1932: Playing with the Japanese Communist Party with a doll

Under Roosevelt's performance and manipulation, public opinion was almost one-sidedly directed in the direction of "the vice president fled in a hurry to avoid investigation", "a split occurred within the Field government", and "Her Highness the Saint intended to cleanse the unclean people around her".

The editorial offices of major newspapers, periodicals, and radio stations were like chickens pumped with energy, racing against time to produce "Quick Comments," "Extras," and "Special Reports," each with a more alarming headline than the last, and the content lavishly exaggerated.

Washington News Extra—"Roosevelt's hasty trip south casts doubts over Washington! The Vice President's premature departure triggers a power crisis!"

The New York Times editorial: "Was it pressure from an investigation or a storm of public opinion? The haste and helplessness behind Roosevelt's 'voluntary action'!"

Chicago Tribune Quick Commentary - "The President's Trust vs. His Deputy's Unusual Schedule: Are Cracks in the Field Administration's Top Levels Revealed for the First Time?"

Houston Chronicle Special Column - "Can the Vice President's trip south calm Texas' anger? The eye of the storm in American politics has shifted to the South!"

Amidst the media frenzy that "Roosevelt, under attack from public opinion, was guilty and timid, and Field was hesitant and might even condone the attack," no one noticed that media outlets such as The Washington Post, affiliated with Mark & ​​Griffin Security Contracting Company, remained silent.

.

In a heavily guarded secret safe house on the outskirts of the German-Mexico border, with even the windows covered by heavy curtains, several figures sat in dim light. They were the last remaining core of the old Texas forces and representatives of Jewish agents who were colluding with Henry Morgan's resistance network.

At that moment, they were celebrating a "victory," a rare "victory." Seeing Roosevelt's pale, forcedly calm face in the newspapers, and then scanning the glaring headlines like "Hurry to Escape," "Evading Investigation," and "Government Rifts" falling like snowflakes, as well as the coded briefings from "their own people" in Texas, everyone was almost ecstatic.

"Oh! Look! Look! Our high-ranking 'Saint' of Field, after all, cherishes her feathers as a 'defender of democracy' and foolishly defends the ridiculous 'freedom of speech'..."

"No, no, no, look at our dear Mr. Franklin Delano Roosevelt. His one-man show as the 'tragic hero' was truly... deeply touching. Hahahaha..."

"Very good, very good, that's how it should be! Without Roosevelt, the Field administration can't survive!"

"Counterattack! We must seize this opportunity to accelerate the counterattack!"

What else can these stupid Texans do besides barking like dogs? Fortunately, the plan given by the higher-ups is far more complete than theirs.

Henry's representative, a middle-aged man with a sinister look, watched the farce and said coldly:

"Everyone! It's time for us to take the next step! Please listen to me!"

With this "huge victory" as a foundation, the representatives from Texas and the South had a lot more trust in the Jewish and financial representatives. They immediately quieted down and listened to the other side's arrangements:

"Let those plantation owners and local tyrants in the South, who have been deeply resentful and driven to a corner by Roosevelt's New Deal, take action! Organize 'spontaneous' protests and make every public occasion where Roosevelt appears 'a boiling point of public discontent'!"

"Organize 'workers' petitions' or even small-scale 'riots' to point the finger directly at Roosevelt's 'disastrous policies'! The slogans must be loud and clear - 'Drive out the saboteurs!', 'Texas doesn't want Roosevelt!', 'Please ask Ms. Field to remove the would-be usurpers!'"

"besides.."

At the end, the representative glanced around the room and said in a deep voice:

"Now, regarding the 'Lone Star Fury' plan, does anyone still have any objections? Does anyone else think it shouldn't be carried out?"

, 3

The room was silent for three full minutes. Then, hands were raised one after another.

620 The Star-Spangled Banner Was Never Free

"...Hey! What are you looking at, bro?"

On a train from Washington, D.C., to Texas, a soldier from the 12th Infantry Regiment of the U.S. Army hesitated for a long time before finally asking a young NGW soldier beside him who was reading a book and taking notes:

"You've been staring at this thing since we got in the car? What's so good about it?"

Not only him, but some other army soldiers in the carriage also cast curious glances at him.

In the army, it is not uncommon to see someone reading a book occasionally, but almost everyone in NGW has a book in their hand, and they always bury their heads in books and ignore everything else during the march. This is definitely an organized behavior.

This bunch of "thieves in the army" can't understand it at all - we soldiers eat food, carry guns and fight in wars, that's the real thing. We finally get to sit back on a "luxury train" with seats instead of being crammed into the carriage like animals. Why don't we take the time to rest and read the damn book?

Besides, you two are studying over there, making it difficult for us to play cards and gamble!

If the group in front of them were not the "Saints' Guards", someone would have laughed loudly and started American-style bullying!

"what..."

