The sun never sets in America

Chapter 175 War Progress and Wartime Economy

Two weeks have passed since the war between China and the United States began. During these two weeks, the Chinese and American armies fought in New Mexico and even the two states in the upper half of the Mexican peninsula, Nuevo Enlai and Coahuila. Fierce and crazy confrontation, this wave of confrontation stretches for hundreds of kilometers. On this huge front, the two sides have evolved from a division-level direct confrontation with tens of thousands of people at the beginning to the current situation of local regiments and regiments, battalions and Confrontation between battalions.

The reason is that under the current circumstances, neither side can eat the other in one go. The U.S. army cannot continue to go south and destroy the entire Republic of Mexico. The Han Kingdom cannot form an overwhelming advantage over the U.S. military because of its limited number of soldiers. This is also This has caused the biggest problem for the Chinese and American armies at present.

That's how to kill the opponent! !

The American's thinking is that the reason why he couldn't defeat the Han army was not only the quality of the soldiers, but also the biggest reason was the weapons. The entire American army of 11 had less than [-] Springfield rifles, and the rest were old-fashioned. Flintlock guns, this means that in terms of local firepower, the US Army is definitely at a disadvantage, which has been proven in many subsequent wars.

The American militia often had a numerical advantage, but they could not defeat the Han army on the opposite side. The gap in the number of rifled rifles was the most fatal and critical gap.

In addition to this, there are artillery. The US military currently has thousands of artillery pieces of various types. These artillery pieces are all smoothbore artillery without exception. Even if they are the latest production, it cannot change the fact that they are smoothbore artillery.

Because it is three to five times farther away from rifled artillery, the U.S. military often has to rely on infantry to engage in melee battles with the Han army on the opposite side to avoid the firepower advantage of the Han army on the opposite side. This is actually very helpless and unavoidable militarily. s Choice.

And even so, the Han artillery will often attack the American army like a kite. Especially once the American artillery fire counterattacks, they will immediately use observation balloons to monitor and counterattack. The intensity of the counterattack is terrifying. This is the U.S. military I have seen it in many battles.

Therefore, without developing and producing enough rifled artillery and Springfield rifles locally, the US military's current strategy is to use its numerical advantage to engage in a stalemate with the Han army on a huge front...

To avoid collisions above the regiment level, this tactic was also called "Dragonfly Touching Water" by the Han army. That is to say, the US military's fighting style is like a dragonfly touching water. It just taps lightly and then evacuates. It is more like a non-contact war.

The U.S. military did this to wait for soldiers, weapons and ammunition. Major General Buchanan, the commander of the U.S. military stationed in Mexico, assured the White House and Congress that as long as he was given another [-] militiamen and enough new weapons, he would have Make sure to kill this group of Han troops within a month, and finally destroy the country of Han before the end of the first half of next year. This is completely different from the June offensive that was initially planned, and basically increases the time by about half.

The reason is that the strength of the Han army deeply shocked the Americans. For example, before the war started, the Han army was one level higher than the Mexican army in the minds of Americans. Now, it is more than one level higher than the US military. Once the battle is over, the United States can only rely on its numerical advantage to maintain the front line, so as not to lose too miserably.

The current situation of the Han army and the US military is very different. The Han army is currently short of men and enough ammunition to destroy the US military.

Let's just say there is a shortage of people, because the Han army and the US military have different ideas for building armies, and the soldiers they train are also very different. The Han army basically trains regular troops, and the US military basically recruits recruits to find cannon fodder.

There is no doubt that the US military's approach is rougher and simpler, which is to draw militiamen from various states to the battlefield. Anyway, these people can shoot. As for battlefield discipline and the position when arranging guns, they will naturally understand it when they arrive on the battlefield.

The Han army is different. From lining up to obeying orders, no matter how fast it is, it still takes a month. This is the main reason why the Han army has only mobilized 10 people. In the final analysis, the training of soldiers is too slow.

