Which side are you on?

Before the collapse of the old United States Federal Government.

The armed train transporting Dutch arrived in the snowy mountains of Ambarino.

Hosea, that old man, also returned with him.

Van der Linde's Guard had already reached the snowy mountains of Ambarino, but had not advanced further.

After all, Dutch wasn't there before, and without him overseeing the big picture, everyone felt a bit uncertain.

But thankfully, Dutch returned unharmed.

And accompanied by his congressional speech, it completely pushed the wave of public opinion in the United States to its peak.

True war had not yet begun, but the territories in the South that originally belonged to the South during the American Civil War had already begun to align with Dutch.

There was indeed something to be said for this.

After the American Civil War, represented by the radical Democratic Party at the time, in order to punish the South's independence and resistance, and to punish the people of the South, they manipulated the United States Federal Government to introduce various targeted policies to gradually weaken the Southern states.

This made the Southern states miserable, and at the same time, the desire for revenge and hostility did not decrease, but rather increased.

This can be seen through the dialogue of the Braithwaite family in the game; they even secretly funded the Lemoyne Raiders who wanted to restore Southern slavery.

It's like when you boldly start a team within the system, the system automatically matches teammates.

As soon as Dutch started the team, these Southern states, which had long harbored deep resentment and malice, spontaneously began to move.

"Choo Choo Choo…"

The armed train drove into the snowy mountains of Ambarino.

"Cough cough!" Arthur, who was leaning on the front of the train watching the driver shovel coal into the furnace, coughed twice, choked by the black smoke. He then fanned away the thick smoke from his nose and mouth, pulled out a cigar, lit it, and took a few light puffs.

"Here!" Arthur tossed his cigar case to the train driver, then found a clean spot and sat down.

"Thank you, Mr. Morgan." The train driver was also a Van der Linde's Guard, and he naturally recognized Arthur Morgan, the third-in-command of the VDL Party.

Not only did he know him, but he also respected him greatly.

Because Arthur could talk to anyone, and with Dutch's restraint, he was now very polite to the people in his territory.

After all, these people were also the property of their Van der Linde Gang.

"Were you afraid when you went to Washington this time?" Arthur leaned comfortably against the train car, looking at the driver and asking.

"No, sir. I might have been very afraid if I had to go to Washington by myself before, after all, I'm just a small person at the lowest level. But this time we were going to rescue Van der Linde, so I wasn't afraid!

My son, daughter, and wife have all been taken good care of by Van der Linde. I believe that even if I die in Washington, they will have a happy life.

I couldn't even imagine the life I have now in the past, sir!"

The driver held the cigar in his mouth, adding coal while laughing without turning his head.

It was clear that he was genuinely happy with his current life and truly enjoyed it.

"Then we are very likely to move on the East next, and that will truly ignite a war, and you might die on the battlefield at any time. Are you not afraid of that either?"

Arthur didn't know what he was thinking.

Perhaps the sight of Dutch being captured this time, with the entire Van der Linde's Guard mobilized and assembled in Ambarino, had somewhat shocked him, or perhaps his own sense of guilt was rising, weighing on him and making him emotionally unstable. This made him begin to self-reflect, much like his self-redemption in the later stages of the game.

This reflection continuously elevated his moral and life values, especially now.

Dutch was starting a real war!

This made him feel a strong sense of guilt, as if the thousands of soldiers who were about to die on the battlefield were sacrificing themselves because of him.

In other words, now, at the mere thought of instigating war, he felt a pang of softness.

This also made him start asking and genuinely caring about the thoughts of these soldiers.

As the saying goes, a compassionate person cannot command an army; someone like Arthur could not command an army.

Listening to Arthur's question, the driver, who was shoveling coal, put the last shovel of coal into the furnace, then leaned on his shovel and smiled in the workshop: "How could I not be afraid, Mr. Morgan? Besides those with mental illnesses and those without hope in life who aren't afraid of death, I think everyone else is afraid of death."

"But fear is useless, Mr. Morgan.

