Wild North America 1846

Omaha was originally just a farming town in the northern United States with a population of more than 3,600 residents. After the United States and Tang Dynasty signed the "Ottawa Treaty", a large number of original white American residents left. The town was settled by the Longkou Cavalry Regiment and became a frontier military base.

fortress.

Due to the importance of its geographical location, the decision to build Omaha into a plain fortress city that can be attacked and defended was approved after a full evaluation by the Army General Staff Headquarters and submitted to His Majesty the King.

This is an 8-year construction plan. It plans to build a plain fortress-type city with a towering riverside on the highlands of Omaha's original site, with a planned population of 100,000.

Fortress Omaha is a large fortress-like building that draws on the advantages of Eastern and Western fortress cities. In the first three years, it only built walls, gates and other facilities to have initial defensive capabilities.

The second phase of the project began to add bastions, riverside forts, and dig moats to further strengthen and improve the defensive performance of Fortress Omaha, gradually building it into a majestic city on the plains.

The third phase of the project is to improve the residential and transportation facilities in the city, improve the sewer channels, commercial and living facilities, so that it can have urban life in peacetime and the ability to stand alone for a long time in wartime. Based on the northern region of America, it is eyeing the hinterland of the United States.

plain.

Richard personally reviewed the entire city plan, listed the construction of urban sewer ducts and ditches as a priority goal, optimized the division of functional areas, and finally approved the large-scale construction project plan.

The project will employ 9,000 to 10,000 convicts and invest 2 to 3 million Tang Yuan each year. It is planned to take seven to eight years to complete. It is a major defense investment no less important than the Phoenix Castle.

In view of its important role as the "Northern Key", this money cannot be saved.

stand in front of the window

Richard stared at the city covered in heavy snow, his thoughts leaving the northern border city of Omaha and returning to his eyes.

The current immigration boom has an obvious impact on cities on the west coast of North America. The population of coastal cities such as New Chang'an (San Francisco), Los Angeles, Sunshine City, Seattle, etc. has increased significantly every month, much higher than that of the mainland.

After the U.S.-Tang Dynasty War ended, Richard no longer personally sat on the Colorado Plateau, but returned to the Maple Leaf Palace in New Chang'an (San Francisco), where he handled the daily government affairs of the kingdom, met with court officials, and returned to normal life.

this action

It actually had a major impact on the political and social life of the entire kingdom. Coupled with the fact that after the war, the material, personnel and financial resources of the Tang Kingdom no longer flowed to the plateau, the development of major coastal cities showed a gratifying situation that was changing with each passing day.

Richard felt this deeply, and after careful consideration, he figured out the mystery.

The economy of the Tang Kingdom was too small and there were not many pillar cities. During the war, everything was dominated by military struggles. Various resources and financial resources were gathered on the Colorado Plateau, which inevitably affected the normal development of other cities. This was a seesaw effect.

.

peacetime

The Kingdom's various resources, manpower, material resources and funds have gathered in coastal cities, which has significantly assisted their development and made significant progress.

Generally speaking, cities are still small in size. Several major cities along the coast are only of a size with more than 100,000 residents. An increase of 50,000 residents a year is half, and an increase of 100,000 residents is double.

At this moment

When Richard heard footsteps behind him, he turned around and saw Gu Yan, Secretary-General of the Royal Family, and Chen Cailiang, Minister of Economic Affairs, coming hand in hand. He bowed respectfully as he entered the door;

"The humble minister goes to see His Majesty and wishes His Majesty peace."

"Excuse me, why did Cai Liang come here?"

"Your Majesty, there is indeed a matter of great importance that must be reported to the Holy See." Count Chen Cailiang respectfully presented the report with both hands.

After taking it, Richard took a quick look and did not open it to read. Instead, he waited quietly for the Minister of Economic Affairs, Count Chen Cailiang, to elaborate.

Since the Heaven Sacrifice and Ennoblement Ceremony at the end of last year, the temporary commissioner system in the royal court system of the Tang Dynasty has been abolished and replaced by a cabinet system. The heads of relevant ministries and commissions are all called ministers of such and such ministry, or ministers of such and such.

Following the British political tradition, the head of the cabinet is called the "Prime Minister", or "Prime Minister" for short.

In this way, it is consistent with the mainstream government settings in today's countries, making it easier to clarify responsibilities, facilitate governance, and facilitate international exchanges.

The most important post of prime minister in the current royal government is vacant. The secretary-general of the royal family, Gu Yan, also leads the coordinating function. Important bills of various ministries are finally submitted to the royal court for decision, which means that the king has sole power.

A small country with a population of more than 1.5 million is a land of one government in China, and there is no need for so many people to participate in decision-making.

Richard made a decision, and others only had to implement the decision. The administration was simple, rough and efficient, which was very suitable for the current situation of the Tang Kingdom.

"Well, tell me about it?"

"Your Majesty, the US Secretary of State Slim Love has sent telegrams and handwritten letters many times, saying that after the normalization of relations between the United States and Tang Dynasty, they are eager to resume trade and personnel exchanges between the two countries. The United States' thoughts are

Open the Red Rock Valley Channel as a gateway for trade and personnel exchanges between the two countries, exchange what is needed, and enhance trade and mutual consensus..."

