() Chapter 253 Chicago

Sitting on a train heading east, Wu Guangzong looked intently at a topographical map of the city of Chicago within fifty kilometers. Although he now has only two regiments of the main combat strength, but with the addition of the baggage regiment, the jǐng guard battalion, and the artillery regiment, there is also an army of nearly 15,000 men, and it will not be a problem at all to take Chicago, which is defenseally empty and unprepared. However, Chicago's proximity to the Great Lakes, the surrounding terrain is flat, and the population is dense, which is too dangerous for the lone Huo Jiajun.

Although the strength of the Americans' army is too poor, but the ants bite the elephant to death, if they can't prepare in advance, then the Eighth Marine Division led by him is likely to suffer heavy losses in the bitter battle with the Americans, which Wu Guangzong does not want to see!

"Alas! The troops in his hands are still too few!" Wu Guangzong threw down the pencil in his hand and pinched his eyebrows with a tired face! From Sacramento to the present, the train is less than 300 kilometers away from Chicago, passing through six or seven towns along the way, and there is also Omaha, a city with a population of 50,000, which is considered a good city in the entire western United States.

However, in this way, it also seriously weakened Wu Guangzong's already small number of troops! Therefore, after controlling Chicago, a city with a population of more than one million, he still had to resist the counterattack of the Americans on the plains, which could not help but make Wu Guangzong feel a little stretched!

"Commander, you'd better rest for a while. You haven't had a break for almost two days since yesterday!" said the guard next to him softly as he put a cup of hot water on the table next to him.

"Oh, no! We'll be in Chicago in a few hours! It's never too late for me to rest!" Wu Guangzong picked up the water glass next to him and took a sip, then his gaze shifted to the map of Chicago on the table again.

"Xiao Li, you go and give an order to summon all our officers at and above the division and regimental level to me, and say that there is an important combat mission to be issued!" Wu Guangzong suddenly said after looking at the map for a while.

"Yes, Commander!" As soon as he heard that there was a task, Jǐng Wei's serious face couldn't help but become excited.

In order to be able to receive orders conveyed from the command in a timely manner. All the officers at and above the division and regimental level of the Eighth Marine Division were concentrated on one train! So not long after a long time passed, dozens of high-ranking officers wearing the epaulettes of the Huo Jiajun generals appeared in this carriage as a temporary headquarters!

"You're all here, come here!" As Wu Guangzong's voice fell, dozens of officers all gathered on the map of Chicago in the carriage! Because the space in the carriage was limited, it was impossible for everyone to surround it, but through the gap, everyone could see it.

"That's what we're going to do this time, Chicago, which is located in the northeastern part of the United States. Belonging to Illinois, Lake Michigan in the east forest, the terrain is flat, densely populated, and the light and heavy industries such as agriculture, machinery manufacturing, and steel industry are complete, and it is also a transportation hub in the central region of the United States. The financial sector is also very well developed! Overall, the value of the city is immeasurable. It can be said that the number and output value of light and heavy industries in Chicago alone is more than the total industrial output value of our entire Huojiajun ten provinces and two cities combined, and the number of factories is more than ten times that of ours!"

Wu Guangzong's words just fell. The officers of the Eighth Division around them lost their composure, and the atmosphere of joy began to spread through the carriages.

"I've long heard that this Chicago city is the second largest city in the United States after New York, but I didn't expect it to be so industrially developed!"

"yes. A single city is comparable to the total industrial output value of all of our Huo Jiajun! If we take over a few more big cities of Americans, then wouldn't our Huo Jiajun be a big deal!"

Listening to the surrounding discussions, Wu Guangzong was also happy in his heart, as a lieutenant general-level officer of the Huo Jiajun, he had been able to access many confidential industrial data within the entire Huo Jiajun! Not to mention anything else, but as far as steel is concerned, Huo Jiajun, which has been developing for nearly three years, has only just exceeded 400,000 tons of steel, of which the output of steel is only 100,000 tons. It was only achieved after a large number of qualified steelworkers were recruited from among the captured Portuguese soldiers!

But now the steel output of a Chicago city, according to the report of the Military Intelligence Bureau, has exceeded one million tons, of which the steel output has reached 300,000 tons, although it is still not as good as Detrojin and Pittsburgh, the two major cities in the United States dominated by heavy industry, but it is much stronger than Huo Jiajun!

Of course, what attracts Huoshan the most in this city is not those factories, but those skilled craftsmen with rich experience! Hundreds of thousands of workers, this is a huge fortune that can make people drool! I believe that as long as all of them are looted to Nanyang, then Huo Jiajun's industrial strength will definitely increase several times within a few years!