Just like the American Civil War, the war between the two sides was fundamentally about Northern capitalists wanting to use machines to seize the market from Southern slave owners. After all, even the cheapest machines and labor couldn't compare to the production costs of slaves, who could be bought for little money.

So, fundamentally, it was still a war of interests.

And it's the same now. The capitalists in the East can't stand our Western wages and living standards; they don't want production costs to increase because of us.

At the same time, Van der Linde's nationalization policy completely uprooted the foundation of Eastern capital; they couldn't just watch Van der Linde grow stronger and eventually forcibly confiscate their assets. This is a fundamental conflict of interest.

So this war is unavoidable.

For them, it's a war of interests concerning their wealth, but for us, it's a revolutionary war that concerns each and every one of us, and countless generations of our descendants.

So this war is unavoidable; even if they don't start it, we will.

Perhaps I'll be afraid to go to the battlefield, but I'll still go. Because I also want to fight for a better future for my son and daughter, Mr. Morgan."

The driver, dressed in a Van der Linde's Guard uniform, puffed on his cigar, rubbed his nose which was red from the cold wind, but his words made Arthur feel so noble.

Arthur's mouth dropped open in shock, exclaiming, "Sh*t! Who told you that?"

"Of course, Van der Linde. Mr. Morgan, don't you study the Van der Linde spirit at all?" The driver laboriously pulled out a red book from his cotton coat pocket.

Mr. Dutch Van der Linde's portrait on the book cover was so striking.

The driver handed the worn-out red book to Arthur, and said earnestly, "I think it's time you studied more, Mr. Morgan. At least Van der Linde can let me know who I am fighting for and what I am fighting for."

It is precisely because of this that those who know what they are fighting for will truly possess a high degree of loyalty and spirit of sacrifice.

"Dutch, why aren't we advancing east yet? Are we just going to let them stabilize?"

"Strike while the iron's hot, Dutch! Otherwise, our momentum will fade, and we'll be exhausted!"

"Our army is ready, our Tanks are ready, and we even have fifty airplanes!"

"Let's go, Dutch! So many people are suffering and waiting for us to save them!"

Hosea urged Dutch repeatedly, desperate to send troops.

If he hadn't been afraid of accidentally being hit by artillery fire while rescuing Dutch, or of sending troops directly to other states, preventing their armored train from reaching Washington, Hosea would have deployed troops long before Dutch was rescued.

Dutch sat inside the train, pouring himself a cocktail from the table. He took a sip, sighed deeply, and put it down.

"Oh, sh*t! Hosea, why are you crazier than me now, old friend?"

Dutch quickly reached for the cocktail bottle, poured Hosea a drink, and handed it to him.

"Have a drink to cool down, Hosea."

Hosea waved his hand, saying, "I'm not thirsty, Dutch. I just want to know when we can finally start moving!

Striking first allows us to seize the initiative, Dutch, you should know that better than I do!

Oh, I don't understand. Our forces are strong, our fighting spirit is high, and our weapons and equipment are top-notch. The advantage is clearly ours, so why can't you be bolder and just send troops?"

Watching Hosea's stubborn expression, Dutch sighed deeply and said, "Hosea, you think war is too simple!

But war isn't like robbing a bank, where you can just decide to fight and leave whenever you want.

Capturing these lands is the easiest part of the war! Subsequent governance, the economic operations during wartime, and logistical supplies from the rear—these are the most important things.

Moreover, if I'm not mistaken, kidnapping the Federal Government officials this time will greatly diminish the United States Government's resilience.

It will also attract foreign powers to invade."

"What do you mean?" Hosea took the glass.

He knew Dutch liked to think everything through thoroughly; this was the most important aspect of his transformation.

"Hosea, with the United States facing such a huge change, do you think imperialist powers like British and France will just stand by and watch?

Not only British and France, but even the Russian Empire and Japan won't just idly watch the internal changes in the United States from their own countries.

Aside from anything else, why do you think Canada was able to remain independent next to the United States?

Hosea, have you forgotten the American-British War decades ago?

