At this moment, the disparity between East and West was already immense.
Although some states in the Eastern United States remained in the hands of the United States New Eastern Government, their number was small, and their area was not large at all, incomparable to the territory held by the Great Western King of America.
Furthermore, their military strength and combat capabilities were woefully inadequate.
As things stood, even if they wanted to win by relying on their economic strength, they couldn't outlast Van der Linde!
Using the attrition tactics of the American Civil War was now completely impossible! Dutch Van der Linde's Tanks and airplanes would destroy all their delaying tactics, and he was already doing so.
The only way for these old-timers, remnants of the old regime, and capitalist magnates to escape judgment was to flee abroad!
President Theodore gritted his teeth, yet he had no choice but to host a grand banquet, gathering the remaining capitalist magnates and political dignitaries from the Eastern United States.
February 17, 1902.
The American East Coast Government, having reached a dead end, definitively finalized the island evacuation plan.
Public opinion in the few remaining Eastern states soared, with various newspapers about Mr. Dutch Van der Linde, the Great Western King of America, being sold on the market.
Their content shifted from slandering Mr. Dutch Van der Linde to extensive praise, causing a reversal of public opinion and a polarization within the Van der Linde Party and the American West Government.
Washington was the most severely affected, and if one were to trace the root of the issue, it would ultimately lead to Mr. Bronte, a mafia boss in Washington.
A few months prior, such newspapers praising Mr. Dutch Van der Linde would certainly have been banned, and even Mr. Bronte, the mafia leader, would have been arrested and imprisoned.
However, the American East Coast Government and major capitalists were now too preoccupied to effectively control or even bother with public opinion, which allowed Mr. Van der Linde's propaganda offensive to explode even further.
In reality, not only the American East Coast Government and capitalist magnates wanted to seize the opportunity to flee, but anyone with a bit of spare money, considered a big boss, also wanted to escape.
Some had even started bidding for escape slots, hoping to secure a way out.
Indeed, when the bald-headed leader evacuated to the island back then, he had to forcibly relocate the populace, but now, the American East Coast Government was auctioning off escape slots; it truly was a capitalist nation where everything could be linked to money.
As the news of the Eastern United States' evacuation fermented over time, it surprisingly resonated strongly across Europe.
Europe was now in utter chaos.
The naval war had ended, and the naval forces of Europe were completely lost.
Although these two hundred airplanes were eventually acquired by the British Empire, which had naval superiority, Mr. Van der Linde did not provide any user manuals or pilot training for them, nor did he supply specialized bombs for the airplanes.
Thus, these airplanes were temporarily unusable, a true white elephant: too valuable to discard, yet tasteless to consume.
Therefore, Europe once again escalated the war, with German Second Empire and Austria-Hungary, among other attacking nations, determined to end the war before the British learned to use airplanes and developed specialized missiles for them, otherwise, they would be utterly defeated.
This made their land offensive even more frenzied, having staked their entire fortunes on ground combat, causing the fires of war in Europe to burn ever stronger, raging indiscriminately day and night.
This situation in Europe left the various European nobles and capitalist magnates with nowhere to run.
Historically, a large number of them would have fled to America during this period, and another large number during World War II.
However, America was now in a civil war, and it was a civil war against capitalism, which made it impossible for them to choose America as their escape destination.
Asia had language barriers and was also in a period of turmoil, with the Japanese eyeing it covetously; going there would not make them emperors, and they would still have to give up some flesh for peace.
So, upon discovering the United States Government's escape plan, these two factions of capital immediately hit it off, both deciding to head to New Guinea.
This place was very far from both Europe and America, and there were no strong nations nearby; it was truly a forgotten place, and also the best place for development.
And with the end of the naval war, as Europe's naval elite were completely lost, the Japanese, who had been unable to even glimpse the action during the naval war, began to harbor other intentions.
The European war intensified, and Tsar Nicholas II conscripted millions of peasants, sending them to the front lines in wave after wave, almost depleting his entire treasury.
This, in turn, showed the Japanese a way out.
Tsarist Russia was strong and ruthless, often acting incredibly aggressively when holding an advantage, especially with its foreign invasion strategies: invading the Caucasus to the west, conquering Central Asia, then entering the Indian Ocean via Afghanistan; invading the Qing Dynasty and Japan to the east, controlling the Sea of Japan to enter the Pacific, which made its threatening position far greater than that of the weak Qing Dynasty.
But now, Tsarist Russia's navy was destroyed in World War I, and its army was entirely tied up on the European battlefield; its rear was practically undefended!
Currently, the European war was fierce, and revolutionary movements were rising within Tsarist Russia; while it appeared strong externally, it was extremely weak internally, a mere shell!
If the Qing Dynasty, with its population advantage and generally stable situation, could still barely hold on and be considered a formidable opponent that the Japanese dared not easily attack, then the outwardly strong but inwardly weak Tsarist Russia was truly on the verge of collapse.
Most importantly, the Japanese wanted to take over Tsarist Russia's control of Manchuria and Korea, which meant they had to seize it from Tsarist Russia.
Under the confluence of various conditions.
March 18, 1902.
The Japanese, using the pretext of a Japanese officer going missing in Qing Dynasty territory controlled by Tsarist Russia, dispatched troops against the local Tsarist Russian military government, violently killing all Tsarist Russian soldiers and taking over the area.
The Russo-Japanese War had begun.
Nicholas II was furious at Emperor Meiji's actions; Nicholas II had always looked down on these feudal Asian nations, and now, with him engrossed in war and having no time to deal with them, they came to provoke him from behind, which Nicholas II found unbearable!
When there is no more to endure, there is no need to endure!
With the Japanese Government's rash military action, Nicholas II was enraged; with a wave of his hand, three hundred thousand troops advanced towards the Japanese, determined to restore order, cleanse the Japanese, and avenge the stab in the back!
Europe was in utter chaos, while Mr. Van der Linde, the Great Western King of America, was making aggressive progress, steadily advancing with airplanes, Tanks, and troops to reclaim lost territory.
Of course, this couldn't be called his lost territory, but rather the lost territory of the legitimate United States.
All of Europe was in a state of chaos, with only Italy's naval forces still stationed in America, determined to help Mr. Van der Linde restore order and uphold legitimacy!
In terms of taking sides and betraying teammates, Italy was as far-sighted as ever.