Victory

The landing battle in Seattle was a great victory.

A complete and utter victory.

The total forces involved in this war from both sides amounted to 40,000. The battle lasted a continuous week (including the duration of the fighting before Seattle), resulting in 8,000 deaths and 5,000 missing. The Russian Empire had 9,632 wounded soldiers captured by Arthur and John.

The casualty rate of this war was unprecedented.

The battlefield mortality rate in this era was not high, especially direct deaths on the battlefield.

A large portion of the casualties died during subsequent treatment of their injuries. For example, in the American Civil War, a considerable number of the total 660,000 casualties died during treatment in battlefield hospitals.

The biggest reason for this was the underdevelopment of medicine, in addition to the Northern capital's unwillingness to continue funding the treatment of wounded soldiers later on.

But no matter what, achieving nearly a fifty percent casualty rate on the front lines was enough to demonstrate how perilous this war truly was.

The reason it was so perilous can only be attributed to Mr. Van der Linde's excessive extravagance!

Full-range artillery saturation bombardment; in this era, few nations could afford such a scale of consumption.

The fundamental reason Mr. Van der Linde could afford it was that he possessed both large-scale industry and abundant resources, and from beginning to end, all assets belonged entirely to him, Dutch Van der Linde, which was why he dared to unleash such high-intensity fire coverage.

One by one, crestfallen prisoners, covered in dust, had their weapons removed and were escorted by Van der Linde's Guard towards the train station.

Those wounded who could be saved were rescued; those who truly couldn't be saved had to be inhumanely abandoned, as they wouldn't survive long in the seawater anyway, and their suffering might be slightly less.

The coastal battle of Seattle was completely over.

In this battle, eight of the Russian Empire's twenty-five warships were sunk, seven escaped, and ten were forced to surrender directly due to being caught in a pincer attack.

At this point, the prisoners were completely under control, and it could be said that the VDL Party's first foreign war had ended perfectly.

"Oh, Mr. Morgan, esteemed Mr. Morgan! We are truly grateful, Mr. Morgan..." Mayor McCann of Seattle, both surprised and fearful, scurried with a group of officials to the location of Van der Linde's Guard, where he found Arthur and John commanding the troops.

They had watched the entire battle through telescopes, and the immense scale of the battlefield and the terrifying military might of the VDL Party filled them with dread.

Damn it, they had thought Dutch Van der Linde would have some tricks up his sleeve; after all, how else would he dare to oppose the United States Government at this time?

But they never imagined that Mr. Dutch Van der Linde would have such an extensive arsenal of tricks!

These twenty thousand Tsarist Russian soldiers weren't killed by cannon fire; they were truly killed by sheer dollars!

If Mr. Dutch Van der Linde were a normal capitalist, or even a normal person, he would never have conceived of such a fire-saturation bombardment!

In this era, human lives were not as valuable as cannon shells!

The cost of one round of shelling like this could have recruited a hundred thousand men!

In fact, today's battle not only shocked Mayor McCann but also Arthur, John, and all of Van der Linde's Guard.

Only by witnessing thousands of cannon shells flying across the battlefield simultaneously could one truly understand how awe-inspiring such a grand scale of warfare was.

However, at present, Arthur had no time for pleasantries with Mayor McCann.

Arthur raised his hand to stop Mayor McCann's flattering words and spoke to the great general, John Marston, who hadn't fired a single shot:

"John, take our men and bring all these prisoners back for re-education. I will stay here with the remaining troops. If Dutch has any instructions, he can contact me directly by telegram.

Oh, right, John, don't forget the speech!" Arthur patted John's shoulder, a profound look in his eyes.

A speech, that's right, a speech.

Before coming here, Dutch had asked them to give more speeches.

A good orator can rally the people's beliefs; Hill is a typical example.

No matter how outstanding your personal abilities or how formidable your political skills, if you can't give a speech, it's all for naught. You simply can't mobilize others' thoughts or win their trust.

Conversely, if you possess powerful oratorical skills, you don't need to know anything else; talent from all walks of life will naturally be drawn to your side.

Therefore, Dutch was cultivating their oratorical talents, so they could lead groups of people to campaign outside without him in the future.

Listening to Arthur's request, John nodded with a slight sense of pressure, saying, "Sure, Arthur, I know."

"Although I can't compare to Dutch and Hosea right now, I think I'll always be better than Bill!"

Bill, that good-for-nothing, is almost a drunkard now.

"Very good, John. And now, Mr. McCann, I believe we can discuss the subsequent development, construction, and defense of Seattle."

"I represent the Van Der Linde Government, and I hope you can also represent Washington State." Arthur nodded, then looked at Mayor McCann, who was waiting respectfully and cautiously by his side.

Their battle certainly couldn't be free. And the Van der Linde's Guard left here certainly wouldn't be freeloaders.

Next, Arthur would follow Dutch's instructions to occupy Seattle, confiscate all capitalist assets, recruit soldiers, and completely transform Seattle into another Saint Denis.

Meanwhile, John also returned to the train station with the prisoner escort team.

Of the more than nine thousand prisoners, only about five thousand were relatively intact with minor injuries, so only these five thousand would be transported. Other severely wounded prisoners would be treated in Seattle, incorporated by Arthur, and become members of Seattle.

Dutch had said that their VDL Party was righteous and benevolent, so it was impossible for them to commit atrocities like harming prisoners or massacres.

