The sun never sets

Diego's figure was a little thin, just like he was 20 years ago. He smiled and nodded to Igoni. Igoni followed Diego to an empty corner and asked, "Father, what happened?"

"There are new orders from above."

Igoni's heart tightened, "Should we cancel the retreat plan?"

"No, the retreat will continue, but it has been decided to raise an army in Spain."

"Organize an army?" Igoni was a little confused. "All the people in the company who can hold guns only have about 1,000 or 2,000 people. This number is far from enough."

The Republic in the north has more than 300,000 troops, and the National Army in the south has more than 200,000 troops. In addition, there are a large number of volunteers on both sides. What can two thousand people do? In front of the Republican Army and the National Army, the armed forces of the Iberian Trading Company are not enough.

“It’s not enough, but we can recruit people.”

Diego cast his eyes towards the people outside the port. "Those who are willing to serve in the army can have their families board the ship first. As for those who want to stay, as long as they are willing to join the army, they can get food to feed their families. This way, we should be able to recruit a lot of people."

Igoni thought for a moment and said, "This is a good idea, but......"

"No buts, son. The higher-ups have already made a decision, and it's not excessive. We should just obey orders."

Igoni nodded, "Yes, I will follow your orders."

"It has been decided to name the army the Spanish People's Army," Diego Alatriste smiled again, "and to appoint a Spaniard as the commander-in-chief."

"Oh, who is our commander?"

Igoni looked at the increasingly obvious smile on Diego's face and quickly realized, "Could it be you, father?"

"No, it's not me, it's you!"

"Ah?" Igoni was stunned. He had never thought of

I can't be the commander-in-chief. This can't be true.

"It's true. Igoni, you have a good reputation and a strong sense of justice. You are exactly what the higher-ups need."

Igoni's heart moved, "Father, you must have done a lot of work."

"I did make a suggestion to Mr. Wang, not because you are my son, but because you are indeed suitable."

"No, I'm not suitable, father. I can write novels and poems, and I can use rifles and grenades, but I can't lead an army to fight. If the army is handed over to me, there will be chaos."

"Someone will come to command the battle, and someone will help you with other matters."

Igoni understood, "Mr. Wang just needs my Spanish identity."

“Not exactly, but you could say that.”

Igoni lowered his head in thought for a moment, then raised his head and said, "That would kill a lot of people."

“Aren’t there many people dying right now?”

Diego Alatriste said: "The Spanish are bleeding, you can make it less bloody."

"Captain!"

There were shouts coming from not far away. Diego waved his hand over there and said to Igoni, "Son, think about it carefully. We are doing a just cause!"

Chapter 893: Completion

Eventually, Igoni accepted the position of commander-in-chief. Diego was right, Spain was bleeding, and things couldn't get any worse.

Thus, in addition to the Republican Army and the National Army, a new force emerged on the Iberian Peninsula. The Spanish People's Army was relatively weak at first, but soon swept through several provinces and had tens of thousands of soldiers. Although it was still not comparable to the Republican Army and the National Army, it could not be ignored.

Most of the generals and senior officers of the Spanish People's Army came from the Alliance, and many of the middle-level officers and combat backbones were from the armed forces of the Iberian Trading Company. Diego mobilized all the company employees who had participated in the training before. Those people were a little older and their physical fitness could not compare with that of young people, but they had no problem shooting.

The People's Revolutionary League's fleet passed through the Suez Canal, crossed the Mediterranean, and delivered a large number of weapons and equipment to Spain, including 60000 rifles, 2000 heavy machine guns, 3000 mortars and field guns, 300 light howitzers, 100 Type 24 tanks and Hammer heavy tanks, 200 aircraft, large amounts of penicillin, bandages and other supplies.

All weapons and equipment have an extra one-tenth of spare parts for repair after the weapons are damaged. Weapons are consumables, not decisive weapons, this point cannot be mistaken. Even battleships and aircraft carriers are just consumables in war.

