OR1-EP5: Hymn of the Bridge (1)

"You've been lying here for two days, why don't ... you go to the hospital?" Old Jake carefully made a suggestion to McNeil.

Michael McNeil was lying on the bed in boredom, he was able to lie motionless from morning to midnight - except for the fact that he would leave during meals and toilet breaks, he was simply behaving like a paralyzed patient in bed. Old Jake Land was worried about McNeil's behavior, and he wondered what made McNeil suddenly become depressed, which might have something to do with the war that had just recently broken out. All along, Governor-general Herzog and his staff and cohorts had carefully maintained a balance, not wanting to offend any party, but the situation had forced them to abandon this neutrality, and the consequence of Governor-general Herzog's choice of natives was that he would have to face the wrath from the African Britannians. War had broken out, and the generals of the EU Defense Force rushed forward to fight against their brothers and sisters, who had been their compatriots yesterday.

"I feel like I've done a lot of pointless things." McNeil muttered, "Eventually, the worst has come to pass. For the past few days, I've been wondering if the outcome would have been different if I had done nothing from the beginning." He turned his head and looked at the old man who was full of kindness with a dull gaze, "Then, I said to myself, the final result is still like what it is now ... no difference."

No one can really like war. The famous military commanders McNeil knew all wanted to usher in an era of peace in their own hands, and for that reason they did not hesitate to be accused of being doves and appeasers, just to leave a better tomorrow for future generations. Some have paid the price for their unprincipled concessions, but others would have made the same judgment if they had been put in their place. One cannot appreciate that weakness and cowardice without bleeding a generation dry. McNeil didn't have that mercy, he had always advocated the most resolute means to eliminate all hidden dangers, which was perhaps the main reason why he had never been able to become GDI's number one man in the military.

"I wonder how many more children will lose their parents." McNeil sat up from his bed in a low tone, he picked up the glass of water that was sitting on the bedside table and found it empty, so he walked straight to the bathroom to refill it.

"These people!" Old Jack's mind must have been facing torment, "What the hell are they thinking? What's the benefit of starting a war? Even if we win ... hmmm, it's not an adventure story, can winning solve the problem?"

"People who believe in conspiracy theories don't think this much." McNeil raised his head and drained the cool water in his cup, "They pride themselves on being free people who can think independently, but in reality, they're just echoing worms who can only repeat their godfather's words. Most people in the world are like that, which is why our EU almost turned into something worse than the Britannian Empire back in the day."

A few days earlier, upon returning to the Transvaal, which was the ruling center of South Africa, McNeil had immediately handed over all the material to Governor-general Herzog. The Governor-general was overjoyed at the sight of the material and hastened to order the launching of a public opinion campaign against the African Britannians on this basis. At the same time, the Governor-general ordered those members of the Assembly who remained loyal to him to counterattack in the Colonial Assembly, making sure that the Colonial Assembly would be powerless to interfere with the Governor's actions. The counterattack came so swiftly that the various colonial assemblies chose to remain silent in the face of votes and bayonets; they certainly didn't want to waste their lives for the sake of a nebulous name. However, Governor-general Herzog was ultimately unable to convince the African Britannians' top men to come and surrender themselves, and they still chose the last form of resistance - armed rebellion. No one knows if it was an illusion, but McNeil always thought that the Governor-general himself was happy to see this situation.

"You did your best." The Governor-General made a summary of McNeil's work after the event, "If you still wish to contribute in your own way to the defense of South Africa, you are always welcome to continue to devote yourself to this campaign."

"I think I should do it the best way I know how." McNeil made his attitude clear to the Governor-general, "As a matter of fact, before I left for Rhodesia, I had already given Major Herzog my application form for enlistment in the army."

The Governor-general was not surprised to hear this. McNeil was a soldier and combat expert rather than a businessman and politician, and he should certainly intervene in the midst of strife with what he really had to offer.

"You should think about it ... that way, your status in the army will be that of a conscripted common soldier." Governor-general Herzog hinted that McNeil could continue to utilize his talents in an unofficial capacity, but McNeil looked as if he had made up his mind to go straight to war. This war would only profit bystanders, and ending it sooner would be good news for the entire EU, as well as minimizing the damage it would cause to its citizens. Governor-general Herzog, of course, saw what McNeil was capable of militarily, and thought that McNeil should obtain a position where he could maximize his abilities without having to go into the army as a common soldier - soldiers were just expendable in war.

