Nine Songs of Anti-Japanese War

After a month of arduous battle, the U.S. military captured Manila, the capital of the Philippines.This city, which was supposed to be automatically abandoned when the Japanese army retreated north, still ushered in the same ending after the garrison temporarily changed its mind and decided to focus on defense.The so-called "similarity" is only for the ultimate ownership of the city, and there is absolutely no place that can be called "similarity" in other aspects.

Most of Manila is made up of wooden buildings. After a great war, houses were burned everywhere and razed to the ground, leaving only ruins of smoke and ashes.When Seattle and Los Angeles entered the city with the army, they had already expected the irritating burning smell that rushed into the nostrils, but they were not surprised.But after staying for a few more minutes and walking a few more streets, they couldn't ignore the unharmonious ingredients in the burnt smell.Not only the smell of burning wood and other inanimate objects, but also other fat-containing things... That's right, just like the human body.

This is not surprising.Three years ago, Manila was declared an undefended city for the Japanese army to easily take over. Three years later, the situation has completely turned to the opposite. A large proportion of the fighting took place in the streets of the city.The tension and cruelty of the fighting have reached a certain level, and if there is no evacuation measures in advance, it is impossible not to seriously affect civilians.Long before occupying the city, Seattle and others had already smelled the scorched smell of burnt human bodies, and they had also seen civilian corpses huddled together or scattered everywhere. It is conservatively estimated that the number is tens of thousands.However, there is a strangeness in this burnt smell, which makes them pay more attention to the smell perception that has been sharpened by the war.

The apparently unusual smell emanated from a college campus.Seattle turned around and talked with Los Angeles, and reached a consensus to enter the campus to find out.They led the team to the university cafeteria. It was not damaged by foreign artillery fire, it seemed to be destroyed from the inside, except that the roof and the door were lifted, it was basically intact.

Seattle stepped forward and made a circle to the hall door.

"..."

He froze in place.From the corner of her eye, Los Angeles seemed to want to breathe with her mouth wide open to get rid of the nausea in her stomach, but inhaling such dirty air would only aggravate the nausea. Her expression hesitated for two seconds before opening her mouth, and finally raised her hand to cover it mouth, took a step back.

All the dead bodies in the restaurant were children, or the remains of children.Definitely not of college age, just skinny local children.Five chandeliers lay in the middle of the mess, each blown apart from the center, surrounded by fragments of grenades that appeared to have detonated from the lamps.The wounds on most of the children indicated that they were killed by the grenade on the spot, and a small number were not fatally hit, and fell in the direction leading to the hall door.It didn't take Seattle to squat down to inspect them to see the marks of machine gun fire on their bodies.The large amount of blood flowing out of their bodies has long since solidified, and the smoke and dust have also settled in the pool of blood, leaving behind the smell of corpses, and it is only in winter that the decay is slower.

Los Angeles, who barely calmed down, also walked in.She rummaged through the food crumbs scattered on the dining table, and then pointed to Seattle: "It's all snacks..."

The U.S. assault on Manila lasted for more than a month, and there was a shortage of food in the city, so it was quite unexpected for dim sum to appear on the university dining table.They checked the palms and mouths of the children and found a lot of crumbs.

Seattle stood up and shook his head: "I probably know what's going on."

"What do you think...they put snacks on the table for the kids to come in while they were eating...?"

"Well. The ones that didn't get killed were also shot while trying to escape."

Perhaps because the victim is of the same Asian descent, Los Angeles was more stimulated, and his face was very ugly: "What's the benefit of killing children? And deliberately arrange snacks... What are you trying to figure out...?"

"I don't know. Report it to General MacArthur first. I'm afraid it's not an isolated case, and more similar reports will be received in a while... Don't stay here, the air is too bad."

As expected, they received reports that the defenders deliberately killed civilians in the next few days after cleaning the battlefield.Some residents who gathered in the refuge were set on fire and killed, some men and women were ordered to stand in a row on the street or by the river and then killed. die.During the days of the U.S. siege of Manila, the Japanese troops remaining in the city seemed to have completely lost their minds.When they found the city lord who was locked in a bunker, he was also unconscious, with signs of serious insult and abuse on his body.After inspecting several massacre sites, I saw this passage from the Japanese army orders they captured: "...when killing Filipinos, try to concentrate them in one place, and use a method that saves ammunition and manpower. The disposal of the corpses is very troublesome. , the corpses should be stuffed into houses scheduled to be burned or blown up, or thrown into rivers..."

