Looking at the strength of Citigroup today, in 1908, foreign trade exports were 374 million US dollars, far from reaching the high level of average annual exports of more than 35~4 billion US dollars after World War I, and in order to develop the economy, it took on a huge debt of 3.375 billion US dollars, and the average annual trade surplus was only 20 or 30 million US dollars.

The dividends of World War I made Citigroup eat a lot of money, not only got rid of the huge debt of $1 billion, but also held $9.6 billion in creditor's rights, and the interest alone was full of oil.

Today's Citigroup economic spies are spread across Britain, Germany, France, and the Ocean Empire, and they are not only stealing new technologies, but stealing everything they can.

Citi had not yet experienced the "Coolidge boom" after World War I, and did not have the self-confidence to form a beacon of prosperity and democracy, and the greatest desire of the rich was to return to Europe to find their roots, or to marry their daughter to a European aristocracy, preferably British.

Economically

The total economic output of the Ocean Empire is about 40% of that of Citigroup, but its average annual foreign trade exports have reached a high level of 885 million US dollars, which is twice that of Citigroup, with an average annual trade surplus of 291 million US dollars, and as many as 1.7 billion US dollars of creditor's rights.

Demographically

By the end of 1908, Citigroup had a total population of 88.76 million, only one step away from a population of 90 million, second only to the Qing Dynasty, Britain, India, Russia, and France (including colonies), ranking fifth in the world.

Since the population of the Ocean Empire reached 46.71 million in 1900, with economic development and foreign expansion, it once again exceeded the 60 million population mark in 1905 to hit a record high.

Three years later

At the end of 1908, the population of the empire in urban and rural areas was 72.27 million, second only to the German Empire, which ranked sixth in the world, and ranked seventh in the world.

The war is fought on the economy and population, and the two sides in the "wool war" are similar in strength, with the total population of the US-Arab military alliance of about 94 million and the total population of the Pacific military alliance of about 89.5 million, which is not much different.

In terms of economic aggregate, the US-Arab alliance is twice as large as the Pacific military alliance, but the military strength is very different, and the Pacific military alliance is more than twice that of the US-Arab alliance.

With calculated intentions or unintentional, the Ocean Empire has an absolute advantage in all war preparations, and on the other hand, Citigroup, which joined the war by surprise, will be in much greater trouble.

The Citi nation, after the mobilization for the war, found a serious problem, they did not have enough rifles to equip the army, they lacked ammunition, they lacked officers, and they lacked almost everything for arming the army, except for money.

Citigroup's existing weapons company is good at manufacturing revolvers, as well as the Winchester 1873 lever rifle, or Henry lever rifle, which is the standard for western cowboys, and it is also an important infantry weapon equipped by the Northern Army at that time, but unfortunately this thing has fallen behind compared with modern mainstream military rifles.

To this end, Citigroup organized a delegation to Europe to sweep up stockpiles, brandished large cheques to buy existing weapons production lines, and obtained a lot of equipment in service from Britain, Germany and France.

The Ocean Empire lodged a formal and serious protest against the above-mentioned countries, strongly condemning this act of financing the enemy that violated the position of neutrality, but it was of little use, and it was nothing more than a deal that turned from open to dark.

Li Fushou has already written down this account in a small notebook.

The developing Citigroup country is full of flowers, but Li Fushou sees an opportunity to defeat the powerful Mi Guoyan.

Today's rice is a useless embroidered pillow, the economy is strong, the military is weak, the contradictions between the north and the south and the east and west are profound, it is a good time to start.

If you miss these few years, when the Mi Guoyan has sucked the blood of Europeans and developed to an irrepressible extent, then it is only a matter of time before it develops into a world hegemon.

He once repeatedly conducted sand table deductions with military bigwigs, and the probability of defeating Citigroup was as high as 7 percent, and the three achievements missing were European shots, which could be Germany, Britain or France, all of which had certain possibilities.

Don't ask why, the 20th century was a world dominated by whites.

Therefore, before June 1909, the military strength of the ocean empire must reach the east coast of North America and control the Atlantic trade routes, so that the European powers have many scruples about mixing in the troubled waters of North America, which is the key to victory.

Citigroup is feverishly building Pacific Fortresses on the west coast of North America, planning to recruit 500,000 soldiers, build tens of thousands of reinforced concrete forts, and build dozens of fortified forts.

The west coast of North America stretches for thousands of kilometers, where can you not land?

In order to land in North America, the Ocean Empire deliberately built shallow water barges, the shallowest draft is only 0.75 meters, one by one, can be connected together, can form a steel trestle, and at the end of the steel trestle can lay steel caissons, all the way to the beach.

