Chapter 1023 Storm in the South Seas (Second update, two-in-one)
“Read the newspaper! Read the newspaper! Our army won a great victory in Suez! We captured the city of Suez with zero casualties, and the HNA Warhawk shot down six Egyptian MiGs in its first battle. ! Read the newspaper..."
The streets echoed with the shouts of the newspaper sellers, and soon someone took out the money to buy up all the newspapers in the hands of the newspaper sellers.
Although this war came suddenly, when the news came, people were still very concerned about the war. After all, the war was likely to affect their lives. Traditionally speaking, this is indeed the case. The continuous and increasingly fierce wars in the past few decades have affected the lives of all Tang people. Many of them went to Nanyang to escape the wars.
But what about now?
After coming to Nanyang, they found that although wars would break out, they had almost nothing to do with their lives. Whether it is Malaya, Siam, or Egypt, Nanyang may be involved in war, but it will certainly not affect everyone's lives.
Besides, this is victory!
The news of victory trumps everything.
A perfect victory is enough for everyone to cheer!
“...Military spokesman said: The military's "Operation Violent Freedom" is not an invasion, but is based on basic international norms-that is, no country will violate basic international norms...every year More than 10 billion U.S. dollars of goods from Southeast Asia are shipped to Europe through the Suez Canal, but the Egyptian government closed the canal and banned our passage. This not only violates international law, but also seriously damages the vital interests of Southeast Asia..."
Listening to the news coming from the radio, Liu Jieying bit her lips nervously, her big eyes filled with worry.
"Binghan is on the "Friendship", he is now in Suez, on the front line..."
Liu Jieying and Gao Binghan were high school classmates. After graduating from high school, one of them went to the Navy They went to aviation school and one went to normal university. Although they were far apart, they had already established a relationship when they were in love for the first time.
The two wrote letters to each other every day. Until a month ago, although they could still receive letters from Gao Binghan, those letters were always pressed together.
At first Liu Jieying really thought that Gao Binghan was exercising at sea, but that day at the end of October, military music sounded on the radio, and the same news was conveyed in the air: Nanyang troops landed in Suez, starting the "Violent Defense of Freedom" The first shot.
The Army landed in the city of Suez, the Marine Corps seized the island in the Gulf of Suez, military music played over and over again on the radio, and good news came one after another.
Overseas combat has nothing to do with most people. People only need to cheer for victory. This is exactly why people cheer for war and victory. They experienced too much when they were in Tangshan in the past They may have cheered in victory over the catastrophe of war, but their mood was completely different. At that time, they were resisting invasion.
And now? It's an invasion of others!
No, you can’t say that.
It should be said that special military operations are launched in other countries for the sake of international commercial norms and the vital interests of Nanyang.
But the fact that her lover was on the front line made Liu Jieying's heart feel like fifteen buckets of water.
The exercise turned into a war, how could this happen?
But now, apart from praying and asking Bodhisattva to bless her lover to return safely, she has no other thoughts.
While Liu Jieying was praying, people's discussions about the war were mostly focused on Egypt's unauthorized closure of the canal, so Nanyang was forced to take corresponding military actions. After all, whether it's in newspapers, on TV, or on the radio, this is generally what they say. Even if there is a few noises, they are just like mosquitoes and flies.
“What we defend is the right to free passage of international trade!”
"That is, little Egypt really overestimates its capabilities. It dares to close the canal and offend Britain and France at the same time. Even our Nanyang ships are blocked. If you don't hit him, who will you hit!"
< br>"That's not true. This is not overestimating one's own capabilities!"
On the bus, listening to people's words, Zhang Yaodong looked out the window, his expression seemed a little heavy.
"I don't know what's going on in Nanyang..."
Listening to the excitement of people discussing the war, the dispute with his friends flashed in his mind.
"We obviously just defeated the Japanese invasion more than ten years ago, how can we invade others?"