"Okay, don't be happy yet! The first thing we need to do now is to take Chicago and guard against a military counterattack by the Americans!" Wu Guangzong clapped his palms and focused everyone's eyes on himself, and said with a serious expression.

"Li Guang, the head of the 801st regiment!"

"Here, please command, commander!" replied a tall young officer, Shen Sè, excitedly.

"Well, there is a regiment of more than 3,000 American Nationalist Guards stationed in Chicago, and your task is to take down the train as soon as it enters the station, understand?"

"Understood! Our 801st Regiment guarantees to complete the mission!"

"Liao Hanchen, commander of the 802nd Regiment! The mission of your regiment is to occupy all the transportation arteries of the entire city of Chicago as quickly as possible, as well as banks, schools, and factories! All those who do not heed the advice and commit crimes will be shot on the spot, and we must maintain order in the entire city of Chicago and protect the trophies of our Huo family's army! In addition, you remember! If we occupy Chicago, then everything in the entire city of Chicago is ours, even if it is a piece of scrap metal, and you will not let it return to the Americans without my permission, understand?" Wu Guangzong explained solemnly.

"Understood, Commander! The Second Regiment promises to occupy the entire city of Chicago at the first opportunity, and protect our booty!"

Chicago does not want San Francisco, Los Angeles and other cities in the western United States, where the population is large, the industry is very developed, the population of the entire city of Chicago is more than one million, and the corresponding wealthy here are naturally a lot, you must know that the Chicago consortium in later generations is one of the top ten consortiums in the United States!

However, as soon as the Huo Jiajun arrives, they will completely deprive these families of the wealth they have accumulated over the decades of struggle, and it is difficult to guarantee that they will not take risks! After all, the Americans are not the masters who keep to themselves! In addition, this is a place where guns are notoriously proliferated! In the event of a riot in such a big city, especially when the Huo Jiajun has only half a division, the situation will be very dangerous! Therefore, Wu Guangzong immediately sent a regiment of troops to blockade the whole of Chicago! Leave all the citizens at home! Only by separating them can the danger be minimized!

"Jǐng Wei Battalion Commander Wang Jie!"

"Here!"

"Well, come and see! This is a topographical map of the city of Chicago, and your mission is to take over the city of Chicago after our train arrives. They quickly marched out 30 kilometers around the city of Chicago and set up a guard post! Especially to the south of the city of Chicago, if the Americans want to counterattack and take back the city of Chicago from us, then they will definitely attack from the south! Therefore, you must be on strict guard!"

"Commander of the baggage regiment, Qian Chong, the task I have given your regiment is to move things! The gold, silver, and dollars in the vaults of various banks, the machinery and equipment in various factories, and all the historical relics in museums are your targets! In addition, you have the most important task of robbing people, teachers and students from all universities, colleges, and technical schools in Chicago, as well as all middle school teachers, as well as skilled workers with more than two years of service in various factories, including their families! You have to get them back to our western city of San Francisco intact, you understand?"

"Understood, Commander!

"Artillery Regiment Commander Wu Zhaolin! Your task is to dig trenches, especially south of Chicago! Our troops this time are not large, and we still have to maintain order in the city in Chicago and rush to transport supplies! Therefore, we do not have enough troops to launch a new offensive, so we can only choose to hold on! In four days, as long as it takes four days, the 25th Division will be able to rush over from the rear, and then our troops will become more abundant, and we will not be afraid of the military counterattack of the Americans at that time! And, if we weren't too grim here, we could even go a step further and take Milwaukee, just north of Chicago, if we still have control of all of Chicago by June 5th!"

"Yes, Commander!"

"Well, that's all I have to explain! It's now 8 o'clock in the evening on 31 June May, and we will be able to reach the Chicago train station in four hours! The offensive will also be launched at that time! Diao Fei! The task of directing this military offensive will be handed over to your Eighth Division!"

"I see, Commander!"

"Order the soldiers to hurry up and eat, rest, and immediately attack according to their respective tasks when they arrive at the station!"

"Yes, Commander! We promise to complete the mission!" As the neat and loud words sounded, a solemn military salute appeared in the command room converted into this carriage! The neat promise means that the Huo Jiajun will once again step into the battlefield! This time they will stir up the entire United States and become the trigger for a great economic crisis in the world!

In order to ensure the speed, Huo Jiajun deliberately added an extra locomotive, one after the other, under the strong power, the rolling train moved at a speed of more than 60 kilometers per hour, and he saw that he was getting closer and closer to Chicago, getting closer and closer!