"oh……"

Richard did not listen carefully to the following explanation, but said "Oh" with great interest, waved his hands and responded; "The relevant channels and methods of trade exchanges between the two countries are yet to be discussed. There is no rush. This matter is under the control of both governments."

Level communication. Even if mutual markets between the two sides are opened in the future, our opinions should be based on Omaha in the north, which can take into account the security concerns of both sides and is conducive to trade development."

Are you kidding me?

The Hongyan Valley is the core area of ​​the border defense of the Tang Kingdom. Its role is almost the same as the heart. In any case, it is impossible to spend military power at one's own expense. What kind of "border trade between the two countries" is being carried out in this place?

Such an important place should be classified as a military restricted area. It is strictly forbidden for people and birds to fly across, and communication between the two sides is completely cut off. Violators will be killed without mercy.

Border officers and merchants are busy carrying goods. Who knows if there are any enemy spies harboring evil intentions? Who knows if there are any guns or armed personnel?

A thousand-mile embankment collapsed in an ant nest.

Border areas are easily eroded by money and blinded by interests, leading to people relaxing their vigilance. This is a fatal threat to the Phoenix Fortress.

Fortunately, the Americans could come up with such an idea. Richard saw through the trick at a glance, but he did not reject it outright. Instead, he ordered the Minister of Economic Affairs Chen Cailiangxu to talk slowly with the snake!

As for how long the conversation will take, there is no telling.

Perhaps in five or six years, Fortress Omaha will be completed, which will have strong defensive capabilities. The United States has agreed to build a bridge across the Missouri River. If all conditions permit, it is not impossible to launch mutual trade between the two countries.

Now, this is definitely not possible during this sensitive time period.

Count Chen Cailiang was aware of His Majesty's polite attitude and immediately understood. Then he reported that he had imported a large amount of Mexican silver, minted silver coins and copper coins to sell back to Mexico, and made huge profits.

Today, the main exports of the Tang Kingdom to Mexico are silver coins, copper coins, denim clothing, stocks of second-hand weapons and swords, various dried fruits, flour and wine. The main imports are agricultural products and silver and aluminum-zinc ores. The scale of trade is not large.

But the popularity is rising step by step.

The industrial products, clothing products and food of the Tang Dynasty were very popular in Mexico, but the only things Mexico could sell were silver and aluminum-zinc ores, and the trade between the two sides was not reciprocal.

After a brief report on the relevant trade situation, Economic Minister Count Chen Cailiang resigned first.

Richard pondered for a moment and asked, "Qing'an, do you think it is the will of the US federal government or the personal intention of Secretary of State Slim Love? What do they want to do?"

This question is not easy to answer. Gu Yan considered it seriously for a while and then said;

“Start your majesty;

Based on my understanding of senior officials and government operations in the U.S. federal government over the past few years, I tend to believe that it should be Secretary of State Slim Love’s personal political ambition.

To put it bluntly, he is a political speculator.

The reason is that the current Polk administration, after a disastrous defeat in the midterm elections, has lost its status as the majority party in the House of Representatives and the Senate. In fact, it has become unable to make a comeback and has become a lame government governed by a standard lame president.

The Polk administration was clear;

At this stage, even with all the efforts of the whole country, it is impossible to defeat the Kingdom of Tang Dynasty. Otherwise, there is no need to sign the "Ottawa Treaty" that is humiliating and humiliating the country and make substantial concessions to cede territory.

After this, the Polk administration was strongly criticized by public opinion in the country, and important staff such as the Treasury Secretary, the Interior Secretary, and the Ministers of Economy, Industry, and Commerce resigned one after another, just to avoid sinking with Polk's broken ship.

U.S. Secretary of State Slim Love has obviously chosen another path. He insists on not resigning and is using the few remaining terms in his term to seek political assets for a comeback in the future. Proposing mutual trade between the United States and Tang Dynasty may be one of them.

Regardless of whether it produces results or not, even if it can get a positive response from us, that is something Slim Love deserves to boast about.

From this perspective, this person should be a standard political speculator."

"Well, that makes sense, but the relevant information is not enough to confirm each other, so it is difficult to judge for the time being." Richard nodded cautiously.

If the U.S. government had bad ideas about Red Rock Valley, the situation would be much worse.

It is not impossible for the U.S. federal government to jump over the wall in a hurry. If the sharp domestic contradiction between the North and the South cannot be bridged, the Polk administration may blatantly initiate border provocations and lead the main contradiction into a foreign war to alleviate the urgent need.

Of course, all this is speculation and more intelligence support is needed.

"I am ordering Count Kahn, Commander-in-Chief of Phoenix Fortress, to implement a three-level military mobilization in the near future, loosen externally and tighten internally, focus on preventing US military raids in the Hugo Fortress area, and provocations on the border, and a strong response must be given to any challenge, this order."

Richard dictated the order with a stern expression. After Gu Yan hurriedly recorded it, he clasped his fists and bowed, then left and went to the secretariat to draft the order and issue it.

For major military matters related to border security, it is better to believe that there is something than to believe that it is not true. Even if there is only a 1% chance, there is always no harm in taking more precautions. What he arranged are preventive measures.