McNeil remembered his arrangements before he went on his assassination mission to Rhodesia and spoke frankly in reply:

"When Adalbert goes to that house to gather up the clutter I left behind, he should find part of the manuscript I wrote, my take on the war. Perhaps the Major has given the manuscript to you, or you may subsequently inquire of him personally about it. If you think my ideas have merit, then you will naturally be able to drive the corresponding military commanders to deploy them along such strategic lines ..."

The Governor-general listened to McNeil's description and somewhat blamed McNeil for his trespass. He did hope that McNeil would be able to advise them, and McNeil, by virtue of this means, declared to the Governor-general that he had done all his work as a staffer, and whether or not to adopt it and how to implement it was a matter for the Governor-general himself. In this way, the Governor-general had little reason to prevent McNeil from entering the war, and since the young man was so eager to rush into battle, he let him go.

However, McNeil realized later that he had been careless - Adalbert Herzog had rolled up everything he had left behind in his temporary quarters. It was fortunate that he hadn't written anything down that would have aroused enough suspicion, or he would have destroyed with his own hands all that he had been working on for months. It was not for him to interfere with how the army was judging the current situation and fighting the rebels. As a soldier, his job was to do his duty on the battlefield, and the rest had nothing to do with him. Right now, he just needed to wait for the notice and the right time in order to run to the battlefield.

Old Jake rightly objected, and the old man was adamant that McNeil should not go to war. He said that, judging from the overall situation, the South African colony and the EU behind it had an overwhelming advantage, and the rebels blockaded inland were bound to fail no matter how much they fought, and that having or not having McNeil among the South African defense forces would not affect the final outcome. It seems that the old man was still living in the shadow of the World War, and he was ashamed to believe that any war was a holocaust rather than an opportunity for the ordinary citizen. There was no doubt that it was through the war that McNeil had had a different life, and he sometimes even suspected that he was the war monger that his detractors claimed he was.

"You needn't worry." McNeil graciously explained to the old man, "I'll soon have you sent to Europe itself for a better life in Paris! You have given everything to the EU, now it is the turn of my generation to make a little sacrifice."

The old man tried to explain to McNeil that there were some things that could not simply be summarized in terms of dedication and sacrifice. However, McNeil's attitude was unusually resolute, and the old man was unable to convince him, leaving him to do other preparations as he pleased. For several days McNeil kept a constant eye on the reports of the battle in the north, and was anxious to learn the true strength of the defense and rebel forces. Nominally, South Africa would be supported in all its actions by the EU; however, as long as things did not get completely out of hand, the EU or neighboring colonies would not intervene in South African affairs at all. South Africa must destroy these traitors alone with its own forces, or all of Governor-general Herzog's calculations would be in vain.

McNeil found a few references to the military situation at the front from the piles of newspapers, carefully comparing the differences between them, trying to find the most accurate information.

"When are you going into battle?"

"It's going to be a while; at the moment they haven't even informed me when I'm going to have my medical examination." McNeil found that different newspapers were describing the same military issue differently, and that perhaps each newspaper was intentionally covering up some of the real information, or else their direct sources (certain insiders) were themselves false.

Prior to the start of the war, the EU's armed ground forces in South Africa consisted mainly of the Guardian Corp and the Defense Force. The Guardian Corp 's main job used to be to fight off the natives who threatened the security of the colony, and they only needed to be able to deal with localized military conflicts of a general magnitude. Prior to the rebellion, the active forces of the Guardian Corp totaled four infantry divisions and one armored division, with about three divisions in reserve, scattered throughout South Africa. These areas had previously been established as separate local colonial establishments by different batches of colonizers, and the original colonies retained a degree of autonomy after the loosely organized colonies were consolidated into South Africa. As a result, the police force has a considerable degree of local autonomy, with soldiers basically recruited only from the corresponding Guardian districts.

