1855 United States Tycoon

Chapter 491

The matter of chemical weapons not only caused an uproar in other countries in Europe and America, but also caused widespread controversy in the United Kingdom.

The first attacker was Bernard Shaw, the British dramatist and writer. He wrote an article titled “I Accuse! “The article. At first, he sent it to The Times, but because of the strong words, the Times did not dare to publish it, so Bernard Shaw switched to several other newspapers. In the end, the article was only intended to run for a few months in the house. It was published in the blocked left-wing newspaper.

At the beginning of the article, Bernard Shaw declared that he was ashamed of being an Englishman, and then he condemned the Boer War initiated by the British government as an unrighteous battle, and brought the British dignitaries up to the Queen with guns and sticks. , All the members of the bureaucracy satirized, and even unceremoniously called the British government a gang and Queen Victoria as the head of the female bandit.

Such fierce remarks naturally caused an uproar. Those who opposed Bernard Shaw scolded him as “crazy”, “no respectability”, “traitor to the great motherland”, and should even be “deported immediately” or “like a mad dog.” He was hanged”; and those who supported him called him “the conscience of England”, “the child who told the truth”…

Regarding such blasphemous remarks, the British government was of course not polite. It did not hesitate to declare that Bernard Shaw was “an enemy of the nation” and “an unwelcome person”, so he expelled Bernard Shaw.

However, this approach did not stop the dispute, on the contrary, it became more serious. And this time even an established party like the Liberal Party has jumped up.

“We feel that although Mr. Bernard Shaw’s words are too much to be considered, the government’s approach is suspected of suppressing freedom of speech. Moreover, the Conservative government has rashly provoked the war, and then behaved in the war. Extremely incompetent, and using inhumane weapons such as chemical weapons without serious consideration, had a very negative impact on the reputation of the empire…”

Of course, the Conservative Party will not honestly get scolded, and they and their supporters have also begun to fight back. They played the banner of patriotism and declared that the war was solely for the interests of all the people of the British Empire. As for the reputation of the empire, when did those Europeans and North American rebellions say good things about the empire? When did you have a good impression of the empire? The glorious and isolated empires, when will they look at the faces of these countries?

In short, the domestic quarrel in the UK has become a ball.

At this time, Scrooge’s proposal for a total ban on chemical weapons also spread to Europe, and it caused a huge response in the European academic and literary circles. Many artists and the vast majority of ordinary people expressed this. However, in addition to the United States, the governments of all countries basically did not respond.

On the other hand, the Second International also stood up and condemned Britain’s barbaric use of chemical weapons and called on British workers to strike… However, although the British Federation of Trade Unions also expressed indignation at the use of chemical weapons by the British government, it was There was a lack of interest in organizing a strike, and the contradictions within the Second International became more and more obvious.

…

After the capture of Johannesburg, the military situation facing the Transvaal Republic has greatly deteriorated. Moreover, in the face of the British army that has already used chemical weapons, any fortifications and any persistence seem to be meaningless. How to deal with the British army that uses chemical weapons has become a big problem for the Boers. Under such tremendous pressure, many people began to waver. Even President Kruger is no exception. Some people have suggested that perhaps surrender is a better choice.

“Your Excellency, the war can no longer continue, and we cannot win at all.” An official said, “At present, any position is impossible to defend because there is damn poisonous gas! Today, any large-scale Attacks are also impossible, because the enemy will release poisonous gas. It is not that I am not patriotic, but, Mr. President, the war really cannot go on.”

“Shut up! We haven’t failed yet!” General Piet Joubert said angrily. “Our European friends are working hard for us. Our United States friends have just sent us an emergency ship of gas masks. And it’s just me. As we all know, the British people are facing great pressure now, and it will be difficult for them to use chemical weapons on a large scale in the short term. Moreover, our United States friends have given the information they have obtained. The chemical weapons in the hands of the British in South Africa are already Not much. I admit that now our external transportation is limited, and it will take some time to equip combat troops with gas masks. However, so many martyrs have been sacrificed. Could it be that we can’t hold on for such a short time and we are in a hurry? Surrender?”

