roccoschili Chapter 755 The editor thought about it and decided to celebrate!
Chapter 755 The editor thought about it and decided to celebrate!
The veteran smiled.
"Just be happy. Be happy as much as you want. Once you get ashore, you'll have your time to be happy."
The ship docked safely, and the gangway was lowered. The sailors lined up and disembarked, only to be engulfed by a cheering crowd as soon as they stepped onto the pier. Some gave them flowers, some gave them food, and some hugged them tightly. One young sailor, surrounded by several girls, blushed deeply and was completely at a loss for what to do.
In the distance, a black car slowly drove up. The crowd automatically parted to make way.
The car door opened, and Wang Wenwu got out.
He was wearing a brand-new Zhongshan suit with a red silk flower pinned to his chest, and a rare smile on his face. He walked to the center of the dock and waved to the crowd.
The crowd fell silent instantly.
"Gentlemen!" Wang Wenwu's voice boomed, "The Commander-in-Chief has decreed: Today, the entire city is closed! All taverns are free! Tonight, we'll drink until we drop!"
The crowd erupted in cheers once again.
The cheers were deafening and lasted for a long time.
Wang Wenwu stood there, looking at the boiling ocean, and suddenly felt a little dazed.
Where was he a year ago today?
A year earlier, he stood in his empty office in the interim government in Dubai, lost in thought. Back then, no one believed Lanfang could win. Everyone said the British were too powerful to mess with.
A year later, the British lost.
Four hundred thousand men, all wiped out.
He shook his head, banishing those thoughts.
In the distance, even more cheers rose. They came from the direction of Borneo, from the direction of Kuwait, from the direction of Hordasa, from the direction where every Lanfang person was located.
Won.
We really won.
Borneo Naval Base.
The docks were also packed with people. Sakura soldiers and Lanfang soldiers stood together, embracing and patting each other on the shoulder. They didn't speak the same language, but their smiles were the same.
A soldier from Japan said in broken Chinese, "Congratulations! Congratulations!"
A Lanfang soldier replied in even more broken Japanese, "Arigato!"
They both laughed, laughing like two children.
Kazuo Yamamoto's representative stood on the dock, watching this scene. In his hand was a newly received telegram—the latest statistics on the Battle of Dhaka. Fifty-three thousand men had been killed.
He folded the telegram and put it in his pocket.
Then he looked up at the cheering soldiers.
The dead are dead, but the living must continue to live.
If you can live, be happy.
In Kuwait, the troops built by the Kingdom are resting.
The soldiers were eating lunch when the news arrived. Someone heard it on the radio, paused for a second, then stood up and shouted:
"Sinai has won! Four hundred thousand British soldiers have been wiped out!"
The cafeteria was silent for a second.
Then, the pots and pans flew into the sky.
The soldiers jumped up, hugged and punched each other, some threw their hats at the ceiling, and others cried and laughed while hugging their comrades. The cooks rushed out with large ladles, asking what was wrong, and were then lifted up by the soldiers and tossed into the air.
Wang Guojian stood at the entrance of the cafeteria, looking at the frenzied ocean, a slight smile playing on his lips.
Chen Dalei stood beside him, also smiling.
"Commander, are you unhappy?"
Wang Guojian nodded.
"Happy. Of course I'm happy."
He looked at the soldiers and the cheering young people, and suddenly a question came to mind.
After the war is over, how many of these people will still be alive?
He didn't think about it any further.
In the distance, a soldier ran up and saluted: "Commander! The President has called! He requests that you organize the troops to listen to the broadcast; the President will be giving a speech tonight!"
Wang Guojian nodded.
"Order all units to assemble after dinner and listen to the broadcast."
The soldier turned and ran.
Chen Dalei asked, "Commander, what will the Commander-in-Chief say?"
Wang Guojian shook his head.
"I don't know. But it's definitely great news."
At Hordasa, in Zhao Dengyu's command post, there was also a jubilant atmosphere.
But Zhao Dengyu didn't go out to cheer. He stood in front of the sand table, staring at the red and blue arrows, motionless.
Chief of Staff Li Tiejun pushed open the door and came in with a big smile on his face.
"Commander! Listen to the commotion outside! Our soldiers are going crazy!"
Zhao Dengyu did not turn around.
"I heard you."
Li Tiejun walked to his side and followed his gaze. On the sand table, all the blue arrows representing the Sinai Peninsula had disappeared, leaving only red arrows pointing towards the canal.
"Commander, why are you unhappy?"
Zhao Dengyu finally turned around and looked at him.
"Old Li, tell me, after Egypt, where else?"
Li Tiejun was stunned for a moment.
"And...Africa?"
Zhao Dengyu nodded.
"Africa. Such a large territory, how long will it take to fight? How many people will die?"
He walked back to the window. Outside, the soldiers were cheering, jumping, and embracing.
"Four hundred thousand men are gone, and we won. But we also lost men. How many of us died in the Battle of Sinai?"
Li Tiejun remained silent for three seconds.
"More than eight thousand."
Zhao Dengyu nodded.
"More than eight thousand. More than eight thousand brothers, who will never come back. They should be happy. But I can't just be happy."
He looked out the window at the bustling crowd and said softly:
"I need to think about the next step."
Temporary airport in Sinai Peninsula.
A silver-white plane flew in from the east, circled once above the airport, and then slowly landed. The moment the landing gear touched the ground, it kicked up a cloud of dust.
The hatch opened, and Chen Feng stepped out.
He was wearing a dark gray Zhongshan suit, without a hat, and his face was expressionless. Sunlight shone on his face, highlighting the fine wrinkles at the corners of his eyes.
Zhao Dengyu stood at attention and saluted beside the gangway.
"Commander-in-Chief!"
Chen Feng stepped down the gangway and shook his hand.
"Thanks for your hard work."
Zhao Dengyu shook his head.
"It's not hard work. It's the brothers who have worked hard."
Chen Feng nodded.
"Take me to see them."
The reviewing stand was a temporary structure erected on an open space next to the airport. A red cloth was laid out on the stand, along with a few chairs. Below, tens of thousands of Lanfang soldiers stood in square formations, stretching from the stand into the distance, seemingly endless.
The troops were in perfect formation and completely silent.
Chen Feng walked up to the reviewing stand, stood in front of it, and looked at the dense sea of people.
Tens of thousands of men. That was the entire mobile force for the Sinai campaign. And there were troops assisting in various locations!
He stared at it for a long time.
Then he spoke. Without a microphone, he shouted.
"Brothers!"
That shout exploded like thunder in the sky above the square.
Tens of thousands of people stood at attention, chests puffed out.
Chen Feng scanned the audience, looking at their sun-tanned faces and their bright, sparkling eyes.
"You fought a brilliant battle in Sinai."
The audience was quiet, but you could feel the suppressed excitement.
"Four hundred thousand British soldiers were wiped out. Allenby, the veteran who had fought for four years on the European front, surrendered with a white flag raised."
His voice wasn't loud, but every word was as clear as if it were carved in stone.
"Do you know what this means?"
No one answered.