North America 1849, from Gold Rush to Warlord

Chapter 304 Three Kingdoms
In response to the upheavals in the West, the Union government of the United States chose to engage in emergency negotiations with the South.

But once the machine of war is started, there is no reason to stop it so easily.

Although both the North and South were exhausted and had almost bled to death.

Even so, the ceasefire conditions offered by the South were still unacceptable to the North.

The only condition for a ceasefire offered by the South was that the North recognize the South's independence!

Regardless of who is in power in the North, anyone who dares to agree to such conditions will be a sinner for all time in American history!
Therefore, the war continues.

However, the Northern government, which had barely gained the upper hand, halted its southward advance and instead turned its attention to the west.

The 500,000 Union troops who were urgently withdrawn from the front lines of the Civil War did not have time to rest and immediately rushed to the West.

In November 1856, the Union Army and the California Army clashed in St. Louis, a major city on the Mississippi River, for the first major battle.

St. Louis straddles both banks of the Mississippi River. Not only is it the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers, but it is also located at the geographical center of the United States, with convenient water and land transportation, making it a core hub city connecting the east and west of the United States.

Because of the city's crucial location, the Union Army assembled a full 200,000 troops to besiege St. Louis, which had been captured by the California Army for over a month.

The defense of St. Louis was carried out by a division of the Third Army under Zuo Zongtang's command, along with an attached artillery brigade, a cavalry brigade, and an engineer regiment, totaling 25,000 men.

With 200,000 against 25,000, the disparity in strength seemed huge, but the outcome was a foregone conclusion.

But after nearly a month of fierce fighting, the result surprised everyone.

After suffering heavy casualties of 80,000, the 200,000-strong Union army failed to even reach the outskirts of St. Louis and was forced to retreat.

The Californian army won this battle against overwhelming odds not only because of its superior weaponry, firepower, troop quality, training level, command and tactics, but also because it received strong naval gun support from the shallow-draft gunboats of the Atlantic Fleet patrolling the Mississippi River.

The California army advanced relentlessly, capturing cities and strongholds with little resistance, and its momentum was at its peak.

After capturing St. Louis, Zuo Zongtang keenly realized that the city was far too important and that a series of bloody struggles would inevitably erupt over its ownership in the future.

So, for about a month after capturing St. Louis, the California army began constructing fortifications, transforming the city into a massive fortress in a very short time.

In contrast, the Union Army had been exhausted from fighting the Confederate Army for several years and was a weary force. After withdrawing from the front lines of the Civil War, it rushed to St. Louis, thousands of miles away, with almost no rest.

Besides being outnumbered, the California army had the advantage of favorable timing, location, and popular support, inflicting losses on the enemy by more than ten times with only six thousand casualties.

If the Californian army hadn't been so numerically outnumbered and unable to pursue the retreating Union army, the final results would certainly have been even greater.

Twenty-five thousand fought against two hundred thousand, and in the end, six thousand were killed or wounded in exchange for eighty thousand. This battle set off California's military might and marked the first real battle on the road to nationhood!
Before the Battle of St. Louis was completely over, a series of battles broke out one after another in important cities such as Chicago to the north and Memphis to the south.

Although the battles that took place in these major cities were not as large as the Battle of St. Louis, the Union army still concentrated at least tens of thousands of troops with the intention of recapturing these crucial cities.

For the Northern Army, each of these cities was a crucial point where the east and west met, and they could not afford to lose any of them.

Only by recapturing these key cities can the Union Army gain access to transportation hubs and logistical supply centers, and only then can they truly set foot on western soil.

The Mississippi Line, formed by this series of cities, was so important that the Union army was determined to take it back, even at the cost of lives.

However, without exception, all of these battles ended in disastrous defeats for the Northern Army.

Of the 500,000 troops deployed, more than half were lost, rendering them incapable of launching another large-scale offensive.

In addition to the first batch of 500,000 Union troops, the federal government drew another 400,000 troops from the front lines of the Civil War and cobbled together from various Northern states, and once again committed them to the Mississippi front.

