1850 American Gold Tycoon.

Chapter 728: Yizhou’s Choice

Illinois, as the birthplace of Lincoln, is known as Lincoln's Land.

Lincoln's political career began in Springfield, the capital of Illinois.

The crowed-line distance between Springfield and Pratt is 1000 kilometers, the crowed-line distance to the West Coast is nearly 3000 kilometers, and the distance to the nearest Confederate-controlled area is 400 kilometers.

Such a long geographical distance gives Illinoisans a natural sense of security.

Except for the young people who were mobilized to go to the battlefield, the rest of the Illinois people believed that the war was far away from them.

It was not until Illinois border residents living on the border between Iowa and Illinois witnessed Western warships cruising on the Mississippi River that they realized the war was only a stone's throw away.

It can also be said that Illinois is now at war.

Standing on the west bank of the Mississippi River, it is so lively that the Illinois border residents can even clearly see the Western Army soldiers, most of whom have oriental faces.

If someone had told Illinoisans six months ago that they would see Yankee soldiers on Illinois soil, all Illinoisans would have thought that person was crazy.

The Illinoisans believed that they had a greater chance of encountering the Confederate Army than the Western Army far away at Platt.

After all, when Lincoln gave a speech in Springfield, he told them indignantly that the devil was in the South, and that the southern slave owners and their lackeys were the biggest enemies of the Illinois people.

The distance from Platte to Illinois is 1000 kilometers, but the Western Army took only more than three months to cover the long distance of more than kilometers.

This was incredible to all Illinoisans.

The telegraph office in Springfield is located next to the square in the city center. During the election, it was crowded with supporters from all over the place who came to support Lincoln.

After Lincoln became president as he wished, the Springfield Square where he most often gave speeches became deserted.

Like most states in the United States, the largest and most developed city is often not the capital.

The largest and most developed city in Illinois is Chicago, and Springfield is at best just a medium-sized town. Even within Illinois, Springfield is only the fifth largest city after Chicago, Quincy, Alton, and Galesburg.

An urgent telegram requesting help from Wisconsin in the north had been delivered to Illinois Governor John Richmont.

The previous governor of Illinois was Lincoln, whose term as governor will not expire until next year.

After Lincoln won the election, he soon resigned as governor of Illinois and shifted his work focus from Springfield to Washington.

Lieutenant Governor John Ridgemont succeeded Lincoln as Governor of Illinois.

"Sir, shall we issue a mobilization order?"

Illinois Secretary of State William H. Bernardo told Ridgemont, his voice trembling.

"Windmer is a Republican, and Wisconsin is our brother state. It is reasonable for us to lend a helping hand to Wisconsin. Otherwise, it will be difficult to explain to the president."

The governors and the president of the United States are not in a superior-subordinate relationship, and the governors are not responsible to the president.

But Illinois and Wisconsin are almost dominated by Republicans. They and Windermere are all Republicans. Within the party, they need to give an explanation to the party leader Lincoln.

The Western Army captured half of Wisconsin in just ten days, and even Madison, the capital of Wisconsin, is now in danger.

Bernardo is very worried that Illinois will become the next Wisconsin.

It was rumored that the Western Army dispatched 70,000 to 80,000 troops to attack Wisconsin.

Bernardo believed that this number was too exaggerated, as the Battle of Omaha was the time when the Western Army's forces were most concentrated.

At that time, the total strength of the Western Army was only about 60,000 to 70,000.

Now that the Western Army has occupied most of the central border areas, it must inevitably send troops to garrison the occupied areas.

How is it possible that an army of 70,000 or 80,000 would attack Wisconsin?

Although Bernardo believed that the rumored number of troops attacking Wisconsin was exaggerated, one thing was certain: the Western Army was not short of troops.

According to reports from Illinois border residents, thousands of Western militiamen were moving north across the Mississippi River toward Wisconsin and Minneapolis almost every day.

Bernardo was very curious about where the Spanish Army got so many troops.

Were all the men in the Platte area mobilized by the Western Army to join the war, or were all the Indian tribes in the Great Plains area overwhelmingly on the side of the Western Army?

"This telegram is sent from Omaha. Take a look at it first." Richmont handed the telegram between his index and middle fingers to Bernardo.

The telegram from Omaha was naturally sent to them by the Western Army.

The sender was Kruger, commander-in-chief of the Defense Forces of the American Republic, and the content of the telegram was to ask Illinois to remain neutral and not to provide any form of support to Wisconsin and Minnesota.

Kruger also promised in the telegram that the Western Army would not invade Illinois territory as long as Illinois remained neutral.

