The War Court and Lap Pillow, Austria's Mandate of Heaven

Chapter 1861 Tragedy Can't Put Food on the Table

These words shouldn't have come from Lincoln, but by then the American North was a wasteland. If the fighting continued, the Union would completely lose control over the Southern states.

With large swathes of the American North falling to the South, Northern lawmakers were forced to concede to the South, resulting in Southern politicians occupying a large number of important government positions.

Especially in the military sphere, from logistics to the front lines, the generals were almost entirely from the South. The reason that old stubborn man was able to come to power was not only due to Franklin Pierce's trust, but also the help of Northern politicians.

Otherwise, given Franklin Pierce's prestige at that time, it would have been a pipe dream to overcome all opposition.

Because the war dragged on and the financial and industrial sectors in the North suffered severe losses, the powerful figures behind the scenes were eager to end the war.

Moreover, the consequences of the British's inhumane behavior in the occupied territories have already become apparent, and those northern politicians and bankers who previously sided with the British are now preparing to abandon their allegiance and embrace the new order.

To put it bluntly, Lincoln now hopes for a smooth landing. Continuing the war would be an uncertain future for Britain, and the same goes for the United States.
A resounding victory might not drive out the British, but it would certainly devastate the northern United States.

Lincoln was by no means a deified idealist; he was essentially a politician who had to be responsible for the interest groups behind him. He could not stand idly by while the American South grew stronger, nor could he stand idly by while the interests of the North were harmed.

However, the Southern faction and the pro-war faction at this time could not accept such surrender rhetoric at all.

"Impossible! We will never use the blood and flesh of our people to buy temporary peace!"
Either the British get out of America unconditionally, or we'll shed our last drop of blood for this!

James Henry Hammond was very determined. He was the creator of the Cotton Kingdom Theory and his favorite saying was, "Without slave labor, cotton will perish and America will collapse."

"Congressman Hammond! I cannot accept your views!"

Heroism won't feed you, and passion won't stop bullets. If a country's leader only knows how to shout "I'll bleed to the last drop," then he's treating the people like disposable resources.

A true leader is one who enables people to live, prosper, and have dignity, rather than turning them into cannon fodder in war.

What we need is peace and prosperity, not a doomed, pointless, suicidal charge.

(The above paragraph was written by someone else, but I felt it was appropriate to use here, so I copied it here.)
"Nonsense! Does ceding territory and paying reparations truly make people prosperous and dignified?"

James Hammond was equally defiant, believing that the United States had already gained the upper hand and Britain was doomed.

After all, according to the theory of the cotton kingdom, Britain's economy would collapse without American cotton, and coupled with its previous major defeat, Britain should be on the verge of collapse.

"The purpose of war is survival, not bloodshed!"

If a country is destroyed, is there any point in making sacrifices? As the saying goes, "Where there's life, there's hope."

To plunge an entire nation into utter ruin for the sake of so-called honor and dignity is not heroism, it is crime!

America needs peace! Only with peace can there be a future!

In terms of eloquence alone, Lincoln was far superior to Hammond; their languages ​​were simply not on the same level.

However, the Southern politicians were furious enough that Jefferson Davis spoke up directly.

"We will not pay for your actions! We are willing to shed our last drop of blood for America, but we will not contribute a single penny to your cowardice!"

"well said!"

"Let them negotiate with the British! Let's go home!"

Southern congressmen applauded and cheered, and some even whistled.

With such incitement, even Lincoln's eloquence was useless. The offer of neither money nor life was completely in their grasp.

Seeing that the situation had once again reached a stalemate, Franklin Pierce stepped forward again. He genuinely did not want the North and South to continue arguing, as he still needed these men to fight the war.

"Gentlemen, since this matter is quite controversial, let's put it aside for now."

Our main task now is to increase our bargaining power. Whether we want to drive the British out or negotiate peace, we need enough leverage.

To put it bluntly, strength is the foundation of everything; otherwise, you can only accept extremely harsh conditions or be completely exploited.