"Earlier it was Siam, and now it is Egypt. Egypt, others built canals on their own land. Take it back, so what?"
"That is an unequal treaty! Shouldn't it be abolished?"
"Yes, it should be!"
My friend looked at him. said.
"But times have changed. In the past, Tangshan was abolition of unequal treaties imposed by others, but now, Nanyang is... well, it is to protect its own interests. Think about it, our trade with Europe is so important, and the Egyptians have the canal in their hands. Here, with such a closure, our overseas trade will be affected, with losses of billions of dollars every year, hundreds of thousands, and the jobs of millions of people will be affected. It would be strange if the military did not take action! ”
Recalling the words of his friends and listening to the conversations of people on the bus, Zhang Yaodong discovered that the Nanyang people had indeed changed. They had become arrogant, domineering, and...
This Are you forgetful?
Zhang Yaodong didn’t know, but in newspapers and on the news, all he saw were boasts about the war. They analyzed how the Egyptians violated international law and how Nanyang was forced to use special military operations to defend trade. free.
“Special military operations are really arrogant! There are many reasons for this!”
In an apartment in Chang'an, Wu Mengchuan sneered while having breakfast.
"The people in Nanyang are really becoming more and more domineering. They really don't know how many bowls of rice and bowls of salt they can eat!"
The sudden words made Mrs. Wu feel fierce. She jumped, looked at her husband calmly, and her expression changed slightly. Nervous, she looked outside almost subconsciously, as if someone had spied on her and spoke to her. After turning slightly gray, her face suddenly turned red again.
At this moment, she remembered that this was Nanyang. Nanyang is different from other places. Even if she is exposed, she will just be sent back. However, she is unwilling to leave here.
"Ru Yun! - What do you think? - Huh, from invading Siam, going against the grain, helping the King of Siam to restore, and now acting as a lackey of British and French imperialism, Nanyang is on a dark road, and Vietnam is on a dark road. Going further and further!”
Wu Mengchuan seemed to be trying hard to suppress the outburst of anger and said coldly; his eyes were dazzling and flicked back and forth on his wife's face several times: those were eyes that pointed directly at people's hearts.
Li Ruyun's face immediately changed again, and her heart was shaking and beating; but at the same time, something seemed to burst in her chest. Revealed, including her dream. Her expression became extremely ugly.
However, Wu Mengchuan, who was engrossed in criticizing Nanyang's hegemonism and the behavior of acting as an imperialist lackey, did not notice that his wife's expression was abnormal; he stood up and walked a few steps, waving his hand vigorously Ju Zuo said:
"Anyone who commits injustice will be punished by his own death. Nanyang is a typical lackey. They really thought they had a few atomic bombs and launched a few satellites, so they forgot about it and became arrogant. They Now using some bread and milk to buy the people, you can temporarily deceive some ignorant people, but in the future, the people will see through their true faces..."
Then he stood still and looked at his wife's drooping pink neck. , said to himself:
"Oh, what is coming has finally come! - Oh! My ideal seven years ago -" "Isn't your ideal that everyone should have enough to eat, wear warm clothes, and have a house with shelter from the wind and rain?" "
Suddenly, Li Ruyun broke the silence, suddenly raised his head and asked:
"Do you see what's wrong with Nanyang? Every household can eat it. Not only are they full, but they still live in small Western-style houses, and many people even have cars. Look at their food, clothing, and housing. Are they not much better than we imagined? Meng Chuan, look at them. , this is milk. When you were in Shanghai, you said that one day, everyone could drink milk, which was your ideal! You said that only landlords and capitalists could afford milk, but the working people could not afford it. Who in Nanyang can’t afford milk? When a child is born, he or she is provided with child care subsidies, free milk powder, nursery school, and school. Lunch in school is free, and there must be milk and fish. Such a life , even if you didn’t even dare to think about it in the past, at that time, I remember you said in school - it’s just enough to eat, but here in Nanyang..."
