"South Carolina launched a shelling of Fort Sumter and successfully forced the Fort Sumter defenders to surrender!"

"Our Virginia Legislature has decided to separate from the United States, and 11 states form alliances, and the capital is in Richmond. Freedom belongs to each state, and freedom belongs to our Virginia!"

Chu Qi and his group arrived in Richmond, Virginia, where the streets and alleys were fiercely discussing the possible war between the North and South Federations.

The slave states in the southern region had been secretly colluding and plotting to separate from the United States for many years. They responded quickly after a sudden attack in South Carolina. Soon 11 states announced the establishment of the Union State of America. The president of the alliance was a member of Congress. Even if Davis was still on a ship in the Pacific, it would not hinder the independence of the slave states.

"South Carolina has controlled the entire territory of their state, and other states are expelling those loyal to the United States. This is a good start," said Jackson, who is traveling with him.

Chu Qi shook his head: "No, this may not be a good start."

Jackson wondered: "Why?"

Chu Qi explained: "Although I am just a half-bad person compared to you when fighting, I know that those who win the hearts of the people will win the world. Even if a strong country wants to attack a weak country, it will create reasons for war and put itself on the right side. Now the Southern Army will take the lead in starting the war, which will give Lincoln and the others room to take advantage of the situation."

Jackson said: "What you said is not without reason. But now the situation is done, and you can only walk on the verge of gritting your teeth."

The Jinyiwei of the North American Institute secretly assembled to Richmond. Chu Qi met the Jinyiwei here, and they owned a secret manor in Richmond.

As for Thomas Jackson, he was asked by Gov. Lecher of Fernia to lead non-commissioned officers from Virginia Military Academy to train recruits in Richmond.

The war had begun, and the United States and the Union began a tense war mobilization. The United States wanted to reunify and defeat the slave owners. The slave owners wanted to gain independence and maintain the existing plantation economy.

A secret manor, two Jinyiwei deputy families, and seven Jinyiwei hundred families gathered here. These people are already a relatively luxurious lineup in the Jinyiwei organization.

These deputy Qianhu, Baihu, are members of the North American Institute. They were somewhat surprised to see that the Jinyiwei Qianhu, who was airborne in charge of North American affairs in the Imperial City, turned out to be a twenty-two-year-old young man.

On the wooden table in front of them were placed a detailed map of Virginia and nearby areas. This is the terrain and defense that the Jinyiwei of the North American Institute has been exploring for a long time, and has great value.

"Richmond is less than 200 kilometers away from Washington in a straight line on the map, so Virginia will be the main battlefield in the east. If the Northern Army captures Richmond, the morale of the Alliance will be greatly hit. Similarly, if the Southern Army captures Washington, the United States may collapse and seek peace immediately." A deputy Qianhu gestured on the map.

Although Chu Qi is not a special officer, he has also undergone rigorous training and knows the importance of the capital to a country, that is, the symbol of the spirit.

Generally speaking, you only need to conquer the opponent's capital and you can win at the smallest cost.

Feng Yuruo, who also attended the secret meeting of the Jinyiwei, looked solemn at this time. She had to be sure that the Southern Army would not be defeated quickly: "Virginia should be a firm slave state, right? What is its war potential?"

Deputy Thousand House answered: "Virginia's population is less than 1 million, and Richmond has a population of 37,000. Unfortunately, the northwestern residents of Virginia had a strange voice after the governor declared independence. They didn't seem to intend to be independent. Virginia might be split into two states."

Feng Yuruo frowned slightly: "People are uneven, less than 1 million people, and Richmond has too few people."

Chu Qi said on the side: "The United States has a population of 30 million. Currently, there are 33 states. On average, each state has less than 1 million people. Their population is mainly concentrated in New York State and other places in the northeast. Although the number of people in Virginia is small, when the militias of each state gather in Richmond, there should be tens of thousands of available soldiers. Miss Feng, soldiers are in essence, not many, right?"

"They need to be elite soldiers, and it depends on the commander's experience and talent. What's more, the supply line in Richmond is twisty and turns, and it's difficult to defend." Feng Yuruo pondered, "Is there any information about their commander-in-chief and the staff?"

"Not yet, the militia organization and number of people in each state are very chaotic. Especially after the mobilization, even they themselves cannot control the number of militias. The only thing that can be determined is the number of firearms and gunpowder that our Ming Empire aided them. This is the list of arms for the Ming Empire to secretly aid the southern states in the past three years. As for the commander-in-chief, they intend to divide it into the Eastern Front and Western Front. The commander of the Eastern Front, mainly Virginia, is Robert Lee, and the commander of the Western Front, mainly along the Mississippi River, is Albert Sidney Johnston. Both are officers from West Point Military Academy. They have participated in the war against Mexico and should have some skills." said Deputy Qianhu, who collected intelligence in North America.

Chu Qi heard on the other hand that the generals of the Southern Army were all from West Point Military Academy, and the Thomas Jackson he met before was also a graduate of West Point Military Academy. It is estimated that the officers of the Northern Army were also graduates of West Point Military Academy.

In some ways, the Civil War can also be understood as a civil war between the West Point Military Academy, classmates and even teachers and students. Most of the senior officers are graduates of West Point Military Academy.

No wonder West Point Military Academy has such a great reputation.

Chu Qi personally participated in the Civil War and found that the generals from all sides had graduated from West Point Military Academy, and many of them had participated in the war between the United States and Mexico before, and had rich combat experience.

Without the intervention of the Ming Empire, this war would probably be the stage for West Point Military Academy. However, the Ming army might have intervened in the war at any time. I wonder how the graduates of the Ming Royal Academy compared to those of West Point Military Academy.

Chu Qi looked at Feng Yuruo. Isn’t she the general of the Ming army from the Royal Academy of the Ming Dynasty?

Feng Yuruo was still frowning, looking carefully at the details on the map, as if he wanted to memorize the terrain of Virginia: "It is best to know the Northern Army's troops mobilization, logistics supply line, and appointment and removal of officers in time. Chu Qianhu, can you do it?"
Chapter completed!