Volume 2: The crown and the hat are all over the capital, and the spirit is full of energy and enter the foggy city Chapter 116 Eisenhower
This chapter's subtitle: The spiritual mentor is out! Applause is in order here...
Saturday, March 26, 1921.
"We've arrived at Washington Union Station..."
"We have arrived at Washington Union Station. Passengers arriving at the station, please prepare to get off."
"Boss, we're here! This is my first time in Washington."
"Ai Si, the world is so big, you should really go out and see it at such a young age. How about going to visit Europe and Asia with me?"
If you want to pick up girls, you need to be relaxed and tight. If you need to be a domineering president, you should be a domineering president. If you need to be a caring and warm man, you should be a caring and warm man.
"Europe... and Asia?" The stenographer tilted her head cutely and said, "If the boss really wants to take me there, then I'll go."
“Hahaha…there’s a chance, there’s a chance.”
Master Yuan walked out of the bustling Washington Union Station with his stenographer, Miss Esther Moman, on his arm, followed by his follower, Condor, and a porter to help them carry their luggage.
As soon as they walked out of the station, they saw a small group of American soldiers in uniform waiting in the square in front of the station, and the leader was...
"Major Patton, I didn't expect you to come to pick me up in person. What a surprise!" Yuan Yan walked forward suddenly and said with some surprise.
In fact, he came to Washington this time at the invitation of the commander of the 4th Cavalry Battalion to attend the Easter party hosted by his wife, Bentrice Banning Patton.
Easter Day, also known as the Lord's Resurrection Day, is an important festival in the Christian world. As the name suggests, it is to commemorate the resurrection of Jesus, a "foreign being". According to the Bible, he was resurrected three days after being crucified on the cross.
Unlike Christmas, Easter is not celebrated on a fixed date each year. The Council of Nicaea in 325 AD stipulated that the first Sunday after the full moon of the spring equinox would be the Easter of that year.
The spring equinox in 1921 was March 21, and three days later, March 24, was the full moon day, so Sunday, March 27, became Easter this year.
Like Christmas, Easter is actually a festival originally from ancient Rome, but Christmas originated from the winter solstice festival, while Easter originated from the "Spring Festival".
By the way, the Orthodox Church highly respects Easter and believes that it is a more important festival than the birth of Jesus. It claims that "as much as the sun is higher than the stars, Easter is more important than other festivals."
In addition to attending this spring party, Yuan Yanshu also plans to stay in Fort Myer for a few days, go riding and relax, and be a true gentleman and master.
Major Patton said with a smile: "Haha. Mr. Yuan, of course I have to come to greet a 'warrior' like you."
"Oh..." Master Yuan frowned deliberately and said, "I thought you only welcome dead warriors and not living warriors."
“Haha… hehe…”
The American soldiers beside him also laughed when they heard this, because one of the daily tasks of Major Patton, the commander of the 4th Cavalry Battalion, was to come to this Union Station to load the coffins transported here onto the gun carriages and take the remains of the deceased to Arlington National Cemetery with a solemn ceremony.
This was naturally a boring job for the ambitious Patton, but it was indeed a very emotional way of motivating the vast majority of American soldiers.
Major Patton asked the orderly he brought with him to carry Yuan Yanshu's luggage to the car and said, "Mr. Yuan, do you mind waiting a little longer? A friend of mine will be arriving soon."
Yuan Yanshu thought to herself, I didn’t stay in New York. I came to Fort Myer to attend your Easter party just to get to know more of your “friends”, didn’t I?
In the original timeline, Patton would not be the commander of the 4th Battalion for long. He would be transferred . And Master Yuan would leave America in a few months, so he had to take advantage of this opportunity to improve the relationship between the two sides... well, between him and the US military.
"No, of course not." Master Yuan pointed to the beautiful girl beside him and said, "I almost forgot to introduce you. This is Miss Moman, my secretary..."
He saw a teasing smile on Major Patton's face, and immediately explained, "I have no choice. I've been busy lately. In addition to the manuscripts I've been commissioned to write, I'm also writing a novel , so I had to ask Miss Moman to go with me."
Major Barton smiled noncommittally, said hello to the female secretary, then turned around and asked with interest: "Mr. Yuan, what novel are you writing this time? Is it the sequel to A Song of Ice and Fire?"