As if he hadn't expected to be addressed, the young soldier's thoughts were interrupted, and he looked somewhat bewildered. He subconsciously glanced at his older companion sitting next to him, who wore a special badge and had a calm expression. The latter understood his hesitation and nodded with a smile.

"That's fine. Spreading the Saint's knowledge, will, and glory is our responsibility. As long as it's not stamped 'confidential,' you can talk about it and spread it freely."

"Yes!"

The young soldier's spirits lifted. He handed the book in his hand to the soldier who was asking the question and said in a gentle tone:

"Hello, this is some information about our country's early history."

However, the army soldier didn't even dare to take it, with an embarrassed look on his face:

“Sorry… I can’t read…” “Huh?”

Now it was the NGW warriors' turn to be surprised. Illiterate?

How did you become a soldier if you couldn't read?

An awkward silence spread throughout the carriage, and the faces of the army soldiers, who clearly felt the emotion, were burning with anger.

Although the United States does not have the elegant Chinese verses like "Books have their own European and money", Bacon's "Knowledge is power" is still well-known to everyone, even in country taverns.

Coupled with President Field and the federal government's vigorous propaganda over the years, everyone more or less agrees with the view that "a book in hand is better than mud under the fingernails";

However, understanding is one thing, and recognizing is one thing, but whether one can do it or whether one has done it is another.

Due to the influence of various factors such as the Great Depression, the deliberate ignorance of the people by state governments, and the inherently shitty language of English, the illiteracy rate in the US Army at that time generally exceeded 30%.

Please note that the traditional definition of "illiterate" in the US Army at this time was different from that in China in later generations. It meant "unable to write one's own name or even understand the most basic enlistment form."

As long as a person can write his own name correctly, understand the 26 English letters, and understand the most basic "forward and backward" instructions, he is not considered illiterate;

Therefore, if we add the functional illiterates (those who know characters/words but cannot understand their actual meaning), the actual illiteracy rate is likely to be more than half or even higher. Most of the remaining people can only understand military orders, and even fewer people have high-end hobbies such as reading.

But NGW is completely different.

Regarding the minimum cultural literacy of soldiers, Ms. Field's requirements are concise and clear: "Everyone must be able to read non-professional books fluently and everyone must be proficient in using a dictionary."

How can we disobey the command of the Saint?

The power of religious enthusiasm and personality cult was clearly revealed at this moment - in China, a cause that required the painstaking efforts of literacy cadres and huge investments from the state to advance was, here, nothing more than a single word from Springfield.

Seeing the other party's embarrassment, the young NGW showed no trace of mockery on his face. Instead, he showed a hint of understanding and gentleness. He sat closer to the army soldier, opened the book, and pointed to one of the woodcut illustrations:

"It's okay, brother. Come on, look at this painting. Guess who these people are? What are they doing?"

"Uh...I think...a farmers' rally?"

"That's right, it's our American farmers who are at fault. They're gathering together to rebel, to rebel against the country and the government!"

"Oh, so it's a story about resisting the British..."

"No, no, no, no...it's about American farmers rebelling against the U.S. government." "Oh...huh??? Wait a minute??? What the hell are you talking about?" The soldier's eyes widened.

"Rebellion... the U.S. government? Our own federal government?" "Yes, not just the federal government, but the state governments as well." "...Why?"

Obviously, this topic was not one of those clichés like "heroic stories of the Revolutionary War" or "state governments rebelling against the Union" that everyone was tired of hearing. It was quite "explosive" and immediately attracted the attention of the other bored army soldiers in the car.

They also gathered together, sitting or standing, forming a loose circle. One of them, a bearded, seemingly cultured army sergeant, frowned and interrupted, asking:

"Rebellion against the state? Is it a rebellion? Who organized it? Why?"

"Rebellion? Yes, in the eyes of those in power at the time, yes, but in the eyes of those who took up arms, they were just fighting for the right to live."

The older NGW "instructor" said:

"Perhaps some of you may have heard of this, but it's the historical 'Shays' Rebellion', which took place in 1786-1787, not long after we declared our independence and drove out the British..."

The reason why the derogatory term "Rebellion" is used instead of "uprise" or "insurgence" is mainly because most of the soldiers would not understand the latter words.

Xie Si...rebellion?

The NGW had already read this "introduction book," but the Army had obviously not. Everyone looked at each other and couldn't help but ask:

"Why did you rebel so soon after the Revolutionary War?" "Wouldn't it be better to drive out the British and live a good life?"

"Yeah, yeah, we're already independent. There are no damn British bullies bullying us anymore. Why would we rebel?"

"Are the British coming again?"

After hearing these words, the NGW team almost simultaneously revealed a sneer on their faces: "Good days? Do you all think that after driving the British away, our good days will come? Or do you mean that you have been living very well in the past few years?"

"this..."

The Great Depression was not over yet, and no one had forgotten the pain of having to pick food from trash cans for themselves or their families.

