Chapter 224: Colonel Robert

"General Perry, you don't trust the Army."

Perry made such an excessive request to Fillmore, which clearly showed that he didn't trust the California Infantry Regiment and looked down on the Army. Liang Yao said to Perry bluntly.

"If you trust the Army and only trust your colleagues in the Navy, I think our cooperation will end here."

Liang Yao's attitude was very tough. In the President's Office of the White House, he not only represented himself, but also represented the U.S. Army.

Facing the contempt from the Navy generals, he had to stand on the side of the Army.

"Perry!"

Fillmore also felt that Perry's request was excessive. The arrogant attitude of these Navy generals made him feel a little uncomfortable.

"Whether it is the Marine Corps or the California Infantry Regiment, they are the middle forces of the U.S. Army. You should trust your Army and the California Infantry Regiment. The California Infantry Regiment is the elite of the Army. With the California Infantry Regiment cooperating with you, what else are you dissatisfied with?"

Fillmore rejected Perry's request very clearly.

The American army was not large to begin with. The 17 infantry regiments of the army were scattered around fighting against unfriendly Indian tribes, stuck in the quagmire of war and unable to get out.

The two regiments of the Marine Corps were the few mobile forces of the federal government. It was unrealistic to allocate half of the Marine Corps to Perry.

Seeing that Liang Yao's attitude was so tough and President Fillmore's attitude was so resolute, Perry had to give up and gave up the idea of ​​transferring the Marine Corps to the Japanese Expeditionary Force.

"Colonel Liang, do you have any requests?"

Perry looked at Liang Yao.

Of course, Liang Yao took the opportunity to put forward his request.

However, his request was not the request of the Japanese Expeditionary Force. With the little troops and equipment he had now, it was a bit of a fantasy to want to conquer Japan.

But it was more than enough to hurt the Japanese shogunate authorities, force Japan to open up its country, or even support a puppet regime close to itself to achieve the goal of this expedition.

What Liang Yao wanted was more establishment.

"After the California Infantry Regiment participates in the expeditionary military operations against Japan, California's defense will inevitably be vacant. Moreover, the California Infantry Regiment is responsible not only for the local defense of California, but also for part of the defense of Arizona and New Mexico.

I hope to obtain your permission to obtain the formal establishment of an infantry regiment, which is specifically responsible for the defense of Arizona and New Mexico to relieve the national defense pressure on the US-Mexico border.

Of course, I can also understand that the federal government's current finances are not abundant, and the people of California also understand the difficulties of the federal government. If the federal government does not have enough money to support a new infantry regiment, the California government is willing to bear part of the cost for the security of the state." Liang Yao said.

Fillmore was eager to meet Liang Yao's request.

In the past, when facing security issues, the states, especially those in the West and the South with more Indians, first thought of asking the federal government to recruit soldiers from the local area, and at most asked the federal government for money to form a militia.

It is the first time that California is willing to take the initiative to pay part of the military expenses to support a regiment to relieve the pressure on the border.

In addition, after the California Infantry Regiment went to Japan for the expedition, the defense of the border area does need to be strengthened.

America has always been very vigilant about Mexico. Even though Mexico's national strength and military power are very weak now, America has never taken it lightly.

"I will consider your request as appropriate. It is not a trivial matter to add a standing regiment to the army. I will raise your request to Congress." Fillmore said to Liang Yao.

"You will get a reply soon."

On the way from Washington to New York, Liang Yao was warmly welcomed by the American people.

America really felt the cruelty of war in the civil war 10 years later. Although America had some casualties in the previous war against Mexico, the number of soldiers who died of illness was far greater than the number of soldiers who died on the battlefield.

Moreover, most of the soldiers and generals who participated in the Mexican-American War were from the South. Americans in the North did not think the war was cruel, but were full of enthusiasm for it.

Minister Conrad and senior officers of the Army also had high hopes for Liang Yao, and hosted a banquet for Liang Yao, wishing Liang Yao a victorious return.

"I have read the letter from Mr. Houston."

After the banquet was over, a colonel in his forties with a gentle appearance said to Liang Yao.

"As long as your students can meet the minimum requirements of West Point and Virginia Military Academy, West Point can admit them. I also have some connections with Virginia Military Academy and will say hello to the school of Virginia Military Academy."

The new colonel is Robert Edward Lee, who has just served as the president of West Point.

It is no secret in the American Army that the colonels of the U.S. Army Infantry Regiment prefer to train officers of the same hometown and ethnicity, and the federal government has turned a blind eye to this.

Liang Yao is Chinese, and it is very common for Chinese colonels to train some Chinese officers to facilitate their control of the army.

During the Mexican-American War, he also served as a staff assistant to Winfield Scott as a friend. Relying on relationships to get through the back door was the norm for the American army during this period. Not only the army, but the navy was not much better than the army.

