Chapter 168, Queen of the Wind (II) (Continue to double change today, please vote to subscribe to encourage)

Three years later, Windsor Castle is still standing, and at first glance it doesn't seem much different from what it used to be. But if you look closely www.biquge.info you will see that some of the facades of the houses have been crept with nettles and vines, others are clearly blackened by the fire, and others have collapsed, with rusted iron doors and metal lampposts lying in the grass, and no one knows who did it. The once-well-manicured lawns and gardens have been transformed into wild jungles, ornate fountains have become stinking pools, and elaborate statues have been smashed to pieces.

In addition, the originally bustling town of Windsor next to the castle is now empty, and at least half of the town is in ruins, a considerable part of the houses have been burned by the fire, and the remaining houses are also dilapidated, and almost none of the glass windows are intact. The roads in the town are clogged with cars, debris and all kinds of garbage, and in some places it seems to have been barricaded. But I couldn't find a living person to say what was going on here.

Comparatively speaking, Windsor Castle, which has been moved in by Mr. Toynbee with more than a hundred people, is barely a little popular.

For Queen Elizabeth, everything she saw seemed to prove that England had returned to the dark ages of the collapse of civilization......

In short, the group of Soviet soldiers who had now escorted the exiles to their destination and accompanied the two queens from the seashore turned around and withdrew. Before leaving, the Soviets gave the exiles rifles, pistols, and other small weapons for self-defense, and left Windsor Castle enough flour, wheat, and canned food for all the exiles for a year, plus some clothing, soap, farm tools, and crop seeds, as well as two radio stations for communication. At the same time, they finally announced to the two queens and Prime Minister Winston Churchill the discipline of exile: all exiles were free to live and move freely at Windsor Castle, without any interference from the Soviet side. But as the chief exiles, the former queens, Elizabeth and Margaret, as well as the former Prime Minister Winston Churchill, were required to sign three times a year, every four months, at the Soviet border guard post on the Isle of Wight, 60 kilometres away, and receive a handout of food...... Of course, this food must not be enough for so many people in Windsor Castle, and the rest of the food ration needs to be solved by the exiles in Windsor Castle themselves, just like the prisoners who were exiled to Siberia by Tsarist Russia.

After the Soviets left, Queen Elizabeth took her sister Margaret's hand and walked into Windsor Castle.

In Windsor Castle today, Mr. Toynbee has been tidying up with more than 100 people for more than a month, and he has barely cleaned up a little. At least it looks like a self-sufficient survival base. Although they had not yet had time to clear their fields and vegetable gardens due to the season, it was late autumn and the snow was about to fall, making them unsuitable for any crops, but they had already cleared a few flat plots of land in the courtyard of Windsor Castle. There were a dozen horses from nowhere in the stables, as well as some donkeys, goats, and two oxen. In addition, a large number of dead branches and timber were collected and neatly piled up outside the castle gates, waiting to be chopped into firewood, which at first glance looks like a small village in medieval Europe.

However, these poor breaths of life still cannot hide the desolation, dilapidation and incompleteness of the entire Windsor Castle. The collapsed towers, the broken spires, and the ruined walls all illustrate the ruined nature of the castle. Especially after entering the interior of Windsor Castle, the dignity shown by the grand façade of the castle has been lost - in the three years since Queen Elizabeth left, countless destitute and destitute bandits have visited the magnificent royal garden and looted everything they thought they could use: the wine and food stored in the cellars were naturally the first to be divided, and the metal and porcelain were taken away one after another. Furniture made of precious wood was smashed and burned for firewood, and books and paintings were lit on fire. Curtains, flags, carpets, and tapestries were torn away to make clothes or to keep out the cold while sleeping, even oak and teak floors were pried open and dug away, and wooden staircases were torn down to make a fire in winter......

As a result, when Elizabeth returned to Windsor Castle with her sister Margaret, she found that it was empty and everything had been looted - the tomahawks, swords, and armor in the corridors, the models in the dollhouse, the roof and walls of the great antechamber were missing a large chunk, and the wind and rain poured in, and moss, mushrooms, and weeds had grown in the house. Something had blown a crater out of the center of the Queen's Chamber, and cracks were in the floor, walls, and even the ceiling. The private chapel for royals burned down entirely, leaving only blackened masonry and foundations. Even those buildings that are still in good condition on the surface, when you really walk in and take a look, they are generally a mess. Those bare walls were covered with all kinds of stains and dirty graffiti, and in many places even entire windows were missing, or smashed to pieces, and the cold wind drilled directly into the interior through the large holes in the walls, so that even a little heat could not be stored in the cold room...... That's it, it's still a place that has been cleaned. And those places that haven't had time to be cleaned are covered with a thick layer of dust, how thick exactly? It's a pit when you step on it!

