It is Kokang and Changchun

　Also, let me digress. Although our international trade continues, our economic influence is clearly declining, no matter which data you look at. The global economic and trade system centered on us is already shaky.

　The congressman paused, then continued, "It's no exaggeration to say that all it takes is one powerful country to provoke us, and this system will collapse! So, those who advocate outsourcing shipbuilding to China, do you understand the seriousness of this matter?"

　"What should I do? I can't sell the gold, right? It's my most valuable asset." He finally remembered that there were still more than 4000 tons of gold reserves left.

　"During the war, won't we sell that thing to buy cannons and bread, and keep it as war reparations for the deep sea?" The shipbuilding faction is crazy about money, and they must do everything they can to get Congress to give them money.

　"I think we can promote anti-corruption efforts and use the money seized from corrupt officials as a good subsidy." Someone suggested swindling corrupt officials and collecting the money.

　After this statement was made, there was a brief silence of two seconds in Congress, and then someone said: "Uh...we have been catching this all the time."

　Offstage, someone disguised as a human congressman, who had escaped multiple rounds of FBI purges and was currently sitting comfortably in the interim Congress, couldn't help but sneer inwardly: "Ha, I almost believed it. These people only know how to catch scapegoats and minions, but they don't dare to touch any of the big bosses behind the scenes."

　From a utilitarian perspective, anti-corruption is a good, one-time way to supplement fiscal revenue. However, this is the United States, not China. Many corrupt practices in China, prohibited by Party discipline and national laws, are commonplace in Western political circles.

　Not only do people not consider this to be corrupt behavior, they even consider it to be natural and reasonable. This is just like how people living in a society based on private ownership of the means of production also consider private property to be natural and reasonable.

　It cannot be said that the United States does not fight corruption, but the intensity and effectiveness of its anti-corruption efforts are certainly inferior to those of the United States.

　In comparison, the money seized from house searches in China is definitely not as much as the money obtained from China's anti-corruption efforts.

　Furthermore, considering the current political situation in the United States, even though these congressmen and officials seem to be sitting in Congress with high-sounding words, if we really dig up old accounts, how many of them are clean?

　Without external forces, they probably would not turn out their hearts, lungs, and intestines, and dry them out, wash them, and tidy them up.

　In the final intense, tedious and lengthy discussion, Congress finally decided to approve money for the large-scale construction plan. The money mainly came from the following three sources: one was existing fiscal appropriations, one was limited printing of money, and the third was selling gold.

　Although the money was approved, the infighting and fighting did not end there. As mentioned before, there were three factions within the shipbuilding faction: those who advocated adding ordinary ships, those who advocated replicating the shipgirls, and those who advocated outsourcing to China.

　The three factions fought over the approved funds, creating a turbulent situation. The faction advocating for the reproduction of Kancolle used the Fukushima Incident as a basis to demonstrate the importance and urgency of reproducing the relevant WWII ships. They ultimately won 60% of the funds, while the remaining 40% went to the faction advocating for the construction of ordinary ships.

　After the meeting, Shen Hai, who was disguised as a congressman, returned to her current residence after get off work. She reported the latest news to her superiors through the mental network.

　"I'm sorry, Lord 4090, I tried my best. I argued with reason to suppress the congressmen and officials who attempted to create ship spirits, but Congress still allocated more than half of the funds to those who created ship spirits." Deep Sea 31415 said with some guilt.

　"It's okay, this is within my expectations. I don't blame you." 4090 comforted his subordinate and told her not to blame herself.

　4090 shrugged off the US Congress's decision: "With the Americans' current industrial efficiency, they can't seize ships from us. Do they really think this is still World War II? They can dream big!"

　"Of course, we still need spies and secret sabotage. No one will refuse to put a debuff on the enemy, even if the opponent is not as good as us." 4090 did not take it lightly.

　31415 nodded immediately and said, "That's right. We can't miss any opportunity to mess up American internal affairs!"

　After the two sides finished their call and report, 4090 turned his attention to his feet.

　I saw 4090's pair of black silk jade feet stepping on the back of another young female human. She felt the warmth from the soles of her feet and felt extremely comfortable and satisfied.

　She deliberately stepped on it a little harder and said, "Your foot warmer is quite good. I almost got frozen to death in this cold winter."

　The deep sea is not afraid of freezing, it’s just that 4090 has fully opened up his human perception. Anyway, it’s not a battlefield environment now, so it’s not a bad idea to enjoy yourself in such a superior space.

　The human girl, lying on the ground as a foot warmer, prostrated herself before 4090 like a loyal dog, her eyes sparkling as she said respectfully, "Ahaha... It's my honor to be the foot warmer for Master 4090, and to be the deep sea's waiter!"

