OR1-EP5: Hymn of the Bridge (10)

The series of military clashes that took place in southern Rhodesia in the first half of July are generally referred to by critics as the Sit-Down War, with neither side able to achieve a more significant advantage. Intense bombardment by the defense forces overwhelmed the rebels, and even though the rebels had higher morale and tenacity than the defense forces - they believed in the sanctity of the cause of independence - the continued deterioration of the fighting was enough to bring most of the hot-headed rebel leaders to come to their senses. In order to avoid a breach of the defense line in Matabeleland to the southwest, the rebels decided to find ways to buy time in order to wait for the Britannian Empire to intervene again. So, on the one hand, they made an insincere request for peace talks to the South African authorities, and on the other hand, they secretly sent emissaries to the Britannian Empire to plead with Emperor Charles to intervene in the war. However, the Britannian Empire could not possibly interfere in the internal problems of the EU at this time, and even if Emperor Charles wanted to intervene, he could only give some empty slogans.

Governor-general Herzog saw through the other side's tricks and hoped to make more South African citizens realize the hypocrisy of the Rhodesian rebels. With an order from the Guardian Corp's General Headquarters, the armies ceased fire for the time being, awaiting the outcome of this peace talk. However, both sides were still secretly mobilizing their troops so that their opponents would not catch a loophole when the next conflict erupted. However, although the rebellion was initiated by Rhodesia, the South African public still believed that the outbreak of the war was directly related to the officials led by Governor-general Herzog, and that the war was just one of the means they used to weaken the opposition and consolidate their power. Thus, when the Rhodesian rebels offered to negotiate, the balance of opinion carefully maintained by Governor-General Herzog was reversed, and even the military, which remained loyal to South Africa and the EU, disagreed. Many officers insisted that now that the rebels had given in, the war could be brought to a quick end if the South African authorities were willing to meet the other side's conditions (and it was assumed that the rebels would not go too far in their desperate situation).

Those who do not want the war to end like this fall into two main categories. The first were those who wanted to gain credit for the war and for whom the end of the war would be a disaster; the second thought that the Rhodesian rebels were simply stalling for time and that if the South Africans were willing to go along with the other side's actions, it would only make the war more difficult. At the time of the arrival of the representatives of the Rhodesian Free State in the Transvaal, the army was in the midst of a convention nominally organized by Governor-General Herzog, the object of which was to strengthen the army's resolve to fight to the end. Most of the officers still commanding troops at the front could not arrive in time, and they usually sent their adjutants as their representatives. Of course, there were some bolder commanders who simply let their soldiers go to the meeting instead; this meeting was not a combat meeting anyway, and what was attending was a trivial matter of irrelevance.

Michael McNeil squeezed his way into the meeting amidst a group of lieutenants, trying hard not to draw attention to his bare lapel pin before picking an out-of-the-way seat. He was just about to sit down when a lieutenant colonel walked up to him and casually sat down in the seat right next to McNeil. McNeil, seeing that the officers around him had already found a good seat, could only helplessly retreat to his chosen seat.

The lieutenant colonel caught a glimpse of McNeil's collar insignia and asked tentatively:

"Are you here for the meeting in place of the chief?"

"Sort of; the chief is at the front and can't get back." McNeil yawned, he had always had insomnia these days and was in poor spirits.

"So, what is your current position in the Defense Force?" The Lieutenant Colonel looked at McNeil's sleeve again, and noticed that the place for the armband was also empty - indicating that McNeil was a new recruit who hadn't been in the army for long. This fact disconcerted the lieutenant colonel a little; it was negligent to allow a new recruit to come to a meeting that was supposed to be attended by a senior officer.