The statistics of casualties proceeded slowly due to various difficulties.Everything they witnessed reminded them of the Bataan march that shocked the country three years ago. The difference was that the victims were soldiers who surrendered, but now they were replaced by more powerless civilians, and the death toll was estimated to far exceed the former. 【Note 1】One day at noon, it started to rain lightly in the city. Seattle caught a glimpse of Los Angeles standing on an open field after clearing. Without a hat or an umbrella, he just raised his face and stood in the muddy water formed by the raindrops. Looking at the dark and oppressive sky.

Seattle stepped forward.

"Aren't you going to take shelter from the rain?"

"No. The air is finally fresh, and I want to take a few more breaths. Are you used to the climate here?"

"It's okay in winter. Although it's still a bit hot..."

"Oh," Los Angeles smiled, "You are from the Northwest, so you are afraid of the heat."

She paused for a while, then said, "I'm worried about the future. It's not about the outcome of the battle...it's about other burdens..."

Seattle nodded lightly to show that he understood what she meant.

In a broad sense, the personifications of the city are rarely truly innocent.Almost all the older ones have seen or participated in the fierce battles and massacres in ancient times, and it is impossible for the younger ones to be ignorant of all kinds of atrocities in modern times.However, people's understanding is always changing with the times. Many behaviors that are too obvious and blatantly contrary to the word "civilization" are believed to have been buried in the dust of history and will not break out again.However, even with the great shock and confusion caused by the Pearl Harbor attack and the March on Bataan, when they were mentally prepared and set foot on the battlefield in the Pacific Ocean, the tragic battle was put aside for the time being, and what they saw and heard after the war cleaned the battlefield. Refreshing the lower limit of their cognition again and again.

If you continue to attack, what else will happen...?

This is not the only confusion that the two of them harbor in their hearts.

They stood in the rain for more than a quarter of an hour.It wasn't until the rain picked up and threatened to drench their clothes that they walked back to the base camp while talking about the ongoing battle of Iwo Jima in another part of the Pacific Ocean.What they most want to do at present is actually to go to the warship moored in the harbor, stay away from the slaughterhouse ruins on land temporarily, and have a dinner with Honolulu who stays in the navy.But considering that Honolulu had been greatly stimulated by the Pearl Harbor incident, and the tragedy on land could not be bypassed during the meal, even if he must have known it already, Los Angeles still felt inappropriate, and Seattle also agreed not to disturb him until the end of the work.

Later in the day, they put together a staged report and sent it to the capital office in the contiguous United States.

On their way deep into southern Burma, Kunming's troops were stopped by a fortress.

The Yunnan-Burma Highway has been opened, and the Chinese Expeditionary Force and the troops stationed in India have also successfully joined forces. Under the steady advance of the Chinese, American and British coalition forces in the Myanmar area, the Japanese army is retreating step by step.As for the Burmese army who assisted the Japanese army in order to get rid of colonial rule, it seems that they have not been seen for a long time.But in the face of adversity, the fighting will of the Japanese army will not be inferior to that of any other country's army, and the scars of the failure of the last expedition still remain in their hearts. Kunming and others dare not take it lightly.

The fortress is a mixture of brick and wood, remodeled from an original marching stronghold, which is relatively simple.The rising sun flag of the Japanese Army is flying above the city, and soldiers are watching from the sentry posts.

Kunming pulled Dali aside to discuss whether to attack directly.The troops they are currently leading are allocated from one division, and the number is not very large, less than two reorganized regiments. They have agreed to advance in batches and meet at the next stronghold.If you attack the fortress, the chances of winning are great, but the battle damage is not guaranteed.If you don't attack, it will delay the march of the large troops, which is not the result they want.

"I think it's better to attack." Dali said, "we can negotiate with them first and ask them to retreat on their own initiative. If they refuse to retreat, they either believe that they still have enough troops to fight, or they are stubbornly resisting, and would rather be honored with less against more." die here."

