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After breaking through Regensburg, the Britannian Expeditionary Force, facing strategic disagreements, was simultaneously preparing for a larger operation on the Eastern Front while also embarking on an offensive toward Austria in an attempt to penetrate Czechoslovakia.
Soon, disaster-stricken Poland will become the next place to face the smoke of war, and Yugoslavia in the Balkans will also abide by the agreement that "when the Britannian army enters Austrian territory, we will send troops to stand with the Soviet Union, Poland, Czechoslovakia and all those who have experienced the World War."
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Section 483, Chapter 380: We lied, we cheated, we stole.
"Without bloodshed", "retreating without a fight", "surrendering without resistance", "surrendering with courtesy".
"To subdue the enemy without fighting" and "To win hearts and minds is the best strategy, while attacking cities is the worst."
Since thousands of years ago, any powerful human civilization, when facing an adversary, will not only use its full strength to subdue the opponent but also employ its words and thoughts as knives to sever their tendons and bones and pierce their hearts and minds.
This was true even during World War II—after all, the Third Reich surrendered only days before its demise due to Hitler's suicide by poison, and the American landing operation on Honshu was aborted because of the "Emperor's Surrender Rescript." The only downside to both of these events was that they came too late.
So, what about the Britannian Empire?
……
These exceptional gentlemen and ladies from the Pentagon and MI6 have long since vanished into the buildings of District 11.
However, when it comes to understanding this new world, they certainly can't compare to Davis and Stasevich, the "pioneers" who have been around for more than half a year.
A new plan has been formulated, but how feasible is it? Well, we'll probably have to let them take a look and give us their opinions first—and that's where the hilarious part begins.
In the context of American culture at that time, the only places where you could hear singing were bars and clubs. On a stage, there was a band in the shadows behind them, and a female singer under the spotlight with a microphone in front. Below, people of all shapes and sizes sat around tables. The music was elegant and classical, the listeners were relaxed and at ease, and it was also a great place for whispering and conversation.
However, they searched all over the Tokyo concession, but not only did the clubs not accept "cards," the bars were all chaotic and didn't even have a private room. In such places, it was literally "loudly plotting."
Ultimately, they found that casinos were a good fit, specifically, casinos with a Britannian flair were a good fit.
On the surface, everyone here appears glamorous, as if there are strict dress codes for entering and leaving. However, this is not the case. According to some "casino travelers," a few months ago, before the Tower of Babel in the Tokyo concession was destroyed by ZERO, two brothers in school uniforms were often seen there carrying a chess set. In other words, even children could enter this place without hindrance.
God knows how a country whose achievements in electronic technology make the US, the Soviet Union, Britain, and France drool with envy have come to this state. In the casinos of this country, you can even see a group of well-dressed gentlemen and ladies playing roulette, poker, and slot machines emblazoned with the imperial flag outside the high fences, then coming to the railings of the Colosseum to watch with great interest the Japanese laborers who have been dragged in and are putting on a show of gladiatorial combat—displaying this scene so openly to the general public is something that a certain "world capital" on the Apennine Peninsula would have done two thousand years ago.
Even more outrageous is the case of a yakuza boss nicknamed "Black King," who died in the collapse of the Tower of Babel, but whose greatest hobby was notorious: abducting attractive Japanese women dressed as bunny girls from various casinos and selling them as "commodities." Yes, he would grab Japanese girls by the hair in broad daylight at casinos and run away.
Is this the place where "true Britannians" should come? Perhaps it is a suitable place for imperial citizens who are not fond of charging into battle.
Garcia and Philip arrived at a casino and wandered into a card room, where Commander Davis and three agents disguised as civilians had been waiting for some time.
"You Americans, and the entire capitalist society, live the kind of life you see outside?" Stasevich was the last to arrive, and as the only Soviet member participating in the secret meeting, he pointed with disdain at the noise outside, saying, "Nothing could be more wicked than this."
"Stop messing around, buddy, let's get straight to the point, okay?"
……
The agents' leader was still Sheldon. He pulled out a thick notebook filled with detailed plans—it seemed he hadn't yet developed the habit of using electronic devices for note-taking.