"To be precise, it's to be a fire team leader because there aren't enough non-commissioned officers." McNeil looked at the ribbon on Lieutenant Colonel uniform where the right breast was located, and he was surprised to find in it the blue and white striped decoration marking Siberian Frontier Service Experience. Siberia had been a disaster for the likes of Colonel Duttmann, in fact being sent there was tantamount to losing all prospects. There was no difference between Adalbert's and Smilas's views on the subject, neither of them wanted to go to Siberia to guard a logistical base or face the millions of troops of the Chinese Federation.

Several officers were testing equipment in front of them, and the audience below was whispering, all discussing war-related elements. The Governor-general had not yet arrived, and the first officer of the Guardian Corp's General Command was likewise absent, and the seat at the front was still empty.

"You used to work in Siberia?"

"Yes. After graduating from the military academy, I volunteered to go to Siberia." The Lieutenant Colonel smiled and pointed to the ornament on his chest, "As you can probably see ... I mean, I believe that the biggest threat the EU faces comes from the east, either the Chinese Federation or the Britannian Empire could invade from Siberia, and guarding Siberia is guarding the United Republics' gate. "

"The Britannian Empire could attack from the Atlantic as well." McNeil offered a different view.

"They couldn't do it; the EU's navy would send them all to the bottom of the ocean to feed the fish."

The two men exchanged a few comments about the problems in Siberia and South Africa. The Army Lieutenant Colonel who called himself Romero Barclay, who was new to McNeil's views, said that this time he had come all the way from Siberia to South Africa to serve as an advisor to the Defense Forces in order to see what level of combat power these Rhodesian rebels suspected of being manipulated by the Britannian Empire really possessed. Judging only from the performance of both sides so far, the Defense Force is even less capable than expected, and they have been able to overwhelm the rebels only by air power and numerical superiority. Lt. Col. Barclay further surmised that if the attack on the African colonies had been by the regular armies of other nations, the EU National Defense Force would have been powerless to resist.

"So, what do you think the Governor-general should do?"

"Be tough to the end and not give in no matter what the cost." Lt. Colonel Barclay waved his fist, "Our enemies must be convinced that invading the EU is suicide. If we cower, they'll think we're weak and vulnerable ... By then, even if we're able to defeat the enemy, we'll have paid many unnecessary sacrifices."

While they were still talking, Governor-general Herzog silently appeared in front of the crowd. Unlike the usual image of an old gentleman wearing a suit and holding a walking stick, today's Governor-general wore a military coat with a striking silver double-headed eagle symbol on his hat. This outfit made him instantly majestic, and even Lieutenant General Wood, who was accompanying the Governor-general, instantly became shorter. There had been multiple generals in the Herzog family, and it would make sense if Jacob Herzog would bring out the old uniform of any of his relatives to wear. The Governor-general stepped up to the podium and motioned for the other generals to sit in the chairs behind the podium, scrutinizing the young officers, who were rambling about the meeting, from under their black-rimmed glasses.

" Je vous remercie tous d'avoir pris le temps, malgré votre emploi du temps chargé, de venir au Transvaal pour cette réunion impopulaire ... Je sais ce que les citoyens des rues et des ruelles disent de moi. " The Governor-general sighed as he held out his right hand and flipped through his speech, his tone stern as he chided the officers who weren't there, " Selon la sécurité, un certain nombre d'entre vous sont venus à la réunion à la place de leurs propres officiers. Espérons qu'ils se battent en première ligne et qu'ils ne plongent pas la tête la première dans un bordel. "

The crude but effective analogy caused a burst of laughter. After the laughter subsided, the meeting officially began. The Governor-general returned to his seat and motioned for the heads of the defense forces to come forward and reflect on the widespread defections that had occurred prior to the outbreak of the war. These moralistic generals were forced by the Governor-general to reluctantly conduct their review, repeatedly criticizing flaws that they did not know if they existed in themselves or in the structure of the army. They simply did not consider them worthy of attention and would never have realized what mistakes they had made had the Governor-general himself not ordered them to do so.

No, they don't recognize it even now.

