The United States encountered an unprecedented crisis, lost two battles, and the Union troops were less than 15 miles from Washington.

Lincoln urgently mobilized the surrounding troops and organized a defense line outside Washington City.

The people of Washington were panicked. They learned from the militia that retreated from the front line that the Southern Army was winning and advancing towards Washington.

Some of the already scared residents even considered escaping from Washington with their families.

"The newspaper said that our United States suffered unprecedented failure. In the two battles near the Benniu River, our United States suffered 20,000 casualties and failed one after another. Mr. President, if this continues, the rebels will attack Washington. Our tens of millions of dollars will be wasted."

"You recommend Brigadier General John Pope as the new commander, and according to the officers in front, he recklessly wanted to annihilate Jackson's troops, giving Robert Lee the opportunity to attack the right wing of the army and cause the army to collapse on its entire line. You need to be responsible for this."

"Can we Washington defend it? Or will we move the capital from Washington to New York and avoid the edge for the time being?"

Lincoln was once again criticized by members of Congress.

Lincoln was silent for a while: "It is indeed my judgment that I made a mistake in making the opponent's generals better at defending. I propose to appoint cautious McClellan as the commander to defend Washington."

"Mr. President, you haven't answered our questions positively. Can Washington hold on?"

"I swear to God here that Washington will definitely be able to hold on. Washington still has 60,000 healthy soldiers, Philadelphia, New York, and Boston volunteers can quickly arrive in Washington by rail. According to our speculation, the rebel Jackson troops suffered multiple attacks from Pope, which also caused heavy damage to Jackson, and the rebels faced the dilemma of subsequent powerlessness."

"We still have many soldiers, but everyone has lost their morale and it is difficult to fight the Southern Army. Once the rebels appear outside Washington, people are in panic... The most important thing is that we have organized two battles, each of which is above the Southern Army, but they have frequently lost. We have lost more people than any war in the United States in the past. Can we really defeat the rebels? If we defeat the rebels, how much price will we pay?"

"Even if the price is paid, we must unify America. This is for future considerations, for the sake of obtaining cash crops and labor."

Lincoln emphasized the need to destroy the Union nations again.

The members of the parliament whispered privately because of Lincoln's words, and they all became several factions.

A faction sympathized with slave owners, and believed that the Civil War would drag down the United States' economy, hoping to solve the problem through moderate means.

One faction believed that it would not matter if the 11 states of the Union were separated from the United States, and the United States did not need slave owners.

The faction supported Lincoln's proposal and maintained unity through all means.

...

The most radical faction is naturally the members of parliament that represent financiers, arms dealers, grain dealers and other war stakeholders. They are also the group of people who support Lincoln's decision the most.

They have obtained a lot of dollars for the war, and if the war ends like this, they will be unprofitable.

Members of different ideas have had internal differences at this critical moment.

Originally, the pro-war faction had the upper hand, and everyone thought that the war would end in a few months. Unexpectedly, the Southern Army won, and everyone realized that the war was far away.

Now the voice of the Lord's Peace faction has increased.

Perhaps feeling the rise of the peacemaker, Lincoln reminded: "Since South Carolina declared independence, I have continuously requested peace talks from these states, but they have no intention of peace talks. If peace goes, there is only one possibility, and America is divided into two countries."

A member of Congress said: "Mr. President, we cannot maintain the cost of war without limit. We believed in the prospect you had drawn, but our Northern Army has suffered two losses. Losing Washington again may not be as simple as splitting from one country to two."

Lincoln had no choice but to come up with his trump card: "I have contacted the Empire of Sun and the French Empire, as long as we defend Washington in this offensive by the Southern Army. They may be able to send fleets to block the Atlantic Ocean and help us attack the ports along the coast of the Union and help us transport troops to land in the rear of the Union. You should know what this means?"

The parliamentarians were in an uproar: "The Empire of the Sun Will Not Set, is the French Empire going to help us?"

Lincoln glanced at everyone and knew that he had regained the initiative: "Our United States is the only country that can cause trouble for the Ming Empire in the east, and they had to stand on our side. The aid we received was the fleet of the Empire that never set, hundreds of millions of borrowings from European bankers and even armies. We used our strength to prove to the politicians and bankers in the continent, so that they knew that we were worthy of their assistance. By the time Washington resolved the crisis, we could prepare 500,000 militias to serve in turn next year, launch a general attack on Richmond from land and sea, and eliminate the rebels in one fell swoop."

"Also, our New York shipyards have the ability to produce ironclad ships with the assistance of Europe. Our United States has enough factories and funds, coupled with the borrowing of European bankers, and we are fully capable of defeating the Union and unifying the United States."

Perhaps it was Lincoln's amazing negotiating ability or the aid of European powers, the parliamentarians saw hope of defeating the alliance. It seemed that as long as they survived this crisis, they could launch a general offensive next year.

In fact, without considering the reaction of the Ming Empire, the Alliance will never be able to fight against the United States.

Lincoln finally convinced the congressmen to continue to support him, and he immediately replaced John Pope and appointed Brigadier General Claren as commander of the Eastern Front.

This is the third time that the Northern Army has changed its head coach.

Lincoln sat in his office, frowning.

The Northern Army had the advantage in the previous two battles, but all the operations and troops seemed to be known by the enemy, which indirectly led to failure.

Lincoln said to himself: "Did the information leaked in advance?"

An assistant knocked in and came in: "Mr. President, Sacramento, California, sent an urgent report, please check it out immediately."

Lincoln received the telegram and it turned out that San Francisco and the Pacific Railway were occupied by the Allied Forces. In particular, San Francisco fell as the entire city fell. The governor who was loyal to the United States had led his troops to retreat to Sacramento and guard the gold mine.
Chapter completed!