In the eyes of these "outstanding individuals," the method to prevent Britannia from focusing on the war seemed simple: it was a feudal country with absolute monarchy and even some slavery elements, and these people would crumble at the first touch in the face of the advanced theories of the United States and Britain. As long as someone took the lead and said a word, raised a flag, the spark that could start a prairie fire would immediately collapse.
However, before these conclusions could be fully presented, Davis and Stasevich called a halt to them.
“No, no, the more I listen, the more something seems off to me.” Davis scratched his head. “Let me ask you something. A hundred years ago, when you British sailed your warships to the western Pacific to ‘do business’ with a major country, whether their emperor knelt down and begged you to stop is another matter. But it seems like their people have never submitted to you, right?”
"What are you talking about, Captain?" Sheldon shrugged, finding it absurd. "We're the winners of the war. You're worried about whether they've submitted or not?"
“I think that’s what Davis meant.” Stasevich scratched his head. “Back then, you British subdued the Qing government by force, and only then did you think you had won. But today, it’s Britannia that’s about to subdue us.”
“This isn’t simply a matter of whether or not we can subdue them, oh dear…” Sheldon scratched his head a bit. “I’m telling you about historical experience.”
“Isn’t that just utter nonsense?” Garcia interrupted. “When has our world ever had a feudal empire like Britannia, which spanned North and South America, dominated about half of the world’s territory, and even monopolized global technology? Is comparing it to the Qing Dynasty convincing?”
“Dude, are you still living in our world?” Philip scoffed. “You’re sick. If this goes on for too long, you’ll develop a split personality.”
“It’s chaos, it’s chaos…” Sheldon started scratching his head. “No, you guys get this straight, I’m not talking about using force. It’s about ideology, principles, advanced theories, understand? In such a large feudal country, if we stir up trouble everywhere, it’ll immediately descend into chaos, you know?”
"Chaos?" Davis and Stasevich exchanged bewildered glances. "What's in chaos?"
"No...didn't you Soviets, under the leadership of your Comrade Lenin, just go to the Winter Palace with guns decades ago? Don't you know why you went?"
“I feel like you’ve misunderstood something?” Stasevich paused for a moment. “Are you equating the serfs who were exploited by the Tsar back then with the people in District 11 outside the Tokyo Concession today?”
"Isn't it the same? Aren't our opponents just stubborn old men who play unfair games?"
"Let me make this clear: in America, if you beat a Jew, you might be called a 'nazier's accomplice.' But in this world, if you beat someone from Area 11 anywhere in the world, they'll shout 'It's a great relief'... How long have you been in Area 11 and still don't understand this?"
"Let's get back to ourselves, comrade," Stasevich said, somewhat disgruntled. "If you told Russians from decades ago, 'Your Tsar is oppressing you with feudal rule,' we would understand perfectly well and unite under our mentor's banner. But in Britannia, if you tell people who don't have the blood of Area 11, 'Your Emperor and nobles are oppressing you,' they'll just think you're crazy. To them, nobility and titles are less a strict hierarchical system and more a different kind of 'meritocracy.' You should dig deeper."
"And also, do you think we have the nerve to accuse the Britannians of inequality... cough, sorry Davis, I'm going to use you Americans as an example again." Stasevich became more and more agitated as she spoke, "Do you remember the other day when we were watching TV and a Britannian Knight of the Round Table appeared on screen?"
"Oh, I remember."
"The Knights of the Round Table were personally appointed by the emperor of their respective empires, and their status was only slightly lower than that of royalty. But what happened? When Britannia chose Black people as Knights of the Round Table, you Americans were still playing the game of racial discrimination; our Soviet female soldiers have pilots and snipers, but we still don't have a female marshal. Is your criticism of inequality just a disguised way of insulting your own people?"
“Hiss…” Davis suddenly realized something. “Mr. Sheldon, are you really not afraid that the Britannians might learn your method and use it on us… the consequences, according to your deductions…”
“We spent four years defeating the culprits who started the world war, but we always negotiated with them on the front lines with gunfire,” Garcia and Philip said in unison. “Until the moment the Germans and Japanese surrendered, they were never subdued by the halo of our advanced social system.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Sheldon, looking dejected, tore off the first half of the notebook and stuffed it into his backpack, discarding it for later use.
