Deep Space Wandering Fleet-Chapter 225 - The Patriotic Fervor Among the People
Chapter 225: Chapter 225: The Patriotic Fervor Among the People (Combined)
Chapter 225: Chapter 225: The Patriotic Fervor Among the People (Combined)
Just at three o’clock that afternoon, a few soldiers who had intercepted nuclear warheads with a shuttle returned to the Time of the Earth Era from the surface. These soldiers received a hero’s welcome!
Crowds of people blocked the entrance of the residential area, spontaneously greeting the returning heroes.
Their enthusiasm was akin to an honor guard, and even though flowers inside the spaceship were extremely expensive, they sold out crazily fast!
The award ceremony for “First-Class Heroes” and “Second-Class Heroes” was quite solemn. It was not only a commendation for meritorious soldiers but also an inspiring war mobilization, so a large number of common people were allowed to attend.
Various official journalists and self-media reporters lined up at the edge of the event, flashing their cameras like there was no tomorrow. Three soldiers received first-class medals, while the teams responsible for observation and calculation in the rear received second-class medals. Without these computing personnel, it would have been impossible to intercept the nuclear bombs with just the shuttle, so these workers were equally commendable.
The soldiers solemnly accepted their medals and decorations with serious expressions as the solemn “Internationale” played.
Zhang Yuan stood by, watching with a smile and applauding; he had only received a second-class award. Although he also made a significant contribution and could even be said to have come up with a temporary solution that was more significant than the soldiers’ contributions, at his level, there was no need to compete with the soldiers for credit. Receiving a second-class award was enough for him.
“Salute!”
“At ease!”
Applause and cheers erupted over the parade ground, again and again.
Watching the enthusiastic crowd, shuttle pilot Li Junkang felt himself floating on air. The first-class medal he’d received would drastically change his life trajectory, making him stand out from the crowd.
Moving up to a managerial position or even a higher post in the future wasn’t out of the question.
He saw in the eyes of many girls below an admiring gaze that nearly made him soar.
But a glance at Officer Guo’s serious face in front of him quickly straightened his own expression. The Civilizational crisis was not yet over, and personal issues should be pushed aside… Yes, that’s how it should be.
A beautiful female reporter had already extended the microphone to him: “Hello, I am Ji Jingjing, a reporter from the Deep Space Daily…”
“Hello, Journalist Ji,” Li Junkang gave a salute.
“The first question I want to ask is, did you feel fear or terror when you were on the mission? After all, using a civilian shuttle to intercept a supersonic missile is incredibly difficult…even as a layperson, I find it incredibly challenging. Was there no weapon system on board, and was the Deceleration Umbrella interception solution made up on the spot?”
In truth, all the dialogue had been prepared in advance, and Li Junkang, reminded of his mission, swallowed with difficulty, struggling to clear his head. If he embarrassed himself here, he might never be able to lift his head again for the rest of his life.
He said somewhat awkwardly, “Fear… of course there was! We had never been on a real battlefield, and peace has lasted far too long!”
“But once we set off, we instantly forgot those fears… because whether we faced them lying down or standing up, death was the same. It’s better to face them standing and complete the mission before dying!”
“As for the Deceleration Umbrella interception plan, it was thought up by Minister Zhang of the New Civilization Development Department. Fortunately, we executed it well enough… we didn’t let everyone down.”
A friendly laughter filled the venue. To claim no fear at all would have contradicted human nature; speaking this way instead seemed more realistic and quickly narrowed the distance between him and the audience.
As for Mr. Zhang of the New Civilization Development Department, a top-notch intellect, everyone knew him as the most esteemed person on the spaceship. Coming up with a good solution was no surprise for the public.
“I heard that you originally came from the Xia Country Peacekeeping Team on Earth, is that correct?”
“Yes! But that is all in the past now!”
“Did you carry out any missions on Earth?”
Li Junkang pondered for a while, then spouted a long list: “Back on Earth, we indeed carried out some missions. The entire team had been awarded third-class merits five times, second-class merit once… It was the entire team’s contribution, not individual glory.”
“When you were executing this mission, the nuclear bomb you intercepted suddenly exploded. How did you survive that? That’s a nuclear bomb… it signifies the most violent destructive force in nature.”
Right at that moment, Major Guo, standing to one side, joined in the conversation: “In space, a vacuum explosion of a nuclear bomb doesn’t have the same effect as we imagine.”
“Nuclear bombs, including the Hydrogen Bomb and the Helium-3 Bomb, are just conventional weapons in interstellar warfare. An explosion in space doesn’t produce shockwaves or mushroom clouds, so if it doesn’t detonate right next to you, the lethality isn’t considered too strong.”