"Isn't it better to send people to check their strength first? Then make tactical adjustments based on intelligence—"

Dali is usually not very polite when talking to her, this time he asked directly: "Do you think we still have time to wait for the spies to report back?"

"……No."

"So there is only one way left." Dali turned around and was about to return to the team, "Let me talk."

Kunming followed his footsteps: "Maybe it's more sincere to replace me?"

"If they get angry, they may violate the rules of war and attack with a knife. You are the boss, and your health is precious, so it's better for me to come - anyway, no matter how bad you are, you won't die."

Kunming sighed inwardly, and acquiesced.This way of getting along with Dali has lasted for hundreds of years, and it has been showing signs since the early Yuan Dynasty, and there is still no sign of stopping. [Note 2] Dali is willing to obey her orders, but talking to him in a deliberative tone is another situation. One side wants to draw the most beneficial conclusions for everyone, but the other side always shows respect while picking faults.Because he believes that most of this atmosphere is caused by his past actions, Kunming rarely complains about Dali, but he is always a little helpless.However, as long as Dali's criticism can lead to good results, it is not a bad thing.

The head of the group is not very relieved.He was explaining to Dali that he should not annoy the other party, and the patrolman's report interrupted their preparations.From the jungle on the other side of the fort, a group of Burmese Defense Forces appeared, marching towards the fort, with about one regiment in number.If they were allowed to enter the Japanese fortress, neither negotiation nor attack would be a dream.

Tengchong held up his binoculars and muttered: "Bad luck..."

Kunming paced anxiously behind him empathetically.

Tengchong's voice sounded again after a while: "Wait a minute, there seems to be something wrong!"

In northern Myanmar, the Burmese army almost disappeared completely, which was quite different from their active efforts to help the Japanese army drive away the British and expeditionary forces.Is there a conflict with the Japanese authorities, or is it just something else important?They have discussed in Kunming, no matter what, it is impossible for the Burmese army to never show their face on the land of the motherland, and sooner or later they will come to a conclusion when they reach the central and southern regions close to the ruling center.

Now, the Burmese army is sending people to talk to the Japanese garrison.The distance was too far, and even with the ability of the city avatar, they couldn't hear what they were talking about. They could only watch them get excited, arguing, and then having physical conflicts.Finally, the Japanese officer who came out to talk turned around and left, closing the entrance to the fortress.There was commotion on the top of the city, and the Burmese army below the city also rearranged, and a woman with the rank of Colonel stepped out from the team.She stood solemnly in the front row with one hand raised.She opened her mouth, maybe because she was shouting, maybe because it was from someone she knew, Kunming heard her shouting clearly: "Everyone is in position, put on the bayonet!"

Dali and Tengchong also heard the sound of bayonets being loaded and gun bolts being pulled.

The Burmese army and the Japanese army exchanged fire like this.The Burmese army is equipped with infantry and lacks siege equipment, but the Japanese army in the fortress is also not well equipped. The machine guns on the top of the city are weak, and there seems to be insufficient manpower.Kunming recalled the moment when the leader gave the order, and felt that she had indeed glanced suggestively in his direction. Combined with the information that was both true and false that he had obtained along the way since the second expedition, he felt that he could no longer stand by and look at the head of the group. Turn around: "We will go too!"

The roar of American-made firearms and artillery fire was added between the two warring troops, which also used Japanese-style equipment.Although the standard is lower than the equipment used by the regular US military, it is enough to deal with a group of small and outdated Japanese troops.The gate was breached quickly, and the defenders saw that there was no hope of victory. They were probably hit too hard by the "friendly army" who suddenly counterattacked. Quiet and orderly without causing any trouble.

It would be great if the Japanese troops who fought along the way were as aware of current affairs and in line with the routine as this group... Kunming is just thinking about this, and dare not expect extravagantly.She has a more pressing matter right now—talking to the commander of the "friendly army" who just fought side by side.

She went to the top of the city.The barrel of the machine gun was still hot, and Rangoon was standing by the gun waiting for her.

