Nine Songs of Anti-Japanese War

"Look, things are actually not as bad as I thought."

As Chengdu said, he opened a table of mahjong with beautiful gestures of opening and closing.Chongqing didn't answer, just stared at the mahjong table blankly and nodded.

"First of all, although the Burma Road was cut off for three months, it has now been reopened. According to the news from Kunming, it is confirmed that embargoed materials such as weapons, ammunition, gasoline, trucks, and railway equipment are flowing in. Moreover, the three-month embargo coincides with the rainy season in Yunnan and Myanmar, so even if the roads are not closed, the goods that can be brought in are far less than usual. So our loss in this regard is not great.”

"Ah."

Chengdu took a sip of tea, covered the tea bowl, and said: "From the perspective of international relations, the agreement between Britain and Japan in the summer does not mean anything. London is under threat from their homeland. Although most of the member states of the Commonwealth have expressed The willingness to join the front line is, after all, out of reach. It is definitely unrealistic for them to fight against Germany and Japan under the most difficult circumstances. Now, these three months have passed, and the British air supremacy is still in the hands of the Royal Air Force. Although war with Japan has been avoided, it is unlikely to be repaired as before in the short term."

"I'd like to see how they can fix the law," Chongqing sneered. "Tokyo has done too badly. Only after London made concessions, they went to sign the Three Kingdoms Treaty with Germany and Italy. Now everyone knows that they have great influence on Southeast Asia. With intentions, his relationship with London has almost turned into a deadlock."

"Besides, the object of the alliance is the enemy who throws bombs on his head every day. After these three months have passed, although nothing good has happened here, at least the situation is becoming clearer. The allies in Tokyo can't give him much, but Those who should be on our side are still there. Speaking of which, "Chengdu held the "Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter" in his hands and played a game of toss and catch, "How is the public concession in Shanghai?"

"nothing at all."

"After the Japanese drove out the British troops in the public concession, didn't they always want to take over the garrison area? Then the United States disagreed or something."

"It all happened in August, what memory do you have?" Chongqing snatched the mahjong tiles that Chengdu was throwing, "Stop playing, I spent a lot of French currency on this deck of tiles, can you afford to pay for it if it breaks?" ?”

"I hate it." Chengdu puffed up his cheeks, and slowly blew them out. The airflow blew down one cake, two cakes and three cakes, and poured them on the edge of the Chongqing tea bowl. "I won't play with you again next time. I really forgot, ask you Woolen cloth?"

"Area D, which crosses the border and builds roads in the west, is under the control of the Japanese navy. According to the opinion of other foreign military officers, the most critical area B in the center of the concession is to be taken over by the US Marine Corps. Japan disagrees. The two sides are negotiating and will be handed over before the end of the negotiation. Wan Guo Business Group. Oh, by the way, Shanghai just called here this morning. He stayed in the International Settlement for the past few days. He said that New York gave him news, and most of the content was nonsense. As an international city, he will not abandon Shanghai, and he can’t be too disrespectful to Japan when negotiating matters, but they will try their best to delay the time for as long as possible..."

"Shanghai is telling us not to worry about him, just take care of ourselves." Chengdu held his cheeks in relief, "Our child has grown up, I am so touched~"

Chongqing heard the sound of fragile brain nerves breaking. "Damn it! When did I become your child, wake me up!" He stepped on the table with the momentum of an avalanche, and the mahjong tiles were scattered all over the ground, and then he grabbed the player's neck with both hands and shook violently.

"Cough, cough cough...don't, don't get excited." When Chongqing couldn't bear to let go, he saw Cheng leaning on the table, laughing so hard that tears were about to splash out.

"I really don't understand what you're here for. You can't even play mahjong."

"I heard that you caused a big fire in Beiping and Guangzhou because of the highway incident. I'm afraid you are still angry, so I come to express my condolences."

"What kind of fire can last for several months... No, I didn't get angry because of the road at all... No, who told you I was angry? Beiping, Guangzhou, or the little girl sweeping the broken teacups?"

Chengdu blinked happily: "Don't be suspicious, they didn't betray you. Yes, I guessed."

"..."

