Chapter 158, The Last Gunshot (Part 2)
Today, Washington, the federal capital, which was specially designed and built by French designers and was as exquisite as a handicraft, has become a charred, ugly, smelly and hideous ruin. The city's running water and electricity supplies had long been cut off, and despite the construction of firewalls and fire trenches, about one-fifth of the buildings in the city were still destroyed. The Pentagon, which was completed only a few years ago, was almost reduced to a pile of rubble due to the heavy bombing by the Soviet Strategic Air Force. Even the steel components were burned by the high temperature of the incendiary bombs and turned into a pile of twisted garbage. A 500-kilogram heavy aerial bomb hit the dome of the Capitol. Dozens of people were killed on the spot. Pieces of human flesh, blood and brains were sprayed onto the walls decorated with exquisite murals. Citizens who went to collect the bodies were shocked. The service team members fainted from fright. Several bridges across the Potomac River have also been blown up, and now only small boats can be used to travel between the two banks. Even a corner of the White House was blown down. Fortunately, the Oval Office was still intact, with only many of the decorations shattered.
Now in Washington, there is no electricity, no running water, no newspapers and shops, no hotels and hotels... Thousands of homeless citizens and refugees fleeing from other places cannot get effective treatment. Some people spontaneously flocked to the museum and the remaining remains of the Lincoln Memorial, Jefferson Memorial, etc. They set up camp in public buildings, and the rest can only live temporarily in huts built with old newspapers and wood excavated from the ruins in Lafayette Park, Potomac Park and various squares, relying on the little relief provided by the government. Food, plus making a living by collecting wild vegetables and fruits, catching mice and hares, and fishing from the Potomac River. It is almost like the "Hoover Village" and "Hoover House" built by American veterans when they marched to the capital to ask for wages during the Great Depression... At first glance, it seems like yesterday happened all over again. Some of these dilapidated shacks have even been erected outside the door of the White House, less than 200 meters away from the Oval Office. From President MacArthur’s window, you can see the smoke from the trees they cut down for cooking.
Due to unhealthy diets, many people suffered from dysentery and cholera, and people died from epidemics every day, often not being noticed until the bodies rotted and smelled. Every transoceanic bombing carried out by the Soviet Strategic Air Force created more ruins, craters and corpses in this desperate city.
That majestic, neat and solemn federal capital is like a deep and distant dream, which has been completely shattered and gone forever.
However, President MacArthur now has no intention of driving tanks to drive away and crush these homeless shacks... Strictly speaking, President MacArthur at this time has no intention of taking care of anything. In fact, even if He wanted to take care of it, but there was nothing he could do. Because his federal government has fallen into an idling state and has basically lost control of the country. Even news from areas outside the capital has been almost cut off. President MacArthur can be said to have turned a blind eye to the situation in various states in the country in recent months. A smear of darkness, knowing less than Stalin.
For example, as the current President of the United States, MacArthur actually had to go through the international broadcast of the Soviet Union's TASS news agency to learn that a Japanese army had landed at the Port of Tacoma, Washington State on the West Coast, and the commander of this Japanese army was still an old acquaintance of his. , once captured him in Japan and put him in Lieutenant General Tsuji Masanobu parading in an iron cage... There is no way, the Congress and government of Washington State have long since disappeared, and the local garrison who survived the nuclear explosion also reported news of a rebellion by Japanese immigrants in May. Contact with the White House was severed, and no new telegrams were sent.
Therefore, even if President MacArthur wanted to organize a counterattack, he could not find anyone to whom he could order, and there were not even many troops that could be mobilized. As a dignified president, he currently has more troops in the United States than Lieutenant General Tsuji Masanobu. There are even fewer Japanese troops stationed in the United States under his command!
Besides, even if he had troops at hand, he had no way of moving his troops across the entire wasteland of the United States to the west coast to defend against the enemy.
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Therefore, in the face of this small group of Japanese troops appearing in Washington State, the only choice MacArthur could make was to pretend to be deaf and dumb, pretending not to know... Fortunately, today is different from the past, and the President no longer needs any pressure from public opinion and public opinion. After dealing with it, we no longer have to worry about the difficulties of the news media, as well as congressional inquiries and impeachments. Because the Soviet air raids destroyed the printing plant, and the supply of electricity, paper and ink were completely cut off, all the people in the federal capital Washington All newspapers have ceased publication. Meanwhile, the House and Senate of Congress were permanently adjourned as lawmakers fled the scene.
