It's better to conquer them than to command the steel torrent

Chapter 257 | The Melancholy Moro
Upon reuniting with an old friend, Mr. Shang made no attempt to hide his teasing.

"You were so confident back then, saying that the Ivanross weren't that scary and could be easily defeated, but..."

Morro retorted without changing her expression: "Tactically, we have never suffered a loss. It's just that some generals are too incompetent, and many officers are afraid of the Ivanross, those cowards!"

Seeing that she remained stubborn as always, Shank coaxed her by saying, "The enemy is in Congress."

Without hesitation, Morel nodded and said, "That's right, the real enemy is inside."

At this moment, Shang Kecai gave a thumbs up and said humorously, "We have annihilated 800,000 enemy troops and are victoriously advancing into the Americas."

Mo Luo fell silent, pursing her lips, and after a long while muttered, "Well, there's nothing I can do..."

To be fair, the mechanized unit to which Moreau originally belonged was quite efficient in combat, with impressive results. In many battles, they achieved an exchange ratio of one to two or even one to three.

This is a classic example of winning the tactics but losing the battle, ultimately leading to a strategic collapse.

"It's alright." Shang Ke smiled slightly, patted her shoulder, and encouraged her, "As long as you still have the fighting spirit, you will recover your homeland sooner or later. I believe that day is not far away."

Moro was very unhappy with Shang Ke's previous sarcasm and teasing, so she took his words as sarcastic and retorted, saying in Chinese, word by word, "Shang, do you know that gloating and excessive joy often happen at the same time?"

Ha, don't be too happy yet. You might get a good beating from the Ivan Rus's people too.

With a smile, Shang Ke shrugged and said nonchalantly, "Well... we'll see."

He then inquired about the current situation of the exiled troops.

Mariana's navy's main ships were fortunate enough to escape successfully.

The two Dunkerque-class battlecruisers, each with a displacement of 3.5 tons, were equipped with only small-caliber 330mm guns, but could reach a speed of 31 knots.

The lead ship of the Richelieu-class battleship also successfully broke through the encirclement. Although it was hit by several aerial bombs, the damage was only minor. This was a high-speed battleship with a displacement of 3.9 tons and equipped with four 380mm guns. Unfortunately, the construction of the second ship was far behind schedule, so it had to be abandoned.

There were very few organized exiles in the Army and Air Force. Only two regiments in the Army deserted as a whole; the rest were scattered volunteers from various units.

Mariana's exile force totaled approximately 15,000 men, along with over 200 pilots.

As for Walland, the Bismarck and Tirpitz also successfully broke through and escaped to the Americas.

The number of army and air force personnel who came along was quite large, reaching more than 20,000, and all of them were seasoned veterans.

"It's great that so many capital ships escaped; at least they didn't fall into enemy hands." Shang Ke felt genuinely relieved.

Most warships can be built quickly, like dumplings being dropped into boiling water, but battleships are an exception. The construction cycle for battleships is extremely long. Even in an industrialized country with a mature upstream and downstream system, it takes nearly three years to build a single battleship.

In the context of a general mobilization, an aircraft carrier can be built from groundbreaking to commissioning in as little as a year and a half, a destroyer can be built in as little as ten months, and submarines and landing ships can be built even faster.

For this reason, battleships are invaluable weapons for decisive battles, and they rely heavily on pre-war stockpiles. It is too late to prepare them at the last minute after the war has begun.

Two North Carolina-class battleships from America, one Richelieu-class battleship from Marianne, and two Bismarck-class battleships from Varland, making a total of five new high-speed battleships, plus the Federal Navy's...

The advantage is mine!

Shankton felt relieved.

After gaining a general understanding of America's higher-ups' plans, he decided to leave.

Since there was nothing else to do here, the Potomac River defense line was dispensable to him. Because Marianne's exiled troops were assigned to serve as reserves and were relatively free for the time being, he invited Moreau, and the two of them went together to a small town called Pender, north of the base, which was next to the Dulles Airport in the future.

Many people have already fled upon hearing the news, but quite a few are still determined to stay.

Shank and Morrow arrived at a small tavern that was still open. It was very quiet, with only seven or eight tables inside. The owner was an old man with white hair and beard who looked quite kind. Next to the counter, there was a Winchester shotgun and a Colt revolver.

The scent of America wafted over me—it was freedom… no, it was the smell of steel and gunpowder.

As Shank browsed the menu, he asked with a smile, "The Ivanros might attack this place in a few days. Aren't you leaving?"

"I'm not going anywhere."

Aren't you afraid of them?

"There are only two types of people here: lawless thugs and lawful customers."

Shang Ke chuckled, ordered two glasses of bourbon whiskey mixed with craft beer, and then casually replied, "There's an old saying in Zhongguo: 'We welcome friends with fine wine, but we meet wolves with hunting rifles.'"

The shop owner wholeheartedly agreed with this statement.

Upon learning of Shang and Mo Luo's identities, the shop owner firmly refused to accept the money.

In his words, his grandfather had been running the pub since he immigrated from Ireland, and by his generation, the pub had become more of a legacy, and seeing the familiar faces of the townspeople every day was the greatest pleasure.

As for money, it's truly an external thing, I don't care about it.

Mo Luo didn't have the same leisurely and unhurried attitude as Shang. As soon as the mixed drinks were served, she took a few sips and immediately began to complain.

Unsurprisingly, she started crying as she spoke, tears streaming down her cheeks, gathering at her chin, and falling onto the table.

Such a stubborn and proud girl is, inside she is just a confused young girl.

After all, who would willingly be forced to leave their homeland because of foreign invasion?

Shang Ke had to try his best to comfort her.

This comforting moment lasted for almost half an hour.

He was completely overwhelmed. Finally, he couldn't take it anymore, so he grabbed Moro's hand, pulled her up from her seat, and dragged her outside the tavern.

Just as he was about to speak, two cars sped up, shouting his name as they drove.

"Here it is! What's going on?!"

"parking!"

The visitor was none other than Liu Zhaowen, the Chinese Ambassador to the United States.

Liu Zhaowen was speechless, even nine-tenths, about Shang bringing a girl to a tavern late at night and making her cry.

Seeing his strange expression, Shang Ke knew there had been a misunderstanding and hurriedly explained, "No, Ambassador Liu, please listen to me..."

(End of this chapter)