　4090 chuckled, her smile as charming as a beautiful girl in anime, and said, "Okay, then I'll give you something to eat, okay?"

　"Okay! Okay! Thank you, sir!"

　As soon as he finished speaking, 4090 took out a tube of something that looked like toothpaste. There were some English words written on the toothpaste. If you extract the key words and translate them into Chinese, it means "animal cream".

　4090 took the animal cream, opened the lid with the mouth facing downwards, and as the girl pinched her fingers, a stream of white cream gradually dripped out, and the cream dripped onto the girl's tender feet, which were more exquisitely carved than the model in Girls' Frontline 2.

　It looks like a creamy chocolate cake.

　"Ah! Thank you Master 4090 for the reward!" The human girl who was still lying on the ground saw Master 4090's actions and instantly understood. Then she couldn't wait to stretch out the snake in her mouth and began to lick the tips of 4090's toes.

　Chapter 381 Christmas Eve of the Italian Fleet

　[How can I not write vv for this chapter sequence? ]

　Taranto, Italian Republic

　With the annual Christmas Eve approaching, the port of Taranto is already adorned with lights and colorful decorations. Not only are various Christmas trees displayed throughout the port area, but the mess hall has also prepared a variety of festive delicacies, and sailors are constantly coming in and out of the mess hall.

　On Christmas Eve, the Italian ship girls are the busiest group of people. With their natural beauty, they naturally serve as actors/participants in major New Year programs or activities.

　The girls performed on the stage, and the sailors seated below all clapped their hands or cheered loudly. Of course, if you ignore the words that were used to discredit VGO.

　Veneto had long since lost all hope in rebutting the trolls' words and actions, both online and offline, from the ship-in-the-game players and the sailors. Yet, to maintain her dignity, she still had to maintain that noble anger.

　If this were a comedy comic, Veneto would have already unleashed his .381... oh, no, it should have been the Otto .76 cannon that fired at the little black guys. Anyway, the characters in comedy comics are usually back to full health on the next page, so what's a volley of cannonballs? (Funny)

　Ever since Z23 visited China and delivered an important speech at Manju, Veneto has been considering whether she should approach Huanmeng in a similar way, or even confront Monkey Mom; for this purpose, she submitted several applications for military visits to China to the Ministry of the Navy.

　Well... these applications

　, if nothing unexpected happens, then they will naturally be rejected without exception.

　Although Veneto's written application gave various seemingly reasonable reasons for her visit to China and did not mention her real purpose, the officer who reviewed her application still saw through her hidden agenda and naturally rejected it.

　When his request was rejected, Veneto forced a smile and pleaded, "That... is really just a normal visit. I don't have any purpose other than learning and exchange... No. Sir, please believe me..."

　The fleet commander looked at Veneto's somewhat funny and embarrassed expression, feeling a bit amused and helpless. "Miss Veneto, I think you know whether it's true or not."

　At this moment, the fleet commander was thinking in his heart: "Huan Meng, Huan Meng, Miss Monkey Mom, I can only help you up to this point..."

　For those who enjoy entertainment, they'd love for Veneto to visit Shanghai, China, and see the Zerg's lair (the Fantasy HQ). But the problem is, this is reality. If Veneto loses control, it could easily cause a diplomatic incident!

　To be honest, it is easier for Saratoga to visit China than VV, provided that the current "anti-China politics" national spirit debuff of the United States can be eliminated. At least Saratoga does not have the mafia temperament.

　But now even if the debuff disappears, it is useless, after all, the American ship girls are busy on the front line and cannot get away.

　This Christmas Eve gala brought rich spiritual enjoyment to officers and soldiers across Hong Kong, but as the saying goes, it is difficult to satisfy everyone, and not everyone was 100% satisfied with the performance.

　"Oh, this performance with all the singing and dancing is so boring. It would be better to hold a boxing or other fighting competition. It would be in line with the military style and have good viewing effect. At the same time, I can go up and try it out. Isn't that great?" Bu Ju complained with a pout.

　The Buju is the first class of air defense missile destroyer designed and built by Italy after World War II. In 2000, the ship was sold to the SIMONT SpA shipyard in Naples for dismantling.

　But it seems that for some reason, the Italian Navy gave up the idea of ​​selling this plane, and instead it was pulled to a coast to be used as a breakwater, just like the French breakwater Sufrère.

　Camiciea Nera said nonchalantly, "Tsk, don't even mention it. When the game is going your way, you're full of harsh words, but when it's going your way, you're just yelling at the other team for bullying a little girl. Are you that hypocritical?"

　"What? The last time I lost was when I played Truth or Dare, so I had to fight Pola. How could I possibly win in a hand-to-hand fight between 3000 tons and tens of thousands of tons?! Isn't this bullying a little girl?" He was not afraid of tit-for-tat.