"A Song of Ice and Fire? I don't feel like writing a fantasy novel like this lately."
So far, A Song of Ice and Fire has reached the third volume. Master Yuan will have to stop writing two more volumes.
Yuan Yan waved her hand and said, "I am currently writing a novel about the European War."
"European War theme?!" Patton's interest grew. He was a veteran who had participated in World War I, so he was naturally interested in novels on this theme. So he immediately asked, "Mr. Yuan, can you tell me what your novel is about?"
"Of course, I just happened to want to ask you some details." Master Yuan nodded and said, "My novel is about a young German man..."
"German youth! You want to write about Germans?" Patton interrupted rudely, "Mr. Yuan, why don't you write about us Americans?"
Isn't it because the World War I novel written by you Americans is not as famous as the one written by the Germans?
Just as Yuan Yan was about to make up an excuse, she was stopped by Patton.
The major pointed behind him and said apologetically, "Mr. Yuan, I'm sorry. My friend is here."
Yuan Yan turned her head suddenly and saw a young military officer in his thirties, who was accompanied by his wife. The two of them walked out of the gate of the Union Station side by side.
Well, this guy's face seems familiar, but he doesn't look very well. The lady next to him also looks sad, with a thin black veil on her hat, probably in mourning for someone.
Master Yuan naturally knew that they were here to attend the Easter party, but others who didn't know thought they were here to attend a funeral at Arlington Cemetery.
"Mamie, welcome to Fort Myer." Major Patton walked up to the lady with a smile on his face and gave her a warm kiss on the cheek.
"Ike, you're welcome too."
"Thank you, George." Then the two U.S. Army majors shook hands vigorously.
Ike...
Yuan Yan's heart skipped a beat. So this seemingly unhappy couple was...
Sure enough, Major Patton walked over with the couple and said, "Mr. Yuan, please allow me to introduce you. This is my good friend, Major Dwight David Eisenhower, and this beautiful lady is his wife, Mamie Giovanni Eisenhower."
Master Yuan thought to himself, I have met the current President of the United States, Warren Harding, and I have also greeted the next President, Hoover. I am now half a friend of the next President, FDR, and I have also met JFK's father. I didn't expect to meet another President of the United States today.
"Hello, ma'am. Hello, Mr. Major." He took off his hat and said politely: "I am Neo Yuan..."
"Hello, Mr. Yuan." Mrs. Eisenhower said perfunctorily.
The future Allied Commander-in-Chief of Europe, however, forced a smile and said, "So you are the great writer who made the British drunk. Mr. Yuan, I have also read your novels. It is a pleasure to meet you."
"Ladies and gentlemen. The luggage is ready, let's get in the car." Major Patton greeted them and got into a very spacious and comfortable two-horse carriage with the two men and two women.
"Master Ball, please search for me, why are they so sad now?"
"Host, received..."
After Master Yuan read the search results, he was moved...
This is why the couple looked so "depressed", and why Barton invited them to the Easter party. I think it was to let his little brother and his wife relax.
Their friendship began in the summer of 1919 at Fort Meade Army Base in Maryland.
According to biographers, although the difference between them was as clear as day and night, Patton, commander of the 304th Light Tank Brigade, and Eisenhower, commander of the 305th Tank Brigade, hit it off immediately.
Patton was five years older than Eisenhower, who was born in 1890. At that time, he was already a well-known war hero in the country. As people in later generations have the impression, Patton was a well-known egoist, and he was so rich that he didn't have to care about money at all.
During the European War, Eisenhower stayed in the country and was transferred to various military bases to train new soldiers. He was humble and kind, and he was a poor boy from a somewhat embarrassed family. Even after getting married, he couldn't even afford to rent an apartment for a period of time.
Eisenhower's father was a bankrupt businessman in Texas. He applied to military academies to save money. He applied to both the Annapolis Naval Academy and the West Point Military Academy at the same time. Because he was older than the enrollment range of the first-class military academy, he became a second-class academy.
These two army officers with completely different personalities and experiences became close friends because of tanks. Through Patton, Eisenhower was able to meet many important figures in the military, and Patton always cared for this little brother in the days that followed. It can be said that Patton played a crucial role in Eisenhower's growth.
