Opening game, American Tycoon

Chapter 704 Lurker (fourth update, please subscribe)
"Mr. President, in order to prepare for a war with the Ming Dynasty, we must choose a suitable location between Washington and Oregon to build a naval base."

In the Oval Office of the White House, General Ulysses Grant looked at President Rutherford Birchard Hayes and said.

"why is that?"

asked President Hayes.

"Haven't we already built a naval base in San Francisco Bay?"

In order to prepare for the war with the Ming Dynasty, after the "Los Angeles Incident", the United States not only formulated a naval expansion plan, but also built a new naval base in San Francisco Bay. The naval base has various facilities such as docks, because The project is too large and has not been completed until now.

Well, before General Grant is building a new naval base in Oregon, doesn't he know that everything needs money?
Facing the president's question, General Grant replied.

"Mr. President, because if we want to blockade Vancouver, it is impossible to rely on a berth in San Francisco Bay. We must also build a new naval base as close as possible to prevent Ming Dynasty coal ships from sailing out of Vancouver. , Of course, more importantly... Lieutenant Colonel Mahan, please explain your thoughts."

"Yes, Mr. Minister."

Ma Hai unfolded a map he carried with him.

"Lieutenant Colonel, this is?"

asked President Hayes, looking at the map.

"Mr. President, this is the Juan de Fuca Strait passage between Vancouver Island and Washington State's Olympic Peninsula, which is the main outlet to the Pacific Ocean from the Strait of Georgia and Puget Sound. The portion of the Strait that forms part of our The national border of the country. This strait is 90 miles long and 10-16 miles wide. Mr. President, if we build fortresses at the mouth of the Olympic Peninsula in Nierbe and other places and deploy special long-range cannons, then we only need to use artillery batteries , the entire strait can be blocked, once the war breaks out, it will be impossible for the coal ships of the Ming Dynasty to sail out of this sea area, and at the same time..."

Mahan's hand continued up the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

"To the north there are Johnstone Strait and Queen Charlotte Strait. The narrowest part of Johnstone Strait is only one nautical mile. We can pass mine operations in this area, between the Queen Charlotte Islands and Vancouver Island. , to build mine nets. Of course, it is inevitable that there will be fish that slip through the net. Therefore, we need a new naval base. Its task is to implement a sea blockade during war. , is enough to block most of the targets. Even, "

Looking up at the president, Mahan said.

"We can also block the throat of the Johnstone Strait at the beginning of the war, and prevent their coal ships from sailing out through shipwrecks. In this way, we can use the least amount of naval power to achieve our goal— — Cut off the coal supply of the Ming Empire. Without coal, the war machine of the Ming Empire will not be able to continue to operate efficiently!"

Standing in front of the map, looking at the several locations marked by Mahan, President Hayes thought for a moment, and then asked.

"Lieutenant Colonel. Your plan seems to be perfect, but I have a few questions that I hope you can answer."

"Yes, sir."

"Now do we have artillery with such a range?"

"Currently, there is no artillery with a range of more than ten miles in the world, but Mr. President's technology is always improving. As long as we put forward technical requirements to the manufacturer, they will soon be able to come up with weapons that meet our needs. This There is no problem."

President Hayes thought for a while, then asked again.

"What if they attack our fort batteries from land?"

"Isn't that exactly what we dream of, Mr. President."

Ma Han said with a smile.

"No matter if any army attacks the fortress, it will eventually pay a very heavy price. The damage caused by machine guns and artillery to infantry will be unimaginable. Maybe by then our fort on the Olympic Peninsula will become the stranglehold of the Ming Empire." Meat machine, tens of thousands of Ming Empire soldiers will be killed by machine guns and artillery in front of our fortress, and eventually we will exhaust their war potential there. Exhaust their war potential in the Northern Territory."

Looking at the lieutenant colonel in front of him, President Hayes was silent for a while. He looked at General Grant standing aside, and then asked.

"General, what's your opinion?"

"Mr. President, if a war between us and the Ming Empire is inevitable, then we must do everything possible to prepare for this war and win him in the end."

General Grant answered directly.

"Otherwise we are doomed to be losers in this war."

"It looks like there's going to be a lot of budget to operate on these plans."

President Hayes spoke for a while.

"At that time, I thought we should be able to squeeze out, and members of Congress should agree. After all, it is worth spending more money for safety."

Once upon a time, in order to save money, the United States paid for martial arts at its own expense, and what was the result?It was during the "Los Angeles Incident" that humiliating concessions were made.

……

There were not many secrets in the United States in the 19th century, so it was not because those reporters would publish in the newspapers, Congress was discussing issues, and even many drafts had not yet been discussed, and were leaked by supporters or opponents of the draft Come out, both of them are trying to win the power of public opinion to support themselves.

Of course, this makes it easier for other countries to collect intelligence. They don't even need to go through any channels, they only need to buy a newspaper to get the information they need.

But it takes some extra effort if you want to get the details.In other words, it needs to go through some special channels.

There are hardly any people on the banks of the Potomac River in winter, but there is a person by the river, who sprinkles grains and feeds pigeons from time to time. In front of him, pigeons are walking and flying in the snow. .

For this scene, even if someone saw it, they would not feel any curiosity.Many people know this Mr. Ritter, and his favorite thing is to feed the pigeons here, and he can be seen every week throughout the year.

Although the weather was very cold, he didn't wear a hat, and let the biting cold wind blow his blond hair. Finally, after feeding the grains in the paper bag, Ritter gave his shoulder helplessly, and then said to himself of.

"Okay, let's feed you next time."

While talking, he crumpled up the paper bag in his hand and threw it into the snow. The pigeons in the snow seemed to think that the paper ball thrown over was also a grain. After eating the grains, he even turned his head to look at the big golden retriever with some doubts.

"What a bunch of cute little things."

Ritter smiled, looked at the pigeon for a while, and then left straight away. After he left, the pigeon was also jumping around in the snow, looking for food.At this time, a beggar-looking passerby came over, casually bent down to pick up the ball of paper on the ground, and then continued to walk forward...

(End of this chapter)