American Strategic Deception Bureau

　The performance of the Austro-Hungarian Empire during World War I is vividly described in "The Good Soldier Schweik".

　But now the performance of many countries is probably worse than that of Austria-Hungary. Myanmar has fought for decades, and its performance now is a mess.

　Chapter 408: Would Kennedy Jr., who only ran for Vice President, still be assassinated? (Additional update)

　In short, after finishing lunch with a heavy and complicated mood, Firi and Dr. Kissinger visited the construction headquarters of the "Eden Town" construction site for a while, and then found that the entire community had been completed by more than 90%, but the sales office had not yet opened?

　——Isn’t this too honest?

　Why don’t you learn from Evergrande, acquire a piece of wasteland, build a grand gate, and then sell the house with PPT?

　Then came the extravagant spending, recklessly squandering the mortgage payments, which shattered the capital chain. The bosses were either jailed or absconded with the funds, leaving countless mortgage holders, who had emptied their six wallets and were still heavily in debt, wailing in despair as they watched the unfinished buildings… They were then blacklisted by credit bureaus, becoming debtors…

　From then on, society lost a vigorous chosen worker and gained a Xianglin Sao with "no light in her eyes".

　Oh, and by the way, even in the 21st century, only China allows pre-sales of real estate (not just mainland China). Other countries can only sell houses after they are completed. Only in China, pre-sales before the houses are even built are widespread.

　——This is the socialist market with Chinese characteristics: those who are scolded are businessmen, those who are exploited are house slaves, and what ultimately grows are GDP and political achievements.

　As for the risks? That means suffering for the people.

　Next, the area of ​​the houses for sale in "Eden Town" is also very real, without even a common area...

　Well, the concept of common area in a house was invented by Li Huanggua from Hong Kong. This guy is still running a small workshop making plastic buckets and plastic flowers!

　Furthermore, the widespread use of shared areas was also officially approved, but people only dared to criticize Li Huanggua, not the person who actually made the final decision.

　In contrast, in the real estate business in the United States, there is no such thing as common area. Both buyers and sellers feel that this kind of digital game is meaningless - because there are no pre-sale houses in the United States, only existing houses, and buyers

　No matter how low the tenant's IQ is, the size of the house can be seen at a glance.

　In the absence of pre-sale properties, if you create a very large public area, in the eyes of customers who can see the house directly, it is like serving a small handful of dishes on a very large plate in a restaurant: Which idiot would be willing to pay a lot of extra money for a large and luxurious plate?

　In short, both the United States and China have their own advantages and injustices. We should not blindly belittle them, nor should we look up to them too much.

　Of course, regardless of the sluggish real estate sales in "Eden Town," as a promising experimental project that is crucial to the training of more "sex therapists" and the health of high-ranking officials, there is no risk of a broken funding chain or project failure.

　Moreover, the four-story apartment building that Firi had built with his own money in Eden Town had already risen from the ground and seemed to be in good condition. So, after taking a look around, he felt relieved and prepared to say goodbye to Kissinger and go home.

　However, when he and Dr. Kissinger were standing in the parking lot and were about to wave goodbye to each other, they saw an extremely conspicuous and flashy pink four-seater convertible with a big rabbit pattern on the hood, playing high-decibel rock music all the way, and speeding towards them with billowing smoke and dust.

　When the cool pink "itasha" came to a stop, four acquaintances got out and greeted Fieri and Kissinger.

　"Bernard? Mr. Kennedy? Professor Brzezinski? Mr. Hugh Hefner? Why are you all here?"

　Looking at his eldest brother, Professor Brzezinski and the former president's younger brother

　Robert Kennedy and the owner of Playboy came together and waved at him with a smile. Fieri couldn't help being a little stunned.

　Looking back, we can see the Eden Town construction site, where cement mixers roar and heavy trucks run...

　While the nudist town project does have some connection to three people besides Professor Brzezinski—Playboy handled some of the promotional work, and the other two are political supporters—the town remains unfinished, properties haven't been sold, and there haven't been any events… So, what's their reason for coming together?

　"Mr. Kennedy didn't come to this town for this matter. He came to invite Dr. Kissinger for his campaign."

　Ferry's eldest brother, Bernard King, rushed over and hugged Ferry, whispering to him.

　Election?

　Fieri vaguely remembered that Robert Kennedy was elected to the New York State Senator in 1964 after he resigned as Attorney General. The term of office of a U.S. senator is six years, and there are still two years before his next re-election.

　So, the campaign Bernard was talking about was definitely not the Senate election.

　Then... the only possibility is...

　"Senator Kennedy wants to run for president too? But it's already the end of May!"

　Fili whispered in surprise, "There are only a little over a hundred days left until the vote. Isn't it too late to run now?"

　——Generally speaking, in the US presidential election, candidates will announce their candidacy at the end of the year before the election.

