North America 1849, from Gold Rush to Warlord

Chapter 261 Who agrees? Who objects?
Azu expanded California's National Guard to three divisions and three brigades, a total of 50,000 men.

And this is just the beginning of the expansion.

As California's economic strength and population have grown, a mere 50,000 people simply cannot satisfy Azu's appetite.

Then, Ah Zu continued, "Uncle Jiu, what's the current production capacity of our arsenal?"

Uncle Nine replied confidently, "Boss, although our arsenal's production capacity is limited due to raw material constraints, both our machinery and skilled workers are expanding rapidly."

"Currently, our theoretical annual production capacity is 300,000 rifles."

"The annual production capacity of machine guns has reached 5,000 units."

"The annual production capacity of mortars has reached two thousand units."

"The total production capacity of 75mm infantry guns, 100mm, 155mm and 203mm heavy guns reached more than a thousand."

"The annual production capacity of bullets of various calibers exceeds 100 million rounds."

"The annual production capacity of hand grenades has reached three million."

"The annual production capacity of mortar shells has reached more than two million."

"The number of breech-loading shells of various calibers has also reached over one million."

Uncle Nine continued, "And our uniforms, military boots, helmets, canteens, saddles and harnesses... and all other equipment, the annual production capacity is enough to equip an army of 300,000!"

Uncle Nine added, "This production capacity has far exceeded our own needs and previous order requirements."

"If it weren't for the boss's foresight and early preparation, we wouldn't have had enough production capacity to handle such a huge arms order from both the North and South armies."

"Even though we have expanded our production capacity as early as possible, it still faces great difficulties in producing these two huge orders of seventy to eighty million US dollars."

"Currently, the biggest difficulty is still the issue of various raw materials."

"To produce such a massive amount of weaponry, we've calculated that it would require approximately 300,000 tons of high-quality steel, 30,000 tons of copper, 50,000 tons of propellant and high explosives, and at least 100,000 cubic meters of high-quality timber...!"

"With such a large demand for raw materials, such as steel and copper, our own smelters in California can only meet up to 60 percent of the demand. The rest needs to be imported in large quantities from Europe and Chile."

"Our Huamei Chemical Plant can currently meet about 70% of the demand for propellants and high explosives such as mercury fulminate, nitrocellulose, and picric acid. The shortfall will require further expansion this year to meet the demand."

"As for high-quality timber, California has no shortage of it...!"

"Because of the soaring procurement and transportation costs of steel and copper purchased from abroad, the cost of our produced weapons has also increased to some extent."

"Moreover, even with such a huge production capacity at present, it can only meet the needs of one of the two armies, North and South."

"In order to complete these two huge orders as quickly as possible, we need to expand the scale of our military factory as soon as possible... to at least guarantee a year's production capacity, enough to fully arm 500,000 troops...!"

Upon hearing this, Edgar Allan Poe immediately frowned and said, "Is it necessary to expand the production capacity of the arsenal to such an exaggerated extent?"

"Even if war breaks out between the North and the South, they will at most procure weapons and munitions for a million people, and not all of them will be supplied by our Huamei Armory."

"Once the war is over, most of our enormous arms production capacity will be idle...!"

Azu slowly shook his head: "Ellen, you are still too optimistic about this war!"

"Boss, what do you mean...?" Edgar Allan Poe immediately pressed for an answer.

"What I mean is that the scale of this war, its duration, the number of troops involved, the scope of its impact... all of this will completely exceed everyone's imagination."

Ah Zu can only give a general answer now; of course, he can't give specific numbers.

According to later statistics, the North and South deployed more than three million troops in this war that lasted for four years, and lost more than one million soldiers.

The total material resources invested by both the North and the South amounted to an astonishing seven billion US dollars.

In terms of purchasing power parity, seven billion US dollars in the mid-19th century was roughly equivalent to thirteen trillion US dollars in later times. This far exceeded the total material resources invested by the United States in World War I and World War II.

The combined direct war expenditures by both sides exceeded three billion US dollars!
At the height of the war, the war expenditures of both the North and South even exceeded their respective GDPs!

The war caused particularly great damage to the South.

After conquering southern lands and cities, the Northern Army adopted a scorched-earth policy.

In major southern cities such as Atlanta and Charleston, more than 90 percent of the buildings were completely destroyed.

More than 60 percent of the infrastructure in the south, including railways and ports, was destroyed.

The southern states were almost completely reduced to scorched earth after the war!
It wasn't until around 1900 that the per capita GDP in the south barely recovered to the level of 1860.

Because so many soldiers and civilians lost limbs during the war, it even spurred a revolution in the American prosthetics industry...!
……

It is fair to say that the American Civil War was the most brutal, intense, and destructive war in American history! It far surpassed the Revolutionary War, World War I, World War II, the Vietnam War, and many other major wars by countless times!
So, this is nothing!
Moreover, with the addition of Ah Zu, this "troublemaker," he had already decided that in this long war, he would help whichever side was weaker.

