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Taking a deep breath of the cold air with a strong smell of water, looking at the Mississippi River in the distance with the sound of gurgling water, meandering like a giant python to the distance, Wu Min showed a trace of emotion on his face, stomped his feet lightly, felt the heavy and cold texture of the cement and concrete fortress, and slowly said: " Xiangzong, in fact, you don't need to do anything like they promised at all, you should know the young master's requirements, he just wants to know the hidden means of the Americans, and he has no intention of destroying more than 300,000 American troops on the southern front!"

"I know!" Wang Xiangzong said in a somewhat dull tone. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info

The economic crisis that ravaged the entire capitalist world, coupled with the war with Huo Jiajun, from 1882 to the present for more than two years, the United States has long ceased to be the world's second largest economy, and its industrial strength has surpassed Britain's! More than 20 million unemployed people in the country, more than 70 percent of bankrupt factories, unlimited military spending, and the domestic crisis that is still in sight have completely hollowed out the foundation accumulated by the United States of America over the past century.

Although now US President Alan Arthur and his generals have organized more than 2 million troops to defeat the Huo family army and recover all the former American territory west of the Mississippi River, with the current national strength of the United States is only barely supported, coupled with the economic crisis, after the channels for obtaining loans from countries with strong capital such as Britain, France and Germany are basically cut off, it is impossible for the United States to support more than 2 million troops for long, it can be said that the war at the end of 1884 is the last chance for the United States to regain the lost territory.

And against the Americans, such a rush to start a war. With the intention of regaining the lost land with the least loss, the General Staff Headquarters of the Huo Family Army formulated a comprehensive defense strategy at the first time, in addition to showing the enemy weakness. In addition to striving to obtain all the land west of the Mississippi River with the permission of Britain, Huo Shan also hoped that the Sino-US war could be extended as much as possible; if the war could be delayed for half a year, then the United States' military expenditure would exceed 200 million, and if it could be delayed for a year, then the time for the United States to recover after the war would be extended by three to five years.

Therefore, Huo Shan, who made a fortune through the economic crisis, did not want to beat the Americans too hard at once. Instead, they want to cut the flesh with a blunt knife, make the Americans feel pain little by little, and finally drag down the American economy through the war!

For Huo Shan. War is only a means, and how to weaken the United States to the greatest extent and gain time for the development and construction of new land in the Americas is the most important thing. It is precisely because of this consideration that this time the General Staff of the Huo Jiajun learned that the Americans had hidden a large amount of military power. Even if a war strategy of active offensive is formulated. However, he did not want to fight too hard at once, so most of the troops used were second-line troops such as the Black Servant Army, and several cavalry divisions were only used as auxiliaries for the whole campaign.

However, after two years of rigorous training, coupled with the assistance of Huo Jiajun's advanced training methods, the combat effectiveness of the black servant army is not much worse than that of the US Army, and in the past two years, the main infantry weapons of Huo Jiajun, such as Type 80 rifles, grenades, light and heavy machine guns, and mortars, have all been installed. Although the number of machine guns and mortars was still relatively small compared to the main force of the Huo family's army, and there were not enough field artillery and heavy artillery. But the black servant army, which has reached 500,000, is still a good combat force, which is also an important reason why the General Staff of the Huo Family Army dares to use them as the main force to defend the important defense line of the Ohio River and the Mississippi River!

"Xiangzong, the reason why the General Staff Headquarters let our Southern Front Corps take the initiative to attack, and also specifically asked the Black Servant Army to take the main offensive mission, is that they are comparable to the combat effectiveness of the US Army, and they can not only make small moves that the Americans hide behind, but also cannot quickly eat the US Southern Corps, and can also force the US Army on the Northern Front and the Central Front to take the initiative to attack our Lianghe Defense Line, so as to achieve the strategic means we originally envisioned. But this time I was instigated by you, I am afraid that in the next war, those black servant troops will all scream and pounce, if they fight too hard and directly wipe out the US Army's Southern Front Corps, then whether the next battle can be fought or not, then it is two words!"

Wang Xiangzong understood the meaning of Wu Min's words, the United States of America is not a monarchy like Germany and the Russian Empire, in this country established at the end of the eighteenth century, democracy and freedom prevailed, although Alan Arthur is the president of the United States, but the supreme power of the country is in the hands of Congress.

In the past two years or so, the war and military confrontation with the Huo Jiajun, as well as the massive expansion of the army, have caused the originally rich American economy and industry to wither rapidly, and the big chaebols who control Congress have become more and more dissatisfied with the president who insists on going to war with the Huo Jiajun, in their view, since the powerful British Empire guarantees the security of the American regime, even if the wild land on the west bank of the Mississippi River is not unacceptable, after all, more than 80% of the economic data of the United States depends on the Atlantic Coastal Plain and the Great Lakes in the east. As long as these places are kept, then the United States still has the foundation to become strong again, and when the time comes to survive this difficult economic crisis, the United States will become strong again, and the United States can calmly organize an army to regain the lost land on the west bank of the Mississippi River from the hands of the Chinese.

