1850 American Gold Tycoon.

Chapter 715 Borrowing Two Knives

"No matter how powerful Salmon Chase is, he will not be able to create obstacles for our next military operations within this year." Kruger said proudly.

Five years, he was trapped in the Platte River Valley for five whole years!

Now we can finally drink from the Mississippi River and no longer have to hide in a place the size of Pratt's palm!

How could this old comrade, who is almost fifty years old, not be excited?

"Tell me about your next plan." Liang Yao motioned Kruger to sit down and discuss the subsequent advancement plan.

Logically speaking, now that they have captured Omaha and the main force of the Northern Union Army has been annihilated, they should go straight to Huanglong and force the local area to sign a humiliating treaty to achieve their strategic goal.

However, the Huanglong they wanted to attack was too far away. The straight-line distance from Omaha to Washington was more than 1600 kilometers, and the Western Army was really out of reach.

The only way to attack Washington was with the help of the Confederate Army.

The Western Army still had to systematically eliminate the military strongholds established by the Northern Federal Army in the Great Plains area to increase bargaining chips for future negotiations.

What you fail to obtain on the battlefield may not necessarily be impossible to obtain at the negotiating table, but it will be difficult to obtain and you will inevitably have to give up interests in other areas.

Kruger asked his favorite student Pan Baohuang to introduce to Liang Yao the situation in the Great Plains after the Battle of Omaha, giving his disciple a chance to perform.

Pan Baohuang was very grateful to Kruger for getting the opportunity to perform. He seemed very excited and began to talk about the map and point out the situation.

"According to our staff's analysis of various intelligence, the remaining Union troops on the western front are distributed in the following cities. Des Moines, the largest city in Iowa in the east, is a transit point for supplies from Omaha City and has 5,000 Union troops stationed there. Cedar Rapids, the second largest city in Iowa further east, has 2,000 Union troops stationed there.

In the northeast, there were more than 4,000 Union troops in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and more than 1,000 Union troops in Duluth.

The South Dakota and North Dakota regions in the northwest are sparsely populated, and the Northern Army cannot station too many troops in these two places. A rough estimate is that the total force in the two places will not exceed three regiments, or no more than 3,000 people, more than half of which are militia composed of local residents.

Going south, the Kansas region in the south is an area where the Union Army has a relatively dense force. The Union Army has three main strongholds in Kansas. The largest stronghold is Kansas City, where the deployed forces are roughly equivalent to those of Des Moines. It is roughly estimated that there are five to six thousand Union troops.

The other two strongholds in Kansas were Topeka and Wichita. The garrisons in these two strongholds were of equal size, with two to three regiments stationed in each stronghold, of which only one-third were regular Union troops, and the rest were local militia.

It is worth mentioning that according to the intelligence sent back by our signalmen, the two Guangxi regiments and the 103rd Regiment of the 3rd Brigade had recently engaged in a fierce battle with the Maine Brigade and the Mercenary Regiment near Manhattan.

The remnants of the army fled to Topeka and their whereabouts are still unknown. This Union Army is currently the only Union Army unit in the Great Plains that is capable of engaging in field battles with our regular troops. It has strong combat effectiveness and deserves our attention and vigilance.

As for the situation in the Missouri region in the southeast, it is more complicated, so it is more appropriate for the general to personally brief the president."

"After talking so much, have a cup of tea to moisten your throat first." Liang Yao signaled Pan Baohuang, who was sweating profusely, to take a break.

"The situation in Missouri is indeed complicated and involves political and diplomatic issues," Kruger said with some concern.

"The Kansas region was in the midst of an eight-year civil war before the Civil War broke out. The control of Kansas has long been disputed. Whoever occupies it gets it. We have no political baggage in sending troops to Kansas.

The situation in Missouri is different and very complicated, and the conflicts of interest involved cannot be sorted out in a short time. Missouri is a slave state, and the vast majority of people in the state are undoubtedly inclined towards the Confederacy.

However, the top leaders of Missouri are still staying in the Northern Confederacy and watching from the sidelines. In fact, Missouri is also controlled by the Northern Confederacy, and the Northern Army also has troops stationed in Missouri.

If we send troops to Missouri, we will inevitably be angry with both the South and the North."

The problem of Missouri is no longer a simple military problem, but a complex political problem. However, Missouri's location is crucial and cannot be ignored in any way, which makes Kruger very troubled.