The fact that so many troops were transferred to the western front is a classic case of robbing Peter to pay Paul!
The Southern Army, which was slightly at a disadvantage, was relieved of pressure, while the Northern Army, which had lost hundreds of thousands of troops, was completely unable to organize any further offensives.

How could the Southern Army possibly miss such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity?
While the Union army attacked the Mississippi Line, the Confederate army also launched a major offensive, recovering large swathes of lost territory in South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama in just two months, and began its advance into the Northern states.

The Northern Army, stretched thin, could only maintain a defensive posture on both the northern and southern battlefields, trying to delay the Southern Army's advance as much as possible.

Meanwhile, shortly after New Year's Day in 1857, the Union Army launched the Second Battle of St. Louis.

This battle was much larger in scale!
With reinforcements, the Northern Army swelled to over 300,000 men.

The California garrison also received reinforcements from a division of the Northern Army and two brigades of the Southern Army, bringing their total strength to 40,000.

The Second Battle of Saint-Louis lasted from the beginning of 1857 until the end of February.

After suffering heavy casualties of over 100,000 men once again, the Union army was once again met with a bloody defeat by the impregnable walls of St. Louis and had no choice but to besiege the city without attacking, waiting for an opportunity.

After a series of crushing defeats, the Union army finally realized that it was virtually impossible to break through the Mississippi Line by land.

Therefore, the Northern Army turned its attention to the sea!

If you can't win on land, why not try naval warfare!
If the Atlantic Fleet of California can be defeated and control of the sea can be seized, the army can land at any point along the long coastline of Louisiana and Texas, bypassing the Mississippi Line and seizing the initiative in the war.

In response, the U.S. Navy recalled its Africa Squadron, Mediterranean Squadron, and all other ships capable of sailing, and combined them with the main force of the home fleet to challenge the Atlantic Fleet of California.

As for the Pacific Fleet and the Far East Fleet, they had already lost all contact with the Northern government of the United States at the very beginning of the war.

It is easy to imagine that these two unsuspecting squadrons were taken into custody by the Californian army, along with their crews, who had planned ahead.

In March 1857, the United States Navy assembled all available naval forces, including thirteen capital ships, twenty cruisers, more than forty frigates, and over a hundred patrol ships and shallow-draft gunboats.

A massive fleet of two hundred ships stormed into the Gulf of Mexico to confront the California Atlantic Fleet.

Of these two hundred warships, 60 percent were still old sailing warships, and 40 percent were steam warships, most of which were still slow paddle steamers, and were not even suitable for a decisive battle on the high seas.

But America can't care about all that anymore!
America is like a gambler who has lost everything and is gambling everything on it!
In comparison, the California Atlantic Fleet is much smaller!

Even with the support and reinforcement of the Eastern Pacific Fleet, the Atlantic Fleet only had two capital ships, six cruisers, twenty frigates, and more than thirty patrol ships and shallow-draft gunboats, totaling seventy ships.

In the naval battle, the two sides had seventy ships against two hundred, with a total tonnage of eighty thousand tons against seventeen hundred thousand tons.

……

On March 16, 1857, the Battle of the Gulf of Mexico broke out.

The specific location of the naval battle was in the northern Gulf of Mexico, 200 nautical miles southeast of New Orleans.

This was the largest naval battle in North American history. The two sides clashed head-on at dawn and fought fiercely until nightfall.

The naval battle lasted all day, with more than two hundred warships, thousands of cannons, and tens of thousands of naval officers and soldiers fighting fiercely, with cannon fire filling the sky and smoke obscuring the sun.

The sea boiled and the sky changed color!
The U.S. Navy had a numerical advantage, while the California Navy had an absolute advantage in equipment and technology.

Compared to land warfare, the California Navy has an even greater technological advantage than the Army.

If the Army's equipment, training, and tactical level were at least thirty years ahead of the times, then the California Navy's technological advantage was at least fifty years!
With its super-high speed of over 25 knots, the California Navy is practically a game-changer for the United States Navy, whose speed is at most 10 knots.

Whether it was seizing the "T" formation or maneuvering to encircle the enemy, the enormous advantage of speed was clearly demonstrated in this naval battle.