"I even dropped the teacup. This anger is really big enough. Poor girl who cleans the yard. Xiaoyu, you are still so frank and cute, haha~"

Chongqing's face was blue and red and then white.The mountain city is humid all the year round, and most of the people who live here have good skin, and Chongqing is no exception, so Chengdu can clearly see the changes in the emotions of friends.Changing to the back, Chongqing glanced at his watch, and suddenly froze in a gloomy look that was hesitant to speak.

"I don't have time to yell at you." Chongqing sighed. "I have a meeting in the afternoon with the Chairman."

"Temporary meeting? I'll go with you."

"Farewell. I'm tired of hearing this, if you go too...they probably won't let me."

Chengdu is positive.His premonition is usually very accurate, and he guessed a lot, just in case he asked: "The spirit of the meeting? The theme?"

Chongqing folded his chest and leaned against the door panel. The door panel hit the wall with a loud noise. He didn't feel that something was wrong, so he rolled his eyes absent-mindedly and glanced at the ceiling.

"I'll go first, I won't be with you today. I don't have much fun here these days, you'd better go home and hang out with Neijiang Guangyuan and the others." Chongqing stood up, walked towards the corridor, and said in a low voice, "Huang Qiao [Note 1]'s defeat can't be left alone..."

Liverpool hummed a cheerful little song, walked around the corridor of the headquarters where the prime minister and ministers were newly selected to hide, and sang even louder while putting his feet against the door of the capital's office.The door was ajar, and opened with a light touch.

"London Bridge is going to collapse, it is going to collapse, it is going to collapse..."【Note 2】

"Shut up, Liverpool." London said weakly, face down on the messy desk.

"Hey, how do you know it's me without raising your face?"

"Who else would dare to make a scene in the headquarters and sing such a boring song except you."

"It's not boring, what a lively nursery rhyme. London Bridge is falling down, my God. Build with iron railings, iron railings, iron railings. My God. The iron railings will bend, my God~ah !"

Liverpool hummed and beat the beat with his feet.The heels tap the floor, da da da, ta da da.London was still slumped on the table as if dead, showing no sign of his singing and dancing skills.

"It's boring." Liverpool sang a song full of enthusiasm, no one applauded or threw eggs, so frustrated that he had to sneak to the edge of London and poke him on the back of the head, "London, don't ignore me... your bridge is real It's none of my business if it collapses...Mr. Capital, take a look at your subordinates...The German Air Force has been attacking my city at night these days, like a wretched uncle, but it's broken, I'm almost losing your morals No matter what..."

London looked up abruptly.His gaze pierced through Liverpool's iris and shot into the depths of his soul.

"If your integrity is gone, my integrity will be negative."

Liverpool took a step back in shock.

"Wow London, why are you hurt again! What's the matter with this empty expression! Are you broken! Don't be like this! The people are watching your prime minister waiting for your prime minister. He has a heart in his 60s. I can’t stand your scare! Think about the prime minister, he’s over 60, old and fat, and he’s still full of energy to fight on the front line. You have to cheer up! Think about how old you are! How old are you... Ah, How old are you London?"

London continued to stare at him, his dark green pupils burning with V2 bombs comparable to the flames of the abyss of hell.Just when Liverpool thought their lives were in danger and were about to run away, London changed direction, turned to the door, and nodded: "Ms. Brussels."

The woman in the long skirt smiled slightly, lifted a small strand of broken hair to the back of her head, and made a short and elegant curtsy with her skirt slightly stretched.It was a dignified gesture that made London think of Paris, a woman who could still be well-mannered despite the harsh sarcasm that spewed out of her mouth - but with a trademark arrogance that no one could emulate.They had promised her with sincerity that after the victory they would restore the nobility and freedom of France; but before finally losing contact, she just said indifferently, thank you, and, to do it for herself.

Even so, he still...

"Please don't be so polite." London lowered his eyelids and folded the note under the lamp holder. "I—I'm afraid I have difficulty standing up all at once, so I can't return the greeting."

Brussels replied fluently: "I didn't expect your gift in return, just to express my gratitude again, on behalf of The Hague and me, and also on behalf of the Dutch and Belgian governments in exile [Note 3]. You still sheltered us in such a difficult situation , it’s really unrewarding.”

