"It's a shame that we don't even have pricing power for wheat!" In the Runzhou Trade Center, Director Luo Degang said depressedly to his eldest brother Luo Deyi, who was the director of the Dengguo Strategic Materials Management Bureau: "The purchase price of wheat in the spring was still 2560 yuan a ton, and now it has risen to 323 all of a sudden, which is too great."

Americans are really not good birds.

The emperor said that they were white-eyed wolves, and I don't know how they were 'white-eyed', but I can see how they took advantage of the fire to rob them. ”

The Luo brothers are members of the family of Queen Mother Deng, and their positions may not seem high, but they are absolutely important to Deng Guo.

The trade center in Runzhou can be used as half of the customs, and the Strategic Materials Management Bureau can intervene in many aspects.

As for the food problem, Deng Guo's Strategic Materials Management Bureau can also be sidelined. This food is also one of the objects of concern of the Authority.

"The United States is now the only country in the Americas that openly exports grain to us. In addition to grain, they also export horses to us. Guilty of not being guilty. Luo Deyi was reminded of today's Deng Guo's finances from the sharp increase in the price of grain reserves:

"Recently, the outflow of domestic gold and silver coins has been too fast, the import volume of many materials has soared, the import price has soared, and the treasury of the Ministry of Finance is about to bottom out. The second uncle greeted me to see if he could get the Authority to come forward and find a reason to stop the trade of certain goods. Otherwise, I am afraid that I will have to use His Highness's reserves. ”

"You know, after the outbreak of this war, Your Highness is going to show the army. Is there a lot, 500,000 Mexican Eagle Ocean is always there, right? We also have to buy a navy and let them guard our homes. Otherwise, with the little human ship in the hands of His Highness, the [coastline] will be light to take care of one or the other.

These two sums of money together cost a million eagles. ”

"The second uncle is afraid that by then, the accounts of the Ministry of Finance have bottomed out, and the major event will be delayed." Luo Deyi has a fuller understanding of the details of the Ministry of Finance than Luo Degang. "Alas, to tell you the truth, the reserves in your Highness's hands have at most coped with this year, and what if the war continues next year? Now His Highness's situation is not good, and the country's finances are very difficult. ”

Very few American merchants brought gold and silver coins home, but here in Runzhou/Dengguo, in addition to legitimate trade merchants, there are many smugglers, these people do not hold Chinese dollars, and their common currency is the Mexican silver dollar, which is the Eagle Ocean.

Compared with the legitimate merchants who came to the port to trade, the smuggling trade seemed to be the main mode of trade for Chen Han in Spanish America.

Customs was directed at British, American, and Portuguese vessels.

"This year's foreign trade situation is definitely not as good as last year." Luo Degang said in a very affirmative tone that the war in Europe has been going on for several years, the contradictions between China and the West are acute, and the tense situation has indeed created a certain impact, and the overall trade volume of China and the Americas is declining, but domestic demand is constantly expanding.

While Deng's fiscal revenue continued to decrease, his military expenditure was bound to increase year by year, and it was estimated that it would be much higher. After all, Deng Guo's navy has to add a few auxiliary ships, two capital ships have begun to be manufactured, and the army has also added an integrated regiment and a cavalry battalion.

"That's the problem!" Luo Deyi said with some irritability, he is the leader of the State Strategic Materials Administration, and he knows very well how many things are stored in several warehouses in Deng Guo, which is very expensive. And even if it is sold to the Wehrmacht at a higher price, the local cabinet and the Metropolitan Governor's Office will also confirm this account, but it is difficult to say when the funds will be available.

But many of these things were directly ordered by the Metropolitan Governor's Office to let the six American feudatories collect reserves, and it was impossible for them to bargain with their homeland.

After the outbreak of war, no matter how quickly the funds were allocated from the country, they would not be able to reach the Americas until the following year.

And Deng Guo's finances are really a little tight, and the things in the reserve treasury occupy a considerable part of their funds, which has a great impact on the finances of the entire Deng Kingdom.

But now is the time when the whole country is unanimously preparing for a foreign war, and at this time, whoever jumps out and accuses the strategic material reserves of being too expensive is their heart can be punished, and the Metropolitan Governor's Mansion can also kill people!

