The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 714 Lincoln: If you want to make America great, you must first recruit immigrants!

At dawn, the streets of Harrisburg, a small city on the west bank of the Susquehanna River, were already crowded with people. Women holding children and men carrying luggage were all running towards the train station. The latest war report was posted on the station's notice board: "Gettysburg has fallen, and the Confederate Army is approaching."

Sherman, who had just got off the train, stood in the dispatching room of the Pennsylvania Railroad, looking with a grim face as the defeated soldiers under his command crawled out of the carriages. Most of them had nothing in their hands and looked extremely embarrassed.

If it weren't for the train that pulled these people back, his Pennsylvania Army would probably have been wiped out by the damn Southerners.

"General, this is a list of remaining personnel compiled by each army." The young staff officer Hudson's voice trembled, and the list in his hand rustled in the draft.

谢尔曼接过参谋官递来的清单扫了一眼，找到了几个扎眼的阿拉伯数字。第1军剩余人员1.55万人，第2军剩余人员1.63万人，第三军1.18万人。三个军合计4.36万。

This is the number after deducting the number of dead, missing and seriously injured. In addition to these people, the three armies have a total of 7,000 to 8,000 wounded soldiers who need to be transferred to the rear hospitals for treatment.

He had led 6.5 troops to Gettysburg, and lost 2.14 men. Of course, some who missed the train would come back. Add to that the 5 men who stayed in Harrisburg and Yorktown, and the Pennsylvania Army might only have a little over soldiers available.

"Send a telegram to New York and tell the president that we lost the battle of Gettysburg and lost about 2 men." Sherman was silent for a while, then said, "The troops' equipment was severely damaged. We need to replenish 3 rifles and 100 cannons as soon as possible. We also need a large number of new soldiers!"

Before he finished speaking, the door of the dispatch room was flung open, and the warm wind from the Susquehanna River poured in. Old John, the stationmaster of the Harrisburg Railway Station, took off his cap and said, "Sir, the wounded who need to be transported to the rear have all been boarded, and there are not many empty carriages left."

Sherman walked to the window and looked at the crowded crowd on the platform. An old woman in a headscarf was trying to lift a little girl onto the train, and the child's cries were drowned out by the whistle.

"Send women and children to Philadelphia first," Sherman said, "and at the same time recruit all adult men to dig trenches. We must defend Harrisburg!"

In the White House banquet hall, the gas lamps illuminated everyone's face. President Davis' silver wine glass made a crisp sound on the long table: "Gentlemen, cheers to American cotton!"

More than three dozen Southern congressmen sang "Dixie" in unison, and the windows buzzed with the song "Oh, I Wish I Was in Cotton Country."

Robert Lee, who had just returned from the Gettysburg front, stood in the corner, his gray tweed uniform splattered with champagne. He quietly retreated behind the porch and found Zhao Si sitting by the window reading a copy of the Constitution.

"Mr. Zhao, would you like a drink?" Li handed over a glass of Bordeaux red wine.

Xianfeng shook the newspaper. "It says here that the Northern Army suffered 40,000 casualties?" He pointed to the exaggerated headline on the front page. "Sherman retreated to Harrisburg with 30,000 remaining soldiers. Was the loss of the Northern Army really that great?"

Robert Lee smiled and said, "Battle reports can be faked, but battle lines will never lie."

Suddenly, there was the sound of hurried horse hooves outside the window. A White House intern rushed into the hall: "Report! Illinois militiamen took a train into Hui County, West Virginia, and they were welcomed by West Virginia miners!"

The music stopped abruptly. West Virginia refers to the coal-producing area in the west of Virginia, which is also a mountainous area without a large plain for growing cotton. Therefore, the economic pillar of West Virginia is the coal mine, and the coal from West Virginia is transported to Pittsburgh by rail to supply the steel mills there. Therefore, although West Virginia is part of the southern slave state of Virginia, its economy is tied to the north, and most of its residents have migrated from Europe in recent decades. They are also oriented to the north and oppose slavery. After all, the old American master of the Star-Spangled Banner would rather go to Texas to be a cowboy than go down to the mine to dig coal.

Davis' face flushed red. "These damn poor bastards who came from Europe actually dared to betray the Federation. I will deprive them of their citizenship!"

Xianfeng leaned close to Robert Lee's ear and said, "Now, the battle line seems to be turning in favor of the North! But this is not the most troublesome thing. The most troublesome thing is that the sea may be blocked by the North! The North has the second largest shipbuilding industry in the world!"

Robert Lee shuddered when he heard what Xianfeng said.

The industry in the North is indeed hopelessly strong. Steel, coal, and shipbuilding are all ranked second in the world, and railways are ranked first in the world!

Although the main forces of the US Navy are now on the West Coast and have not pledged allegiance to the North, the North can build a steam fleet from scratch in at most one year, and may even be able to produce ironclad ships!