"It's not particularly difficult!" Liverpool interjected. "There are probably more than 20000 civilian casualties so far. More dead than soldiers, but it's good that there is no plague like in World War I."

"Is there no plague... But I heard that the water main was blown up again in the early morning?"

"It's been fixed," London said. "Thank God, medicine has made a qualitative leap in the past 20 years. Our biggest problems are overwork, food shortages, and constant fear of sudden death-the third point. The residents are used to it now." , Physical weakness can basically be overcome with the help of modern medicine."

"That's right. It's great that there's no flu like in World War I..." Brussels noticed that London was still flipping through the note. "Is this just delivered?"

"Yeah. The Sixth Division got some stuff. It has the phone number of the command post that Berlin is in this week. It's useless, but I—" London said a little shyly, "I want to make a harassing call to him. Although it doesn't fit the status , but every time I think of him hiding somewhere, slicing cheese and eating sausage in peace..."

Brussels wanted to suggest that he call another phone, but London suddenly exclaimed: "Liverpool, what are you doing!"

Liverpool snatched the phone cord and the note, rolled up his sleeves and swiped.There was a delay of a few seconds for the international call. During the delay, the two held their breath subconsciously, and neither thought of stopping him.

"Hey."

A bass they hadn't heard in a long time.

"Hello! Are you Berlin?"

"Are... British?"

"Don't hang up the phone! Berlin, let me tell you, do you know if you are frustrated! You can't fight head-to-head during the day, just attack everywhere at night like a wretched man! Night attacks should be more accurate , You can’t even achieve basic accuracy! Military targets are useless for a long time, they only go to big cities to bully civilians! Southampton wants to make you into a lotus pond moonlight salmon, do you understand? You don’t understand! Salmon It's so delicious, we can't afford it just because of you wretched men! Portsmouth expects you to come from the south every day and fight for 4 rounds in the sea! But can you, you can't! The sea is not yours , Today and never will be yours! The sky is not yours now, and you will not even be able to see the sky of Berlin in the future! Don’t talk, I haven’t finished talking yet! In fact, the thing is like this, the person who called you was London," Liverpool snatched the London cup and gulped down a big sip of water, "but our capital is too shy, so I'll help him out. By the way, the one who hates you the most is London, you understand? He So a person who values ​​integrity, you say that his integrity has been turned into a negative by you! But does this mean that you are good? You are even more frustrated! You don’t care about production, you just use your teeth and claws to snatch others’ most cherished things! Your ears It must be hurting, let me comfort you a little bit, the Italian Air Force is even more frustrated than you! If we hadn’t destroyed one of their planes a few days ago, we wouldn’t know they had come to the battlefield too【Note [-]】! What kind of friends do you make? If you run away, you will run away, so you might as well run away! That’s it, it’s over!”

Liverpool hung up the phone with a bang.

Brussels and London stared at him dumbfounded.

"I can't see that Berlin still has a tendency to masochistic..." After a while, Brussels said cautiously, "I have listened patiently for so long."

"He wants to collect information." London raised his forehead.

"Forgot the most important thing." Liverpool said depressedly, "I want to play football. Because of him, I can't play. The league has also stopped. Not only can I not play, but I can't watch..."

London smiles.

"There will be more, when the war is over. No, it doesn't have to be until then. I will play with you when I get better."

"Is it? I haven't seen you in person for a long time! Are you okay?"

"Of course."

"That Roman, what are you thinking..."

Athens looked down at the diary that was still unavoidably interrupted in the middle of repeated corrections, and let out a sigh.

The weather in Macedonia in April 1941 was very sunny.The sun is plentiful, and the spring breeze is warm and dry. If it was still the peaceful time in the past, the mountains in the northeastern part of the kingdom would have been filled with the singing of warblers, singing birds and the fragrance of flowers.Today, the flowers are still blooming, but the birds have disappeared.Athens thought, animals and plants are different after all, the instinct to avoid danger keeps them away from this group of anxious soldiers in camouflage uniforms; Instead of fighting back in self-defense, why do you want to get yourself and the world involved in a dangerous wave, and it will be unstoppable from now on?