At the same time, Kruger also threatened in the telegram that if Illinois provided a single shot, bullet, or person to Wisconsin and Minnesota, it would be retaliated in the same way as Wisconsin. Wisconsin's today is Illinois' tomorrow.

"Intimidation! This is naked intimidation!"

After reading the telegram, Bernardo was so angry that he trembled all over. "Franz, if we mobilize, how many people can we mobilize?" Richmont looked at Colonel Franz Lind, the highest military commander in Illinois.

The highest military officer in Illinois was Colonel Ulysses S. Grant.

However, Grant believed that there was no opportunity to display his talents in the rear of Illinois, so he decided to accept Brannan's employment, join the First Mercenary Regiment, and go to the front line.

Franz Linde was thus converted to a full-time employee.

"The state's well-trained soldiers have already gone to the front line. If we mobilize now, we can mobilize 30,000 to 40,000 militiamen." Franz Lind said after hesitating for a while.

"But it is difficult for the hastily mobilized militia to form combat effectiveness in a short period of time. The 80,000 regular troops of the Omaha Corps are no match for the Western Army.

I think that for the safety of the people of Illinois, Kruger's conditions are not out of consideration.

The Western Army has a good reputation, and I think they will keep their promise."

"Colonel Franz! How can you boost others' morale and destroy your own prestige!" Franz's weak remarks made Bernardo furious.

"Previously, the Western Army attacked from four directions, and Wisconsin was not among their targets." Franz rolled his eyes at Bernardo who was yelling at him, and analyzed the situation one by one.

“The Western Army was sent to Wisconsin to provide military assistance to Minnesota.

Wisconsin and Illinois are large, densely populated states, and they are also states where our Republican Party has had a long history of operation.

I think the top leaders of the American Republic should also be aware that even if they occupied Wisconsin and Illinois, it would cost a very high cost to maintain their rule over the two states.

I believe that the Western Army's military action against Wisconsin was for punitive purposes rather than military occupation. The Western Army will withdraw from Wisconsin sooner or later, and there is no need for us in Illinois to get burned. "

Bernardo is a civil servant, so he can talk big, after all, civil servants don't have to go to the battlefield.

Franz was a military attaché. Once a war broke out with the Western Army, he would have to lead these useless militiamen from Illinois to the battlefield.

Illinois is the Republican stronghold and the birthplace of Lincoln.

Naturally, it is the state that has responded most actively to the federal government's mobilization.

As soon as the federal government's mobilization order was issued, Illinois sent its best troops to the front without reservation, exceeding the federal government's mobilization targets.

The troops left in Illinois are now composed of old, weak and sick people. They are definitely no match for a powerful force like the Western Army.

"What a lie! If Wisconsin is occupied by the Western Army, Illinois will be the next target." Bernardo scolded Franz Lind angrily, "Franz, you coward, you are not scared by the Western Army and dare not fight against them, right?"

"Whether it is a fallacy or not, I think Your Excellency the Governor has his own judgment." Franz Lind said to Governor Richmont very frankly.

"I'm just laying out the facts and my judgment with you, Governor, and I have to remind you that you are the governor of Illinois and you are accountable only to the people of Illinois.

If Illinois fails, you will be unable to answer to the people of this state and to the President."

It is true that Franz is afraid of fighting, but at the moment Illinois does not have the capital to challenge the Western Army.

Franz believes that preserving Illinois is the most important thing at the moment.

There is a Chinese saying that goes, "As long as the mountains are green, there will be no shortage of firewood."

As long as Illinois, the most important state of the Northern Union in the Mississippi River Basin, was preserved.

Even the Western Army had a big appetite and swallowed Wisconsin whole.

In the future, they can also use Illinois as a base to recuperate and accumulate troops to launch a counterattack on the lost border areas.

But once Illinois was lost or reduced to ashes, the Northern Union would lose Illinois, its last foothold in the Mississippi River basin.

It is not so easy to counterattack the lost border areas.

Richmont hesitated for a long time before he had to make a difficult decision: "Why are the telegraph lines in Wisconsin broken? Send someone to repair the telegraph lines quickly.

Pass on my order to strictly prevent the entry of the Western Army and to defend this state without losing anything. In addition, allow refugees from Wisconsin to enter our Illinois for refuge and properly settle them. "

It was the last thing Ridgemont could do for its neighbors to the north.

Richmont understood the principle that the lips and teeth are interdependent.

But what Franz said makes sense. Now all the capable troops in Illinois have responded to the federal government's call and gone to the front line.

There aren't even a few decent militias in the state. What can he use to challenge the Western Army?

For the sake of the overall situation, Richmont had no choice but to endure in order to preserve Illinois.

(End of this chapter)