Chapter 34: The five major forces arrive (Part 2)
Vladivostok, whose Russian name is Vladivostok, is the most important large city in the Russian Far East and the largest port in the northern part of the Sea of Japan.
From the satellite images taken in real time using the advanced technology of the 22nd century, everyone can distinguish the reinforced concrete factory buildings, tall chimneys, trestles extending into the harbor, roaring trains, and giant freighters as majestic as mountains. ...In addition, there are many rough-looking wooden houses scattered around, as well as large fields that have been leveled manually under the white snow. The hammer and sickle flags still fly on the tops of some buildings, just like the red passion era when thousands of Communist Youth League members were mobilized by the Soviets and rushed into the Siberian wilderness to fight against the harsh nature - but the time and space they are in now , the wheel of history has only reached the first half of the seventeenth century.
According to the "correct" history, there should be only a few fishing and hunting tribes wandering around Vladivostok at this time, and there would be no traces of civilization.
"... It seems that the situation is very clear. The people from the Vladivostok Far East Company have indeed arrived, and they are in Vladivostok in this time and space. This also saves us from having to think about it without any boundaries... But... tsk tsk, these people The capital is really strong! ”
Looking at the northern city that was already taking shape on the satellite pictures, Guo Yi couldn't help but say with envy - compared to the "poor people" of Lingao who only brought a thousand-ton cargo ship across, the crossing in Vladivostok The group is the real super rich man with abundant capital. Just from satellite images you can see so many factories, ships and trains. There are also Russian landing ships, field artillery, armored vehicles, etc., which are unknown where they are, and a large number of staggering Cold War legacies. As long as they recruit enough people, they can instantly become an invincible force across Northeast Asia. exist.
Of course, in front of a certain law enforcement agency backed by state power and 22nd century black technology, all of this is nothing but dregs.
Thinking of this, Guo Yi couldn't help but feel grateful for his multiple identities.
After photographing and archiving the "Far East Company" traverser base in Vladivostok, Wang Qiu pointed the satellite photography lens at Dengzhou at the tip of the Shandong Peninsula, but could not see anything that was obviously different from the times. ——Farmland, roads, cities, villages, fortresses...even the styles of houses are no different from other places in the Ming Dynasty. Obviously, even if the ruling class as time travelers have brought changes beyond the times to this land and the people living on it, they are not yet eye-catching enough to be seen from reconnaissance satellite images.
Of course, at least from the satellite photos, there are no obvious signs of dilapidation and abandonment, which was already very difficult in the troubled times of the late Ming Dynasty - in fact, on the Huaibei Plain just a few hundred kilometers south of Dengzhou Town, There were already fights and riots everywhere. The hungry refugees besieged the fortress, and the landlords and gentry organized their servants to fight endlessly. In order to fight for a pathetic way of survival, the earth was dyed red with blood.
In this miserable era, the landlords and gentry almost had to rely on cannibalism to survive, while the common people were left with only two choices: rebellion and starvation. Although such a messy gang of bandits had no future at all, since they did not He had to die, so why not die a big death?
Then, Wang Qiu panned the camera drastically and suddenly jumped to the wild and desolate Australian continent. From the satellite images, Australia in this time and space is still sleeping in ignorance and barbarism. Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra and other famous cities in the Southern Hemisphere are still missing. , only in the northwest corner of the Australian continent, near the arid desert of Derby Port, are there some more eye-catching traces of human civilization: a number of scattered fortresses, stone houses and wooden houses, small-scale dams and trestles, and several simple The mines are like the American West during the gold rush era.
"...Is this the Australian travel base in this time and space? The traveler on the 'Cosco Star' sailboat doesn't look very well built!"
Looking at the few traces of civilization scattered in the Australian wilderness, Guo Yi curled his lips with some disdain and said, "...It's the size of a village..."
"...It is not easy to achieve this step. Comrade Xiao Guo, they are not the Vladivostok Far East Company that has organized a huge amount of supplies and more than 2,000 people in one go, and they are not backed by the Ming Dynasty. From a certain perspective, the Hainan Island Crossing Group, which easily absorbs large numbers of refugees, is not as good as the Dengzhou Town that has infiltrated the Ming Dynasty government system and can use the court channels to obtain human resources.”