The personification of the Burmese capital is similar to what it looked like when it was forcibly taken away by the British army three years ago. It still has a thin frame, far from strong shoulders, and its face is yellowish due to irregular work and rest and unbalanced diet; but She has cut her hair short, her body under the military uniform is more upright and powerful, and her eyes are no longer full of daze, unwillingness and struggle. These are far more eye-catching than those unchanged features.When Kunming went forward, she heard her speak first: "This is an army-wide defection. Most of the Burmese National Defense Forces have gathered in my city, and they will soon turn their guns under the order of General Aung San. Please strictly observe Intelligence, don't let it leak out."

"Since when?"

"last summer."

"It was... when your general delivered a speech on the first anniversary of independence?" Kunming carefully recalled that the British intelligence agency provided the speech. The speech revealed dissatisfaction with the Japanese side and mentioned that "Myanmar's independence is a hoax."However, Britain was reluctant to provide information other than this. Since the second expedition had not encountered obstacles from the Burmese army, they did not rush to ask further.Thinking about it this way, the Burmese independence forces have been in secret contact with the British side since then to negotiate a truce.

"Actually, it's still early to start thinking about it. By the time I saw the Japanese response last summer, I had basically made up my mind. They neither had the strength to control the Pacific regions, nor did they really have the will to make Myanmar independent. The British army expressed support, so... ..."

"But the British army did not inform us of these things."

"I guess so." Yang Guang said, and took off the Order of the Rising Sun on her chest. It was an honor she received when she visited Tokyo, and it was only awarded to a very small number of people.She raised her hand holding the medal, as if she was about to throw it out from the top of the city, then stopped after half a circle with her hand, and stuffed it into her trouser pocket.She explained: "I have to rush back to the capital, and I can't let the Japanese army find out first."

"I know." Kunming said.

"I think..." Yang Guang glanced at her, "Aren't we ridiculous in your eyes?"

"Nothing like that."

"Yes. That's not surprising. I can't apologize on behalf of the Burmese Defense Forces—I'm not qualified to represent all soldiers, and those problems can't be answered in one or two sentences. But from my personal point of view, I want to apologize to you .That night in the camp near Mandalay, you were so earnest and sincere to dissuade me from going back...but I pointed a gun at you. I should not repay your sincerity like that..."

"It's not really true. I also think of my own position first, and you second."

"As long as there is a little bit of consideration for others, it is very precious. According to the situation at the time, I am afraid I will run away in the end. But I shouldn't take your gun and point it at you again, that's really..." Yang Guang smiled wryly Shaking his head, staring at the ground, he seemed to have returned to the unaccompanied and embarrassed look of three years ago, "It's very wrong, it hurts your heart very much. I'm sorry."

Listening to her apologetic words, Kunming felt a surge of emotion in his chest, but there was no corresponding wave.At that time, she just felt that people in different positions were too different, even if they were barely bonded together, they would eventually separate. Apart from being tired and weak, she had no other feelings.Since there is no resentment, getting a belated apology doesn't seem so important.But... she thought, she doesn't care, but what about others?Those soldiers who tried their best during the first expedition but died of bullets, shelling, famine and plague, didn't they die without a contribution from the Burmese army?How would they respond to a similar apology?

She turned involuntarily to the north—there stood the Savage Mountain, the burial place of countless soldiers of the Crusade.Even with the accounts of survivors who were lucky enough to return to their homeland, she still could never imagine the final scene of those soldiers who were trapped in the mountains and were dying, and she would never be able to empathize with their resentment and unwillingness when they were dying.Farther away, there are those pilots who crashed over the hump route and died in the valley without bones, and the women and old people who died on the spot due to overwork in building military facilities... She thought of them, and the words she was about to say suddenly became difficult .She faced the north and murmured silently, what would you do with your words?

The blades of grass shake, the forest is silent.

The wind blows from the north, over mountains and rivers, across plains and forests.Dead spirits melt their thoughts into the wind, sending soft whispers.Don't ask us how to do it, what we do should be done according to the will of the living.No one needs to bear full responsibility for tragedy, and good intentions often lead to painful endings.The past is gone forever, and the future still needs to be developed by you together.

She took a deep breath, swallowed the cool northern wind in early spring, and said, "It's okay."