随着西班牙人民军的崛起，英法同盟给与了西班牙共和军以更多的援助，装备数量达到了惊人的地步，其中包括：1,000架飞机、900辆坦克、1,500门大炮、300辆装甲车、15,000挺机枪、30,000支新式步枪、30,000门迫击炮、5，000,000里法郎和30,000吨弹药。

The amount of weapons and ammunition shipped to Spain by the People's Revolutionary League cannot be compared with that of the Syndicalists, and the amount of weapons and ammunition shipped to Germany and Italy combined cannot be compared with that of the Syndicalists.

The People's Army expanded and occupied a lot of territory belonging to the National Army, but the National Army remained restrained. There was not no exchange of fire between the two parties, but it was suppressed by the upper level. In Spain, the People's Army and the National Army joined forces to fight against the Republican Army in the north.

This scenario is similar to the situation in North America, but there are also many differences.

The American Civil War destroyed a large number of cities and infrastructure, and also stimulated the development of heavy industry and military industry. Whether it is the American Commune, the Pacific States or the Confederate States of America, they all produced a large number of guns and artillery, and now even the tank industry and aircraft manufacturing industry have developed very well.

However, Spain does not have the industrial strength of the United States, and its land area is not as vast as that of the United States. When the war broke out, the original heavy industry was destroyed. Spain's military industrial production capacity has increased overall, but it can only produce light weapons and wooden aircraft. Cannons, tanks and armored vehicles all need to be imported from abroad.

If the Trade Union, Germany and the People's Revolutionary League had not intervened in the Spanish Civil War, the war on the Iberian Peninsula might not have become so fierce.

Both North America and the Iberian Peninsula experienced civil wars, but what they had in common was a rapid decline in population and widespread famine. In both countries, large numbers of civilians died in the wars, and large numbers of people fled abroad.

In addition, a large number of young and middle-aged people were drafted into the army or entered military factories, and agriculture and other industries producing consumer goods suffered a fatal blow. The Spaniards were fine, they were just beginning to starve, while the Americans had already spent several cold winters in surplus cold.

Both the Syndicalists and Germany deployed their most advanced weapons, as if they were using Spain as a place to test new equipment and tactics. The Alliance also quickly sent new tanks and fighter planes to Spain. Whether new weapons and equipment are good or not, they still need to be tested in actual combat.

As the alliance and Germany and Italy invested more in Spain, the Spanish Republican Army's vigorous offensive gradually stopped. In many places, the Republican Army began to switch from offense to defense, and was even beaten back.

work

The syndicalists won victories in France and Britain, but they were not accepted in Spain. Before the outbreak of the Civil War, Spain was still a country with strong religious and feudal colors, and most people did not like the extreme syndicalism.

In the name of anti-fascism and anti-revisionism, the Spanish Republican government carried out large-scale arrests and secret executions of right-wing people and those who were expelled from the left, and the government security department turned a blind eye, without any fair judicial investigation. The Republican government also intensified the persecution of religion, and the left became the extreme left. Syndicalism itself is one of the most extreme ideas.

After the outbreak of the civil war, the Spanish Republican government not only attacked the right wing, but also severely suppressed the moderate centrists who were unwilling to join the left. The so-called "those who are not with us are against us". The left-wing government claimed that a comprehensive revolution was needed to realize the new "republican dictatorship". In fact, the republic and democratic freedom only remained in the name, and in reality it was a left-wing dictatorship.

As for the Spanish People's Party, it has been expelled from the left.

The political immaturity of the Spanish Republican government led to a large number of people turning to Franco's Falange and Igoni's People's Party, which cast a shadow on the future of the Spanish Republican government.

The Alliance continued to follow up on the American Civil War and the Spanish Civil War. The brutal and bloody battles were terrifying, and seeing so many lives and treasures turned to ashes in the flames of war, many people began to reflect on the war.