“You forced us into this.” Sheldon spread out the remaining half of the book. “In that case, we have no choice but to find a way to assassinate the people in this country who are driving this war. You, name a few people.”
“Ahem…” Davis paused. “In Area 11, there are three Knights of the Round Table. Suzaku Kururugi, Gino Bainberg, and Anya Alstorem are your priority targets. There is also a man named Maribel, who is also a big shot in charge of the army. As for that woman named Nunnally, although she is the governor, she is probably just a disabled person who is insignificant in the war.”
"The commanders of the expeditionary force are a brother and sister named Elizabeth and Kelly, right? Are they usually in Area 11?"
“No, and their elder brother, that Schneizel, is the mastermind behind it all, but he's basically always in the capital.” Stasevich shook his head. “Well then, we'll help you see what big fish in Area 11 there that aren't too well-known but still have some weight?”
……
Just as the group was about to leave, the radio tucked inside their clothes emitted an emergency assembly call.
"All military and police personnel in Bunkyo Ward, assemble immediately upon hearing this call. Repeat: A hostage situation has occurred at the Gerton Department Store. The perpetrators are highly likely to be terrorists from Area 11. Assemble at the department store immediately!"
Chapter 381, Section 484: The Rise of a Different "Army"
When they arrived at the mall, Davis, a former sheriff, immediately noticed something was amiss.
Do you remember that time when people from Area 11 robbed a bank? They killed a German civilian and left his body at the bank entrance, resulting in a small gunfight with the police.
Throughout this entire process, the military and police outside could easily see everything inside the bank through the glass doors. When escape seemed hopeless, the robbers even came out and offered conditions. However, these conditions seemed rather absurd given their behavior.
However, today in the shopping mall, the robbers who had been cornered by the military and police inside the bank acted quite differently. According to civilians who had managed to escape from the bank earlier, the first thing the robbers did after entering the bank was not to smash the bank counters. Instead, they used radios to contact other people while simultaneously taking out water and black paper and covering all the bank's glass windows.
After watching for a long time, even though the military and police verbally threatened to "launch a full-scale assault with KMF immediately," the robbers remained unfazed. There was no commotion or gunfire inside the bank. Those inside didn't care what was happening outside, and those outside had no idea what was going on inside the bank.
The standoff lasted for an hour and a half. The area next to the bank on the first floor and the area upstairs were heavily guarded. When the robbers had no hope of escaping, they suddenly announced through a loudspeaker that "all the hostages are safe and will be out in one minute."
It's so strange that the negotiations are going so smoothly. The key point is that the robbers didn't interact with the police at all during this time. But what's even stranger is that a minute later, all the hostages came out unharmed, and there was no incident that everyone was worried about, such as the robbers suddenly breaking the agreement and shooting the hostages in the back from inside the bank.
Everyone was both surprised and puzzled. Just then, a violent explosion occurred inside the bank, completely engulfing the walls and streets inside and out in gray smoke.
When the military and police rushed in, all that was left for them was a large hole in the floor blasted open by explosives—the robbers had blown up the bank lobby, connecting it to the ground floor of the shopping mall, and escaped through an abandoned tunnel from the former Tokyo subway.
……
“We remember it clearly. They all spoke Japanese and were all masked, but they seemed to be communicating with one of their commanders outside the site in English via radio.” As the surviving hostages recounted their experiences, Area 11 spent another inexplicable day in this unusual heist.
Of course, it would be terrible if Suzaku Kururugi, who knew all this and was Nunnally's helper, didn't notice anything amiss—anyone who follows Japan knows about the "miracle" created by Zero.
At Naritasan, ZERO miraculously fought his way out and nearly killed the then-governor's daughter, Cornelia; at the Fukuoka base, ZERO miraculously stood up and, together with Suzaku Kururugi, stormed into the headquarters of the so-called "Japanese Restoration Army." These are things that everyone knew last year.
