Chapter 296: Building the plank road openly, secretly destroying Chencang
Chapter 296: Building the plank road openly, secretly destroying Chencang
A palace in Washington, the federal capital.
President Johnson sat in the Oval Office, holding the telegram from Shao Quanzhong in his hand, lost in thought.
There is no problem in forming an alliance with the Qing Dynasty; the two countries are already de facto allies.
Federal merchants invested heavily in the huge Qing market, and telegraph and railway construction flourished.
The Qing Dynasty's Military Affairs Office had previously approved Zhang Zhidong's memorial to build a large factory, and federal businessmen heard the news and signed a large number of investment intentions in various provinces of the Qing Dynasty. When Shao Quanzhong arrived at the federation on his visit, it was natural for the two sides to sign a friendly alliance.
But forming a coalition to attack Spain is a problem.
The Federation was badly damaged by the Civil War, and the current consensus in the country is to focus on developing the economy and restoring strength.
The federal land is vast and sparsely populated. The current national policy is to absorb a large number of immigrants and develop its vast territory. There has been no impulse to launch foreign wars for decades.
The Federation has no urge to go to war, but I do.
Johnson became president as vice president after President Lincoln was assassinated.
In the shadow of the great President Lincoln, he seemed very mediocre. But in fact, he was a man of firm beliefs, doing everything for the strength of the Union and not afraid of any challenge.
Political opponents wanted to give the newly freed slaves the right to vote and allow them to participate in governance, which would cause chaos in the federation that had just restored peace and was not a safe way to govern the country.
This has to be done slowly. Overly radical policies are bound to lead to chaos. Lucia's radical abolitionism is a failed counterexample.
To this end, he exercised his veto power 29 times, 15 of which were overturned, and the political struggle with his opponents reached a fever pitch.
Last year, his opponents united in anger to impeach him, but failed by one vote, and he almost became the first president of the federal government to be impeached and removed from office.
If this trend continues, there will be no hope for his re-election, and the federation will be handed over to the rule of that group of radical national scum.
My personal success or failure is not worth mentioning. The federation cannot be in chaos. I must continue my policy of moderate development.
Therefore, Shao Quanzhong's proposal to divide the Spanish colonies together was too tempting.
If he could expand the territory for the Federation and lead the Federation to defeat the old empire of Spain, his prestige would rise immediately and he would be re-elected for sure.
But Congress will definitely not approve the proposal to go to war. Should I go ahead with it?
Johnson picked up a copy of the California Terra newspaper from a few months ago that he had read repeatedly. Mark Twain's message to him, urging him to cooperate with Shao Quanzhong, still attracted him.
Looking at the powerful fleet of the Nanyang Navy in the newspaper, Johnson made up his mind that the coalition forces with the Qing Dynasty would surely win, and his plan for re-election would surely come true.
As for Congress not approving the war, I just don't go to war. Anyway, Shao Quanzhong didn't ask the US military to fight, he just sent people to escort the South American mercenaries to Spain.
"Come here, dispatch 20 steam sailing warships and hire 40 steam transport ships. Promote Navy Captain George Dewey to Major and have him lead the Marines to South America to carry out an escort transport mission to promote friendship with our ally, the Qing Dynasty."
The commander of the American Atlantic Fleet was Samuel S. Robinson. However, President Johnson was determined to join the war in the name of peace protection, so he could not do it in a high-profile manner.
As a president, dispatching 40 commercial transport ships and sending a newly promoted major out to perform an "ordinary" escort mission to help an ally with transportation, isn't that a big deal? This ally is a huge market for you capitalists, and no one will have any objections.
Without going to war, I cannot mobilize the federal army, but at least I have the power to mobilize the Marines, and that is enough.
On the coastal gunboat "Seminole", Navy Captain George Dewey was bored.
George Dewey was a talented naval officer who performed well in the Civil War. Just when he was full of confidence and ready to make great achievements, the Civil War ended.
The navy carried out a major downsizing, reducing nearly 700 warships to 48, all of which were sold. Only five ships were retained in the Far East Fleet, which became the "Asia Squadron."
