Episode 64 Peace

On November 5, 1939, the colossal monster that had threatened Europe and Asia for 22 years finally collapsed.

During these 22 years, under its rule, it is conservatively estimated that at least 15 million people died of starvation (the "surplus grain" collection system of Lenin's era and the Great Famine in Ukraine under Stalin's), at least 20 million people died of massacres ("repressions" in Lenin's era and "purges" in Stalin's era), at least 14 million to 17 million people were imprisoned and exiled, and countless people lived on the death line of terror and starvation for a long time. - The "achievements" of this monster were beyond the reach of Nazi Germany later.

Lenin is dead, and everything is over. Moreover, Lenin, like Hitler, was the kind of radical and idealistic person who did not hesitate to pile up the bones of tens of millions of people in order to realize his self-righteous political ideals. Perhaps it was a subconscious sympathy, but at Hitler's behest, the Germans simply entered Lenin's tomb, removed Lenin's body from the crystal coffin, cremated it, and scattered his ashes into the Baltic Sea. The desire of many Russian peasants who flocked to the city to see the coffins open and the corpses unfulfilled was not fulfilled.

Now, the bigger culprit Joseph? Stalin is still at large. However, as the net continues to tighten in the east and west, and the arrival of winter, this man will not be at large for long. It is conceivable that he was either captured by one of them, or starved to death in the icy wilderness of Russia. Even if he was lucky enough to escape the net, he would not be able to get any refuge overseas. Stalin was already the most wanted man at the International Tribunal in The Hague, and because of the unique ideology and long-term isolation of the Soviet Union, no country in the world sympathized with the collapse of the Soviet Union, let alone a country that was stupid enough to take in such a public enemy of humanity at the risk of the world's condemnation.

Even if Stalin wanted to hide incognito and escape to some corner of the earth to spend the rest of his life secretly, it was unlikely. He only speaks Russian and Georgian, and his looks are very recognizable. His portraits and statues were spread throughout the Soviet Union, in half of Eurasia, half of Eurasia. The mammoth of this cult of personality that he had created with his own hands had now become a net to hunt down himself. Every portrait that was originally used as an idol is now a wanted photograph. If there is anything called "cocooning and self-bondage", then this is it. Moreover, it is the largest scale of "cocooning self-restraint" in ancient and modern China and abroad, unprecedented.

Arrest warrants for Stalin were widely disseminated by the Germans against the army and the population in the areas under their control. There are a total of nine portraits of Stalin on the wanted warrant, which are the normal-looking Stalin, the bearded Stalin, the bearded Stalin, the spectacled Stalin, the sunglasses Stalin, the mask Stalin, the shaved head, the thinner Stalin, and the fat Stalin. In short, all the disguise effects that can be achieved are all drawn on the wanted notice.

Underneath these nine portraits, several words are prominently printed: Beware of these faces! Report it as soon as you find it! The shield will be shot on the spot!

The next few lines of small print are a little more softened, describing Stalin's basic characteristics and promising a reward of 50,000 marks and a personal reception by the Führer if he assists in his capture.

And on the other side of the continent, Da Ming is not ambiguous. Arrest warrants for Stalin were also widely circulated on this side of the Urals, and as in Germany, several portraits of Stalin were printed. It's just that it is not as ruthless as Germany, and it does not directly say that it will be executed, but only that it will "bear extremely serious criminal responsibility". And there was no promise of who would receive Stalin if he caught him, but the prize was much higher than in Germany, at 50,000 yuan. 1 Ming Yang can be exchanged for 1.75 marks, which is equivalent to 1.75 times that of Germany. This is also very understandable, because under Stalin's rule, the Soviet army invaded the territory of the Ming Dynasty, carried out massacres and famines in Xinjiang and Gansu, and the Ming Dynasty was the direct victim.

Ten days later, on November 15, the Ming royal family and the government jointly announced that the state of war was now lifted across the country. The "state of war" that had lasted for almost four years was finally lifted.