This year, ZERO miraculously rose from the ashes and miraculously escaped the Tower of Babel while simultaneously putting Governor Carares to death.
Considering ZERO's usual tactics, and then looking at how the robbers blew up the bank's floor and made a quick getaway today, who wouldn't think they're from the same school? Besides, in addition to ZERO's usual "unpredictable defection," who knows that the abandoned subway tunnel under the Tokyo Concession was recently under construction and thinned out the area under the shopping mall where the bank is located?
"Lelouch!" Suzaku, having learned the true identity behind the ZERO mask, immediately ran back to Ashford Academy, but the trip yielded nothing. The boy he had used to exchange for his Knights of the Round Table status had indeed been at the school these past few days, and on the day the bank was robbed, Lelouch was with Violetta, who was working as a physical education teacher at the school.
The latter already had a solid mission to fulfill, and besides, who would be carrying a cell phone and making calls during a physical education makeup exam?
"Did I act impulsively?" Suzaku finally calmed down and thought things through. Comparing it with the past, she finally realized that there were some differences.
Let's consider where ZERO has appeared in the past: Prince Clovis in the Shinjuku slums; Princess Cornelia at the Fuji-Koguchi Hotel and Naritasan; Governor Karares at the Tower of Babel case; and Nunnally and Suzaku Kururugi at the Japan Special District Ceremony. Basically, everything ZERO has targeted has been more or less connected to important figures.
And look at today, the robbers with the style of the Black Knights and ZERO simply targeted the bank vault and stole everything without leaving a single banknote—there was no high-profile appearance by ZERO, no long speech by ZERO under the mask, and they didn't even want to call Nunnally and Suzaku to show up. Did the Black Knights turn into bandits who would die for money after the failure of the Grand Ceremony?
That's not right either. The Special Zone Ceremony was aborted, but ZERO still went to the Chinese Union and caused a huge scene with the Emperor, the eunuchs, and Schneizel, right? Who exactly is this guy who robbed a bank in Japan?
"Wait a minute, how could they know about the subway tunnel construction?" This thought is terrifying. Could it be that there are people in the Japanese military and police who are acting as informants for rebels other than ZERO?
……
On one hand, Suzaku targeted the prisoners of war from District 45, while on the other hand, he also targeted the undocumented residents of the Federation who had come to District 11.
The American and Soviet officers and soldiers naturally shook their heads at Suzaku's scrutiny, but they were not lying. Although the robbers from Area 11 who robbed the bank seemed to be well-trained and had inside agents in the Imperial military and police, why would they help the people from Area 11 who were always at odds with them?
"Damn it, we'll roll up our sleeves and do it ourselves when it comes to rebellion. When did it become the turn of those Japanese dogs to profit from the difference?"—Of course, the soldiers certainly didn't directly confront Suzaku like that.
Philip has maintained correspondence with Shirley over the past few days, and Shirley's reply indicates that Lelouch's behavior at school has been perfectly normal, completely ruling out the possibility that the bank robbery was perpetrated by the Black Knights.
But who else could it be? While there were civilians in Germany who dared to take up arms to protect their new homes, there was no need to rob a bank. When asked, the agents there knew nothing about it either—"We're targeting the governor, generals, research institutes, and factories. A bank? How many divisions are inside?"
"Could it be the Swedes?" Information from Kobe a few days ago indicated that Britannia had not only begun to encroach on Swedish territory, but had also relocated some Swedish civilians to open-air camps outside the Tokyo concession that had previously housed German civilians.
"Do you think Germans and Swedes would fight if they shared a bed?" But the more you think about it, the less you get a result; it's obvious.
The entire 11th district was being searched by the crazed Suzaku, but there was one safe haven among them—in the days following the bank robbery, every resident of the Tokyo Concession could see on television recordings of Maribel publicly condemning Nunnally and Suzaku's mismanagement.
"Nunali and Suzaku condone illegal immigration!" "Nunali and Suzaku condone lawlessness and disorder!" "Nunali and Suzaku are not fit to govern District 11!" These three sentences were repeated over and over, and the whole island of Honshu could smell the scent of Mary Bell's new governing policy of using force to remove the two from office and replace them with a crazy suppression of the people of District 11.