It only takes one day

The steel trestle bridge can be laid, and the troops and equipment can be continuously transported to the land, and the powerful movement and strike capabilities of the semi-mechanized troops can be used to carry out large-depth penetration, and attack important cities and ports from the flanks and rear, and then fully occupy them.

Li Fushou comprehensively considered the current situation, and finally drew a heavy circle on the two points of aviation and follow-up troops, as the key work to be considered in the next step.

The first phase of war mobilization includes the recruitment of 100,000 new soldiers and 300,000 militiamen, which are currently in full swing in training, and the next step will be used to organize the second and third divisions.

The second phase of mobilization for war has just begun, and the situation is gratifying.

The aviation is currently divided into army aviation and naval aviation, which are armed with "Spindle" fighters and "Vixen" biplane light bombers, respectively, for a total of about 450 units.

Production is rapidly expanding, with more than 120 aircraft expected to be produced each month starting in October, and 200 aircraft per month by June next year.

The Royal Academy of Sciences has sent many high-quality scientific research personnel to the Qimarang Air Base, with the aim of stepping up the development of the first single-wing single-engine dive bomber and the first transport aircraft to suit the operational use of the vast North American continent.

The Admiralty even set out to build a flatbed ship to realize the idea of aircraft taking off and landing from ships, expanding the range of applications for naval aviation.

Li Fushou vigorously supported these good ideas, war is a booster for the development of science and technology, and if there is demand, there will naturally be supply, which will pull the upsurge of scientific and technological research and development, which is not transferred by the will of the individual, but is a new thing that will inevitably appear at a certain social stage.

In the middle of the night in this October

Li Fushou thought a lot, no matter from which point of view, now is the best time to give Citigroup a heavy blow, which will greatly change the strategic pattern after World War I and even World War II, and the impact will be far-reaching.

At the same time

In Washington in October, it was late autumn and the chill was heavy.

In the government office building on the left side of the White House, a top security meeting with President Roosevelt is taking place, attended by senior officials of the army and navy, as well as White House chief of staff Dane, new Secretary of State Davenport, and National Security Adviser Adam Smith.

They were all sitting at the round table, listening to a report by an officer of the General Staff on the mobilization for the war, and Lieutenant Colonel Mike was holding a thick stack of speeches in his hand, and was gushing about it;

"It is well known that since President McKinley's assassination in 1901, President Theodore Roosevelt has been at the helm of the country, and the Union Army has undergone many reforms, and it has not yet transformed into a modern Army in the full sense of the word.

At this point, we are 100 years behind Europe.

During his tenure, the previous Secretary of the Army, Mr. Rotte, who was a lawyer, reformed the Army General Staff Headquarters and established a General Staff consisting of an Army Chief of Staff, two generals and 42 junior officers.

Between 1901 and 1905, the General Staff did little long-term strategic planning, preferring instead to focus on more immediate issues such as updating regulations, establishing a regular army reserve, and drafting new rules for the volunteer militia, most of which were case-based work.

In 1905, his successor, William Howard Taft, as Secretary of the Army, was confronted with a dispute between the heads of departments and the new Minister of War and Deputy Chief......"

"Enough, what is this...... What are you guys discussing? President Roosevelt was furious, he waved his hands angrily, and shouted at the army generals sitting in front of Mu Ran;

"Is this a war mobilization meeting in which the country is in danger of annihilation, or is it a solo show of yours?

Is this an occasion for you to shirk your responsibilities?

Is this the right time for you to boast about your accomplishments and qualifications?

From the time I sat down until now, all I heard here was a ball of shit, I didn't have time to have a week-long meeting with you here, and now I need to act immediately to face the military machine of the Ocean Empire, armed to the teeth, and the whole country needs to unite and go forward to win the victory.

It's not TMD sitting here talking about it, William, don't tell me you don't know the danger now, the enemy has put muskets to our chests, and we must fight back.

I'm here to come to this damn meeting, to know how many militias, how many weapons, how many supplies, how many tons of steel and cement you sent to the West Coast via the Pacific Railroad, and not what the TMD Army Chief of Staff did?

The beautiful land of Citi is about to be ravaged by invaders, and you bombastic gentlemen are here to talk to me about difficult relations, if I had a revolver in my hand right now, I would not hesitate to shoot you in the head, damn it! Shet......"

Mr. President let out a furious fire, and heard only a whisper from below; "Mr. President, you are the main culprit in starting the war."

"Who...... Is TM talking to who? ”

President Roosevelt was simply mad, his eyes swept over the faces of the generals in front of the round table, and then at the officers sitting in the rows behind, and his face turned green with anger.

These bastards don't open any pot and mention which pot, this is deliberately trying to make themselves ugly!

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