"Ruyun, you How can you say that! ”
Wu Mengchuan walked up to his wife, put his hands on her shoulders, and said earnestly:
"Yes. People here can have enough to eat, and they can also eat well - but they How did you live like this? It was through invasion and plunder. Ru Yun, didn’t you see them talking proudly in the newspapers about how millions of tons of food are shipped back from Africa every year? , it’s all the blood and sweat of the local people. Why are they willing to act as lackeys of British and French imperialism, just to plunder the colonies with them? Ru Yun, Ru! Cloud! "
The two passionate calls surged into Li Ruyun's heart like an electric current; but when she looked up at her husband, she immediately recognized that this enthusiasm was not for her, but for the African people. , for the "ideal" in his heart, her heart cooled down by half in an instant. She almost cried.
“When I came here, I knew that this was a large capitalist paradise. Here, people ate, wore, and used everything surnamed Li. What country? It’s clearly home, the Li family’s home. The people here and there are the people. They are clearly slaves, slaves of the Li family. From birth to death, they worked hard for the Li family, even until they died. , are all buried on the land of the Li family, and people are slaves without knowing it - now, what is coming is finally here! The capitalists begin to drive the people here to fight and bully the weak, just like Japan back then. Just like the warlords drove the Japanese people to invade Tangshan..."
Wu Mengchuan continued to talk, but he did not feel Li Ruyun's contradictory and complicated emotions at all. He stared into the air with ferocious eyes, suddenly turning angry:
"I hate it so much now. I hate that the people here are so insensitive and ignorant. They think they are living a good life, but in fact? They are slaves of the capitalists and slave owners. They think they are good. What is Nanyang-style life? It’s just the dog bones thrown by those bastards! What do they do? They use movies and magazines to tell everyone how beautiful and happy life is in Nanyang, even on their banknotes. They are all full of children and grandchildren, but they have no idea that they are just slaves! I just realized that this is the evil intention of those capitalists, using the so-called good life to keep people in the dark and live in a dream. ! Wait for others to plunder and oppress!"
Suddenly stomping his feet, Wu Mengchuan threw himself on the sofa angrily, looking at the newspaper next to him with furrowed eyebrows, and then at his wife. Now he is also very dissatisfied with his wife's silence. He made his tone calmer and said with a questioning tone:
"Ru Yun! Why don't you speak? What are you thinking about?"
"I think—— A person's ideals will always fail sooner or later!"
"What words! You..."
"A person always has to face reality!"
Li Ruyun picked up the milk cup on the table and said:
"Whether it's numb or bribed, if you are a person in the world If you can win people's hearts like this, what's wrong with it? At least everyone has milk and lives in a mansion. If you don't think it's good here, you can leave and fly to Hong Kong Island. Air tickets are not expensive now! Just leave this place!”
“You, you are simply unreasonable!”
Wu Mengchuan shouted as if he was scolding, but after a few words, he stopped saying anything and just took it. He put a newspaper in front of his face - he didn't really read the newspaper there, but just used the newspaper to cover up his dissatisfaction with his wife.
But the content in the newspaper was very dazzling - "zero casualties"!
A few words just broke into his sight. He was so anxious that he even wanted to throw the newspaper aside, but he still looked at the newspaper for a while before speaking.
"Sooner or later, I will go back, I will definitely..."
"I will not go back!"
Li Ruyun put her pretty face on Her charming eyes glanced at her husband's face, while picking up the wallet on the shoe rack, she said:
"When the time comes, if you want to go back, go back by yourself!"
"You, you are a married woman, marry..."
Wu Mengchuan raised his head as if in surprise, and saw his wife at a glance Holding the bag in his hand, he waved his hand vigorously and said in a stern voice:
"It's up to you, that's your freedom! Free marriage, free to come and go!"