This can't go on. While Area 11 will descend into chaos, the chaos will be erratic and unpredictable. For the agents, Maribel's actions will only lead Area 11 to martial law and curfew, which would be detrimental to future attacks behind enemy lines. Besides, the agents can't exactly drive out that wrecked Tiger II tank parked in the Tokyo Concession and bombard the City Hall…
……
"...Let's turn our attention to a breaking news item. The day before yesterday, the Imperial military base on the outskirts of Tsuchipo City was attacked, resulting in 16 soldiers being killed or wounded. The latest investigation has confirmed that terrorists planted bombs in vehicles entering the military base, causing casualties and equipment damage in the garage."
"The head of the Topo military base said that all personnel who participated in the convoy that day have been detained. According to their confessions, the convoy fully complied with security regulations during its journey, and there were no unusual occurrences along the way. There are still no clues as to how the terrorists planted explosive devices on the vehicles."
"Currently, all military bases within District 11 are on high alert, and no organization, including the Black Knights, has claimed responsibility for the incident. However, there is evidence suggesting that the perpetrators may be the same organization that carried out the bank robbery in Gelton the day before yesterday..."
Damn it, how did Area 11 become like this? — Clark, hiding in the shadows of the city, has been so worried these past few days that his hair has turned white.
He had initially thought that with the agents coming to Area 11, his daily work of spying would be easier. But this new world was becoming increasingly incomprehensible to him.
The only clues he had, besides the usual news and conversations with officials, were a leaflet with a picture of ZERO at the scene of the bank robbery explosion.
"Hmm? Yamashita!" A sudden thought struck him, and he remembered this young man from Japan under his command. "When ZERO established the Black Knights, how did he recruit his men?"
“This…” Yamashita felt a little wary upon hearing this. “What do you need me to do, sir? Please tell me.”
"These newly emerged Japanese terrorists are so skilled; they're definitely not ordinary people. So, don't you think it's only natural to join your compatriots in the cause of driving out the plunderers?"
"Sir, there's something I've been thinking about for a long time." Yamashita paused. "You're from District 45, right?"
"This is no joke," Clark said, trying to appear calm.
“You don’t need to hide it anymore. You can’t hide the desire in your eyes that we Japanese have for expelling outsiders from our homeland. And…” Yamashita’s face was tense, but he suddenly broke down and gave a silly, aggrieved look. “Sir, was my act just now good? Hahahahahaha.”
"Pretending?" Clark shrugged. "Are you preparing to infiltrate that group of terrorists later?"
"I'm preparing to break free from my caged bird status!" Yamashita, his face brimming with youthful energy, read aloud the words on the title page of a tattered comic book in his hand.
"A bird that has fallen to the ground anxiously awaits the wind. Blindly praying will not bring dawn. The humiliation of imprisonment becomes the arrow of retaliation!"
“Imprisonment? No, no, no, young man, you’ve got the wrong idea.” Clark patted him on the shoulder. “The cage doesn’t exist; it’s just the spittle of our enemies who despise us.”
"We were never born caged birds. We are alligators of the Mississippi River, we are great white sharks of the sea. This has always been our home. No matter how glamorous the words of outsiders who step into the water, they will drown in our sharp teeth and their own blood."
Chapter 382, Section 485: Malicious Intent
Do you remember those two men who served in the Knights of Agincourt? Anyone who hears this story can't help but marvel at the incredible coincidence: Angelie's father, Maester Salen, and Sissie's father, Colonel Georgeston, actually met in the audience of a military parade in the capital.
And so their paths naturally began to cross. After all, there was nothing to worry about at home: Angelie's younger siblings had all entered the workforce, and Xixi'an, as an only child, lived with her single father. The only thing the two middle-aged men needed to worry about was their own health.
Yes, you could tell the problem as soon as they got off the commercial flight. Colonel Georgeston was not only wearing thicker clothes, but he was also coughing constantly, and even his luggage had to be carried by an aide and Mr. Salen.