Lincoln had just won the election, and before he had time to open a bottle of wine to celebrate, seven states in the South declared their independence one after another. The first was South Carolina, and then other states moved one after another. They quickly gained control of various fortresses and properties of the Federation within their range, including some military facilities that originally belonged to the Federation. The incumbent President Buchanan, who was born in the South, just protested a little bit and it was over.

Of course, the South also showed some goodwill. For example, they said that originally, according to the laws of the United States, they could hunt down escaped slaves in the North. Now they are generous and express that we will not pursue that matter anymore; They also said that if the United States now intends to increase tariffs, they will not object. Because they have already organized a country together - the Confederate States of America, and elected a first-line president - President Jefferson Davis, so they have to show respect for the internal affairs of other countries...

The federal army was also in disarray. For a long time, the Army of the United States has been very southern. Southerners have been the mainstay of the United States Army since the Revolutionary War. Later, the North surpassed the South in all aspects, but the tradition of serving in the army is still stronger in the South. So, in the Army of the United States, a whole bunch of officers are Southerners, and now they have a problem. That's who they are loyal to.

Most of the Southern military officers chose the South without hesitation. In their view, the United States Army was originally just a joint army of various states. They were soldiers of a certain state first, and then soldiers of the United States. Now that the family is going to be separated, of course, they still have to be loyal to their state.

The U.S. Constitution does not stipulate whether states that join the United States can secede from the Union, neither saying yes nor no. Therefore, Buchanan, the caretaker president of the United States, did not take any action. He watched the states become independent and watched the 16,000-strong federal army almost disperse.

By the time Lincoln was officially sworn in, the situation was almost out of hand. His army is full of recruits, and there is a serious shortage of officers. Because they all ran to the south. Of the armies of the United States, only one remained intact and stood firmly on Lincoln's side. This army is the US Navy.

Lincoln knew that he could never allow the South to be independent like this, and the people in the North, especially the rich in the North, would never agree. The industry in the north also needs raw materials and markets in the south. However, Lincoln knew his army was not ready, so he reorganized the army while calling on the South to stop the rebellion. At the same time, he also dispatched the only truly actionable unit in his hands at this time, the U.S. Navy, to patrol the southern coast, ready to carry out the task of blocking the south.

...

A light and small clipper bow splits the waves and speeds across the evening sea at a speed close to 15 knots. This is a small boat of no more than two hundred tons, and there are only some sailors, one passenger, and some of his cargo on board. Now, the sailors and passengers are nervously looking in the direction of the stern, where a United States warship is chasing.

"Don't worry, the warship can't catch up with us." Seeing the nervous expression of the young passenger, a sailor comforted him like this.

"Mr. Roy, our speed is nearly two knots faster than that warship per hour. Even in a normal ocean, we can shake it out of sight for a few hours at most. There are many shoals in the sea area, and they dare not chase after it. Therefore, there will be no danger."

"Thank you, Mate Tal. Letting you take such a risk..."

"Oh, Mr. Roy, you're not quite right. We're Southerners like you. We're all serving the Confederacy. Well, what have you brought back from England now? Ah, I'm just purely curious. This shipment is much lighter than the batch of guns you brought back last time."

"Ah, it's nothing, just some drugs. Mainly some sulfonamides and heroin. Well, once the Yankees go to war with us, these things that we can't produce by ourselves will be too important. Strictly, we have to make a few more trips. Bring in more." Roy said.

During a period in the UK, Roy's horizons were greatly broadened. Studying at Cambridge made him realize the importance of the industry to national power. He knew better than most of his Southern friends the balance of power between the North and the South. Therefore, he has always opposed the secession of the South from the Union. Because he knew that breaking away from the Federation meant war. However, it is simply too difficult for the South, which has a huge disparity in industrial power, to win the war.

However, the most undesirable situation still appeared. Lincoln won the election, and the North and South were divided. Although opposed to seceding from the Federation, as a Southerner, Roy still stood by his hometown without hesitation. When he was in England, he met some aristocratic classmates. Through their relationships, he was able to buy some of the most urgently needed supplies for the war from the British: guns, medicines, and gunpowder.

