"Your country needs two million of you!"

January 1, 1940, New Year's Day. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 info47 million native British residents received a "New Year's gift" from the British royal family. According to the royal proclamation issued the night before, the obligation for men to serve in the army was extended to 27 years old, which means that a total of 2 million men between the ages of 20 and 27 will be drafted into the army.

It was the first large-scale conscription campaign in Britain since the declaration of war on Germany last September. Prior to this, although some young men of school age had voluntarily signed up for the army, the size of the British army was still far less numerically than it was in 1914.

The new initiative, which is aimed at providing a stable replenishment of human resources to the army, will increase the military potential of the United Kingdom to three million people. According to the plan, the first to be called up for service were the 23-year-old young men. They will enlist by March 1. Other age groups will follow soon, and all those who pass the medical examination will be in uniform by the end of the year.

At around four o'clock in the afternoon, Randolph's car was blocked by the crowd of people who had left the movie theater and were stuck on the streets of downtown London. The movie-going craze of the Hollywood movie "Gone with the Wind" has crossed the Atlantic to London. Today is New Year's Day again, and many people choose to go out to enjoy the last sweet time with their families or lovers before enlisting in the army. This has also made the traffic in the city of London, which has just been tested by a heavy snowfall, even more congested.

Randolph honked the car horn in vain, trying to squeeze a way out of the crowd, but to no avail. London had already begun to control its nighttime lights, and he had to get back to Chatwell Manor in Kent before dark, or he would have to make his way on the slippery roads in the rain and snow.

By the time Randolph got home, it was past seven o'clock in the evening. Pushing open the door to the study, my father, Churchill, was revising a speech at a huge writing desk. As Secretary of the Admiralty in Britain's wartime cabinet, tomorrow Churchill will go to the House of Commons to be questioned about the impact of Germany's new magnetic mines on sea lines of communication.

Seeing that his son was back, Churchill put down the pen in his hand: "How is it, is Baroness Reddersdale's health better?" ”

"It's getting better, and the doctor says it's going to take a few more days." Randolph was representing Churchill at Baron Redsdale's house to visit his sick cousin. Traveling nearly 100 kilometers back and forth on a snowy day is not a good errand. And now their relationship with Baron Desdale's family is quite awkward.

Not long ago, the daughter of Baron Desdale, the eldest of the famous Mitford Six sisters, Unity, shot herself in the head with her father's pistol. This mad admirer of Hitler, despaired by the war between Britain and Germany, chose to escape this "tragic reality" by committing suicide.

Although Eunity was eventually rescued, her brain was severely damaged, leaving her with a lifelong disability and her life in bed. This sudden blow also crushed Baroness Reddersdale's body. The old baroness fell ill and almost died.

As a cousin of Baron Reddersdale, Churchill was supposed to visit him in person. However, as a representative of the hardliners in British politics, Churchill was worried that his rash visit would further irritate Baroness Reddersdale, so he had to let his son visit him on his behalf.

"I saw Eunice today." Randolph sighed: "What a beautiful girl, now disfigured and unspeakable, and a fool who can't even speak, how pitiful it is." ”

Randolph didn't like Eunice's cousin before, and she had been in trouble with her sister and brother-in-law (the leaders of the British Fascist Alliance, Mr. and Mrs. Moseley). But seeing her current tragic situation, Randolph was moved with compassion again.

"That's war, Randolph. Don't let personal feelings cloud your judgment. Remember, you are not in a position to have mercy on anyone until you have knocked your enemies down completely. Churchill took out his cigar: "I understood this when I fought the Boers in South Africa, and I hope you will understand it sooner." ”

"Yes, father." Randolph got up and lit a cigar for Churchill.

"Tell me, what's new in London today?" Churchill smoked a cigar and asked, "Are the citizens still complaining about the lights and train delays?" ”

As Churchill's assistant, Randolph helped his father understand how the people reacted to the government's wartime policies as part of his daily job.

"The road conditions are bad today, and I came back in a hurry and only sat in the Xingyu Cafe for less than an hour. The worst weather and conscription plans were the most discussed. Haha, the rumors about the evacuated children that Your Excellency spread before are no longer mentioned. ”

"Haha, Your Excellency" is an English-language radio program specially produced by Germany to demoralize the British. Not long ago, they spread some fake news on the show about the living conditions of evacuated children in the UK, causing panic in British society.

Since the outbreak of the war, the British government has spent a lot of time, energy, money and material resources to evacuate large numbers of children from cities to "safe areas". As a result, as soon as the rumors broke, 316,192 of the 734,883 children without their parents were taken back to their homes. A whopping 90 per cent of the 233,381 children under the age of two returned to the city with their mothers. The last ones left in the "safe zone" are mainly schoolchildren, about 50,000 or so.

Annoyed by this, the British Cabinet has moved to invite John Reese, the founder and first executive of the BBC, to be the new Secretary of State for Intelligence. It is hoped that he can effectively curb the attack of "Lord Haha" and boost the morale of the British people.

"What is the reaction of the population to this conscription?" Churchill continued.

"The response was very flat, the war has been going on for more than four months, and everyone expected this day for a long time. People are now talking more about what to serve in, and the vast majority of people want to go to the Royal Navy. "Every Englishman is proud of the mighty Royal Navy, and Randolph himself served in the Navy and is very understandable about that.

"By the way, I also encountered an incident in the afternoon, some people complained that cod liver oil pills were not available in the market, and it seemed that the light control caused the drug to be out of stock."

Since the start of the light control, the number of fatalities in traffic accidents has exceeded 2,000 in four months, 1,700 more than in the same period before, although motorists have been required to paint their bumpers white, bicycles have installed rear lights, and road curbs and tree trunks have been painted white.

How to ensure personal safety on the dark road has become the focus of attention. Because some doctors recommend increasing enough vitamin A intake in the diet to improve the body's night vision, cod liver oil pills have suddenly become a hot item.

In times of war, there are always all kinds of unexpected and ridiculous things. Old men like Churchill, who had lived through many wars, had long been no stranger. What he saw from this was the embarrassing situation of Britain's supply of goods after Germany launched the war.

"Damn German mines." Churchill knew that Britain would soon have to begin a system of rationing. But this is only a palliative solution. The Royal Navy had to come up with a way to deal with the new German magnetic mines.

"Randolph, everything is ready for the United States." Tomorrow, Randolph will go to the United States as assistant secretary of the Admiralty to participate in negotiations on an arms purchase. In order to provide escort protection for merchant ships, Britain intends to purchase a batch of decommissioned destroyers from the United States.

"It's all ready, the destroyer Exmouth will escort us all the way to Canadian waters, you can rest assured." Little did the confident Randolph know that his trip to the United States would be a severe test.