Wang Meiling curled her lips and said, "...On the contrary, according to what you said before, there are only more than a hundred unprepared, delicate and frail travelers in Australia, and more than a hundred people inexplicably went to the southern hemisphere to go sailing. Polish guys, plus more than a hundred Stone Age Australian aborigines captured by them. Even if they later received support from the South American Crossing Group-the "East Coast Country" in Uruguay, they were thousands of miles away. How much labor can be transported by the long sea route? It’s good to be able to do this without sleeping in caves like the savages! But then again, where did these Poles come from in that corner of Australia? ? in my In my impression, although the Poles have many strange attributes, they have nothing to do with the great voyages! The Poles also came to engage in maritime colonization, which is just as magical as the African blacks engaged in the industrial revolution.”
"...Well, I seem to have forgotten the unsolvable problem that Australia has always lacked population and has no place to introduce it. Well, let alone manpower, they seem to not even have the power of animals. After all, no one knows until modern times How to domesticate kangaroos and koalas..."
Guo Yi rubbed his forehead and sighed, "... As for why Poles came to Australia in the 17th century... Even I am puzzled by this! I'm afraid I can only say that every nation in the world will have strange behaviors. Let’s be different—there are also fascists among the Jews!”
Next, the shooting area of the [Mini Reconnaissance Satellite] shifted significantly and was adjusted to the Uruguay region of South America, allowing everyone to get a glimpse of the true face of that "East Coast Country" - this country has actually completed The feat of sailing around the world feels quite impressive.
From the satellite map, this east coast republic is roughly located in what was later Uruguay, or east of the lower reaches of the Uruguay River, hence its name. Many inland areas of Uruguay in later generations were still wild under the satellite view at this time. Even Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay in another world, was only a sparsely populated small village at this time. In the entire East Coast Republic, only the coastal zone along the Atlantic Ocean has been initially developed, with traces of civilization such as ports and towns appearing. But even so, its strength is impressive enough.
——Dongfang Port, the capital of the East Coast Republic, is a very eye-catching presence even on satellite images. This is a majestic city located on the blue coast. According to data calculated by artificial intelligence, it has a grand city wall with a circumference of nearly ten kilometers, a height of more than six meters, and several sharp protruding turrets. The numerous cannons fired invisibly give people a sense of majesty and chill.
At the foot of the city wall, there are neat and solid trestles and breakwaters, majestic coastal defense forts, eye-catching lighthouses and towering pulley booms, telling people at all times that this is an excellent port with complete facilities. There are many ships moored in the port, some are trading ships, some are warships, and some are fishing boats. These ships are neatly sorted and moored in their own dedicated piers, and everything appears to be very orderly. The strong breakwater that protects the port area blocks the turbulent South Atlantic seawater outside the embankment. The waves inside the embankment are very gentle and the water is very clean. Unlike most ports in the Old World where there is a lot of garbage, rotten wood or even corpses floating on the water. The port is also very busy. A large number of two- and three-story brick buildings were built on the edge of the dockyard, including retail stores, commercial hotels, taverns, restaurants, pawn shops, etc. Overall, this is a nice, clean, tidy port. At least at this time, no port in South America could rival it in these aspects.
Outside the city wall, there is a large open field with rich products - on the green grassland outside the city, there are countless horses, sheep and beef cattle; in the rippling artificial reservoir, there are a large number of birds; The big otter was playing freely among the water plants, and from time to time he would grab a fat fish and put it into his mouth to chew; on the shore of the reservoir, foxes appeared from time to time and drooled at the waterfowl floating on the water...
Such a fertile scenery full of vitality, with wind blowing grass and low cattle and sheep, can indeed be called "brave new world" with pride.
However, in this fascinating new world, there are not only beautiful lakes and mountains, rich natural products, but also unabashed iron blood and gunpowder - the entire East Coast Republic is dotted with fortresses and Forts, all cities and villages are out-and-out war fortresses. The East Bank Republic seems to have the ideology of all citizens being soldiers. No matter where a settlement is set up, it must be fortified and built into a fortress. Countless bastions of various sizes have been built. Even in the smallest village, you can find a few cold cannons and rotting corpses hanging on the gallows... Of course, in Europe, where the Thirty Years' War is currently going on, there are only a few similar cruel scenes. Quite a few.
"...It really looks like a country of iron blood with a strong atmosphere of war! No wonder you describe them as militarism..."