Husband The answer made Li Ruyun's pretty eyebrows sink, and tears almost stopped flowing from her eyes, but she just silently put on a pair of high heels, and then walked out of the apartment with a graceful figure.
...
For Nanyang, for the most part, the war did not have much impact. At most, people only talked about the war after dinner, and that was the extent of their concern for the war.
"On the whole, the current domestic attitude towards the war is very clear and absolutely supports it. After all, closing the canal is related to Nanyang's vital interests."
Listening to Yu Xiangdong's report, Li Yian nodded slightly, and then said:
"What about the UK? What is the reaction from the UK?"
In fact, compared to Nanyang, he cares more about Britain. After all, Britain is the protagonist of the "Suez Canal Crisis", and Nanyang is not suitable for taking over the spotlight for the time being!
“Although the British people did initially believe that the purpose of the British sending troops was to prevent the exchange of fire between Egyptian and Israeli troops, anti-war protests emerged almost immediately. Michael Foot, a well-known BBC host, directly called the Conservative Party in a TV program MP Robert Boothby was a criminal who supported the war. There was an uproar in Parliament. Labor leader Gaitskell directly said that this was an irreparable loss to the country's reputation and reputation. Several Labor MPs even directly accused Adenby. It almost turned the debate into a fistfight, but Eden insisted it was not war but "armed conflict" and Labor and trade unions organized nationwide anti-war protests that day."
Sure enough, this is very British.
Li Yian sneered.
“This is Eden’s mistake in decision-making. He thought well and coincidentally. He made a big mistake in not taking action in July when Nasser’s nationalization had just caused the British public to be furious. By October, when the enthusiasm had dissipated, many British people had accepted the fait accompli and were unwilling to launch a war, especially since navigation had not been affected in the past few months. More importantly, the Eden government's overly strict confidentiality measures had made the British. The people did not realize that war was coming. Even just a few days ago, Aydin was calling for a peaceful solution to the problem. Such forward thinking will not solve the problem."
Although he looked down upon Eden compared to Churchill, Li Yi'an, who was determined to help the British Empire regain face and profit from it, would naturally not sit back and watch his failure.
“The biggest problem for the UK and even Europe now is oil. After the Suez Canal is interrupted, their oil supply will definitely be a problem. A rise in oil prices is inevitable. Well, all our large oil tankers will be diverted. In the past, when transporting oil to Europe, we cannot let Europe stagnate due to lack of oil. We must do our best to ensure the supply of oil to Europe. "
In fact, it is not just about transporting oil, but we can also take advantage of the opportunity to seize the market. , crisis, danger comes with opportunities. Li Yian has long been eyeing the European oil market. How can he miss this opportunity now?
Now is a great time to put the dozen or so large oil tankers in Nanyang to use.
What is a crisis?
It's said to be a danger, but it's actually an opportunity!
“We should learn from the Russians about this. You see, when they saw that the situation in Hungary was developing in a direction that was unfavorable to them, they decided to send troops as soon as possible.”
When mentioning the Russians, Li Yian picked up the report on the table again and said.
"But in just a few days, Russia has already sent troops twice in succession. The troops sent a few days ago have not yet been transferred back. Russia immediately mobilized 17 divisions to "rectify order in Hungary." Instead of waiting until the situation worsens and becomes uncontrollable, this kind of decision-making strength is beyond the reach of Eden and others!"
I lamented the foresight and hesitation of Eden and others and the decisiveness of the Russians to take action! , Li Yian turned his attention to the map. At this time, the map hanging on the wall was a map of Hungary. Compared to Egypt, he was more concerned about Hungary now. After all, Egypt's problem is very simple. It must win militarily, and the rest is nothing more than politics. The problem is how to withstand the interference of the United States and the Soviet Union. But Hungary is different. The layout in Hungary directly affects the results in Egypt. Therefore, the breakthrough is still in Hungary.
Li Yian said while staring at Hungary on the map.
“Now, here is the key!”
(End of this chapter)