Following this, a video started playing on the big screen in the square, about common knowledge of interstellar warfare and the current progress of various weapons research. The Earth Civilization had once experienced an interstellar civil war, so the new civilization had some experience in this regard.
There were many conceptual things, such as the powerful Helium-Hydrogen Ion Cannon, which were products of the Earth Civilization. The current new civilization couldn’t produce them yet, but the idea was to put them up there for now.
According to the current subconscious of the common people, the advanced legacy of Earth Civilization all belonged to the new civilization. Since Earth Civilization was able to create these, the new civilization could also make them… given enough time.
Although there was an element of exaggeration, these conceptual weapons invisibly quelled the public’s panic.
After the entire video played, the venue erupted with fervent applause. Many people were whispering among themselves, and the confidence in winning the war grew a bit more.
“So what we humans lack is nothing but time!”
“Please don’t worry, everyone. If we can engage in prolonged warfare, we will become stronger and stronger, and the scales of victory are tipped in humanity’s favor!”
“Officer Guo, is there anything else you’d like to say to everyone?” With the time almost up, the journalist asked the last and most important question.
What followed was the main event…
Major Guo wore a “simple and honest” smile: “After receiving the first-class merit, our few people were granted a two-day leave to relax. But since the war hasn’t ended yet, we are returning to the military camp today to undergo formal training!”
“Then you guys are really working hard,” said the beautiful female journalist, playing along.
Major Guo continued: “Just now, when I passed by the supermarket, I noticed that many daily necessities had been cleared out, probably because people don’t feel safe or lack confidence.”
“Why the lack of safety? The main responsibility lies with us soldiers. Our army is not strong enough to provide everyone with a sense of security.”
“So we discussed among ourselves and decided to give away some food from the military for free… Protecting our entire civilization is our duty, but we also hope that everyone will not overreact, allowing us to keep a stable rear area…”
Hearing this, many in the crowd started to get restless. Some blushed with shame and quietly left, while others began to curse loudly, having endured this matter far too long.
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As for the distributed food, anyone with a bit of intelligence certainly wouldn’t dare accept it.
Online keyboard warriors took this opportunity to lash out quickly, many already finding the situation distasteful and indulged in mocking and jeering.
“How wonderful, how touching. Our Brother Jun would rather starve than let the civilians in the rear enjoy a petty-bourgeois lifestyle!”
“…I wonder if there’s a girl hiding at the back, willing to sing a song with me when the battlefront is ablaze? I’ve stockpiled a lot at home, enough for two people to enjoy for a year!”
“Merchant ladies know not of the loss of their country, still singing of the flowers of the backyard across the river…”
Photos were posted online showing the savage scenes of people frantically hoarding goods. To protect privacy, mosaics were added.
The mockery among intellectuals was also exceptionally sharp, interspersed with some trolls’ very coarse language.
For instance, “After defeat, men will be used for food, women can provide extra services for the Aliens, still able to live their beautiful lives…”
Especially for impulsive guys like Xu Jie, they were exceptionally vigorous in their rabid rants, not knowing how to engage in sophisticated slander but fully capable of low-level frenzy!
As a result of his chaotic and offensive statements, his account was once again silenced, requiring a bail payment to be unlocked.
But after paying the bail, he started ranting again, furiously typing a string of text on the computer: “These people have become scum and lackeys, I suggest the government departments conduct a thorough investigation!!”
He felt exhilarated, extremely exhilarated!
Of course, an investigation was out of the question, since at least a quarter of the entire population, if not more, was involved in the panic buying!
With such a large number of people, even if they were identified, it would be futile—surely, they couldn’t put each one on trial and lock them all up in prison, could they? That would paralyze the entire industrial system, and according to current laws, it’s very difficult to truly determine how much purchasing constitutes a crime.
For some reason, the usually prompt government departments were a step behind during this explosive wave of public opinion, showing no intention to restrain these online mobs. Now, facing a war, everyone was too busy—nobody had time to deal with these internet mobs.
The brash commentary continued unabated for two days, and under the overwhelming pressure of public opinion, no one dared to go shopping in supermarkets anymore. Even buying a pack of instant noodles had people trembling, fearful of being photographed and exposed online, sparking a war of words.
People had to voluntarily lower their quality of life.
Of course, such spontaneous patriotic fervor could not last very long, but the saved resources were enough to maintain current prices and give the government departments time to plan their next steps.
Finally, a significant economic policy was announced: the first issue of special War Bonds worth a total of five billion was offered for sale to the public!
Due to the uncertainty of the war’s outlook, the bonds offered a low annual interest rate of about 4.5%, pitifully low compared to last year’s economic growth rate of over 30%.
Moreover, the bonds came with many restrictions; once purchased, they had to be held for a fixed period of three years, early redemption required an application and resulted in a loss of some interest, etc.…
Still, there was a massive frenzy to buy them, to the point where even the purchasing web page crashed temporarily!