Observing the densely packed military facilities on the satellite map, as well as the sparse population that was out of proportion to the number of these war tools, Wang Qiu couldn't help but sigh, "...the whole country looks like a big fortress, and this level of militarization is probably higher than The Soviet Union during the Cold War was even more advanced! In my opinion, it looked like a combination of the Manchuria Development Corps and the North China Artillery Group during the Japanese militarism era! Do they need to be so warlike?”
"...Who made their situation so dangerous? Today's Uruguay is not a deserted land. Since its birth, their country has been poaching flesh from Spanish American colonies. But they are both pagans and They are yellow people. No matter which identity they are, they can arouse the fanatical hostility of Spanish Catholics, causing these people to be forced to Bathed in gunpowder smoke. As for the local Indians, they also regard them as invaders and enemies, and they have no intention of establishing any anti-imperialist and free united front. Besides, the Indians themselves are divided into many tribes and are constantly fighting each other. A considerable number of these tribes even converted to Catholicism and became thugs of the Spanish and Portuguese!
Therefore, they, alone in South America, must rely on their own limited strength to win one war after another, deter the greedy Spaniards, the Portuguese and the Dutch with ulterior motives, and suppress the indigenous Indians. Only by resisting can you barely win the minimum living space. And as long as you show a little cowardice, you will be doomed to embark on the road of no return leading to death and slavery under the siege of wolves. ”
Guo Yi also touched his chin and expressed his opinion, "...According to the intelligence obtained by Lingao from the Batavia talks, what's even more terrible is that not only does the East Coast Group not have a powerful mother country behind it, but When facing the Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch and even the French, they do not have any scale advantage in terms of human and financial resources, and North America does not. For the sake of their own interests, the time traveler group "China America" has long-term alliance with Spain to fight against Britain and France. Invisibly, it is also an enemy of the East Coast countries. As a result, even the technological advantages of the East Coast countries on the battlefield have been reduced. ——At least it provided the Spanish with a lot of arms to attack the east coast, causing the war pressure on the east coast army to be unprecedentedly strong...
Although Lingao also has to face many enemies, after all, the neighbors are all compatriots from the same country with the same culture and race, so they can be converted into their own strength on a large scale relatively easily. But the East Coast Group, which is in a foreign land in the Americas, cannot even do this - whether it is European immigrants, African slaves, or American Indians, their identification with the East Coast Group is probably not enough. The small number of Ming Dynasty immigrants transported thousands of miles from Macau by the Portuguese were really a drop in the bucket and could not even keep up with the consumption of the war. And in this era of backward medical and health care, sometimes a plague can wipe out thousands of people. Faced with such a desperate situation of being surrounded by enemies on all sides and fighting or dying, no matter how peace-loving people are, they will be driven into militaristic lunatics... In addition to trying to squeeze out every ounce of war potential in the country, all the capital can be collected Besides going to war, what else can they do? ”
"...If they really can't hold on, they can also give up the little things they have managed in South America and go to North America to join another group of compatriots who travel through time! I think the time-traveling groups in North America will not be cold-blooded. Just close the door and refuse to accept it!" Ma Tong curled his lips and said.
"...Oh, this is hard to say! First of all, in terms of human nature, as the saying goes, I would rather be a chicken head than a cow queen. Anyone who becomes a leader is unwilling unless there is really no other way. Even if those travelers from the East Coast country are in a more dangerous situation, they are considered a privileged class in their territory. But if they go to North America, they will be worse than chickens. I am afraid that the travelers there may not treat them. Treat yourself as one of your own Ah! Those ordinary time-travelers and technical experts at the bottom are just that. What about the upper-level government and military leaders? Could it be that the government of the North American Group will make room for them? What if the government leaders of China and the United States are more mean? , treat them directly as ordinary immigrants, on the same level as Ming Dynasty and European immigrants, and even add a 'restricted use' curse... I'm afraid not many people can bear it!