…

Lord Roberts was silently looking at the map. The great victory just won did not bring him any joy. It was not all pity for others, but because he also knew that his victory had caused an uproar in the entire world. He also knows that such a victory does not bring him much glory-this is not a knightly victory. Since ancient times, people have been extremely contemptuous of those who use poison to solve their opponents. In various dramas In things like novels, poison is used by scumbags who are despised. And Lord Roberts is now included in it. I’m afraid it’s already a point in the country now.

This worry of Lord Roberts is definitely not superfluous. In fact, two days ago, when “Hamlet” was staged in the London theater, Hamlet’s Uncle Claudius was made to look very similar to Lord Roberts. It’s not even just that. When Claudius handed the poison-coated sword to Ophelia’s Big Brother Leotis, the actor also changed his lines and said something like this: ” The poison on this one sees blood in the throat. I bought it from Lord Roberts, the king of poisons, at a high price.”

With such a reputation, you must not think about being treated as a hero when you go back. Although the possibility of being thrown away as a scapegoat does not exist, after all, he is not a soft persimmon that allows people to squeeze casually, but politically The future of the company will be affected a little bit.

However, this is no alternative, because if you insist on not using chemical weapons and resist the pressure, you just don’t use them. What will happen? Of course, it will take several months, or even a year to beat Johannesburg, with more than one hundred thousand casualties. At that time, the media will never accuse him of Devil, but accuse him of being an incompetent fool, right? Therefore, poor Lord Roberts had to do a multiple-choice question between Devil and the fool. Isn’t it obvious what to choose at this time? Machiavelli has said that the most tragic thing about those in the upper ranks is not to be hated, but to be despised. Because the hated Devil is at least terrifying, and the despised fool…If you are regarded as a fool by the people of the whole country, that will really ruin all political future.

Just as Lord Roberts was considering his own future, someone suddenly came to report that he had received the latest information.

“Go ahead, what information?” Lord Roberts asked.

“The Boers are ready to ship all their gold to United States in the shortest possible time. At the same time, the United States will urgently provide the Boers with a large number of gas masks.” The officer in charge of intelligence replied.

“Is the news accurate?” Lord Roberts asked.

“It was provided by Huobi, it should be very reliable.” The officer replied.

“Let the navy pay close attention to strengthening inspections of nearby ships…including ships entering and exiting from ports in the Portuguese-controlled area.” Lord Roberts ordered. Of course he knew that doing so would definitely bring Portuguese protests or something, but, Now that Devil has been done, Lord Roberts can only do this Devil to the end.

…

“Everyone, the motherland has reached the most dangerous time. Now we must show a higher spirit of patriotism and sacrifice to save our country.” The guerrilla captain Epson said to her team members, “Our mission today It was the station that attacked the British. According to intelligence, in the warehouse of this station, there are a batch of gas masks newly shipped by the British, and there may even be poisonous gas. So the British guarded them very closely. We are very strict. Its mission is to attack it, if possible, occupy it, and take away the contents. If it cannot be occupied, then destroy it!

Of course, I know that it is very difficult. The British have a total of three hundred defenders here, and there are relatively strong fortifications. Just an hour away from the station, there is another British battalion. In addition, there may be an armored train in the station. And we only have more than two hundred people.

However, we are not without the chance of victory. You all know that this station was originally our station, so we are much more familiar with the station than the British. As early as the preparation period, we prepared a tunnel in the station…”

“Great, Waldner! We waited for the Englishmen to fall asleep at night, we touched in from the tunnel, we went into the station without knowing it, we killed all the Englishmen, and then took the things. Withdrawing from the tunnel, the British even…” A guerrilla said excitedly, and while talking, he slapped the MacDonald 1890 hanging on his chest with his hands, which was still the submachine gun called the water pipe gun.

“Damn it, Persson! Watch out for fire!” Waldner cursed, “Do you think we are all dead! Things are not as simple as you think. The tunnel entrance is actually very close to the station, but More than a hundred meters away, within the range of the British searchlights. It is only ten meters away from the barbed wire. So it is impossible for too many people to enter from there. Moreover, the tunnel is very narrow and can only allow one person to bend forward. , So taking things out through tunnels is just a dream! We can only…”