"President, Mr. President, are you okay?"
"President, you have to resist!"
"President, would you like to call the Vice President?"
Andrew Jackson was about to faint, but if Secretary of the Navy John Branch hadn't been ready to help him, he might have fallen. But when the President of the United States heard someone’s suggestion that he should invite Vice President Calhoun over, he immediately stopped feeling faint. He couldn’t faint! Calhoun is not a law-abiding vice president. The previous Eaton scandal and the collapse of the cabinet were all initiated by this vice president. If Andrew Jackson handed over power to Calhoun and went to recuperate on his own, then his work as president might be over.
"I'm fine! I'm fine." Andrew Jackson put one hand on the table, barely steadying his body, and then said calmly to his cabinet ministers: "Gentlemen, the war has just begun! Several armored ships have been lost. Cruisers are nothing to the United States because our shipyards can quickly make up for the losses. The most important thing now is to stabilize people's hearts. We can't let the outside world know about the naval losses. John, the Navy must declare victory to the outside world. Just say We sank six Mexican armored cruisers, lost three Pennsylvania class ships, and drove back the remaining Mexican fleet, protecting the security of the east coast!
In addition, it is announced that the invincible Army of the United States will liberate all of Texas! "
"Yes, Mr. President."
After telling lies to reassure people, Andrew Jackson suddenly thought of something, "Where are the battleships of the Atlantic Fleet? Where are they? They can't."
Now that the US Navy's patrol force has almost been defeated, the battleships cannot make the same mistake again!
"Mr. President, please rest assured that Rear Admiral Perry's squadron is sailing along the east coast to Baltimore in accordance with the orders of the Naval Staff. The remaining battle patrol detachment of the Atlantic Fleet is also withdrawing to Baltimore. It is far away from the Atlantic coastline. , can avoid enemy carrier-based aircraft." John Branch said, "In order to ensure their safety, the Navy Department has also sent a large number of airships into the air to patrol the east coast areas to detect enemy aircraft-based warships in advance. In this way, our battleships can change their course in time to stay away from the enemy's aircraft-carrying battleships."
Fortunately, the current range of carrier-based aircraft is not enough, and the combat radius is only one hundred kilometers. As long as more airships are sent for reconnaissance and the fleet in the Texas Sea is discovered in advance, they can be far away.
Andrew Jackson breathed a sigh of relief and asked again: "So what will happen to these battleships and armored cruisers in the future? Have they been hiding in Baltimore?"
"Of course we won't hide forever," John Branch said. "Mr. President, the Baltimore shipyard can modify the battleships and battlecruisers of the Atlantic Fleet and strengthen their air defense and deck armor so that they can better withstand Threat from the air."
"Is it possible to rely solely on anti-aircraft guns and thick decks?" Andrew Jackson was somewhat doubtful.
"Of course not," John Branch said, "but our shipyard is already accelerating the construction of enterprise-class aircraft-carrying armored cruisers."
Andrew Jackson frowned and said: "It's wartime now, we can't wait any longer. Let the factories in Baltimore work overtime. The enterprise class must have one in service before the end of May next year! The US Army still needs a few months. Mobilize and prepare, and will launch a full-scale attack on Texas in the second quarter of next year, and should be able to advance around Texas City in May. By then, the Navy must dispatch enough ships to cooperate with the Army to capture Texas City! As long as Texas City is captured , we have won more than half of the war with Mexico!"
Andrew Jackson, a military president, was very clear about the military capabilities of the Mexican Empire! The basic base this country can rely on is 2 million native-born white people. If mobilized at a ratio of 10%, it will only last 200,000 troops. Of these 200,000 troops, some should be given to the navy, and some should be left as housekeepers to guard against rebellion by the Indians and mixed-race whites. The number of people who can be dragged to Texas is 50,000, which is as high as the sky!
Most of these 50,000 people are the children of big, pampered landowners and cannot fight a war that is too painful. The United States, on the other hand, can pull out 200,000 to 300,000 miserable European immigrants and small farmers to form an army. The Mexicans are no match at all!