Mr. Van der Linde demanded that all prisoners from the battlefield be taken back for re-education. Although re-education sounded like living as a slave, the treatment as Mr. Van der Linde's slave was far better than their lives back home farming!

They were almost like serfs in the Russian Empire, but here, working for Mr. Van der Linde meant they would be fed! After two years of reform, they could own their own homes. Saving some money would allow them to start a brand new life, a new life as human beings. It's easy to imagine how much these captives would love life here and their new identities.

Russia itself is poor and has a small-scale peasant economy. Dutch cannot fight a long war of attrition with them, or internal problems will arise.

But the Tsarist Russians are not afraid of death; they fought bravely and sacrificed themselves against the German Empire. Although the current Russian Empire does not have such strong cohesion, he does not want to pay too high a price.

The main purpose of war is profit; he wants profit, not senseless consumption.

Therefore, a softening policy towards the Tsarist Russian forces is very necessary, even to the point of making their own people fight each other. Only then can they sustain the war with war and completely exhaust the Romanov dynasty's luck.

At this moment, looking at the open space where five thousand captives and Van der Linde's Guard had gathered, John smoothed his long hair and, with a touch of nervousness, stepped onto the top of the train.

For the convenience of the speech, an electric loudspeaker had been added to the locomotive. Standing there, he was visible to everyone in the train station.

The five thousand or so Tsarist Russian captives in the train station either had expressionless faces, as if they no longer cared about life or death, or were full of fear, but dared not make a sound.

These serfs actually knew their fate very well, because in the years of fighting in the Russian Empire, captives never had a good end.

What awaited them was either immediate death or being tortured to death.

This also left them with no vitality or vigor.

Some people's eyes were dim, but their hands tightly clutched photos of their loved ones.

Some people clasped their hands together, but what they recited was not Orthodox scriptures, but the name of their mother.

Some people secretly rejoiced, fortunately they had sent the money given for enlistment back home before setting off. Although they might not be able to return, the family could buy new farm tools and new seeds, and their parents and siblings could continue to survive.

Some people thought of their children and had already secretly cried out loud.

From a broad perspective, war may have rights and wrongs, but for these soldiers who participated, each one was extremely pitiful.

Around the train station wall stood groups of Seattle citizens, each cautiously peeking their heads out to secretly observe the captives inside.

They also seemed unable to understand why these people who had used violence against them were now so sad.

It was as if they had done something wrong.

"Look me!"

Just as the scene was filled with sadness, John, standing on the train's loudspeaker, suddenly shouted.

The electric loudspeaker instantly amplified his voice, and because his voice was so loud, the sound from the loudspeaker was like thunder.

The captives were startled and instantly straightened their bodies, but they didn't understand English and had no idea what John was saying.

Fortunately, Ivanov, the former Tsarist Russian officer from Lemoyne, had also come with them. At this moment, he quickly translated after John spoke.

Accompanied by Mr. Ivanov's translation, the captive Tsarist Russian finally raised their heads, looking at John on the train with either hatred, calmness, or fear.

Seeing them look over, John finally nodded with satisfaction.

"Hello, gentlemen. I am John Marston, General of the VDL Party!"

The captives below didn't react much to his military rank, which made John a little dissatisfied.

Damn it, he really liked his new identity.

Looking at the sorrowful faces of the captives below, John suddenly felt a little sentimental. If Dutch hadn't led them to change, perhaps their fate wouldn't be much better than the captives in front of him.

Thinking of this, John suddenly knew how he should give his speech.

Perhaps he could learn from Dutch and first find a common enemy for these people.

"I am very happy to be able to speak to you here today, but I am even happier to see you here. Because this means you have completely escaped the sea of suffering!

Perhaps you don't understand what I mean, but the pride of being a member of the VDL Party compels me to give you a brief introduction!

The VDL Party is a bright, great, and peace-loving party. Mr. Dutch Van der Linde is our leader, and he will be your leader too!

Dutch said that the essence of war is an inhumane conflict initiated by the highest beneficiaries who are not satisfied with the profits they have gained. The most deserving of judgment throughout the war are the highest-ranking nobles and domestic capital, not you soldiers, nor should it be you soldiers.

You, the children of farmers, were coerced by them onto the battlefield to sacrifice your lives. If you are to be cruelly treated in the end, that would be too tragic."

As John spoke these words, more of the captives below seemed to be listening.

This was the first time they had heard such a viewpoint, especially from an enemy's mouth.

Within Tsarist Russia, whether it was the rebel army or the Tsarist government, they always demanded that their people stand up, resist, and fight, rather than placing the responsibility on themselves.

Of course, John was fooling them. The essence of war is extremely complex; how could it be explained with such simple words? However, just as Dutch established the Eastern Capitalists as a common enemy, John was also shifting the captives' internal hatred towards the powerful and wealthy of their own country.

By planting a hidden bomb now, later, after they live a happy reformed life, they will, following the ideas John explained to them, conquer themselves. Finally, they will completely become loyal supporters of the VDL Party.

Watching their eyes begin to converge, John's speech became increasingly passionate.

"Your usual lives are already miserable enough. The original intention of the war was not provoked by you; you are merely the simplest sacrifices in the hands of those politicians, paying with your lives for their desires.

Dutch said that the children of farmers do not need to be innocent sacrifices in the hands of politicians; you should have a happier life.

At least from us, let there be less sorrow and more happiness!"