The U.S. Navy fell from the first place in the world in terms of the number of warships to the twelfth place, behind Denmark and Chile. The U.S. Navy was evaluated as "a dragon painted on a Chinese bunker, which can only scare people." The scene of the Atlantic Fleet Commander Oster Hoss leading the fleet to escort the Taiping Army mercenaries to Cuba was gone forever.
I am now the captain of a small gunboat, and my ambitions are hard to achieve. I really envy Mahan. I heard that he was promoted to lieutenant general in the Qing Dynasty. Why didn't President Lincoln send me there?
My situation is pretty good. Most of the naval officers have been laid off, and those who remain have connections.
Many naval lieutenants have not been promoted until they are forty years old. Naval Academy cadets have no jobs after graduation and are dismissed after receiving only one thousand dollars. Their youth in the Naval Academy is wasted.
There were only 128 sailors on the small gunboat he was in charge of, 47 of whom were Federals, 21 Chinese, 20 Irish, 9 British, and the rest of the sailors came from 22 countries.
Why is the composition so mixed? The navy's military budget is insufficient, and the foreign temporary workers are paid little.
How did the American Navy become like this? When will I be able to command a real warship? Will I be able to see the revival of the Federation Navy in my lifetime?
"Captain, General Robinson, Commander of the Atlantic Fleet, has arrived!"
The general is coming to inspect? Dewey dressed up and went out to greet him.
General Robinson smiled back and looked at Dewey. "Young man, you are lucky. The president personally named you to be promoted to major and serve as the captain of the USS Congress. I order you to lead 20 steam ships and a battalion of marines to South America to carry out escort missions."
Dewey was stunned. How could such a good thing happen to an unknown captain like me?
Sometimes, it is necessary to show weakness strategically, and being unknown can become an advantage.
Dewey was overjoyed and immediately took office and began to prepare for the escort mission of tens of thousands of miles.
He didn't know that this was just the beginning of his luck.
This mission is not just an escort. He has to make great contributions to the Federation because of Shao Quanzhong's operations on the other side of the ocean. His glorious life is about to begin.
…………
In Batavia, Governor Meyer watched the powerful South China Sea Navy leave the port, took out a white handkerchief from his suit pocket, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and breathed a long sigh of relief.
He had fulfilled his mission and managed to secure the Governorate of Batavia for His Majesty William, so that the East India Company could continue to make profits.
The neighboring country to the north, Qing, became stronger thanks to the help of its big brother, Britain. As a small country, the Netherlands had to be flexible in order to survive in a world where the strong were everywhere and the weak were the prey of the strong, and continue to eat its own food.
On the Zhendong, all the generals were looking forward to the next journey. What would Shao Quanzhong do in the Indian Ocean and what big event would he accomplish?
Everyone was disappointed. The Indian Ocean was dominated by the British.
Shao Quanzhong's fleet behaved well all the way, replenished food and water, and passed through the Indian Ocean and around the Cape of Good Hope.
After a safe journey of 1868 miles, the fleet arrived in Equatorial Guinea eighty days later on July 7, 15.
This was one of the only two colonies of Spain in Africa. Shao Quanzhong was very gentle. He only ordered the Guards Brigade to land, plunder the two cities of Mbini and Bata, and took away goods worth hundreds of thousands of silver coins. He basically did not kill anyone, and then ordered the fleet to continue sailing.
Twenty days later, the fleet arrived at Green Cape, where it joined the transport fleet escorted by George Dewey.
Forty federal transport ships carried forty thousand Bau Heavenly Kingdom federal mercenaries.
Zhang Lexing and Yang Fuqing each led 15,000 Taiping troops and 5,000 native white troops to report to their lord Shao Quanzhong.
The Qing-American coalition was formally formed, including 34 ironclad ships, 40 auxiliary ships, 80 transport ships, and 20 steam-sailed warships.
It carried 6,000 men from the Huai Army Guards Brigade, a battalion of 929 American Marines, and 40,000 South American mercenaries.
This unprecedentedly large fleet sailed northwards towards the Spanish mainland. Shao Quanzhong's first stop in Europe was to visit Spain.
(End of this chapter)