Secondly, the relationship between the two groups of travelers in the Americas has not been very good in recent years. The Chinese and American side are attacking the East Coast by resorting to militarism and imitating the Japanese militarist maniacs to make enemies everywhere, fearing that they will eventually destroy themselves; the East Coast is attacking China and the United States by worshiping foreigners and favoring foreigners and becoming the "Five-cent Party" with yellow skin and white heart. , actually helped the European colonists deal with their compatriots... As far as we know, these two crossing groups in the Americas had almost come to blows in South Africa before. At the just-concluded Batavia talks, representatives of these two groups also argued non-stop all day long. The negotiators sent by Lingao and the group of Australian time-travelers all heard that one was the best and the other two were big... Therefore, as long as there is still a glimmer of hope for survival, it is unimaginable that the time-travelers on the east coast will give up their hard work. The foundation we created is to live in exile in North America and become a refugee! ”
Guo Yi shook his head and commented on Ma Tong's bad idea, "...Although they once came from the same society and had similar concepts and thinking patterns, the actual situation is that the two groups of time-travelers have formed two completely different groups. countries, the difference is at least no smaller than that of the United States and the United Kingdom. …This is not the Long March of the Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army. They are all under the leadership of a party organization. Military and political agencies can move from one base area to another. Even the Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army had to give up after the situation was so corrupted that it could no longer hold on. "Hongdu" Ruijin? ”
"...Yes, being a refugee in someone else's territory is not as comfortable as being the master of your own territory!"
Wang Qiu also agreed, saying, "...Although in the eyes of pessimists like us, the East Coast Group is surrounded by powerful enemies in South America and is full of fierce fights. But conversely, from the eyes of optimists, they are Lien Chan. Defeating the enemy in succession, we marched proudly across South America! We are here! Li subjectively thinks that they may be scared and tired of endless wars, but in fact they have gained everything they have now from constant wars. Perhaps they also feel that this kind of knife head licks blood and kills. The war career of being decisive and gratifying is very exciting!
After all, deep in the blood of every man on earth, there is his or her own violent factor. Although the East Bank Republic needs to face so many modern European armed forces that are not easy to deal with, so far, in general, they have continued to win on the battlefield and expanded their territory again and again - it is hard to imagine this What kind of war-weary trend will emerge from an emerging force that often plays triumphant songs? Not to mention abandoning their existing home and land in order to escape the war and heading to the north nine thousand kilometers away to join another time-traveling force that was also in its infancy! ”
"...I think so too. As long as you are alive in this world, you have to fight against the sky, the earth, and people! You must constantly survive in the struggle and develop and grow in the struggle." Wang Meiling also said He nodded and added, "... Regardless of ethnicity, country, or religion, they are essentially social tools for human beings to divide themselves and form multiple groups to compete in an all-round way. As long as there are many people who want to share resources and wealth, and If resources and wealth are insufficient or relatively insufficient - for example, if the ruling class feels they are insufficient, then there will be a fight. When there is a fight, it will have to divide the enemies and its own people, draw a circle, and separate 'us within the circle'. and 'them outside the circle'. Use one set of rules for those within the circle, and another set of rules for those outside the circle, and then plunder and destroy the enemy, leaving the resources and wealth for your own people.
This is the result of biological evolution and is a basic instinct hidden deep in the hearts of every living thing, especially group creatures! This instinct accompanies the evolution of group animals, just like the desire for food and sex accompanies each of us. Although those in power can temporarily suppress this instinct, they will have to pay a heavy price - remember, those who go against basic human instincts, even if they are happy for a while, will not end well in the end.
When drawing circles, some people put all mankind into their own circle. Some people put all animals into their own circle. These people are the so-called ‘Marist’ party. But the harsh nature and history do not allow the ‘Madonnas’ to paint like this. There comes a time, or period of time, when the world's resources (or capacity) decline. At that time, only those who can draw a circle well, only those who are good at drawing circles, and only those who are good at killing competitors outside the circle can continue their group in this endless competition.
For example, when spreading religious and revolutionary beliefs, you can call on people to temporarily abandon the barriers between ethnic groups and countries. But as long as someone starts to draw circles based on traditional banners such as nation and country, more people will inevitably enter the 'circle mode' driven by instinct - under the same prerequisites, people with circles and organizations, People without circles and organizations will inevitably be defeated.
Of course you can choose not to draw circles, but you can't stop others from drawing circles. And other people's circles will eventually kill or devour you. If you don't want to be killed or eaten, start drawing your own circle. Of course, you can choose not to draw the circle and die. In addition, if you draw the circle so small that you cannot defeat other circles outside, then you have no choice but to die - this is the cold law of human historical evolution..." On the other side, just as Wang Meiling was talking to everyone. , Wang Qiu has remotely controlled the [Mini Reconnaissance Satellite] and moved the shooting object to the east coast of North America, where the so-called "China-American Republic" is...