1850 American Gold Tycoon

Chapter 459: Mobilization Efficiency

The information from these southern slave owners was quite accurate. They knew that California could produce high-performance artillery on its own.

However, the Sacramento cannon was Liang Yao's trump card. He would never export it unless it was absolutely necessary.

At present, the only customer who could obtain the Sacramento cannon from him was the artillery unit under his family, the Yueyong.

Whether from a strategic or economic perspective, at least for now, Liang Yao would not sell the Sacramento cannon to the South.

Although the industrial level of the South was low, it at least had a little industrial foundation. It was not a completely agricultural society. He was worried that the South would imitate the Sacramento cannon after obtaining it, and then impact his arms market.

Moreover, even if the South was unable to imitate it, it would be even more fatal if the North got it and imitated it.

Liang Yao was willing to sell the most advanced weapons to the Qing Dynasty. A large part of the reason was that the Qing Dynasty could not imitate it with its industrial capacity. From artillery to ammunition, they had to buy it from him.

Moreover, the Qing Dynasty was relatively closed, so he did not have to worry about these weapons flowing into the hands of Britain and France.

As for the economic reasons that Liang Yao was concerned about, they were more practical. He did not think that the poor people in the South had the ability to pay for such expensive weapons.

He was not a philanthropist, and he did not want to be taken advantage of by these Southerners.

"Time is urgent. There is no railway between California and Texas, and transportation is inconvenient. It will take at least two months to transport artillery from California to Texas. Can you wait for two months?"

Liang Yao looked around at everyone. His implication was very simple. It was not that he was stingy and unwilling to accept the Jinan Army, but that there was not enough time.

Bell, the commander of the Texas Regiment, was now mad because there was no railway between California and Texas. It was indeed necessary to build a railway between California and Texas.

Everyone was silent.

Including the tall and sturdy colonel.

This fat colonel was James Longstreet, a famous Southern general in the future.

Longstreet graduated from the Military Academy at West Point, but unlike many who attend military academies to get a gold medal and then go back to inherit the family's army.

The reason why Longstreet attended the military academy was also very simple. Because his family had no money, he could only choose a military academy with lower tuition and guaranteed job assignment.

Although Longstreet came from a poor family, he was not as hardworking as the stereotype of poor children. Longstreet was addicted to playing sports such as baseball and football in the military academy.

Therefore, Longstreet's grades were very poor, and he finally graduated from the Military Academy at the bottom of the list with a passing line.

However, Longstreet's performance after serving was much better than when he was in the military academy.

He was also promoted from a second lieutenant to a colonel step by step because of his military merits.

It can be said that Longstreet is not only a member of the Southern Army, but also one of the few senior officers in the entire American Army who rose from the grassroots to the colonel by relying on his own abilities and military merits.

"But we can't launch an attack without adequate preparation." Longstreet, who was in charge of logistics and a quartermaster, knew the importance of logistics to an army.

"If we hadn't really had no other options, we wouldn't have sent you a letter for help. Damn it! Those bastards in the North not only don't lend us their cannons, they won't even sell them to us. I think those Yankees in the North want to use the Mexicans to bleed us in the South!"

Use the Mexicans to bleed the South?

This is too much respect for Mexico, but without heavy weapons, the casualties will definitely be huge.

Liang Yao also felt that the North was really going too far. After thinking for a while, he asked Jackson, "How many troops are there in the Missouri army assembled in San Antonio?"

"There is a militia that was forcibly drawn from the Kansas area. This militia is called a militia, but it has as many as 1,600 people, which is more than many regular infantry regiments."

Jackson knew the troops that had already assembled in Texas very well.

Liang Yao knew exactly what Fillmore was thinking by transferring the Missouri militia in the Kansas area to Texas to participate in the war.

Fillmore must not be allowed to think that as long as the Southern Army is transferred to Texas to prepare for the war and a little money is allocated, everything will be fine.

Liang Yao decided to put some pressure on Fillmore.

"General Jackson, I would like to call the Army Commander-in-Chief, that is, Secretary of War Scott and the President in my name and yours.

If the scheduled military supplies cannot be delivered to San Antonio within a week, we will send all the armed forces in Missouri back to Kansas.

After all, with our current military supplies, we cannot supply tens of thousands of troops."

"I agree."

Jackson supported Liang Yao's approach, which was a good idea.

As the second largest city in Texas, San Antonio had telegraphs as early as four years ago.

After Liang Yao and Jackson drafted the telegram, they handed the telegram to the signalman and asked the signalman to go to the telegraph office to send the telegram directly to the White House.

There was no distinction between civilian and military telegraph lines in this era.

In fact, until the Civil War, both the North and the South used the telegraph lines of civilian telegraph companies, and no special military telegraph lines were built.

After this telegram was sent, Liang Yao sent another telegram to San Diego, California, asking whether Kruger on the western front was ready.

Soon, Kruger gave a clear answer: The main force of the Western Brigade has been assembled in San Diego, and the military supplies and food required for the operation have been prepared, which is enough for the Western Brigade for half a year. Sven's fleet has been anchored at the San Diego port. As long as you give an order, the navy and the army can go into battle at any time.

Liang Yao was very relieved to receive Kruger's call back.

The efficiency of war mobilization in California was much higher than that in the east.

As Liang Yao expected, Fillmore felt even more pressure after receiving a telegram jointly sent by two commanders on the Texas front line.

He specifically ordered Scott to transfer the Missouri militia from Kansas to Texas to fight in the war.

His purpose of transferring the Missouri militia away from the Kansas area was to reduce the frequency of friction between the North and the South in Kansas.

Now Liang Yao and Jackson want to transfer these guys back to Kansas, which Fillmore cannot accept.

However, Liang Yao and Jackson had good reasons, which he could not refute. Fillmore knew that he was at fault.

Fillmore came to the War Department that day. He was furious with the War Department, which was mainly composed of northerners. Even the respected General Scott was severely reprimanded by Fillmore and was not spared.

After the reprimand, Fillmore had harsh words for War Department officials if they could not deliver the munitions items on the list, especially the urgently needed artillery and ammunition, to San Antonio within a week. Fillmore would relieve them of their positions and put Southerners in the War Department.

Fillmore's attack worked. Northerners naturally did not want Southerners to control the power of this important department of the War Department.

After weighing the pros and cons, Scott also believed that retaining Northerners' positions in the War Department was more important than stumbling upon the South at this time.

Other military supplies were indeed caused by the Northerners of the War Department making things difficult for the troops on the Texas front line, but in terms of artillery, the North did not make things difficult for the South.

There are not many artillery pieces in the munitions warehouse in the north that are in good condition and can be used immediately after being pulled out.

But there are always more solutions than difficulties.

When subordinates came to Secretary of War Scott and complained that it was an impossible task to get together 20 light artillery (field guns) and 5 heavy artillery pieces within a week.

Scott still reluctantly ordered 25 light and heavy artillery pieces from the 1st Ohio Light Artillery Company and other artillery units of the Northern Army for the South.

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1850 American Gold TycoonCh.451/668 [67.51%]