As a result, he temporarily gave up his studies and kept running between the two sides of the Atlantic.

"Mr. Roy, we will go to England again in a week, do you want to go with us?" First Officer Tal asked. He likes this young man who brought back important supplies for the South again and again.

"No, Mr. Tull." Roy replied, "I will take these things and donate them to the state of Mississippi, and then I will join the army in Mississippi."

"Good boy!" First Officer Tal patted Roy on the shoulder, then sighed, and turned his head to look towards the stern. Sure enough, the warship did not dare to follow this complex sea area and gave up chasing it.

...

"Those fellows in the South couldn't help it at last. They declared independence. Mr. MacDonald, your prediction was correct. President Lincoln could not recognize the independence of the South, and the South could not start from their present situation." The position is retreating, and war is inevitable." At the door of his villa by the sea, Morgan embraced a young girl with one arm and held a Havana cigar in the other, and said to Scrooge, "Now The question is, how long do you think the war will last?"

"What do you think?" Scrooge said, smiling.

"Many guys say that we are much stronger than the South, as long as each of our states sends a part of the army, we can easily conquer the South. What do you think?"

"Well, if I were facing the media, I would say the same," Scrooge replied. If the common people are told that this battle will last for several years and millions or more people will die (because of the influence of Scrooge, it is almost predictable that the number of casualties will be more than in the original history), Then, millions of people will be disabled, and a lot of stories about "your wife and I will raise her" will be created along the way. Maybe those ordinary people who lack awareness will say: "Ah, the price is so high? Why not? Let them be independent?" Therefore, no matter what, before the war begins, the common people must not know what kind of war it will be.

Morgan laughed too, knowing exactly what Scrooge meant. "President Lincoln is in such a difficult position," Morgan said sympathetically. "His predecessor let those fellows goof around, and when he came to power, the country didn't even have a decent army. Dare I say, the fairy President Lincoln's hand If you don’t count the number of troops in the army, its combat effectiveness is probably not as good as your ‘Black Water’.”

Morgan's statement is not an exaggeration at all. At that time, the United States only had an army of 16,000 people. And because there is no threat on land, the military service period in the United States is only a short three months. What can those soldiers learn in three months? In contrast, the mercenaries of "Blackwater" far surpassed the infantry of the United States in terms of training time and equipment level (except for the lack of heavy weapons such as cannons), and the combat effectiveness of the same number should naturally be higher than that of the Federal Army. Come strong.

"The warships of the Federal Navy should be basically in place." Scrooge looked at the seagulls flying lightly in the sea and said, "President Lincoln can't just talk, he should take action?"

"Take action? That depends on the South." Morgan said, "Last time President Lincoln just... ah, what did you say just now? Talking? This is an interesting word. Last time President Lincoln just made a verbal threat. Announcing a call for volunteers, Virginia ran to the Union."

"It's not a bad thing for Virginia to run across, is it?" said Scrooge. "It's better to have an enemy on the opposite side than a half-hearted ally to watch out for."

At this time, a person flew towards Scrooge and the others. While running, he shouted: "Mr. Morgan, Mr. MacDonald, it's a war! It's a war! The Union army bombarded Fort Sumter! The war has begun!"

Scrooge and Morgan looked at each other, and they both saw the blazing flames in each other's eyes.

At this time, that person had already run to the front. The man was Morgan's coachman, named Villa or Beria, and he ran out of breath, and said to Morgan and Scrooge, "Just... just... just... this morning 4 At that point, the Alliance launched an attack on Fort Sumter, and the war... the war began! I have... newspapers here."

Morgan snatched the newspaper, and Scrooge poked his head over to read it together. He saw that the headlines of the newspaper were: "Alliance Bombards Fort Sumter" in big bold letters.

"Long live! It's the final war!" Morgan yelled excitedly. He threw the newspaper into the sky, then hugged the girl next to him into his arms, kissed him hard, and shouted: "Hurry up!", go to the cellar and get out my bottle of champagne! I'm going to celebrate with Mr Macdonald!"