It's already the 20th century, why are humans still so keen on killing each other? Wasn't it enough to fight the first world war? Now such a fierce war has begun again. Is Western civilization really hopeless?

What is wrong with Western countries? It is always the people who are hurt. I fell into deep contemplation. There must be something wrong with the system!

The war in North America and Iberia occupied the headlines for a long time and attracted the attention of many people. People discussed political, economic and military issues, except for a few useful or useless rounds.

As long as the war continues, the discussions and debates among experts will not stop.

But at the end of 1936, the main concern of the alliance was no longer the war abroad, but the completion of the Three Gorges Dam. The entire Three Gorges Project, including the Gezhouba Hydropower Station and the Three Gorges Hydropower Station, as well as a large number of supporting projects, took a total of 17 years.

If the time for demonstration and survey is also included, the entire project took more than 20 years. The country invested countless human, material and financial resources in this project, and the broad masses of people and cadres invested a lot of effort. Finally, the Three Gorges Dam was successfully completed.

Even if a major flood like the one in 33 and 35 occurs again, the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River do not have to worry about floods.

Chapter 894: The Great Project (Updated for Everyone’s Enthusiasm)

The Three Gorges Dam project consists of two parts: the main building project and the diversion project. The dam is a concrete gravity dam with a total length of 3035 meters, a dam top elevation of 185 meters, a normal water storage level of 175 meters, a total storage capacity of 393 billion cubic meters, of which the flood control storage capacity is 221.5 billion cubic meters, which can withstand a once-in-a-century flood.

大坝左右岸安装32台单机容量为70万千瓦水轮发电机组，安装2台5万千瓦电源电站，其2250万千瓦的总装机容量为世界第一。

整个三峡工程（不包括葛洲坝水电站）动态总投资为839亿元人民币，水库最终淹没耕地43.13万亩，最终移民113.18万人。其中枢纽工程210.9亿元；113万移民的安置180.7亿元；输变电工程107亿元。

The Alliance's latest super-dreadnought battleship cost 6400 million yuan, and an armored aircraft carrier cost 5200 million yuan. The amount the People's Revolutionary League spent on the Three Gorges Project is enough to build the strongest navy in the world today.

Even the Zhurong (nuclear bomb) project would not cost more than the Three Gorges Project.

After the completion of the Three Gorges Project and the Gezhouba Hydropower Station, they will benefit hundreds of millions of people in the entire Yangtze River Basin and greatly promote the economic development of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. This is a great cause comparable to the Dujiangyan Irrigation System, and will play a significant role in the internal strife in the next ten, twenty, or even hundreds of years.

After the completion of the Three Gorges Dam, the Alliance's various media outlets carried out extensive publicity and coverage. The Three Gorges Project was repeatedly mentioned as evidence of the superiority of "populism". News about the Three Gorges Project could always be seen in the central news, morning news, People's Daily, Workers' Daily and other places.

After months of intensive publicity, the great Third Line Project was known to almost everyone in the alliance.

Foreign media mostly expressed their appreciation and admiration for the achievements of the alliance in construction. The Spanish Civil War was in full swing, and the North American Civil War had reduced the population by more than 30 million, while the alliance was still carrying out national construction as usual.

Comparing the two, it is hard not to believe that "Western civilization has structural problems." Some knowledgeable people in Europe have called for the European powers to stop confrontation and war and return to the track of developing people's livelihood and economy.

"If this continues, the center of civilization will shift from Western Europe to Chang'an!"

This has been said before, when the center of civilization was said to shift to New York and Washington.

The Americans are fighting a civil war, and the warring parties have repeatedly broken the bottom line. People's brains are almost turned into dog brains, so naturally no one talks about North American-centrism.

What those experts and scholars said makes sense. If Europe continues like this, sooner or later there will be another world war. What is certain is that if there is another world war, the intensity of the war will be even worse than the last one. Most of Europe will probably be reduced to ruins in the flames of war.