With her understanding, Yangon's nervous expression eased a lot, and he gradually talked to her more, talking about the changes in Southeast Asia over the years.Due to the cooperation with the Japanese army, the Thai authorities swallowed many disputed areas with neighboring countries, and the territory has expanded by more than one circle in just three years.But this gamble is still on the wrong person, and it seems that they can only spit out what they swallowed, with more punishments that are not yet known.For these countries that were infiltrated and controlled by foreign forces before the war, the line between justice and injustice in this war is very blurred, and most of the time it is just a matter of profit and luck.

"There is still a long way to go." Yangon looked into the distance worriedly, "Britain will not give us true independence easily. I have never been the capital of an independent country, and I have a lot to learn from Mandalay. "

The Burmese National Defense Forces did not stay for long, and they had to rush back to the capital before other Japanese troops found out, and then launched a surprise attack on the Japanese troops stationed in Burma, announcing a formal collective defection. [Note 3] Kunming asked: "How will you announce it then?"

Yang Guang hesitated and said, "Let's injure a high-ranking general on the spot and then detain him. It's better to find a Japanese city lord instead of an ordinary person. I'll talk about who it is at that time... Speaking of which, they taught me how to use guns and guns." Fighting a war is enough to trick people."

Kunming blessed them.Sending off the Burmese army, she talked with Dali and Tengchong, and they all felt a little weird, but also relieved, unloading some kind of burden.She regretted not being able to see the wonderful scene of Yangon personally shooting and wounding the person who taught her military skills that day.But when he thought that most of the journey had been completed and victory was beckoning not far away, the joy in his heart far exceeded the regret.

Anyway, one day, she will walk into Yangon City with General Sun Liren's troops, and receive the cheers and congratulations that the soldiers who died three years ago were eagerly looking forward to—whether they come from compatriots, British and American allies, or just joined the ranks of allies Burmese.

Spring is coming.This year's spring came not particularly: neither early nor late, the ice and snow melted on time, and the flowers bloomed.Obviously, the European battlefield has come to an end. This is the last spring before peace in Europe, which has been caught in war for many years.The vegetation is ruthless and unconscious, but it cannot curb people's positive emotions.On the western front, the Allied forces broke through the German defense line from the east of the Netherlands, occupied Nuremberg in the south, and advanced to the Elbe River in the north, and soon they would join forces with the Soviet army.The allied forces were filled with joy and jubilation.

There was also less happy news.For example, Dresden did not survive the almost crazy strategic bombing of the Allied forces. Not only was the entire ancient city flattened, but people were also heard to have been killed by the bombing.This is probably the first time in history that an urban incarnation died from a simple aerial bombing. It is bound to make people question the morality of the Allied forces, and ask how many of those bombings were necessary and how many were just pure intimidation and killing. civilian war crimes.But those are all things after the war, and no one pays attention to them at present-and to be honest, few of the Allied forces, whether they are the city lords or ordinary soldiers, really care about the life and death of the Germans.

Washington and New York returned home first after breaking through the German-Dutch defense.Before leaving, they said, "Leave European affairs to the Europeans." They also mentioned the accumulation of domestic affairs and the Pacific battlefield to worry about. This is indeed true.The high-level city representatives of the Allied Forces knew that they had reached an agreement with Moscow, and they were not going to personally participate in the battle to go deep into Germany and take Berlin directly. If the other American city owners did not leave, they said goodbye to these two people happily.Only London was not very happy on the day of farewell, but he just pursed his lips tightly, hugged Washington hard at the airport, and then retreated to a safe distance.

There are several ways to deal with the German lords captured during the capture.Those who have not engaged in work directly related to the war are only handed over to the security forces to keep them from leaving the city, while those who have participated in the war are strictly guarded, and the handling in between is more flexible.Like Frankfurt, he did not put up a fierce resistance, nor was he a dangerous militant. Just because he was responsible for most of the foreign economic coordination work during the years when the Nazis swept across Europe, they asked him to be controlled on the spot and limited.Unexpectedly, Frankfort took the initiative to ask to go with the Allied forces, and assured him that he would not move extra thoughts, but he knew that he was powerless and wanted to witness the war to the end.He had a good personality, and there were few city lords in the allied army who were personally hostile to him, so he agreed.

Since the army set out without waiting for anyone, the Frankfurt interrogation was not carried out until they arrived in Nuremberg.This is just going through the formalities and checking the information initially. The real interrogation will not start until after the war.The interrogation was given to Boston, who had no direct relationship with him, and was watched by another guard.

