The second volume is full of glory and splendor in the capital, and the spirit is full of vitality in the foggy city. Chapter 216 I, the Holy Grail (Part 2)
This chapter's subtitle: A supermarket on the sea that makes sea knights very happy
Pablo Escobar was once named one of the world's seven richest men by Fortune magazine. Although he is known to the world as a South American drug lord, his real rise to fame was during World War II when he and his Metro Group.
In the 1940s, war clouds gathered over the Pacific Ocean as Japan and the United States engaged in the largest naval and air war in human history. Every day, countless ships, supplies, and personnel were swallowed up by the vast ocean. The soldiers of both countries faced constant threat of death and faced numerous difficult and arduous combat missions. One can only imagine the immense psychological pressure they endured.
However, due to the limitations of the times and insufficient research into war psychology, the logistics departments of these two countries were focused on delivering combat supplies to the front lines, but completely ignored the spiritual lives of the soldiers on the front lines.
Japanese soldiers relied on "Jiaji Anfeita Ming" and comfort women, but due to Japan's limited transportation capacity, the supply of these two could not be fully guaranteed.
As a nation far more powerful than Japan, the United States had a better life for its soldiers. Besides leisure magazines like "The World Window" and "Penthouse" and mahjong tiles, they were also allowed to return home for regular leave. However, as the war intensified, the service time of combatants at all levels was significantly extended, and even their leave was forcibly canceled.
At this time, the Metro Group came into being. In fact, the name "Metro" comes from the name of Pablo's first integrated supply ship.
This 10,000-ton fast merchant ship is affectionately called "Super Market" by American soldiers because on this ship you can buy the goods that frontline soldiers and commanders dream of.
Various fresh vegetables, meats and fruits from South America made the American soldiers, who were tired of canned food, especially SPAM, pay their salaries without hesitation. You should know that the lowest price of food on the Metro was dozens of times the purchase price.
Psychotropic drugs like alcohol, tobacco, coca leaves, aphrodisiacs, and even conch oil greatly alleviated the anxiety of frontline personnel. As a result, even some junior commanders welcomed the arrival of the Metro, and later the Pacific Command turned a blind eye to it.
There were also enthusiastic female crew members on board the ship. These really enthusiastic Latin girls emptied the soldiers' pockets to the last nickel, so much so that during the Pacific War, grassroots soldiers in various parts of the US military went on strike demanding pay raises.
It should be noted here that during wartime, American frontline soldiers can get four times the usual salary. However, even the most frugal soldiers will feel that they might die in battle tomorrow, so why not enjoy themselves now?
Because the Metro was so popular, her sister ships "Carrefour", "Nonggongshang", "7-11" and the "Walmart" which later caused the "Walmart incident" soon appeared in the Pacific Ocean.
Money talks, and Pablo Escobar soon hooked up with the Japanese. However, Metro's dealings with the Japanese military were even uglier. They paid American soldiers on the front lines to buy all sorts of "waste materials" and then sold them to their enemies.
As Metro's business grew, higher-ups in the US military became involved. There's a theory that even General Douglas MacArthur, the Pacific Theater commander-in-chief, and his ex-wife, Louise Cromwell MacArthur, were involved..
However, due to the implementation of wartime information secrecy laws, these scandals did not appear in the newspapers, and most of the secret congressional investigations into them came to nothing.
It was at this time that the "Walmart Incident" exposed the ugly dealings in the Pacific to the world.
What happened was that the 25,000-ton "Walmart", the largest comprehensive supply ship under the Metro Group, was undergoing secret repairs in the waters near Semarang.
After the repairs were completed, the ship was intercepted by a joint British and Dutch patrol fleet and asked to board and inspect it. Later, it was revealed that the British had received intelligence that the "Walmart" was on its way to provide logistical support to the German submarine force in the Indian Ocean.
The Walmart not only refused to comply, but even openly requested help from the outside world. Not long after, a Japanese high-speed destroyer squadron arrived at the scene and took the lead in opening fire on the British and Dutch fleet.
As the two sides engaged in battle, a carrier group from the US Fourth Fleet arrived. Strangely, they did not fire at the Japanese fleet, but instead "persuaded" both sides to stop fighting by sending carrier-based aircraft to drop training bombs on the British and Dutch fleets.
The British and Dutch had no choice but to retreat, but on the way they were suddenly hit by a torpedo and quickly caught fire and sank. The entire fleet and all the crew members did not even have time to abandon the ship before they were buried in the sea.
These torpedoes were launched by two German submarines, and these two sea wolves later surfaced openly.
Thus, one of the most bizarre events in World War II history occurred: the American aircraft carrier fleet, the Japanese destroyer division, and the German submarine force not only did not open fire on each other, but instead gathered happily around the "Walmart." It is said that the senior commanders of the three countries even enjoyed a sumptuous dinner together on the supply ship.
What they didn't expect was that there was a British submarine in the nearby waters. The submarine captain also brought a portable camera and recorded the entire incident in full.
In addition to informing his superiors in the Royal Navy, this naval officer, with a strong sense of justice, also gave a copy of the film to British journalists. Before the British government could respond, the "Walmart Incident" was published in The Times.
As you can imagine, public opinion around the world was in an uproar, and people from all walks of life demanded explanations from the three governments. However, at this time, some peace and anti-war activists acted as defenders of this incident.
In particular, Mr. Yuan Yanshu, a well-known anti-war activist, jumped up and down (crossed out here), ran around and loudly declared that the "Walmart Incident" demonstrated the noble spirit of the Three Kingdoms Sea Knights, and that the soldiers who participated in this incident should not be punished but should be praised.
The British press has been quite hostile to Mr. Yuan since the "Famine Orphan" incident . They produced information obtained from an unknown source, claiming that the Metro Group was actually the white glove of Tianren Shipping under Mr. Yuan's name.
Mr. Yuan Yanshu naturally refused to show weakness and retorted that the British and Dutch fleets were new-age pirates who trampled on the status of neutral countries and that they were the heirs of the pirate spirit of the Royal Navy.
A war of words broke out across the Atlantic.
All three governments later issued official statements, all claiming that their naval forces had received a clear telegram from a neutral vessel requesting assistance and had rushed to the scene. They had discovered the Anglo-Dutch fleet engaging in piracy and had engaged in a "peaceful" attempt to expel it. However, the Anglo-Dutch fleet retaliated, forcing them to sink the ship in self-defense.
President Roosevelt also delivered a public speech on the radio about the "Walmart Incident," arguing that the navies of the three countries involved in the incident were all gentlemen with humanitarian spirit, so this was a good story, not a scandal.
The most popular line in his speech was "We are enemies, but we are also human beings." Rumor has it that this speech was written by Mr. Yuan Yanshu.
In any case, the British and Dutch governments later backed down, and the "Walmart incident" caused a stir before returning to silence.
After this incident, the Metro Group more openly carried out its "comprehensive supply" business in the Pacific and Indian Oceans, which naturally brought in a lot of money. As a result, after the war, it quickly became one of the top five shipping giants in the world.
——Excerpt from "Pablo and His Metro Group"