In order to import war and reserve strategic materials, the outflow of gold and silver coins from the country has accelerated a lot, and if this 'preparatory stage' continues for another year or two, Deng's finances may go bankrupt.

Li Kun thought at the earliest time that the six feudatories in the Americas were not to be afraid, and that really made sense. The impact of war is everywhere, who would have thought that a strategic material reserve would be about to kill Deng Guo?

"If you don't think about it, I'm afraid you won't be able to support it."

"Does Your Highness want to ...... Provoke a war? Luo Degang really dared to guess, but fortunately, he was still a little self-aware, and knew that such a major event was not something that the leaders of the Luo family could worry about. Even if it is a proposal, it must be said by King Deng himself.

"Your Highness doesn't have such guts." Luo Deyi shook his head.

"Although that's the best way to do it once and for all - start the war as soon as possible." Luo Deyi didn't say the last sentence.

……

"Bureau, Bureau, Dabanya has started a war, and their army has crossed the border line and invaded the State of Xu."

Luo Degang felt slightly frustrated, but he also understood that the thought that came out of his mind was really a little fat. But when his eldest brother vetoed it without hesitation, Luo Degang was still a little frustrated.

But that's how dramatic the reality is.

As soon as Luo Degang's mood fell into a depression, Luo Deyi's secretary hurriedly came to report a super hot news.

Luo Degang's mood was originally low, but now he was suddenly stimulated by the news and went straight to the sky, and the whole person was like a rooster that was stuck in the neck and couldn't beat it, his eyes were wide open, and the green tendons on his neck were exposed.

Luo Deyi also flashed fiercely, and grabbed his secretary's hand in disbelief: "What did you say?" ”

"The big duck took the initiative to attack?"

"Bureau, the big duck really took the initiative to attack." The secretary is also an insider, and knows how much pressure his own management bureau's reserve warehouses in Naluo have put on Deng Guo's finances.

For Deng Guo, this is absolutely great news.

…………

The thirteenth day of the sixth month of the lunar calendar. It's hot time in North America.

However, the heat could not stop the offensive of the Spanish colonial army. The Spanish colonial army from Mexico split into two lines in June, one due north to attack Xu and the other northeast to attack Deng.

The Wehrmacht and vassal armies converging on the border between the two countries were certainly not afraid of the Spanish colonial forces on the other side, and they had strong permanent fortifications and well-built fortified positions.

Taking the state of Xu in the north as an example, after the Spanish colonial army surrounded a part of the Wehrmacht and the Xu army, the onslaught lasted only three days and nights before it came to an abrupt end. Because the Spaniards found that if they insisted on removing these stumbling blocks on the border, the other [Spanish colonial army] would have to pay a heavy and unbearable price for it.

So the Spaniards quickly adjusted their battle plan. The Chinese garrison troops on the border changed from onslaught to encirclement and containment. Concentrate your forces to attack deeper.

To be honest, the progress of the Spanish colonial army on the northern front was not slow, because the immigrants of Xu did not make it to that border line at all, and Xu's development strategy was to take the coastal areas as the foundation, and then gradually look inland. Therefore, the Spaniards were chained to their legs, and the encircled Wehrmacht and the border guards of Xu State were constantly disturbing the Spanish colonial troops on the opposite side, which affected the safety of the Spaniards to a certain extent.

The Spaniards' offensive was affected by the fact that the previous war had not gone well, but their purpose was unwavering. The fiery sun could not give the colonial generals the slightest care. It was summer, not winter, and there was no waist-deep snow, and the sun did not have a great effect on the Spanish colonial army.

After the Spanish American colonial authorities decided that they could not rely on their homeland, many Peninsulars and white descendants of Spanish people donated generously, especially in Mexico. Because they know that as long as Spain loses again, their land is likely to be Chinese. The colonial authorities also squeezed a huge fortune out of the locality, thus creating a mobile force that numbered as many as 100,000 at all times.

Yes, these 100,000 people are mobile troops, and Spain still has a large number of troops in the vast lands of Latin America. Many Spaniards are confident that the current army is much stronger than the previous '100,000 troops'.

At least they have faced up to the strength of the Chinese.

In mid-July, Chen Xu, who was supposed to be in the rear, appeared in the Salton Basin.

Standing behind Chen Zhe was Gao Pingshan, who was currently the commander of the First Army of the Americas, and he also served as the deputy governor of the American garrison.