Even the bedrooms for the two queens consisted of two dark green marching beds and a few rudimentary cabinets made of wooden crates that doubled as stools and tables. The glass of the bedroom window, although it is relatively intact in the dilapidated Windsor Castle, is still missing a few pieces, and can only be barely pasted with old newspapers. Bullet holes and blood stains can still be seen on the walls and ceiling, as well as unsightly marks from the smoke and fire...... Queen Elizabeth thought it would be better not to dwell on how these things came to be.

At the thought that she would have to live in such a shabby place where there was nothing in the future, and maybe even live for a lifetime, Queen Margaret couldn't help but turn a little pale. And Elizabeth was naturally in a bad mood either, but she still bothered herself to comfort her sister......

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After a cursory turn, the two queens arrived on a balcony at Windsor Castle, where they overlooked the people in the courtyard busy carrying their belongings and settling their belongings - even if you count the second group of exiles who came with them, Windsor Castle is now home to more than 300 people, which is still more than enough for the castle with a total area of 45,000 square meters, and even more empty and lonely than it used to be.

In this regard, Queen Elizabeth couldn't help but feel a little sad. However, when she raised her head and looked into the distance, she was stunned by the magnificent scenery before her—before she knew it, it was already dusk. The sunset, which gradually sinks in the west, is like a burning orange-red flame, which is so dazzling under the cover of the sunset. The dark night, where no stars could be distinguished, was gradually swept in from the other direction, but it could not overcome the brilliance of the sunset, so it could only approach slowly from the rear, patiently waiting for the final sinking of the gorgeous sunset.

Basking in such contrasts of light and darkness, the sparkling Thames River, the shadowy ruins of Windsor Town, and the mountains and fields beyond, all seem more and more bizarre in the twilight. Although the windows and tiles of Windsor Castle itself are still trying to reflect the glow of the setting sun, in an attempt to show its presence, it still looks small compared to the dazzling red sunset. As for the humans, cattle and horses moving in the courtyard of Windsor Castle, only a faint shadow of gray color is left in the field of vision.

Such a sunset over Windsor Castle is truly stunning, and can be breathtakingly beautiful without any words.

Looking at the magnificent scenery in front of her and the plausible homeland around her, Queen Elizabeth couldn't help but be intoxicated for a while, and was reminded of many distant memories that were originally buried in the depths of her heart...... Regardless, after all the trials and turns, she survived and finally stood here again, a land that had been passed down by her family for generations.

Although the British Empire no longer exists, and the crown that once wore her head has fallen to the ground, so what? All this is not a mistake made by a weak woman, she can only learn to accept it in the face of the cruel fate, and try to live optimistically. Just like her favorite American female writer Margaret. As described in Mitchell's novel "Gone with the Wind," "...... There is nothing in this world that can do anything to us, but if we ourselves are always thinking only about recovering what we have lost, and we are always thinking about the past, then we will destroy ourselves. ”

“…… The past is gone, the dead are dead, and the living will continue to live. ”

“…… Everything that passes away with the wind belongs to yesterday, and all that is left behind by the wind and rain is future-oriented. ”

“…… Anyway, tomorrow is another day! ”

Bathed in the magnificent afterglow of the sunset, facing the warm breeze blowing through the fields at dusk, looking at the land of England under the twilight, she muttered the famous words and sentences in the novel "Gone with the Wind", and couldn't help but feel that her chest seemed to become much wider, and her heart seemed to have strength and confidence again.

Just as she was slowly brewing her mood and wanted to sing a song to the twilight beauty in front of her, she was interrupted by the sound of several car horns...... Looking down with a little displeasure, Queen Elizabeth suddenly saw in confusion that the fat former Prime Minister Churchill, his personal valet, and two bodyguards were riding in a jeep, running over the late autumn barren grass that had turned yellow, and driving away in the distance.

Huh? What's going on? Churchill this fat man...... What exactly is this trying to do?

So the curious Queen Elizabeth looked around, and called out from the balcony to Mr. Toynbee, who was directing the men to repair the door and the wall, and asked him about Churchill's whereabouts, and received this reply from Mr. Toynbee's mouth:

“…… Your Majesty! Prime Minister Churchill insisted on going home immediately despite the fatigue of the journey, and we could not persuade him! ”

“…… Go home?! He's going...... Blenheim Palace?!! Queen Elizabeth muttered with a frown. (To be continued.) )