In his summary report, Lt. Gen. Wood said that the defections before the war and the low morale that occurred in the midst of the war could generally be summed up as a lack of clear purpose on the part of the soldiers. As an example, he cited the fact that it was clearly Rhodesia under the control of the African Britannians (at this point he made a point of looking back at the Governor, who appeared to be nodding off) that had defied the laws of the EU and started the rebellion, yet there were those who had thus far believed that the war had been started by Governor-General Herzog for his own selfish reasons. To those people, the rebels are not the aggressors, but the victims. Without being able to eliminate that thought, without eliminating that voice, there was no way to stop that philosophy, which was not conducive to quelling the rebellion, from infecting more soldiers, thus making the length and cruelty of the war increase, which in turn proved the absurdity of those people's viewpoints.

Looking down at the drowsy officers, Lieutenant-General Wood, with a grim face, came to the Governor-general's side and whispered a few words to him. A few moments later, the pumped-up Governor-general rejoined the podium, and pointing in a random direction, said:

" Je n'ai pas besoin que vous écoutiez ici comme des écoliers ... S'il vous plaît, levez-vous et dites ce que vous pensez de cette question. "

Lt. Col. Romero Barclay was too busy to stand up and salute, and he was glad that the Governor-general had chosen him and not someone else to answer. Anyone else would have embarrassed the Governor-general on the spot, and the consequences would have been unimaginable then.

Compared to his fellow officers, who were surrounded by a twilight zone, Lieutenant Colonel Barclay appeared to be a fighter. None of the young officers who were able to volunteer to go to a bitterly cold place like Siberia to guard the frontier were hoping to muddle through; they all harbored the determination to defend their citizens and their country by virtue of their abilities.

"À mon avis, la rébellion rhodésienne est un acte d'hostilité totale. " Lt. Col. Buckley held up three fingers, " Premièrement, les Britanniques africains ont ouvertement incité à la violence en Rhodésie, encourageant dès le début à blesser et même à assassiner les opposants, un acte qui dépassait les limites de la liberté en vertu du droit communautaire ; en revanche, les autorités sud-africaines ont fait preuve de retenue et n'ont pas ordonné de tirer sur des citoyens légitimes avant que la guerre n'ait réellement commencé. ... "

Indeed they did, as it was the Scots who were responsible for the movement of weapons, and who now remain in the Transvaal to continue to confront the citizens who took to the streets. Knowing the Governor-general's weaknesses, Lt. Col. Barclay deliberately avoided them and spoke only of the rebels' shortcomings. The other officers below were convinced, especially when Lt. Col. Barclay brought up the fact that the slavery that still existed in practice in the Britannian Empire (legal slavery was abolished a long time ago) enslaved the whites as well, and the fear within the crowd was finally awakened. While some of the men joked on a regular basis about fantasizing that they could become spendthrift nobles in Britannia, they knew that their fate was probably to be slaves to be ridden around by the nobility and driven around at will.

The Governor-general spotted McNeil sitting beside Lt. Col. Barclay, and without moving, he returned to the microphone, coughed a few times, and waved Lt. Col. Barclay to sit down.

" ... Très bien, je veux que vous compreniez ceci : les rebelles visent plus que l'indépendance de la Rhodésie. " The Governor-general coughed a few more times before managing to get out a continuous sentence, " Imaginez, s'il vous plaît, que même si nous acceptons miséricordieusement leurs conditions, comment gouverneront-ils la Rhodésie en utilisant uniquement des Britanniens ? Ces chiens enragés sont déjà sur le point de chasser les habitants d'origine indigène et, le moment venu, auront-ils encore besoin de Britanniens africains pour occuper ces professions inférieures ? Ils sont obligés de continuer à faire la guerre pour que leurs mensonges soient complets. Tant qu'il y aura d'autres esclaves dans la société de Britannia, ces travailleurs acharnés qui ne sont pas différents des esclaves se considéreront comme supérieurs et en seront fiers. "

It was strange to say that Governor-General Herzog had never actually lived in the Britannian Empire, yet he seemed to know the state of the Britannian Empire like the back of his hand. Perhaps the Britannians who had immigrated to the EU had maintained similar lifestyles and cultural traditions for so long that Governor-General Herzog was able to easily project the contemporary realities of the Britannian Empire.