For British and France, or rather, these strong nations, they either want to seize this opportunity to occupy American land, or they want to use this opportunity to split the United States!

Only when a neighboring country is perpetually in a state of unrest can they seek profit within it."

Dutch was referring to the 1812 American-British War over the Canadian issue.

In reality, throughout history, the consistent methods of these old capitalist powers towards other countries have all been cut from the same cloth.

For example, they spend money to cultivate internal resistance forces or terrorists in your country, allowing them to grow stronger and stronger.

This way, your country will be unstable, unable to develop fully, and thus fall behind them, leading to invasion and colonization.

The colonial system hasn't collapsed yet; it will completely collapse after World War II due to excessive domestic pressure from colonization, at which point the colonial strategy will shift to a fragmentation strategy.

They will either cultivate armed groups to split your country or stir up constant trouble for you every day.

This way, they can take whatever they want from you.

And the same principle applies now.

Listening to Dutch's analysis, Hosea frowned and said, "Then are we just going to stand by and watch, or wait for them to come and attack us?"

"Of course not, Hosea! I have a backup plan, Hosea. Have you forgotten the European issues I once analyzed for you?"

"But I haven't seen any news from Europe yet, Dutch! How long do we have to wait?" They had just returned to Valentine by train, and it wasn't yet time for the European fleets mentioned earlier to arrive.

So, Hosea felt that Dutch's analysis might be wrong.

But he couldn't come up with any ideas himself.

After much thought, it was still best to follow Dutch's plan, as he was the smartest.

"When those European countries send people over, Hosea. When they send their fleets, as soon as they show their heads, we will launch an attack on them.

Give them an excuse to land in the United States!

Only then will they have an excuse to send large numbers of troops.

And once they continuously send troops, Hosea, the European countries, having lost most of their power, will be like tempting pieces of meat in the eyes of the German Emperor—meat he'd regret not eating!"

Dutch's eyes narrowed slightly, filled with calculation and shrewdness.

"At that time, their own countries will be preoccupied, and these troops stationed abroad will naturally have no logistical support.

And their homelands, due to the heavy losses of elites, will find it difficult to resist the German Emperor's elite forces.

And once those European elites arrive, the United States Federal Government will have to resist them, even if they don't want to, otherwise they will completely lose credibility and legitimacy in the United States!

So, Hosea, once the European fleets appear, our newspaper must immediately publish an article, expressing our VDL Party's determination to resist the invaders to the last man, even before the United States Federal Government does!

We must seize the general trend, we must seize the land, and we must seize the population!

And this war, from beginning to end, was instigated by us!

Hosea, this is true victory! Hahahaha, hahahaha..."

Dutch burst into laughter.

He had even precisely calculated the German Emperor's timing for intervention.

As for whether the German Emperor would not attack British and France but instead join them in causing trouble in the United States?

Don't be ridiculous. Their conflicts were already irreconcilable, and now was the best time.

Would the German Emperor abandon several pieces of pork belly to eat a sheep droppings? Is he that foolish?

"I've said it before, Hosea, the world situation has always been developing in the direction I envisioned. The fundamental reason isn't that I'm skilled in military affairs, but because I've grasped the fundamental ideas of these capitalists and politicians.

So, Hosea, don't ask me when we can send troops anymore. This war of ours isn't just against the United States Federal Government; we also have to fight against the elite troops of all of Europe!

And in this battle, I will not only establish our VDL Party's leadership in the United States, but also completely change the world order!

Our time to rise has come!"

Hosea sat by, listening, and felt a chill run down his spine.

He understood, he completely understood!

From completely establishing his identity by causing a major disturbance in the United States Congress, to instigating the greed of European countries to send troops, then to Van der Linde and Germany simultaneously beating down the fallen, then to completely seizing righteousness under the guise of resistance, and finally not only completely controlling the United States but also entirely changing the world order.

Dutch Van der Linde, he truly calculated everything.

And this plan, from beginning to end, was an absolute open conspiracy arranged by calculating the hearts and minds of various countries around the world!