Although Franklin Pierce was a fence-sitter, he was, after all, the rightful President of the United States. Whichever side he chose to stand on would inevitably win, just like his previous appointment of Richard Delacroix.

Franklin Pierce also had his own plans. He had previously forcibly transferred many Southern generals in order to carry out Delacroix's plan, which caused dissatisfaction in the military.

At this time, the generals of the Southern faction rose again, and he wanted to use this opportunity to repair relations.

Helping the strong and not the weak is the survival wisdom of a weak leader.

Now that the president had made his position clear, there was no point in Lincoln insisting any further; he wouldn't do something that would be thankless and exhausting.

"Alright. Since the president has spoken, I'll reserve my opinion for now."

Jefferson Davis snorted, but did not press his advantage. After all, the British threat had not been eliminated, and neither the North nor the South would benefit from a fight at this time.

"I propose that this first toast be to our General Delafield, whose sacrifice brought about today's victory!"

General Delacord is our role model! An American who fought for freedom!

"Respect to General De Lafield!"

Joyful music played again, and people sang and danced to celebrate this hard-won victory.

After the banquet, President Pierce found Lincoln.

The idea of ​​ending the war peacefully was very appealing to Franklin Pierce, since who wouldn't want something quick and cheap?

“Mr. Lincoln, I hope you will accept a special task. I need someone to persuade the British to accept peace.”

At the Harrisburg front, Robert E. Lee stared blankly at several carriages loaded with certificates and medals.

"Again? What can you do with all this waste paper and scrap metal?"

"These things are useless to the US military at this point; it would be better to just give them money," an adjutant said impatiently.

Robert E. Lee was also somewhat helpless; he really didn't understand what Washington was doing, but he still spoke up.

"Distribute them to the soldiers. Tell the government that they still care about them."

"As ordered."

The adjutant looked very grim; he wasn't targeting General Robert E. Lee, but rather the Washington government.

Franklin Pearson and Richard Delafield's actions tore the once-good Legion apart.

The command system was in complete disarray, and the most difficult soldiers were sent to Harrisburg, while the experienced veterans were sent to Pittsburgh, including his friends and relatives.

The Pittsburgh debacle wiped out a large number of elite American troops, while the victories in the East only boosted the morale of politicians and new recruits. For the military, it was a huge loss, not only of a large number of elite troops but also of a large number of commanders; many military cadets died outside Pittsburgh before they even had a chance to prove themselves.

"Don't be too pessimistic, the British have suffered considerable losses."

"Can we launch a counterattack?"

An officer asked tentatively.

"No, sir. Our lines are too long. If we attack rashly, the British might just launch a surprise attack on Washington, as they have done this time, or attack our weak points."

Engaging in skirmishes in open terrain is not our forte.

If this time William Rhoden wasn't alone, or if they hadn't chosen to attack Washington, but instead lured us into a decisive battle in the open.

Then the outcome becomes very difficult to predict.

Robert Lee's answer was straightforward, but some people disagreed.

"General, our forces outnumber the British eight to one. What do they have to fight us with?"

"What if the main British force didn't go to Pittsburgh? Would we then repeat General Winfield's mistake?"

Robert E. Lee was telling the truth; even the proudest American soldiers at the time had to admit the gap between them and the British army.

This gap is comprehensive and cannot be bridged by simply changing a few pieces of equipment or having a sudden surge in health.

In fact, the courage that Americans were so proud of was completely insignificant in the face of the British army. The British soldiers were so calm that they were almost numb, and their mechanical movements were like those of machines.

However, all sorts of unorthodox ideas from the US military were useless against these robots, and in the end, they could only rely on their basic skills.

However, courage and anger are no match for absolute discipline. British soldiers were able to withstand greater casualties and accurately find their place on the chaotic battlefield.

This is simply unbelievable to Americans; chaos and indiscriminate firing are the norm.

A thin red line of British troops could stop the desperate charge of American infantry and cavalry. The American troops would collapse before only one rank remained, and even if some wanted to hold their ground, they would be swept away and forced to retreat.

"Should we support General Jackson's troops? The British have lost so much land, they're bound to retaliate."

