Wild North America 1846

January 9 to 11, 1857

The enlarged imperial military and political meeting held at Fortress Omaha lasted for three days. A total of 173 people including the king's ministers and army officers above the brigadier general attended the meeting. The contents of the meeting were kept secret.

After the meeting, various military preparations suddenly accelerated...

chicago

It is the second largest city in the United States and the core metropolitan area of ​​the Great Lakes Industrial Zone in the United States. It is developing rapidly.

In the eight years since the end of the war, Chicago's industrialization process has further accelerated and become even better than before. Thousands of factories have sprouted everywhere, occupying an increasingly important position in the industrial landscape of the northern United States, second only to the New York-Philadelphia metropolitan area.

.

What is different from the original history is that a circular defense line that combines bunkers, small and medium-sized fortresses, and rivers has appeared outside the suburbs of Chicago, with a circumference of about 50 kilometers.

in peacetime

This semi-circular defense line formed by relying on the natural barrier of the river is invisible. If the situation changes, trenches will be dug along this defense line, parapets will be built and barbed wire will be pulled up. A strict defense line stretching for more than 50 kilometers will immediately appear.

before.

Along the rear of this defense line are many warehouses filled with military supplies, including lumber, barbed wire, cement, steel bars, tents, shovels, etc. The quantity is quite large.

these years

The Kingdom of the Tang Dynasty was busy preparing strategic reserves, cultivating reserve officers, developing new weapons, and working hard to improve the combat capabilities of its troops, and the Yankees were not idle either.

Because they suffered from the cavalry of the Tang Kingdom during the American-Tang War, towns around the Great Lakes with Chicago as the core generally attached great importance to defense and raised it to the level of national security.

At the legislative level, several states around the Great Lakes have generally made mandatory requirements for strengthening defensive capabilities in urban construction;

Including, but not limited to, buildings on the outskirts of the town must be masonry concrete structures and comply with building structural strength standards. The roofs must be made of tiles, and the use of flammable wood is strictly prohibited.

Town planning strictly prohibits the paving of stalls, sets red lines in planning blueprints, and implements intensive construction as much as possible, focusing on 2 to 3-story buildings, reducing bungalows, villas and manors that occupy large areas, and controlling excessive urban area expansion.

Cities and towns must rely on their geographical advantages to build drainage channels no less than 3.5 meters wide, build control buildings at urban intersections and traffic arteries, and encourage scattered farmers to live together...

All in all, it is a fortress-like approach to urban construction.

The wish is good, but in the United States, where the spirit of democracy and freedom is at its core, it is completely different when implemented.

In addition to large cities like Chicago, which have abundant local financial resources and are doing relatively well, there are also important cities on the front lines against the enemy that receive federal funding to build corresponding combat readiness and defense facilities. The surrounding towns, large and small, are basically a formality and still go their own way.

This is a typical example of healing the scars and forgetting the pain. The American democratic system determines that politicians who come to power through elections dare not go against the wishes of the majority of the people and encourage or even force them to relocate, which is tantamount to political suicide.

on a large defensive position west of Chicago.

This is a building that looks like a warehouse group, but is actually the hub of the western front defense. It is located on a hill that rises about 20 meters and covers an area of ​​about 16 hectares.

There are three such large-scale defensive fortresses on the defensive line west of Chicago. Combined with small and medium-sized defensive fortresses and bunkers, they form the main model of Western Front defense.

this day

The newly appointed Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army, Lieutenant General Heath Caldwell, led a group of officers, large and small, to come here to inspect the combat readiness of the Chicago defense line.

On the fort with a wide view, Lieutenant General Heath Caldwell personally came to the imported Napoleon 20-pound artillery and leaned over to check. When he heard the introduction that this artillery was located high on the hills and had a range of up to 1,760 yards, he was very excited.

Said happily;

"Great, I see there is still a lot of space for the fort. There should be more such excellent heavy artillery. The fierce artillery fire is enough to make the enemy despair."

"Dear Chief of Staff, this is what we are worried about. Currently, only three heavy artillery can be installed on a fort, and the number of artillery shells is also small, which is not enough to exert its full power."

"I can understand your concerns, General Knox. This is exactly the problem I came here to solve." Lieutenant General Heath Caldwell stood up with a smile and looked around at the officers around him.

, said in an encouraging tone; "Guys, the incoming new president is not a stickler for rules. He attaches great importance to the construction of the Continental Army. You will see changes soon. It is not just a large financial allocation to the military,

There are other aspects as well, I guarantee that.”

His words received a round of applause, and even a naughty lieutenant officer blew a loud whistle, which made everyone laugh.

Relying on Chicago's abundant local financial resources, Chicago's defense line was built to be quite strong and reliable, which made all the American officers present feel confident and the atmosphere was naturally relaxed and happy.