Boston came to the small room, greeted Frankfort mildly, and began questioning.

"City name?"

"Frankfurt am Main."

"Human name? Well, I know, Wolfgang or something... I'll write it myself. Okay, the next question is..."

She went on to ask a few more questions that weren't necessary to give away the secret.Both of them wanted to get things done quickly, so when Philly came in, she showed a rare look of displeasure, wondering if something important should interrupt the interrogation.Philadelphia leaned down and whispered something in her ear.

Boston blinked his eyes, his expression was blank, and he didn't react: "I didn't hear clearly...you say it again?"

Philadelphia has straightened up.He glanced at Frankfurt, as if he was assessing the danger of the sentence being heard by him, and after coming to the conclusion that there was basically no conclusion, he said to Boston clearly and tremblingly: "Urgent call. Our president is dead." Already!"

On April 4, at dawn in Washington, D.C., lilacs and rhododendrons were blooming.Another bright spring day has come.

The special train transporting the body of the president slowly entered the train station.I still remember that 12 years ago, Roosevelt, who had just been elected president, and the new Secretary of the Treasury rode in the same car in New York, and was driven through Fifth Avenue by a motorcycle.It was snowing lightly in New York that morning, and when the president boarded a special train and arrived in warmer Washington, the weather turned to rain and snow. In the past 12 years, the presidential train has set out and returned 400 times to all parts of the country.Now that the spring flowers are in full bloom, the President is returning by train—and for the last time. 【Note 4】Demonstration was sandwiched between Washington and New York, and accompanied the former vice president who took over the presidency to greet him at the station. [Note 5] When the special train arrived, they heard the crew members who got off first talk in a low voice, saying that there were countless people sleeping on the road along the railway that the special train passed. Views from rooftops, gatherings at suburban intersections, private jets circling, and black sharecroppers kneeling in cotton fields, clasped hands stretched toward trains in mourning.Washington noticed that Demon's hand clenched secretly, his eyebrows trembled, as if he couldn't listen anymore.He pulled Demon and made the three of them stand a little further away from the flight attendant who was talking.

Except for necessary communication, the three of them rarely spoke.After staying at the station for a while, they joined the team escorting the coffin and headed for the White House according to the established route.The team is fully armed: soldiers wearing steel helmets and white gloves stand on both sides of the road, motorcycles are leading in front, a formation composed of various arms including tanks and women's service teams walks behind, and the military band plays in the middle. Funeral March" and other dirges.The gun carriage pulled by six white horses carried the coffin forward solemnly, surrounded by crowds and vehicles in the very center.In accordance with the ancient tradition of sending off fallen soldiers, the horses are blindfolded, their stirrups are hung upside down, and the commander's sword and riding boots are also hung upside down.Crowds gathered on both sides of the street to watch the black hearse pass by.During his lifetime, Roosevelt passed these streets countless times, waving fedora hats to the crowd on the street, but never once did so many people gather as today.

From time to time Washington cast a concerned glance at the looks of the crowd.Some are crying, some are watching silently, some are wringing their hands, and some are whispering to the child the meaning of the scene.Aside from mourning, the one characteristic they all shared was a sense of bewilderment.Roosevelt led the country for 12 years, brought the United States back to life from the bottom of the Great Depression in 1933, and tried his best to pull the people out of the cage of isolationism, recognizing the ugliness that was raging in the world and determined to intervene.He inherited a people whose confidence collapsed along with the economy, a country so indifferent to international affairs that it would not speak of war even if its ships were deliberately bombarded; victorious, internally energized, and, despite being endowed with extraordinary powers, he did not use it to act recklessly, trample on the constitution, and follow the path of fascism.They have long been accustomed to his governance, who can they count on now that the president is gone?

And not only because of this.The president has a high prestige among the people, but also a heart-to-heart connection.Even though they have never met, many people feel that he is like a long-standing friend who has complained about him and made fun of him, but cannot accept his sudden death.People's bewilderment is a combination of the double emotion of losing a leader and losing a friend.Washington wondered if he had the same emotion on his face, but he couldn't pull out the mirror or ask the person next to him.