This view has become more and more marketable as the domestic economy of the United States has become more and more difficult, and it has also received more and more support from congressmen in Congress; if it were not for the fact that the United States has already raised a large number of troops, so that congressmen can see the hope of recovering lost territory by force, and Alan Arthur, as president, insists on war, I am afraid that the Americans would not have been able to wait for today to declare peace.

However, if even the servant army composed of blacks that the United States has always looked down on, such a second-line unit of the Huo Family's Army, can easily defeat the army that the United States has painstakingly assembled, then I am afraid that no matter how confident the Americans are, they will not believe that their army can defeat the Huo's Army and regain the lost territory. At that time, the big chaebols who control Congress are afraid that the impeachment process will start against the president, and Alan Arthur, whose presidency is nearing the end of his term, will be quickly removed from power. Peace between China and the United States will be restored.

At that time, although Huo Jiajun was able to obtain a large amount of American land as he wished, but the strategic plan to take advantage of the war to weaken the potential of the United States and the speed of recovery will also be in vain, and the Americans who have a century-old foundation and are dressed in a white skin will rely on the strength of Europe to recover quickly, and perhaps ten years later, a strong country with strong industry, strong economic strength, and not weak military strength will re-emerge on the east bank of the Mississippi River, and the security of Huo Jiajun's American territory will be more strongly threatened, which is by no means the result that Huo Shan wants to see。

Therefore, the war of the Southern Front Corps in the American Theater of Operations is mainly focused on finding out the hidden military strength of the Americans, and small victories, draws, and even defeats can be allowed, but the only thing that is not allowed is to completely defeat the Southern Corps of the United States.

"Old Wu, Young Master and the General Staff are naturally clear about the strategy of the Americas, but now the US Southern Front Corps, in addition to the original 4th Army, 6th Army, 9th Army, 14th Army, 24th Army, as well as the 325,000 people of the Third Cavalry Army and the Independent Sixth Cavalry Division, has secretly increased its troops by 50,000 in the past week. Moreover, as the main direction of attack, the heavy artillery hidden by the Americans is likely to have been quietly deployed to Memphis, so that the American Southern Army is already a huge corps with a number of 375,000 and equipped with a large amount of heavy firepower, relatively speaking, although we have added four cavalry divisions of 80,000 people, but we have left the three main divisions of the thirty-second and fifty-sixth divisions for the southern defense, and the force that can be put into the attack is less than 250,000, and most of us are servant armies, and we seriously lack heavy firepower support! Even if we can be prepared against unprepared, it will be very difficult to defeat the US Army on the Southern Front, and as a soldier, I will not allow my troops to lose the battle, even if it is a deliberate failure!" Wang Xiangzong said with a firm expression as he looked at the dark sky in the distance.

After listening to his words, Wu Min looked stunned, and then couldn't help but sigh secretly, although he belongs to the military establishment, but as a political commissar, he is more like a civilian official, rather than a pure soldier like Wang Xiangzong, so the angle and focus of the two of them are different, Wang Xiangzong always regards the army and honor as the first, and then politics, while Wu Min is just the opposite.

"Okay, let's not talk about this, since you have decided, then I, the political commissar, can only obey unconditionally, who asked you to be in charge of military command!" Wu Min said with a smile.

"Don't worry, Lao Wu! I still have a sense of proportion in this battle, and I won't cause any damage to the military headquarters' strategy in the Americas!" After finishing speaking, Wang Xiangzong looked up at the sky, and then took out the pocket watch that he had been carrying for four years from the pocket of his jacket, and after looking at the time, he carefully put it back into his pocket, as if it was the most precious treasure.

However, for Wang Xiangzong, this pocket watch handed over to him by the young master himself is indeed his most precious treasure, and he understands the preciousness of this watch by looking at the eager and envious look in Wu Min's eyes next to him.

"Okay, don't look at it! When you go back, just let the young master give you a piece!"

After listening to his words, Wu Min couldn't help but pout, this pocket watch in Wang Xiangzong's hand was the first batch of pocket watches produced after Huo Jiajun's watch factory in Taipei was put into production, because of the limitations of technology and materials, only one hundred and fifty pieces were produced at that time, and finally Huo Shan gave it all to the government affairs and the military and political officials within the Huo family's armyJust like the ancient emperor's gifts, it is a treasure that can be passed down to the family. (To be continued.) )