But this is not without its benefits. The biggest advantage is that the adaptability and action capabilities of soldiers trained in this way on the battlefield are much higher than those of American militiamen. This has been vividly reflected in recent wars.

To put it bluntly, even if they were escaping, the Han army was uniform, with regular appearance and a lot of weapons.

The U.S. Army is different. Once it escapes, it will basically be a repeat of the Maryland Division on the Eastern Front. Once it is attacked by the Samurai like last time, the consequences will be extremely terrible.

In general, the Han army and the American army have their own advantages. The American army has the strengths of the American army, and the Han army has the shortcomings of the Han army. This is why the battlefield is not as fierce as it was at the beginning, but there is a strange peace that lasts. The time depends on the industrial capabilities of the United States, the speed of military imitation, and the speed of Han's mobilization and training...

Just as Liu Peng said at the latest wartime cabinet meeting: "We and the US military are waiting for time. Both of us are waiting for the fateful moment to come. This war is destined to be hard and boring. , but it is also a real test for our Han country. If we cross it, the sea and sky will be brighter. From now on, we will carve up the Americas with the United States. If we cannot cross it, everything will stop..."

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Xijing City, Cowbell District...

Han is currently the largest heavy industry base. The area provides more than a quarter of the steel and a third of the machinery and equipment. It is a veritable steel capital...

This is also the place with the most frequent production activities in Han Dynasty except Jinshan.

Here is the largest military base in the Han Dynasty, the Xijing Arsenal, and the largest steel enterprise in the Han Dynasty, Xijing Iron and Steel. The annual pig iron production of Xijing Iron and Steel alone is equivalent to one-fifth of the total pig iron production in the Han Dynasty.

We must know that the current steel industry in Han Dynasty has expanded its production capacity by at least twice due to the impact of the war, reaching a level of 32 tons. This level is already nearly double that of Prussia, an emerging industrial country in Europe during the same period. Prussia's pig iron production this year is expected to be only 18 tons.

This number is a very terrifying number, which means that with the help of this war, Han has reached the level of a developed industrial country. Although this development is actually a question mark, from a global perspective, it is indeed the case.

As for the UK's production capacity during the same period, the answer is 150 million tons. This is the production capacity in peacetime after the British industry is temporarily saturated, not the wartime state. According to Han's internal estimates, according to Han's current wartime state The UK should at least double its production to around 300 million tons.

This number is exactly ten times that of Han. This number has also calmed the brains of some fanatics in Han. Don't think that the increase in pig iron production means that you are not afraid of the sky or the earth. Maybe by then, another Recruitment.

There is no way, in this era that has fully entered the era of firearms, steel production is a symbol of a country's strength. After all, when you talk about wealth and colonies, these are too complicated. When it comes to steel, everyone understands it.

Steel is war, even in future generations! !
Since the war started, it is impossible to say that there has been no impact on Han's domestic economy.

Not to mention anything else, the total population in the country is less than 500 million, and there are suddenly a loss of more than 20 to [-] young adults. Many production activities have to be stopped.

Take grain as an example. This year's grain output will definitely be reduced by 30.00%. Fortunately, Han has fewer people and more land, and it is still a grain exporter. Otherwise, if it were placed in any country in the Far East, famine would break out in minutes. Let me show you how easy it will be then. If you eat your own food, you will see a sea of ​​hungry people, all of which will be transformed by you.

Other industries in the Han Kingdom are also in a state of shortage of workers. Due to the demand for military production, the current number of workers recruited by the Han Kingdom is based on the rationing system. The biggest advantage of this system is that it can divide the industrial population that the Han Kingdom has cultivated over the years. The best part was taken out and concentrated on the military industry, so that Han's military industry could remain evenly matched and even have a certain advantage even as the US military continued to increase its troops.

