The main streets and tall buildings of Chicago have finally survived the fighting. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 info*ap*point*small* said. The large city, located on the shores of Lake Michigan, was handed over peacefully, and according to verbal agreements reached by the two sides in several previous contacts, the US military did not wreak havoc.

But the absence of destruction does not mean that an intact Chicago is left for Jujuan. The buildings on both sides of the street are almost windowless, and many still show signs of fire - not by American soldiers but by former residents. As for the furniture in the house, of course, it is smashed and destroyed. The port area and industrial area on the shore of Lake Michigan are also in a mess, the factory and the wharf are still there, but the machines in the factory and the cranes on the wharf have all been destroyed.

The whole of Chicago is basically an empty shell! However, this empty shell is the second best of all the American cities currently occupied by Donghua, after Houston, the capital of the Principality of Texas. And Chicago is strategically located at the confluence of the Great Plains and the Great Lakes in Central North America. The terrain is also dangerous for the Great Plains of North America, although there are undefended Great Plains on three sides, but it faces Lake Michigan to the east.

According to the "verbal agreement" with the American Revolutionary Council and the agreement between East China and North China, the Great Lakes were divided into three, and the land around Lake Michigan and Lake Superior belonged to East China and North China. Lake Huron is shared by Donghua, Beihua and the United States of America. The west bank belongs to East China, the north bank belongs to North China, and the east bank belongs to the territory of the United States. Lake Erie is shared by Donghua and the United States, the land on the south bank that originally belonged to the Russian state of impeachment belongs to Donghua, and the land on the north and south banks belonging to Pennsylvania and New York belongs to the United States. Lake Ontario is the territory of the United States.

And Chicago is located. It is located on the second line of the confrontation between Donghua and the United States. Michigan is separated by Lake Michigan to the east, Russian impeachment is to the southeast, and Kentucky is separated by Indianapolis. are the first line of the confrontation between yellow and white in the future. Of course, the front-line areas are not suitable for large-scale construction. Otherwise, once the war starts again, it will be occupied by the opponent at the first time.

However, Donghua's future industrial base should not be placed too far away from the front line in the Pacific Coast, otherwise the long-distance transfer of materials alone will be a big problem -- judging from the current trend, the requirements for logistics support in war have become higher and higher. Therefore, Donghua had to build one or two industrial centers in the second-tier areas of the Yellow and White confrontation.

Chicago, a large city with convenient transportation and rail and waterway connections to the iron ore mines on the shores of Lake Superior and the coal mines of Kentucky and West Virginia, is undoubtedly the most suitable city to become an industrial center. And, if you look at the maps of East China and North China together, Chicago is undoubtedly in a pretty central position.

“…… This is the center of the future of Greater North America! ”

Jujuan, surrounded by generals and guards, rode into Chicago. Looking at this huge city full of devastation but still having roots, I feel emotional. The generals of the Ming army system around him couldn't help frowning.

Zhu Juan suddenly reined in his war horse, and suddenly turned back to Donghua Prime Minister Rong Hong and said, "Rong Xiang, how about Chicago change its name to Dong'an Mansion and become the eastern capital of my Donghua Kingdom?" ”

"Is it a two-capital system? Wang, the current finances are in some difficulties, can the affairs of the Eastern Capital be ......" Rong Hong looked embarrassed, the treasury managed by him, the prime minister, was already in debt.

"It's still going to be set! Appearance. You have come all the way and seen how vast and rich the Great Plains of North America are! How can they be willing to lose? I dare to assert that thirty years from now there will be a great war in North America! If we can't develop the Great Plains of North America as soon as possible. Thirty years later, I don't know who killed the deer! And the best way to develop the Great Plains is to set up an eastern capital...... Let the whole of Greater China see our determination and confidence! ”

Zhu Juan spoke in a very high voice, obviously not for Rong Hong alone, but for everyone in the audience -- the focus of Donghua's future development will shift from the Pacific coast to the Great Plains, and the future king of Donghua will also establish his capital in the Great Plains, and coexist with the Donghua people on the Great Plains.

"As for the funds for setting up the eastern capital and building Dong'an, Rong Xiang doesn't need to worry, the king of Beihua will come soon, so I just want to discuss it with him." Zhu Juan continued, "The lonely king moved the capital to Dong'an, on the one hand, it was also to defend Beihua and speed up the development of Beihua, presumably Henry also knew this truth. ”

Zhu Heng, the king of Beihua, inherited his mother's property, and made a war fortune, and had a close relationship with the major chaebols in the Ming Dynasty, so his ability to make money is not small.

Just a week after Jujuan was stationed in Dong'an Mansion (Chicago), Zhu Heng, the king of Beihua, arrived with several senior officials of the Beihua Provisional Government. Because it was still wartime, Juan didn't like red tape, so only a small welcome ceremony was held.

