Chapter 376 Hunger is also a weapon (Second update, please subscribe)
The damage that modern warfare brings to a city is unimaginable. After the Argentine army's retreat, there were said to be about 200,000 citizens left in Buenos Aires. They stayed at home in fear, listening to the gunshots and shouting outside the windows.
Sometimes they would hear cries and incomprehensible words coming from the neighbor's house. When those people left, they could see through the glass window that the neighbor's man had been taken away.
He was taken as a prisoner.
It was not until this time that they felt somewhat fortunate that they had not joined the civil defense team, otherwise they would probably have been taken away as prisoners of war.
After several days of sweeping the city, all the remaining enemies and bandits who took advantage of the chaos to rob had been wiped out. At the beginning, apart from the soldiers wandering around, there were almost no ordinary citizens to be seen on the streets.
It was not until three days later that the streets slowly regained some vitality. To people's surprise, the Nanhua Army, which was called "barbarians" in official statements, was extremely civilized. They neither occupied residents' houses, nor robbed property, nor raped women.
Moreover, as an occupying force, they quickly restored order in the city. Compared with the chaotic scene when they first entered the city where thieves and robbers were taking advantage of the situation to rob everywhere, everything is now so orderly.
"Argentina is dead..."
Regardless of whether they are willing to face it or not, in the hearts of those citizens, this is a destined thing. Even if the provinces are still resisting, it is only a matter of time before they are destroyed.
The citizens of Buenos Aires were waiting for that moment with mixed feelings. There was a hint of relief in their sadness. People breathed a sigh of relief for the end of this nightmare. At least a large number of them believed that as long as Nanhua occupied the city, they would have nothing to do with this war.
What will happen to Argentina and Buenos Aires in the future is not a problem they consider. Life must go on, even if they have to speak Chinese starting tomorrow.
In fact, during the war, most people were obedient. When the citizens, who were feeling uneasy, found that this army was more civilized than they thought, they had to face a reality - food shortage and soaring prices.
However, in just three days, many ordinary citizens of Buenos Aires have fallen into a survival crisis.
In fact, Buenos Aires had originally stored a large amount of daily necessities, and even requisitioned tens of thousands of tons of food such as wheat that had not yet been shipped out from the dock. However, when Sarnto was evacuated, they ordered the burning of the warehouses storing food and shipped away the tens of thousands of tons of wheat on the ship.
In the past few days, in order to prevent the defeated soldiers from escaping, the Nanhua army outside the city had imposed a strict blockade on the city, prohibiting anyone from entering or leaving. For a time, all food sources were completely cut off.
Buenos Aires, a city surrounded by farms, was in a food shortage for the first time. In front of the bakery, women lined up anxiously, not knowing whether they could still buy food when it was their turn, but what was certain was that prices were soaring.
"God, you are such a bunch of idiots. You are asking for one peso for such a small piece of bread. Why don't you just rob people?"
"Robbery, ma'am. The real robber was Sarnto. He took away all the food. He also burned the food that he couldn't take away. God can testify that the price of flour has increased by more than ten times now..."
There is always competition between bakers and women. Even though they complain, everyone has to eat.
While people are cursing the greed of unscrupulous businessmen, there will certainly be people who speak out.
"If you think it's expensive, go ask those South Chinese why they don't let people enter the city..."
Of course, no one would ask at this time. Of course, some citizen representatives went to the occupying authorities to ask when things could return to normal, and the answer they got was very simple.
"We are now forced to impose a blockade. Once the resistance elements hiding among the citizens give up resistance, we will immediately lift the blockade."
As for the food needed by the citizens, the occupying authorities certainly said they would raise as much as possible and asked them to be patient.
"Food is a weapon!"
Taking a military telescope from his servant, Zhu Xianhai looked at the city. If nothing unexpected happened, he would ascend the throne and become emperor here.
Maybe somewhere else, who knows?
Emperor, this is of course his choice. He definitely cannot choose a republic or something like that because he has to take into account the feelings of the South Americans!
After all, there are so many countries in South America, such as Chile, Peru, Argentina, Paraguay... These countries will definitely be part of South China in the future. The easiest way to integrate these countries is to become an emperor.
