Great time travel

Chapter 168, The Queen in the Wind

After three years, Windsor Castle is still standing tall, and at first glance it seems that there is not much difference from the past.But if you look carefully, you will find that the outer walls of some houses have been quietly climbed with nettles and vines, and some buildings have obvious scorched marks of being burned by the fire, and some buildings have collapsed, and the rusted iron The door and the metal lamppost fell in the grass, and no one knew who did it.Those once well-manicured lawns and gardens have turned into crazy wild jungles, gorgeous fountains have become stinking pools, and exquisite statues have been smashed to pieces.

Also, the originally bustling town of Windsor next to the castle is now empty, and at least half of the town is in ruins. A considerable part of the houses have been burned by fire, and the rest of the houses are dilapidated, with almost no glass windows. Fan is complete.The roads in the town are clogged with cars, debris and all kinds of garbage, and some places seem to be barricaded.But no living person could be found to say what happened here.

Relatively speaking, Windsor Castle, where Mr. Toynbee has brought more than 100 people to live in, is barely a bit popular.

For Queen Elizabeth, everything she saw seemed to prove that England had returned to the dark age of civilization collapse...

In short, looking at the group of Soviet soldiers who had escorted the exiles to their destination and accompanied the two queens from the seaside, they turned around and withdrew on the outskirts of Windsor.Before leaving, the Soviets gave the exiles some light weapons for self-defense such as rifles and pistols, and left enough flour, wheat and canned food for all the exiles for one year in Windsor Castle, plus some quilts, Soap, implements and crop seeds, and two radios for communications.At the same time, they finally announced to the two queens and Prime Minister Churchill the discipline during the exile period: all exiles are free to live and move in Windsor Castle, and the Soviet Union will not interfere in any way.But as the chief exiles, Elizabeth and Margaret, the two former queens, and Churchill, the former prime minister, these three people need to go to the Soviet border guard post on the Isle of Wight, [-] kilometers away, three times a year, every four months. Sign, and you can receive a relief food at the same time... Of course, this food is definitely not enough for so many people in Windsor Castle. Like the prisoners exiled to Siberia.

After the Soviets left, Queen Elizabeth took her sister Margaret by the hand and walked into Windsor Castle, where everything was changed.

In Windsor Castle today, Mr. Toynbee has led more than 100 people to tidy up for more than a month, and it has barely tidied up a little bit.At least it looks like a self-sufficient survival base.Although due to the season—it is now late autumn and snow will fall soon, it is not suitable for farming any crops. They haven't had time to reclaim arable land and vegetable gardens, but they have already cleared a few flat areas in the courtyard of Windsor Castle.There were a dozen or so horses in the stables, some donkeys, goats, and two cattle.In addition, a large number of dead branches and wood were collected, which were neatly piled up outside the gate of the castle, waiting to be chopped into firewood. At first glance, it seemed like a small village in medieval Europe.

However, these poor breaths of life still cannot cover up the desolation, dilapidation and incompleteness of the entire Windsor Castle.Those collapsed towers, broken spires, and destroyed walls all illustrate the ruined nature of this castle.Especially after walking into the interior of Windsor Castle, the decency shown by the magnificent exterior of the castle has disappeared—in the three years after Queen Elizabeth left, there were countless strands of poverty The vagrants and bandits visited this imposing Royal Palace and looted everything they thought was useful: the famous wine and food stored in the cellar were of course the first to be divided up, and the metal utensils and porcelain were also taken away one after another.The furniture made of precious wood was chopped up and used as firewood, and the books and oil paintings were just kindled.All kinds of curtains, flags, rugs and tapestries were ripped off to make clothes or to keep out the cold while sleeping. Even the oak and teak floors were pried open and dug away. All torn down...

As a result, when Elizabeth returned to Windsor Castle with her sister Margaret, she found that it was empty everywhere, and everything had been looted—the tomahawks, Western swords and armor in the corridor, and the models in the dollhouse. Everything was missing, the roof and walls of the big front hall were missing a large piece, the wind and rain poured in, and moss, mushrooms and weeds had grown inside the house.In the center of the Queen's Conference Hall, a large hole was blown out by something, and the floor, walls, and even the ceiling were covered with cracks.The private chapel dedicated to members of the royal family was completely burned down, leaving only charred bricks and foundations.Even those buildings that seem to be in good condition on the surface are generally in a mess when you actually go in and take a look.Those bare walls were full of various stains and obscene graffiti. In many places, even the entire windows were missing or smashed to pieces. The cold wind directly drilled into the room from the large holes on the wall, making There is not even a little heat in the cold room... just like that, it is still a place that has been cleaned.And those places that haven't had time to be cleaned are covered with thick dust, how thick is it?Stepping on it is a pit!