After an internal meeting, the new government converted the numerous donations into special War Bonds and returned them to the many donors.
From the perspective of economics, implementing a rationing system for consumer goods during wartime meant that the common people, despite having money, had nowhere to spend it, and mass panic buying would only cause inflation.
Thus, buying War Bonds became a very good investment option. At least under the current planned economy, the circulation rate of money was not high, making inflation easier to control, and an interest rate of 4.5% was still able to outpace inflation. Besides, if humanity were truly defeated in the war, what use would interest rates be? Even an interest rate as high as 250% would become worthless paper.
Most importantly, these bonds would withdraw a large amount of currency from the public’s hands. With less money, people naturally had to live more frugally, freeing up society’s productive capacity for the production of needed weapons.
Maintaining a strained lifestyle voluntarily was unsustainable, but with liquid funds converted into bonds and generally less cash on hand, everyone had to live more modestly. Even if the original goods didn’t change in price, the number of purchasers would significantly decrease.
Of course, the War Bonds were not based on the patriotic fervor of citizens; they provided a channel for the common people to express their patriotism.
Under the current opinion climate, the first issue of five billion in bonds was quickly sold out, making buying bonds a new fashion, even a symbol of moral superiority.
This was a whopping five billion, distributed among five hundred thousand people, averaging about ten thousand yuan per person. With the average salary at two thousand, it amounted to almost half a year’s wages, which was indeed significant.
Even many people felt unsatisfied, leaving online comments like “I didn’t manage to buy any, got scolded by the wife” or “Didn’t get it, lost face,” and there were more than just one or two of such people.
As a result, the government released a second batch of fifty billion in War Bonds, which were snapped up in one day!
The third batch, worth twenty billion in bonds, took about three days to sell out.
By then, the personal savings of residents had essentially been squeezed dry. For someone like Xu Jie, who was originally wealthy with a total savings of 150,000 yuan, he crazily bought 140,000 yuan worth of bonds, leaving only ten thousand yuan as liquid funds, living a tight life with no longer any spare cash to spend on luxury goods, even eating instant noodles required careful consideration.
Faced with this bleak economic scene, speculator Wang Junpeng felt a coldness in his heart—he had only wanted to make a bit of money at the outset, never anticipating that it would trigger such a massive uproar!
If he had known beforehand, he would have never gotten involved in this. And with the current stockpiling of goods, there’s simply no way to sell them…
Because everyone’s spare cash has been converted into bonds, consumption is nothing short of depressed. The anticipated wave of price increases never arrived…
So, what now?
All the people he knew were speculators, and they had begun falling silent as if they no longer recognized each other. This oppressive cloud of impending doom, even without further action from the government, was enough to make someone feel on the verge of collapse because of this frenzied public opinion environment.
“Little Wang, I’ll sell you the goods I’ve stockpiled at a discount, want them?”
Suddenly, his phone chimed, and he received a text message.
Wang Junpeng’s expression fluctuated. This immense pressure was starting to cause some speculators to panic… The more goods they had hoarded, the more panicked they became. Some were already unable to withstand the pressure and wanted to sell off their stocks.
“How much?”
“Twenty-five percent off, you want it?”
After some thought, Wang Junpeng replied, “I don’t have spare cash on hand, can’t take on your stock.”
“Thirty percent off, bottom price! Even cheaper than what the government is offering, surely it will still sell at a slight discount…”
“Forget it, Brother Zhao, I really can’t handle it. I’m about to go bankrupt.”
What a joke, who in their right mind would dare to take over now? They’d either have to be insane or foolish! Even at thirty percent off, it was certainly cheap, but in the current public opinion climate and economic situation, there was no way to sell anything!
Even at fifty percent off, it still wouldn’t sell!
If he dared to try, he might literally get beaten to death, and that was the absolute truth!
Wang Junpeng buried his head in his arms, completely enveloped by his blanket, utterly agonized.
Only now did he realize there was a huge difference between the new civilization and Earth Civilization. The authority of the government appeared to be even stronger, along with a growing sense of civic awareness among the common people.
The pain wasn’t just the financial loss, but also something else…
In the pursuit of money, he had broken ties with his best friend, and they were still in a state of estrangement. Even if they didn’t openly show it, people around him looked down on him with disdain, pointing and making remarks behind his back.
The topic dominated social networks, and as he walked down the street, he felt as though people were blaming him from behind, causing him to lose sleep for several days.
What was the point of earning money if he lost his family and friends?
“Damn it!”
Wang Junpeng leaped out of bed, paced back and forth in the room, gritted his teeth, and made a decision.
Although this decision pained him greatly, there was still… something to salvage.
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