"The winner will be known in the next three to five days!" Looking at the endless Gobi wilderness in the Salton Basin in front of him, Gao Pingshan pondered.

……

Although separated by only one Salton Basin, the Spaniards were in fact ignorant of the actions of the Wehrmacht. They only know that China's troops are moving as quickly as possible, but a large part of China's troops are concentrated in the western coastal areas, which is a gesture of the Chinese.

At least in the eyes of the Spaniards.

The Chinese did not think of fighting a defensive war. They also built a number of pillboxes, forts, and fortifications along the border between the two sides, but they did not want to put up a position on the border line when they took root, they were preparing to land on the western coast of Mexico, to find the weak points of the Spanish colonial army, at least not so many permanent fortifications, and then easily land under the cover of their superior naval warships, and then think of Mexico to attack with impunity.

This is also the reason why the Spaniards themselves took the initiative to launch a land attack after learning that the local navy had fired the first shot.

In fact, the news that the six vassal states of Central America had been fired upon by the Chinese and Spanish navies was only two days later than the Spanish.

But it's a 'time difference'!

The Spanish offensive force is now on the southern side of the Salton Basin, where there were originally some Chinese migrant villages, but later the policy changed, many of the settlements that had been opened and established were abandoned, and a large number of immigrants returned to the northwest of the Salton Basin.

"Dear General Santiago, Chinese's battleships have gone south, but there are no Chinese soldiers on those warships that worry us, you can already consider a land battle with China......"

The letter sent from the rear of the colony greatly relieved the commander of the Spanish Northern Front, Santiago, who was really worried that the Chinese would play a battle with him in which you fight yours and I fight mine.

Santiago knew very well that Chinese villages and towns were not so easy to occupy, and if the main force of the Chinese army accompanied the warships south to attack the west coast of Mexico or Central America, then it was likely that the Spaniards would not be able to withstand the pressure in the end.

If Santiago had received an order to retreat from His Excellency the Doge at the front, the Spaniards would have once again been on the path to defeat in this war. And now, the Chinese are also reluctant to bear their inheritance, as they estimated before the war, the great emperor of China cherished his people. Santiago's self-confidence skyrocketed.

"The total strength of the Spanish colonial army was determined to be 37,000, and the vanguard had reached Area 29."

"The Spanish colonial army scout cavalry has begun to try to cross the area of our garrison [No. 12]."

"The Spanish colonial army began to slow down the pace of their marches."

"The Spanish Colonial Army Scout Cavalry entered Area 25."

"The rearguard of the Spanish colonial army was identified as a brigade, 4500 people."

The Spanish colonial army moved westward along the Salton Basin, they did not cross the entire Salton Basin horizontally, and their overall strength was 37,000 men, not 37.

The scouts came in one by one, and the air in the front command seemed to be tense. On the large map, the backs of the emblems of the Spanish colonial army are constantly being moved to new positions, and everyone can see the latest changes in the situation as soon as they look up.

"Marshal, can we begin?" Shen Shiying, chief of staff of the legion, asked.

The pre-war plan was a big change from the current form, and Gao Pingshan once thought that he had to rely on the fortifications on the front line to stop the northward movement of the Spanish colonial army. If these fortress strongholds are not pulled out, how can they rest assured that they will boldly go north. But the Spanish colonial army had a much larger army than expected, and the army on the northern front numbered at least 60,000 men.

After two days of fighting, the Spaniards divided their forces to encircle and pin down the defenders of the front line. Then the large army entered the Salton Basin, and set up military stations and rearguard positions along the way, and there were still 40,000 men left. This was really beyond Gao Pingshan's expectations.

The Spaniards put their general forces on the northern front, not in the northeast, which was easier to attack.

You must know that Xu is next to Tokyo and Hanjin, but it is the main area of the American garrison.

In the general staff exercise of the garrison army, if the Spaniards took the lead in launching a land attack - at that time, it was inferred that this possibility was very small, and the somewhat arrogant Wehrmacht thought that China and Spain were going to go to war, it would also be Chen Han's declaration of war on Spain, and he did not think that Spain still had the courage to take the initiative to provoke the majesty of China.

At that time, it was felt that Spain would put its main force into the Deng State in the northeast, leaving part of the troops to contain the Xu State. But the result is the opposite.