"My 3,000 dollars......"

In Beijing, in a small Western-style building near Fayuan Temple, the male host, Wu Haisong, is screaming at the ceiling.

"Don't talk nonsense, be willing to gamble and lose, and pay quickly!"

Five gamblers, including the hostess Yang Yuxiang, smiled and stretched out their hands to him.

Wu Haisong hurriedly folded his hands and asked Yang Yuxiang for help: "Wife...... Lend me money......"

Yang Yuxiang pouted: "Comrade Wu Haisong, are you going to tear up the treaty?" Manly man, you can do it, come, pay obediently. ”

It turned out that before the two got married, they had signed the so-called "Beijing Treaty" in front of their companions, which included the clause that their respective properties were independent and that the husband and wife would not talk about money.

When Wu Haisong went to the inner room to get the money, everyone drank the black tea made by the hostess, and chatted with each other.

"Is this war money?" Fang Tianhua seemed a little unbearable.

Yang Yuxiang flashed her seductive fox eyes: "The war hasn't started yet, it's just entertainment - entertainment that only makes sense for us." ”

Today is the 5th of July, and a week has passed, and the Austro-Hungarian Crown Prince is still alive and well, and he did not visit Sarajevo on June 28, as recorded in the history books of another time and space, nor did he eat the fatal bullet that was not lit on time by the fuse that connected the barrel of the Balkan fire.

At the same time, in the Alsace-Lorraine region, which Germany seized from France by the Franco-Prussian War, another fuse was sparkling.

On 1 July, Germany launched a bloody crackdown on Alsace, where the riots were taking place, and according to French media reports, "heavily armed German soldiers slaughtered thousands of unarmed French residents in two days......

For the French, Alsace-Lorraine is an eternal pain, a source of hatred, and the media reports are tantamount to soaking a bleeding wound in alkaline yellow salt water, pouring a steamship full of gasoline into the fire of hatred – pain and hatred, infinitely inflated, indignation, explosions in the government and the opposition, marches, demonstrations, protests, and action......

On 4 July, the German government accused the French authorities of instigating the riots in Alsace and displayed in front of journalists from various countries the legal weapons seized from the "rioters" and captured "French spies."

In fact, since the beginning of the June uprising, French militants have crossed into Alsace through various means, bringing with them weapons and money, as well as the enthusiasm to fight, and they have undeniably fanned the flames of the riots. As to whether they were instructed by the French government or not, it did not matter to the Germans, just as to the French it made no difference whether Alsatian civilians died at the hands of "German bandits" in the tens or thousands.

Europe is facing its most serious situation since the second Moroccan crisis.

In Asia, in recent years, there has been a new wave of anti-Chinese sentiment in European colonies surrounding the South China Sea. After the Netherlands passed the Bill prohibiting Chinese immigration and discriminating against Chinese, Britain and France also successively legislated in their Nanyang colonies to restrict Chinese from doing business and settle down, and arrested and expelled Chinese businessmen on a large scale on the charge of espionage.

At the same time, the colonial authorities in Nanyang accelerated the process of "local autonomy" in an attempt to set up a local indigenous regime that excluded the Chinese, so as to dispel the incitement and propaganda of the Chinese authorities for many years of so-called royal righteousness and the national liberation of Asia.

With the inflow of more and more Chinese refugees into China, since the Asian-Russian War, the external public opinion with "overthrowing the white colonial bandits and liberating Asia" as the core has once again roared majestically, and the clamor of war has spread all over the government and the opposition, in the streets and alleys, and in the fields......

"It's almost there, it's reached a critical point, no one can stop it......" Fang Tianhua suddenly sighed.

"The tipping point? What does this say? Pan Shaoan moved his fat ass on the soft sofa.

"There is no doubt that the group wants to have an absolute circle of interests and lay the foundation of a thousand-year-old empire, but it is only the group dancing solo, and it cannot mobilize the whole people to wage war......"

Yang Yuxiang hugged his arms and smiled: "Yes, no matter how powerful the protagonist is, he must follow the general trend in order to exert his strength." The most serious problem in China today is that after more than 20 years of continuous high-speed economic growth, it has fallen into a sustained downturn since the end of last year, the profits of enterprises have generally declined, investment has decreased, and the unemployment rate has risen correspondingly...... The times are unfavorable, and people's minds have changed. ”

"Cyclical economic crises of capitalism?" Pan Guochen also remembered a few dead terms in the political textbooks of that time and space.