　What's more, according to unwritten conventions, as long as the current president wants to run for re-election, the ruling party generally will not allow others to be candidates.

　Now that Democratic President Johnson has not given up on running for re-election, other Democrats have basically no hope.

　At the same time, Robert Kennedy, who was chatting with Dr. Kissinger, also heard Fieri's muttering, walked over, and answered frankly: "I'm not running for president, Colonel King, but President Johnson asked me to be his running mate and serve as his vice president for the next four years.

　I have already accepted his invitation, and I need to set up my own campaign team as soon as possible, so I plan to invite Dr. Kissinger to help..."

　Robert Kennedy, running for vice president alongside Lyndon Johnson?

　Uh, this combination is really interesting.

　Eight years ago, President Kennedy and Vice President Johnson occupied the White House. Eight years later, it was President Johnson and Vice President Kennedy?

　If someone is not very good at history and does not know that the two Kennedys are not the same person, then they might mistakenly think that it is like Putin and Medvedev in Russia, where the president and the prime minister are performing a two-person show with each other!

　But can Senator Robert Kennedy really live until Election Day, no, live beyond next month?

　According to the history before Ferry's time travel, in a few days, Robert Kennedy, who was running for president as a representative of the Democratic Party, would be assassinated!

　His death was unclear, and the entire assassination process was full of mystery, just like the assassination of his brother, President Kennedy. His murderer was also inexplicably killed afterwards, which added a bit of mystery and horror to the "Kennedy family curse."

　Until 2024, Trump was still using the reinvestigation of the two "Kennedy assassinations" as a condition to recruit Robert Kennedy's son to defect to the Communist Party (Republican Party) and join the "MAGA" team!

　So, in this timeline today, President Johnson did not withdraw from the race, and Robert Kennedy only ran for Vice President...

　He would also be assassinated in the hotel corridor on June 5th by a Palestinian immigrant on very far-fetched grounds.

　?

　(Because the United States supported Israel in the Six-Day War, it was normal for Palestinians to assassinate the president or the secretary of defense. But it was a bit strange to assassinate Robert Kennedy, who was just a senator and not a hard-line war leader.

　Just like during the Anti-Japanese War, when the Chinese resistance organization went to great lengths to assassinate a Japanese county governor, it gave people the impression that something was wrong.)

　-

　Of course, regardless of whether Robert Kennedy would be assassinated again as in history, why would President Lyndon Johnson suddenly invite Robert Kennedy to be his vice president for the next four-year term instead of letting the current vice president continue to serve for another four years?

　First of all, President Johnson’s current vice president, Hubert Humphrey, has fallen out with President Johnson and is about to part ways!

　Because he felt that being the vice president was too uncomfortable and he might as well go back to being a senator!

　——Before, when running for president in 1964, Lyndon Johnson asked his think tank to collect information, summarize and analyze it, and then found that in American history, there seemed to be no president and vice president whose relationship was completely harmonious, and he must be on guard early.

　To this end, when choosing his running mate, he deliberately eliminated those candidates who came from wealthy families, had great influence, but were difficult to control. Instead, he chose Hubert Humphrey, a U.S. Senator from Minnesota who came from a grassroots background, was frail and sickly, came from a poor family, and once made a living by running a pharmacy.

　Moreover, before finalizing the vice presidential candidate, President Johnson consulted with Hubert

　Hubert Johnson had a secret conversation with Hubert Johnson, demanding that upon becoming Vice President, he pledge absolute loyalty to Johnson, absolute support for all of President Johnson's policies, and no expression of personal opinions. It is said that President Johnson even forced Hubert Humphrey to write a signature oath of allegiance!

　Although Hubert Humphrey reluctantly agreed to all the requests in order to become vice president, he was actually a straightforward person.

　In Congress, Humphrey was known for his outrageous remarks. He would boldly wade into areas most senators wouldn't venture into, expressing his opinions without restraint. His indifference to justice left him dissatisfied with many things. He always wanted to say something, but couldn't find a solution. He could only lash out and then abruptly end the conversation—earning him the nickname "Humphrey the Talker."

　His own explanation for this is: "I am indeed interested in all the problems, but they are like nuts and I have no idea how to solve them."

　(This means that his teeth are too bad to chew nuts like walnuts, and he can't solve all his problems.)

　As a result, Hubert Humphrey had to endure four years of almost constant silence in order to become vice president.

　Even worse, although President Johnson was soft-hearted and willing to be fooled on major national issues, he was always embarrassed in small matters. For example, once at President Johnson's ranch, Johnson insisted that Humphrey prove that he could kill two deer with a shotgun, just like Robert Kennedy, completely ignoring the fact that Humphrey was a pharmacist, his family only had a drugstore, no ranch, and he had never learned shooting or hunting.