This day is the festival of the whole Ming Dynasty. The joy of the people is simply much greater than the fall of the Soviet Union ten days ago. No matter how bad the Soviet Union is, no matter how bad it is, no matter how bad it is, it is, after all, a matter on the other side of the continent. The lifting of the state of war officially marked the advent of complete peace in the Ming Dynasty, and his whole family could enjoy peace, and his sons, husbands, and brothers no longer had to risk death and the risk of missing arms and legs to fight. To end the state of war, the Ming Dynasty will definitely have large-scale disarmament. Countless families who have been separated for several years will soon be able to reunite.

And the low standard of life that has lasted for several years will soon come to an end. Gasoline and kerosene no longer need to be rationed, and the prices of various daily necessities will soon fall. The retail and entertainment industries, which were severely affected during the war, will soon regain prosperity. Taxes, which have been high for several years, are now coming down. Countless wartime requisitioned factories for the production of military supplies have now completed their mission and can resume the production of civilian daily necessities. The heavy industrial production capacity of the Ming Empire, which had expanded rapidly during the war, will now be quickly converted to the production of civilian materials, such as cars, sewing machines, bicycles, buses, tractors, and harvesters......

The most important thing is that the huge demand driven by the war will not lanish with the end of the war, and people will not return to the depressed life before the war. In the north, in the northeast, in the northwest, there are large expanses of land that need to be built urgently, and it is a huge market that has never been seen before. For an entire era in the future, the word "unemployed" will disappear from the lexicon.

Everyone understands that for a long time after the war, the standard of living of the people will rise at a geometric rate.

In the afternoon of the same day, a "handover ceremony" was held in the Forbidden City, and Shen Rongxuan, the first minister, led all the cabinet members to the palace to meet Her Majesty the Empress. Empress Zhu Yourong solemnly handed over an edict to Shen Rongxuan. Shen Rongxuan respectfully took it with both hands and raised it above his head.

In this edict, the empress delegated the power to mobilize the Ming army and navy to the cabinet. This symbolizes the end of the "extraordinary period" in which the Son of Heaven controlled the army, and the Ming Dynasty returned to the normal state of "the government in charge of the army" and "nationalization of the army".

However, what is very intriguing is that the edict only writes about the "army and navy", and does not mention the people's guard. Although the People's Guard was only about 200,000 men, it was the most elite unit in the Ming army, and five divisions were stationed near Nanjing, which was comparable to the strength of the army's capital garrison. The cabinet didn't mention it, and neither did the empress and Xiang Xiaoqiang, as if everyone had forgotten about it.

The press was quick to make a guess. Some say that the royal family loves power, but the mainstream view is that the era of universal suffrage in the Ming Dynasty is about to begin, and there will be many variables, and it is difficult to say what a cabinet or political party that controls all the military thinks and what it may do. This is presumably a safeguard for the royal family to be a counterweight to the tradition of party rotation. It is also widely believed that this is a tacit agreement reached between the royal family and the cabinet: I will hand over the main military power to you, but keep the People's Guard for the time being.

Coincidentally, the next day, the first batch of reparations from Japan arrived, 1 billion Mingyang. Shen Rongxuan immediately announced that the 1 billion Mingyang government will not leave any money, and will be used to build three major welfare systems, namely "universal basic medical security system", "universal old-age security system", and "primary and junior high school free education system". Of course, the funds needed for these three major systems are astronomical, and the 1 billion oceans are far from enough. However, Shen Rongxuan vowed that as long as the Donglin Party cabinet can win the trust and support of the people, then he promised to reduce administrative expenditures to less than 10 percent of the fiscal revenue of the current year during one term of office, and promised to invest at least 50 percent of the annual fiscal revenue in the welfare system of the people and to improve the living standards of the people.

Shen Rongxuan also promised to immediately wave his hand to introduce the advanced experience of President Roosevelt of the United States and establish an "unemployment insurance" system. In the future, if the workers of Daming are unemployed, then they will no longer be in danger of starvation during the period of unemployment, and they can apply for unemployment security to ensure the basic living of themselves and their families.

After doing these things, Daming Ke will become the country with the most complete welfare in the world.

Before Shen Rongxuan's words on the Jinling Radio Station fell, politicians from the opposition party began to expose the "lies" and "unrealistic places" in Shen Rongxuan's promises on the opposite side of the Huaxia Radio Station. And then he began his own campaign promises.

Now, a scene that has never happened in the Ming Empire - the election campaign seems to have begun.