When necessary, one can even personally lead one's own troops into battle!
In short, the goal is to use this battlefield to completely cripple and destroy America, and bleed it dry to its last drop of blood!

With Azu's addition, this war will inevitably become longer, bloodier, and more brutal...!
……

These words, of course, cannot be said publicly at such a meeting.

Azu simply said, "As I expect, this war will be far longer and bloodier than I imagined."

"War is definitely a bad thing! But for us in California, if we use it wisely, it could be a great opportunity to rise up."

"What are these two huge orders of 70 or 80 million? In the next few years, I predict there will be many more and bigger orders."

Ah Zu smiled faintly and said, "Even if the Civil War is over, the world is so big that wars are inevitable."

"Therefore, we not only want to be an arms dealer, but we want to expand and strengthen our operations...!"

After Ah Zu finished speaking, everyone at the meeting fell silent for a long time.

Making a fortune from war leaves many people with some psychological burden.

The feelings were even more complicated for white people like Edgar Allan Poe, who were born and raised in America.

Seeing that everyone remained silent, Azu couldn't help but continue, "Even if we don't become arms dealers, the money will still be made by those arms dealers in Europe!"

"We shouldn't let the good stuff go to outsiders! Rather than letting those Europeans profit, we might as well let our own people make the money."

Later statistics showed that the North and South alone purchased hundreds of millions of dollars worth of arms from Europe.

Of these, England accounted for a full 60 percent, while Prussia and France split the remaining 40 percent.

The two sides purchased nearly two million Enfield 1853 Minié rifles alone.

The enormous profits from the Civil War gave rise to arms giants like Armstrong and Vickers in England, and to military industrial giants like Krupp in Prussia.

Hearing Ah Zu say this, many people breathed a sigh of relief.

Azu continued, "When the war really starts, I expect the Northern Army to use its naval advantage to try to block the Southern sea transport lines."

After listening and thinking it over carefully, everyone agreed wholeheartedly.

The American fleet was essentially in complete control of the Union Army. It would be strange if the Union Army did not make good use of this advantage.

Azu added, "Once the sea routes in the south are blocked, the price of cotton, the most important product in the south, will definitely skyrocket."

This is also true. After the war started, it became difficult to transport cotton from the south, which caused the price of cotton on the international market to rise by four times!
The South used small smuggling ships to transport millions of bales of cotton, breaking through the blockade of the American Navy and reaching Europe. However, many more cotton smuggling ships were intercepted by the Northern Fleet.

These cotton lint pieces, which were originally worth only 30 to 40 million US dollars, immediately rose to 120 million US dollars after being shipped to Europe.

It was precisely because of cotton as collateral that the Southern Army, which lacked its own arsenals, was able to obtain a steady stream of arms from Europe.

Azu continued, "Therefore, we must do everything possible to stockpile cotton resources before the war breaks out."

Azu turned to look at Victoria: "Use the communication channels of the 18th Bureau to immediately notify the O'Hara family in Georgia and have them represent California in a full-scale buying spree in the Southern market!"

"Boss, how much stock do we need? And at what prices?" Victoria asked in a deep voice.

"Buy as much as you can from the market, don't worry about the price, just buy it all!"

Upon hearing this, Victoria didn't ask why, but simply nodded and said, "Okay, no problem, BOSS!"

Azu continued, "All the cotton we bought was transported to the port of Colon in Panama and stored there."

"Once the war breaks out, we'll use this cotton to make a killing!"

Everyone present understood that their boss was going to engage in hoarding, speculation, and profiteering again.

“Boss, I understand!” Victoria was responsible for getting the matter done.

Ah Zu turned back and asked Uncle Nine, "You said that the cost of our weapons will increase because of the large-scale import of steel and copper... exactly by how much?"

Uncle Nine had already calculated the costs: "Boss, the average cost of the weapons and equipment we produce will increase by about 10%."

"A 10% increase, um... Originally, these two orders, totaling $74 million, cost approximately $25 million. After the increase, they will cost approximately $28 million, right?"

“Yes!” Uncle Nine nodded in reply.

"Then we still have a profit of forty-six million US dollars, hmm, that's not bad! Arms and weapons, no wonder it's one of the most profitable industries."

"Once the war actually starts, the prices of the weapons and equipment we sell will have to go up...!"

"After all, we're the only ones in the world capable of supplying advanced weapons on a large scale! Whether it's the South or the North, they have no other choice...!"

Everyone present once again recognized their boss's ugly capitalist face!
Azu continued, "Besides weapons and cotton, we must also stockpile grain...!"

"Grain?" Everyone was puzzled.

Azu smiled and said, "Once the South is blockaded by the Northern Fleet, all kinds of supplies will be in short supply in the South except for cotton, especially food...!"

"Although the farmland in the south is vast, most of it is used to grow cotton."

"I had warned the representatives of the Southern Army before, but it's not so easy to change the planting structure in a short period of time."

"Therefore, I estimate that the South will still face food shortages."