　Another time, Johnson asked Humphrey to wear baggy lumberyard overalls and a weird-looking work hat in front of a group of reporters, and then ride a wild horse and pose wildly, forgetting that Humphrey didn't know how to ride at all - which almost cost Hubert Humphrey his life.

　In addition to having to tolerate Johnson on these minor issues, Humphrey was also full of contradictions on the issue of the Vietnam War.

　As a liberal, Humphrey had always opposed the Johnson administration's abuse of force and militarism. Especially last year, when President Johnson, in order to win the election, did not hesitate to draft millions of soldiers and spend money on the Vietnam battlefield, Humphrey had a big argument with him and completely fell out with him.

　Finally, when President Johnson was planning to run for re-election with great confidence based on his military achievements in retaking Saigon and Phnom Penh, Hubert Humphrey also handed in his resignation in a single tone - I've been your vice president for four years, and I've had enough. Please find someone else to be your partner for the next four-year term!

　Logically speaking, since Hubert

　Humphrey quit, so according to President Johnson's temper, he should choose someone more obedient next.

　However, domestic polls suddenly reversed and the election situation encountered twists and turns, which made President Johnson realize that his re-election seemed to be at risk!

　——Although this wave of brilliant victories on the battlefield in Vietnam allowed the originally discredited and shaky President Johnson to be crowned as a "conqueror" and "victorious commander", his approval rating rebounded significantly again, and it seemed that re-election was no longer a problem.

　But the Republican candidate Nixon was no ordinary man - he quickly found the biggest weakness of the Johnson administration and hit it hard!

　Just like in another timeline, in the 1992 election between Clinton and George H.W. Bush, President Bush thought he was bound to be re-elected with the victory in the Gulf War and the disintegration of the Soviet Union. However, Clinton's words "Stupid, the problem is the economy!" shattered his prestige and he was defeated miserably.

　Similarly, Republican presidential candidate Nixon also seized on a bunch of bugs under President Johnson, such as the deteriorating economy, soaring prices, declining living standards, and extremely chaotic domestic security, and launched a full-scale attack, accusing President Johnson of

　They are warmongering and disregard people's livelihood.

　Some pro-Republican TV stations suddenly changed their previous hawkish style and began broadcasting images of U.S. Marines burning farmers' huts in Vietnam and Thailand, as well as soldiers engaging in prostitution and gambling with local girls, fueling the once-sluggish anti-war movement.

　According to the New York Times, Americans have a way of glorifying and worshipping heroes, praising them excessively and then kicking them away. So, starting in May, President Johnson discovered with horror that his halo of victory was rapidly fading. The American people seemed to have woken up from the glorious victory in Asia and began to pay more attention to the unhappiness around them, blaming it all on the current government!

　There is no way. Although it is said that even the homeless in the slums will proudly puff out their chests as long as they think of the glorious victory achieved by their motherland on the other side of the earth - but this feeling of pride and illusory glory will not last long.

　Next, whenever people think of the misery of life, the pride in their hearts will disappear, and will be replaced by anger and resentment.

　Author's Note: PS: A female Wells Fargo employee died at her desk four days before being discovered. Then something truly horrible happened: American netizens were overjoyed and flocked to Wells Fargo to apply for jobs. Because the employee's death went unnoticed for four days, it seemed the job was easy, perfect for slacking off.

　Chapter 409: The owner of Playboy also wants to go into politics!

　What’s even more terrible is that when the election campaign between the two parties in the United States was in full swing, Martin Luther King, the leader of the American civil rights movement, was assassinated in a hotel in Memphis, Tennessee in April 1968, almost the same as the situation in another timeline!

　Although the exact time and location of the assassination have changed slightly, and the killer of Martin Luther King was not quickly apprehended but instead escaped, and it remains unknown who did it, the result remains the same: conspiracy theories abound.

　Although Martin Luther King, a black lawyer, can be said to be the greatest advocate of non-violence after India's Mahatma Gandhi, it is ironic that his death triggered the worst large-scale arson, looting and other violent crimes in American history.

　More than 500 towns and cities across the country experienced riots by blacks or criminal damage because of his death. The capital, Washington, was the hardest hit area by black terrorist activities. As many as 1000 arson cases occurred in April, and more than 30 white people were killed in raids by black mobs, including a sheriff.

　President Johnson ordered flags at the White House and Capitol Hill to be flown at half-staff in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr., a gesture unprecedented in the lives of Black people. However, acts of terror in the nation's capital continued unabated. Many buildings within a few blocks of the White House were also set on fire by Black people.

　When millions of American troops stationed in Vietnam were advancing rapidly on the battlefield and fighting fiercely in the ancient capital of Hue, a terrorist squad composed mainly of Vietnamese descent once again launched a large-scale attack in the US capital Washington, arresting more than 3,000 people and killing more than 100 people before they could barely maintain order.