There are many people, but not noisy.Not only in the capital, but the whole country is surprisingly quiet.Shops hung black cloths and theaters closed.When the guard of honor carried the coffin into the East Hall where the funeral was held, vehicles across the country stopped moving, and radios and telephones were silent.

The East Hall can only accommodate 200 people.New York can go in together with Washington and Demon, only because New York State is the hometown of the president and the place where he will be buried for the last time.After the bishop delivered the eulogy, Washington came to the altar, facing the coffin covered with the national flag, and the wheelchair used by the president was placed behind him, and said briefly: "...he is a hero in both peacetime and wartime. Without him in the White House, would we still sit here quietly, singing hymns undisturbed in a room surrounded by flowers. He strives to unite the elites from all walks of life to promote the development of the country, but also sympathizes with the poor and has a big heart. He Talented, yet self-important, it was inspired by him that we could do our best and move forward. With his passing, the United States has lost an outstanding leader, and we have lost a good teacher and friend. Franklin De In his office, Lano Roosevelt fought to the last minute. He was a fearless man, so here I hope you will remember his famous words when he took office: 'The only thing we have to fear is fear itself .' The battle is not over yet, and everyone in Whitehall and the people of the country must inherit his will and do their duty to the end. God bless us!"

After the ceremony, people left in an orderly manner.The coffin will also be reloaded on the train and sent to Hyde Park in New York for burial.Demon bid farewell first, and he had to discuss personnel issues with the new president next, so he had no time to mourn alone—his emotions seemed to have calmed down, or had been forcibly suppressed.

Washington can't help but be thankful that he has a little more freedom than Demond because of his city status.He and New York walked into the President's Office one after the other, walked around the room that was about to be cleaned out and rearranged, stopped in the lobby for a while, and turned into his own office.

As soon as New York closed its doors, Washington sat down in his chair, bowed his head, and wept.

New York didn't know what to say.He came behind Washington and put his hands on his shoulders, hoping to give him a little comfort.Roosevelt was a New Yorker who was ridiculed by his political opponents as a "Dutch Jewish New Yorker", but the most colorful and last 12 years of his burning life dedicated to the capital belonged to the capital.The mourning was naturally more intense in Washington than in New York. For 12 years, he accompanied him, assisted him, and served the country with him, but when he was not with him, he learned that he died in the southern sanatorium.The news was too unbelievable for him to accept it calmly.Before that, he had been hiding it until he couldn't bear it anymore in his office.

"It's so cold today..." Washington said.

The temperature in mid-spring is not low at all.New York responded softly, looking around and seeing that there were no suitable clothes, he took off his coat and put it on his friend.The hand that fell on his shoulder also circled around him, hugged him, and held his hand by the way.Washington was still very restrained at first, but only shed tears in a very small voice. He felt the temperature falling on his hands, and seemed to have reached a state of complete relaxation. He gradually broke down in tears and trembled all over.

"Don't worry, I'm the only one here." New York said, a strand of black hair falling down on his blue eyes, which looked at Washington with concern. "Tears are not always bad, just cry as much as you want..."

After a while, they cleaned up and went out calmly.Washington needs to stay and prepare for the new administration, and New York needs to follow the coffin back on the train to watch the burial.

Before the car door closed, New York grabbed the handle and leaned against the door, took off his top hat, and the hand holding the top hat slid in an arc, making a smooth and graceful bow to Washington on the platform.The smile on the corner of his mouth could not hide the tranquility and sadness on his whole face, but the look in his eyes was still full of confidence for tomorrow.

So Washington smiled at him too.

On the Nuremberg front, all U.S. soldiers stood in silence and lowered their flags in mourning.The flag was lowered at half-mast on Red Square in Moscow, with the flag wrapped in black.At the memorial service held in the UK, the prime minister burst into tears.London is thinking about the wording of the call to Washington. Besides "very shocked" and "extremely regrettable", what else should be said to be more useful?Berlin was listening to Goebbels chattering to him that Roosevelt's death was a good sign, and the astrology showed that they would be lucky in the second half of April. He had already told the Fuehrer, and the Fuehrer believed it very much.

Berlin thought he had listened with great patience and sent him away.

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Note 1: During the US storming of Manila, the Japanese army carried out large-scale destruction and massacres, and 70 Filipino civilians who did not evacuate