" ... Les slogans des rebelles rhodésiens sont incendiaires. " The Governor-general was still reading from a script at the podium, " Ils diront que cette rébellion a pour but de réclamer leur droit d'aînesse, de devenir de vrais Britanniens. C'est pourquoi les rebelles ont pillé presque ouvertement, et la plus grande chose que les soldats retirent de la guerre, c'est le butin lui-même. Ils ont réussi à motiver leurs soldats avec ce stratagème, mais le problème est que nous ne pouvons pas choisir cette approche qui va à l'encontre du but recherché. Je le répète, la rébellion rhodésienne est un prélude à l'invasion de l'empire britannique, et le but ultime de Britannia est de faire de nous tous des esclaves. Pensez-vous que cette guerre n'est qu'une lutte pour le pouvoir ? Non, personne ne sera épargné à la fin de la guerre, et l'Empire britannien ne décidera pas de faire preuve de clémence juste parce que vous n'avez pas rejoint l'armée pour vous battre contre eux ..."

Most people didn't believe that the Britannian Empire could interfere in the internal affairs of the EU, there was no way that the empire, which seemed unable to stop its own continued decline, could be capable of influencing the war.

The meeting went back and forth for a few hours and finally ended with another lecture from the Governor-general. Governor-general Herzog left the podium, assisted by several other officers, and made his way towards McNeil. The other officers around the room were surprised to see the Governor-general make a special trip to see a common soldier who was suspected of coming to the meeting in place of his chief. They immediately made way for the Governor-general while observing the two men's every move.

"Where is Adalbert?"

"On a mission, everything is going well." McNeil, seeing that there were too many spectators around him, lest he give away the information, had to go with this perfunctory description to dampen their curiosity.

The Governor-general said nothing, but simply headed for the exit. McNeil followed him, not moving an inch, which put the Governor-general's bodyguards to shame. If this youth was a secret agent who had come specifically to assassinate the Governor-general, South Africa would be in chaos.

"This is an opportunity for the rebels to negotiate, but we won't stop and neither will the rebels. I think his colonel, who is keen on meritocracy, will look for an opportunity to create favorable conditions for himself, as is humanly possible." The Governor-general's condition looked poor; he might have been overworked, or he might simply have suddenly shown the frail side of old age.

Escorted by the crowd, the Governor-general left the venue and got into another black limousine that McNeil had never seen before, escorted by a large number of bodyguards and soldiers in front and behind. The Governor-general invited McNeil to ride away with him, and McNeil was going to refuse, but he didn't want to stay and face the questions of the other officers, so he finally agreed.

"Has His Excellency been too tired lately?"

"Yes, His Excellency the Governor-general works until the morning ... every day," the driver in front of him said with worry in his tone, "we are sometimes worried that he is- "

"I'm fine, I don't need you guys to worry." The Governor-general suddenly coughed again, and the secretary at the side hurriedly handed him a bottle of water, "McNeil, since you've come back this time, you might as well finish things before you leave." The Governor-general's cloudy eyes looked at the parade of people on the street, "When this play-acting negotiation is over, the real test has just begun."

"The citizens will someday realize that we are indeed protecting their interests."

"... Someday?" The Governor-general laughed bitterly for a few moments, "They'll only understand when we're dead."

Governor-General Herzog ordered McNeil to be let off halfway across the street, and McNeil waited until the car stopped before realizing that this was Old Jack's temporary home.

"To get you out of your worries, we've sent someone specifically to take care of all the other problems." The Governor-general pointed to the crates at the door, "And today, you put him on a plane to Paris, and then you can get on with your mission unencumbered."