The South African Defense Force (SADF), on the other hand, is part of the National Defense Force (NDF) of the United Republics of Europa (URE), and totals about six divisions. Of these, three divisions are under local South African command, and these include two armored divisions and one infantry division; the other three divisions are only subject to transfer from mainland Europe, and are more elite airborne regiments compared to South Africa's local army. Considering the fact that South Africa had not faced a foreign enemy for a long time, rumors spread that these airborne units were created to keep an eye on South Africa in order to prevent the colony from rebelling against the European mainland. However, another fact that could not be ignored was that the entire armed forces of South Africa were nominally under the command of the Commander-in-Chief of the Guardian Corp, which meant that even politicians who wished to interfere could not openly impede the operational plans of the Commander-in-Chief of the Guardian Corp. Therefore, the Commander-in-Chief of the Guardian Corp, Lt. General Wood, decided to send airborne troops to raid all parts of Rhodesia at the first opportunity, in an attempt to completely cut off the links between the major cities of Rhodesia where the rebellion was taking place. However, compared to the reliability of the Defense Force and Airborne Corps, which were mainly dispatched from Europe, before and after the rebellion, the mutiny and rebellion of the Guardian Corp led to the loss of Lt. General Wood's prestige, and he could only rely on his own status to persuade those commanders to carry out the orders, and the attitude of those officers was often very negative. After the outbreak of the war, the response of the units was slow, and the intelligence services did not figure out the real situation of the rebels until a week later, by which time the Airborne Corps had already begun to carry out raids.

Michael McNeil approached Adalbert Herzog on the third day after the medical examination, and the unit to which the latter belonged had not yet been given the order to strike, and was currently stuck in Bechuanaland waiting to be mobilized. Bechuanaland was one of the regions closest to Rhodesia, and the local population was panicked to the core, all fearing that the unrelenting rebels would come here and destroy their peaceful lives.

"I have good news for you." Adalbert, dressed in civilian clothes, met with McNeil at a street-side drinking establishment, "If nothing else, you will probably be integrated into our unit, under the command of Lieutenant Heinz Meyer to be exact."

"He's not an adjutant anymore?" McNeil asked suspiciously.

"The war has begun, and it is more promising to be a commander." Adalbert looked absentmindedly at the people who were putting up propaganda posters on the side of the road. Despite the fact that he was a soldier who was about to meet the rebels in a knife fight, he was not enthusiastic about such propaganda, and even considered similar gestures redundant. McNeil agrees with this view and further adds that the people who designed the posters lacked basic aesthetic literacy and agitation skills.

It was logical that newly enlisted soldiers should undergo a period of training before being integrated into combat units. McNeil didn't want to waste time on that part, and Adalbert, with whom he had become friends, didn't want McNeil to spend months of his life getting trained - and maybe the war was over when the training phase was over. Fortunately, South Africa, which had long faced armed indigenous attacks, had an abundance of reliable citizens who could quickly become soldiers, often in armed militias or similar organizations. With Adalbert's status, it only took a little intervention in a few of these to get McNeil logically integrated into a combat unit.

McNeil was a self-disciplined man, and Adalbert was no exception. One of them was a veteran who had already had a decades-long military career, and the other was an up-and-coming officer who believed that a new world war was bound to happen in his lifetime. When Adalbert learns of McNeil's wishes, he, like his father, wants McNeil to serve the EU in some other way. And when he realized that McNeil's mind could not be easily changed, he switched tactics and decided to make McNeil his direct helper. He believed that such a wise and brave combat expert could help him stay alive on the battlefield.

There were sounds of fighting coming from the street, and it looked like some people with opposing views were brawling.

"What is my job?"

"Training those real recruits." Adalbert laughed, "Don't get paranoid because of the last defeat. Let's also not be fooled by the media ... In fact, even within the army, many people do not have a strong will to fight, believing that there is still a peaceful path available in this matter, and that the war is just a dishonorable tactic that His Excellency, the Governor-general, is resorting to in order to retain his power."

Adalbert sometimes addressed his father as Governor-general and sometimes as Father, depending on his mood. The relationship between this father and son was aloof but close, close but with a rusty edge. McNeil was curious about it, but only at the stage of curiosity. He was not at liberty to pay attention to other people's family affairs, and the privacy of others was ultimately not something that outsiders should know about.

Several young men in long-sleeved shirts entered the drinking establishment, handing out flyers to the customers inside. McNeil watched their movements and was about to go forward to find out what was going on when Adalbert stopped him. A short while later, one of the youths approached them and inquired in a smug tone:

"Citizens, do you know who is really behind this rebellion?"