However, during World War II, the two men fell out due to personality differences.
In August 1945, at a press conference, Patton fell into a "language trap" designed by a reporter and said that the Republican and Democratic parties in the United States were no different from the Nazi Party in Germany.
This remark shocked the world. Eisenhower could no longer tolerate Patton's nonsense, so he gave him the title of commander of the 15th Army Group (a "shell army" used in writing war history) and sent him back home.
"Excuse me, Miss Moman, Mr. Yuan. Do you mind if I smoke?" Eisenhower asked a little embarrassedly as the carriage started moving.
What the history books say is correct, he was a heavy smoker and it is said that he smoked four packs of cigarettes a day during World War II.
"Of course I don't mind." Master Yuan took out three fine Cuban cigars from his inner pocket and said, "Major Eisenhower, Major Patton, would you like one?"
"Thank you, Mr. Yuan." Seeing the cigar, Eisenhower's eyes lit up and he really took it. "Then I won't be polite."
Patton also took it, so the three addicts opened the car windows and lit cigars.
Cigarettes and alcohol are really the lubricants of interpersonal relationships. They started chatting while puffing on cigarettes.
When the atmosphere in the car became a little more harmonious, Yuan Yan suddenly pointed at the black veil on Mrs. Eisenhower's face and asked casually, "Excuse me, has any of your relatives passed away recently?"
The couple's expressions froze, and Mrs. Eisenhower's eyes immediately turned red.
Eisenhower's performance was better, but it took him a long while before he nodded and said with difficulty: "My son died of scarlet fever in January this year."
The information was correct. The young couple's eldest son had indeed died more than two months ago at the age of three.
This tragedy was a great blow to them. Eisenhower once wrote in his memoirs, "This is the greatest disappointment and disaster in my life, and I have never been able to completely forget it." His wife almost had a mental breakdown and hid in her apartment for a month after the funeral.
"Oh, no wonder..." Master Yuan sniffed hard and "deliberately" muttered to himself in a low voice, but the volume of the voice was just loud enough for others in the car to hear clearly: "There is a scent of Baby Soul in this car!"
"Baby Soul?!" Before the Eisenhowers and Major Patton could ask, Miss Moman asked curiously, "Boss, what is a baby soul?"
Yuan Yan smiled awkwardly and covered up in a hurry: "Infant soul? Where did I say anything about infant soul? You must have heard it wrong, Miss Moman."
The stenographer said unconvincedly, "Humph , Boss. You just mentioned 'infant soul' and you also said there was a smell in the car."
Master Yuan glanced at her unhappily and said, "You must have heard it wrong..."
"No! Mr. Yuan, I also heard you talk about the infant soul!" Mrs. Eisenhower, who had been silent all this time, suddenly straightened up, stared at him with burning eyes and asked, "Mr. Yuan, what did you smell?!"
"this……"
The "honest" Yuan Yanshu didn't want to "lie" in front of the lady, so he fell into a "difficult situation".
He took a long drag on his cigar, and then he said leisurely, "Ladies and gentlemen. We Seres believe, just like you, that after death, the soul of a person goes to another world. It's just that we call it the underworld, and you call it heaven and hell."
"Unfortunately, sometimes the souls of the dead will remain in our world. Especially those ignorant children, they will only follow their instincts and cling to their parents..."
"I'm sorry to interrupt you, Mr. Yuan." Major Patton frowned and asked, "Didn't you say last time that you were a strong atheist? Why are you talking about the soul and the afterlife again?"
Master Yuan patiently explained, "That's right, Major Patton. I've said that I'm a strong atheist, and I don't believe in the existence of an omniscient, omnipotent, and eternal god. But that doesn't mean I deny that people have souls, nor does it mean I don't think souls go to another world."
"It's just like the earth is round, humans evolved from monkeys, and apples fall to the ground when they are ripe. It's an objective phenomenon and really has nothing to do with gods."
Mrs. Eisenhower was about to speak when she was stopped by her husband.
The major looked at Yuan Yanshu suspiciously and asked in a deep voice, "Mr. Yuan, do you have any evidence to prove that Aiji (his son's nickname)...the infant spirit is in this carriage?? "