"Mr. President!" Robert Lee suggested loudly, "We must buy a steam ironclad ship as soon as possible!" In the meeting room of the temporary presidential palace on Broadway in New York, the gas lamps swayed in the draft, casting erratic light and shadows. Governor Morgan pointed at Harrisburg on the map with his cigar, and the ash fell on the mark of the Pennsylvania Steel Plant.

"The Harrisburg steel mill has a Bessemer converter! If this city is lost, the Arsenal in Harpers Ferry might get enough steel!"

The Harpers Ferry Arsenal was the second largest gun factory in the United States before the Civil War and is currently in the hands of the Southern federal government. However, a factory is useless without steel. The only steel mill in the South is the Baltimore Iron Works, which has a very low output of 5000 tons of iron per year. Because there is no Basmer converter, the steel output is negligible.

Secretary of War Cameron patted his chest and assured: "Sherman will definitely be able to hold Harrisburg, and Colonel Grant has led the Illinois militia into West Virginia. The miners in West Virginia are all on our side! As long as West Virginia is under our control, the Southerners will be attacked from both sides. By then, they will have no spare energy to attack Harrisburg."

Secretary of the Navy Wells slammed a battleship blueprint on the conference table and said, "Gentlemen, the key now is the ironclad ship! Just give me ten months and the navy can strangle the throats of the Southerners!"

"Ten months?" California Senator, the obese O'Connor, ripped open his bow tie, sweat running down his neck. "But Davis may only need five months to buy an ironclad ship! President, we need to do it quickly! I suggest asking the California militia for help. They once assembled a steam ironclad ship that can be used in coastal waters and inland rivers. If we can imitate it, then we can at least guarantee the safety of New York, Boston and the Susquehanna River."

"Ask the Chinese for help?" Secretary of State Seward asked with a serious face, "What's the cost?"

O'Connor said: "The Union accepts the State of Washington and recognizes the right of California 'whites' to migrate to Washington State."

"California whites." Seward snorted. "They're yellow people, right?"

Jamie O'Connor said: "California can also provide officers and veterans who participated in the Ninth Russo-Turkish War to serve as military advisors!"

"It's the yellow man again." Seward was about to reject O'Connor's suggestion when he heard Lincoln cough.

"If I remember correctly," Lincoln said, "there were many white people who participated in the Ninth Russo-Turkish War! We need them now. So I propose that any European immigrant who participated in the Russo-Turkish War can immediately obtain citizenship by joining the Northern Union Army. After serving for two years, he can obtain 160 acres of land in the Midwest." His eyes swept across the faces of Morgan and Seward, the two representatives of New York's big capital: "If you want to make America great, you must first recruit immigrants!"

Jamie O'Connor seized the opportunity to ask: "President, what about Washington State?"

Lincoln said: "Let California send 500 military advisers. I also need their ironclad ship plan. This is the condition for the federal government to accept Washington State!"

The morning mist on the Yangtze River had not yet dissipated, but Tianjing, the largest city in China, had already awakened and started to operate at full speed. Luo Yaoguo stood on the Capitol Hill in Tianjing, and the river breeze lifted the hem of his dragon robe.

Fu Shanxiang trotted over and handed over a telegram forwarded by the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's embassy in France: "Your Highness, the American war report."

Luo Yaoguo's eyes lingered on the words "The Confederate Army's Great Victory at Gettysburg" for a moment, then turned to the river. Several "strings" of tugboats, towed by small steamers, were traveling back and forth on the open river, fully loaded with cargo.

"Any news about Zhao Si?" Luo Yaoguo asked, "Any news about Jamie O'Connor?"

"Zhao Si proposed that the South purchase French ironclad ships," Maria said. "He believed that the South had lost the initiative, that the American Civil War had become protracted, and that the most dangerous thing for the South was that its shipping was cut off by the North."

"Send a telegram to Zhao Si," Luo Yaoguo pondered for a moment, "and have him tell Davis that we in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom have a 5000-ton ironclad ship under construction that can be shipped. It's also modeled after the French 'Glory' class! It's equipped with 36 70mm breech-loading guns, and it's basically ready-made. You can get it for money! It's just a little expensive, costing 35 pounds, 1 pounds more expensive than the British Warrior class!"

"Ninth brother," Hong Xuanjiao was stunned when the speaker of the National People's Congress heard this, "Don't you think the South is not optimistic? Why are you exporting ironclad ships to them now?"

"Seventh sister, Brother Tian once taught me: If you don't make money, you are a bastard!" Luo Yaoguo said half-jokingly, "Didn't the Southerners just win the Gettysburg victory?" He paused, "Now it's not just our Taiping Heavenly Kingdom that wants to make money. Even if Lincoln wins in the future, can he still hate the whole world?"

(End of this chapter)