Especially Rome, Rome—the incarnation of the city that has the same human appearance as myself, and the capital of a country on the other side of the Otranto Strait that can be counted as the elders of the whole of Europe.Every time I think of him, my thoughts are like a wild horse that has run free. I know that it is meaningless but I can't stop it from running wildly, and it is another endless loop in the end.

Both of them can't remember things that happened so early in the past.Behind the pleasure of conquering the commanding heights, more tragic falls often lurk, and the memory is also shattered in the fall again and again, leaving only this insignificant physical body that is barely intact.But there are always indelible past events engraved on the stele, which are indestructible even after thousands of years of wind and rain.

For example, the day when we lost to the Roman Empire was a fine day like today.Although at the time I only found it ironic.

Rome, who was walking against the light, suddenly knelt down on one knee in front of him.The commotion of the crowd did not bother him, and when Rome raised her eyes to look at Athens, she knew that the two of them had become separate universes.The doubts of ordinary people about Rome are at most a group of mayflies who want to shake the big tree.

"The Republic has just conquered the territory of Greece, but Greece has already conquered the heart of the Republic. The city of wisdom guarded by Minerva, please join hands with me and spread your wisdom, virtue and infinite broad-mindedness to the land, the sky and the world. Seas, let them bloom like flowers till the end of the world we want to go."

end of the world?Athens remembered that she wanted to shake her head. The ambition that someone had ignited many years ago had long been consumed by successive years of civil war into a trembling candle. "At least I don't have to quarrel with Sparta anymore..." She bowed to Rome as a courtier, and that was all she could think of.

But she didn't think that she was really behind that person and witnessed a period of song-like years.

The republic faded, the empire crumbled.But all over the Mediterranean, the songs of praise rooted the epic in the hearts of men.It is endless and continues from generation to generation, and there are many of its own people among them.

"Whether it's the Italian or the Bulgarian army, if you want to come, come quickly..." Thessaloniki poked her head out of the tent, saw the diary spread out on Athens' lap, and walked around behind her in two steps. "What are you remembering?"

"The landing situation of the British reinforcements. Their journey is going well, but I don't know if they can all arrive before the war starts."

"Not finished yet? Well, let's leave this to fate. Didn't we fight back the Italian army? I don't know where they got the courage. If the Germans didn't make trouble, they would have beaten them to tears in Albania. There is no way home. 【Note 5】" Thessaloniki leaned over suddenly, taking advantage of Athens' unpreparedness, and turned the diary to the next page, "Tsk, there are still more, and they are written in ancient Chinese... those who miss Italy Bastards?"

"...Because I haven't seen them much on the front line. It's very different from nearly half of the German cities."

Thessaloniki's long, jet-black hair brushed Athens' cheeks, feeling itchy.The slender woman shook her head vigorously in her ear, stood up, and stretched her waist: "Isn't that right, the eyes are out of sight and the heart is pure. It's not at all. When Sparta rushed to Albania, I saw two or three people. , It is said that they were all overthrown. The leader is Naples."

"Where's Rome?"

"There is no news at all. I can't see it on the battlefield, and it usually disappears."

"I want to have a good talk with him. But who is he showing this gesture? The Axis powers..."

The herald on the top of the mountain shouted: "The enemy army is found in the northwest! The whole army is on alert and enters the state of battle!"

The poorly equipped Greek troops rushed out of their tents one after another, and the green streams flowing between the mountains quickly merged into torrents.Athens stuffed the diary indiscriminately, jumped up and asked the herald, "Which country is it from?"

The herald raised his binoculars again to confirm.

"Iron Cross, Kar98k, German! It's German!"

Thessalonika gritted her teeth and pulled the bolt on the gun, saying, "They're still here... Bad luck!"

Athens remained silent, tightly pressed her braids into her hat, and joined the Chinese army with her companions.

She heard Thessaloniki chanting the name of Alexander the Great in a low voice, praying that the heroic soul of more than 2000 years ago would protect the old land of Macedonia, protect his descendants who had suffered so much, and prevent the White Tower from shedding their desperate blood.And to whom should she pray... for a city that shares the same name with the Goddess of Wisdom and War?

"Independence won with great difficulty... can't be destroyed by fascism in 100 years!"

