Australian Storm 1876

   Chapter 932 Ruins (add a third bullet for the old bookworm potato knife)

  Washington

After the earth-shattering explosion of    "Boom", the obelisk standing tall slowly fell down, smashed to the ground and immediately shook the mountain, and a large cloud of smoke and dust covered the sky.

Colonel Li Jianyang, who was wearing a British uniform, shrugged his shoulders regretfully, and was indifferent to the soldiers hurried by carrying large and small bags of goods on the street. These goods were not attractive to him at all, and he could not get what he wanted. , such as the original Declaration of Independence or something, some of the more commemorative items.

   This immigrant country was established for too short a time, and there are no cultural relics.

   Therefore, Colonel Li Jianyang is a salted fish with no desires and no desires in Washington City today.

   "Lieutenant Colonel Enrique, this may be a rare experience in life, don't you want to find some souvenirs?"

   "Maybe, I'm not interested in these cowboy stuff. This is a country with no history, and beliefs are messed up and vulgar. Everything you see is mass-manufactured, not collectible, unless it's gold coins."

   Lieutenant Colonel Enrique is Italian. He spreads his hands very emotionally. Italians are very confident in culture and art, and they despise superficial Americans.

He glanced at the Fuso engineer who was in charge of blasting the obelisk, and said with a complicated expression; "They arranged for the Fuso men to blow up the Washington Monument, and the Ocean Empire will also blow up some other monumental buildings to erase the glorious history of this city. Thinking of this scene will be an eternal pain in the hearts of the American people."

   "It's really a pity, in the face of the inevitable defeat, the insistence of the Americans is meaningless." Li Jianyang, perhaps having been in London for a long time, shrugged his shoulders naturally and commented in a mean tone;

"It's no different from surrendering the war for 3 or 4 years, it's no different from two years. The only thing the Americans can get is a smashed city and more starving people. It's time to stop this useless struggle show. .

  Although the French have always been unreliable, they are rarely correct in advocating peace proposals.

  It's a pity that the American cowboy's head is also not easy to use. The consequence of angering the Ocean Empire is that the noose around the neck is getting tighter and tighter, the transatlantic trade is completely interrupted, and everything you see before your eyes.

  Submission to the strong is the right way to survive, American cowboys obviously didn't learn this, and they will pay a heavy price for it, which is a result we all don't want to see. "

   "I agree with your point of view, sir." Lieutenant Colonel Enrique looked at the beautiful city in front of him with a pity, and murmured; "What a beautiful city, it's a pity that it will become a ruin."

On the broad Pennsylvania Avenue, the towering obelisk has collapsed. With the assistance of German and British sappers, the Ocean Empire sappers are planting a large number of explosives on iconic buildings such as the Capitol, the White House, and the Supreme Court, preparing to destroy them one by one. destroy.

At the gates of major museums, there are long queues of military trucks, collecting and packing all kinds of precious books and cultural relics, and then transporting them to the railway station, where there is a direct train to Norfolk port, these items will be sent as trophies Go to the Imperial Museum, Queensland Museum, Sydney Museum and some other venues, maybe the precious objects will be collected by the Daming Palace as part of the history of the conquest.

Soldiers carrying large and small packages can be seen everywhere on the street. They are savagely taking their own spoils. The whole city is in chaos. Many villas and beautiful buildings have been destroyed by raging fires. Countless black smoke rises into the sky, and the air is filled with A strong burnt smell, and occasionally sporadic gunshots can be heard.

   Like a helpless woman, Washington cried in pain and was devastated.

President Woodrow Wilson is paying a heavy price for angering the Ocean Empire. No matter what, he will be nailed to the pillar of shame forever because of the catastrophic destruction faced by the capital Washington, becoming one of the most failed American presidents. .

   Another, former President Theodore Roosevelt, who dragged the United States into this desperate war, ruined the once mighty U.S. Navy with his wrong decisions.

   Since the President of the United States rejected the French peace initiative, the policy of the Ocean Empire Expeditionary Force has obviously changed, revealing hideous fangs.

   Starts August 22nd

   After the arrival of 35,000 reinforcements from the Eastern Front Corps, the Eastern Front Corps attacked again, sweeping towns and cities within a radius of 200 kilometers, changing the attitude of strict military discipline in the early stage, and began to let the soldiers burn, kill, loot, and act arbitrarily.

The direct impact of this is the extreme panic of the American people. This emotional plague spread quickly, and the social order in urban and rural areas with a radius of hundreds of kilometers is in chaos. Escape to the North.

   on the road to the north

  There is an endless stream of people fleeing, and it is the busy season for wheat cultivation in China, but no one is working in the fields. A large number of people in cities and towns were lost, factories and shops were forced to close their doors, and social production and economic order were severely damaged.

   This is not the biggest problem. The biggest problem is that the Atlantic trade line has been completely cut off, which has put the entire northern US economy in trouble.

Food and crops from the south could not be transported into the north, and industrial production in the north could not be sold to Europe. The entire trade chain was completely destroyed. A large number of refugees poured into the metropolis, causing the population of the metropolis to increase sharply. Basic food Supply is having trouble.