Even for the bedrooms arranged for the two queens, there are only two dark green camp beds, and a few simple cabinets made of wooden crates that double as stools and tables.The glass of the bedroom window, in the dilapidated Windsor Castle, is relatively intact, but there are still a few pieces missing, which can only be pasted with old newspapers.There are still a few bullet holes and blood stains on the walls and ceiling, as well as ugly marks of being smoked and burned... Queen Elizabeth felt that it seemed better not to delve into how these things came about.

Queen Margaret couldn't help turning pale when she thought that she would live in such a dilapidated place with nothing in the future, maybe even for the rest of her life.Naturally, Elizabeth was also in a bad mood, but she still cheered up to comfort her sister...

※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※

After a cursory turn around, the two queens came to a balcony in Windsor Castle, overlooking the courtyard from a height, people who were busy carrying their luggage and settling their belongings—even counting the second batch of people who followed them. Exiles, the current Windsor Castle only accommodates more than 300 people, which is still more than enough for this castle with a total construction area of ​​[-] square meters. Compared with the past, it looks even more empty and lonely.

Queen Elizabeth couldn't help but feel a little sad about this.However, next, when she raised her head and looked into the distance, she was stunned by the magnificent scenery in front of her eyes—unknowingly, it was dusk.The gradually setting sun, like a burning orange-red flame, is so dazzling under the cover of the sunset.For the time being, the pitch-black night where no stars can be distinguished is gradually sweeping in from another direction, but it cannot overcome the brilliance of the setting sun, so it can only slowly approach from behind, waiting patiently for the final sinking of the gorgeous setting sun.

Bathed in such strong contrasts of light and darkness, whether it is the sparkling Thames River, the faint ruins of Windsor Town, or the mountains, forests and fields in the distance, they all look more bizarre under the twilight.Although the windows and tiles of Windsor Castle itself are still trying to reflect the brilliance of the setting sun, in an attempt to show their own sense of existence, but compared with the dazzling bright red sunset, they still seem insignificant.As for the humans, cows and horses moving in the courtyard of Windsor Castle, there are only wisps of gray and blurred shadows left in the field of vision.

Such a sunset view of Windsor Castle is indeed beautiful, and it can be suffocatingly beautiful without any embellishments.

Looking at the magnificent scenery in front of her and the plausible homeland around her, Queen Elizabeth couldn't help being intoxicated for a while, and was reminded of many distant memories that were originally buried deep in her heart... Anyway, after going through so much After all the hardships and twists and turns, she finally survived, and finally stood here again, on this piece of land passed down by her family for generations.

So what if the British Empire is no more and the crown that once stood on her head has fallen to the ground?All this is not a mistake made by her weak woman. Facing the arrangement of cruel fate, she can only learn to accept it and live as optimistically as possible.As described in her favorite novel "Gone with the Wind" by American female writer Margaret Mitchell, "...nothing in this world can do anything to us, but if we always think about If we try to recover what we lost, if we keep thinking about the past, then we will destroy ourselves."

"...The past is gone, the dead are dead, and the living will continue to live."

"...All that is gone with the wind belongs to yesterday, and all that is left behind after the wind and rain is facing the future."

"...No matter what, tomorrow is another day!"

Bathed in the afterglow of the magnificent sunset, facing the warm wind blowing across the field at dusk, looking at the land of England under the twilight, she murmured the famous quotes from the novel "Gone with the Wind", and couldn't help feeling that her chest seemed to become He became much more open-minded, and he seemed to have strength and confidence in his heart again.

Just as she was slowly brewing her mood and wanted to sing a song to the twilight beauty in front of her, she was interrupted by the sound of a few car horns... Looking down with a little displeasure, Queen Elizabeth suddenly Confused, I saw that the chubby former Prime Minister Churchill, his valet, and two bodyguards were riding in a jeep, rolling over the withered yellow grass in late autumn, and bumping away towards the distance.

Eh?How is this going?Churchill, this fat man... what on earth is he trying to do?
So, Queen Elizabeth, who was curious, looked around, called Mr. Toynbee from the balcony who was instructing everyone to repair the gate and wall, asked him about Churchill's whereabouts, and then went to Mr. Toynbee In his mouth, he got such a reply:
"...Your Majesty! Prime Minister Churchill, regardless of the exhaustion of the journey, insisted on going home immediately to have a look. No matter how we persuade him, we can't persuade him!"

"...Going home?! He is going to... Blenheim Palace?! " Queen Elizabeth muttered, frowning.