The gunpowder smoke suddenly rose, and the guns fired in unison, falling into the ears of Athens, forming an ensemble of bells from the Orthodox Church.Humming, flowing endlessly to the end of the blue Aegean Sea... drifting in such a daze, sadness and bewilderment.

The second time I went to Chongqing, I was not blocked by anyone as expected.Peiping followed the map and found the right way, and successfully arrived at the other house built in the suburbs of Chongqing.This small double-storey building built after the military headquarters was transferred to the southwest has the appearance of a German-style villa, but its internal structure has the style of a traditional Chinese deep house.When the gatekeeper saw Peiping, he let him in without saying a word. When Peiping went to the living room on the second floor, he found Chongqing. The wartime capital of the Republic of China was wearing a military uniform and sitting in an armchair, facing the fireplace. None returned.

"I knew you were coming." Chongqing said, with an unusual indifference in his voice.

"Then you know what I want to discuss."

"I knew it from the last time you invited me to dinner."

"Why did you refuse last time? Since you didn't stop me this time."

"And why do you want to talk to me about the bad things in southern Anhui? It's all over, and the footwashing water evaporates when it's poured out. This is called overwhelmed water. Why do you have to dig out a coffin that's been buried in the soil?"

"It's not over. The party's characterization of this incident, the voice of public opinion, and most importantly, the subsequent arrangements of the New Fourth Army...are still pending. This attack on the New Fourth Army has really affected a lot, and there are still protests in Hong Kong sports."

Chongqing raised Erlang's legs and turned sideways.The fire was small, and the dim orange light reflected his expressionless face, but accentuated the shadow under the bridge of his nose.He stared at Pei Ping, who broke into the room clad in damp and cold, his long forehead hair falling unevenly on his ears, he gave a short laugh, pulled another armchair, patted the cushion on the upper bunk, and said, "I Remember, you went to southern Jiangsu in 39 to help the New Fourth Army expand to the north. Sit down first, and we two brothers can chat slowly."

Peiping didn't remember when Chongqing was called brother and brother, and Chongqing didn't have the habit of soliciting casual relations before.It was uncomfortable for the two of them to talk to each other when they were alone, but since he was begging the current capital to discuss with him, he could only be more respectful and sat down.

"First of all, Beiping..." Chongqing leaned back in his chair, tapped his fingertips on the armrest in a disorganized way, "you give the incident in southern Anhui a personality. We have to find out the differences before we can discuss them. Round the edges and corners of you and me, and the solution will come out."

"Okay." Beiping said, "First of all...the transfer of more than 9000 people from the New Fourth Army this time follows the order to change defenses that our government has issued repeatedly since the end of last year. There were some frictions in the process of changing defenses, but the CPC Central Committee basically held to these orders. I agree with the attitude. When the New Fourth Army started marching in January, it should be said that a solution was finally reached. The friction should have ended here. The commander of the war zone surrounded and attacked them on the way. As far as I know, the general attack was launched. An order from the elder himself. It is... inappropriate to do this."

"There's a ceasefire. Even if it's inappropriate, the inappropriateness is over."

"I first expressed my attitude. It is not surprising that this kind of behavior was accused of treachery by Hong Kong. But we all understand that it did not happen without reason. The most direct source is probably the Battle of Huangqiao in October last year." The war zone originally designated by the New Fourth Army was relatively narrow and inconvenient for activities and development. They wanted to take over Jiangbei as well, but felt that it could not be achieved through negotiation, so they crossed the river and attacked the troops originally stationed there. They also repelled the counterattack later. , so successfully achieved their goals."

"No, the New Fourth Army is quite capable of fighting. It's not like they didn't fight small fights before, and this time they were the most brilliant, annihilating tens of thousands of enemies." When Chongqing said the word "ten thousand", he added more force with his fingertips, "still The hapless commander of the 89th Army was forced to jump into the river. I was surprised at that time, why did the new Fourth Army of the National Revolutionary Army not say hello, and beat up the soldiers of the National Revolutionary Army who participated in the Battle of Taierzhuang A meal? No, even if you say hello, does that make sense?"

"As you said, this kind of friction is not once or twice. After all, the new Fourth Army of the Army is too famous, and they only listen to the Communist Party. The casualties in Huangqiao were relatively heavy, but the incident was not completely unpredictable, and the nature was also different. It hasn’t changed much, I can only say that it’s the biggest one among so many frictions between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party.”