At that time, the center of the world would naturally shift to Guanzhong and Chang'an.

But knowing the problem does not mean that it can be solved. The contradictions between the Anglo-French Alliance and the Steel Alliance (Germany and Italy) are too great and the resentment is too deep. Syndicalism and fascism cannot coexist. The hatred between the French Commune and the German Empire has continued from the Napoleonic era to the present. War is the inevitable result, not peaceful development.

The French Commune and the British experts and scholars soon fell silent. The Syndicalist media went all out to publicize the significance of the liberation of Spain and invested more resources and more volunteers in Spain.

The number of volunteers sent to Spain by the British and French alliance gradually increased from 100,000 to 200,000, and then expanded to 400,000. Later, due to the low quality of the Spanish Republican Army, the volunteers of the British and French alliance became the main force of the Spanish Republic.

The troops sent by Germany and Italy to Spain were all elite. In order to enhance the combat effectiveness of the Italian army, Germany also sold a lot of howitzers, anti-tank guns, aircraft and other exotic weapons to Italy at low prices.

Even so, the German-Italian coalition gradually fell behind in the battle. It was not that Germany's weapons were not sophisticated, nor that the German army's combat effectiveness was not strong. In Qin Guangxia, with the same number of troops and similar weapons and equipment, the German army always won the battle.

The main reason for the disadvantage was that the Republican Army had too much food. The number of the Spanish Republican Army was only 110, but now the number of the Republican Army has exceeded million, most of which came from the reinforcements of the British and French alliance.

No matter how elite the German army is, it will always be stretched to its limits when facing the Republican Army, which is more than twice its size.

"Are those Frenchies crazy?"

The top leaders of the German government could not understand the actions of the French Industrial Design Institute. Paris had already started implementing food rationing, but they still sent so many volunteers to Spain. Didn’t the leaders of the French Commune worry about unrest breaking out in the country?

The German Empire was very oppressive in the country. Most of the workers were on the poverty line. They were not starving to death, but they were always in a desperate situation. The French Commune was more capable of governing the country than the German Empire. The government banned the consumption of all luxury goods. Except for the minimum consumer goods to ensure survival, all resources were invested in war-related production.

Because of this practice, the steel production of the French Commune has caught up with that of the German Empire. Except for the smaller population, the French Commune is no worse than Germany in any other aspect.

If the United Syndicalist Britain is included, the strength of the Anglo-French alliance has far exceeded that of Germany. However, Germany also has allies on its side, such as Austria, Italy, Turkey, Bulgaria, Egypt and other countries.

In addition, Canada and National France also tend to move closer to Germany. If a full-scale war breaks out now, it is still unclear who will win.

Perhaps it is precisely because of this that the Anglo-French alliance only forced Spain. There are more than 4500 million people in Spain. Even if many people are reduced due to war and other factors, there are still 4000 million people.

If these 4000 million people were incorporated into the sphere of influence of the Syndicate, the power of the Syndicate would be greatly enhanced. Because of the geographical location of the Iberian Peninsula, the Syndicate could not allow Spain to join the enemy camp, whether it was the alliance led by the German Empire or the [Human Innovation Alliance].

However, the syndicate had to deal with two wars in North America and Spain at the same time, and it was inevitable that it would feel powerless. With the increase in bargaining chips in Spain, support for the American commune would inevitably decrease.

Chapter 895: Crazy Times (Continued)

The American Civil War had lasted for three years, and after leaving the Middle States in ruins, the war showed signs of being prolonged. On all fronts, the army built a large number of fortresses and fortresses, and trenches, barbed wire, and minefields tore the United States apart.

Just like in the world wars, neither fancy ideas nor new weapons can determine the outcome of a war. Only by relying on the advantage in strength, fighting battle after battle, and exhausting the opponent's strength, can we get the opportunity to make great strides forward.