So the people who can really support the Mexican Empire are actually the Texas warriors who came from Japan! As long as they are eliminated, Mexico will lose.
However, the Texas City and Texas Bay areas where the Texas warriors are entrenched not only have solid defense facilities, but also have the sea at their backs, making it very easy to obtain supplies and reinforcements. If the U.S. Navy cannot gain control of the Gulf of Mexico, it will not be easy to win the Battle of Texas City.
Thinking of this, Andrew Jackson added: "All Pennsylvania-class withdrawn from Baltimore will be changed to Enterprise-class. We need more aircraft-carrying armored cruisers!"
"Yes, Mr. President!" John Branch nodded. "I will order the Navy Department to convert all Pennsylvania-class recoverables into Enterprise-class aircraft! But we also need aircraft that can take off from the Enterprise-class aircraft."
"Then go to the British and ask for it!" Andrew Jackson looked at his Secretary of State. "George, you set off immediately, take the airship to England, and first report to the Duke of Wellington the true situation of the Atlantic Naval War in person, and then report to the British Ask for the technology to produce aircraft. You must clearly tell the Duke of Wellington that if we do not have aircraft that can take off from the Enterprise-class aircraft-carrying armored cruiser as soon as possible, then the routes transporting cotton from the United States to Britain will soon be interrupted!"
This Jackson is indeed the president of the United States, the rebellious son of Great Britain, and he knows how to deceive the British father best!
The cotton transportation line he was talking about was the lifeline of British industry and economy!
In the current industrial landscape of the British Empire, apart from shipbuilding, the most eye-catching one is cotton textiles. Most of the cotton textile markets in Europe, India and the United States were controlled by Britain. Most of the raw materials needed by the British cotton textile industry, cotton, are produced in the southern United States.
If the cotton shipping route is cut off by the aircraft-carrying armored cruiser from the Texas Sea, the British cotton textile industry will be in disaster!
Because Egypt could replace the United States in producing cotton, and because Ali Pasha was determined to restore the Arab Empire, it was now in opposition to Great Britain. Although there was no war, it still encountered economic sanctions and trade blockades.
And India, another country that can produce large amounts of cotton, may be unable to supply Britain at any time due to the Ming Dynasty's blockade!
In addition, due to France's current neutral policy of finding sources of goods from east to west, French textile mills can also obtain a stable supply of cotton from Egypt. Once a large number of British factories close down because there is no cotton, French textile factories can take the opportunity to seize the market. Once this market is seized by the French, even if the British obtain cotton in the future, they may not be able to take it back.
Moreover, the transfer of the textile industry to France may also promote the transfer of European financial capital to France.
Taken together, these two transfers are very likely to make France rise again. If that happens, the British father will be tricked to death!
When the U.S. Secretary of State flew to London by airship, Duke Wellington was preparing to go to Vienna to attend the "Peace Conference." This so-called peace conference was crucial to Duke Wellington's efforts to piece together an anti-Ming alliance!
Now Austria and Prussia have clearly aligned themselves with the British. Bonapartists in France have also secretly contacted representatives of the British government several times, and the two sides have reached a series of consensuses.
Although it is impossible for the Rakshasa Kingdom to side with the United Kingdom, they have also made it clear that they will not side with the Ming Dynasty - as long as the UK does not prevent Grand Duke Alexander from marrying Princess Louise of France, then the friendship between the Rakshasa Kingdom and the Ming Dynasty is not against any third party!
Just when the Duke of Wellington thought the situation was okay, disturbing news came from the United States - Wall Street was actually bombed by a "Mexican" plane, killing more than a hundred traders and Bankers, including members of the Schiff family and the Wallenberg family!
In addition, the U.S. Secretary of State actually came to London in an airship despite the severe winter weather in the North Atlantic on the day after the United States declared war on Mexico. Is this a trick?
(End of chapter)