Without connections, you can't get a foothold in the army.

"Then I would like to thank Colonel Robert here."

Liang Yao, who was a little tipsy, said to Robert.

Robert looked gentle and elegant. If he had not been wearing a colonel's uniform to attend the banquet, but a casual uniform, Liang Yao would have found it difficult to associate Robert with an officer.

"We are all colleagues in the army. It is only right to help each other. There is no need to thank each other. Mr. President and Minister Conrad are very optimistic about you. Please fight for our army in this expedition to Japan!" Robert said.

"Serving the country is the duty of a soldier. Japan is not worth mentioning." Liang Yao said.

"I heard that you bought a batch of Prussian Delyse needle-fired guns. This gun has a very fast firing rate and can also be fired in a prone position."

Robert was very interested in the Delyse needle-fired guns purchased by Liang Yao. He had heard of this gun equipped by the Prussian army.

Robert was a pragmatist and had no prejudice against breech-loading guns. He felt that whether it was a front-loading gun or a breech-loading gun, as long as it was easy to use and reliable, it was a good gun.

If the Prussian striker gun is really as rumored, it has an amazing firing rate of 6 to 12 rounds per minute and can be fired in a prone position.

The existing combat tactics and theories will no longer apply. Robert is now the president of the West Point Military Academy. He is in the prime of his life and is full of energy, vitality and enthusiasm. He is working to improve some outdated courses.

Robert is full of interest in this weapon that can change the rules of tactics.

It's a pity that Robert has never seen the Prussian Dreisse striker gun with his own eyes before.

"This gun is not as good as rumored, and there are many problems." Liang Yao said.

"The Dreisse striker gun has a very high firing rate at the beginning. A skilled shooter can fire more than 10 rounds per minute, but if the striker and the barrel are not cleaned in time, such a firing rate cannot be achieved.

This gun has a complex structure and is also troublesome to maintain. And in terms of long-range design accuracy, it is not as good as the rifled version of Springfield M1842 in our country."

The teaching company has been equipped with Dreisse striker guns for training for a period of time and has some experience in using them.

Although the Delyse striker has many shortcomings, its high firing rate of the rear-loading gun covers up the shortcomings in other aspects, and it still has a crushing advantage over the current rifles of the same era.

"As long as it is a rear-loading gun with a fast firing rate, these shortcomings are not unbearable."

Robert thought for a while and said, his idea coincided with Liang Yao's idea.

"There is another fatal shortcoming that I am afraid you can't tolerate, and the War Department and the federal government can't tolerate it even more." Liang Yao smiled and said.

"What shortcoming?" Robert asked curiously.

"The price of 50 US dollars per gun." Liang Yao smiled.

The War Department purchased the rifled version of M1842 for 14 US dollars per gun, and the US military failed to complete the replacement of the muzzle-loading rifled gun when the Civil War broke out ten years later, not to mention the 50 US dollars per gun of the Delyse striker.

The biggest enemy of the American army has never been the enemy outside, but the congressmen who hold the financial power of the federal government on Capitol Hill.

"This is indeed an unforgivable shortcoming." Robert's tone was full of regret.

If the price of the Drayside needle gun is reasonable, he can also suggest that the War Department purchase a batch of this type of gun from Prussia for trial installation and testing of its performance.

The high price of $50 per gun means that this gun is destined to be out of the hands of the American army.

Of course, this does not apply to colonels like Liang Yao who are worth tens of millions of dollars.

As long as Liang Yao is happy, Robert will not be surprised to replace his soldiers with gold-plated guns. Robert has heard that the salary of ordinary soldiers in the California Infantry Regiment is higher than that of lieutenants in other infantry regiments.

"If you like this kind of gun, I will pick out a few of the best Drayside needle guns as gifts for you." Liang Yao said to Robert who was a little disappointed.

As soon as he arrived at the door of Vanderbilt's manor, Liang Yao saw a thin young man with a file bag in his arms standing at the door waiting.

"Mr. Liang, I am John W. Garrett, chairman of the Financial Subcommittee of the Baltimore-Ohio Railroad Company."

The young man who had just turned thirty introduced himself to Liang Yao.

The Baltimore-Ohio Railroad was not immune to the technological revolution sweeping the railroad industry. The stock price of the already poorly managed and financially troubled Baltimore-Ohio Railroad plummeted, and it inevitably went bankrupt.

Liang Yao completed his control of the railroad company after converting less than $400,000 in bonds, inheriting the 400 miles of tracks that the railroad had laid, as well as the right to build the railroad from Baltimore to Ohio.

Of course, Liang Yao also took over the mess of the Baltimore-Ohio Railroad, including hundreds of lawsuits left by the railroad.