Both men did not say anything, they coldly watched these people continue to perform.

"Some say it's the Britannians ..." Seeing the two men's expressionless faces, the youths were a bit deflated, but continued with the lines they had already prepared, "... ...all wrong! Citizens, these demons who have started wars around the world are the sons and daughters of Mount Zion. Between the last few hundred years, they have secretly taken control of the entire world and are trying to-"

"If they control the world, how did they let you know?" McNeil retorted abruptly, "I've never heard of ambitious people who control the world being stupid enough to let ordinary citizens know the details of it."

Hearing the noise coming from this side of the room, several other youths in uniform cuffs gathered around, looking like they were coming for a bad reason. Unperturbed, Adalbert watched with interest as McNeil debated with these ne'er-do-well youths, sitting himself down and ordering another glass of juice.

"You should read more, my friend." A taller youth standing to McNeil's right said in a good-natured manner, "Like-"

"That kind of crap? I can write ten books a day and in more detail." McNeil scoffed; he'd seen more than ten times as many conspiracies in the GDI than the fictions told in those trashy reads, and sometimes he himself had been a participant or even a mastermind in them. Having seen real conspiracies, McNeil no longer believes anything like that, and he knows how those conspiracies work in ways that no ordinary person can even begin to imagine every aspect of them.

The greatest enemy to South Africa at the present time was the African Britons who had raised their arms in open rebellion before their eyes; these men would not lay down their arms and surrender, and only the complete destruction of their organization and armament could compel them to yield. Any attempt to divert South Africa's energies from the matter of quelling the rebellion was nothing short of treachery, and McNeil despised these delusional men who could not see reality for that reason. They lived in a dream, blinded by false only words, trying to get the world to join them in hating a non-existent enemy.

"Adalbert, check out." McNeil passed a wink at Major Herzog.

"... Everything you see has been tampered with by them." The youth immediately behind McNeil was not dead set on it, "They dominated all academic and public opinion, just to deliberately-"

"I said, I've seen your mother in a brothel in the Britannian Empire." McNeil turned back and threw down an insult. The youth's face flushed red, and as if he had been struck by a great blow, his whole body recoiled backward, not stopping until his waist hit the table. The youth raised his right hand and stammered, pointing at McNeil:

"Why have you started cursing?"

McNeil didn't pay any attention to him at all, just calculating the price with Adalbert. Only when Adalbert took out the bills from his belt pouch and handed them to the cashier did McNeil turn his head to look at the youths with their various expressions and replied with a sneer:

"No, I'm describing the facts. I did in fact once meet your biological mothers and fathers in a brothel in the Britannian Empire, and if you insist that this is not true, it only means that your parents covered it up well." He assumed a pained look, "Alas, you have been hoodwinked!"

The mockery of that statement could not have been more obvious. Adalbert Herzog rolled up his sleeves, ready to strike. He had encountered similar people before, and when they lost an argument or became irritated, they often chose to resort to forceful means to solve their problems. Unluckily, they had run into a real fighting expert today, and a soldier with dozens of lives on his hands and a license to legally kill.

The crowd swarmed around them, ready to teach these two unknowing peers a lesson. Adalbert raised a side chair and slammed it down hard on the lead youth, sending him sprawling on his back and rolling on the floor. McNeil jumped up, bracing himself against the counter, and kicked the second man square in the face, several front teeth flying out instantly. A few minutes later, when the police patrolling the neighborhood caught wind of the incident, they were greeted by McNeil and Adalbert, who were stomping the other man to the ground and screaming for him to be tied up.

"Tough luck guys, these guys are promoting hateful ideas and violating a new ordinance that was recently enacted." Adalbert showed the police his credentials, "Please deal with them according to the relevant regulations and show them what an iron fist means."

There is perhaps only one person in the whole of South Africa with the last name of Herzog and who has the audacity to beat people up in the street. The police obviously realized this and they were busy sending Adalbert and McNeil out before deciding to arrest the snot-nosed youths.

"I can't imagine there's a market for this kind of talk." McNeil was somewhat bemused.

"People are just so marvelous, with unpredictable upper and lower limits." Adalbert felt equally powerless.

TBC