After the commissioning ceremony of the new ship, Marshal Li Xuanzhu hastily coped with some diplomatic affairs and prepared to leave, seeing a group of generals chatting happily around Li Jianyang, who was wearing the uniform of a brigadier general of the British army, he couldn't help but stop slowly, and then walked over again.

"Humble rank see Generalissimo, congratulations to Generalissimo Jin'an!"

"After the end of school, Li Jianyang will see the generalissimo, congratulations to the generalissimo Jin An!"

Seeing the generalissimo coming, the generals stood up one after another, and saluted their direct superiors with solemn expressions, and Li Jianyang was no exception.

Marshal Li Xuanzhu raised his hand to return the salute, looked at Li Jianyang with a kind expression and said; "You're the British officer who ran to Detroit, aren't you? Commander Huo also mentioned in the letter, but I can't see your figure at the Allied Headquarters, so we only met for the first time today, right? ”

Not really!

Li Jianyang was originally in the Eastern Front Command of the Expeditionary Force, but it was not until the end of the war in September last year that he fought with the main force of the Eastern Front Corps all the way to Cincinnati.

Then it was time to contact the thousands of horses that had been assigned to them, and to be engaged in intense adaptation training, and all kinds of affairs were really busy, and after the Battle of Chicago broke out, he led the army to Detroit in the starry night......

After taking Detroit, it was faced with the problem of receiving cities and rehousing prisoners, which was a matter of several months.

From the beginning to the end, there was no audience with the chief.

Li Jianyang's British unit is under the command of General Liu Shan, but Marshal Li Xuanzhu is the big boss, so it is unreasonable!

"Please forgive the generalissimo, Jianyang was born recklessly, young and vigorous, and he knew that he was inevitably more utilitarian, and he wanted to worship the generalissimo several times, and asked for the guilt in person, but he kept ......"

"Huh...... I'm not here to ask the teacher. ”

Marshal Li Xuanzhu waved his hand indifferently to interrupt his words, The allied forces do belong to the commander-in-chief of the headquarters, but after all, they are allied forces, and it is impossible to really call for subordinates.

In particular, the superpowers such as Britain and Germany have to negotiate everything, and there are differences in the treatment of the military such as Fuso and the Pacific allies, so they need to be treated with more respect.

Marshal Li Zhuzhu looked at him appreciatively, and he inevitably sighed in his heart;

This is a 12-year-old child who followed his father out to break through, experienced hardships in the Gobi Desert in West Africa, was born and died, and his mind was tempered much stronger and more mature than ordinary people.

"Seriously, I'm still your uncle......"

Hearing the generalissimo mention this stubble again, most of the generals around him showed strange looks in their eyes, and each of them almost said this when they saw Li Jianyang, and when they saw him make achievements, they all had a feeling of relief that the child had grown up.

Li Jianyang is also a helpless nephew, his heart is warm, and he has a long bow to the ground; "Jianyang has seen my uncle."

"Huh...... Excuse me. Marshal Li Xuanzhu accepted this bow calmly, and then asked cordially;" Now that the war in North America is over, will the virtuous nephew continue to stay here or return to his hometown? ”

"Returning to my uncle, because Britain has gained a lot this time, the Royal Navy plans to set up a separate Foreign Legion for use as the Royal Marines. The unit to which he belongs is planned to be included in the Sahara Cavalry Brigade and is stationed in Egypt, so he will lead his troops back to Egypt in the near future for further reorganization, replenishment of soldiers and equipment, and this trip is just in time to go home to visit his father. ”

"I'll ask you for that generation, cavalry brigade, this thing is no longer suitable for the needs of the times."

"Thank you uncle for your care, my little nephew will definitely bring it. As for the armament of the cavalry brigade of the Foreign Legion, the nephew plans to set up in a semi-armored and semi-cavalry manner, and the relevant report has been submitted to the senior management of the Admiralty requesting that it be carried out in the form of a test unit. ”

"Well, it's good to have this kind of thinking, but the British are a bunch of elm-headed melon seeds, stubbornly sticking to the traditional conservatives, and it's not easy to change them!"

"It's man-made, the little nephew just wants to have a clear conscience."

"Well, it's good to have that mentality. If you have any difficulties here, just say it directly, don't be embarrassed, the problem that Commander Liu can't solve will come to me directly, you are also a child of the military system, and it is no problem to take proper care of it. ”

"Thank you, uncle, little nephew keep it in mind."