"We've stockpiled a large amount of grain, and then, using our high-speed steam merchant ships, we can easily break through the Northern Army's blockade and sell the grain to the South. We estimate we can make a fortune...!"

Everyone fell silent!

If your boss does things this way, you'll end up making all the money for a war.
Regardless of whether victory ultimately belongs to the South or the North, the spoils of victory will undoubtedly belong to California and to their own boss!

……

After discussing the arrangements for the future war, Azu turned to Youma and said, "For the past few months, we have been sending out small groups of cavalry to strengthen communication with the Indian tribes in the western states."

"How are things now, several months have passed?" Azu asked. "Which tribes agree with our methods of appeasement and pacification, and which oppose them?"

Dressed in military uniform, Youma stood up with a snap and gave Azu a standard military salute before answering, "Boss, in the past few months, we have sent out more than forty ranger teams, each ranging from dozens to hundreds of people, to try to make contact with various Indian tribes."

"To facilitate communication, these Ranger units were composed entirely of Native American cavalry from various California tribes, as well as Native American soldiers from our Independent Cavalry Regiment."

"In the past few months, we have come into contact with almost every Indian tribe, large and small, in the West, whether in a peaceful manner or... in a combat manner!"

Yuma said solemnly, "With our aid of military weapons and our promise to designate reservations for them, most of the small and medium-sized Indian tribes are willing to accept our appeasement and pacification measures."

"However, many Native American tribes not only refused to accept our appeasement and surrender measures, but also openly attacked our Ranger units."

"Many of the more than forty ranger units we sent out suffered losses! A total of more than three hundred people were killed or wounded."

"But under the powerful firepower of our machine guns and mortars, these Indians who openly besieged us were all driven back."

"Leaving aside small and medium-sized tribes, the large tribes that are willing to accept our appeasement and pacification policy include the Crow tribe, the Boni tribe, the Navajo tribe, and so on."

Azu pressed on, "Then which major tribes oppose our policies and even attack our ranger units?"

Youma replied in a deep voice, "The Comanche, the Sioux, the Apache, and... the Cheyenne!"

When Ah Zu heard this, he felt that these were all tough opponents!

During the centuries-long Indian Wars, the Comanche, Sioux, and Apache tribes were formidable forces that inflicted heavy losses on the American army and at times achieved victory.

The fact that these tribes could defeat the American army's muskets and cannons with bows, arrows, and spears demonstrates their formidable fighting power.

Now, Azu has also provided these war tribes with a large number of Mini guns, which has greatly increased their combat power!
Ah Zu didn't realize that he had dug a hole for himself.

Whether it's the Comanche, Apache, or Sioux, no matter how many Minié guns they have, once you cut off their arms supply and they lose their ammunition, all those Minié guns are no match for firewood.

"The Sioux, the Comanche, the Apache... and the Cheyenne!"

Azu pondered for a moment and said, "The three tribes ahead have tens of thousands of people and nearly ten thousand warriors. They are undoubtedly large tribes! Given the pride of large tribes, it is understandable that they are unwilling to accept our conditions."

"As for the Cheyenne tribe, their population is no more than ten thousand, and their warriors are no more than two thousand. Who gave them the audacity to attack our rangers?"

Youma replied, "BOSS, the Xiayan tribe and the Su tribe are allies. It is because they have such a powerful ally as the Su tribe that they have the audacity to do this."

Azu nodded: "Last time when we discussed the coal mine land with the Xiayan people, they flatly refused."

"This time, they've become even bolder, daring to attack our rangers...!"

"It seems that simply appeasing them won't work; we have to teach them a lesson!"

Youma raised an eyebrow: "Boss, you mean...?"

Instead of answering, Azu asked, "Youma, after the Independent Cavalry Brigade completes its expansion, if you were to fight alone, penetrating hundreds or thousands of miles deep to wipe out the Xiayan tribe's stronghold, would you be confident?"

"Report! We are absolutely confident!" Youma puffed out his chest, full of confidence, and said, "Even without the expansion, the independent cavalry regiment can easily defeat the Xiayan tribe...!"

Although the original cavalry regiment was not equipped with heavy artillery, it had quite a few machine guns and mortars.

The main force of the cavalry regiment—the Blackfoot tribe—was originally no less powerful than the Cheyenne tribe. With advanced weapons, advanced tactics, military discipline, and high-intensity training, their combat power was far beyond what it used to be!

After being expanded into a cavalry brigade, not only did the number of troops increase, but it was also equipped with a supply battalion, a heavy artillery battalion, and so on, which raised its combat effectiveness and attack capability to a new level.

Azu shook his head slightly: "What I want is not to defeat the Cheyenne, but to completely drive them out of Wyoming and seize the coal source that is so vital to us."

"Furthermore, your independent cavalry brigade must also guard against support from the Sioux!"

"Given the strong alliance between the Cheyenne and Sioux tribes, I predict they will definitely support each other."

"Therefore, you are not only facing one or two thousand Xia Yan cavalry, but also nearly ten thousand Su tribe reinforcements...!"

(End of this chapter)