　Across the country, more than 500,000 soldiers were ordered to station in major cities, ready to fight at any time, creating a situation of wartime martial law.

　This has led many Americans to complain: Is the Johnson administration turning an overseas war into an American civil war?

　Republican Party mouthpieces and Nixon's campaign team seized the opportunity to vigorously promote the claim that FBI agents had recklessly assassinated Martin Luther King, and they also presented a wealth of evidence of FBI surveillance and investigation of Martin Luther King. The irony was that the FBI's actions against Martin Luther King were initially orchestrated by then-Vice President Nixon. Now the blame was being placed on Johnson.

　At the same time, Nixon also sent people to make a big fuss: President Johnson, who was born in Texas, is different from former President Kennedy. He is essentially a white supremacist racist and has ties to the Ku Klux Klan in southern states. He cannot bear to see black people enjoying such a good life.

　—Unfortunately, all of this was spread by Nixon’s people. Except for the fact that President Johnson personally planned the assassination, everything else is true!

　So, when Martin Luther King's coffin was carried to the cemetery on an old-fashioned mule-drawn cart amid black hymns and church bells, many black people would not vote for the "racist" Republican Party, but they would not vote for the "hypocritical" Democratic Party either.

　After destroying the Democratic Party's black vote bank, Nixon continued his efforts and managed to win over Jimmy Hoffa, the chairman of the Teamsters Union. Relying on the influence of this Irish gang leader, he won over a lot of Irish votes (most of the labor unions in the United States are similar to gangs).

　As a result, President Johnson, who had originally thought that he had a sure win in this year's election, suddenly found that the poll situation began to reverse again. The shot of confidence injected by the military victory seemed to be rapidly losing its effect, and the old accounts of domestic affairs and people's livelihood were brought up again.

　As the war came to an end, voters' attention was drawn back from the distant battlefield and they began to complain about the deteriorating daily lives again.

　However, due to the massive military spending and the rapidly accelerating relocation of industries abroad, the socioeconomic situation in the United States is unlikely to improve in the short term.

　The Vietnam battlefield has now entered a period of heavy rain and mud.

　During the rainy season, even the US military could not continue the offensive in the pouring rain.

　——Even if we want another shot of military victory, we have to wait until the dry season at the end of November, and the election will be over by then!

　In this situation, in order to save the increasingly unfavorable crisis, President Johnson's advisers quickly proposed the most effective solution: find a famous Democrat who is influential and has his own vote bank and topic popularity, and promise him the position of vice president to canvass votes for this presidential election!

　The most suitable candidate, in the view of the think tank, is Robert Kennedy, the younger brother of the late former President John F. Kennedy.

　- The Kennedy surname carries a tragic connotation, the Kennedy family was able to leverage the Irish and Catholic votes, and the fact that African Americans in the United States generally have a favorable impression of the Kennedy family who support the equal rights movement. Robert Kennedy himself is also quite prestigious in the American left camp.

　If Robert Kennedy could be brought into the campaign team, it would definitely be helpful in mobilizing voters and rallying the hearts of the party.

　The huge voting base of American Catholics should be able to be mobilized more effectively after the Kennedy family's efforts.

　Although Robert Kennedy was no easy puppet to manipulate, and in the past, John

　In President Kennedy's cabinet, Vice President Lyndon Johnson and Attorney General Robert Kennedy did not get along well with each other, but their hostility was not too obvious.

　But in order to win the next four-year presidential term instead of moving out of the Oval Office in January next year, President Lyndon Johnson resolutely

　Senator Robert Kennedy extended an olive branch - of course, this time it was impossible to demand that the other party obey his orders.

　After a series of negotiations and consultations, Robert Kennedy finally reached a cooperation agreement with President Johnson in late May.

　Next, as the vice presidential candidate, he will begin to form his own campaign team.

　Although not as prominent as the presidential campaign team, the more independent vice presidents in American history also had their own campaign teams. Otherwise, a vice president without any party members would become a complete puppet, completely unable to do anything.

　Ahem, let's get back to the point. First of all, Dr. Brzezinski is an old friend of Robert Kennedy, so it's natural to bring him along to fight this time.

　Then, although Dr. Kissinger was not very familiar with Robert Kennedy, Robert Kennedy had seen that Kissinger and Fieri had previously cleaned up the mess for his brother, President John Kennedy, and thought that this was a very capable guy.

　In recent years, Kissinger has been regarded as a fire captain, running back and forth between the two sides of the Pacific, dealing with troublesome matters everywhere, and he has done a good job - coupled with Professor Brzezinski's recommendation, Robert Kennedy is also preparing to recruit him into his core team.

　Next, Fieri's eldest brother, Bernard King, who is now vying for Congress again, was originally a vassal and partisan of the Kennedy family.