——Although it has not suffered a nuclear explosion so far, Washington, which has been bombed every three days, cannot be said to be a safe zone. Therefore, members of the House of Representatives and the Senate on Capitol Hill have been leaving in twos and threes since the spring of this year to make their own lives. A few fled with their families into the most remote mountains and forests to live in seclusion. They planned to imitate the cowboy pioneers of the past, or the modern inland version of Robinson, and rely on themselves and their families to farm the wasteland with their own hands. Most of the guys who thought they lacked the ability to survive in the wild dragged their wives, children, and belongings with them on various cruise ships, cargo ships, yachts, and the remaining ships of the Atlantic Fleet, and fled across the vast Atlantic Ocean to South Africa.
During this tumultuous exodus of millions of people, many refugee ships were dilapidated and lacked maintenance, the quality of the sailors was poor (all the experienced sailors were lost in the war), the captains were greedy to make money and carried too many passengers, etc. Unfavorable factors, various tragic and unbelievable maritime accidents have continued one after another, and even to make matters worse, a large number of modern pirates have emerged who kill and rob goods. Among these modern pirates who suddenly appeared, a considerable number of them The predecessors were defeated troops from various countries in South America, including many former U.S. Navy officers and soldiers, as well as criminals who took advantage of the chaos to rob military heavy weapons. The only idea of these people was to take advantage of the chaos to make a fortune before the end of the war. Fugitives carrying large amounts of gold and silver are the best prey... However, in general, at least more than 80% of the refugee boats finally reached their destination, South Africa...
In addition to members of the House and Senate, major officials from various departments of the federal government and the Supreme Court, many generals in the Pentagon, and many plutocratic families that once essentially dominated the United States, there are many more who are unwilling to stay. The capital was waiting for death, and ordinary people trying to find a way to survive also fled the capital and scattered in all directions. In the entire federal government, there are only some decadent guys who feel they have nowhere to go and no life left, or cowards who lack a sense of adventure, and they continue to stay in the Capital District - at least there are houses to live in and rations. Food is available.
Today, the District of Columbia has become a giant, messy ant nest, and everything is in chaos. Fortunately, President MacArthur still had a loyal guard around him, as well as a handful of police and military police who still persisted in their duties in this desperate situation. They were able to barely maintain the security in the city from completely collapsing, and when the air raids came, , operate the anti-aircraft cannon that cannot hit enemy planes at all, and blast it to embolden yourself. In addition, as the federal capital, the federal government had stockpiled a large amount of food, fuel and living supplies in the city long before the nuclear holocaust befell the United States. Even if some were destroyed by bombing, the remaining supplies would There are still many, so that most people in the city are not in danger of freezing or starving for the time being... Therefore, even when the country is gradually turning into a wasteland and the capital has been reduced to an isolated island, there is still a certain degree of order here.
Despite this, this dying city is still full of bad things and neurotic people everywhere, which makes people discouraged.
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In fact, even President MacArthur himself secretly sent his wife, First Lady Jane Faircloth MacArthur, and his son Arthur Jr. on a refugee ship bound for South Africa... According to The last news that came back half a month ago is that the mother and son have arrived successfully. When he arrived in South Africa, he bought a house in Cape Town with the gold, silver and jewelry he brought with him. This also made the last stone in President MacArthur's heart fall to the ground - from now on, he will have no need for anything else in this world. No more worries and worries, and can face the coming cruel fate without any hindrance.
However, even though the current situation was so miserable and the future became even more desperate, President MacArthur still had no intention of unconditionally surrendering to the Soviets.
——As an ambitious and showy professional soldier who dreams of becoming Caesar and Napoleon, he is not afraid of death, but he would rather die than become the first U.S. president to sign an unconditional surrender agreement with his own hands in humiliation Sign the death certificate to the United States of America...return Recalling that three years ago, he was ambushed by Tsuji Masanobu in Japan and unfortunately became a prisoner. Then he was imprisoned in an iron cage by the Japanese like a monkey and paraded through the streets. He was watched, laughed at and thrown into pieces by countless yellow-skinned dwarfs. The feeling of shame and anger is so humiliating that it cannot be described in words.
At that time, he was lucky enough to survive and escape. He once again proved himself on a new battlefield, overcame his previous defeat, and finally won the election, entered the White House, and reached the pinnacle of his life. But I never imagined that after becoming president, I would have to experience such a nightmare again!
Now that he has brought a group of people to America, Masanobu Tsuji, who is showing off his power in Washington State on the west coast, may have already prepared a new and stronger cage with a contemptuous sneer, just waiting to make him more noble. Enemies, stuff them in again and carry them around the streets, right?
Whenever he recalled the suffering in the iron cage at that time, President MacArthur's heart was filled with a strong determination to die rather than surrender.