Thanks to the high-level game in Washington, Lieutenant General Heath Caldwell replaced his unlucky predecessor and took the throne as the top military leader of the U.S. Continental Army. This is a time of high spirits.

In the American democratic system, the Secretary of Defense is a civilian who is nominated by the President of the United States after he formally forms his cabinet. He may be a politician, a lawyer, or a dentist.

Within the purview of the Minister of Defense, more attention is paid to military structural reform, strategic planning and official appointment, military academies and military establishment, equipment logistics and other aspects.

The Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army is the highest military commander. Today, the U.S. Department of Defense consists of 2 lieutenant generals, 2 major generals, 5 brigadier generals and 81 colonels and lieutenants. It is a small but relatively experienced force.

Officer team.

Its overall size, affected by the severely reduced financial allocation after the war, did not exceed a hundred people, but it tried its best to retain an excellent team of officers to avoid encountering another hectic military expansion.

Major General McDonald-Knox, the commander of the Federal Army in Chicago, was a senior artillery officer. He had participated in the U.S.-Mexican-Tang War and the 3rd U.S.-Tang War (Western Expedition). He had grown from captain of the 1st Ohio Field Artillery Company to captain of the 1st Ohio Field Artillery Company.

The senior commander of the federal army in Chicago was somewhat optimistic about the enemy's strength, but he was not as optimistic as the chief of staff.

Inspection ended

When returning, Major General McDonald-Knox pulled the Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Heath Caldwell, behind him and said with worry; "To be honest, Mr. Chief of Staff, I am very grateful to the new President Buchan.

Mr. Nan's possible military adventure is not optimistic. In terms of artillery equipment, the Continental Army still has the artillery technology and equipment of the Napoleonic era of the last century. It is far inferior to its opponents in terms of range and power. I am deeply worried about this."

"Unfortunately, this is not the answer I expected to see. General Knox, you should know that we have to fight a war now. The difference is just that the gun is pointed at the Southerners or the Orientals, that's all."

"At this point, I'm a staunch abolitionist, but is there no other way? Like the Mexicans or the Canadians."

"Don't be wild, general, the Mexicans and the Orientals have concluded a de facto military alliance. No matter who the gun is aimed at, the final result will be the same. And Canada...hehehe, Washington is not ready to face the wrath of the British yet.

preparations, it may be that the British join forces with the French and Easterners to attack the American Federation, and may even instigate the Southerners to split. Never underestimate the narrow-mindedness of the British, believe me, it may be the end of the federal government.

."

"Oh, God!"

"Think about it, no matter from which angle you look at it, going to war against the Easterners can attract the greatest domestic attention, divert the conflict between the North and the South, and give us a breathing space. As long as we are careful enough not to irritate the British,

The corresponding harm is minimal."

"But...King Charlie is not a fuel-efficient lamp. The death army under his command from hell is powerful, which has been fully proven in the Crimean War. President Buchanan and the military are playing with fire, and the prospects are not good.

Be optimistic!”

"But we have no choice, man, the war is not as pessimistic as you think. In the fields of infantry weapons and heavy machine guns, the equipment of the two countries is on the same level, and our cavalry has also grown up. The most important thing is... we have

Absolute demographic advantage.”

"Are you referring to the new immigrants?"

"Not entirely. Mr. Buchanan and I had a private and in-depth conversation. He was deeply worried about the rapid growth of the Tang Kingdom's population. Its population soared from more than one million ten years ago to 1,100 today.

More than 10,000, this is what people are most worried about. Maybe it won’t take long, in 5, 8 or 10 years, the population of the Datang Kingdom may exceed that of the federal government, and we will lose our final advantage."

"Your Excellency, Chief of Staff, do you think so too?"

"To tell you the truth... I was convinced. Now may be our last window of opportunity to defeat the Tang Kingdom. We can either sit back and watch it rise in North America, or we can fight with all our strength and drag the Southerners down, relax and eliminate them.

Internal contradiction."

Speaking of which

Lieutenant General Heath Caldwell's face also became solemn. After walking forward in silence for more than a dozen steps, he sighed softly and continued: "The Civil War in Kansas tore open the wound of the conflict between the north and the south. Southern congressmen legalized slavery.

The parliamentary proposal to implement civilization nationwide has added fuel to the fire, and the possibility of the northern and southern divisions of the federation is becoming more and more likely. At this time, there is not much room left for us."

"Alas..." Major General Donald Knox wanted to say something else, but when he opened his mouth, it just turned into a heavy sigh.

In this either/or situation, what else could he say?

Anyone with a discerning eye can see that the United States is sitting on a volcano, not one volcano, but two, one is the Oriental volcano and the other is the Southern volcano. Failure to handle either one will have unimaginable serious consequences.

Mr. Buchanan blamed former President Pierce for being a poor paper framer. One part of the ridicule was more sad. The situation he faced when he came to power was even more dangerous and he could not even fool him anymore.

The situation in North America is facing a final showdown, forcing him to just play hard.