　Jokes aside, bickering aside, after all the talk, they were still good sisters. After the two of them had teased each other for a while, Camichia asked Buju if she wanted to go for a midnight snack. Buju didn't refuse, but the way she accepted was a bit arrogant.

　"Northwest Wind, Bu Ju and I want to order some midnight snacks. Do you want to join us?" How could Camicia forget her good comrade? She sent a message to Northwest Wind and asked.

　If it were any other day, Northwest Wind would probably not agree, but Christmas Eve was another matter. "Okay, since everyone is celebrating today, it's okay to relax a little."

　The three kids planned to sit in Camichia's dormitory, chatting while waiting for the takeout to arrive, but some unexpected incidents happened when they were picking up the takeout.

　When I went to get my takeaway, I happened to see a social media outlet filming a spoof show titled "How to piss off Italians." The method involved adding some internet-circulated things—things that would get you swearing in Italy—to the food.

　Unfortunately, Bu Ju, who went to pick up the takeaway, happened to become the target of this self-media's spoof.

　When she saw the "classic" American tomato sauce pasta and pizza with fruits on it, she, who was already a little arrogant, cursed at the delivery man.

　As for how they cursed, all sorts of Italian swear words were heard. If there were KanColle players around, they would have called it OOC (destroying the character's design).

　Judging from the tone of her words, the amplitude and frequency of her gestures, it was clear that she was really angry. Later, after the production team came forward to explain the situation and offered to compensate Bu Ju, Bu Ju's anger subsided.

　Regarding the issue of KanColle using foul language and causing KanColle players to lose patience, U1405, a representative of KanColle's foul mouth, said: "Game dialogue is, after all, a cultural product. Cultural products should consider positive social benefits. They are not an outlier like GTA.

　Besides, I don't use bad words all the time. I only do so when I'm extremely angry. Normally, you say I'm rude, and I admit it, but I didn't curse them, did I? "

　After Bu Ju took the takeaway back to the dormitory building in Camichia, he put the takeaway on the table and sat down on a chair. It was obvious that Bu Ju was still a little concerned about what had just happened.

　When Camicia and Northwest Wind learned what had just happened from Bujukou, they felt helpless.

　Xibeifeng said seriously, "I think those entertainment media outlets that make spoof videos really need to be regulated. Sometimes their spoofs really cause trouble for passersby."

　"Isn't it? If the production team hadn't come up and said they were willing to compensate me and give me a new takeaway that I had ordered, this matter would not be over." Bu Ju pouted her Loli face.

　Full of negative emotions.

　"Forget it, forget about those guys, let's eat!" Camichia urged everyone to hurry up and start eating. "Eating can make you feel better, everyone, eat!"

　Under the whirlwind of food consumed by Camichia and Bu Ju, the takeaway food on the table was quickly wiped out, and at this moment, less than half of the pasta in the Northwest Wind's fast food box was eaten.

　"We're not fighting or training now, so can't you eat slowly?" Xibeifeng didn't really understand people who ate fast.

　Camichia disagrees. "While eating speed is associated with digestive health in humans, it's not affected in us. On the contrary, the feeling of swallowing quickly is actually a kind of enjoyment."

　Bu Ju also nodded frequently and said, "That's right, that's right. Not only that, eating slowly is actually torture for me."

　Northwest Wind: “…”

　After Xifeng finished his meal, Kamichia cleaned up the fast food boxes and garbage on the table, put them in a garbage bag, and waited to throw them away at the garbage station tomorrow morning.

　After finishing her work, Camichia took a stroll down the hallway of the dormitory building. It looked like a stroll, but she was actually observing her surroundings for any anomalies. Seeing that everything was normal, she returned to the dormitory.

　"Okay, everything is normal around here." Kamichia said to Xibeifeng and Buju, and the three little ones were about to start discussing some things that were not convenient to make public.

　"Northwest Wind, how are things going over there?" Camicias asked about Northwest Wind's development and progress in the Party organization.

　Xibeifeng smiled slightly. "It's like riding a helicopter. It seems your strategy is correct. We have made immediate progress in these small organizations. Now we are all members of the Central Committee."

　"You're quite capable. I just became a substitute." Camicianella was very surprised by Xibeifeng, but Xibeifeng had a calm personality, so it was normal for him to climb faster than herself.

　"If you succeed first, can you wait for me? Didn't we agree to work together and merge the two parties?" Camichia reminded her to slow down a bit.

　Northwest Wind agreed, "Of course, but instead of me waiting for you, you might consider controlling your temper first. That way you can climb faster."