In the dawn, with both sides spotting each other almost simultaneously, the California fleet, with its high speed, took the lead and formed a superior battle line centered around two fast armored capital ships of 6,000 tons each, equipped with 280mm guns.

While the U.S. Navy was still scrambling to form battle lines, it was met with a barrage of fire from the California Fleet more than 10,000 yards away!

Whether it's 155mm, 203mm, or 280mm naval guns, their range exceeds 10,000 yards, far exceeding the typical range of two to three thousand yards for American naval guns—by a huge margin!
Twenty-eight capital ships, cruisers, and frigates, with nearly a thousand large-caliber naval guns, fired high-explosive shells that blotted out the sky like the roar of death.

Amidst the overwhelming barrage of fire, the U.S. Navy was utterly powerless to retaliate and could only passively endure the onslaught.

Faced with the opponent's high speed and long range, the U.S. Navy had no choice but to press forward.

Under wave after wave of intense artillery fire, the massive American naval fleet attempted to approach within range of its own naval guns.

During the fleet's charge, warships were sunk or damaged one after another.

Large-caliber high-explosive shells meant that if a wooden sailing warship was hit by just two or three, it would almost certainly be reduced to ashes.

Even iron-hulled steam warships could not withstand the relentless bombardment of large-caliber naval guns. Ironclad ships with slightly thicker armor could only withstand a few more hits before inevitably sinking to the bottom of the sea and becoming fish food.

On this day, a spectacular fireworks display took place on the vast sea!

One after another, American warships were either sunk directly or had their ammunition depots blown up, resulting in even more astonishing and earth-shattering explosions.

Under the command of our old friend, Rear Admiral Paparo King, a massive American fleet of two hundred ships, with a death-defying courage, braving such deadly and intense gunfire, attempted to approach the California fleet.

But after they had paid the price of sinking more than 30 warships and damaging even more, and finally got within 3,000 to 4,000 yards and were about to launch a counterattack, they were devastated to find that the California fleet had shamelessly flown a "kite"!
That's right!

It's just flying kites!
The California fleet, taking advantage of its high speed, retreated while continuing to fire relentlessly.

No matter how hard the American fleet tried to get closer, the California fleet always managed to keep the distance between the two sides at more than 4,000 yards!

Four thousand yards—that's a range that no other naval gun in the United States Navy can match!
Four thousand yards, also a nightmare for the American fleet!

At this distance, our side is still unable to launch an effective counterattack.

Meanwhile, the smaller caliber naval guns in the California fleet, such as the 100mm and even 75mm guns, are capable of accurate firing at this distance.

More California naval guns joined this merciless killing spree!
More than a thousand California naval guns not only had a long range, but also a rate of fire far exceeding that of this era.

The overwhelming barrage of bullets obscured the sky, boiled the ocean, and extinguished all hope of the American Navy.

At engagement distances of 4,000 yards, the casualties suffered by the U.S. Navy at every moment became greater and more devastating!

More and more warships are weeping, screaming, and groaning in despair!
On the vast sea, countless warship wreckage and countless corpses floated.

None of these belonged to the California Fleet!
Not long after the naval battle began, Rear Admiral Paparo King realized with despair that this was a suicidal voyage with no chance of victory!

Although it was foreseen that the California fleet would have a significant advantage.

But under immense political pressure, Paparo King had no choice but to lead the last remaining American naval forces into a desperate battle.

Although he knew it was a war that was difficult to win, Paparo King still held onto a sliver of hope.

Now, the facts before him extinguished all his hopes and wishful thinking.

Paparo King could only use all his skills and make the most of his decades of naval combat experience to try every possible way to reduce his side's casualties and losses.

But in the face of absolute technological superiority, everything is in vain!
Before half the day had even passed, the American fleet had already suffered more than half its losses!
The massive fleet of over two hundred ships was reduced to a mere ninety-odd remaining before noon.

Moreover, almost all of these ninety-odd ships were damaged.

Most of the ships that have survived to this day are ironclad warships. The outdated, fragile sailing warships have mostly been blasted to dust!

Faced with such heavy casualties and a hopeless battle, Paparo King, however unwilling he was, had no choice but to order a retreat.

But even if it's a retreat, it's not something you can just do on a whim!