(This reminds me of some answers on Bihu: "During the Great Depression, Americans went to the cinema once a week on average, so the Great Depression didn't really have much of an impact." Well, that's true. The wealthy in Shanghai during the Republican era also lived quite well, so China was incredibly powerful at the time.)

But now it is the "Field era" and life is getting better day by day! Everyone didn't know how to respond for a moment.

"Anyway, listen to me. From Xie Si...never mind, let me first explain why they rebelled!"

It seems that this is the first time for the young warrior to play the role of "instructor", and he is not very experienced:

"Do you know what Continental Currency is?"

"Continental coupons? What the hell? Is it for food or drink?"

"Between 1775 and 1781, the Continental Congress printed paper money, much like the U.S. dollar, to support the Revolutionary War."

The young soldier replied seriously:

"At that time, we hadn't yet established our own country, let alone a unified treasury. To win the war against the British, we needed guns, rations, and military pay. Where did the money come from? We relied on printing to buy things. Parliament printed this, and with the support of the French, we were able to fight the War of Independence."

"When it was first issued in 1776, a $1.50 Continental Note could be exchanged for about $1 worth of Spanish silver or gold. Congress said it was a credit currency issued for the sake of freedom and a solemn promise that everyone could exchange their goods, land, or money for it."

"Oh...and then?"

"Then, as the war continued, Congress, having no money, began to print money like crazy. The Continental Notes quickly lost value. In 1778, one Continental Note was worth only 30 cents in silver. In 1779, it was worth less than 3 cents. By 1781, do you know how much it was worth?"

Amidst the astonishment of the crowd, the young warrior stretched out his hands and made a huge gesture:

"It's only worth... no, a 1.5 dollar Continental note from 1776 could be exchanged for a full 147 Continental notes in 1781! That's 147 or more pieces of paper too hard to wipe your butt on to get one silver dollar!"

"Just think about it. An ordinary soldier fought for five or six years in the War of Independence, risking his life to earn that little bit of 'military pay', and in the end, what became of it? Just a pile of useless paper!"

,

There was silence.

Seeing that many people still didn't seem to understand what the problem was and looked confused, the soldier added another example from the book:

"For example, if you had listened to Congress's lies before the war and exchanged all your silver dollars for Continental Notes, then by the end of the war, the money that could have bought 150 acres of land would only be enough to buy one acre at most! Or even no acre at all! Just imagine how much you would have lost!"

grass!! !

Now everyone understood.

"Damn it! Isn't this robbery?!" "Haha, this is much faster than robbery." Another NGW sneered:

"Robbery involves the risk of being shot, but this kind of robbery is accomplished with just a few words, a few documents, and then having the workers at the printing factory work overtime. Even the wages these workers receive are worthless! They were robbed too!"

"Not only that, the war is over, the country is independent, so it's time to live a good life, right? No! Those gentlemen in Parliament are starting to say that we've owed a debt from the war and we have to pay it back! But how do we pay it back?"

"Tax! Tax hard! Before independence, we paid taxes to the King of England. An ordinary farming man only paid about one silver shilling a year."

"Those first few years of independence were a mess! Head taxes, land taxes, property taxes, transaction taxes... all added up, we collected 300 silver shillings a year!"

(In 1763, the average annual tax paid by the British mainland was 26 shillings, while the average taxpayer in Massachusetts only paid 1 shilling. After independence...tsk, the kindness of the American founding fathers is indeed unfinished...)

"Fuck?? 300 times?!"

An army squad leader who knew a bit about math widened his eyes:

"That's impossible! How can people survive then?"

"Impossible? This is all knowledge recorded in the White House archives. Ms. Field allowed us to know it... As for whether those farmers live or die, what does it have to do with the parliamentarians?"

,

Just as many people were looking doubtful, a gray-haired veteran from Massachusetts in the corner seemed to recall something. He sighed deeply, his voice a little hoarse:

"My father's grandfather served as a quartermaster for General Washington. When he was alive, he told my father that after the war, he was discharged with some land and continental bonds and thought he could live a stable life.

"In the end... those scraps of paper were worth less than birch bark in the blink of an eye... The tax collectors came to our house every now and then, and if we couldn't pay, they would confiscate our land and livestock... We had no choice but to send my sister to work as a maid..."

"He eventually drowned in a river after getting drunk... He hated the British, but he often said that the new government was even more hateful than the British, and he regretted participating in the War of Independence..."

, 3

This is the good thing about American history - it is short enough, short enough that those "historical figures" are still very vivid and those stories have not been completely obliterated by the passage of time.

With the stories told by the Saint's personal guards and the on-site testimony of "eyewitnesses", a heavy sense of reality came down, gradually breaking the "founding myth" or "American exceptionalism" that was inherent in many people's minds, instilled in textbooks or passed down by word of mouth.

The carriage fell into deathly silence.

What did the US government promote in the past?

How brutal the British were, how the parliament cared for the people, how wise and brave the founding fathers were, how ruthless the generals were, how brave the soldiers were.