"By the grace of God, the King and Dictator of South China, Araucania, Patagonia, Chile, Argentina, and Paraguay..."
All these titles added together naturally mean the Emperor of Nanhua!
Of course, these titles are the legitimacy of these countries. In fact, the so-called legitimacy is nothing more than strength. It is just a disguise outside of strength.
"Now, there are many women in this city whose husbands and fathers lost their lives in the war. How do these women live? Ji Gao."
Putting down the telescope, Zhu Xianhai turned his head to look at Zuo Zongtang and said.
"How do you think they live?"
It's not easy for women to live on their own in this era! What can they do? In this city, they can hardly find any jobs!
"It should be very difficult! After all, in the past, they mostly relied on men to earn money to live, and the women just did odd jobs."
After visiting various European countries for so long, Zuo Zongtang was very familiar with the situation of those women. Only in places with factories could women find jobs more easily.
Now, no one will hire them even as maids, because most of the rich people in the city have left.
Who among the poor would hire a maid?
Picking up the teacup on the table, Zhu Xianhai sat on the cloth folding chair, looked into the distance and spoke leisurely.
"Now, it is not possible for them to find odd jobs. The rich and powerful have fled, and there is no sign of the factories reopening. In addition, many stores have been looted. In the next few months, there will be very few job opportunities in Buenos Aires. And now prices are rising. How can they live?"
After taking a sip of tea, Zhu Xianhai pointed to the tents in the distance and said.
"They can't just starve to death like this."
starve!
This kind of thing is absolutely impossible. For women in the city, they have other options.
"Soldiers! We have hundreds of thousands of soldiers here, and their income is enough to support their families."
Putting the teacup in his hand on the table, Zhu Xianhai smiled.
"When supplies are scarce in the city, they can buy cheap food and some goods from the military stores. As long as they are smart enough, I believe they can easily win the favor of women!"
This is what Zhu Xianhai wanted to achieve. So many bachelors in the army need wives. They need women to reproduce for them. And the women in the city are potential targets. It is also the premise of the "second replacement" of the South American population and the fundamental guarantee for the long-term stability of the empire.
"But, in this city, many women's husbands, sons or brothers died on the battlefield resisting us. Will they accept it so easily?"
Zuo Zongtang was a little unsure. In fact, if it happened in the Qing Dynasty, this would be a very simple matter. Just rob them. Keep your swords on for three days after entering the city, kill all the men and rob the women.
But it is different here. Nanhua will definitely become the target of public criticism if it does this. After all, from the outbreak of the war until now, Nanhua has always stood on the moral high ground.
Even if some troops dealt with prisoners of war in private, they did it quietly without the knowledge of the outside world. Even when they buried them, they did not bury them randomly. In order to avoid leaving any evidence, they even buried the dealt prisoners separately.
"These are not important in life. For the sake of life, they will definitely compromise!"
Zhu Xianhai has no doubt about this. During World War II, many women in Western Europe devoted themselves to the German army and even gave birth to children for them. Under the pressure of life, women definitely did not mind devoting themselves to the invaders, at least European women did not mind.
If there are enough benefits, those women will even rush to throw themselves into the arms of the invader. This is true whether in Western Europe or Eastern Europe.
Picking up a piece of bread from the table, Zhu Xianhai smiled.
"In fact, life is just a piece of bread..."
Women have always been so realistic. As early as in the primitive society millions of years ago, women depended on men for survival and relied on men to provide food.
The same is true now. There is nothing wrong with giving yourself to a man for food.
Even if those men were invaders, it made no difference to the women.
"All we need is to create a shortage of food artificially, so that we can indirectly help those soldiers."
When he said this, Zhu Xianhai looked like an expert.
In fact, he is not an expert at all, but he just understands human nature. In the face of hunger, almost everyone will compromise.
“When we create this scarcity, our soldiers will have the opportunity to get everything they want in this city with a piece of bread or a box of canned goods.”
What can they get?
From women to wealth, they can get everything from this city.
With a smug smile, Zhu Xianhai put the bread back on the plate.
"In the face of hunger, even a lady will become a ..."
(End of this chapter)
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