"Okay, there is still a lot of work to be done in the withdrawal of troops, so let's disperse if we have nothing to do." Marshal Li Xuanzhu casually ordered, and the generals gathered here "hula" and scattered at once.

He said a few more words, and then left under Li Jianyang's respectful send-off.

As soon as Li Jianyang straightened up, President MacDonald-Keynes accompanied General Zhu Qingxi and General Liu Shan and his entourage, and the two veterans said with a smile from a distance; "Jianyang, if you really want to talk about it, we are still your uncle......"

LI Jianyang; “……”

……

There were not many troops retreating into the Republic of Virginia, mainly the Shangri-La Division, the 7th and 8th Independent Divisions of the Northern Union, with a total of nearly 60,000 soldiers, and the Royal Navy's Atlantic Fleet with Norfolk and Hampton as its home port, with a total of four battleships, two heavy cruisers and more than a dozen cruisers, the Kirin and the Glutton.

The main force of the Royal Army's Eastern Front had been withdrawn to the Northern Union along the Pacific Railroad, along with the predominantly white Independent 5th and 6th Independent Divisions, as well as 100,000 white women, all of whom were white girlfriends or registered wives made by officers and soldiers during the expeditionary force's garrison in the Great Lakes region.

Among the white girlfriends of the soldiers of the expeditionary force, German immigrants are the main ones, accounting for more than half of the share.

This is due to the fact that the Great Lakes region is inherently dominated by German immigrants, who are among the best white farmers and skilled workers, known for their rigor and introvertedness.

On the east and west coasts, the descendants of British immigrants basically control the mainstream of local political and economic activities, mainly capitalists, factory owners, politicians of all sizes, lawyers, doctors, etc., and the more numerous Irish and Italian immigrants are wage earners or small business owners, including ruffians and famous gangsters.

After the independence of the Republic of Virginia, the population of the United States further decreased from 60 million to more than 54 million, and a large part of the important East Coast territory was dug up, leaving only Philadelphia and New York as the main port cities.

With a population of nearly 90 million to more than 54 million, thousands of factories in the Great Lakes region have been emptied, which has seriously weakened the country's national strength again, and it has suddenly returned to the level of the 1890s, and its economic aggregate is slightly ahead of that of Britain and the Ocean Empire.

However, its total debt soared from $3.36 billion before the war to $12.2 billion, which included huge war reparations, huge war expenses, pensions, and other losses of industry, agriculture, roads, bridges, and municipal buildings.

The Ocean Empire has become the main creditor of the United States, holding a whopping $8.6 billion in debt, accounting for 70% of the total debt of the United States.

In just one year, the interest expense is as high as 360 million US dollars.

This has become a huge burden on the country's finances, and the continuous injection of huge US dollars into the economic system of the Ocean Empire every year will surely contribute to the rapid development of the economy, and the 41 industrial categories will be perfect and sound, rapidly upgraded to a very high level, and have international competitiveness.

After the victory of the war, the population and land resources of the Ocean Empire increased significantly, and the population soared from more than 7,220,000 before the war to 7,600, and another 220,000 square kilometers of land was added to the Strait Province, firmly controlling Cape Horn and the Magellan Pass. (Excluding Panama and the Northern Confederation)

In terms of economy, it has surpassed Britain and pressed on the United States, and a huge amount of war reparations have been injected into the economy, which is like taking a big tonic, and it is expected to officially surpass the United States in 1911 to rank second in the world, second only to Germany.

(Again, the current line of history is different from the original history, so please don't sit in the right seat and make people laugh.) ）

By the end of 1910

The total population of Germany is about 78.9 million, more than 2.8 million more than the 76 million of the Ocean Empire, and the economic scale of the latter is 79% of the former, about 4/5 of the former.

Let's be honest

Germany should be grateful to the Ocean Empire for dragging down the more prosperous and prosperous industrial economy, interrupting the economic development track of the country, discounting the waist of industrial development, disrupting the rhythm of industrial development, and also knocking out the spirit of the country's thriving development, pushing Germany to sit on the top spot of the world's economic power.