When the American fleet collectively turned and chose to retreat, the California fleet, like sharks smelling blood, followed closely behind, continuing to hunt down its prey.

More warships were sunk during the retreat.

Paparo King had to make the toughest decision yet once again!
He had to leave a fleet behind to cover the retreat of the remaining fleet.

Faced with total annihilation, Paparo King had no other choice but to cut his losses and survive!
About twenty of the most heavily damaged warships were left behind to cover the main force's retreat.

As expected, these heavily damaged warships were quickly devoured by the California fleet.

The California fleet, still not satisfied, relentlessly pursued the enemy ships after annihilating their rearguard.

That's the advantage of high speed!

Even if you run for an hour or two first, I can still easily catch up with you!

The remaining American fleet, consisting of dozens of ships, was too large a target, and all of them were damaged, making it impossible for them to move quickly.

Seeing the California fleet continuing to pursue them, Paparo King issued another painful order.

They broke through the encirclement and scattered to escape!

Rather than sticking together and waiting to be surrounded and annihilated by the California fleet, it's better to scatter and flee separately.

How many warships will survive in the end is up to fate!

This morning, the massive American fleet, which still numbered over two hundred ships, was reduced to just over forty ships within half a day, scattering like birds and beasts as they fled in panic.

It must be said that Paparo King's command was flawless; he made the right decisions at every point in time.

The only mistake was choosing to go to war with the California fleet!
But this is not something he, as a rear admiral, can decide.

Whether or not to fight is up to the politicians in Washington.

All these generals could decide was how to fight.

Moreover, Paparo King's luck wasn't too bad either.

The weather was clear and sunny in the morning, but around 2 or 3 p.m., the weather suddenly changed, and a sudden storm saved the lives of many American Navy personnel!

In the midst of the raging storm and extremely poor visibility, the remaining American Navy had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to escape.

As night fell, amidst the fierce winds and torrential rain, it became impossible to find any trace of the enemy ships.

Only then did the California fleet finally abandon its pursuit and return to port victorious.

Even so, when Paparo King returned to the port of departure after a series of hardships and a narrow escape, he sadly discovered that fewer than twenty American warships were able to struggle back to port!

Even the dozen or so surviving American warships were all damaged!
In a single day, the once invincible American fleet, which dominated the Americas, was almost completely annihilated!

Of the more than two hundred warships and tens of thousands of officers and soldiers, less than one in ten survived!

Thanks to God, a sudden change in the political climate left a seed in the hands of the U.S. Navy.

But it's just a seed!

……

In contrast, the California Atlantic Fleet suffered almost no losses, annihilated the American fleet, and returned victoriously to the port of New Orleans.

After this day's naval battle in the Gulf of Mexico, the California Fleet, whether in the Atlantic Fleet or the Eastern Pacific Fleet, will have few rivals left.

From now on, the seas will belong to California.

If Azu wanted, he could even use his naval superiority to send a fleet carrying Marines straight to Washington, D.C., which is not far from the sea!
That's what he thought, and that's what he did!
There was no time to continue getting entangled with a fragmented America.

There is a wider world out there that we need to conquer and develop ourselves.

……

Just half a month after the Gulf War, the California Atlantic Fleet transported two Marine brigades, an artillery brigade, and a cavalry brigade, totaling more than 20,000 troops, and headed straight for Baltimore, the port closest to Washington.

Baltimore's coastal defenses are certainly not to be underestimated.

Unfortunately, the man who oversaw the construction of the Baltimore sea fortress was currently serving as the Corps of Engineers in the California Army.

Robert E. Lee was in this landing fleet at that time.

With Robert E. Lee's expert knowledge of the Baltimore Sea Fortress, the Atlantic Fleet easily removed this thorn in their side, thanks to his guidance.

The subsequent landing operation encountered only relatively weak resistance.

After capturing Baltimore, Washington was only a few dozen miles away!
By rail, California's landing forces reached the outskirts of Washington, D.C., in just a few hours.

The sudden arrival of California troops plunged the American capital into unprecedented panic.

Countless powerful and wealthy people, along with their families, were trapped in the city with nowhere to escape, becoming sitting ducks!

