The Chinese recruits of the Xuan army arrived, a full eighteen thousand.

Before Ye Mao and other "special envoys for volunteer service in the Western Theater of the Federal Army" arrived in California, the Xuan Army had already been passed down as a myth among the local Chinese.

Basically, the reaction of Chinese Americans to Xuanjun's victory was not substantially different from that of ordinary people in Beijing. The Chinese exhaled and raised their eyebrows, running to tell each other, all of them were sobbing for a long time, and they couldn't do it themselves. Overnight, in front of foreigners, the waists of the Chinese people were magically straightened.

Some people even feel that they are taller than foreigners and can be condescending: since the Chinese have defeated the foreigners in the south of the United States, it is equivalent to saving the foreigners in the north of the United States -- you American foreigners, whether it is the south or the north, what else is there to say?

The local Chinese community in California held many congratulatory activities, not only sending congratulatory messages to Xuan Jun, but also sending "congratulatory watches" to the domestic court. Of course, their "congratulatory notices" could not be heard directly to heaven, but were presented from Hong Kong to the Governor of Liangguang, who then transferred them to the imperial court.

Therefore, as soon as they heard about the recruitment of the Xuan Army, the Chinese workers were extremely enthusiastic, and without any propaganda and agitation, the number of applicants far exceeded the 18,000 posts scheduled. Ye Mao's skills as a "personnel manager" actually didn't come in handy.

When recruiting soldiers, it was already clearly stated that they would return to China after the war. After returning home, the military salary will be a little lower than that of the United States, but it promises no less than seven taels of silver per month. This figure is not too low even in the United States, and it is even more "high-income" in China. Moreover, there is a difference in prices between China and the United States, and seven taels of silver in China will not be much worse than fifteen dollars in the United States.

Therefore, the enthusiasm of the Chinese workers to serve as soldiers and eat food has not diminished.

The Irish naturally hid far away, but Ye Mao's original boss, the chairman of the Central Pacific Railway, was afraid that Ye Mao would go to the Irishman for trouble and miss his project. specially ran over to invite Ye Mao to a meal and gave him a big gift. As for Yang asking Ye Mao to be lighter on his Chinese workers, he didn't mention it.

Eighteen thousand Chinese recruits followed the old path of the Xuan Army, sailed south from California to Panama, went ashore across the Isthmus of Panama, and then boarded a ship north to New York, from New York by train all the way to Chattanooga, Zuihou, from Chattanooga to Atlanta.

Ye Mao didn't come with the recruits. The Xuan army expanded too quickly. Soon it was discovered that the original 18,000 posts were not enough, so Ye Mao stayed in California to recruit the second batch of soldiers.

The Chinese recruits were to fill the vacancies caused by casualties in the various units of the Xuan Army, and form the Fourth Division. In addition, the artillery divisions and engineer regiments of the Xuan Army were completely drawn from other departments of the Xuan Army; Two new regiments were added to the cavalry division, except for a few whites recruited locally. Most of them were also drawn from various units of the Xuan Army, which caused a considerable shortage of troops. All Chinese recruits need to fill in the numbers.

Outcome. After filling the vacancies of each unit, only three regiments were barely left for the Fourth Division, which made Jiang De and Zhan Donglu very depressed.

Moreover, after the end of the war, the 3rd Division will be at least half gone.

And so it goes. To say the least, there is a shortage of posts for three regiments.

The second batch of Chinese recruits may not be able to make it to the Battle of Savannah, and if Kwan Zhuofan and Sherman move fast enough, the recruits may not even be able to catch up with the war. But no matter how much, there are so many of them. Fill it up and talk about it

The roar on the training ground shook the sky.

Count the days, I can't stay in Atlanta for too long, and I have to hurry up and this group of rookies.

The training intensity of the recruits in the Xuan Army exceeded the intensity of normal recruits, but as Guan Zhuofan judged in advance, the foundation of the Chinese workers is indeed good, they can endure hardships, abide by discipline, and be solid and durable. The Northern Army's supply standards of protein, fat, starch and other products far exceed those of the railway construction site, ensuring that the recruits can get enough calories after heavy training.

Guan Zhuofan inevitably thought: After returning to China, can the same level of calorie supply be guaranteed? Is it possible to maintain the same training intensity?

Sigh again: National strength is the foundation of combat strength.

The Hood Division of the Southern Army, which had been wandering in Georgia for some time, had an abnormal movement.

