By the time Marshall's plane arrived over New York under the protection of eight P-47s, the sun had risen high and was shining on the ground very clearly. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo

"Your Excellency, we are in the skies over New York, and the enemy planes seem to have retreated." The pilot turned his head and reminded Marshall that he was initially apprehensive about the operation, but the big man insisted on coming, and he could not refuse, but fortunately the Japanese or the Germans still knew a little bit of proportion, and they retreated so quickly.

"Lower some altitude so I can see better." Marshall's voice was hoarse, and he was almost tired of being human.

The adjutant kindly persuaded him: "Sir, the scene is a little ugly, you have to hold on, the United States and the army can't live without you now!" ”

Although he was mentally prepared, when Marshall looked at the city he once knew so well from the sky, he stood up from his position in shock, and slapped the porthole of the plane in gaffe, and he could hardly contain himself in pain:

The towering Empire State Building collapsed;

The Chrysler Building, which survived the disaster, was crumbling, and clouds of black smoke were rising upwards;

Rockefeller Center, Fifth Avenue, Times Square and other most prosperous areas of New York are full of rubble and devastation, as if they were the scene after the earthquake;

The Statue of Liberty, the symbol of the American spirit, was broken into several pieces and scattered on the ground;

Even the bridges over the East River in New York are visible only remnants of reinforced concrete and empty piers – as if to remind people that there were once two bridges that have been called the world's engineering wonders;

There was chaos everywhere on Long Island and in the harbor......

Is this still New York? Is this still the economic and cultural center that Americans are proud of?

He closed his eyes in agony, tears on his face, unable to utter a word.

When the plane landed at the airport, only some middle-level officials of the city government came to greet them, and the city defense commander and the mayor did not come, and the people at the scene were panicked and almost wanted to cry: the city defense commander suddenly suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and was rescued in the hospital, and the mayor of New York went to the front line to direct the rescue.

Thomas Dewey, the current governor of New York and a Republican, rushed to the scene, and after seeing Marshall, his face was very gloomy: "Your Excellency Chief of Staff, I have just arrived from the disaster area, and I have a casual understanding of the scene, the situation is very bad, I need an explanation, and the more than 8 million people in New York need an explanation!" ”

"I am deeply saddened by the fact that any justifications and explanations are pale after witnessing the present situation...... "Marshall pondered his words as he pondered how to deal with these problems.

Everyone knew that Dewey was President Roosevelt's biggest and most powerful rival in politics, and that the news that he was going to run for the next president of the United States had been released; after receiving the news of the attack on New York City, he galloped from Albany, the seat of the New York State government, faster than Marshall, who had rushed from Washington, to get a more comprehensive understanding of the overall attack.

Marshall was not a politician, but he was politically savvy, and he knew very well that this was the time when New Yorkers were at their most agitated, and he must not try to shirk his responsibilities -- that would be adding fuel to the fire, but he could not do everything that would be detrimental to winning the hearts of the people in New York and would be detrimental to preserving President Roosevelt's popularity. And after Dewey's arrival, a large group of reporters rushed to hear the news, and any imprudent answers would be amplified without limit. When the reporters saw that Marshall was also at the scene, they immediately began a barrage of questions:

"Mr. Dewey, what is the current casualty situation? What do you think about this attack? ”

"General Marshall, have we made a plan of revenge, have we set out to eliminate these aggressors?"

Dewey was angry, but he still maintained enough restraint, turned his head and said: "The state government and the city government are currently devoting all their energy to the rescue, and we promise that we will do our best to rescue any person and not give up any front-line possibility." I hope that the media will report more on the brutality of the enemy, on the bravery of the National Guard and the New York police, on our efforts to overcome the difficulties caused by the attack, and on all sectors of society to provide adequate assistance to the people who have been attacked. ”

"I've heard that army planes have searched for the invading enemy, can we find the enemy and sink it?" When a reporter asked, everyone turned their eyes to Marshall, hoping for an affirmative answer.

If he had been asked in the past, Marshall would have rejected it with "military secrets," but he knew that if he had nothing to explain now, he was afraid that the media would not be able to pass the hurdle in the first place, but he did not dare to guarantee that he would be able to find the enemy and deal a sufficient blow -- before the departure, Arnold, the commander-in-chief of the Army Aviation, had already hinted at the lack of troops, that it would be very difficult to carry out a counterattack, and hoped that he would not have too high expectations.