The California military surrounded the city, but instead of attacking, they demanded negotiations.

Faced with the threat of near national annihilation, the president, vice president, members of the House and Senate, the Supreme Court, and other powerful figures all breathed a long sigh of relief upon hearing that there was still a chance to negotiate.

In April 1857, at the request and under the auspices of California, the Northern government, the Southern government, and the California government held world-renowned peace negotiations in Philadelphia, the former capital of the United States.

After two days of relatively mild negotiations, the three parties signed a final agreement.

According to the provisions of this treaty, known as the Treaty of Philadelphia, the United States was completely divided into three parts.

The first is the United States of America, with Washington, D.C. as its capital, and its territory consisted of the northeastern states, covering 18% of the original United States.

The second was the Confederation of America, with Richmond as its capital, whose territory consisted of the southeastern states and covered 17% of the original United States.

The third was the Western Union, with San Francisco as its capital. Its territory roughly covered the area west of the Mississippi River, but Illinois and Wisconsin, east of the Mississippi River, were also included in the Western Union, which had a territory of 65% of the original United States.

Because these two states were incorporated into the Western Union, half of the Great Lakes' waters were also incorporated into the West.

After the signing of the Treaty of Philadelphia, the United States, which originally had a vast territory, a superior strategic location, and enormous development potential, was divided into three fragmented countries.

Just like in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, these three countries are destined to remain entangled and constantly at odds in the future.

This is a good thing, as it means that the United States will never again have any chance of becoming a world power.

After the treaty was signed, the California army lifted the siege of Washington.

The protracted and bloody war between the North and the South also came to an end.

From 1853 to 1857, the war lasted for more than four years, much like in the previous life.

But the intensity of the war and the destruction it caused far surpassed those of previous wars.

Having lost vast territories, the United States of America no longer had the resources and population to recover. With an entire generation killed, its industry and agriculture severely damaged, and burdened with enormous war debts, it would take at least several decades to recover.

The same applies to the Confederate States of America!

The South was primarily agricultural, and while rebuilding agriculture was much simpler than rebuilding industry, the abolitionist policies of the North led to a large-scale exodus of enslaved people.

Even after the war ends and the enslaved labor force is gone, it will take a very long time for the Southern states to restore cotton production and exports.

The West suffered the least damage in this chaotic war.

Only a few cities, such as St. Louis, suffered severe damage during the war.

Apart from that, neither the economy nor the population has been significantly affected.

The only problem hindering the development of the west is still the vast land area and sparse population.

Therefore, even before the war was over, Azu began to spread Chinese immigrants throughout the vast western region.

With the current scale of one to two million immigrants each year, and the investment and efforts of the Chinese American Association in construction, the western region will undergo tremendous changes in just a few years.

But that's not the most urgent thing right now.

After the treaty was signed and the situation gradually stabilized, Azu focused most of his attention on the distant other side, on that ancient and fertile land.

……

The war had just ended, and after a brief rest, the 300,000-strong army began to be transported in batches to Guangdong across the ocean.

The defense of the western territory was entrusted to the newly formed 100,000-strong standing army, as well as the 80,000-strong National Guard, which was also under the central government's management and command.

Although temporarily named the Western Federation, it operates under a highly centralized system, abolishing all state constitutions and a jumble of local laws.

At the same time, military control was temporarily implemented, and all local elections were abolished until a new form of government was established.

……

In June 1857, after the 6-strong army had arrived in Guangdong, a true Northern Expedition to "expel the Manchus and restore China" was imminent.

Besides the 300,000-strong army that went on expedition to America, Shi Dakai and Feng Yunshan have also been busy in recent years.

Based on the original Second Army, the size of the Restoration Army has expanded to three armies, as well as several independent divisions and brigades, totaling 200,000 men.

Now, Guangdong has amassed a military force of 500,000 men, enough to launch a war that will sweep across the entire country.

And leading this massive army of 500,000 men was none other than the recently returned Azu!
Eight years later, when he set foot on his homeland again, Azu had no time to express his feelings.

This time, he will personally command this unprecedented Northern Expedition!

(End of this chapter)