All of this is inseparable from the newly established wartime cabinet. According to Liu Peng's requirements for the wartime cabinet, the wartime cabinet has the allocation of the entire Han Dynasty's resources, population, and wealth. Liu Peng personally serves as the top minister of the wartime cabinet. (Because ordinary people can easily offend people if they do this kind of thing, so Liu Peng can only do it to suppress those opposing voices)

The biggest problem with Han's current domestic industries is that heavy industry and military industry are overcrowded, and there are even over-capacity.

However, private enterprises are extremely short of people. After all, the war is going to be fought, and everyone has to live, right? ?
This worldly life, especially the folk life in a country that has initially entered industrialization, is completely different from the agricultural country where men farm and women weave. They are basically two different systems.

Not to mention anything else, after these years of development, ordinary people in Han Dynasty, even immigrants, no longer engage in men farming and women weaving. They wear machine-made cloth, not made by themselves, but tailors, and even now they still wear machine-made cloth. Finished clothing appeared, specially divided into sizes for customers to try on and buy.

It greatly influenced the Han textile industry and pushed the Han textile industry step by step into the finished garment industry of later generations.In addition to the textile industry, the biggest impact is on the light industry. As we all know, the light industry solves the largest number of jobs. This is a good thing in peacetime, but in wartime, especially in countries with a scarce population, population is the biggest disadvantage of the light industry.

In response to this, it is not that the light industry itself has not thought about self-help, such as increasing hours, increasing wages, attracting people, etc.

However, these were of no help based on Han's fixed population base. In the end, as long as an immigrant ship arrived at the port, workers would be recruited from them. These immigrants must be allowed to help them fill the missing jobs.

Fortunately, the missing positions are all grassroots positions. One advantage of this kind of position is that it is simple and easy to train, and only a literate person can operate it.

As for literacy, these immigrants have already completed it on their way to immigration. This is definitely the greatest good news for Han's light industry and a blessing from heaven.

But even so, due to the number of immigrants and the need to supplement the lack of labor in other parts of the country, these immigrants cannot all be given to these factories. In the end, they are still short of people...

As for the shortage of people, they had to find ways to make up for it. These light industry bosses focused on the Mexican refugees who fled to Han. These people did not ask for high prices and had a certain degree of education. They were the best recruitment at present. (Because of the war, many Mexican refugees fled to Lingnan and Guangling provinces)

This situation actually affects not only light industry, but also agriculture such as cotton, peanuts, and wheat.

Among them, cotton is the most affected. It seems that in a while, cotton will mature, and cotton requires a large number of people to pick. Without people, the cotton will rot in the fields, and their work will be in vain this year. (The Hanzhou area has sufficient sunshine, which can even be said to be excessive, so that local cotton often matures earlier than other places in the world)

Therefore, many cotton farmers bring in truckloads of Mexican refugees from Lingnan and Guangling provinces to pick cotton that is about to mature at high prices.

These Mexican cotton pickers are also called ink workers. In fact, there are ink workers in all walks of life. This is also the price that the Han Dynasty has to pay during wartime. The battlefield is strong, but domestic industries other than military-related industries, All suffered varying degrees of damage.

Regarding these Mexican workers in Han State, it is not that there are no opinions in Han State. In fact, there are great opinions in various places.

As for the cotton industry and light industry, they welcome the participation of these Mexican workers. After all, the emergence of this group of people has saved their factories and cotton fields to a certain extent.

However, in the eyes of many Chinese radicals, these Mexicans staying in the country will sooner or later be a disaster. After all, these people are not legal citizens of Han, and they do not agree with Han values, leaving behind this group of Mexicans who are extremely difficult to assimilate. People, on the other hand, may become the biggest destabilizing factor for Han in the future.

Objectively speaking, the ideas of these radicals are correct. The reason why the Han Dynasty did not take advantage of this war to annex Mexico is because Mexico has a large population and its own culture. Most of the country is Catholic. This is not the case in the Han Dynasty in the United States. It is definitely a taboo in China.