Instead of going south to join up with friendly forces and block the way of the northern army to continue south, they turned around and went north.

Interesting.

Originally, Guan Zhuofan and Sherman didn't plan to deal with Hood. The strategic goal of the Northern Army this time was not to eliminate any army of the Southern Army, but to eliminate the war potential of the South. When the soldiers have nothing to eat, what difference does it make if the Southern Army has one more army and one less army?

But now that Hood has run to the back of the Northern Army, then it can't be completely ignored.

However, Kwan Zhuofan and Sherman are not really worried. North of Atlanta, Georgia, Hood couldn't stay, because after the Northern Army's repeated "collection of grain and grass", there was nothing left for Hood, and he still had almost 30,000 people in his hands, and he couldn't feed them.

Then Hood can only go and fight Chattanooga's idea. That's all kinds of food and clothing.

It is also unlikely that Chattanooga will have a corps of the Kumbran Army garrisoned, deep ditches and high fortifications, and it is almost impossible for Hood's tired and hungry army of less than 30,000 to be defeated. What's more, Atlanta and Chattanooga are not too far apart, and there is a train, if Hood really has a nerve to fight Chattanooga, it is urgent to get down, the northern army will come to help, and the southern army must be gathered under the city of Chattanooga.

If you don't fight Chattanooga, what does Hood want to do?

Of course, it is not excluded that the Confederate army went north only in search of supplies - Tennessee ate much more than Georgia. However, Tennessee is the territory of the Northern Army, and if you come to my territory to find food, do I care or not?

When the news came, the Hood Department did not do any harassment of Chattanooga, but crossed Chattanooga and continued north.

Kwan and Sherman understood: Hood was going to fight Nashville.

Nashville is the capital of Tennessee, and it is the only way for the north's military supplies to reach Chattanooga in the south.

Nashville's defense can't match Chattanooga's. Nashville was originally the headquarters of Sherman's Ohio Russian Regiment, and after the Ohman Russian Regiment moved south, there was no regular army in Nashville, only a little militia, which absolutely could not stop Hood.

Hood's move looks quite powerful: cut off the logistics line of the Northern Army, force the Northern Army to retreat, and withdraw from Georgia.

But Guan Zhuofan and Sherman didn't really take it seriously.

The journey south from Atlanta to Savannah was completely different from the Battle of Atlanta and the previous battles, and it was not intended to rely on Chattanooga's logistical support. This is because the goal of the operation along the way is not a military stronghold, but to carry out large-scale indiscriminate destruction. So, most of the time away from the railroad lines and deep into the rural areas of Georgia. And Chattanooga's supplies, once out of the railroad, could not do anything.

So how to solve the problem of logistics and supply?

It's very simple, you can take as much as you can - a maximum of twenty days' amount, and after twenty days, "because of the food of the enemy".

It seems to be more risky, but Kwan Zhuofan and Sherman are sure enough.

From Atlanta to Savannah, the quantity and quality of the Southern army were very limited, and it was too late to hold the city, and the possibility of taking the initiative to attack such a large northern army was not high. The probability of fighting battles like Dalton, Salka, and Aratuna is low. In addition, once they reached Savannah, the Union Navy could resupply the southbound army from the sea.

Chattanooga's inventory was enough to last until the Northern Army set out from Atlanta, including taking away food on the road, so even if Nashville was lost, it would not affect the implementation of the Northern Army's southward strategy.

Of course, Nashville is the capital of Tennessee after all, and it would be unsightly to lose it to the Confederate army.

What's more, Guan Zhuofan's "cash booty" Jihua needs the guarantee of a smooth line of communication in the rear, so Nashville can't lose it.

The Northern Army is abundant, and sending a sufficient number of troops back to Nashville will not have any real impact on the southward movement.

Moreover, the Northern Army took the train, the Southern Army walked, and the Northern Army must be the last to arrive first.

Guan Zhuofan and Sherman discussed it and decided to send Thomas to lead the Kombran Corps and the Ohio Russian Army Corps back to Nashville and ensure that the railway line north of Atlanta was unblocked.

The Matsue Corps and the Memphis Corps continued southward.

Guan Zhuofan told Thomas: After arriving in Nashville, build fortifications immediately and wait for Hood to take the initiative to attack.

He judged that Hood's penchant for frontal assault could not be changed.

*(To be continued......)