"Thanks."

"No need to thank me, I just want you to be dead set on continuing your work."

The convoy left in a huff, leaving McNeil looking around. He hesitantly made his way to the door just as he saw Old Jake cleaning up the trash on the stairs. McNeil rushed up and grabbed the sweeping tool from the old man's hand and quickly threw out all the trash. Only after completing this task did he help the old man back into his room and make small talk with him. After McNeil's departure, Governor-General Herzog's staff quickly took over all matters related to the move, and they were responsible for contacting the moving company and other related organizations, and old Jake suddenly became a dispensable man. The old man, who had been busy all his life, felt overwhelmed, and he had to force himself to do some chores. He was almost eighty years old, and unlike young people he could not have a multitude of recreational programs in his free time.

"They are still doing a good job, aren't they?"

"Of course ... Alas, at first I could not believe that His Excellency, the Governor-general of South Africa, would make a point of sending someone to serve a little man like me." The old man joined McNeil in looking at the empty old residence, "It's all because of you. You've done so much for the Governor-general, and the Governor-general is certainly looking out for you ..."

"No, it's your luck." McNeil said gently to the old man, "If you hadn't won the lottery, you wouldn't have had the chance to realize your dream of settling in Europe."

"Yes, luck ... God is not fair, what is the use of Him giving me luck at this time?" The old man looked sad, "If I had possessed so much wealth twenty years earlier ..."

McNeil did not know how to comfort the old man, but had to accompany the old Jake to sit together in the doorway and chat. Occasionally other residents passed by, and they all looked at the old man with a slight sense of awe - they had always seen a group of mysterious people in black suits doing errands for this old man lately, so perhaps the old man had found his long-lost powerful relative.

"... McNeil, I'll be honest with you, I don't want the millions if the luck can be used elsewhere." The old man wiped his tears, looking very pitiful, "When I first won the lottery, I was so happy that I almost went crazy. Now, what about now, the more I think about it, the more sad I am, I just want all my family back ... Christ can bring the dead back to life, can he bring my family back to life too?"

Even more ironic than being utterly destitute is the sudden possession of great wealth at a time when money has lost all value for itself. Old Jake had one foot in the coffin, and money could not make him healthier or give his failing body more service, but could only give him a comparatively decent death in the envious eyes of others. Young people can get a lot of pleasure with money, and old people want to, but their bodies no longer allow them to do that.

McNeil thought of the beggars who died in the streets unnoticed. Old Jake was much luckier than they were, and I'm sure the old man himself knew it. However, this kind of luck could not bring satisfaction to the old man in the end, life had taken too much from him and turned him into a living dead man, even if he got rich overnight what was the use?

"Don't you worry, when the war is over, I will go to Paris to take care of you." McNeil said firmly, "I'm a man who never goes back on his word."

Around five in the afternoon, McNeil sent the old man to the airport. He was afraid that the old man would have an accident on the way, so he specially requested those staff members arranged by the Governor-general to accompany the old man to Paris. In the end, two able-bodied bodyguards took over the task, and they traveled to Paris on the same flight as the old man.

The old man walked to the airport security lane, suddenly turned around, stumbled and ran to McNeil who was watching him from behind, and said urgently in a pleading tone:

"Just come to Paris!"

"Surely I will go." McNeil drew the timepiece from his pocket, on which he saw that there were about two months or so left to run, "I have hired some hands there who will take care of you in my stead until I return."

McNeil watched the old man disappear at the end of the security lane, turned his head ruefully, and set off on his way back to his temporary lodgings. He had fulfilled one of his wishes, and the difficulties he faced were not diminished by it.

TBC

Chapter Notes：

Citizens of the EU may not realize how important freedom is until it is truly and completely taken away.

Poor Barclay, his Sixth Corp almost inexplicably lost to overhyped single combatants.