Chongqing snorted coldly: "Then the matter in southern Anhui is just friction, and the one who gets beaten has switched sides. It's just karma."

"I hope you don't understand it with simple revenge thinking, Chongqing. As I said earlier, this is a sneak attack launched by the National Army when the New Fourth Army is executing the national order. Attack orders, at least there is no record of direct tactical instructions from the central government..."

"So there's a difference? A big difference? That's why you kept silent, Huangqiao, and tried to ask me to talk to me as soon as the Anhui incident happened? Beiping, how much do you like the Communist Party? What are you thinking?"

"I respect the ideals of the Communist Party. But this series of things has nothing to do with ideals, so I try to analyze it from the perspective of coexistence of forces. I hope that there will be fewer conflicts between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party. Last year, the New Fourth Army was too reckless. The area allocated to them is already small, and it is reasonable to seek to expand it. Didn’t you agree that I went to northern Jiangsu in 39? Indeed, there have been some unpleasant episodes, but the overall situation has not collapsed. Now the initiative In our hands, lower your posture and take a step back..."

"You mean to apologize to the Communist Party? To comfort the dead and wounded soldiers? To release all the prisoners?"

"No need to apologize, just release some prisoners first. We can take our time."

"The central government and the troops on both sides don't want to take their time! The New Fourth Army has repeatedly disobeyed the command, and the CCP indulged them. What happened to the boss once the subordinates were taught a lesson? Moscow followed his boss and called me, saying that we disregarded the overall situation of the War of Resistance and provoked civil strife. He It’s embarrassing to say! Without the support of Maozi, how dare the CCP be so arrogant?” Chongqing stood up abruptly, pacing up and down with his hands behind his back, “Don’t get me wrong, I don’t have much affection for the people. I just watched these two groups of bad people fighting for power I'm so irritated... Hmph, was it really necessary to launch that incident in Xi'an? I'm not worried that the War of Resistance will not be won, as they are so active in the war zone, ten times as many Japanese can't hold it back!"

Beiping pursed his lips: "Then you can see my suggestion..."

"It's no use. I agree with the people and they won't agree, not to mention that I don't want to help you this time. The New Fourth Army will be declared a rebel army and its organizational system will be cancelled. It has nothing to do with me how they jump around in the future."

"...There is no room left."

"You really have the same temper as you used to...Master Jing, Master Jing, Brother Suan reminds you that you are too close to me, and you are keeping your distance. You seem to be sincere to everyone, but you refuse to express your heart to anyone. To be honest, I look at you tired, and you feel aggrieved staying here with me. Let’s go on a business trip and go abroad.”

Beiping slowly raised his head.The fire in the fireplace was burning, gradually burning out the light and heat, turning into silent ashes in his eyes.

"The capital. A request, or an order?"

"All."

"where to?"

"There is Maozi. The Soviet-German treaty, the German-Italian-Japanese alliance, too many have made the prospect of cooperation between the Soviet Union and us waver. I am really fed up. Are they still the friends who blessed us last year with 'the ability to defeat all enemies'? ?”

"But is it appropriate for you to send me?"

"It seems to be pushing you into my arms? Let it go. People who stayed in the Soviet Union said a word back then, Moscow is not a paradise. You can do whatever you like, and I'm lazy. But don't forget, you have official duties. "Chongqing hurried to the office next door, quickly returned with a piece of paper, and handed it to Peiping, "The capital's warrant. You are ready to go within a month, and show it to anyone who obstructs it."

Peiping took over the warrant.The handwriting is very neat and formal, and the position of the seal is impartial, obviously it has already been written.He didn't ask any more questions.After saying goodbye to Chongqing, I left the house.On the outskirts of the mountain city in spring, the grass grows and warblers fly, but the lingering haze makes people unable to lift their spirits to appreciate this flourishing picture.

On the way back to the city, he met an official's car.The old American-made car carried the driver, the official couple, and a pair of children. They were laughing and laughing in the car. The daughter leaned on the inner window of the car, tilted her head and looked at the frowning handsome man in the opposite car. The mist drew a big smiling face.