What Li Fushou didn't expect was;

This brought about the extreme expansion of Kaiser Wilhelm II, and after winning a huge war reparation, he invested a large amount of military expenditure in the development of armored weapons in the army units, which brought greater trouble to Britain, France and Russia, and caused more heavy losses.

Is this cause and effect predestined?

September 27, 1910

The German War Office signed a blockbuster contract with the Ocean Empire, Worth up to 140 million gold oceans, the Ocean Empire will provide 560 Gepard medium tanks and production lines and technologies, 800 Wolf light tanks and production lines and technologies, 80 95mm self-propelled guns and all technical licenses, 60mm, 80mm, 100mm mortar technology licenses, 15,000 six-ton trucks, 8,000 Type 02 light machine guns and production lines and technical authorizations and other package contracts, so many advanced weapons are enough to equip four Australian-style armored divisions, two artillery divisions, and 20 semi-mechanized infantry divisions.

The signing of this blockbuster contract immediately stirred the sensitive nerves of the French, who witnessed the armored forces of the Ocean Empire Army galloping all the way on the North American continent, and the majesty of God blocking and killing God and Buddha and killing Buddha.

Who are the Germans going to deal with when they buy so many armored weapons?

Needless to say, thinking about it with your toes is also to deal with the French and the British, which simply blew up the French people's lungs.

Originally, the deal that the French negotiated first could not be finalized, because France had already begun to develop tanks internally, and they had developed three types of reconnaissance tanks, assault tanks and cruiser tanks, and they had made considerable progress.

In 1903, the French mounted a 75mm gun on a tractor for a demonstration for the French Army, but unfortunately the answer was very cold;

It's an expensive and stupid thing, and if you have the money, you might as well buy 6 more cannons or 100 machine guns.

However, the battle in North America greatly changed the perception of the French Army, and it was only a matter of time before France developed its own tank due to its strong industrial production and R&D capabilities.

Therefore, the French do not really want to buy, but want to get a few prototypes to learn from.

The French company Schneider converted a Holt tractor into an artillery tractor, which was an excellent partner for the French military.

By mid-September 1910, the first prototype rolled off the assembly line. Immediately after showing it to the French president, an order was received for 400 units, which were the "Schneider" CA1 tank (CA is an acronym for assault vehicle in French).

This tank can be said to be a thorough implementation of the Eston artillery carrier idea, the whole car looks like a tractor chassis mounted on a large metal box, in order to facilitate the cutting of barbed wire, a large metal cutter is installed in the front of the hull.

To facilitate the crossing of the trench, its shape resembles the bow of a ship.

The large creature had 17 mm frontal armor, a length of 6.32 meters, a weight of 14.6 tons, and a crew of six (including a commander-driver, an engine manager, a loader, a gunner, and two machine gunners).

The powertrain is pitiful compared to its heavy size, with a diesel engine producing only 70 hp and a maximum speed of 8 km/h, with stops and refueling every 50 km.

Although these data are not as good as the Cheetah medium tank, after all, it is his own son, and the French military does not have high requirements for the movement speed of the tank, and the combat concept is very conservative, as long as it can accompany the infantry to attack, it does not need the speed of the Cheetah tank.

France also has an assault tank, the Saint-Chamond, which can carry nine men and is equipped with a 75mm gun and 90 rounds of ammunition, but it is very clumsy and has a narrow firing range.

The third French tank is a light tank, which can be seen from the design concept of the tank, with a weight of no more than 4 tons, a turret with a 360-degree rotation, equipped with small-caliber guns or light machine guns, and a speed of no less than 10 kilometers per hour, and its defense can resist the attack of ordinary small arms.

It is precisely because of the confidence that the attitude of the French to buy is quite perfunctory.

The military believes that with so much money to purchase expensive Cheetah tanks, it is better to leave large orders in France, which will create a lot of labor opportunities and greatly benefit the entire military-industrial chain.

For a large and powerful army like France, it is obviously not enough to buy weapons alone, and it must have its own strong R&D and production capabilities.

As a result, the proposal to purchase Cheetah tanks was aborted naturally.

On the contrary, Austria-Hungary received a sum of American war reparations for nothing, which was transferred to the Ocean Empire, from which a ready-made batch of tanks and armored vehicles were purchased for use in the Balkans, which are currently hot spots.

For them, war could break out in Bosnia and Herzegovina at any time, and it was better to buy a batch of war-tested equipment.