In the afternoon of the next day, after Zhu Heng temporarily settled the Beihua government he brought in Dong'an Fucheng, he took Peng Yulin to visit Zhu Juan and Rong Hong in the palace of King Donghua.

"Henry, where are you going to choose the capital of the Beihua Kingdom?" Zhu Juan called Zhu Heng's foreign name and talked about the establishment of the capital. "If you haven't decided yet, why don't you put it on the north shore of Lake Superior and echo my Dong'an?"

Zhu Juan's suggestion was a bit overstepping, but Zhu Heng did not object, nodded and said: "Okay, the Great Lakes region of North America is a prosperous place, surrounded by coal and iron, fertile fields, and extremely convenient transportation, it is really the best place to build a capital here." ”

Beihua originally had a capital, and a small city called Bei'an was built in the south of Alaska, with a total population of only a few thousand. Zhu Heng himself has never been there, so naturally it is impossible to put the capital there anymore, but to find a place on the territory of the original Canada where the capital can be built.

The current territory of Beihua is very large, almost 9 million square kilometers, larger than Donghua, and it is the second largest country in Wuhua Zhuxia after the Ming Empire. However, in such a large country, there are not many places suitable for becoming the capital, that is, around Vancouver Island on the western Pacific coast and the northern shores of the Five Great Lakes. The former has the advantage of coal and iron resources, and is close to the Pacific Ocean and Donghua, and the climate is very comfortable, but the disadvantage is that it is too remote, far away from the Great Plains to the east, and there are Rocky Mountains to block it.

The latter is the location of the Great Plains of North America, where the conditions for the development of industry and agriculture are still above the Vancouver area, and the transportation is equally convenient, but it is close to the Socialist United States of America, and the pressure on military defense is extremely great. If the capital is built here, it will have to work closely with Donghua in terms of national defense......

Seeing that Zhu Heng promised to build the capital north of Lake Superior, obviously there was not much intention to reject Donghua, and the smile on Zhu Juan's face was a little more, "On the north shore of Lake Superior there are two small cities about 6 kilometers apart, Fort William and Port Arthur. The former was a fur trading post, while the latter was a silver mine and military base. The area around the two cities is rich in iron, gold, silver, and copper mines, as well as timber and furs, and Lake Superior is also rich in fisheries. In addition, the surrounding land is fertile, suitable for growing soybeans and wheat, and can be used as the foundation of a country. ”

At present, the territory of Donghua and Beihua is very vast, but the population is too small. It is impossible to carry out construction in an all-round way. Only a few core areas can be concentrated. California in East China and Vancouver in North China are definitely going to be developed -- both of which belong to the Pacific Rim and are considered a core area. In addition, there is a need for priority development, which is the Mississippi River basin and the Great Lakes region. The Great Lakes region is the border area of North China, East China and the United States, and there are not only large plains suitable for agricultural development, but also various mineral resources suitable for industrial construction. The Great Lakes region also has the conditions for the development of hydroelectric power. The urgency of its development lies above the Mississippi River region.

"Fort William and Port Arthur ......" Zhu Heng repeated the names of the two places, and then turned back to his prime minister, Peng Yulin, and said, "Peng Xiang, how do you think that it will be renamed Beining and be the best district in my Beihua?" ”

Peng Yulin stroked his gray beard and smiled, "The old man also means this, Donghua and Beihua are the same qi and branches, and the choice of the capital city on the north shore of Suhu Lake is really the best choice." ”

Both Vancouver and the north shore of Lake Superior are close to the territory of Donghua, and the two countries are indeed in the same spirit.

Seeing Peng Yulin nodding, Zhu Juan and Rong Hong exchanged glances, Prime Minister Donghua smiled slightly, and took over the topic: "The territory around the Great Lakes in North America is excellent, and looking at the world, only Western Europe and our Central Plains can compare with it. It's just that after the devastation of the war, it is now full of devastation, and if you want to restore the prosperity of the past, the investment required is probably astronomical. Fortunately, my king has some access in Mexico and Europe, and he can always raise some money. ”

"Mexico and European money?" Peng Yulin's heart suddenly became vigilant, and his eyes suddenly became fierce. The special relationship between Donghua and Mexico has always been a pimple in the heart of the Ming Dynasty - after all, Donghua was the Kingdom of California under the banner of the Mexican Empire in its early years! Mathilde and Jujuan have been controlling the Donghua regime for more than a decade, and their influence is not only military and political, but also economic...... Prior to this world war, Donghua was not a formal member of the Greater China Economic Circle, but an economy between the Mexican Empire and the Greater China Economic Circle. Now that the king of Donghua is going to use Mexican funds to build Donghua, it really has to make people vigilant. (To be continued.) )