Chapter 522 Prelude to the Storm
On the outskirts of Veracruz, Tasan Anna's private estate.
Lieutenant General Winfield Scott was very satisfied with this temporary headquarters, and the news that had just been received that Jose Apte had rebelled and was preparing to slaughter St. Louis did not surprise the general.
He just asked his adjutant to be prepared to deal with the new ruler Jose Apte, and then continued to have dinner with the young heroes he invited.
"Here's to America!"
"cheers!"
The young officers did not panic when they saw the commander, so they naturally felt that they had nothing to fear and continued to drink and have fun.
At this time, the clever young man began to boast about the "God of War" who had outsmarted the port of Veracruz.
"General Winfield is really a calm and calm person. He can handle such a difficult emergency while having dinner with me. This requires absolute calmness and judgment to find the best solution to the problem."
"Yes! This calmness is really worth learning from. You are my life mentor!"
Some even said with tears in their eyes.
"It is a great honor to have dinner with you. Your words are the most precious treasure."
At this time, there was a discordant voice, Grant said casually with his mouth full.
"But Mexico City hasn't been captured yet, and who will believe our promise after doing so? Shouldn't our purpose here be to open up territory for the great United States?
Now that I'm drunk and dreaming all day long in this manor, my body is getting rusty. "
His ridicule was immediately besieged by everyone's words. General Winfield did not express dissatisfaction with this, but instead advised everyone to listen to different voices.
Immediately, everyone burst into applause, praising the general's noble character.
Grant said something disdainfully again.
"Can a war be won with good character?"
Then the next day Grant and his infantry company were assigned the most difficult job
However, as the eldest son of the mayor of Georgetown, the future northern star still received special care.
He got a horse as a means of transportation at the cost of taking his people to patrol the border every day, which was a bit overwhelming for an infantry company.
But instead of riding a horse, Grant bought a carriage and took turns resting with the soldiers.
Washington, White House
John Taylor tore the report in front of him into pieces and cursed.
"There are 100,000 Austrian troops in California! Then they will still be hiding in the ravines?! I'm afraid they have already marched along the Mississippi River to Washington!"
The senior staff in the President's Office were all frightened by this scene, because their boss was a decent person and rarely used uncivilized words, but today was really unusual.
The United States has mobilized 280,000 people so far in the war, but the cost of war mobilization is much more than he expected. I don’t know why, but suddenly all the suppliers of the US military started to increase their prices.
Moreover, as soon as the war started, personnel, weapons, ammunition, medicines, and logistics supplies were consumed rapidly. Fortunately, Soros's bank took action in time, so that he could ensure the smooth operation of the economy.
The British and Austrians, as well as, out of nowhere, the Russians, were protesting the war and denouncing Washington's aggression.
John Taylor himself, even if he was eloquent, could not have said so many battle-experienced diplomats. What is even more terrible is that Britain and Austria have proposed the possibility of sanctioning the United States through a trade embargo.
Although the Austrian navy is not powerful, it is the second largest buyer after Britain. Without Britain and Austria, America's cotton would have rotted in the ground.
In addition, Zachary Taylor led hundreds of thousands of troops to confront the Mexicans across the river, which also made John Taylor angry to death.
(Yellow fever was actually endemic in the Rio Grande.)
What made him even more angry was that Winfield actually started vacationing in Mexico! His army set up camp in Veracruz and even built simple fortifications nearby.
In fact, General Winfield wanted to occupy Veracruz permanently, but this did not fit with the strategy of John Tyler, who believed that Mexico was too big for the United States to swallow all at once.
And the main target of this war was California gold.
Only by obtaining the gold there and opening up the road to the Pacific Ocean can the United States truly spread its wings and take off, thereby realizing its "Manifest Destiny" of unifying North America.
Robert Stockton, who was responsible for attacking California from the sea, "lost contact". In fact, this was not his fault.
Because the current maritime communication methods are indeed relatively primitive, not to mention that the Panama Canal has not yet been opened at this time, the personnel delivering the message have to go around South America to report the situation to Washington.
Punta Arenas was the southernmost port of the South American continent at this time, and was the only place to pass between the east and west sides of South America.
A shooting incident occurred in the only local tavern. The deceased was an American businessman. The cause is said to be that he provoked a sexy waitress in the pub, and then got into an argument with others and was shot dead.
This was originally a very ordinary little thing, but it was just an appearance. The businessman actually worked for the US government, and his mission was to send back the latest intelligence on the expedition fleet.
The person who killed him was a sleeper team specially arranged by Franz, including the waitress who was also a specially trained agent.
To defeat your enemies, it's best to turn them deaf and blind. Franz, who came from a later generation, knew the importance of information for war, and it was too easy to calculate with intention and without intention.
Although John Taylor was very angry with his incompetent generals, he did not know how to fight and could only rely on this group of "big soldiers."
So the politician signed a new presidential decree, announcing that an additional 50,000 people would be sent to support General Carney, while continuing to recruit new troops and raise supplies.
John Fremont spent several days guarding San Diego, but did not see even a trace of an Austrian.
The reply given by the spies sent out was that the Austrians were collecting supplies everywhere and seemed to intend to defend San Francisco.
This made the adventurer very depressed. He originally wanted to have a collision between men, but he didn't expect the other party to be so cowardly. However, this also confirmed that the United States' dominance of the North American continent was "destined."
What Fremont didn't know was that the main force of the Austrian army, about 10,000 men, led by Archduke Carl Ferdinand himself, had bypassed San Diego and was hidden in a valley not far away. This was originally one of the Austrian army's military camps. So it didn't alarm Fremont.
The reason why the Austrians did not mobilize in full force was that they were not sure of the specific time when the US troops would land.
If its intentions are known to the enemy in advance, the U.S. fleet will most likely directly attack San Francisco.
After all, "Golden Mountain" is the main target of the Americans. At that time, the US military with maritime fire support will be able to advance and attack, and retreat and defend. The Austrian side wants to lure the enemy deep, and then annihilate them in one fell swoop, which is like fishing for the moon from a haystack.
Of course, the key point is to make the opponent paralyzed. After all, if one's side acts too strongly, the US military who is aware of it may simply choose to defend in place. In the end, it will still be a tug-of-war, not what Archduke Ferdinand wanted. War of annihilation.