——That kind of feeling is simply worse than life, and it is enough to taste it once in a lifetime! Now, he would rather face the irresistible death as a heroic warrior than live in an ignoble life as a pug again and bear that kind of maddening shame!
In fact, with the exception of President MacArthur, those senior federal officials who are still in Washington are all staunch men like him who are unwilling to endure humiliation and live in vain, and are determined to die for their country... Of course, they can also be said to be the most stubborn. A guy who is ineffective and refuses to change his ways.
However, no matter what happens next, he has become a defeated general, and there is no possibility of turning around.
The history and destiny of the United States of America will soon come to an end in the hands of President MacArthur or someone else.
Therefore, every day and night while waiting for the final fate in the White House, President MacArthur felt very, very depressed. Frustration, disappointment, anger, pain, powerlessness...Tide-like strong emotions surged into his heart, making it almost impossible for him to remain calm for a moment.
Whenever this happens, he always tries to look cold and indifferent, pushes away others, and anesthetizes himself with alcohol and tobacco...
For example, just after this wave of air raids ended, and looking at the plumes of black smoke rising from the sky, President MacArthur found a chair that was still intact, dusted it off, and ordered his bodyguards to leave from the White House. A few bottles of fine whiskey were brought from the cellar. Then, he picked up the wine bottle and a box of Spam luncheon meat, intending to drink heavily while looking at the street scene in Washington, the capital, which was becoming more and more unfamiliar and evolving toward ruins. Getting drunk can relieve a thousand worries... Anyway, there is no decent official business now, and he, the president, needs to handle it. As for how miserable the United States will be in the future, he is unwilling to think about it any more, and he is too lazy to think about it anymore.
——Due to the gradual cutoff of domestic information, MacArthur, who was staying in the White House, could not even figure out how many nuclear bombs the United States had suffered so far. He only knew that the Soviets seemed to have endless atomic bombs, and they might really be able to destroy the entire United States. Razed to the ground... even if the entire United States The country has not been completely bombed, and some Americans can survive. The future of the United States is simply unimaginable: Will the survivors of the states who have escaped from the nuclear explosion still be willing to continue to recognize this gift to them? The federal government, which has brought about destruction, will probably be an unknown.
And those Indians who were driven to protected areas in deep mountains and old forests, but escaped the nuclear explosion as a blessing in disguise, how cruelly they will retaliate against the white immigrants who were in trouble, only God knows... After experiencing the westward expansion, After so many bloody killings and vicious deceptions during the movement, the romantic encounter between the "Mayflower" immigrant ship and the native Indian "Pocahontas" three hundred years ago will probably never happen again...
Even so, President MacArthur believes that it is meaningful for the country and the people that he continues to hold on in Washington and refuses to surrender.
Although he was in the White House, he could not shoot down even a single Soviet bomber, could not resist any Soviet atomic bomb falling from the sky, and could not inflict even the smallest revenge on the enemies across the ocean... But he and the flag erected in front of the White House The Stars and Stripes can still do one thing:
That is to attract the firepower and attention of the Soviet Bolsheviks to others - as long as they hold on with the Stars and Stripes in Washington for a long time, they will buy more buffer time for Americans who are fleeing overseas and leave behind the American spirit of freedom. More sparks of hope...
And this is the last thing he, the president, can do for the country...
As for whether the mainland of the United States will be hit by more Soviet atomic bombs because of his delay, turning more cities and villages into radioactive wastelands, and leaving more Americans who could have survived the nuclear explosions. He died unexpectedly... To be honest, MacArthur never considered this issue at all - in his opinion, the United States of America is about to perish anyway, and I, as the president, plan to die for this country. What else do you low-class people have to complain about? Crooked? Being able to devote one's life to the country with this president is a great honor to leave one's name in history!
Unfortunately, although President MacArthur has been so dedicated and sacrificed for his country, it is obvious that many Americans do not agree with his views.
——At this moment, in Arlington Cemetery, across the river from downtown Washington, a sonorous and powerful shout is resounding through the sky:
"...To hell with the dignity and arrogance of those politicians and powerful people! The lives of our poor are also life!"
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PS: I am going to create a sad and sad funeral song for the United States of America. Some details have not been conceived yet, so it is a little longer. Then continuing to complain about current affairs, the International Olympic Committee announced that after re-testing the urine samples of athletes from the 2008 Olympic Games, a total of 16 athletes were unqualified and were stripped of their medals. Except for one Greek athlete, all of them are Russian. The meaning of this political operation is really beyond words! Speaking of which, the old urine from eight years ago has not yet passed its expiration date? And will people really obediently hand over their medals?