He suddenly lost the courage to look at her, and turned his face away.

-----------------------------------

Note 1: The Battle of Huangqiao refers to the campaign launched by the New Fourth Army under the leadership of the CPC in northern Jiangsu to the local KMT garrison in October 1940 in order to expand its base area.In this battle, the New Fourth Army wiped out the No.10 Ninth Army and occupied Jiangyan, Taizhou.

Note 2: British nursery rhyme London Bridge is Falling Down.

Note 3: After the fall of the European continent, the United Kingdom accommodated the governments in exile of the Netherlands, Belgium and other countries, as well as resistance organizations such as Free France. (The Belgian king did not leave the country, but in England was a group of ministers who disagreed with him, whose functions began to function soon after his arrival. Although The Hague is not the capital of the Netherlands, it is the seat of administrative organs, so it replaces Amsterdam.)

Note 4: The Italian air force participated in the British air battle, but they often turned around and ran away when they saw the British ground fire network. It was not until they accidentally shot down an Italian plane that the British knew that Italy had also sent troops.

Note 5: Greece joined the Allied Forces at the beginning of World War II. At that time, there were only small and poorly equipped troops.When Italy invaded Greece through Albania in October 1940, the Greek army resisted tenaciously and counterattacked back to Albania. This Greek-Italian war was regarded as the first victory of the Allies. (Don't say anything, let's laugh at it XD)

Some notes on the background and plot development of Chapter 24:

This is a transitional chapter. From the second half of 1940 to the spring of 1941, there were basically no wars affecting the overall situation in China. The strategic focus of the Japanese army shifted to Southeast Asia, and the policy toward China focused on expanding the control of the Japanese and puppets in the occupied areas and negotiating peace with the Chongqing government.Although Japan was eager to resolve the incident in China, due to various factors such as Japan's excessive asking price and Jiang's psychological quality was finally strong, the peace negotiation failed in the end.At this time, in the enemy-occupied area, the KMT and CPC armies' competition for the sphere of influence has also reached a... climax.The Huangqiao Battle and the Southern Anhui Incident refer to the chicken feeding materials, and it tastes better when eaten with Du Niang -_,-

At the end of 1940, the British army in the Battle of Britain gained a certain advantage and took a little breather.Not only the Royal Air Force participated in this battle, but also the troops of the member states of the Commonwealth of Nations and the air forces and American volunteers who evacuated to Britain from many fallen countries.In addition, in Africa, the British garrison defeated the Italian army with a small number (...), and was able to rebuild their confidence and invest in the long war to come.Another point to mention is that Britain originally wanted to win the French navy, but due to their own carelessness and untimely arrogance, the relationship between the two parties was extremely bad, so London recalled Paris with resentment.

After Greece defeated the Italian army in 1940, it attracted the attention of Germany. In April 1941, the German army invaded Greece from Yugoslavia. The capital of the ancient Kingdom of Macedonia - Thessaloniki (Thessaloniki) was the first metropolis to fall. On May 4, Germany launched the Battle of Crete, which delayed the date of the invasion of the Soviet Union.In Greece during the Nazi occupation, more than 5% of the Jews were exterminated, combined with brutal economic exploitation and famine. In the winter of 20 and 80, 1941 people died in Athens alone.Originally in the occupied area of ​​Italy, the policy was softer and protected the Jews, and there was no retaliation and collective massacre against civilians due to guerrilla attacks as in the German-occupied area.But after Italy sued for peace in 1942, the German army took over the Italian-occupied area and massacred Italian prisoners of war (…).In general, Greece was one of the worst-hit European countries during World War II, and after liberation, it entered a civil war because of the great differences between the left and right guerrilla forces. 【...It's really bloody】It is said that during the European debt crisis, many Greeks did not accept the government's plan of "tightening spending in exchange for EU aid" because they were still deeply wary of the German-led European Union, and they accepted the plan See it as Germany's "second occupation" of Greece.

Both Athens and Thessaloniki are initially set to be male, but the former and Athena use the same ancient Greek word, and the latter is named after the wife of the Macedonian king (the half-sister of Alexander the Great), so they are both set as girls up.

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Next up is Barbarossa.