The American Commune relied on the heavy industry of the Great Lakes region and the assistance from the trade unions to gain the upper hand in the civil war. After destroying MacArthur's military government, the Northern Red Army continued to move south and fought fiercely with the American Confederate Army in the South for more than half a year, annihilating more than 600,000 people and suffering one million casualties.

In addition to fighting the Confederate Army, the American Red Army also had to fight the Pacific Army, consuming huge amounts of weapons, ammunition and manpower.

After suffering more than one million casualties, the American Red Army captured Washington, which had become a ruin with a population of less than 200,000. Just as they were preparing to make further efforts to wipe out Huey Long's lackeys, the Anglo-French alliance drastically reduced its aid to the American Commune.

The Red Army's forces at the front have surpassed

After three million, in order to maintain so many troops in combat, the logistics and other related personnel required as many as five or six million people, plus the personnel producing weapons and equipment. The agriculture of the American commune declined a lot, and at least one-third of the food needed support from other syndicalist countries.

In order to support the Spanish Republic, the British and French alliance transported a large amount of supplies originally intended for North America to Iberia, which greatly weakened the combat effectiveness of the American Red Army.

In order to store enough ammunition and food to launch a large-scale offensive, the American Red Army needed to rest for several months and wait for the necessary supplies to be delivered to the front line from the rear.

This gave the Pacific States and the Confederate States of America a chance to catch their breath. The two countries replenished their troops and technical equipment to the front line and stabilized the battle line again.

On the Spanish battlefield, the Republican Army regained the upper hand. The leaders of the trade unions in various countries believed in Trotsky's theory and believed that the American comrades should not fall behind and should use continuous attacks to completely crush the fascist gang.

John Reed discovered that the flank of the American Red Army was exposed, and the front-line troops lacked supplies. What should be done now is to shrink the defense line and wait for the supply to be completed before continuing the attack.

But in the vote of the top leaders of the American Commune, Reed failed to get a majority vote, and the argument for continuing the offensive prevailed.

So the American Red Army launched another attack after less than a week of rest. The hastily attacking troops lacked artillery shells and had little ability to attack the fortresses.

During the fierce fighting, the danger of the American Red Army's flank being exposed had not been resolved. The famous Confederate General Van Fleet seized this loophole of the Red Army and led an armored division to cut in from the right wing of the Red Army, completing a "Sickle Blitz".

The American Red Army suffered a heavy defeat in the battle, and more than 100,000 troops in the encirclement were almost wiped out. Washington, which had been captured after months of hard fighting, was also lost.

After the battle, some personnel adjustments took place within the American Commune, and Comrade Reed regained the right to speak. The American Red Army stopped its risky offensives, and the battles gradually quieted down. Fights continued, but they were all small-scale battles, without casualties of tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands.

All parties in the American Civil War had completed internal integration and control, so the scale of the war became larger and larger, and the number of people participating in the war increased. Each major war was preceded by thousands of artillery shells, turning towns into seas of fire and blowing the earth up like the surface of the moon.

While the overlord of America was embroiled in a civil war, Canada, the Central American Syndicalist Union and the South American countries broke free from the oppression of the United States. Both Canada and the Central American Syndicalist Union expanded their armies and deployed their main forces to the border. Canada also took the opportunity to take over (annex) Alaska, but they did not take any further action.

The scale and brutality of the American Civil War made non-great powers dare not intervene first. It would result in hundreds of thousands of casualties, which was really terrible.

Three years later, all parties in the American Civil War fell into universal hunger, but their military strength became stronger. The American commune was a huge barracks, and everything was for the military. The same was true for the Confederate States of America in the South. Fascism was originally intended to engage in militarism.

Even the Pacific nation of America, which held high the banner of freedom, had to implement military control at home, making military expansion and strengthening the military its top priority.

The seemingly endless war caused the U.S. population to decline rapidly, and over the past few years, it has lost 20 million people, half of whom disappeared in the war, and the remaining half fled the country.