"What if we don't send troops to Missouri?" Liang Yao stared at Missouri on the map and asked Kruger.

"If we don't have Missouri, it will be like a wedge between Kansas, Nebraska and Iowa. There is a saying that goes, 'You can't let others sleep soundly beside your bed.' That's what it feels like."

Kruger also stared at the map. Without taking over Missouri, this Great Plains region always felt a little lacking, making people feel insecure.

"What you mean is that we must take Missouri as a buffer zone?" Liang Yao's idea coincided with Kruger's.

"I didn't say that." Kruger hurriedly distanced himself from the matter. "The decision to send troops is not my fault. It's up to you and the parliament. I'm only responsible for execution. If you tell me to send troops, I'll send them. If you think now is not the best time to send troops, I will never send a single soldier to Missouri."

"Prepare to send troops to Missouri first and wait for my order." Liang Yao's gaze shifted from the map on the wall to Kruger's face, "I have a general understanding of the deployment in the Great Plains area. Tell me about your next specific combat plan." It was time for the Chief of Staff Pan Baohuang to perform.

Pan Baolin said that the Great Plains Aboriginal tribes almost unanimously support the West and are a force that can fight side by side.

Having these indigenous tribes join the war can greatly alleviate the Western Army's shortage of manpower and increasing logistical pressure.

Liang Yao nodded in agreement. He implemented a lenient policy towards the indigenous people because he hoped that these indigenous tribes could be used for his own benefit.

Although a great victory has just been achieved, the Chinese population in the Great Plains is too small, and it is not easy to establish a stable rule and effectively control the Great Plains.

Next, Pan Baolin gave a detailed account of the specific route of advance.

The troops were divided into four routes. Each of the first three routes was centered on a regular brigade, with two militia brigades assisting the regular brigade in combat.

The 101st Brigade led two militia brigades and marched eastward along the railroad, directly capturing Maine and Cedar Rapids, and pushing the front line to the Iowa border, that is, the Mississippi River, confronting Wisconsin and Illinois across the river.

The 102nd Brigade led two militia brigades and an artillery regiment and sailed south down the Missouri River from Omaha Ferry to capture Kansas City and Topeka.

After occupying Kansas City and Topeka, troops were dispatched from Topeka to march on foot to occupy Wichita.

The 103rd Brigade led two militia brigades and the st Mongolian Cavalry Regiment and the Solon Cavalry Battalion north to take Minnesota.

The last route was taken by the First Cavalry Regiment, which marched to South Dakota and North Dakota in the northwest and cooperated with the local indigenous armed forces to capture South Dakota and North Dakota in one fell swoop.

This plan is quite reasonable and Liang Yao couldn't find any fault with it for the time being.

Although Pan Baohuang is still young, he is a little immature.

Kruger dared to let Pan Baohuang explain this battle plan in front of him, so he must have approved it in advance.

Kruger is a rigorous, mature and prudent person. Liang Yao still trusts the combat plans that he has reviewed.

After listening to their battle plans, Liang Yao felt a little tired. He stretched and went out to get some fresh air.

After walking a few steps, Liang Yao seemed to suddenly remember something and asked Zeiss to send a telegram to Austin.

He hoped that the Texas Brigade would not head north to Kansas after passing through Oklahoma territory, but would turn northeast directly to Missouri.

Even though the Republic of Texas was essentially a semi-slave, semi-capitalist, hybrid republic.

The Confederacy still recognized this old friend from Texas, at least on the surface.

He would be under much less pressure if he had the Texas brigade march into a slave state.

The relationship between the West and the Dixies in Missouri was not very harmonious, but this was based on the fact that the two sides had previously kept to themselves and happily took what they needed and made money, and there were not many opportunities for direct contact between the two sides' militaries.

If the Western Army entered Missouri, the rednecks in Missouri would feel that the Western Army threatened their proud traditional way of life, and the plantation owners would feel uneasy.

These rednecks would not hesitate to take up arms against the Western Army, just as they did against the Union Army of the North.

Liang Yao wants Missouri, but right now he has not really established a firm foothold in the Great Plains; he has only one foot in the Great Plains.

Liang Yao did not want to fall out with the plantation owners in Missouri and the entire Southern Confederacy. He was still counting on the Confederate Army to fight Washington for him.

It would be unkind to openly stab the Dixie guys in the South at this time. If they wanted to stab them, they could only do it secretly through the hands of Texas.

(End of this chapter)