"The Chinese have attacked the city of Duluth!" When the news reached Washington, it was already midnight. The president was shaken awake by his secretary. After learning the latest news, the president immediately went to his office for a meeting.
The Ministry of War was on duty 24 hours a day. The officials either stayed in a guest room in the White House or rented a house in the surrounding area. Since even the president was woken up by the news, these officials naturally wouldn't let it go.
The Duluth garrison seemed to be racing against time. The telegram was sent in four parts, and there were also four telegrams in front of the president. The secretary thoughtfully marked the numbers on the telegram.
The first telegram was passed by a group of tired federal officials. The content of the telegram was simple. "Duluth is under attack from the south by the Liberation Army. We need urgent reinforcements."
"From the south?" Lincoln, the Minister of War, immediately frowned. Duluth was the core of the northern defense line of the United States. All the orders were for this line of defense to stop the Chinese army from moving south. How could the Chinese army suddenly launch an attack from the south?
The president didn't say anything. He handed the other telegrams to Lincoln, the Minister of War. Perhaps because the first telegram was sent out accurately, the other three telegrams were sent out more slowly, which meant that each telegram contained more words than the previous one. The introduction was also more specific.
The first message mentioned in the telegram was a message sent by a brave railway telegrapher before being attacked by the Chinese army. Less than six hours after receiving the message, the Chinese army arrived near Duluth and began to attack. Lincoln, the Minister of War, picked up a pen and calculated on a blank piece of paper. The telegram was quite organized, and it accurately described the key locations and times. According to this calculation, the Chinese army launched an attack from the south to the north along the railway at an average speed of 20 kilometers per hour.
The pencil scratched on the paper. Minister Lincoln frowned after he finished his calculations. Then, he calculated again with a solemn expression. Americans weren't particularly good at arithmetic, and they didn't have a special interest in mathematics. Even the bigwigs of Washington, when they saw Minister Lincoln Jr.'s calculations, they just stood by and did not follow up.
After calculating the final result, Minister Lincoln Jr. told everyone the result of the calculation with a gloomy face. "This China troop should be heading north from St. Paul."
"The Chinese have really occupied St. Paul?" Upon hearing this, those bigwigs who had always believed that the Chinese didn't have the ability to travel several hundred kilometers south to capture St. Paul still couldn't believe it.
"There's been too much news about this recently. Don't tell me you still don't believe it?" Minister Lincoln junior said with a displeased expression. He didn't want to believe such bad news at all, but he had to face it.
"Could Arthur in Duluth have made a mistake?" Theodore, the Minister of the Navy, said. Roosevelt's expression and tone of voice were still as if he could not accept it.
Minister Lincoln junior could not help but intensify his tone. "I think we have to believe this news. A Chinese troop has occupied St. Paul, and then moved north from St. Paul to attack Duluth. "
Seeing that the bigwigs around him were still skeptical, Minister Lincoln Jr. began to think about whether he should use his status as the Minister of War to temporarily shut these people up. After that, all the decisions would be based on Minister Lincoln Jr.'s opinion.
After all, President Garfield was a senior military officer who had made a name for himself in the Civil War. Seeing Minister Lincoln Jr.'s expression, he immediately said, "Now, let's use this information as the core!"
The president was the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, and President Garfield was a hero in the Civil War. He had once massacred the southern rednecks and issued an order to kill the Native Americans. The attitude of a ruthless executioner like him was firm, and the other bigwigs in the military could only follow the judgment of the commander-in-chief of the armed forces.
Seeing that the group of "bigwigs" had finally calmed down, Minister Lincoln Jr. also calmed down. He had no intention of holding on to this matter. Previously, everyone in the White House, including him, was skeptical of the ability of the Chinese. Moreover, during the war, the telegrams were full of all kinds of strange news. From the Midwest to the South, there were telegrams about the discovery of the Chinese. It was not strange for the Midwest to have such news, but not long ago, even Florida had sent such a telegram. This news made Minister Lincoln very angry. Could it be that the Chinese had grown wings and flown to Florida …?
He shook his head and drove the thought out of his mind. Minister Lincoln Jr. knew that this was not the time to settle old scores. Brigadier General Arthur, the commander of the garrison in Duluth, was not a man who liked to exaggerate. Since his telegram was so urgent, he should focus on his situation now.
