, the price offered by Hong Delie did not meet Willis's psychological expectations.

"But a brass syringe in the North has six needles, and your syringe only has one needle." Hong Delie calmed Willis's emotions, "Besides, Sergeant Willis, I'm talking about the Western Republic dollar, not the federal dollar."

"You're paying with Republic dollars?" Hearing that Hong Delie was talking about using Western Republic dollars, Willis changed his face faster than turning the pages of a book, "Mr. Hong, I'm deeply sorry for my previous offensive words. You are really a conscientious businessman!"

At present, North America is divided into three major countries, each with its own currency. The least valuable currency is the Confederate dollar just issued by the Southern Confederacy, which even the Southerners themselves are not willing to use.

The most stable and valuable currency is the US dollar of the Western American Republic, which people in the East call the Republic dollar or red banknote.

The value of the federal dollar is also relatively stable, but due to the chaotic monetary system of the federal government before the war, the mints in various states minted inferior coins in large quantities. As early as five or six years ago, the exchange rate between the dollars issued by the West Coast and the federal dollars was no longer 1:1.

Now the exchange rate between the Republic dollar and the Federal dollar has reached 1:1.8.

Hong Delie took out a stack of red banknotes and handed them to Willis, who happily accepted the use of red banknotes for transactions, because these banknotes could be smoothly exchanged for metal coins of equal value at any bank opened by Western Capital. It was also more convenient to carry.

"Give it to my sister-in-law when you return home in triumph to make her happy. Next time you have something good, don't forget me, Sergeant Willis."

After completing the transaction, Hong Delie found an exquisitely woven red rope bracelet and gave it to Willis as a gift.

"I will definitely not forget you. You are the most honest businessman I have ever met, Mr. Hong." Willis accepted Hong Delie's gift very happily.

He was already planning to return home in triumph two months later, take the money he earned on the battlefield, borrow some from relatives and friends, and buy a black slave to work on his small plantation. In this way, his wife would be more relaxed and their lives would get better and better.

A state legislator who came to his town to give a speech told him personally that the reason life was so hard for South Carolinians was because the damn Yankees had raised tariffs, making it difficult for them to sell cotton.

As long as they defeated the Yankees, they could sell their cotton to Europe at a higher price, and they would no longer have to be exploited by those parasites in the north.

This was also the spiritual motivation for Willis to respond to the call without hesitation and join the Northern Expedition.

After Willis left, Hong Deli hurriedly closed his stall and prepared to go to the nearest telegraph office.

But before Hong Delie had closed his stall, three or five more Confederate soldiers came in groups to buy Vaseline.

Hong Delie had to stop closing his stall and sold them three bottles of Vaseline: "Young men, have a great time tonight. This is high-end Vaseline from Los Angeles. It has a very good lubricating effect."

Hong Delie naturally knew why these Southern Army soldiers bought Vaseline. The military prostitutes were in short supply and expensive. Ordinary soldiers often had to save up half a month's salary to have sex once. Therefore, the soldiers often liked to find brothers to solve their physiological needs.

The bronze bell of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Manassas is still covered with bullets, which are traces left by southerners when they attacked the church.

After defeating the Union Army, the church became the headquarters of the Confederate Army.

The bronze candlesticks on the altar were tilted with half of the Union flag that had not been cleaned up yet, and the stained glass statue of the Virgin Mary had three bullet holes. Robert and Beauregard were checking the list of seized supplies in the church. The Confederates had seized a lot in this battle.

The Confederate Army captured 38 of the Napoleon cannons that they needed most, including 13 12-pound Napoleon cannons.

These captured artillery pieces were enough for them to arm six artillery companies with some left over.

There were also 5670 usable rifles captured, most of which were Springfield rifles, with a small number (820) of British-made British rifles sold to the North by British arms dealers.

In addition, 34 Union ammunition carts (about 60 tons) were seized, which contained not only ammunition but also gunpowder barrels and lead bullet molds.

In terms of medical supplies, 12 medical vans were seized. After counting, the following medical supplies were found to be intact: 830 ounces of morphine, 240 sets of surgical instruments, and 4600 rolls of bandages.

In terms of transportation, 84 horse-drawn carriages were seized, including the private staff car of Nathaniel P. Sinclair, commander-in-chief of the Shenandoah Army. There was even a complete battle map of the Northern Army in the car.

Sixteen military flags were captured, including the silk flag of the elite 16th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment, which was captured intact.

In terms of food, 130 tons of refined flour, 12 tons of salted beef and 2.5 tons of precious coffee beans and tea leaves were seized.

These captured supplies were enough for the Confederate Army to use for a full two weeks, so Robert no longer had to worry about supplies in the short term.

"38 guns!" Beauregard's voice was as hoarse as sandpaper rubbing against rust. "This is equivalent to the artillery output of our Richmond Arsenal in one quarter!"

The heels of Robert's boots rolled over broken glass in the cracks between the tiles, where the communion chalices had been smashed when the Union troops fled.

Moonlight poured into the church through the gap in the dome where the bell tower was gone, illuminating the blue military uniforms stacked in the corner. In the corner of the church, Confederate soldiers were sorting the spoils, and the scraping sound of the brass eagle emblem being roughly pried off with a dagger was endless.

Although the South produced cotton, there were not many textile mills, and the supply of bedding was not sufficient. These captured Union Army uniforms only needed to be dyed and replaced with new buttons before they could be distributed to their soldiers as uniforms.

"I just went to the warehouse and found more than a dozen dresses. They actually wore ball gowns to the battlefield. They really don't take us seriously." The Confederate staff officer accompanying Beauregard said jokingly while shaking the half bottle of whiskey he had just found.

"The captured officer also said that a week ago they and a dozen congressmen held a dance in this church to celebrate the capture of Manassas. Look, there is still a half-finished bottle of whiskey here."

"What about the eight captured Northern congressmen and their families?" Beauregard asked Robert Lee. "Those guys in the Northern Congress really treat the war as a joke and think that the war is a circus."

Beauregard expected to capture senior Union officers, but the capture of so many Northern congressmen and their families was beyond their expectations.

"These people will be our bargaining chips in the future. Send them to Richmond and let President Davis deal with them."

Robert was not interested in these captured Northern congressmen. Now that the Southern Army was well-trained and well-fed, and was not troubled by material shortages, he was working on formulating the next battle plan.

Robert carefully examined the gift given to them by the Shenandoah Army, which was the battle map of the Northern Army. After thinking for a few minutes, Robert tapped the town of Fairfax on the map and said, "Now those gathered in Fairfax are the remnants of the Shenandoah Army. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

"Robert, do you want to attack Washington?" Beauregard couldn't help but frown. Behind the town of Fairfax is Washington, the capital of the Yankees.

(End of this chapter)