readx; Chapter 476

Fortress and disarmament

"Mr. Liang, how many other forts like this are there on your side, and are there all such forts on the Mississippi River?"

After listening to Bannerman's words, Liang Cheng secretly said in his heart: "These Brits are really direct enough!"

Although the armament of the Mississippi River is a military secret, the number of forts is not too difficult to obtain. After all www.biquge.info huge fortress is built there, and anyone can see it, and they can't hide it if they want to.

Therefore, Liang Cheng didn't want to hide it at this moment.

"Mr. Minister, in order to defend against the attacks of the Americans, we have built forty-five such forts on the Mississippi River!"

Of course, it is impossible for all of the forty-five fortresses to be as large as the Linjiang fortress. The reason why the Linjiang fortress is so strong is that it is located on the west bank of the Mississippi, tightly stuck on the western section of the Central Pacific Railroad, and its strategic location is too critical.

And the same fortress as him, there are St. Paul's Fortress that stuck the Pacific Railroad on the northern line, and St. Louis Fortress and West Memphis Fortress of the Southern Pacific Railroad, a total of four fortress fortifications of the same size.

The rest of the fortress groups were defensive systems consisting of two or three fortress groups, or even just a single fortress.

And most of these fort complexes are located in the north-central part of the Mississippi River. In the lower reaches of the southern rivers, where there is no ice, although there are few fortifications, it is safer to cooperate with the navy's inland river fleet.

Of course, the British don't know this.

So, after listening to Liang Cheng's words again. Bannerman was secretly shocked and gasped.

"So you are going to take all the land west of the Mississippi River. All for yourself?"

In the face of such a temptation, Liang Cheng smiled slightly and replied: "I'm very sorry, Mr. Minister! I am just an ordinary official sent by our Ministry of Foreign Affairs to greet you, and I am not clear about such a major military matter. ”

“...... But I think!since we're now. The Americans, who still occupy Illinois and Wisconsin on the east bank of the Mississippi River, and who had suffered heavy losses in the last war, seem to have no choice. Take these two states away from us. So should the land of these two states also belong to us?" Liang Cheng smiled.

Hearing this, Bannerman's expression froze, but he quickly returned to normal.

"Mr. Liang. These two states were originally the territory of the United States. If you want, you can talk to the Americans in this next negotiation. And I'm just a British minister, and I can't get involved in sensitive territorial issues!"

"This Englishman is really cautious, and he doesn't miss a word!" Liang Cheng scolded in his heart.

"Mr. Liang, how do we go now?"

At this moment, Bannerman's interest in the upcoming Sino-US negotiations suddenly became stronger.

"Mr. Minister. Please come with me, the train to Chicago is ready for you!" There was some disappointment in his heart, but as an elite person carefully cultivated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Huo Family, Liang Cheng quickly adjusted his mood.

After listening to his words, Bannerman nodded, and then took John Brown and followed Liang Cheng down the dock. Then he walked towards Linjiang County, which had been propped up by the Han people who had emigrated behind the fortress.

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"Bang!"

With the sound of the door opening, a gust of wind and rain blew in from outside the door, instantly making the air in the house damp.

took off the raincoat on his body, hung it on the hanger at the door, and then took the towel from the orderly and wiped it, Huo Shi took off his military hat, walked to the coffee table next to him, picked up the teacup, lifted the teapot and poured himself a cup, and drank it in one gulp.

After feeling the warmth in his stomach, Huo Shi sighed: "The weather in this America is different from our Taiwan. It's June now, and there's still a chill in the rain!"

"Hehe, this Chicago is low and high-dimensional, although June is already summer, but it is still much colder than Taiwan-Bay, which is located near the Tropic of Cancer!"

"However, the temperature is already good now, and it is really cold here in winter, especially when the coldest time in Chicago this year is minus 18 degrees, most of our soldiers are not used to the climate here, and there are a lot of non-combat attrition!" Wu Guangzong next to him walked over and said.

After listening to his words, Huo Shi nodded.

Most of the soldiers of the Huo Jiajun came from the warm and humid Nanyang and the provinces south of the Yangtze River, and they were not too adapted to the dry and cold climate of the Great Lakes coast in winter, which has the same dimension as North China and the climate is not much different.

"Hehe, it's okay if you don't adapt, now this war that has been fought for more than three years is over!" Huo Shi said with a smile after putting down the teaglass.

"Yes, it's over!" Wu Guangzong said with a little emotion.

"What's the matter, haven't you fought enough?" Noticing the change in the expression on his old friend's face, Huo Shi couldn't help but quip.