Marshall thought for a moment and prevaricated with a clever sentence: "We have mobilized the maximum available forces at present, and the follow-up planes are still coming." ”

Dewey frowned, he is a politician, of course he can hear what this sentence means, but he does not intend to expose the other party's tricks, he clearly knows: if the election campaign wants to be successful, it is better not to have a stiff relationship with a military top brass like Marshall, it will not be beneficial at all. But not offending Marshall does not mean that Roosevelt cannot be offended - if he wants to win the trust of the people and build his image, he must show a different idea in front of the media than the current administration, and today is an ideal occasion.

"After this incident, what considerations and deployments does Washington have for homeland security?" Dewey said slowly, "New York is just the beginning, the enemy can come to bomb New York today, and tomorrow and the day after tomorrow can come to bomb Washington, Boston, and Philadelphia...... The United States has a long coastline, and we cannot allow the people to live in fear, and we must build an adequate and robust defense system. ”

Marshall didn't hear his subtext, and nodded subconsciously: "Of course." ”

"I have to regret to say that President Roosevelt's current approach to war is completely wrong." As soon as these words came out, all the reporters became excited—the first politician to openly criticize the president with enough weight that they immediately pricked up their ears to listen.

Marshall's brow furrowed and he felt that he had unwittingly fallen into the mutual attacks of politicians and the antagonism between the two parties.

"He sent a lot of supplies to Britain and Russia, but he neglected to protect his own people, and our greatest enemy was first of all Japan, and then Germany -- it was the Japanese Combined Fleet that attacked us at Pearl Harbor, it was they who took the Philippines, it was they who destroyed our land forces in the Indian Ocean, it was they who destroyed the canal in Panama not long ago, and the Germans, although they had a large army, although they occupied most of Europe, they were not really a great threat to the United States. At such a grim moment, we should first strengthen our own defense system, instead of sending the anti-aircraft guns, warships, and aircraft that we have worked so hard to produce to Britain for vain. In a word, the policy of Europe first and then Asia is a huge mistake! ”

Marshall couldn't take it anymore and immediately retorted: "If we don't support Britain, Great Britain will be doomed soon." ”

"The British have supported it for many years, and the Germans are not in a position to send troops to land now, and perhaps Britain will have great difficulties, but first of all we will be doomed ourselves...... Have you considered the far-reaching implications of this for the United States? Have you considered the impact on the economy, morale, and society? Dewey unceremoniously emphasized, "I believe that the vast majority of the people sympathize with and support the British, but the army must first ensure the safety of its own people - they are the Wehrmacht of the United States, not the mercenaries of Great Britain." ”

All the reporters present nodded, and even the city officials nodded secretly, Marshall could not continue, he did not believe that Dewey could not see and understand the necessity and significance of supporting Britain, but what politicians could understand ordinary people did not necessarily understand, or they could not necessarily understand -- it may not be okay to let ordinary Americans pay more taxes and produce more materials to supply Britain, but the vast majority of Americans have not yet been noble enough to support others at the cost of their lives.

In order to cater to this notion, Dewey had to stand in their shoes and speak with empathy, which is all ballot -- damn politics! Marshall sighed, he only hoped that this was just Dewey's remarks for the campaign, not his true thoughts, otherwise this war would really be in big trouble.

However, Dewey did not chase after him, and after fully expressing his views, he stopped attacking in moderation, and instead talked about the rescue and follow-up defense strategies in an orderly manner, and finally said: "...... The President has just issued an order declaring a state of emergency throughout the country, and I hope that the media will not add fuel to the fire, but will guide the people, businesses, and businessmen to understand and recognize the impact of this attack, and we will overcome all kinds of difficulties. ”

After speaking, he took Marshall to the conference room, and whispered to the latter as he walked: "In fact, New York's infrastructure and civilian casualties are secondary, and I am more worried about the impact of the attack on the national economy. ”

Only then did Marshall suddenly think that today is Saturday and tomorrow is Sunday, and the securities market will be closed for both days (the United States has implemented a 40-hour work week since 1940, and although the working hours have been adjusted since the beginning of the war, the stock market is still closed on weekends), and when the stock market opens on Monday, May 3, there will definitely be panic selling, and perhaps the disaster of the stock market crash of 1929 will be repeated. The greater the backlog. (To be continued.) )