Especially in the world's megacities like New York and Philadelphia, when hundreds of factories have closed down, countless shops have sold out, and the entire trade operation has been cut off, there is no need for enemies to attack, and they themselves are in a huge crisis of survival. middle.

   at times like this

Many big capitalists and businessmen, out of their own interests, began to strongly criticize the policy of President Woodrow Wilson's **** battle to the end, believing that this narrow policy can only lead the United States to a dead end and lead to the real collapse of the United States. sinners, is a terribly wrong policy.

   If you can't beat you, you must recognize it. If you are beaten, you must stand at attention. This is the case in ancient and modern China and abroad.

This kind of speech is very popular in major cities in the north, which further exacerbates the chaos in the city. There are continuous demonstrations and demonstrations in various names, public looting and killing, violent conflicts and gang shootouts emerge in endlessly, the police and the local garrison are overwhelmed, and the security is completely corrupt .

The recruitment of the military did not go smoothly. The army of hundreds of thousands and hundreds of thousands was beaten to ashes. This made most Americans feel fearful. The rumors about the devil marshal and his devil corps spread like a god, and many people did not want to. Then go to the battlefield to die.

  Philadelphia is a big one. So far, it has recruited an army of less than 50,000 people. Most of them are recruits who have been in the army for less than a month. They are still learning the queues and regulations, and they are of no use at all.

Even if the    Federal Army is a rabble, it is not something that can be used by pulling it out.

   Recruits must go through a certain amount of military training, know who the commander is, the most basic military regulations, basic formation training, team military cooperation and other basic knowledge, so the shortest two-month military training is indispensable.

These newcomers are guarded in the trenches or hide in the city to shoot cold guns, and they can also cause some trouble to the expeditionary force. If they are put into the field to fight, they will be a crisp dish in front of the fierce Ocean Empire expeditionary force. Many people chew it and chew it and swallow it.

   Therefore, even if Washington, the capital, was besieged by heavy troops, and the 19-day city defense battle was extremely bloody, Philadelphia and New York did not dare to send troops to solve the difficulties, which would be equivalent to sending food.

   As it turns out, they were right to do so.

The armored mobile units of the   Eastern Front Corps have been poised to attack any reinforcements and annihilate them in the open field.

   The Americans finally learned to be good and escaped this disaster.

   Then the problem comes again

  When the capital Washington was besieged by heavy troops, the reinforcements from Philadelphia and New York did not dare to reinforce.

   So what about Philadelphia? What about New York?

  The question goes back to the original point, what's the point of continuing such a war except for huge casualties and more losses?

   "Sir, please stay, the blasting will be carried out soon, you can't continue to walk forward, to prevent being injured by the explosives, it is best to find a building to take shelter for a while."

   "Thank you, Mr. Lieutenant."

   "You're welcome, sir."

   The second lieutenant officer who came to stop him gave a military salute, turned around and left.

Colonel Li Jianyang took a look at the majestic Baroque building of the American Capitol. He sighed in his heart, raised his legs and walked to the other side. On the other side of Pennsylvania Avenue is also a government building with its outer walls covered with The bullet marks and gun craters look mottled and miserable.

  The doors and windows of the building are all broken, but the main body is still there.

When Colonel Li Jianyang and Lieutenant Colonel Enrique walked in, they were surprised to find that this was a soldier's dormitory. The gravel and rubble were placed on one side, and the other side was the rolled up marching bed, and all kinds of messes. The curtains were singled up and the packages were apparently looted by the soldiers.

Several soldiers were sitting on the pile of items, drinking and chatting while talking and laughing. Their bodies were filled with the strong smell of diesel oil. When they saw the two foreign officers walking in, they couldn't help but stand up and saluted, "Sir, good afternoon. ."

   "Oh... take a break." Li Jianyang quickly recalled that it was probably some armored soldiers, and this sturdy government building was used as a temporary dormitory by them.

  Although there are no doors and windows, the weather in Washington at the end of August is pleasant, and it is not cold to sleep with a blanket at night.

"Relax some guys, it's about to be blasted outside, let's come in and hide." Lieutenant Colonel Enrique explained, standing consciously in a place sheltered by a wall, and then took out a box of Big Golden Dragon cigarettes from his pocket, Said kindly to the soldiers; "Will you have one?"

   "Thank you sir."

  Several soldiers were obviously smokers. Seeing this, they came over and took a share. After lighting the cigarette, they began to smoke.

"Sir, would you like a drink? This is a whisky from the South of the United States. It tastes good. Oh, by the way... We are the tankers of the 3rd Battalion 1st Company of the 4th Panzer Division of the Royal Guards, and I am Second Sergeant Pan Ergou." Seeing that Colonel Li Jianyang can speak Mandarin, the veterans made a self-introduction.

Colonel Li Jianyang took a sip of the wine with a smile, handed it to Lieutenant Colonel Enrique, and said, "It's a good whisky, with the taste of pure oak barrels. It's British Colonel Li Jianyang, a Somali from the overseas province."

"Lieutenant Colonel Enrique of the General Staff of the Italian Army, thank you for your wine." Lieutenant Colonel Enrique also took a sip and nodded, feeling good. Just as he was about to reach out to hand the bottle back, he heard a series of words in his ear. A deafening explosion sounded.

The outside vibrated violently as if the ground was shaking and the mountains were shaking. Countless smoke and dust swept in, and swooped in unobstructed from the doors and windows. The originally bright light suddenly dimmed, shrouded in the gray smoke and dust, and nothing could be seen. .

   (end of this chapter)