　Bu Ju, who had recently developed an interest in communism, grumbled, "Why do I always feel like you two are plotting something like two conspirators..."

　"Alas..." Camizia retorted. "We climbed up not for ourselves, but to unite the forces of revolution and progress. Otherwise, how can scattered sand move stone? Our ultimate goal is to create a progressive, bright, and just future for Italy."

　Chapter 382: New Year Begins, Opening Lightning Strike

　On January 1, 2024, New Year's fireworks will bloom in the night skies of many cities around the world. Unfortunately, some cities are unable to set off fireworks for various reasons.

　For example, let's say Kyoto is under siege again; in this situation, a blackout is inevitable, not to mention whether fireworks can be set off.

　In ancient times, Xin Qiji looked at his sword by lamplight while drunk, and nowadays, Huashan looks at a map by lamplight while intoxicated. After drinking a lot of fine wine, Itaki Huashan is looking at the strategic map on his desk with a small desk lamp in deep thought.

　"Knock, knock, knock." At this moment, there was a knock on the sliding door of the office, and a report sounded: "Comrade Chairman, the latest battle report from the front!"

　"Please come in."

　With a whoosh, the sliding door opened and in came Hiroharu Nakano, Secretary of the Central Secretariat.

　"Comrade Chairman, Happy New Year." The moment Nakano Hiroharu came in, the world had entered 2024 for less than a minute, and he extended New Year greetings to the Chinese fans.

　"Happy New Year, Comrade Nakano, any good news?" Ibaraki Hanafu smiled at Nakano.

　He held a folded letter in his hand and handed it to Hua Shan while happily reporting, "Good news! Kyushu Island has been completely liberated. Some of the Self-Defense Forces have surrendered or defected to our army, while others have fled to surrounding islands and the Ryukyu Islands."

　Ibaraki Hanafu took the message and opened it to read. His serious expression relaxed a little as he praised, "Excellent! Remember to commend the frontline soldiers and commanders according to the regulations, and do a good job of protecting the fallen martyrs and their families according to the regulations."

　"Don't worry, Comrade Chairman. I've already made all the arrangements." Nakano Hiroharu asked, "So, the next strategic focus should be moving north, right?"

　"That's right, marching towards the final victory of liberating all of Japan!" Hua Shan said happily, "However, the islands surrounding Kyushu need to be dealt with. The main force can be transferred back to the Kansai front, but a few brigades and some ship girls must be left behind on Kyushu to prepare for the liberation of the surrounding islands."

　Nakano Hiroji agreed: "Yes, I think so too. Then what about the Ryukyu Islands?"

　"The Ryukyu Islands are too far away, and landing requires long-term preparation. Let's put it on hold for now, and deal with the issue of Ryukyu's liberation and Ryukyu's independence after the four mainland islands are liberated." Ibaraki Hanasu made a decision he had already thought of.

　Nakano Hiroshi wanted to respond, but seeing that the chairman seemed to have something else to say, he kept silent. Sure enough, two seconds later, Huashan spoke again:

　"But I'm worried about the upcoming battle. I'm not worried about whether we can keep the Self-Defense Forces out of Kyoto again, I'm worried about having to storm the defensive fortifications when the time comes.

　The Self-Defense Forces have now built a large number of defensive fortifications at the junction of the Chubu and Kinki regions.

　Although we can use special forces + ship girls to charge, there will definitely be casualties.

　My biggest headache right now is how to minimize casualties. Special forces soldiers may have strong survivability, but they are still living beings after all."

　Nakano Hiroharu offered this advice: "Based on intelligence, there's still a possibility of a surprise victory, but that's only at the tactical level; strategically, it's unlikely. For now, it seems our only option is to focus on equipment."

　My current idea is to equip all attacking troops with heavy armor, such as heavy bulletproof plates and Alkin helmets.

　Since the main force of the offensive and defensive line is composed of shipgirls and special forces, their nature means that we can not consider weight and directly equip them with heavy steel bulletproof inserts instead of Kevlar or ceramic. This is also due to the consideration of mass production costs and labor hours.

　Some destroyer girls have previously used these equipment, and the response on the battlefield has been very positive. Now we can mass-produce these equipment and distribute them to special forces."

　Hua Shan thought Comrade Zhongye's idea was a good one and said, "That's fine. Go down and do it. Is there anything else?"

　"No, I'll do it right away." Hiroshi Nakano responded and prepared to leave the office.

　"Comrade Chairman, your health is important, so go to bed early." Before leaving, Nakano gave his boss a caring greeting.

　"Thank you for your concern. I'll watch for a while and then go to sleep."

　There was another sound of the door opening, and Comrade Nakano walked out. Then his figure disappeared from the chairman's office as the door closed again.