In the Han Dynasty, approval was required to build churches. The churches in Han Dynasty are still left by the Spanish and even the Mexican population. Since the establishment of Han Dynasty, only Liu Peng built a few churches in the early days in order to win over the local white people.

Then, nothing happened! !

At present, the economy of Han Dynasty seems to be prosperous and developing, and the number of employed people is rising steadily. In fact, anyone who knows a little bit about economics knows that this is simply cooking oil. Once the war is over, those accumulated war orders will not be processed. Well, a lot of businesses will go bankrupt.

This is also the biggest drawback of the wartime economy. It feels good, but the question is what to do after the feeling is over? ?

And this is also the fundamental reason why the cabinet has been asking the military to conduct a so-called decisive battle, that is, after replenishing its troops, it can eliminate the US military in Mexico in one fell swoop and prepare enough chips for subsequent war negotiations to end this war...

In a word, it is okay to continue the war, but what to do after the war is something that every cabinet official in the Han Dynasty, especially the financial, industrial and commercial officials, must consider.

War is fun to fight, but not so easy to end.

In the same way, the same is true for the current population of the United States. Is there no one in the United States who regrets launching the U.S.-Mexico War? Yes, and there are many. At least the current president, John Taylor, is definitely the first to end the war.

After all, the war has been fought so far, and it can no longer be solved at a small cost. From the moment Buchanan wrote to the country asking for assistance, the American elite decision-makers actually had little hope for this war. .

The United States is a very young country. It is impulsive, warlike, and likes to expand. This is a problem that every emerging country has. The same is true for Han. This can be seen from the ink-eating theory that has always been in Han. This emerging country was established by force and had an inexplicable fantasy of expansion. It always felt that they could conquer everything.

But just because the people below are impulsive does not mean that the people above are also impulsive. At least the senior officials of the Han Dynasty and the United States are very clear about the outcome of this war.

First of all, Han cannot defeat the United States, and the United States cannot defeat Han for the time being.

From this war, the top leaders of the two countries clearly saw that the Western elites of this era are not the clowns of later generations who won their way through flattery.

They are the real elite! !
And this war has lasted until now. The two countries have suffered tens of thousands of casualties. The United States has been turned upside down by a Chinese brigade, Mexicans have been displaced, and human tragedies are everywhere.

Military expenditures have only remained high. At least the current military expenditures of Han State have completely exceeded the initial [-] million yuan issued. The war consumes millions every day.

The United States is not much better. The U.S. government's fiscal deficit is definitely hopeless this year and can only be supported by national debt.

It can be said that now that the war has started, neither side can actually continue fighting. This can be known from the communication between Chinese and American diplomats through a third country, France.

Both sides want to negotiate peace, but in the end they often break up on bad terms, for no other reason than because the price demanded by both sides is too high.

The Americans demanded that the Han Kingdom withdraw from Mexico, compensate the United States for the losses it suffered in Oklahoma, and apologize to the relatives of the victims for compensation. Of course, the Americans were smart and did not propose punishing the murderers because this matter was meaningless. Even if it was too big, Han would not be able to agree. After all, no country would dare to betray its own people.

The Americans cannot agree to Han's request, because according to Han's request, the United States must unconditionally withdraw from Mexico and all Mexican territory, including Texas.

Then according to the latest treaty signed between Han and Mexico, these lands were returned to the Han State, and Han State's sovereignty over Texas, New Mexico, Utah and other places was recognized, and Mexico was recognized as the protectorate of the Han State.

The Americans cannot agree to this request under any circumstances.

So just as Han Chinese Foreign Minister Wan Fang said in a private meeting with US Secretary of State Daniel Webster: "Since our two countries cannot resolve their differences, let us decide the outcome on the battlefield!!"

　Ask for a reward, ask for a monthly ticket
　　
　
(End of this chapter)