"That's what another staff officer said."

"No! We should just continue to strengthen our defenses. I have already written to Jackson and asked him to keep our troops and civilians confined to towns and fortresses."

We do not know the specific movements of the British, so we must not let our guard down.

In fact, Robert E. Lee had already received news from the British-occupied zone that Codrington was planning to retake lost territory, with its sights set on Trenton.

However, based on his understanding of Codrington, Robert E. Lee believed it was fake news intended to mislead the U.S. military into strengthening the defenses of Trenton, and then seize the opportunity to attack other, more easily accessible areas.

Codrington didn't actually like to take the initiative; he only fought battles he was confident of winning.

To ensure victory, troops are often over-deployed, as was the case in the Battle of Pittsburgh, where the British forces outnumbered the Americans.

This overzealous action was actually a waste of manpower. It was precisely because he almost emptied the forces in the east, coupled with William Rhoden's rash attack, that the British army suffered a major defeat in the east.

Robert E. Lee even had a premonition that after William Rodden lost 60,000 men, Codrington would do everything in his power to ensure the safety of New York, so he would not be able to launch any attack.

In fact, Codrington not only sent a large number of reinforcements to the New York defenses, but he also wrote to London requesting more troops, since New York was the foundation of the North American colonies.

Codrington needed the support of Wall Street financiers to become governor, so he had to demonstrate sufficient value at this time.

"Damn idiot!"

Codrington looked at the map and saw that his once-meticulous defenses were now riddled with holes, and he couldn't help but feel a sense of loss.

After losing Trenton, the original eastern defense was completely breached.

If it weren't for the valiant fighting of the New England Army in Newark and the British troops stationed in New York, New York might have fallen by now.

Jackson's attack was too sudden, and the British army, which was already short-handed, was unprepared, which is why they suffered a complete rout.

However, Jackson did not have many troops at the time, and he also had to divide his forces to occupy cities along the way.

The march on New York was merely an experiment. If New York surrendered, he would be a hero of history, and the British army would be doomed, even at the risk of being cut off in the middle.

Although New York did not surrender as it had with the British, this attempt did not cost Jackson anything.

Although this attack did not cut off the British forces, it significantly reduced their buffer zone. Now, if the British wanted to support each other between the east and west, they had to consider the possibility of being intercepted by the American forces.

Unless you go through Canada, but that's too far and would waste several weeks on the road.

Of course, that was only theoretically possible. In reality, the roads in Quebec and Ontario were covered in snow at that time, and it would probably take several months to make a march.

In fact, from the perspective of Codrington, a defense expert, Britain's chances of winning this battle were slim, unless they could drag it out until spring or launch a decisive battle.

He quickly dismissed the idea, arbitrarily launching an attack on a key U.S. military stronghold could very well lead to the same fate as William Rodden.

Codrington picked up his pen and wrote on the paper:
"Your Excellency Prime Minister, General William Rhoden has been killed due to his unauthorized actions, which has put the entire situation in North America in a very passive position. I hope you can authorize me to handle all matters related to the war in North America."

Codrington also wrote a lot, especially mentioning the issue of delaying as much as possible.

In his letter, Codrington also thoroughly denigrated William Rhoden, which infuriated the Earl of Derby, whose veins bulged, but he had no good recourse.

There were very few experienced generals in the entire British Army. A group of veterans from the Napoleonic Wars were experienced, but they were too old. If these old men were sent to North America, they might die on the ship.

In fact, the meaning in Codrington's letter was quite clear: peace talks might be the best option.

The Earl of Derby also wanted to negotiate, but the Americans only accepted the British unconditional surrender.

Are you kidding me? The British Empire wants to surrender to those American barbarians twice?

This is utterly disgraceful.

While it's possible to excuse a defeat to Russia and Austria working together, losing to the United States is something that can't be justified—it's like the United States being forced to cede territory and sue for peace by Native Americans.

"Does anyone have a solution?"

No one answered, and the Earl of Derby was about to explode.

At that moment, an official hurriedly approached the Earl of Derby and whispered in his ear.

"An American envoy has arrived."