On the map in front of the president, the deployment of the federal army was clearly marked. The federal government had done a lot of things during the four or five months of preparation. "Thanks to the Chinese," that was to say, the Chinese army had invaded the United States since last year. The federal government didn't have to waste too much time and effort to get the federal army to return to the federal flag.
The Midwest states were probably defending on the spot and began to recruit a large number of soldiers in all the cities on the East Coast. After the experience of the Civil War, the federal army was more efficient in recruiting. Twenty years ago, when the European immigrants arrived in the United States, they were taken away by the recruitment brokers as soon as they got off the ship. The competition for soldiers between the North and the South was so fierce that a large number of fathers and sons belonging to different camps even killed each other.
This time, the federal government acted quickly. All the European people of age who had arrived in the United States in the past few months were incorporated into the federal army. Europe and the United States were culturally interlinked. These Europeans also knew that if they wanted to get American citizenship, the best way was to fight for the United States. The young men who came to the United States alone couldn't find a job. If they didn't join the army, they wouldn't have food to eat. Those who had families were easier to deal with. The Immigration officers clearly told these people, "If you want your family to have food to eat, then join the army and fight." For the sake of their families, those who were of the right age had no choice but to obey the Immigration officers' arrangements.
Many young people in the cities on the East Coast who were full of patriotism volunteered to join the army. These young people who had difficulty finding jobs were tempted when they saw the official document that "as long as they joined the war, they would get land." Under the persuasion of the recruitment brokers, these people also joined the army. This time, the federal government learned from the experience and paid each broker one dollar for each soldier they provided. A problem that could be solved with a few hundred thousand dollars was not a problem at all.
The results of four to five months of hard work were reflected on paper. The 400,000 soldiers of the thirty-odd divisions on the northern defensive line were like a pearl necklace in front of the arrow representing the Chinese army, executing the defensive battle order. This was the first line of troops. In the second line, with Chicago at its core, there were more than forty divisions in training, with more than five hundred thousand men, and in Washington at its core, there were more than forty divisions. Factories in the Great Lakes region and the industrial cities on the East Coast were working overtime to manufacture weapons and ammunition for the million-strong army. Together with the local National Guard, there were nearly two million combatants in the Great Lakes region.
"Why don't we send Ashland's troops to reinforce Duluth?" President Garfield suggested. According to the map, the nearest force to Duluth was a division and a brigade to the east of Duluth.
"Ashland's troops can provide emergency assistance." Lincoln Jr. supported President Garfield's view. After expressing his support, Secretary Lincoln Jr. continued, "I think we should send the two armies in Chicago to St. Paul at the same time."
"Two armies?" Theodore, the Minister of the Navy Roosevelt, the Secretary of the Navy, didn't understand why more than sixty thousand people were sent to St. Paul.
"Take back St. Paul, then go north along the railway and attack the Chinese from behind," Secretary Lincoln Jr. said firmly, as if he wanted to annihilate the main Chinese forces.
Seeing Secretary Lincoln Jr. firmly believe that the Chinese had conquered St. Paul, the other "officers" in the White House didn't want to agree. St. Paul was two hundred kilometers away from the front line. If the Chinese really attacked St. Paul, they could just occupy it. Why did they have to go north from St. Paul?
But now the president was obviously supporting Lincoln Jr. Everyone was silent, and they could only remain silent.
President Garfield didn't doubt his people. As the commander-in-chief of the three armies, he gave the order immediately. "That's the plan. Give the order immediately!"
"Mr. President," Lincoln Jr. said.
"What is it?" President Garfield didn't know what Secretary Lincoln Jr. was going to add.
"We haven't been able to build a special telegraph line for the war yet. Please give the order again." Secretary Lincoln Jr. was still brooding over this. The telegraph lines belonged to the companies of the telegraph tycoons. Although they promised to work for the federal government, they refused to let the federal government directly control the telegraph lines. Secretary Lincoln Jr. really couldn't deal with these people.
President Garfield hesitated for a moment. After a while, he replied, "I'll discuss it with the minister."
Hearing this, Secretary Lincoln Jr. could only sigh.
The White House held a night meeting about the battle in Duluth. The headquarters in Duluth couldn't sleep at all.
"The White House didn't break through!"
"The Henry Army is facing strong resistance!"
"The Apredo Army is requesting reinforcements!"
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