Yang Yuxiang disagreed: "It is a critical point, production expansion to a certain extent, the domestic market is temporarily saturated, but it is limited by the status quo of the great powers carving up the world and setting up discriminatory trade barriers to China, unable to open up foreign markets, continuing to invest has been unable to achieve predetermined profits, and even existing investments are facing the possibility of losing money. Recently, the prices of real estate, precious metals, jewelry, and antiques have skyrocketed...... I see that my hands are itchy, and I want to fry a few strokes to play. ”

Fang Tianhua said with a smile: "Be careful that the Independent Commission Against Corruption is looking for you to drink tea, the Council of Elders can let out the words, and those who are caught by the Independent Commission Against Corruption will be automatically expelled from the group, and they will die." ”

Yang Yuxiang spread his hands: "Let's just talk about it, we have also enjoyed the benefits of the group, in addition to wages, there are tens of thousands of land company dividends every year, and houses and cars are also distributed to everyone's name, as long as you don't treat money as money like my Haisong, or you have to make a three-palace, six-courtyard and seventy-two concubines to enjoy, it is no problem to mix in high society." The first emperor used the head to teach everyone a lesson, and the person who smeared the group was definitely a dead end, and now the system is getting more and more perfect, and a fool will defy the law. ”

Before the words fell, Wu Haisong had already come out of the room with the banknote, and opened his mouth to say: "Who said bad things about me......"

Yang Yuxiang made a wave...... I'm sorry, it's a puff of arms: "Me, what's wrong?" ”

Wu Haisong hurriedly laughed: "No...... It's nothing, it's just talking, come and come, divide the money, I'm willing to lose the bet, and I'll make the most money for a while, please have a big meal......"

"No problem, it's your money anyway." Pan Shaoan, the biggest winner of this gamble, proudly took twelve hundred-yuan bills from Wu Haisong's hand.

After dividing the money, Wu Haisong took the half-smoked Kinhard cigarette handed by his wife: "What were you talking about just now so happy?" ”

"A national event, a national event." Fang Tianhua made a classic gesture of a great man's speech towards the ceiling.

Yang Yuxiang picked out one from the gold-plated cigarette case and lit it: "I just talked about the current situation...... It's really fast to take the money, what is the password to the safe? ”

"Your birthday." Wu Haisong gave her a flying kiss.

"It's ...... to believe in you"

"Continuing with what I said just now, according to Deputy Fang and Sister Yang, the government needs to start a war to divert the domestic predicament, is that what you mean?" Here, Pan Guochen seems to be very interested in the topic just now.

"It's not just the government...... Fang Tianhua smiled, "Let's put it this way, the military is eager to conquer the Quartet and establish meritorious deeds; Politicians hope to use war to divert social contradictions and fundamentally revitalize the economy; The chaebols hope to obtain cheaper raw materials and open up a wider market through war; Ordinary citizens look forward to changing their fate, such as getting rich, acquiring land, and so on. Behind this, there are also mainstream trends of thought that have gradually penetrated into all strata through education and the media for more than 20 years, such as kingism, Asianism, militarism, Asianism, the theory of peace in Asia, the theory of the unification of the Celestial Empire, and the theory of the Chinese Mandate of Heaven. From soldiers to students, from workers to peasants, they were influenced by these ideas year after year, attending classes, reading newspapers, listening to radio, watching movies, parades of the Boy Scouts, speeches by veterans of the Township Military Association, election propaganda of right-wing political parties, and arguments between classmates and friends...... Living in such an atmosphere, it is natural for the majority of the people to yearn for war in the name of justice. ”

"There are a lot of anti-war elements," Wu Haisong spat out a smoke ring, "Those rubbish of the Komeito Party will only sing high-pitched songs all day long, what is harmony is precious, benevolence is teaching, and belligerence will die, I don't understand how so many people vote for them." By the way, the radicals in the SPD have recently jumped out and openly advocated a violent revolution to overthrow the current regime. ”

Fang Tianhua shrugged: "As far as I know, the SPD has expelled those radicals who caused trouble, and the Secretary of the Interior has also made harsh remarks, and all political activities carried out by violent means are severely suppressed. ”

Yang Yuxiang sneered: "There are three party alliances there, and it is enough to deal with those little miscellaneous pieces." The three party alliances call for the emperor to be honored, and their supreme justice, that is, the empire shoulders the mandate of saving hundreds of millions of people who were enslaved by the white colonizers, and must choose between patriotism and traitor, sponsors of Asian liberation, or lackeys of white colonizers...... The hat of a traitor and a lackey of a white colonizer is not light. ”

"No matter what you think, I believe in the supreme justice." Pan Guochen said with a serious expression.

"I also believe," Fang Tianhua said with a pious face, "I am convinced that the Empire should be a true liberator, not a new enslaver." As for whether the empire will develop towards fascism, look at the vibrant opposition parties, look at the media that have not been swayed by the government, look at the citizens who can freely express any political opinion on various platforms...... I think the fascists are still a long way from us. ”

"Kind people ......," Yang Yuxiang whispered in Wu Haisong's ear.

Wu Haisong smiled faintly: "That's the pillar of their survival, ours, the content is just the opposite." ”

……