"Hehe, how is that possible! I'm not a war maniac! After three years of fighting, it's really time for this war to come to an end!" At this moment, Wu Guangzong also felt a little tired, "By the way, how is the mood of the officers and soldiers? Now they have all calmed down, right?"

"Well, it's much better than before!" Huo Shi nodded.

"Although, after knowing that we are going to make peace talks with the Americans, many officers and soldiers are emotional. However, our army building over the past few years has not been done in vain, orders and prohibitions are carried out, and all actions are under command, and this is not just talk!"

"However, now is a sensitive period for Sino-US peace talks, and we still cannot relax, and we must resolutely eliminate any unstable factors that may lead to military riots!"

After listening to Huo Shi's resolute words, Wu Guangzong nodded silently. In the face of the big picture, the interests of any individual are small. The military, in particular, must be subordinated to the overall situation, even if it is unwilling.

"Sit, Guangzong!"

"Hmm!" After nodding, Wu Guangzong sat opposite Huo Shi.

"The war is coming to an end, and according to the young master's request to the military, there will be no more wars in the South Seas and the Americas. After the signing of the armistice with the Americans, we will usher in a long period of peace. At that time, the American Theater will become the American Military Region, and according to the young master's mind, you will be the first commander of the American Military Region!" Huo Shi said with a serious expression.

"Thanks to the trust of the young master and the military department, Wu Guangzong will definitely live up to his trust. As long as I am for one day, I will never let the Americans set foot in our territory west of the Mississippi River!" Wu Guangzong stood up and replied with a serious expression.

Seeing his serious appearance, Huo Shi smiled and waved his hand, "Okay, Guangzong! Don't be so serious, today is not a military order, just a casual chat between us! Sit down!"

In fact, strictly speaking, Huo Shi and Wu Guangzong both have the rank of general, but Huo Shi, who served as the chief of the general staff of the Huo Family Army in terms of status, is half a level higher than Wu Guangzong.

However, as the veteran of the Huo Family Army when it was established, the two were very good friends when they were the predecessor of the Huo Family Guard. Therefore, there is no relationship between superiors and subordinates in private.

"In addition, in addition to the establishment of the Military Region of the Americas, our army will also usher in the second major reform since its establishment! At that time, there will be changes in the establishment, personnel, and armament of the army at all levels, as well as the deployment of troops in the major military regions, as well as the second-line army garrison divisions. According to what the young master said, this reform will lay the foundation for the armed forces of our People's Army in the next 10 years! Therefore, you must be mentally prepared when the time comes!"

After listening to Huo Shi's words, Wu Guangzong's face also showed surprise.

Although after the end of this war, he had already detected some signs of military reform from some clues, but he did not expect that this reform would be so big.

It can be seen from what Huo Shi just said that this military reform has penetrated into almost all aspects of the current Huojia Army and Army, and I believe that after the reform is completed, there will be a completely new change in the military appearance of the Huojia Army and Army.

"Is there a detailed reform plan now?" Wu Guangzong asked.

"Not yet, the young master has just communicated with us, and I believe that the young master will also let you give your opinion when the time comes! But one thing is certain, after the war is over, the number of troops will definitely be reduced! Especially the American theater!"

Hearing this, Wu Guangzong nodded, he had already prepared for this in his heart.

Now that the War of the Americas is over, there is naturally no need to maintain so many troops, and disarmament is the right thing to do. However, Wu Guangzong was more concerned about how many troops would be cut.

Looking at the expression on his old friend's face at this moment, Huo Shi also roughly guessed what he was thinking.

At that moment, he looked directly at Wu Guangzong with both eyes, and said seriously: "The 1.1 million troops in the American Theater will be cut by four-fifths!"

"Four-fifths, then I don't have only 200,000 troops left?" Wu Guangzong said with some disbelief.

With more than 3,000 kilometers of Mississippi River defense line, even with the help of the river fleet and a huge fortress, it is impossible for him to hold this defense line with 200,000 men!

"Why are you staring so wide-eyed? Since there are 200,000 troops left for you, it will naturally allow you to rely on these troops to hold our new national border!"

After a pause, "This time, the young master has specially explained, if we can reach a peace agreement with the Americans, we will negotiate the specific number of troops stationed on the border between the two sides at that time." I believe that the Americans, who are already suffering from the economic crisis and war, and who are desperate to restore the country's economy, will not refuse our proposal!"

After listening to Huo Shi's words, Wu Guangzong also relieved himself. (To be continued.) )u